Hasan Salihamidžić says Bayern Munich needs to continue to build upon their strong start to the season

Bayern Munich has enjoyed a lightning start to the 2022/23 season — but club sporting director Hasan “Brazzo” Salihamidžić knows it’s a marathon, not a sprint. In a recent appearance on Sky Sports Germany, he stressed the importance of not getting too carried away with the results so far.

“We had a good start to the season, but we want to carry on,” Brazzo said (via @iMiaSanMia on Twitter). “It’s just three games and the (DFL-Supercup). We all know how long the season is, but we’re happy that the team is working well so far and the coach has pressed the right buttons.”

Good is maybe understating things, to be fair. After securing the DFL-Supercup by virtue of a 5-3 win at RB Leipzig, Bayern blasted Eintracht Frankfurt 6-1 to open the Bundesliga season, blanked VfL Wolfsburg 2-0, and most recently, routed VfL Bochum 7-0, a side that shocked them with a 4-2 defeat last Rückrunde. They’ve outscored their opponents 20-4 with two clean sheets. Coach Julian Nagelsmann has had no trouble finding a tactical solution to generate goals without Robert Lewandowski (gone to FC Barcelona), and the fearsome Bayern attack has looked creative and fluid — all while not coming at the expense of solid defense.

Things will surely get more difficult for Bayern as the season progresses. The English Weeks start coming, and the run of games will be a test for all the team depth Bayern have added this summer. With right-back Noussair Mazraoui (Ajax), midfielder Ryan Gravenberch (Ajax), forward Sadio Mane (Liverpool), center-back Matthijs de Ligt (Juventus) and forward Mathys Tel (Rennes), there are new reinforcements in every department of the pitch. Nagelsmann would be the first to say that depth ran thin at times last season, and it’s an area he, Brazzo, and the board have addressed with a vengeance in the transfer window.

Brazzo is — in concert with Oliver Kahn and Herbert Hainer, and in consultation with Bayern’s supervisory board — responsible for the club’s transfer strategies and squad planning. And this summer’s window was a crucial one. Last season’s ignominious Champions League exit, Nagelsmann’s second season on the horizon, and Robert Lewandowski’s known-to-be-likely departure all ramped up the pressure. Time will tell if they’ve done enough.

But if not, it will not have been for lack of planning and care. Careful calculation — even of the computerized variety — went into every move. And there’s optimism to be had from the early showings, which prove that the plan has already begun to pay dividends.

“We had a plan that we worked through during the summer, and I think we managed to put together a very strong team,” Brazzo said. “It was team work, we all worked together and now we’re looking forward to the season.”

The intensity is about to ratchet up a notch. And Brazzo is as keen as anyone to see how his renewed Bayern squad will cope.