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| Max Eberl, Board Member for Sport FC Bayern München poses at the field of play of the Allianz Arena after a press conference in which Eberl is introduced as the new Board Member for Sport on February 27, 2024 in Munich, Germany. The 50-year-old has signed a contract with the German record champions until 30 June 2027. |
Bayern Munich board member for sport Max Eberl can look at roster numbers for the first team and know some things have to change — especially if more new players are being brought in.
Eberl, though, thinks having a big roster is a necessity:
”The transfer window runs until the end of August and we will probably have some more departures,” Eberl told Welt am Sonntag (as captured by @iMiaSanMia). “We will have at least two more group matches in the Champions League, maybe even four. We therefore have to look closely at squad management. The allocation of roles for players, which was discussed a lot during the Euros with regard to the German team, is completely different to that at a tournament. You need to handle it completely differently. The many matches are an extreme burden for players and everyone in the club – and you have to be careful that it doesn’t become too much at some point.
“Of course we want to be strong and successful again in the new season. But we can’t just think short-term and bring in three or four 30-year-old players who might promise quick success. That is not our intention.
Our approach is to build a squad, for example with a 22-year-old Michael Olise, with whom we can be successful in the coming years. We are following a plan with which we want to be successful in the medium and long term.”
With Bayern Munich, in a transition of sorts, Eberl is perfectly comfortable seeing younger players take more prominent roles and cited Paris Saint Germain, Manchester City, and Real Madrid as clubs in a similar situation.
“Paris St. Germain, for example, have decided to focus more on young talent. They brought in 21-year-old Bradley Barcola from Olympique Lyon, and then 18-year-old Warren Zaire-Emery from their own academy. Real Madrid relies on young players like Eduardo Camavinga and Aurélien Tchouaméni, who they brought in at 18 and 22 respectively and then integrated into the squad. Of course, as a club you need a good core of experienced players, but to give another example: when Manchester City brought in Josko Gvardiol from Leipzig, he was 21. I believe it is possible to integrate world-class talent into a great environment,” said Eberl.
With that philosophy, some fans and pundits anticipate that there could be some growing pains, which could translate to less trophies. For Eberl, Bayern Munich will be able to balance winning in the present, while also planning for the future.
“I’m not saying that we’ll neglect the league title in the coming years in order to be successful at some point in the future. Of course we want to be successful in the short term, but it’s about not investing at all costs for short-term success. If someone thinks that success and development at FC Bayern aren’t possible at the same time, I reply: Of course it is. Here in Munich, decades have always started with young players who then had success for years,” said Eberl.
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