They may be European champions, but Crystal Palace are still without a manager following the departure of Oliver Glasner at the end of the season, leaving the door ajar for an ex-Bundesliga coach to emerge.
Replacing Glasner will be an impossible mission at Selhurst Park this summer. The Austrian is arguably the greatest Crystal Palace manager of all time. He has taken a mid-table club into FA Cup success, securing their first-ever trophy, before creating more history by not only qualifying for the Europa Conference League, but winning it.
It’s only natural that Palace have since turned towards the next big thing in English football in Andoni Iraola. The Spaniard has also left Bournemouth following an excellent run, getting them into Europe, and has a proposal from those in South London.
According to Sky Sports, however, Iraola is interested in joining Liverpool or Bayer Leverkusen this summer and is yet to answer a proposal from Crystal Palace.
That leaves the Eagles back at the drawing board, where they’ve identified an option who could take the same path as Glasner this summer.
£130m star says Crystal Palace rejected him after trial, he’s now Liverpool’s top target
The Eagles apparently weren’t interested.
As reported by Sky Sports’ Florian Plettenberg, Crystal Palace are in talks to hire Dino Toppmoller. The former Bayern Munich coach has been a free agent since being dismissed by Eintracht Frankfurt earlier this season.
By some coincidence, he was also the man who replaced Glasner at Frankfurt and could do the same at Selhurst Park ahead of next season.
How Toppmoller could follow Glasner path at Crystal Palace
Following Glasner’s tenure wherever he’s been is so often an impossible task and that’s exactly why Toppmoller should be a leading candidate for the job in South London this summer.
He’s been there and done it before at Frankfurt, having followed the Austrian after he picked up European success in Germany. Despite facing the sack earlier this season too, Toppmoller’s tenure was far from a failure.
|
Frankfurt record |
Glasner |
Toppmoller |
|---|---|---|
|
Games |
121 |
121 |
|
Wins |
53 |
51 |
|
Draws |
33 |
34 |
|
Defeats |
35 |
36 |
|
Points per game |
1.59 |
1.55 |
The 4-2-3-1 manager enjoyed an almost identical record to Glasner at Frankfurt and it’s no surprise that he earned plenty of praise during his time in Germany.
Julian Nagelsmann told reporters when Toppmoller joined his coaching staff at Bayern: “We chatted on the phone and knew instantly that we were on the same wavelength; Dino’s a relaxed guy who has an incredibly big heart and huge understanding of football. He’s a great addition to my coaching team and deserves a spell in the spotlight.”
Iraola very much remains the dream, but another ex-Frankfurt manager certainly wouldn’t go amiss at Crystal Palace.
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