Bayern Munich’s sporting director on the importance of building relationships

Hasan “Brazzo” Salihamidžić has worn many different hats in his time at Bayern Munich — player, sporting director on the bench, now sporting director in the stands. Recently he spoke to Bayern Munich club magazine “51” on cultivating a tight-knit atmosphere at Säbener Straße.

“FC Bayern stands for history, continuity in leadership, social responsibility, success and cohesion. Top players appreciate that,” Brazzo said. “It’s well known that FC Bayern not only works professionally, but also does everything to make the players and their families feel at home in Munich.”

Indeed, this effort goes not only to cultivating current team leaders and veterans such as Thomas Müller, Joshua Kimmich, and Manuel Neuer as spokesmen and tone-setters for the rest of the dressing room. It also serves to help attract the best talents — and give them a comfortable environment in which to develop and feel at home.

“I remember well from my own playing days that this family atmosphere at FC Bayern is anything but a matter of course. We don’t just talk about a special cohesion here, but we also live it. I think we always manage very well here — to give every player a good feeling about being in Munich and playing for this club,” Brazzo added.

Photo by Marvin Ibo Guengoer - GES Sportfoto/Getty Images

This season, Bayern are at a crossroads as a club and have just welcomed in a significant transfer window full of veteran (Liverpool's Sadio Mané) and young talents (Ajax's Ryan Gravenberch, Noussair Mazraoui) alike. Social dynamics have undergone a big shift at the club — Robert Lewandowski's departure to FC Barcelona doesn't leave merely a tactical hole.

That the club are managing the transition so capably should not be taken for granted — it's a credit to the efforts of Brazzo and the rest of the club. As fans have seen, acclimation is hardly straightforward in most cases, but all the newcomers — including seventeen-year-old Mathys Tel and Juventus transfer Matthijs de Ligt — are finding their footing.

Bolstered by many a recent contract extension success — those of players like Kimmich, Leon Goretzka, Serge Gnabry, and Kingsley Coman were no sure thing — and Brazzo will surely feel he's got the makings of something really special in Bavaria.