In his first press conference, Christoph Freund, the new sports director of FC Bayern Munich, emphasizes that he has also been brought in as a talent expert. The FCB interprets the position a little differently than its predecessor Salihamidzic.
Sporting director Christoph Freund introduced himself to the people of Munich on Wednesday (08/30/2023) two days before taking office at FC Bayern Munich. And there was a reason for that: “We’re introducing him today so that he can start work fully on Friday,” said FCB spokesman Stefan Mennerich. Freund will start working for the record champions on September 1st.
The “Servus”, which is otherwise so common at Bayern, was not as easy for the newcomer as his predecessor Hasan Salihamidzic. Freund greeted the journalists present with a “Hello everyone”. And then spoke about his “big dream” of working for FCB. “FC Bayern is a special club, a great club, the most successful club in the German-speaking world, which stands for values I can identify with.” He is also “very much looking forward to working closely with Thomas (Tuchel)”.
Other priorities than Salihamidzic – and signs of competition
In the next few weeks, the 46-year-old will not only be in the Allianz Arena and Säbener Strasse, but also on the in-house campus on Ingolstädter Strasse in the north of Munich, where his work will also focus. And without those involved mentioning it: This is now a little different than his predecessor Hasan Salihamidzic, who raved so much about the king transfer Sadio Mané (and less about the in-house U23 talents), the older ones will remember.
Because one thing is clear: “We hope to continue to have the eye that he has had in recent years,” said Munich CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen. Ideally, the signing of Freund is also a means for Bayern to avoid having to buy too many expensive stars in financial competition with clubs supported by states such as Saudi Arabia or Qatar. It’s difficult to keep up financially anyway.
“The most important thing is that we are successful as a club. In terms of sport and business. In the long run, it’s important to discover talent and not just get expensive stars,” said Freund himself about the future FCB mix. “Hopefully we’ll be able to incorporate talent more often in the future.” According to the new FCB sports director, Harry Kane could be the perfect Bayern transfer – or an 18-year-old who has contributed to many titles.
Freund is considered a true talent expert
In Austria Freund, who has been sports director in Salzburg since 2015, is considered a true talent expert. At FC Red Bull Salzburg he signed Dayot Upamecano, Dominik Szoboszlai and Erling Haaland. All three moved on to the German Bundesliga with a big transfer win – and the latter two are now playing in the English Premier League. Konrad Laimer, on the other hand, plays like Upamecano at FC Bayern Munich, so he meets the two again.
Other sports directors see what strengths a player has. Freund has always looked at what strengths he will one day have – and so far he has done an impressive job of proactive discovery. “Christoph has an excellent reputation in the industry when it comes to scouting, but also when it comes to his work ethic,” says Dreesen. “Last but not least, he leaves a well-ordered house in Salzburg.” Since 2014, Freund’s ex-club – of course well supported by the can empire – has been champion year after year, winning the trophy almost every season.
Another new FCB signing from FC Red Bull Salzburg
Bringing the talent development forward again after weaker years, that will first of all come to Freund as a matter of urgency. But that shouldn’t be an easy task, after all, the jump from youth at FCB to the professional team is significantly larger than in Austria. Freund’s advantages: He has known the Munich campus manager Jochen Sauer, who used to work in Salzburg himself, for years, and he has already worked successfully with him, emphasized the newcomer to Munich.
He also gets help from a current employee who will follow him from FC Salzburg to FC Bayern: Richard Kitzbichler, who is supposed to help in the area between campus and professional squad that the talents make the leap. In Germany, however, as mentioned, it is disproportionately larger than. So it remains to be seen whether the new position will open the way for more talent.
apartment in Munich, center of life Salzburg
Freund has already found an apartment in Munich, but Salzburg will remain the center of his life. Nevertheless, Freund will first be seen in Munich: “I want to become Munich and breathe in the club, you also need time for that. My family can always come out. It’s a very, very beautiful city.”
So soon it will be even easier for him to say “Servus”.
League lead and relegation battle, current game pairings, results and live ticker, scorer lists, mileage and duel statistics and much more: Football in the results center of BR24Sport.
Source: BR24Sport 08/30/2023 – 10:30 a.m
