Sandro Wagner takes over at FCA

FC Augsburg has found a successor to Jess Thorup: Sandro Wagner joins from the national team and takes over as coach of the Swabian club. The FCA management has pulled off a real surprise coup.

Sandro Wagner is a real coup for FC Augsburg following the departure of Jess Thorup. The assistant coach of the German national team announced at the end of April that he would be leaving the German Football Association after the Nations League Final Four (June 4-8). Now it's clear where the 37-year-old is headed.

Wagner is set to sign a contract with FC Augsburg on Wednesday until 2028, as the club confirmed. For the current assistant to Julian Nagelsmann, whose home is in Unterhaching, this will be his first position as head coach in the Bundesliga.

Wagner successfully coached SpVgg Unterhaching for two years, leaving after promotion to the 3. Liga in 2023. Since September of that year, he served as Nagelsmann's assistant coach alongside Benjamin Glück. Previously, he served as assistant coach of the U20 national team and had already played a senior international match with head coach Hannes Wolf under then-interim team manager Rudi Völler.

With Thorup's departure, a coach beloved by the Swabians had to leave. The Dane was in Augsburg's coaching bench from October 2023 until the surprising departure at the end of May , leading the club to its best points average since promotion to the Bundesliga in 2011. However, he was unable to instill an exhilarating style of play in the team, opting instead for a defensive approach. However, this did not succeed in ridding FC Augsburg of its "grey mouse" image.

The name "Sandro Wagner" alone should be enough to achieve this relatively quickly. Whether he also succeeds in football at his first professional coaching position will be exciting to see.

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