One of the most tumultuous periods in recent Bayern Munich history was the war between sporting director Hasan “Brazzo” Salihamidžić and head coach Hansi Flick back in late 2020 and early 2021.
There has been a lot of speculation on what exactly was the major factor in the two men becoming so divided that Flick resigned from the club. Most have pointed to a difference in how the men wanted to staff the roster, but what if there was one, central figure that caused the schism — and that player was Bayer Leverkusen star Florian Wirtz?
Crazy, right? Let’s dig in.
According to former Bayern Munich star and noted pundit Lothar Matthäus (during an appearance on Sky Sport as captured by Goal), Flick desperately wanted Wirtz, but Salihamidžić did not:
Florian Wirtz could have already played at FCB if Hansi Flick had prevailed. At least that’s what Lothar Matthäus says.
Lothar Matthäus claimed on Sky90 among other things, that the persona Florian Wirtz put a strain on the relationship between then coach Hansi Flick and ex-sports director Hasan Salihamidzic. The current coach of FC Barcelona wanted to bring the national player to the Isar when he was young, but this failed because of Salihamidzic.
Matthäus interjected at the topic of Flick: “Why did the argument with Hasan Salihamidzic happen? Florian Wirtz was a point of argument/discussion between Hansi Flick and Bayern Munich. He would have been available. But at Bayern Munich, they didn’t want him and Hansi Flick wanted him.”
When asked by moderator Patrick Wasserziehr who advocated a Wirtz signing at that time, Matthäus replied: “Hansi Flick.” Wasserziehr also asked who didn’t want to get Wirtz at FC Bayern at the time. The record national player then said: “Hasan, apparently not.” This “came across like that/appeared to be the case/seemed evident in conversations” back then.
Flick also never lost that affinity for Wirtz and gave him his first call-up to the German national team when he took over as boss:
Shortly after, he became national coach and nominated Wirtz for the senior national squad when he had only played three Bundesliga games. “It doesn’t surprise me that Hansi Flick invited him after three games,” said Matthäus. The 59-year-old is the ideal coach for young players and knows “how to deal with them. He is showing that now at Barcelona.”
There have been many, many rumors on which players the men disagreed over, but Matthäus dropping this bomb on everyone is certainly something to discuss.
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