Aside from the fact that one is a soulless corporation built to advertise a ridiculous energy drink, you mean?
Christoph Freund really made a name for himself as a sporting director at RB Salzburg, impressing with his keen eye for talent. In total, he worked 16 years at Salzburg and publicly professed that only a few potential job openings would tempt with away from The Cans, Jr. One of those job openings came as Bayern Munich came calling for a sporting director and Freund had to say yes.
Having now worked at Bayern for 18 months and building a dynamic trio with Max Eberl and Vincent Kompany, Freund compared working at Salzburg with working at Bayern and, while finding differences, found some similarities as well.
“In Salzburg the squad changed more quickly, players left after one or two years. Bayern, on the other hand, is one of the biggest clubs in the world,” Freund said, as captured by @iMiaSanMia. “Our most important topics this spring are setting the right course for the squad’s long-term development. The goal is to add selective reinforcements while maintaining continuity, which has always been key here. In the dressing room, it’s still about football. Of course, you have other personalities here who have experienced more. Players who are absolute top stars. The average age is higher than in Salzburg. But at the end of the day it’s always about winning games. The pressure was also high in Salzburg, we were the clear number one in Austria. It’s the same in Germany.”
The real work will begin this summer. Bayern Munich could have as busy a summer as the club has had in years — and Freund will play a key role in determining what the end result will be. Is Freund up to the task?
