Friday, April 9th, 2021
Next blow against Salihamidzic
Flick whistles on Rummenigge’s reminder
By Tobias Nordmann
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge wishes for peace at Bayern, but Hansi Flick fires again and again. Again and again it goes against sports director Hasan Salihamidzic. In this long unworthy play there is probably the harshest possible criticism.
Hansi Flick didn’t even try to get approval. He was convinced that there are no opposing opinions. Namely to the quality of the squad. This was higher at Bayern last season than this one. At least two people at FC Bayern will make this cracking sentence, spoken at the compulsory media round on the game day (in the Bundesliga, it will be on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. against Union Berlin) on Friday afternoon. And for completely different reasons. The one who will turn red with rage and club red is Hasan Salihamidzic. The other is Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. And out of old solidarity with the club and his pupil Salihamidzic, it will probably also be bright red at Tegernsee. In the face of Uli Hoeneß.
Now it’s like this: Flick has spoken a truth – Ivan Perisic, Philippe Coutinho, Thiago and Álvaro Odriozola (exception) from last season are Leroy Sané (exception), Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting (small exception) Marc Roca, Douglas Costa, Bouna Sarr and the talents Tanguy Nianzou (so far injured almost all of the time) and Tiago Dantas (Flick’s absolute, but hardly considered dream player) – who is not popular in Munich. And not because it’s an ugly truth, but because it has been causing eruptions for months that have devastated the club.
It is a truth that only knows one main addressee: Hasan Salihamidzic. As the sports director, the planning of transfers and squads is on his territory. It is a territory in which the coach would like to have a greater say. Even a veto. So if Flick complains without further explanation (pandemic consequences, for example) that his team is now less strong, then that is probably the most painful blow that you can throw at a superior. Now it’s not that Salihamidzic doesn’t know what tough verbal slaps feel like from the coach. Because for a year and a half he has been receiving more hard hits than once the opponents of “Dr. Steelhammer”. But this Watschn should be particularly irritating. If that is still possible in this drama, which has been piling up more and more unworthily for a year and a half.
Only in the morning had Karl-Heinz Rummenigge placed the urgent request via the “Bild” newspaper that Flick and Salihamidzic finally bring their cinematic feud to an end. The club boss called for harmony, loyalty, professionalism and a focus on the essentials (i.e. on the sporty). Flick gave him little of it just a few hours later. Instead: fire again. Can it pass as an attempt to extinguish the fact that the coach also spoke of his “great team”, with whom it is “a lot of fun” to work? Rather not. Because from then on he spoke of the enthusiasm, the intensity and the mentality. Things that then fall into the coach’s territory. So in Flick’s. After the bizarre Champions League duel against Paris St. Germain (2: 3), he had “received a lot of messages from colleagues that the team is an absolute inspiration.”
First criticism, then “partial guilt” admission
Anyone who raves about it will probably stay. He’ll want to go on. You could think so. But the status is still unclear. Because the peace with Salihamidzic that was declared in mid-March has now been canceled. At least since the events before and after the game against PSG. There the sports director had officially confirmed that Jérôme Boateng would not get a new contract with Bayern. Against the express wish of the coach, who did not want to lose the next high performer after Thiago (last season) and David Alaba (after this season). Flick commented on the surprising approach of the Bosnian, who had stated that the coach was involved in the decision, with the announcement that he did not have to and do not want to answer such questions. But what he did when he said afterwards that he had to “act” after all. It was a sentence that destroyed everything. Which actually makes a collaboration with Salihamdizic impossible. Who hung his own future on a very thin ribbon.
And then now also the criticism of the squad! Incidentally, there was no corresponding question.
Regardless of the meanwhile prevailing interpretation of the media and experts that the cooperation will actually end in the summer, Flick renewed his commitment to keep silent about things that are aimed at non-sporting matters. But only after he had once again placed his criticism unequivocally and highlighted his own work and the outstanding work of the team. In a very remarkable monologue, he admitted: “I am absolutely focused on my team, I support my team because I also feel that my team is also absolutely loyal to me. Those are the things that are crucial. That the team sticks together , everyone is there, coaching team, staff and every single player. ” But not a sports director. And no other top functionary either. It sounds like that. The question of loyalty clearly decided.
And in general it is also like this: “I try to solve the whole thing or to work together in such a way that it is in the interests of the association. Any other disruptive fire does not come from me and I will not do it in the future either express “, known Flick. And he also confessed that he was “partly to blame for the things that were brought in”. But now there is silence. “I know your job, your job, is to get something out of the patch and I understand it absolutely. But please understand that in the future, if such a question comes up, I will give the answer: Please next question!”
She came three times this Friday.
.