FC Bayern: Alaba account is not working

“We are very well filled in this position,” Hasan Salihamidzic replied in an interview before the 6-2 away win in the Champions League against FC Salzburg on “Sky”. The probable departure of David Alaba at the end of the season does not make the Bayern Munich sporting director nervous from a sporting point of view. “David is still there all season. We also have Jérôme Boateng, Benjamin Pavard, Niklas Süle and Lucas Hernández. Javi Martínez can also play in this position. We are not looking for anything.”

A bit surprising, given that the Austrian, one of the most important pillars of the last decade, has left the club. A player who has won titles with German record champions like hardly anyone before him. Nine German leagues are Bundesliga records: apart from the 28-year-old, only Franck Ribéry and Thomas Müller have won the cup as often. There are also two Champions League wins and six in the DFB Cup.

Furthermore, in the same interview, Salihamidzic pointed out moments before that from an economic point of view it would amount to a “worst case scenario” if “such a player were lost for free”.

You don’t need to be a master of “reading between the lines” to realize that leaving Monaco’s defense would also weaken Monaco’s defensive department from a sporting point of view. In any case, more than “Brazzo” wanted to admit in front of the cameras.

If you think of the 1A Bayern defense without Alaba in the short term, it would look like this: Pavard, Süle, Hernández, Davies.

The problem: If one of the two remaining left feet, Hernández or Davies, is injured, Flick should fill the left positions with his right foot. Feasible, but not optimal.

Last season Bayern struggled with a central defense in several games where both players had the same strong foot. In the 4-1 win in Cologne, for example, Hernández (left) once played alongside Alaba (right), both left-handed. After the match, Neuer realized: “It wasn’t easy with two center backs approaching the left foot. The prep game wasn’t that easy, we had to hit a lot of long balls and didn’t have much flow.” .

Flick has also often indicated in the past season that he would like a combination of left and right foot for his central defense. For this reason alone, Bavaria should provide a high-quality left-handed replacement in the event of Alaba’s release.

Salihamidzic, on the other hand, refers to players who are already in the squad. In addition to the above, it also argues with names like Boateng and Martínez. Basically he is right that both can fill the position of central defender in an exceptional way, but the future should not belong to both of them at 32. Especially since the contracts of the two also expire in the summer.

For two years there have been regular rumors of emigration about the two well-deserved players (eight championship titles each, two triples). Boateng has already been publicly advised by former Bayern president Uli Hoeneß to seek out a new club, as he was completely banned under Flick predecessor Niko Kovac.

Martínez was about to say goodbye in the summer – he was “of a certain age,” Flick had pointed out over and over again recently, making it clear he no longer had plans with long-term Spanish.

It does not seem credible, almost naive to Salihamidzic, Boateng and Martínez in the discussion to discuss a possible successor of Alaba with these players.

For the current 2020/21 season, Salihamidzic’s statements are certainly hardly vulnerable. Alaba will be available until the end of the season, Boateng and Martínez will continue to be high quality alternatives in most games.

However, even record champions must face the situation clearly. Because it is not unlikely that not only Alaba will need to be replaced after the season, but also his colleagues Boateng and Martínez.

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