Brazzo vows Bayern Munich will show “different face” after break

Bayern Munich sporting director Hasan “Brazzo” Salihamidžić is projecting the image of confidence as the shaken and wounded club prepare to renew their Bundesliga campaign after the international break. The key to his belief? He hasn’t forgotten the raucously good start Bayern made to the 2022/23 competitive season under second-year coach Julian Nagelsmann — and he knows that somewhere in there, that form is lying waiting to be discovered again.

Speaking to Bild am Sonntag, as captured by @iMiaSanMia, Brazzo said: “We spoke with Julian about all aspects of our start to the season, including the positive ones, because there was not only the defeat [to FC Augsburg], but also a lot of goals at the beginning and two wins without conceding a goal [in the Champions League].”

Indeed — it’s not even long ago that Bayern came out with all the fire and intensity befitting their status as Champions League titans, first against Inter Milan and then again against FC Barcelona. That’s not to say there isn’t room for improvement or change, or even just figuring out how it is that the energy level of these UCL fixtures hasn’t translated back to the league.

Whatever the case, though, Brazzo and the rest of the Bayern board fully back their man — and the squad’s players, as tough as they are on all of them — to succeed. With tests upcoming against the likes of Bayer 04 Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund, we’ll soon find out what stuff this Bavarian cast is made of.

“We made a very intensive analysis. Julian is very clear. He and his staff know exactly what to do,” Brazzo added. “Julian knows that he has the full backing of FC Bayern - we don’t need to emphasize that again and again.

“Our players have quality, mentality and character, they want and will show that. The upcoming games against Leverkusen, Plzeň and Dortmund are exactly the right stage for that.

“We will show a different face after the international break. And I expect that, too.”