:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/68733016/1295341459.0.jpg)
Sport1 journalist Florian Plettenberg followed up Wednesday’s report from Bild that there was a growing rift between Bayern Munich manager Hansi Flick and the team’s front office — specifically, sporting director Hasan “Brazzo” Salihamidzic.
Plettenberg acknowledged that Flick and Salihamidzic do not see eye-to-eye on personnel matters and with how players are evaluated:
Update #Flick: Relationship betw. HF & Salihamidzic is professional. But within the club, it is made no secret of the fact that they often have diff. opinions, especially when it comes to the evaluation of player material. But currently, HF is not considering resigning. @SPORT1
— Florian Plettenberg (@Plettigoal) January 28, 2021
As noted above, despite the differing philosophies on personnel, Flick will likely not resign due to the differences according to Plettenberg.
BFW Analysis
While maybe not a reason to sound a full alarm, there is a cause for concern. If the front office does not allow Flick to have a bigger say in personnel, the club essentially is just force-feeding him players to use that might not even work within his system.
Bayern Munich fans already saw the end result of this when Niko Kovac was at the helm. Kovac never could adjust and it ultimately cost him his job. Flick, meanwhile, has a more accomplished track record than Kovac and has shown a distinct ability to connect with his players.
Surely, there is at least some tension between Flick and Salihamidzic regarding the team’s two recent acquisitions: Lucas Hernandez and Leroy Sane. Neither has been able to establish himself as a lockdown starter under Flick, which likely does not sit well in the front office considering the money spent on both players.