Jurgen Klopp: Tuchel announced as successor

Thomas Tuchel will succeed Jurgen Klopp as Borussia Dortmund’s head coach for next season on a three-year contract, the Bundesliga club announced on Sunday.

The 41-year-old Tuchel, who was Mainz’s coach until May 2014, will be officially presented as Dortmund’s head coach once the current German league season finishes on May 23 and he will start work on July 1.

After winning the 2011 and 2012 Germany league titles, Klopp dropped a bombshell last Wednesday when he announced he will leave at the end of the season after seven years in charge.

Under Klopp, Dortmund reached the 2013 Champions League final, when they lost 2-1 at Wembley to Bayern Munich, after winning the German league and cup double in 2012 for the first time in the club’s history.

The charismatic Klopp has been linked to several English Premier League sides, but insists is giving no thought to his future until after Dortmund’s last five league games, with the team eighth following Saturday’s 3-0 home win against Paderborn.

Tuchel is regarded as one of Germany’s top coaches after five years at Mainz, where he managed to consistently coax impressive results out of the mid-table side.

Under Tuchel, Mainz set a new club record by winning their first seven league matches of the 2010/11 season, including an away win at Bayern Munich, and reached the Europa League for the first time by finishing seventh in last season’s Bundesliga.