“I wasn’t happy”
At the age of 26, Nagelsmann broke this age-old Bundesliga record
May 26, 2026 – 10:13 amReading time: 2 minutes
Julian Nagelsmann breaks age records early in his career. A predecessor can only be partially happy about this – but is still impressed.
In spring 2014, Julian Nagelsmann set one of his first age records in the history of the Bundesliga. At the age of 26, he became the youngest master coach in the U19. Michael Reschke previously held this record with Bayer Leverkusen for almost 30 years.
When Reschke is asked about the first title win of Nagelsmann’s career, he has to smile. “I wasn’t happy. Of course I respected that and it was great that he achieved it. But I was always a little mischievously proud that I was able to achieve such an achievement as a coach,” says the long-time Bundesliga manager (Leverkusen, Bayern, Stuttgart, Schalke) about his greatest success as a coach in the t-online podcast “Julian Nagelsmann – The Youngest One”.
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With a clear 5-0 win against Hannover 96, Nagelsmann and Hoffenheim won the first championship title in the club’s history. Nagelsmann had already set his goal for the championship before the season and described it as “very, very bold” after the victory. Especially due to his age and the fact that it was his first year as U19 coach.
“This team just worked”
What was particularly impressive for Reschke was the way the team played. Nagelsmann’s handwriting was clear. “The Hoffenheim players knew how to behave in individual situations. When to press, when to counterattack, when to have phases where you try to dominate possession of the ball and maintain a calm build-up to the game. You simply saw that this team worked.”
Reschke had previously only seen a similar impressive performance from a youth team with Ralf Rangnick’s U19 team in the 1990s. “Their teams also had a tactical style that was outstanding and that was also the case with Julian at the time.”
“Julian Nagelsmann – The Youngest One” is a podcast from t-online and watson and available on all common streaming platforms. New episodes always appear on Fridays.
