Bayer Leverkusen Seeks New Coach After Filipe Luís Snub
Bayer Leverkusen thought they had their man. Filipe Luís, the Flamengo coach with eight trophies in three years, was the first choice to take over at the BayArena, according to Sky. The sporting leadership of Simon Rolfes and Fernando Carro pushed hard for him, drawn by his track record of winning and rebuilding on the fly.
He chose to stay in Rio. That door is shut.
So the club reaches back into the drawer marked “Options B and C” – and this time, those names are very much in play.
Glasner and Iraola Back in Focus
Two coaches sit at the centre of Leverkusen’s search: Crystal Palace’s Oliver Glasner and AFC Bournemouth’s Andoni Iraola. Both have already made a crucial decision about their futures. Both are walking away from their current clubs when their deals expire, free and available from 1 July.
Glasner’s stock has rarely been higher. On Wednesday, in what doubled as a farewell with the Eagles, he delivered yet another European trophy. Palace edged Rayo Vallecano 1–0 in the Conference League final, adding a second continental title to the Austrian’s CV after his unforgettable Europa League triumph with Eintracht Frankfurt in 2022. Two European trophies in three years, with two different clubs, in two different countries. That catches the eye of any sporting director.
Iraola, meanwhile, has impressed in England with his aggressive, front-foot football at Bournemouth. He will also hit the market this summer, another candidate who fits the profile of a modern, tactically sharp coach ready to work with ambitious sporting management.
Leverkusen have “concrete” alternatives, as the club circles back to these options. The question is which one they can convince to lead a reset that now feels unavoidable.
Hjulmand Era Nears Its End
Officially, nothing has changed. Leverkusen have not yet announced a coaching departure. Unofficially, the writing is all over the BayArena walls.
The club is widely expected to part ways with Hjulmand this summer, even though his contract runs until 2027. The 54‑year‑old Dane arrived in difficult circumstances, stepping in shortly after the season began when Erik ten Hag’s relationship with the club hierarchy, parts of his staff and sections of the squad collapsed at alarming speed.
Hjulmand did what many mid-season appointments are asked to do: stabilise. He calmed the noise, straightened the results, and gave Leverkusen a semblance of order. It wasn’t enough.
Leverkusen missed out on Champions League qualification.
They fell in the DFB‑Pokal semi-finals against Bayern.
Arsenal knocked them out in the Champions League last 16.
The Bundesliga campaign ended in sixth place.
Respectable on paper. Not remotely aligned with the club’s ambitions.
The performances told their own story. Leverkusen rarely dazzled, rarely imposed themselves the way a club with that budget and that talent should. Several expensive signings never came close to justifying their transfer fees, leaving a squad that looked heavy in cost and light on identity.
So the conclusion inside the club is clear: a fresh start under a new head coach. The next man in will not just inherit a team; he will inherit a mandate to redefine how Leverkusen play and where they belong in Europe’s hierarchy.
Monaco Also Reaches for the Reset Button
This is not just a Leverkusen story. Across the continent, another ambitious club is preparing to change direction after a short-lived experiment.
AS Monaco are also set to replace their head coach after just over six months in charge. Sebastien Pocognoli took over in October, tasked with steering a talented but inconsistent squad back into Europe. For a while, it looked manageable.
Then came the run-in. Back-to-back defeats to Lille and Strasbourg at the death of the season proved fatal. Monaco slipped out of the European places, and with that, Pocognoli’s position all but evaporated.
Two clubs, two projects, one shared reality: patience is shrinking at the top level.
Leverkusen and Monaco now step into the same volatile marketplace, hunting for the coach who can turn missed opportunities into momentum. Whoever they land will not be hired to steady the ship.
They will be hired to change its course.
