First smiled at and insulted, now admired and rewarded: After plenty of praise as the transfer king of this soccer summer, Hasan Salihamidzic has received the long-awaited appreciation from his employer in the form of a new, well-paid contract.
The supervisory board of FC Bayern Munich around club president Herbert Hainer and Uli Hoeneß, who as a sponsor always stood by his foster son “in good times and bad”, extended the 45-year-old sports director before the Munich team entered the DFB Cup on Wednesday (8:46 p.m. / ARD / Sky) with the third division club Viktoria Köln prematurely by three years until June 30, 2026.
From the “little boy” from Bosnia, as the nickname “Brazzo” translates into German, to the boss: It’s a real story of transformation that Salihamidzic has written since his unexpected appointment as sports director five years ago. “Hasan Salihamidzic gives everything for FC Bayern 24 hours a day. He stands for the FC Bayern gene, for continuity and for titles,” said Hainer, head of the supervisory board and club, in the club’s announcement. Salihamidzic also chose pathos: “I’ve always said it: I love FC Bayern, Munich is my home.” Mia san mia – off to new titles and deals worth millions.
Often underestimated
It is a development that is as rapid as it is amazing, which the ex-professional has made especially in the past few months. And it is similar to his professional career: As a 21-year-old, Salihamidzic switched from Hamburger SV to FC Bayern in 1998. Even then he was smiled at, but the civil war refugee bit through in the Munich star ensemble as a nameless man. He wore the Bayern jersey for nine years and won the Champions League in 2001 alongside the current CEO, Oliver Kahn. It was the pinnacle of his career.
The biggest mistake seems to be underestimating Salihamidzic. He is diligent, determined, able to learn – and he can take it. His initial phase as sports director was marked by public scorn and ridicule. Later there were nasty insults in the social networks, some Bayern fans whistled at him at the championship celebration a few months ago. Salihamidzic was the bogeyman when title collector Hansi Flick fled to the national coaching office. David Alaba’s free transfer loss in 2021 was also heavily blamed on him.
In his early days as manager, Salihamidzic was crushed between the former Bayern alphas Hoeneß and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. He was the compromise solution of the duo, who could not commit to a sports director: Rummenigge wanted ex-captain Philipp Lahm, Hoeneß would have wanted to get Max Eberl from Gladbach.
Successful transfer summer
Salihamidzic appeared unhappy in public for a long time. But intensive media training and apprenticeships in the tough professional business steeled him quickly. And in this transfer summer he then delivered, especially with the top stars Sadio Mané and Matthijs de Ligt. At the same time, the sales balance is right: In addition to world footballer Robert Lewandowski, a number of bench pressers and talents such as striker Joshua Zirkzee were sold to FC Bologna for a lot of money.
Buyer Salihamidzic spent around 140 million, but also earned over 100 million. The sports director “always keeps an eye on the economic conditions”, Hainer praised. “Hasan gets a one for transfers – and an asterisk for sales,” said record national player Lothar Matthäus recently.
Part of the new profile of a mature Hasan S. is that he has recently been sitting up in the stands next to CEO Kahn during games and no longer down on the bench next to coach Julian Nagelsmann. In conversations with reporters, he now appears self-confident and shows a clear edge. Kahn (53) and Salihamidzic have staked their claims. Kahn claims the big picture for himself: “I’m there to keep track.” Salihamidzic is responsible for day-to-day business. He is the implementer in everyday life, close to the professionals, close to the coach.
And after his summer shopping spree, manager Salihamidzic makes Nagelsmann (35) responsible for converting his personal template into top football and titles. The club rebuilt the squad “in line with the coach’s ideas”. Now it’s about the sporting implementation, “the title yield”. Salihamidzic has already been rewarded in advance – with his new contract until 2026.
