Julian Nagelsmann’s Tactics and Coaching Philosophy
Julian Nagelsmann has been heavily linked with the manager’s job at Manchester United if INEOS decide to replace Erik Ten Hag but would he be a good fit for United?
Let’s breakdown his career achievements, tactics, style of play and coaching philosophy.
EARLY CAREER AND CLUB MANAGEMENT
Julian Nagelsmann, born on 23rd July 1987, in Landsberg am Lech, Germany, is a highly regarded progressive football manager known for his innovative tactics and impressive career trajectory. The German was unfortunately forced to retire from professional football at just 20 years of age after recurring knee and meniscus injuries.
Having played for 1860 Munich and FC Augsburg at youth level, in 2008 he assisted then Augsburg coach Thomas Tuchel with scouting for the club. Before he would fully launch himself into football coaching, Nagelsmann felt it was important to achieve academic credentials so opted to study Business Administration and eventually Sports Science.
His first role in football coaching came as an assistant for the U17s team for 1860 Munich where he was involved from 2008-2010.
In the 2012/2013 season, Nagelsmann found himself promoted to Assistant Coach whilst also overseeing Hoffenheim’s U19 team. He quickly took the reins as Hoffenheim’s U19 Coach, and in the 2013/2014 season he delivered the U19 Bundesliga Title.
In October 2015, Nagelsmann was eventually rewarded with the Hoffenheim Head Coach role. He had agreed to commence the role at the start of the 2016-17 season but when Huub Stevens resigned in February 2016 he accepted the opportunity to take up his new post earlier than planned.
Incredibly, Nagelsmann was starting his senior managerial journey at just 28 years old. Under his leadership, Hoffenheim avoided relegation having taken over when they were placed 17th in the league. The following season the team finished fourth in the Bundesliga, providing the chance to qualify for the Champions League for the first time in their history.
Hoffenheim unfortunately missed out on Champions League qualification losing to Liverpool in a playoff and had an unsuccessful Europa League campaign, finishing bottom of their group. Hoffenheim however finished third in the Bundesliga that season, this time securing automatic qualification to the Champions League. As a result, Nagelsmann became the youngest coach to ever compete in the UEFA Champions League at 31. Hoffenheim disappointedly finished bottom of their group with three draws and three losses.
In June 2018, it was announced that Nagelsmann would be leaving Hoffenheim at the end of the 2018/2019 season. He would sign a four year contract at RB Leipzig, starting from the 2019/2020 season
Incredibly, Nagelsmann led the team to a Champions League semi-final in his first season, suffering defeat at the hands of his former boss Thomas Tuchel who was in charge of PSG.
His second season at RB Leipzig would be his last. They lost in the Champions League Round of 16 to Liverpool and were defeated in the DFB Pokal final to Borussia Dortmund.
Nagelsmann’s success at Leipzig earned him a move to his boyhood club Bayern Munich in 2021, with the German giants paying a record compensation fee of approx €25 million to secure his services.
Nagelsmann would only compete one full season at Bayern. In this time he won two pieces of silverware, winning the DFL Supercup against Borussia Monchengladbach and delivering a Bundesliga title scoring 87 goals in the process. Bayern got as far as the Champions League Quarter-Finals that season, losing to Villarreal.
As the 2022/2023 season began, Bayern once again won the DFL Supercup. Nagelsmann also remarkably helped Bayern win all six of their UEFA Champions League group games in a tough group containing Inter Milan, Barcelona and Viktoria Plzen.
Nagelsmann, once referred to as a "perfect fit" by chairman Herbert Hainer, was ultimately sacked in March 2023. The Bayern board were believed to not be convinced by the progress made since Nagelsmann took charge. Many star players were underperforming and they had concerns of how the manager communicated with players. There were rumours Nagelsmann and club captain Manuel Neuer did not have the best of relationships and reports emerged of players complaining about his training methods. According to FBREF, despite an impressive average points per game of 2.19 and a win rate of 71.4%, Nagelsmann was replaced by Thomas Tuchel.
Nagelsmann was appointed manager of the German national team in September 2023 to oversee the team’s European Championships tournament on home soil in 2024. His initial deal was only a short term contract scheduled to run until the Euros competition finished, but in April he signed a contract extension running until after the 2026 World Cup. Germany lost in the Quarterfinals of the 2024 Euros to eventual winners Spain but the national team played some nice football under Nagelsmann. Progress was evident, particularly since Germany had also not progressed beyond the last 16 of a major tournament since 2016. They had previously failed in the Group Stages at the last two World Cups and lost to England in the knockout phase at Euro 2020.
TACTICS AND COACHING PHILOSOPHY
Nagelsmann has used many different formations throughout his career in management.
At Hoffenheim his mostly played a 3-5-2 shape but also was known to play 4-2-2-2 and 4-2-3-1. Nagelsmann’s tactics at Hoffenheim were centered on flexibility and high pressing. He favored a fluid 3-5-2 or 3-4-3 formation, but often adapted based on opponents. His teams focused on quick transitions, building from the back, and exploiting space through vertical passing. Nagelsmann emphasised positional play, with dynamic wing-backs (of which he refers to the position as “jokers”) providing width and midfielders interchanging roles to create overloads. Nagelsmann loves his ‘jokers’ to get forward and instructs them to double up as additional forwards in attack. Defensively, Hoffenheim employed a high press to force turnovers, with a focus on disrupting opponents’ build-up. Nagelsmann’s teams regularly scored goals quickly after winning the ball back in the final third. His approach was effective, demonstrating tactical innovation using data analysis behind the scenes. He also didn’t neglect youth development, regularly giving opportunities to younger players in the squad.
At Leipzig, Nagelsmann deviated from his set up at Hoffenheim and preferred a 5-3-2 shape but also on occasion used a 3-4-3 and a 4-2-3-1. He encouraged rotations and whilst his full backs intentions were to attack wide, he also gave them the freedom to invert and support the midfielders. If this happened, a central midfielder would cover by dropping into defence. Nagelsmann’s Leipzig were very effective in their pressing. The young German coach would instruct his front two in Werner and Poulson to press the centre backs and full backs, whilst Marcel Sabitzer would press the opposition’s deepest midfielder. This would stifle the oppositions build up forcing them to go long, often handing possession back to Leipzig. If the opposition went wide in build up, Leipzig’s number 8 would press to block passing lanes into the midfield and was supported by the full back pushing up to create numerical overloads and force turnovers. In defensive transitions, Leipzig’s counter pressing was impressive and his team regularly won the ball back very quickly. From an attacking perspective Nagelsmann wanted his team to play patiently through the thirds, keeping possession. The defenders would wait for openings to bypass the opposition midfield with the aim of the forwards dropping deeper to receive the ball. Through quick combinations Leipzig would unlock the oppositions defence and the attacking wing backs look to free the strikers in the half spaces areas. Nagelsmann’s Leipzig were particularly good at drawing the opponent to one side of the pitch before quickly switching play to create opportunities. With their pace and intelligent movement, Nagelsmann’s Leipzig team regularly punished the opposition using these tactics.
At Bayern Munich, Nagelsmann preferred a 4-2-3-1 shape using Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka as the pivot. He mostly preferred Coman on the right and Sané on the left, with Thomas Müller operating in the number 10 behind Polish striker Lewandowski. The Bayern team under Nagelsmann aimed to create more centrally compared to some his previous tactics where he opted to use the full backs and width of the pitch to create chances. Despite changes in personnel, Nagelsmann still preferred the 4-2-3-1 shape only in more recent times with Choupo Moting up front and Musiala behind. From a pressing perspective, the striker and midfielders led the press with the high defensive line pushing up to support. Like all Nagelsmann teams this led to a lot of success in high possession regains and the players were very well organised out of possession.
For the German national team Nagelsmann set his team up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, consisting of a back four, two holding midfielders, a number 10, two wingers and a sole striker. Nagelsmann used Toni Kroos as the holding midfielder to drop deep in build-up phase. With time on the ball, Kroos was an enabler, comfortably playing long passes to the flanks or in behind the opposition’s backline. Kroos could also play diagonal balls to bring the full backs into play and use the width to stretch the opposition. Of course Toni Kroos has now retired and Nagelsmann has opted for a more conservative midfield two of Robert Andrich and Pacal Gross in recent games. Both Andrich and Gross are in their 30s but he has talented youngsters in Pavlovic and Stiller who will undoubtedly be embedded as regulars in the not too distant future.
Nagelsmann ensures his team are aggressive out of possession and retain a high defensive line to help with the counter press, minimising the space between the thirds. He also wants to create numerical advantages as often as possible against the opposition’s back line. Their front six are often capable of breaking teams down quickly after winning the ball back in the final third and his players will attack the half space, looking for over or underlaps from the fullbacks to create chances.
NAGELSMANN AT MANCHESTER UNITED IN THE PREMIER LEAGUE
Nagelsmann’s successful but short managerial career to date is a testament to his tactical innovation and progressive philosophy. He has already experienced great success in the Bundesliga and his journey from a young, inexperienced manager to leading one of the world's top football nations at just 37 years of age is nothing short of remarkable. The man who was once nicknamed ‘Mini Mourinho’ still has a long career ahead of him and he will no doubt have aspirations to manage and test himself in the Premier League. Nagelsmann will be focused on ensuring Germany are successful at the World Cup in 2026 but a phone call from Manchester United could clearly have temptations for the German. His managerial pedigree isn’t in doubt and there is no question he has the tools to succeed in England's top flight. The question would be surrounding his commitment to the national team upon which any move would hinge on.