The record national player had sharply criticized a new signing from FC Bayern. Now Hasan Salihamidzic joins the discussion – and chooses clear words.
Bayern Munich’s sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic has responded in no uncertain terms to the criticism by DFB record national player Lothar Matthäus of Bayern defender Dayot Upamecano. “Of course Lothar has to say something. He’s an expert,” said Salihamidzic on Wednesday evening to the “DAZN” streaming service. But that doesn’t interest him. “I don’t care,” emphasized Salihamidzic and added: “We know we made mistakes, that we didn’t play well. But we stand by our players, talk and work with them. But what Lothar says is mine don’t give a damn.”
Matthäus had previously addressed the defensive weaknesses of the record champions. He specifically criticized the central defenders Upamecano and Lucas Hernádenez, who were brought together for over 120 million euros, for whom the “price-performance ratio” has not been right so far. The ex-Salzburg player Upamecano, brought from Leipzig, wobbles too often and sometimes even seems like a “foreign body”. He’s been there for seven months now and hasn’t shown enough: “How much time should you give him?”
Salihamidzic and trainer Julian Nagelsmann emphasized that the 4-2 defeat in Bochum had been dealt with internally. “During the talks, there was a lot of feedback and solutions from the team,” said Nagelsmann.