Hoffenheim turn to rookie coach Nagelsmann from next season

Hoffenheim have announced that 28-year-old coach Julian Nagelsmann will take charge of the Bundelsliga outfit from the start of the 2016-17 season.

On Monday, Hoffenheim appointed seasoned tactician Huub Stevens until the end of the current campaign after a dismal run of one win from the opening 10 Bundesliga fixtures led to Markus Gisdol being removed from his post.

For the longer term, the club have opted to go in a wholly different direction by promoting Under-19 coach Nagelsmann, who will complete his coaching badges before taking over from Stevens next July  on a deal that runs until June 2019.

“Despite the current difficult situation, it is important now to set an example for the future,” said Hoffenheim CEO Dr Peter Gorlich. “The commitment to Julian Nagelsmann to take over the post of the head coach next year shows that we are planning in the long-term and remain true to our philosophy – to rely on our own offspring.”

Nagelsmann has led Hoffenheim to the final of the German A-Youth Championship in each of the past two years, lifting the crown in 2014.

He was also assistant first-team coach at Hoffenheim for the second half of the 2012-13 season.

“I am looking forward to this exciting task and I thank you in advance for the trust placed in me and the opportunity,” Nagelsmann said.

“In the coming months, my focus will be on the one hand lying on my training as a football coach and, of course, with my boys from the U19s, with whom we are planning a lot more this season.”

Borussia Dortmund coach Thomas Tuchel worked with a young Nagelsmann during his time in charge of Augsburg II and offered a glowing endorsement of his credentials.

Tuchel told a news conference: “He’s a very inquisitive and very hardworking young coach. He has celebrated exceptional successes in youth [football]. I’m very happy for him and I believe in him.”

Hoffenheim, second-bottom of the Bundesliga with just six points, travel to Cologne on Saturday for Stevens’ first game at the helm.