After FC Bayern’s surprising defeat against Werder Bremen, the Munich squad is back in focus. Sports director Christoph Freund clearly rejects such discussions.
Hardly a week goes by without the FC Bayern squad being discussed. It is well known that staffing levels are thin and continue to be strained from week to week. The surprising home defeat against Werder Bremen fueled the discussions again. FCB sports director Christoph Freund rejected this in “Blickpunkt Sport”. He also commented on possible transfers.
Friend: “Today we played bloodlessly”
The home bankruptcy was “not an issue for the squad,” Freund made it clear on BR television. “The quality of the players was very, very high, but we didn’t bring it to the pitch as a team.” For the 46-year-old, it was a performance that was difficult to explain: “We were actually looking forward to this week with three games in six days, two home games.” You didn’t see much of that on the pitch, especially in the first half. In the second half, coach Thomas Tuchel’s team woke up and had chances to equalize in the final phase, but they went unused. In the end there is a 0-1 defeat, which increases the gap to league leaders Leverkusen to seven points. The Munich team still has the catch-up game against Union Berlin next Wednesday to shorten the gap to four points.
The record champions spent the week in the Portuguese Algarve and, according to their friend, “trained really well” – of all places in the training camp where they prepared before winning the Champions League in 2020. But the players had obviously left their winning mentality on the plane. “Unfortunately there was very, very little of that to be seen today. We played anemic in the first half. No real courage.” You couldn’t tell “who really wanted to win this game,” complained Freund.
Friend on possible transfers: “It has to make sense and be feasible”
The Munich team had not managed to bring “the basic virtues onto the pitch,” criticized the sports director in Blickpunkt Sport. A discussion that is not being held for the first time. The statements sounded similar after the 1:5 disgrace in Frankfurt before Christmas. “We have to change that. If we want to achieve something, then we have to really want it.” For Freund, that is the top priority before one can talk about tactics.
Maybe we need a mentality treatment from the outside. Christoph Freund also knows that the Munich team has a lot of work to do. The right-back position would be the priority. The record champions are said to have a persistent interest in Paris St. Germain’s Nordi Mukiele. When asked about the personnel, Freund simply said: “We all know which positions are constantly being discussed” and added with a mischievous grin: “We’ll see what happens in the next few weeks.”
A denial sounds different. The Munich team is also said to be interested in English international Kieran Trippier, currently working for Newcastle United. So can Bayern fans celebrate further new signings this winter? Freund said he “couldn’t say 100 percent,” but assured: “We’re already looking into it.” But the top maxim for the former Salzburger is: “It has to be right for everyone involved. (…) It has to make sense and also be feasible.”
FCB sports director Christoph Freund: From Leogang to the big football world
Source: Blickpunkt Sport January 21, 2024 – 9:45 p.m
