In addition to Díaz, Bayern also signed Jonathan Tah, among others. How do you rate this transfer and Tah’s start in Munich?
He has a leadership requirement for himself and fulfills it. That was a great transfer. Tah was a free transfer and is a national player – you couldn’t do much wrong.
With him, is the Bayern defense now capable of winning an international title again?
The defense has definitely gotten better. I always liked Dayot Upamecano. He forms a stable duo in central defense with Jonathan Tah. So far the two have fit together quite well and help each other a lot. But they haven’t really been challenged in the Bundesliga yet. We’ll have to wait and see what it looks like internationally at a very high level.
Dayot Upamecano’s contract is expiring and Real Madrid are said to be interested in him. How dangerous is it for Bayern to potentially lose him on a free transfer at the end of the season?
Bavaria cannot completely control or prevent this. You have been talking and negotiating with him for a long time. But if he wants to go, he goes – that’s how it is. The rumors about Upamecano have been around for a long time. If that happens, Bavaria will be prepared.
BVB captain Nico Schlotterbeck is already being discussed as a possible successor at FC Bayern. Would he be suitable as such?
Yes, of course, we don’t even need to talk about that. I would get that immediately. He is left-footed and can also play as a left-back. That’s what makes Bayern so strong at the moment, that many players can be used in different positions. Schlotterbeck would fit in perfectly for me. He is a leading player in Dortmund and has now returned to the national team immediately after his injury – that shows his importance. With everything he brings with him, he fits exactly into Bayern’s prey scheme. That’s why it’s not a question at all for me: I would immediately put an exclamation mark after it.
How do you see the future of Min-jae Kim at Bayern, who is currently only third choice behind Tah and Upamecano?
Things aren’t looking so good for him at the moment. He’s still having a hard time at Bayern. I wouldn’t have thought that because he actually came to Munich as the best defender in the Italian Serie A. Maybe they played a little differently in Naples. But he definitely has problems here. That’s why I would put a question mark behind his future at Bayern. It can’t be satisfying for him in the long term just being a substitute. In central defense, coaches don’t like to change once they’ve found their defensive duo. Vincent (Kompany; editor’s note) was a central defender himself and he will know better. There are always situations where you get along better with one teammate than with the other – that’s just how it is.