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Dortmund seal deal for Tuchel to succeed Klopp

By Karolos Grohmann BERLIN (Reuters) - Borussia Dortmund have named Thomas Tuchel to succeed Juergen Klopp as their manager on a three-year-deal, the Bundesliga club said on Sunday, ending a frantic week for the former European champions Tuchel, who managed Mainz 05 for five seasons between 2009 and 2014, will take up the post from July 1 after Klopp surprisingly announced on Wednesday that he would be ending his seven-year tenure at the club. Tuchel is now tasked with turning the fortunes of Dortmund around after an abysmal domestic season and to replicate the success under Klopp, who won two league titles and a German Cup and led the team to the Champions League final in 2013. "Eight-times German champions Borussia Dortmund have appointed Thomas Tuchel as their new head coach from 1 July 2015, with the 41-year-old putting pen to paper on a three-year contract," Dortmund said on their website (www.bvb.de). "The club will officially unveil the new coach in the week that follows the end of the season and it is hoped the public will understand that none of the parties involved will address the matter until then." Bundesliga champions in 2011 and 2012 Dortmund have struggled this season and sit eighth in the standings after a brief spell at the bottom. Tuchel, who twice led low-budget Mainz to the Europa League and took over a year after Klopp left to join Dortmund, was in talks to join struggling Hamburg SV but the club confirmed negotiations had broken down last week. Hamburg appointed Bruno Labbadia, paving the way for Dortmund to seal the deal with the coach whose first Bundesliga appointment was Mainz. Known for his tactical acumen and passion for the game, Tuchel has long been considered among the most talented young German coaches. Even after forcing his exit from Mainz last season despite still having another year on his contract, a move that did not go down well with club fans, and taking a year out, Tuchel was a much-courted coach in Germany. Dortmund, the only publicly traded Bundesliga club, are battling to secure a Europa league spot for next season and can also clinch it through the German Cup where they face holders Bayern Munich in the semi-finals. (Additional reporting by Tom Hayward, editing by Ed Osmond)