Julian Nagelsmann will have "a lot of fun" with the quality at his disposal as Bayern Munich coach, according to his predecessor Hansi Flick.
Nagelsmann will replace Flick at Bayern ahead of next season, after two encouraging years at RB Leipzig.
Flick confirmed his impending departure from Bayern in April. He took over from Niko Kovac – initially on an interim basis – in November 2019 and will leave the club having won two Bundesliga titles, the Champions League, the DFL-Supercup, the DFB Pokal, the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup.
The 56-year-old's next position will be as head coach of the German national team; he will succeed Joachim Low after Euro 2020.
And Flick promised his successor at Bayern will have much joy taking charge of such a talented squad.
"I think Julian Nagelsmann will have a lot of fun with this team because it is of enormous quality and a great attitude," Flick told Bayern's official media channels.
"I wrote that to him too. It's a top team that knows what's important. And here you have to support them as a trainer."
It is not just Flick who will be leaving Bayern.
There is something of a changing of the guard ahead of next season, with CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and club stalwarts Javi Martinez, Jerome Boateng and David Alaba also departing – the latter having agreed to join Real Madrid.
Nagelsmann will have to contend with the fact Thomas Muller, Robert Lewandowski – who broke Gerd Muller's long-standing Bundesliga record of 40 goals in a single season – and Manuel Neuer are approaching the twilight of their respective careers, yet Flick hailed the performances of the three Bayern greats.
"Thomas [Muller] is a phenomenon for me," Flick said.
"He doesn't always get everything right in the game, but he brings you as a coach significantly more moments of joy than those in which you are upset about him – for example, when he goes out to the corner again, where he shouldn't be, loses the ball, and then a counter-attack emerges.
"Sometimes I almost had to laugh and had the feeling that he was doing this on purpose to annoy me a little and get the adrenaline going again. But he means so much for the team and this club, someone like him will never be around again. What he has achieved in his career is unique."
Muller, along with Lewandowski, Neuer, Alaba and Joshua Kimmich, who has developed into a world class central midfielder, were five players Flick could always count on.
"For me and for all coaches, the central axis is the decisive element," he added. "And there has been nothing better in the world in the past two years.
"I never really want to single someone out of my team because we can only achieve our goals together, but I could always rely on these five players 100 per cent, it was pure joy."
Bayern played 86 games under Flick, winning 70 and losing just seven, while only one of their nine draws finished goalless.
Flick's Bayern kept 34 clean sheets and scored 255 goals, averaging one every 30.4 minutes and outscoring their expected goals tally of 215.95, racking up 1,545 shots – the third-highest total in all competitions by a team from Europe's top five leagues, behind Manchester City (1,694) and Manchester United (1,557), though both of those Premier League sides played at least 17 more matches over the time in question.
Indeed, Bayern's goal tally under Flick makes them the top scorers from Europe's top five divisions in all competitions since he took charge, with Pep Guardiola's City (229) some way behind in second.
'Cristiano is perfect' - Martinez plays down early Ronaldo substitution
Roberto Martinez took Cristiano Ronaldo off just after the hour mark against Poland but assured he was only managing the 39-year-old's minutes.
Ronaldo was on target for Portugal in their 3-1 win over Poland, doubling their tally after Bernardo Silva's opener.
Piotr Zielinski provided the Selecao with a late scare, but Jan Bednarek's own goal ensured Portugal kept their 100% record, and they are the only team to win all three games so far in League A.
The Portugal captain was replaced by Diogo Jota, who had a hand in their third goal, in the 63rd minute, having had three shots and accumulating 1.43 expected goals (xG).
And Martinez insisted Ronaldo would have a part to play against Scotland as he praised the team's resilience to get the win over the line.
"It's part of managing players when you have two games in 72 hours. Diogo Jota came on very well. Cristiano is perfect," Martinez said.
"The first half was very good. We controlled the game, created opportunities, had very good synchronisation as a team, defended Poland's strengths very well and scored great goals.
"I'm happy with the new players who came in, it seems they have several international caps.
"Conceding a goal was a difficult moment, and it was great to see the reaction and score another goal. Overall, a very good performance.
"The challenge is two away games. 72 hours, recovering well. The players showed all their commitment during training and work at the Football City."
Martinez was also impressed by debutant Renato Veiga, who started alongside Ruben Dias at centre-back.
The Chelsea defender made seven clearances, the most of any player on the team, and helped limit Robert Lewandowski to just two shots, neither of which were on target.
"He has a very special profile. In his first training session, he showed that he gained maturity during the September training camp," Martinez added.
"He is an aggressive player, with great communication skills, who can defend large spaces, play in the air, against a Poland side that is very strong in set pieces.
"It was a fantastic debut. With a striker like Lewandowski, I think it is a debut that shows Renato's potential and how he is working at the moment."
Carsley did not apply for full-time England job, wants 'no regrets'
Lee Carsley revealed he did not formally apply to become the next England manager and wants "no regrets" over his time as interim boss.
Gareth Southgate left his position as England manager following their Euro 2024 final defeat in July, with the Football Association (FA) turning to Carsley for the Nations League fixtures.
He has won two of his three games so far, following up back-to-back wins over the Republic of Ireland and Finland with a disappointing 2-1 defeat to Greece at Wembley on Thursday.
With the return trip against Finland in Helsinki next up for the Three Lions, Carsley admitted prior to the game that he did not apply for the job during the application process earlier this year.
"No, I didn't apply for it," he told talkSPORT. "Because hopefully… I have been doing the U21s, and I am really happy with my job.
"I am an employee of the FA, and I was asked to take the senior team, which is a privilege. It was the proudest moment of my career.
"I am in a really fortunate position in that I am on the inside and I can see how much potential this team's got. It is one of the best jobs in world football.
"There aren’t many jobs where you’ve got a chance of winning. I believe the coach that comes in has got a really good chance of winning, and we deserve the best one that's out there."
Carsley was aiming to become the first England manager to win his first three competitive matches in charge since Fabio Capello in 2008, before Greece claimed their first-ever win over the Three Lions.
The 50-year-old selected an experimental line-up against Greece, fielding five attacking players, but no recognised striker, leaving the side unbalanced,
Harry Kane missed that game with a knock but is expected to return for the trip to Helsinki, having scored twice when they met them in September.
There was widespread criticism of the team after the full-time whistle, but Carsley says he did not want to play it safe during his time as interim boss.
"I think the reaction [to the loss against Greece] is fair enough. You have to respect people's opinions. We didn't perform as well as we can on the night, and I would expect a reaction [against Finland]," Carsley said in his press conference.
"I think it's something that I'll look back on in maybe two or three months and, you know, be better for it.
"I wanted to give this job my best shot for the three camps that we spoke about. I didn't want to have any regrets.
"It's important we do try something different at times. I think I'll be a better coach for that."
Salah, Van Dijk released early in boost for Liverpool ahead of Chelsea clash
Mohamed Salah will return to Liverpool earlier than expected, along with Virgil van Dijk, after he was released from international duty by Egypt on Saturday.
The 32-year-old was on the scoresheet as Egypt defeated Mauritania 2-0 in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier on Friday, and was also expected to feature in the return fixture on Tuesday.
However, in a boost for the Reds, who face fourth-placed Chelsea in the Premier League on October 20, Salah will head back to Merseyside having played just once for his country.
"The technical staff of Egypt's senior football team led by manager Hossam Hassan held a meeting with Mohamed Salah, the captain of the Pharaohs," the Egyptian FA said in a statement.
"It was agreed during the meeting to rest the player from the upcoming match."
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