There were some that worried Bayern Munich’s two sporting decision makers, Max Eberl and Christoph Freund, would struggle to work together. The Bavarians had combined the roles of sporting director and board member for sport ahead of the two’s appointment, granting the position to Hasan “Brazzo” Salihamidžić, but upon his firing the decision makers at the club decided to split the roles again. Freund was quickly brought in from RB Salzburg and started on September 1, but negotiations with Rasenballsport
Leipzig to release Eberl from his contract there proved to take more time.
This allowed Freund around seven months of work as the solitary sporting decision maker before Eberl was eventually hired in late February. There were concerns that Freund would take this as a slight and that there would be teething issues with again having two people in charge of sporting matters. But the duo seemed to harmonize from the start and let nary a word or even a hint of any dissent or disagreements slip. Even the most controversial news sites most prone to writing clickbait did not report any disharmony.
That was until contract extension discussions started. All of a sudden, Freund was branded as the board’s favorite guy while Eberl was seen hypercritically and in danger of not being retained. This, in turn, was supposed to have finally created tension between the two. We know that the supervisory board’s critical view of Eberl is real, given Uli Hoeneß’s comments in May. But did this strain Eberl and Freund’s relationship? Sitting down recently to speak to Sport Bild, Eberl was asked that very question and he did not mince his words:
“That’s bulls**t! It’s a completely far-fetched story that I simply cannot understand,” Eberl stated (as captured by @iMiaSanMia). “I don’t know where it comes from. Christoph and I have been working together at Bayern Munich for two and a half years, and in my view, we work very well together. Everyone has clearly defined responsibilities, and it’s enjoyable and rewarding. Day and night, we try to do the very best for Bayern Munich.”
BFW Analysis
Bayern is called FC Hollywood for a reason, given the incredibly high expectations at the club and the way it is full of drama. But, all too often, the German media does love to pretend there is more to story than there actually is. Which is true in this case? In the absence of being privy to the inner workings at the club, that is for each individual to decide for themselves. But, given how well Freund and Eberl have worked together in recent years (and the fact that now both have denied the validity of these rumors), this writer’s money is certainly on this being a story blown out of proportion.
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