AAt a certain age, Marcel Sabitzer’s parents no longer had to be creative at Christmas. A new FC Bayern jersey was all the boy wanted. As proof, Sabitzer distributed a picture from earlier days on his social networks during the week. He in complete Munich outfit, next to the decorated Christmas tree, was created around the turn of the millennium. With the addition: “A few years ago … a happy little child.”
Marcel Sabitzer is now a happy, tall adult, which is also due to the fact that he no longer has to buy jerseys from his favorite club. He is now being given them as uniforms.
Sabitzer is the newest addition of FC Bayern and after coach Julian Nagelsmann and defender Dayot Upamecano the third this summer to choose the route from Leipzig to Munich. So now also the long-time captain of RB Leipzig. The club that has become the main competitor of FC Bayern in the past two years. A change with tradition, the list of leading players that the leading German football company has wrested from its competitors over the years is about as long as the motorway stretch from Munich to Graz.
Sabitzer comes for the breadth
Sabitzer was born there, 27 years ago. His father Herfried Sabitzer was also a footballer, quite a good one. Talent was inherited from the son, the rest was hard work. Former companions report that Marcel’s life path was geared very early towards becoming a professional footballer.
Father Sabitzer played for Salzburg, Linz and Graz and the Austrian national team, among others. He made six appearances for the selection. His son will soon have exceeded this mark tenfold, even if none will be added in the near future. Sabitzer had to cancel for the last international matches of the Austrians. If the adductors do not pinch, the midfielder is seeded on the national team. At FC Bayern it should behave differently.
Sabitzer comes into a functioning team. In midfield there is no way around Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka, a little further up in the center Thomas Müller takes the place. No wonder that Sabitzer’s obligation is perceived as one for the broader population. Despite the rumored transfer fee of 15 million euros. He should strengthen the squad in terms of quantity, an option if the Kimmichs, Goretzkas and Müller’s legs get heavy from the many games in the Bundesliga and the Champions League. Whether the Sabitzer is enough, because of its nature, has to be doubted. He is considered extremely ambitious and self-confident.
Equipped with a high level of football expertise by default, he is not someone who fits into a role without comment. Sabitzer questions things, analyzes them and can be a challenge for trainers. His former supervisor Ralph Hasenhüttl reported on conversations “that are not easy for any coach”. Sometimes Sabitzer endured conversations without moving, and it was hardly clear what he thought of their content.
Julian Nagelsmann also had his problems when he met the Austrian two years ago. It took some chemistry to develop between the two men. But then all the more effective. Nagelsmann made Sabitzer the unrestricted boss in Leipzig midfield, he pulled him back a little, often even before the defense.
A role that suited the game-intelligent footballer, even if it meant he was further away from the opposing goal. Goal risk is one of Sabitzer’s greatest strengths, his shooting power is notorious beyond the Bundesliga. He scored several goals in Leipzig from a distance. No matter whether he played as an attacking or defensive midfielder or came over the wings. For someone who likes to be convinced of innovations first, Sabitzer is incredibly versatile. Nagelsmann, who competes with his old team with FC Bayern on Saturday (6.30 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the Bundesliga and Sky), knows that. It was not for nothing that he had the next Leipzig man brought to Munich out of complete conviction.
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