It just never quite worked out for Bryan Zaragoza at Bayern Munich under Thomas Tuchel last season. His transfer from Granada being brought forward to last winter’s transfer window ahead of the originally anticipated summer window brought with it a certain level of expectation that was just never met; but he rarely got the chances under Tuchel. He has been outspoken about how he felt mistreated by Tuchel and severely underutilized, but his fortunes have turned around at Osasuna in LaLiga.
In his loan spell with the LaLiga outfit thus far, he has tallied a goal and five assists, and he has been an integral part of Osasuna’s attack that has them set in the 10th spot in the league table. They finished 11th last season, so they are currently on pace to better last season’s efforts, but on a personal level, Bryan is flourishing for Los Rojillos — a far better prospect than sitting on Bayern’s bench behind the likes of Jamal Musiala, Michael Olise, Kingsley Coman, Serge Gnabry and Leroy Sané.
In a recent interview with Relevo, though, Bryan touched based on his time at Bayern after the expedited move from Granada, reminiscing on the spell with a rather negative light. “At Bayern Munich they promised me many things that didn’t happen. It was very difficult for me to adapt. It was a different country, a different language, a different food, a different league. I’m not going to adapt in a month,” he explained.
Bayern lost out to Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga, crashed out of the DFB-Pokal far too early, and ultimately got knocked out of the Champions League by Real Madrid in the semifinals of the competition. Ever by mid-January, it was becoming more and more clear that Xabi Alonso’s Leverkusen side were rarely slipping up and well on their way to lifting the Meisterschale, so it made chances that much harder to come by for Bryan — he never had a chance to gain a level of trust with Tuchel in his small handful of Bundesliga cameos.
In Germany, there is absolutely no escaping the public eye when you’re a player for FC Bayern and for a club whose nickname is FC Hollywood, that can certainly come as a bit of an adjustment when foreign players come on board. For Zaragoza, he took notice of what was said about his move to Bayern, in what was described as a “worthless” tenure for the attacker. “It was said that my signing was worthless for Bayern Munich. The press killed me because I supposedly didn’t know how to speak English or German. I don’t pay attention to them, I am what I am. But my parents suffered a lot,” he reflected.
Now, he has found a club in Osasuna where he fits in, starts regularly, and is able to continue to develop as a player, for which he is entirely grateful. “I like the context of Osasuna. Feeling at ease is what makes me perform. I arrived here and noticed a similar connection (to the one he had at Granada). I feel very comfortable with my teammates, the coaching staff and the people of the city,” he explained.
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