FC Bayern had a problem last season: the defense was surprisingly vulnerable. No formation could convince coach Julian Nagelsmann. Above all, a real boss was missing. He should come now. But there is a problem with Matthijs de Ligt.
The telephone line from Säbener Straße to Tegernsee is stable. This is very good news for the football nation. Because the greetings that are sent to the public from the dreamlike idyll near Munich are still the most powerful, pithy and exciting that exist in (soccer) Germany. Even if they are now much more rationed than three years ago. But Uli Hoeneß, FC Bayern's thunderous bulletin board, still has the perfect sense of when his mighty word is needed. If there is a fire at the record champions, he is (always) there. He can't help it.
But he wanted something different. A few months ago he announced that he no longer wanted to get involved in the affairs of the record champions. After all, he didn't want to be told that the old man couldn't let go. An honorable request. An honorable attempt that failed miserably. Because FC Bayern was reeling, because the new alpha animals were still looking for surefootedness on the slippery terrain, Hoeneß from Tegernsee greeted them. He defended sporting director Hasan Salihamidžić against harsh criticism from all sides. He propped him up against all the swansongs. He repeated the "Basta!" by CEO Oliver Kahn in the grueling transfer case Robert Lewandowski and was taken seriously. He also wedged against FC Barcelona.
And suddenly his successors had a brief rest, they just managed the transfer from world star Sadio Mané and called out to the sheikhs and oligarchs of this world: Look, it's possible without Petro revenue. And behind this transfer imperative, the Munich team now want to put the exclamation mark. Matthijs de Ligt should come. The Dutchman was considered one of the most sought-after central defenders in the world three years ago when he left Ajax Amsterdam for Juventus. And he hasn't lost much of this good reputation with the "old lady". With the record champions, they have the fantasy that the Dutchman, who is still only 22, can solve the last major squad problem. De Ligt should become the defense chief. And he would like to take on this role, according to everything that has been heard. The problem (I): a fee of up to 80 million euros. The problem (II): the international competition of the super-rich. Chelsea and Manchester United are also interested.
80 million euros, that brings back memories of Lucas Hernández. The previous record man. He should also come as a defense chief, but cannot (so far) fill this role. Neither does the Frenchman Dayot Upamecano, who came from RB Leipzig for 42.5 million euros last summer. So now the Ligt. And already the highest hymns are being sung to him. Lothar Matthäus, who had recently been rather critical of the record champions, raves about a "huge reinforcement". The 22-year-old is a guy like his compatriot Virgil van Dijk, "can take on the role of defense chief that is missing there. He's one of the best central defenders in Europe." De Ligt is also still so young that FC Bayern "would have taken care of this position for the next few years. A super transfer if it works."
Other anthems are sung by legends from the defender's homeland. De Ligt "learned a lot" at Juventus, praises Schalke's "coach of the century" Huub Stevens: "He suits the Munich style, he has to defend up front. He was already great at Ajax. He's a defender who plays well." And one last compliment. It comes from Rafael van der Vaart. "He's an excellent player, he's still so young and a top defender who's good with the ball. He can play one-on-one against almost any striker."
Should this transfer also succeed, then Uli Hoeneß would have been right once again. A few weeks ago, in the middle of the escalating theater surrounding anger striker Lewandowski, he had announced full-bodied and courageous that FC Bayern would have an extremely attractive squad in the coming season, "if everything comes what they presented to me this week. " Mané, Dutch top talent Ryan Gravenberch and right-back hope Noussair Mazraoui have just arrived. De Ligt (as defense chief), Konrad Laimer (as a clearer) and the only 17-year-old Mathys Tel (as a storm rough diamond) should now come. That would actually be a damn attractive squad and the perfect answer to Borussia Dortmund's transfer offensive or the behavior of the international competition, which is still waiting for the mega coup.
Like FC Barcelona on Lewandowski. In the annoying bickering about the "daily Robert give us today", the "Bild" newspaper now delivers the next explosive delicacy. So far, Salihamidžić is said to have ignored each of the Spaniards' offers received by email! Three offers are said to have arrived in Munich's digital mailbox in the past few weeks. At the end of May, Barça offered a transfer fee of 32 million euros, on June 23 it was said to have been 35 million euros. About a week later, Barcelona increased it to 40 million plus five million euros as bonus payments. The emails all went directly to "Brazzo", who, however, showed no reaction. This ignorance is therefore part of the transfer tactic. The club probably only wants to move away from its ban on switching if FC Barcelona pays "50 million euros plus X".
With all the respect for Salihamidžić's activity, who incidentally has also been able to bring in stable transfer profits for squad additions such as Marc Roca and Omar Richards, one wonders where the money is coming from. Because in the spring, the Munich team had known in depth that creative solutions were needed to pimp the squad. Not much seemed left of the legendary time deposit account. Well, maybe just a smoke candle? But maybe also a risky all-in, as colleague Stephan Uersfeld just wrote? Both scenarios seem conceivable. In the fight not to lose touch with the "tete de la course" of international football, the Munich team are arming themselves and making themselves interesting for stars. For most top players, the prospect of the beautifully radiant handle pot is still the second-biggest transfer incentive, after a massive contract. Because, as Hoeneß recently admitted, 99 percent of appreciation is a euro issue.
In any case, Lothar Matthäus is quite surprised at the transfer efforts of his former club. "I wonder where all of the money is suddenly coming from," he said just now to the "Bild" newspaper. "In the end it was always said that you had less available, also because of the corona losses. That's why you can't find an agreement with Lewandowski about an extension. Serge Gnabry's situation is unclear. And then Mané comes for up to 41 million euros, Konrad is supposed to Laimer come for 25 to 30 million euros, De Ligt should come for 60, 70 or 80 million euros. The other players are watching it."
Well, never mind. FC Bayern is upgrading. And at the end of a season I would like to finally put more than one (big) title in the showcase. The eleventh championship in a row should be here, but also in Europe's premier class in the new season, the quarter-finals should not be the terminus like the last two times. "We want a squad with which we can ideally win the Champions League," said Kahn. He is working on it together with Salihamidžić. The conversion of potential into trophies is then the responsibility of coach Nagelsmann. And Kahn tells him directly what he has to do. "We are condemned to success at Bayern, he knows that too."
The last time FC Bayern started the season with a pithy, Hoeneß-esque transfer announcement, they actually ended up triumphing in the Champions League, and even ended up with the historic treble, only the second in the club's history. In the summer of 2019, Munich signed Benjamin Pavard, Lucas Hernández and, well, Jann-Fiete Arp (he is now going to Holstein Kiel richly) and, well (II), Michaël Cuisance. They loaned out Ivan Perišić and Philippe Coutinho. However, they also parted ways with their coach in the fall. Hansi Flick followed the exhausted Niko Kovac. History does not always have to repeat itself in every detail.
