5 Bayern reserves coaches you may have forgotten | OneFootball

Erik ten Hag and 5 Bayern Munich reserves head coaches you may have forgotten

1) Erik ten Hag (2013-2015)

After bringing an end to his solid but unspectacular playing career in 2002, Ten Hag first made coaching waves at Twente and PSV Eindhoven in the Netherlands as an assistant until he earned his first head role at Go Ahead Eagles in 2012, who were in the second tier at the time. In his only season there, he led them to their first promotion in 27 years, attracting the Bayern bosses' attention.

Working under Guardiola, Ten Hag flourished. Aided by future stars such as Werder Bremen’s Mitchell Weiser and former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Pierre-Emile Højbjerg, the Dutchman led Bayern's reserves to a record points tally of 77 in his first campaign in the fourth-tier Regionalliga before beating that haul by two the following campaign - enough to earn the Regionalliga Bayern title, although they eventually missed out in the play-offs to reach the 3. Liga.

With limitations on what he could achieve in that position at Bayern, Ten Hag returned to his homeland to take over at Utrecht in 2015. Three years later, he secured the biggest job in Dutch football at Ajax, who he led to the semi-finals of the 2018/19 UEFA Champions League after dismantling Real Madrid on the way. Trophies in Amsterdam and at Manchester United followed prior to his exit from Old Trafford earlier this campaign.

Erik Ten Hag spent two years as Bayern Munich reserves head coach. (imago sportfotodienst)

2) Martín Demichelis (2021/22)

Demichelis won four Bundesliga titles and four DFB Cups – as well as a 2009/10 runners-up UEFA Champions League medal – as a cultured centre-back during a seven-year playing spell in Munich. After becoming Málaga’s assistant coach immediately after retiring, the Argentinian was appointed boss of Bayern’s U19s in 2019.

Two years later, he stepped up to the second team and enjoyed a strong 2021/22 term. That year, his squad scored a huge 113 Regionalliga goals - a club record - as they finished second, with Malik Tillman and Armindo Sieb amongst those who shined under his tutelage.

Bayern’s impressive attacking play caught the attention of Argentine giants River Plate, who appointed Demichelis to their first team’s hot seat in 2022. The following year, the new man in charge led the team to the Primera División title, one of three trophies he lifted before moving on in 2024. He is now head coach at Mexican side Monterrey, who will also compete at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup alongside Bayern and Borussia Dortmund.

Martín Demichelis spent seven years as a player at Bayern before taking over the second string. (IMAGO/BEAUTIFUL SPORTS/Goldberg)

3) Sebastian Hoeneß (2019/20)

The son of Bayern legend Dieter and nephew of former president Uli, Sebastian is one of the hottest coaching prospects in German football. After an unremarkable playing career, it was almost a given he'd end up at Bayern once he took up coaching, but only via the youth ranks at Hertha Zehlendorf and RB Leipzig. He started in Munich with the U19s for two years before taking the step up.

And he quickly proved his credentials, leading the reserves - fresh from promotion from the fourth tier - to their maiden and only 3. Liga title in 2019/20. Current Bayern star Jamal Musiala and Manchester United forward Joshua Zirkzee were both part of that success.

DFB regulations prevent reserve sides from competing any higher than the third tier in Germany, meaning Hoeneß could not achieve more. As such, he left following the culmination of that campaign for Hoffenheim. While things didn’t quite work out in Sinsheim, he has proven to be a revelation with VfB Stuttgart, keeping them in the Bundesliga in 2022/23 before inspiring them to second place last term.

Sebastian Hoeneß first made his name in management with Bayern. (Jan Huebner/Kleer via www.imago-images.de)

4) Tim Walter (2017/18)

An amateur player himself, Walter spent a large chunk of his early coaching days at Karlsruhe as part of their academy, starting as an assistant of the U19s before working with the U15s, U17s and eventually the U19s in a more senior position.

In 2015, Bayern convinced him to take over their U17s, who he guided to championship glory. Two years later, he stepped up to the role of reserves head coach and achieved a solid second-place finish in the 2017/18 term, with his team scoring a healthy 84 goals in the Regionalliga.

Once again, Walter moved on to bigger and better things after just one season, with Holstein Kiel his first port of call. Spells with Stuttgart and Hamburg - with whom he twice lost the relegation play-off as they looked to return to the Bundesliga - followed, and he was most recently employed by English Championship outfit Hull City.

Tim Walter started out at Karlsruhe before catching the eye with Bayern Munich's youth and reserves. (FrankHoermann/SVEN SIMON)

5) Mehmet Scholl

Of the five men on this list, Scholl had the most significant previous connection with Bayern before becoming a staff member. He spent 15 years with Der Rekordmeister as a goalscoring midfielder, making 469 appearances and winning eight Bundesligas, five DFB Cups and the 2000/01 Champions League.

He is also the only one to have taken on the Bayern reserves head coach role on two separate occasions. During the first, he steered a team including Thomas Müller, Toni Kroos and Holger Badstuber to an eighth-place finish in the 2009/10 3. Liga term before stepping down to work on his coaching licence.

In the summer of 2012, he returned and oversaw the team finishing second in the 2012/13 Regionalliga, this time with the likes of Emre Can and future St. Pauli and Brighton boss Fabian Hürzeler at his disposal. Ultimately, though, that proved to be his final coaching role at any club, instead choosing to concentrate on his career as a TV pundit.

>>> What notable names have previously take charge of Borussia Dortmund's reserves?

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