In Säbener Strasse in Munich, seven men have been sitting together almost every week since the end of the season. There they discuss which soccer players could be interesting for FC Bayern this summer. “Sports Committee” – that’s the name of this working group of the club around Thomas Tuchel, Uli Hoeneß and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, which has had sovereignty in this matter since the dismissal of CEO Oliver Kahn and sports director Hasan Salihamidžić.
And now it is clear who is the first player that the new group was able to win for the club (the deal with the Austrian midfielder Konrad Laimer was made by the old regime).
Impressive statistics
FC Bayern announced on Friday morning that it had agreed a three-year contract with Raphaël Guerreiro, 29. The transfer of the national player from Portugal, who has played in Dortmund since the summer of 2016 (and met the coach Tuchel there, who appreciates him and whom he appreciates), will be “free of charge” because of the expiring contract, as the club communicated.
A euphemism of modern football, because extra money is usually due for such deals. But that doesn’t change the fact that the deal with Guerreiro – if his body cooperates (he only managed more than 24 Bundesliga games three times in his seven seasons in Dortmund) – could be a good one for Bayern.
The advantage is the versatility. He can be used as a left-back (and thus as an alternative to the faster but playfully weaker Alphonso Davies), but also as a midfielder, as a so-called eighth. That was his role during Dortmund’s second half run. Probably his most impressive statistic this Bundesliga season: Twelve assists. In the major European leagues, only three players have managed more: Kevin de Bruyne, Antoine Griezmann and Lionel Messi.
