Hasan Salihamidzic wanted to lure many players to Munich in his capacity as FC Bayern sports director. In retrospect, Brazzo is certainly “glad” that it didn’t work out for some of them, while for others he had the right instincts from the start.
SPOX shows a selection: Where was the sports director right – and where can he thank his lucky star?
FC Bayern – The “Brazzo” curse: Salihamidzic was “lucky” with these players
FC Bayern and near transfers: Sergiño Dest
When FC Bayern called Joshua Kimmich into midfield a few years ago, the talent at the time was being discussed as a new, permanent solution for the right-back position. Ultimately, Munich lost the tug of war against FC Barcelona.
“There are transfers that get to the point where you have to say: We’re out now. It’s all the more important that you think about alternatives or alternative ways from the start,” explained Hasan Salihamidzic at the time.
However, Dest was never able to fully gain a foothold with the Catalans – also due to many injuries. A loan to Milan did not go according to plan either, and the Rossoneri now want to remove the American with Dutch roots from the payroll as soon as possible.
Even at Barça, a future is almost impossible. There they cannot and do not want to support it financially either. Dest faces a complete fresh start. Union Berlin is said to be interested.
FC Bayern and near transfers: Naby Keïta
Immediately after his appointment as Bayern sports director in the summer of 2017, Salihamidzic wanted to lure the then midfielder from RB Leipzig to the Isar. “It’s true that another club was also involved,” Keïta later said in an interview with the Guardians.
However, Liverpool coach Jürgen Klopp gave the decisive factor in the right direction for the Reds, which is why he had to cancel the German record champions. “A big part of my decision was the role of coach. We had good discussions. What he told me about the project really convinced me.”
But he never showed his great potential in the Premier League. At no time did Keïta manage to recommend himself permanently for the first eleven. In addition, minor injuries and the great competition in Liverpool midfield thwarted his plans.
Today, the 28-year-old faces an uncertain future. His contract with the LFC will not be extended beyond next summer, so Keïta will have to look for a new club. Where he ends up is completely open, but many top clubs will probably not ask.
FC Bayern and near-transfers: Callum-Hudson-Odoi
He was considered THE transfer of choice for Salihamidzic. In the 2019 winter window, Bayern knocked on the door of the Chelsea winger for the first time, and efforts were intensified the following summer.
But the Blues stayed firm, insisted on the current contract with Hudson-Odois and let the Munich team turn down. The sports picture later reported that Bayern and Salihamidzic had alienated the London club leadership with their bold approach.
The then Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia, who categorically rejected all talks with FCB because of Salihamidzic’s offensive statements, was apparently significantly involved in the cancellation.
In retrospect, Bayern’s sporting director will be relieved to have hit rock bottom at Chelsea, after all Hudson-Odoi is a long way from being a “very interesting player that we absolutely want to sign”.
After being “sorted out” at Chelsea with no prospects, he went on loan to Bayer Leverkusen last summer. There, under coach Xabi Alonso, he is now hardly a part of the matchday squad, he is miles away from the first eleven.
FC Bayern and near transfers: Hakim Ziyech
After Ajax Amsterdam’s outstanding Champions League season in 2018/19, when the Dutch advanced to the semi-finals and were unlucky to fail there against Tottenham Hotspur, many players of the record Eredivisie champions were in the shop window.
Bayern were planning to succeed the aging Arjen Robben and Franck Ribéry at the time and came across Ziyech, who was one of the mainstays at Ajax.
The reason for the failure of the transfer was Salihamidzic’s indecisiveness, who was also negotiating with Manchester City and Leroy Sané at the same time.
When asked by the Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagbladwhether FC Bayern should have acted earlier, the Moroccan said: “Indeed, I think everyone could see what we did with Ajax, and what my part was in it, if the club that I’m with doesn’t come by have a perfectly good feeling, then just not. A transfer was never a sacred goal.”
In the summer of 2020, Ziyech then moved to Chelsea, where he was not happy at all. While he was still a regular at Stamford Bridge in his freshman year, his playing time continued to decrease from season to season. Today he is one of the victims of the enormous transfer offensive. More than isolated brief assignments did not jump out.
FC Bayern – Right instinct: Salihamidzic “rightly” rejected these transfers
FC Bayern and near transfers: Arne Maier
The defensive midfielder was very popular with ex-Bayern coach Hansi Flick. But Salihamidzic blocked and opposed a transfer. The reason: Maier does not meet the sporting demands of Munich.
Brazzo was to be right about that. At his former club, Berlin Hertha, the 24-year-old was sorted out. A loan deal from Arminia Bielefeld helped him get a little more playing time, which is why FC Augsburg knocked on the door last summer and signed Maier on a permanent basis.
There the midfielder experiences a rebirth. Maier plays regularly with the Bavarian Swabians and is a top performer.
FC Bayern and near transfers: Max Meyer
Another player reported to the Flick Picture to FC Bayern when the current national coach was in charge there. But here, too, Salihamidzic vetoed and waved it off.
Meyer, who was still at Crystal Palace at the time, finally went to 1. FC Köln on a free transfer in the 2021 winter transfer window. The midfielder, once declared “world class” by his advisor, was more of a wanderer in his career than realizing the big world career.
In any case, Meyer rarely drew attention to himself with good performances in the past. After all: Since moving to the Swiss club FC Luzern in August 2022, there has been some continuity with the 27-year-old.
FC Bayern and near transfers: Ante Rebic
With good performances at Eintracht Frankfurt, the offensive player caught the eye of some top European clubs in the 18/19 season. After Niko Kovac was hired as the new Bayern coach, he wanted to take his protégé directly to Munich, but Salihamidzic put a stop to the transfer.
Salihamidzic did not believe that the quality of the Croatian was enough for Bayern, he reported table football later. Rebic eventually went on loan to AC Milan, where he is still under contract today. But: Even three years after moving to Serie A, the 29-year-old does not seem to have arrived.
He rarely brings his performances from the SGE times to light. Instead, he commutes between the starting eleven and the substitute bench. In 30 competitive games 22/23 he only had five goals.
FC Bayern and near transfers: Luka Jovic
In addition to Rebic, the striker was also a candidate at Bayern at the time. Kovac was also a supporter of the transfer there, but Salihamidzic was skeptical – also because of the great international competition.
Real Madrid then paid 63 million euros for the Serbs in the summer of 2019, which was clearly too much for Bayern and Brazzo. And Salihamidzic should be right, after all, Jovic could never justify this sum.
He later explained that he couldn’t cope with the great pressure. “When I arrived in Madrid, all the lights were on me,” he said in an interview. “It was difficult to adapt to the biggest club in the world. With injuries, Corona and unfair pressure, it was an unfortunate experience.”
Today, the Serb plays in Serie A for Fiorentina, where he is slowly but surely working his way back to his old strength.
FC Bayern and near transfers: Thorgan Hazard
Before moving to BVB, Eden Hazard’s brother was also an issue at Bayern Munich, but Salihamidzic was from a transfer according to the table football not at all convinced.
Despite a good debut season with the Black and Yellows, the Belgian had rather mixed years at Borussia Dortmund. In the past season he then tumbled completely out of the first eleven and was only occasionally used as a joker.
A loan to PSV Eindhoven followed in winter, where Hazard is not necessarily convincing either. In seven games he was only once in the starting XI, a permanent transfer to the Eredivisie is therefore rather unlikely.
The problem: BVB doesn’t really want him back either. In the summer, the 30-year-old will probably have to look for a new adventure.
FC Bayern and near transfers: Kevin Vogt
According to various media reports, Vogt was also one of Kovac’s dream players, but Salihamidzic’s assessment gave him the seal “not suitable for Bayern”.
Despite certain difficulties, including a loan to SV Werder Bremen, Vogt is certainly not a bad player at TSG Hoffenheim, but it is doubtful whether it would have been enough for the German record champions.
FC Bayern and near transfers: Timo Werner
The forward is perhaps the most famous instance of a Brazzo veto. In favor of signing Leroy Sané, Salihamidzic smashed FC Bayern’s considerations of signing Werner.
And that despite the fact that the FCB coach at the time, Flick, said the attacker was his dream player. According to various media reports, the differences of opinion between Salihamidzic and Flick about Werner were even the starting signal for the strained relationship between the two, which ultimately culminated in Flick’s departure from Bayern.
“Timo is a good player who played an excellent first half of the season. However, we have Robert Lewandowski. Timo Werner needs more space with his speed, he had that in the system that Leipzig played. That has changed now, but still it’s not as tight at the front as it is here,” Brazzo explained his decision against Werner at the time.
The 27-year-old then went to Chelsea, where he lived through a mixed two years with many problems and joker appearances. Back in Leipzig today, where he has not yet reached the best form of the past few days.
