Bayern Munich Fires Carlo Ancelotti After PSG Thrashing in Champions League
Bayern Munich have officially parted company with head coach Carlo Ancelotti just a matter of weeks into his second season with the Bundesliga champions. Former Bayern defender Willy Sagnol will now take temporary charge of the team.
Bayern have suffered a mixed start to the domestic season and it was reported earlier in the day that club chiefs were meeting to discuss his future less than 24 hours after a humbling 3-0 defeat at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.
The Italian delivered a Bundesliga title in his first season in charge in 2016/17, but the club's Champions League journey ended at the quarterfinal stage.
Domestic dominance has been a given for Bayern in recent years, but Ancelotti's premier task has been to deliver a first European title since 2013.
"The performance of our team since the start of the season did not meet the expectations we put to them," Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said in a statement.
"The game in Paris clearly showed that we had to draw consequences. Hasan Salihamidžić and I gave Carlo an open and serious discussion today and informed him of our decision.
"I would like to thank Carlo for the cooperation and regret the development she has taken.
"Carlo is my friend and will remain, but we had to make a professional decision in the sense of FC Bayern. I now expect the team to have a positive development and absolute performance, so we can reach our goals for this season."
Ancelotti is one of only a handful of individuals in history to have won the European Cup/Champions League as both a player and manager.
He lifted the trophy with Milan as a player in 1989 and 1990, before doing so as a manager in 2003 and 2007, as well as then with Real Madrid in 2014.
