Many well-known faces from German football now play abroad, largely unnoticed by the media. Today in the sport.de spotlight: A transfer coup by FC Bayern that was not happy in Munich.
When FC Bayern responded to personnel shortages in defense by signing Daley Blind from Ajax Amsterdam in January 2023, quite a few people sensed a coup. After all, the 104-time Dutch international moved to Säbener Straße with the experience of 333 competitive games for Ajax Amsterdam and 141 appearances for Manchester United.
As the cherry on the cake, the Munich team didn’t even have to pay a transfer fee to Ajax, as the top club from the Eredivisie suddenly apparently just wanted to get rid of their club legend after a simmering argument between Blind and the then Ajax coach Alfred Schreuder.
Things were supposed to look up again for the veteran at FC Bayern, but Blind was unable to leave a lasting impression. In the second half of the 2022/23 season, the flexible defensive player played just 157 minutes for the German record champions. The Amsterdam native played his only game over 90 minutes in the 2-3 win against Borussia Mönchengladbach – self-promotion works differently.
It quickly became clear that FC Bayern wasn’t really planning to work with Blind. After only six months, the club and players decided not to continue the collaboration, which was only meant to last six months. Blind was looking for a new challenge.
“Didn’t enjoy my time as a player” at FC Bayern
“I enjoyed my time in Munich not as a player, but as someone who loves football,” said Blind, looking back at “Sport Bild” about his time in the Bavarian capital.
He ultimately found his footballing happiness again at FC Girona, away from the big European football stage – at least that’s what it looked like. Six and a half months later, it is clear that Girona is shaking up the football world, and Blind is undoubtedly one of the main players.
In the league, Blind only missed a few minutes for the sensational runners-up in the Primera División. He recently scored his first goal in the spectacular 4-3 win against Atlético Madrid, followed by another goal for his new colors in the 2-0 cup win against FC Elche on Saturday.
If the second half of the year is similarly successful, it could even be a great football fairytale in the summer. After 19 games, Girona is at least level with Real Madrid at the top. The Madrilenians only lead the table because of the better goal difference.