Hansi Flick was furious – a current international player fled: how a transfer blunder divided FC Bayern Munich

Manager Vincent Kompany has already given the staff at the campus canteen a whopping nine (!) occasions to heat up those legendary boiled sausages in their pots – at least, that’s what the rough estimate suggests. After all, since Lennart Karl’s first match at the Club World Cup last summer, just as many youngsters have made their professional debuts. In recent weeks, however, the chefs and white sausage suppliers have been completely overwhelmed. 

“Here we are again – sooner than expected,” said youth team manager Jochen Sauer, greeting the kitchen staff recently. The culinary treat was actually a result of Maycon Cardoso’s debut in early March against Gladbach, but since then Deniz Ofli, Filip Pavic and, most recently, Erblin Osmani have also made their debuts. Due to a minor injury crisis, there was one debut after another before the international break. Master of ceremonies Kompany had already rewarded Wisdom Mike, David Santos Daiber, Cassiano Kiala and Felipe Chavez earlier in the season. A record! 

“We’ve already achieved the most debuts per season from players from our own youth academy and clocked up the most total minutes played with the youngest average age of the players in question,” enthused Sauer, emphasising that no other club in Europe’s top leagues could boast such a record. Probably also to ease the burden on the campus staff, no further Weißwurst breakfasts are currently planned. Instead, there will be a barbecue in the summer “to celebrate our record-breaking season in style”. 

The significance of this historic milestone is demonstrated not only by the planned "break" with tradition, but also by a look back at the recent past. Such promotion of young talent was far from as pronounced just a few years ago and cost FC Bayern many of the established top players of today. Among them is Angelo Stiller, who, thanks to his outstanding performances at VfB Stuttgart under former FCB youth coach Sebastian Hoeneß, is currently vying for a place in the German national team squad for the upcoming World Cup. His departure from the German record champions was preceded by a “slap in the face”, for which the then manager Hansi Flick was primarily responsible.

A look back at 2020: Bayern had just won the treble under Flick and were on course for the sextuple. As the autumn transfer window had remained open until 5 October due to the coronavirus pandemic, this led to an unprecedented flurry of transfer activity in the autumn. Within 24 hours, Bayern announced the signings of Marc Roca (then 23 years old, €9 million transfer fee), Bouna Sarr (28, €8 million), Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting (31, free transfer), Douglas Costa (30, on loan) and a certain Tiago Dantas (19, on loan). The man primarily responsible for this was the then sporting director, Hasan Salihamidzic. 

At the latest two years on, this move – clearly driven by panic following a worrying 1-4 defeat at TSG Hoffenheim – turned out to be one of Bayern’s most ill-advised activities in the transfer market. Only Choupo-Moting brought lasting value, whilst Sarr and Costa did not really help the team. On top of that, Roca and Dantas blocked the prospects of Stiller and Adrian Fein (now at SSV Jahn Regensburg) – both Munich-born and academy graduates – and, to make matters worse, some of them even cost a fortune. 

Two years later, Bayern did at least make a profit of three million euros on Roca when he moved to Leeds United for a reported twelve million euros. The loan deal with Benfica Lisbon for Dantas is therefore all the more questionable. It came about largely at the insistence of Flick, who had spotted the undoubtedly talented Portuguese player back when he was sporting director at the DFB and, according to rumours, pushed the transfer through over Salihamidzic’s head. “Brazzo” was said to have had other plans for the midfield at the time. 

Just a few months after the five-man transfer coup, a debate flared up, with reports suggesting there was astonishment at the club’s campus that Dantas, who trained regularly with the first team, was being preferred to the club’s own young talent, Stiller. The fact that Dantas was not even eligible to play for the first team until 1 January added further fuel to the already raging fire of the debate. The reason: the relevant paperwork for the deal had only arrived after the actual end of the transfer window, which is why he could not be registered before the deadline. The reporting, however, really got Flick’s blood boiling. 

"That’s not true," he said, grumbling: "People keep trying to drive a wedge between the first team and the academy." After all, he was in constant communication with the academy. "If there’s an issue, we speak with one voice." Yet the rumours did not seem to be entirely unfounded, as Stiller’s comments in November 2021 suggested. 

The now 24-year-old described the signings of Roca and Dantas as a “slap in the face” and told SPOX the following summer: “Ultimately, it was clear to me that my time at Bayern would be over after this season.” And that is exactly what happened. Stiller let his contract run out and moved to TSG Hoffenheim on a free transfer. Having become a regular under Hoeneß, he followed him to VfB Stuttgart for the 2023/24 season, where he made further significant progress in his development. 

Stiller is now one of the country’s best midfielders and was recently selected to start twice for the DFB squad during the March training camp, marking the start of the new World Cup year. However, national team manager Julian Nagelsmann had initially not selected the Stuttgart star – much to the bewilderment of some experts. However, following injury-enforced withdrawals by Aleksandar Pavlovic, himself a Munich academy graduate, and Felix Nmecha (BVB), he immediately moved into the starting line-up and can thus at least quietly harbour hopes of a World Cup spot once again. 

And Dantas? He never managed to live up to the high expectations. Even Flick soon realised that he was simply not up to the task at FC Bayern. Above all physically, the technically gifted midfield gem had major shortcomings and ultimately made just two meagre appearances in the Bundesliga. Whilst the current Barca coach took his leave in the summer amid constant squabbles with Salihamidzic and failed spectacularly as Germany manager, the club’s officials did not exercise the eight-million-euro buy-option for a permanent deal.

Benfica, too, no longer really had a use for Dantas, who was loaned out three more times after his return and became a globetrotter. Via CD Tondela (Portugal), PAOK Thessaloniki (Greece) and AZ Alkmaar (Netherlands), the 18-time Portugal U21 international signed a one-year contract with Croatian top-flight side NK Osijek in the summer of 2024 and secured a first-team place for the first time in his still-young career. 

Although he still showed clear weaknesses in one-on-one situations, Dantas shone particularly as a passer, leading to his next free transfer to HNK Rijeka this season. At the 2017 champions and multiple cup winners, he is the linchpin in midfield and also impresses with his goal-scoring threat. He has scored eight goals and provided ten assists in 44 competitive matches so far. 

Dantas would almost have had the chance to show himself to a German audience once again, had Rijeka not been knocked out by Racing Strasbourg in the Conference League round of 16. In the next round, the French side will face Mainz 05. Despite finishing third in the league, well adrift of leaders Dinamo Zagreb, Dantas need not yet bury his dream of winning his first title as a key part of a team, having previously won the league title and Club World Cup in Munich as a long-term substitute. 

Following a spectacular 3-2 victory in the Croatian Cup quarter-final against Hajduk Split, with three (!) goals in stoppage time – including a penalty from Dantas to level the score at 1-1 – the semi-finals now see him face his former club Osijek. A victory would be the highlight so far of his hitherto largely unsuccessful career.