Harry Kane has his first Bundesliga title on the second time to ask and although his contribution to Bayern Munich can be measured in goals – 36 and count this season – those who helped him believe that he brought more to the team.
Bayern's former technical director Marco Neppe played an important role in bringing the captain from England to Bavaria and still regards Kane, for more than £ 100 million in the summer of 2023, as one of the most memorable acquisitions during his decade in the club.
“You can't change the market, you have to accept it and find the best way for your club. Yes, you have to make sure you increase the value of your team, but it's about making those calculations in the short and medium term,” Neppe tells Sky Sports.
“You may have players at the start of their journey. You may have a player you know that in two years this place will earn this place in the team. A big signature can wear things on their shoulders while some of these young talents can grow in the shade.
“With Harry he made the players feel that they could score, even if we were under pressure. They see Harry in the dressing room and know that this is a player who can change the game in a second. He doesn't need five meters. Only a second and he scores.”
Technical director explained
Neppe left Bayern earlier this season after a decade at the club, the former football player who rises from a scouting role to that of technical director. “With 80 or 90 percent of other clubs, the role of sports director would be called,” he argues.
But what is a technical director according to him? “I came from the recruitment side, but there is not just one way. I suppose it looks a bit like playing between the lines because you also have to be very close to the dressing room and understand that energy,” he explains.
“Don't underestimate this. We are talking about 50 to 80 people around the first team at these big clubs. In the end it is about players that we expect to perform, but we have to protect the environment around them. This is how I understand the role.”
Fake, still only 38, understands that role better than most, which was part of a hugely successful era for Bayern. The team that won six trophies in 2019/20, including the Champions League, was built at relatively modest costs for a super club.
For Neppe, the recurring theme of our conversation is the message that this is not about purely recruitment, identifying the most talented players. The role is about squad management, the treatment of a play staff as a living organism, a constant balance.
“We all played these manager games on the computer when we were teenagers. It was simple. You just click here and click there. But it is not just a case of:” We need a right -wing back, here are the best five right backs. ” It is a culture thing.
'Are there options for upgrading? Are there profiles that you miss? And then it is about decision -making, timing and the imagination to see what each player will add to your team, what it will mean for the energy, the style. And that is super complex.
“For example, you have to feel the dressing room. Is there not enough busy? Is there too much pressure? It is possible that you miss an easy man, a Brazilian type that is relaxed for that big competition, someone who can help the boys to just breathe.”
Memorable Musiala meeting
Kane, an experienced player who is signed for a Bundesliga transfer record fee, is actually an exception. Much of the Focus of Neppe was on bringing in some of the best young talent from all over Europe, which feeds the constant success of Bayern. But not every deal comes off.
He chased Barcelona's Lamine Yamal and tried to convince Jude Bellingham to draw when he was still in Birmingham City. Jamal Musiala joined Chelsea, while he was still a teenager, although fake admitted that he felt like the one who was interviewed.
“With Jamal it was a conversation that was rather different from everyone else, especially considering his age. I can't remember a conversation in my life. You expect different answers when you meet an 18-year-old person into a 30-year-old person or whatever.
“He surprised me with how clear he was with his goals and ambitions. He was sure of the next step, what he had to improve, in which world cup he wanted to play, and I had something like that, wow, this personality I didn't expect. Everything was so clear with him.
“He was just so prepared. This is a conversation with the technical director of Bayern Munich, so these are my questions, these are my answers. It came from his heart, but he was so focused. On the plane back to Munich, I was something like that, wow, you will remember this.”
Sweating about Kimmich -Tip
The first signing of fake he argued that Bayern should make, might just stay his best. Joshua Kimmich played in the second level of the Bundesliga, but he saw something in the current captain who won the title in Munich nine times.
“My shirt sweat that day when the boys asked me:” Do you really think Bayern Munich Kimmich has to sign? ” We started to change the strategy and signed younger players.
It has paid off. “We strongly believed in him. It is a signing that I will always remember.” But there have been many. “I will remember Jamal Musiala, Alphonso Davies, Harry Kane. It is not always the big one. Mathys Tel was a really interesting signature. Noussair Mazraoui too.”
Never doubted Gravenberch
Some signing sessions become legends, others have to go further to find their path. At first glance, few Ryan Gravenberch would consider one of Bayern's best purchases, which have only remained one season, but Neppe is not surprised by his subsequent success in Liverpool.
“I am super happy for Ryan. He is a special midfielder. When we signed him from Ajax, we were 100 percent convinced. And to be honest, we never doubted his qualities. We knew he would ever bring it. We saw exactly what he now shows in Liverpool.
“But sometimes it is about needing some patience. Even in his first season in Liverpool it was not easy. It is a momentum thing. There are so many stories in football where big careers start because of an injury to another player and they take their chance.
“Look at Alphonso Davies, the start of his career at Bayern was due to the fact that David Alaba and Lucas Hernandez were injured at the same time. He got his chance. But it is not lucky. In the long term these players will always show their level.
“We are talking about players, but I prefer to talk about people, how they think, what are their triggers, their goals? How are they in their own success, in the team? How resilient are they to overcome the difficult moments in football?”
Neppe can still celebrate the success of Bayern, but points out that football is always about the next signing, the next game. “In football you don't have time to look back. Maybe when I'm 65 with my grandchildren.” For Neppe it is now about the next job.