February news roundup
February 28, 2024 This article written by Lok San Wong
In: Bryan and Kusi-Asare, Out: Krätzig
Hot on the heels of Sacha Boey joining Bayern Munich from Galatasaray, Bryan Zaragoza was officially unveiled as a Bayern player after a deal was struck to bring him to Munich this month rather than in the summer as initially planned. The 22-year-old Spaniard, who will wear the number 17, had bagged six goals and provided two assists for Granada in 21 games (18 starts) this season. Bayern sporting director Christoph Freund said of him: “Bryan is an explosive, very quick and extremely nimble winger, who can play on either side. He’s unpredictable, can score and is very good one-v-one”.
Bayern also completed the signing of 16-year-old Swedish striker Jonah Kusi-Asare. Standing at 1.96m tall, the youngster has featured 4 times for the AIK first team in the Allsvenskan league. He also scored a hat-trick on his debut for Sweden’s U17 national team in September. Kusi-Asare will start his Bayern life by joining the U-19 team for the time being.
Going in the other direction, Franz Krätzig has joined Austria Wien on loan until the end of the season to gain more match experience. Prior to that, the young defender had extended his contract with Bayern until 2027. Servus Bryan and Jonah, and good luck in Vienna Franz!
Müller 500
Borussia Mönchengladbach at the Allianz Arena, 45th minute, Müller at the edge of the box plays a brilliant pass to Pavlović who equalizes and paves the way for Bayern to go on and win the game 3-1. The fact that we won against one of our biggest bogey sides and that he played that pass to Pavlović who was once a ball boy in the Allianz was perhaps one of the most poetic ways for Müller to clinch his 500th win with Bayern at senior level. The only player ever to reach this milestone. Another outstanding achievement for Thomas Müller. Here’s to the Raumdeuter and hopefully a few more records to come his way!
From Ball Boy to Baller
On the back of his impressive performances in January, Aleksandar Pavlović has been chosen by fan’s votes as the FC Bayern Player of the Month. Pavlović scored his first competitive goal against Augsburg (3-2 win for Bayern). Hopefully, one of many more to come!
Bayern Mourns the Passing of Andreas Brehme
The sudden news of former player Andreas Brehme passing at 63-years-old has shocked and saddened FC Bayern and all German football fans. The 1990 World Cup winner joined Bayern from 1. FC Kaiserslautern in 1986. The legendary left-back made 80 appearances for Bayern, scoring 8 goals, winning the Bundesliga, the Supercup 2-times and reaching the final of the European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1987. The penalty he scored in the final against Argentina to win the World Cup for Germany in 1990 will forever put him in the history of the sport.
Early exit for Tuchel
Three days after the defeat in Bochum, it was announced that the club and Thomas Tuchel have “jointly decided to end their working relationship” on 30 June 2024. FC Bayern CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen declared: “Our goal is to pursue a new footballing direction with a new head coach for the 2024/25 season. Until then, every individual at the club is expressly called upon to achieve the maximum possible in the Champions League and Bundesliga. I also explicitly hold the team accountable in this regard.”
Thomas Tuchel himself said that while he takes responsibility for the unsatisfying development of the squad, “there’s not one particular person to blame” and that there are also other problems at Bayern which he has voiced to the club. For the time being, the club has maintained that their wish is to keep Tuchel in place until the end of the season but they will be evaluating the situation from game to game.
As this separation seemed all but inevitable, it didn’t take long for the rumors to start sprouting as to who will be the new Bayern head coach. Xabi Alonso will stand out as the obvious and top candidate on that list but there’s nothing but speculation at this point. Zidane, Flick, Nagelsmann, Hoeness… Place your bets and sit tight, it’s gonna be a long few months.
New direction in Bavaria
Amidst all the recent turmoil in Munich, Max Eberl, the new incoming board-member-for-sport, is expected to start his work earlier than initially planned. Indeed, in not so subtle words, the players have been told that virtually all of them will be scrutinized for their performances to determine their future in the summer. According to sources in Germany, Eberl and Freund are tasked with a potentially significant overhaul of the squad in order to bring back the Mia San Mia mentality in the Bayern camp. Confidence, creativity, freedom, joy and winning attitude are some of the attributes expected of the rekordmeister that are sorely missing at the moment. The midfield in particular will be a key and thorny issue to resolve.
1000th at Home
On Saturday, Bayern recorded their 1000th Bundesliga home game in their history. What better way to celebrate than with a 2-1 win over Leipzig, courtesy of the league’s top scorer, our very own Harry Kane!
Injury updates
Finally, to wrap this up, here’s a recap on our injuries situation:
Laimer, Gnabry and Davies rejoined squad training as of Sunday morning (February 25). Sarr (ACL) completed a running session earlier in the month (February 13). Coman (MCL), Mazraoui and Boey (hamstring) all ran a few laps around the training pitch and are making progress in their recovery (February 26) . Keep at it boys!
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