Bundesliga
Bayern Munich's new CEO Oliver Kahn believes the record champions are standing at the beginning of a new era with Julian Nagelsmann calling the shots as head coach.
Bayern will go in search of a record-breaking tenth straight Bundesliga title this season, and Kahn is confident they will keep their run of glory going for many years to come despite the losses of David Alaba, Javi Martinez and Jerome Boateng this summer.
With Nagelsmann replacing Hansi Flick and former Bayern and Germany keeper Kahn succeeding Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, there will be a new look to Bayern this season. One thing will stay the same, though - their success
"We're totally convinced that we can start a new era with [Nagelsmann]," Kahn said at a press conference. "We're convinced he's just the right man for Bayern. Julian's a young, ambitious coach and he can get the best out of players who maybe weren't already on the radar."
Watch: what Bayern can expect from Nagelsmann's tactics
Kahn went as far as to name two candidates, with USMNT defender Chris Richards and Dutch forward Joshua Zirkzee tipped to benefit from Nagelsmann's magic touch.
"There are a few players coming back from loans, like Zirkzee and Richards, and I've seen it time and time again that players coming back from loans perform in ways you don't expect," Kahn said. "That's what we're expecting from Julian Nagelsmann, that he'll take such players onto a new level.
"We've done our homework early, including the signing of [Dayot] Upamecano, and our squad's in very good shape at the moment. With this squad, we can win the Champions League."
Upamecano is this summer's marquee signing for Bayern in what are difficult times financially. Yet Kahn insists business is very much as usual at Germany's record champions, with just over a month to go before the start of the new season.
"Our ambitions have not gotten any smaller," Kahn said. "Our aim is to produce absolutely world-class football and to do this also in combination with young players, who we've developed here, and top international stars.
"We want to do something that has never been done before in any of Europe's top leagues and win the title for a tenth year running. That would be extraordinary. Yet we also want to play a leading role in Europe and keep winning the Champions League."
Nagelsmann leads his first training session at Säbener Straße on Wednesday, albeit with a reduced squad of just 19. Those players involved in Euro 2020 are expected to join over the course of July, during which the record champions have arranged a string of warm-up matches against the likes of Cologne, Ajax, Borussia Mönchengladbach and Napoli.
Their first competitive fixture will come against amateur club Bremer SV in the first round of the DFB Cup on the weekend of August 6-9, before they raise the curtain on the new Bundesliga season with a trip to Gladbach on August 13.
Nagelsmann will have the opportunity to win his first silverware four days later when Bayern travel to Borussia Dortmund for the DFL Supercup.