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Bayern Munich sacked manager Niko Kovac yesterday, after the Croatian had come under severe scrutiny for the way his side has been performing this season. Despite a few good results, such as the 7-2 away win at Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League, the Bayern board saw Saturday's 5-1 loss to domestic rivals Eintracht Frankfurt as the last straw, and relieved him of his duties as head coach.
Obviously, Bayern will now be looking for a new manager, someone capable of managing the pressure and expectations that come with a job as big as this. Several names have been mooted, such as Jose Mourinho, Erik ten Hag, Mauricio Pochettino and Massimiliano Allegri.
But according to sources from The Guardian, Arsene Wenger and Ralf Rangnick are the hierarchy's top two picks for the hot seat at the Allianz Arena.
The contenders
Ralf Rangnick
Ralf Rangnick is a name that would be fairly familiar to Bayern fans, and to German fans in general. He has been manager at a host of different clubs, including top-tier sides such as 1899 Hoffenheim, Schalke 04 and RB Leipzig.
Rangnick was Leipzig's manager in the 2015-16 season, and helped them win promotion to the Bundesliga. He also had a second spell in charge, in 2018-19, between the departure of Ralph Hasenhuttl and the arrival of Julian Nagelsmann.
Rangnick is still employed as the Director of Football Operations for not only Leipzig, but for the Red Bull group of clubs as a whole - which includes teams in New York, Brazil and Ghana, as well as Salzburg. It may be tough to prise him away, but if Bayern could do it, they would be dealing with real quality.
Arsene Wenger
One name that needs no introduction is that of Arsene Wenger. As manager of Arsenal between 1996 and 2018, Wenger revolutionized the way football was played in England.
In the era of kick-and-run football, Wenger's emphasis on keeping the ball on the ground earned him plaudits from players and fans alike.
Although it seemed at times during the latter years of his tenure in London that the game had passed him by, Wenger still retained an aura of superiority and commanded respect from everyone who came into contact with him.
Now 70 years old, he could be forgiven for wanting to retire and live his life away from football. However, he declared just over a month ago that he couldn't "live with the fact that I will never be on the bench again," so seeing him in charge at Bayern is not the most outlandish rumour.
Wenger is certainly a manager of considerable pedigree. He would, at the very least, be a stable set of hands at Bayern until the end of the season.
Also check out: Bundesliga schedule Champions League table Champions league top scorers
