Was it a year to forget? Or a valuable experience after all? Marcel Sabitzer will have to decide over the summer during his personal season analysis whether he wants to start a new attempt at FC Bayern or open a new chapter elsewhere. The option is there.
After Javi Martinez was sent off last summer, FC Bayern needed a player for width in the midfield centre. Marcel Sabitzer from RB Leipzig was the perfect choice for this position. New coach Julian Nagelsmann, who knew him well from the previous seasons, wanted the flexible Austrian. After all, he could play on the six, his best position, the eight and the ten. From the point of view of the idea, this was an understandable transfer, even if it was not quite cheap at 15 million euros. Especially as the 28-year-old had done very well in Leipzig and was one of the leading players.
His starting situation with the competitors Kimmich, Goretzka, Müller was difficult
On arriving at Säbener Straße, he said at his introduction: “Bayern Munich is of course a house number.” He was right about that. At the record champion, many things are different than elsewhere. Especially when you have players like Joshua Kimmich, Leon Goretzka and Thomas Müller in front of you as newcomers in your positions. That certainly doesn’t make the start any easier, although Sabitzer was aware of his role from the start. “When you come to FC Bayern, it is logical that you are a challenger at first,” he also said during his presentation and in the presence of CEO Oliver Kahn and sports director Hasan Salihamidzic.
Those responsible would be willing to talk if an offer is made
However, nothing has changed in this status, that of the challenger. Not even when Kimmich was missing for weeks because of all the Corona measures and Goretzka because of the protracted knee problems. So Sabitzer cannot be happy with his first year at the industry leader. It is hard to imagine that this cooperation will continue for another three years until 2025, when his contract ends. It may well be that Sabitzer would like to have another go at FC Bayern in the coming season – he would certainly be willing to talk if the right offer came along. If only to find a profitable solution for both sides.
Only once was Sabitzer on the pitch for 90 minutes
27 appearances sound good at first. However, a closer look at the balance reads less happy. Of these 27 league games, Sabitzer was substituted 19 times and substituted seven times. So he was on the pitch for 90 minutes only once. And there it was more of a must than a may. In the 1:2 at the start of the second half against Borussia Mönchengladbach, when the Munich team complained of eleven corona cases and the 60-time Austrian international also played in the left-back position, which was completely unfamiliar to him. And the fact that the Bayern bosses also signed another six-eighth in Ryan Gravenberch from Ajax Amsterdam does not make the situation any easier in the coming season.