Julian Nagelsmann’s reputation as an innovative, problem-solving coach continues to grow, with the 32-year-old making RB Leipzig Bundesliga title contenders and guiding them to the latter stages of the UEFA Champions League.

bundesliga.com takes a look at the numbers that define the record-breaking Leipzig leader…

20: Since he has already achieved so much in his young career, many of the numbers associated with Nagelsmann relate to his age. The first refers to the time he gave up on any hopes of becoming a professional player, having been forced to retire due to a knee problem in 2007 when he was just a 20-year-old. Nagelsmann had previously featured for 1860 Munich and Augsburg’s reserve sides, but soon he turned his full attention to coaching.

28: Having watched Nagelsmann lead their U19 team to a national title in the 2013/14 season, Hoffenheim were willing to put their up-and-coming tactician in charge of the senior team in time for the 2016/2017 season. When veteran Huub Stevens stepped down for health reasons, however, Nagelsmann was thrust into the spotlight earlier than anticipated. Appointed Hoffenheim’s first-team coach in February 2016, the 28-year-old was the youngest permanent head coach in Bundesliga history.

Watch: Learn more about how Nagelsmann has transformed Leipzig

7: The odds were stacked against Hoffenheim when Nagelsmann took over. Second from bottom with only two wins and 18 goals from 20 matches – and seven points from safety – they looked certain to be relegated. The new man in the top job immediately began to work his magic, however, and seven wins from the final 14 matches saw his side preserve their top-flight status.

86 and 100: Nagelsmann broke one more Hoffenheim and one more Bundesliga record in the 2018/19 campaign, his third and final full season in charge of the club. A 1-1 draw with Borussia Dortmund in September 2018 marked the Bavarian’s club record 86th match with Hoffenheim, as well as his 100th competitive game on the bench. In January 2019, he became the youngest coach in history to reach 100 Bundesliga appearances when he oversaw a game against Bayern Munich.

191: In total, Hoffenheim collected 191 points in Nagelsmann’s 116 Bundesliga games in charge. Only record champions Bayern (279) and Dortmund (228) managed more over the same period. A record like that brought huge success, with Hoffenheim finishing fourth in 2016/17, third a year later and – weighed down by the demands of their first-ever Champions League group-stage campaign – ninth in Nagelsmann’s final season.

Julian Nagelsmann led Hoffenheim into battle against Pep Guardiola and Manchester City in the 2018/19 UEFA Champions League group stage. Can he emulate the former Bayern Munich coach by winning the competition? - imago/Jan Huebner

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31: Speaking of the Champions League, Nagelsmann became the youngest coach in the competition’s history when he led Hoffenheim out against Shakhtar Donetsk on Matchday 1 of the 2018/19 campaign. He was aged just 31 years and 58 days at the time. His highly entertaining side performed well in a tough group, scoring 11 goals in their six matches and suffering narrow defeats, home and away, against English Premier League champions Manchester City.

32: Aged 32 years and 231 days, Nagelsmann broke yet another record in March 2020 by becoming the youngest head coach to win a Champions League knockout tie. Leipzig’s comprehensive 4-0 aggregate victory over Tottenham Hotspur in the last 16 will no doubt have made him determined to push the boundaries even further. If one of Europe’s brightest coaches were to win the Bundesliga with Leipzig in 2019/20, for example, he would surpass what Matthias Sammer achieved with Dortmund in 2002. Former Bayern coach Pep Guardiola was 38 when he won the Champions League with Barcelona in 2009, and that’s another record that Nagelsmann will be eyeing up.

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