Brazzo on cutting his winter holiday short: “Now everything is about FC Bayern”

Getting a phone call late at night in North America to be informed of Manuel Neuer’s leg break was probably the last thing Hasan Salihamidzic expected while he was on holiday, but it quickly cut his time off short.

Now, Bayern Munich faces a bit of a time crunch to find a viable replacement for Neuer during the winter transfer window, and the club had made it abundantly clear that they want the replacement to be a long-term option, and are showing a preference to getting a German speaker.

Borussia Monchengladbach’s Yann Sommer is one name that’s reportedly on the top of Bayern’s list, but there is still mixed opinions on whether or not the club should, and would be able to, recall Alexander Nübel from his loan spell with AS Monaco. His agent, Stefan Backs, had recently confirmed that conversations had begun between Bayern and his client, but that nothing was in the advanced stages yet. Nonetheless, Bayern needs to get this situation sorted before the Rückrunde begins by virtue of a clash against RB Leipzig.

In a recent interview for Sport Bild (via @iMiaSanMia), Brazzo spoke about his quick course of action upon hearing the news about Neuer breaking his leg due to a skiing accident. Once he was awoken by the phone call from the doctor that delivered the news, he knew that was the end of his holiday. “I was shocked when I heard the news. Due to the time difference, I was asleep when the doctor called me, I couldn’t believe it. The vacation was over for me at that moment,” he explained.

Neuer’s injury just added to the injury woes after Lucas Hernandez suffered his ACL tear on duty with France at the World Cup. For Brazzo, squad planning is a big part of his responsibility as sporting director at Bayern, so setbacks for high profile players like Neuer and Hernandez are massive blows and headaches to work around. He knows how important it is to now figure out the goalkeeping situation at the club, well aware that he had no choice but to cut his holiday short. “There was a lot to organize, I had many thoughts in mind. It was clear to me that I had to end my holiday and return to Munich. Now everything is only about FC Bayern,” he stressed.