Catch the stars of tomorrow
FC Bayern has a clear mission for squad planner Freund
8/30/2023, 6:03 p.m
FC Bayern’s new squad planner is not yet involved in Harry Kane and Co.’s commitments. Christoph Freund will not start his job until Friday. The English national team captain is a top commitment, praises the newcomer. The expectation of him is immense.
When looking at the Munich transfer summer, Christoph Freund was also full of praise. “You did a really good job,” said Bayern Munich’s new sporting director, given the summer record of Harry Kane, Min-Jae Kim and Co. The Austrian himself was “not involved”, after all, he will only start his new job on Friday – and could soon stand for rethinking on Säbener Straße like no other.
Freund emphasized at his presentation that FC Bayern will continue to sign “really good top stars” like Harry Kane in the future. At the same time, however, it became clear that the expectations placed on the squad planner signed by Red Bull Salzburg include one thing above all: the development of their own offspring. Freund has an “excellent reputation when it comes to scouting and talent development,” said Munich CEO Jan Christian Dreesen right at the beginning of the almost 30-minute press conference. This “eye” for the talents of tomorrow is now also expected on Säbener Straße – with good reason.
The constant competition between the Premier League, state clubs like Paris St. Germain and, more recently, clubs from Saudi Arabia is taking on increasingly absurd forms. Players who can help a club with international ambitions like FC Bayern are therefore becoming increasingly difficult to get, even for Bayern Munich. See Erling Haaland, who left Dortmund for Manchester City last summer despite intense advances from Bayern.
Freund had Haaland on his hook before
And that’s where friends come in. The Austrian himself had once steered Haaland from his Norwegian homeland to Salzburg at the age of 18. Salzburg, under the direction of the now 46-year-old for a total of eight years, has repeatedly attracted highly talented players early on and led up-and-coming top stars onto the springboard.
“We have to manage this balancing act so that we can introduce our own talents to the first team and still get better,” said Freund. However, Bavaria needs a completely different concept than Salzburg. After all, the Austrian had to admit that “the jump was completely different”.
Players like Jamal Musiala or Alphonso Davies should serve as an inspiration for Bayern. The only drawback: they do not come from their own youth, as many would like. Accordingly, Freund emphasized again and again how important it is to find ways “how we can create structures for players trained on campus in order to reach a top level”.
The new sports director is by no means lacking in drive. He has already found an apartment in Munich, said Freund. From Friday he now wants to “arrive here, spend time getting to know the people” and above all: “Inhale the club”. And then breathe fresh air into it.