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LONDON: Former Denmark coach Kasper Hjulmand was hired Monday to lead Bayer Leverkusen as a replacement for Erik ten Hag following the Dutchman’s abrupt firing last week.

Hjulmand has been out of work since leaving the Danish national team following their last-16 exit at the European Championship in 2024, after four years in charge.

It will be Hjulmand’s second stint in the Bundesliga, after less than a year with Mainz in the 2014-15 season.

“I have always seen Bayer 04 as a very well-managed, well-structured and highly ambitious club,” the 53-year-old Hjulmand said. “This impression has been confirmed in recent days. It’s an honor to be entrusted with a team like this.”

Leverkusen, who won the Bundesliga in the 2023-24 season after going the entire domestic campaign undefeated, needed a new coach after getting rid of Ten Hag, who had just three games in charge after succeeding Xabi Alonso.

A tough start

Hjulmand has signed a contract through the end of the 2026-27 season and faces a tricky debut at home to Eintracht Frankfurt on Friday before a return to Denmark to face Copenhagen in the Champions League on Sept. 18.

He hasn’t coached in the Champions League since the 2012-13 season with Nordsjaelland, where he’d won the Danish title. Nordsjaelland had one draw and five losses in that campaign and was defeated in Champions League qualification the following season.

Ten Hag’s departure

The former Manchester United manager was tasked with rebuilding Leverkusen after an exodus of key players, including Florian Wirtz, Granit Xhaka and Jeremie Frimpong, since Alonso’s departure for Real Madrid at the end of last season.

However, chaos soon engulfed the club, with Ten Hag questioning club decisions in the transfer market and collecting just one point from Leverkusen’s first two Bundesliga games — a home defeat to Hoffenheim before squandering a two-goal lead to draw 3-3 with 10-man Werder Bremen.

That draw saw players ignore Ten Hag’s instructions and argue among themselves on the field over who would take a penalty.

Hjulmand’s leadership

Leverkusen chief executive Fernando Carro commended Hjulmand’s “transparent, communicative and empathetic style,” saying: “A newly assembled team like ours, which is capable of development, needs clear guidelines.”

Hjulmand comes recommended by a key member of Alonso’s staff. Fitness coach Ismael Camenforte worked for Hjulmand with Denmark and at Leverkusen until leaving for Madrid with Alonso.

Hjulmand’s empathy and leadership qualities were especially on show at the European Championship in 2021, when Denmark captain Christian Eriksen collapsed on the field after suffering cardiac arrest during the team’s first game against Finland.

Hjulmand was widely lauded for the way he dealt with the emotional aftermath of Eriksen’s collapse and subsequent recovery and led the Danes to the semifinals, where they lost to England.

PARIS: Sandro Tonali’s last-gasp winner edged Italy to a 5-4 victory over Israel in 2026 World Cup qualifying on Monday, while Kosovo beat Sweden despite Alexander Isak making his first appearance of the season.
After collapsing from leading 4-2 in the final two minutes to drawing 4-4, Tonali’s 91st-minute strike in the Hungarian city of Debrecen sent Italy above Israel and into the play-off spot in Group I.
New coach Gennaro Gattuso’s side trail leaders Norway by three points and still have a chance of taking first place and the group’s sole direct qualifying spot as they seek to avoid missing out on a third-consecutive World Cup finals appearance.
“We’ll take the win which was crucial for us, but we’re completely nuts, nuts because we conceded some absurd goals,” said Gattuso.
“We need to work on that because we’re too fragile, we concede goals too easily. The boys know that, but this is my problem to fix.”
Israel, whose players donned black armbands in honor of the victims of Monday’s deadly shooting at a bus stop in east Jerusalem carried out by Palestinian gunmen, took an early lead through an own-goal.
Moise Kean wiped out the nominal hosts’ lead on two occasions before Italy went 4-2 ahead on 81 minutes.
A second Dor Peretz strike in the 88th minute and a clumsy Alessandro Bastoni own-goal two minutes later made it appear the four-time world champions were on course for a disastrous result.
But Tonali’s speculative effort went through a sea of legs and into the net to spark wild celebrations as the topsy-turvy encounter held one last surprise.
Israel have played their ‘home’ matches in Hungary since the country’s offensive in Gaza in retaliation for Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

‘No-playing time’ 

Sweden’s slow start to their qualifying campaign continued into matchday two as they went down 2-0 to Kosovo in Pristina.
The Swedes now sit on just one point after a last-gasp equalizer by Slovenia condemned them to a 2-2 draw on Friday.
Goals in the first half by Elvis Rexhbecaj and Vedat Muriqi were enough to give Kosovo just their second-ever win in World Cup qualifying.
Augsburg midfielder Rexhbecaj bundled the hosts ahead on 26 minutes after goalkeeper Robin Olsen saved his initial one-on-one effort.
Kosovan captain Muriqi then doubled the lead three minutes before the interval with a powerful strike from the edge of the box.
Premier League record signing Isak was sent on from the bench to try and salvage something for the Swedes inside the final 20 minutes.
The Liverpool star had a chance to halve the deficit on 85 minutes but was stoutly denied by ‘keeper Arijanet Muric as Kosovo moved second in Group B despite finishing with 10 men.
“ had only done three training sessions with the team,” Sweden boss Jon Dahl Tomasson told Viaplay.
“He had no pre-season with the team and of course no playing time,” he added of the 25-year-old who endured a turbulent departure from former club Newcastle.
Switzerland, who beat Kosovo 4-0 last week, stay top of the pool following a dominant first-half display in Basel against Slovenia.
The home side ran out 3-0 winners after goals by Nico Elvedi, Breel Embolo and Dan Ndoye inside the first 40 minutes.
Denmark won by the same margin in Greece as they moved top of Group C on four points. They sit level with Scotland, who beat Belarus 2-0 in Zalaegerszeg, Hungary.
Croatia took the lead in Group L with a 4-0 home victory over neighboring Montenegro.
Kristijan Jakic opened the scoring in Zagreb, before Montenegro were reduced to 10 men as Andrija Bulatovic saw red.
Andrej Kramaric went clear at the top of the qualification goal-scoring chart with his sixth goal of the campaign on 51 minutes, before a late Edvin Kuc own-goal and an Ivan Perisic strike put gloss on the result.
The 2018 World Cup runners-up leapfrogged Czech Republic atop the table with both countries boasting 12 points, although Croatia have a match in hand.
Faroe Islands moved to third in the group with a 1-0 win over Gibraltar.