Bayer Leverkusen Coaching Search: Glasner and Iraola in Frame
Bayer Leverkusen thought they had their man.
According to Sky, Flamengo’s title‑collecting coach Filipe Luis topped the wishlist in Leverkusen’s search for a new manager. Eight trophies in three years will do that to a reputation, and sporting bosses Simon Rolfes and Fernando Carro had clearly been convinced. The Brazilian route, though, is now shut.
With Filipe Luis off the table, the club has turned back to what insiders have been calling “Options B and C” – and those options are anything but modest.
Oliver Glasner and Andoni Iraola, both under contract in the Premier League but already committed to walking away at the end of the season, are firmly back in the frame. Their deals at Crystal Palace and AFC Bournemouth run down on 30 June, leaving them free from 1 July. For a club that sees itself as a permanent Champions League fixture, that timing matters.
Glasner’s Stock Soars Again
If Leverkusen wanted a reminder of Glasner’s pedigree, they got it this week.
In his farewell game with Crystal Palace on Wednesday, the Austrian added yet another European honour to his CV. Two years after his sensational Europa League triumph with Eintracht Frankfurt in 2022, he guided Palace to a 1–0 win over Rayo Vallecano in the Conference League final.
Another European trophy. Another night that underlines why his name keeps surfacing whenever a major bench looks unsteady.
For Leverkusen’s hierarchy, that kind of track record carries obvious appeal. Glasner has already shown he can build compact, aggressive sides that punch above their weight on the continent. Iraola, by contrast, brings the intense, front-foot style that turned Rayo Vallecano into one of La Liga’s most awkward opponents before he crossed to England. Two very different profiles, one shared theme: both are proven disruptors.
Hjulmand Era Nears Its End
Disruption is exactly what seems to be coming in Leverkusen.
The club has yet to issue a formal statement on Kasper Hjulmand’s future, but all signs point in one direction. Despite a contract running to 2027, the 54‑year‑old Dane is widely expected to leave this summer.
He arrived in difficult circumstances, stepping in shortly after the season had started when Erik ten Hag’s relationship with the club’s sporting management, parts of the coaching staff and sections of the squad collapsed at alarming speed. Hjulmand calmed the mood. He stabilised results. For a while, that was enough.
It did not last.
Leverkusen stumbled to a sixth‑place finish in the Bundesliga, missing out on Champions League qualification. In the cups, the story was similar: a DFB‑Pokal semi‑final exit against Bayern, and a Champions League last‑16 defeat to Arsenal. Respectable on paper, damaging in context.
For a club that has grown used to measuring itself against Europe’s elite, “respectable” is not a job guarantee.
The performances rarely caught fire. The team often looked functional rather than fluid, and several expensive signings never came close to justifying their transfer fees. The gap between ambition and reality grew wider with every flat display.
So the decision is being made. Leverkusen want a reset. A new head coach, a new voice, a new attempt to squeeze more from a squad that has cost too much to drift around the edges of the top four. Whether that voice belongs to Glasner, Iraola, or a less publicised “Option C” will shape the club’s trajectory for years.
Monaco Also Reach for the Eject Button
This is not just a Leverkusen story. Across the continent, another ambitious club has also lost patience.
AS Monaco are preparing to change head coach again, barely half a year after their last gamble. Sebastien Pocognoli only took charge in October, tasked with steadying a side that has lurched between promising projects and abrupt endings for too long.
The finish was brutal. Back‑to‑back defeats to Lille and Strasbourg at the end of the campaign cost Monaco a European place. In a league where margins are tight and money is never far from the conversation, missing out on continental football leaves a mark.
So Pocognoli, like Hjulmand, finds his time cut short.
Two clubs, two different leagues, one shared reality: the modern elite has no appetite for stagnation.
Leverkusen and Monaco now head into the summer hunting for leaders who can turn frustration into momentum. Whoever steps into those dugouts will not just inherit squads and tactics. They will inherit expectation, impatience, and a clear message: stabilising is no longer enough.
