When the hot blood starts to overflow. Salihamijic goes over the dead bodies. Was last season the precursor to Bayern’s decline from glory?

Hasan Salihamidzic, known to all honest readers of football news as Brazzo (from the Bosnian “Braco” meaning “younger brother”), is undoubtedly a very interesting personality in the world of professional sport, not only because of his story as a refugee from the war in Yugoslavia.

He left his mark at Bayern as a player, and since 2017 he has been the sporting director of

Brazzo has been through clubs like Hamburg and Juventus in his playing career. However, he left his most significant mark at Bayern Munich. With the Bavarian outfit, he won the Champions League in 2001, among other things, as well as six German league titles.

Now the Balkan stormtrooper and fighter, for which he was known especially during his playing career, is working in Bayern’s top management structure. He has been its sporting director since 2017. His appointment was highly praised by the club’s then long-serving CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. Since 2021, however, Oliver Kahn has been the managing director.

Salihamidzic does not deny his Balkan roots. Is Flick’s departure to blame?

Hasan Salihamidzic, however, sometimes cannot deny his Balkan roots even in his personal dealings and approach to his colleagues and subordinates. This has been most pronounced so far during 2020/21, culminating in the somewhat forced resignation of the highly successful coach Hansi Flick. This drew a very negative response from the Bayern cabinet and the club’s fans alike.

It was a departure from the club after a season in which the Bavarian giant managed to win the treble (Bundesliga, Champions League and DFB Pokal) and subsequently the Club World Cup.

The conflict between Flick and Salihamidzic was mainly about the recruitment policy that Brazzo represents. Flick confirmed the dispute by stating and prodding the sporting director that Bayern’s squad was better in the previous season than in the then-starting 2020/21 season.

The existence of the controversy has also been indirectly confirmed by Rummenigge, or even by Bayern legend with access to a lot of “inside” information, Lothar Matthäus. Matthäus told German daily Bild that the relationship between Flick and Salihamidzic cannot be repaired.

It is clear that Bayern’s sporting director certainly does not take himself and his position as some sort of advisory body. He stands by his opinions and is prepared to go “over the dead bodies” (in the sense of opponents leaving the club).

Was Boateng another “dead man”? Flick warned Nagelsmann in advance

Another unpleasant conversation was to be had between the Bosnian troublemaker and Jerome Boateng. He should have told him quite sternly that his contract would not be renewed. This once again brought many Bayern fans out of their seats. Even the then coach Flick, who wanted to keep the experienced stopper in the squad, disagreed.

However, it must be said here that Boateng himself is known for his indiscriminate statements towards the sporting director. These antipathies have long been mutual.

Another fact speaks volumes about Salihamidzic’s growing “popularity”. Michael Frosz, a spokesman for the Bayern fan base, told AFP that whoever becomes Bayern Munich coach in the future will undoubtedly clash with the Bosnian’s persona at some stage during his time on the Bavarians’ bench. Due to the nature of Salihamidzic, he says it is inevitable.

Prior to his departure, Hansi Flick managed to warn his successor and Salihamidzic’s sought-after coach Nagelsmann to be wary of Bayern’s transfer policy. Germany’s new national team coach expressed himself in the style that the club always wins in the end anyway and it doesn’t matter what players the coach prefers.

Considering the success, popularity and ability of Hans Flick, this situation is really a shame, especially from the point of view of Bayern fans. It is no wonder that many of them are sick to their stomachs of Salihamidzic.

How will Bayern fare in the new season?

It will be very interesting to see how Bayern Michov performs in the 2022/23 season, for a number of reasons.

Let’s see with what kind of squad Bayern Munich will go into this year’s campaign for more titles. There has already been a significant strengthening (Mané from Liverpool, Gravenberch and Mazraoui from Ajax).

However, there has also been one very significant departure, namely Robert Lewandowski to Barcelona – a legend who would also probably not call his relationship with Hasan Salihamidzic a “friendship for life and death”.

Although current CEO Oliver Kahn and Salihamidzic are former teammates who were quite similar in their aggressive approach to the game. However, in big clubs like Bayern there is a very thin line between what we consider a small deviation from the goals and a big failure for which someone will be held accountable.

It would be interesting to see where this club would have gone if both Flick and Lewandowski had stayed. And it will be equally interesting to see how things work out on the pitch and in the locker room without them. The first season after Flick’s departure may have already been a precursor to Bayern’s possible decline from glory, and Salihamidzic and Nagelsmann may soon have an imaginary knife to their throats after the departure of another fan favorite (Lewandowski).

Source: The Guardian, Bavarian Football Works, FC Bayern