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It was one of the scenes after the final whistle!
Almost unnoticed, 19-year-old Tiago Dantas descended the stairs from the main stand onto the field of play at 10:50 p.m. at the Allianz Arena. In his hand he held a white bag from his new club, inside which was the red shirt of his new employer. After the final whistle, it was destined for Joao Félix, the transfer of 127 million euros over 20 years from Atlético de Madrid (Bayern does not give Atlético a chance).
Dantas and Félix have maintained a close friendship since their time at Benfica, so they met on Wednesday night to chat and exchange shirts.
After about five minutes, Hansi Flick spontaneously joined them. The Bayern coach struck with his newcomer from Portugal, he seemed to be exploring his well-being, he also spoke to Joao Félix, turned to Dantas, took him almost lovingly in his arms and said goodbye after about 70 seconds.
“At that moment, I saw him for the first time that night at the stadium and wanted to greet him. It was intuitive,” explains Flick the meeting in an interview with SPORT1.
Flick has been watching Tiago Dantas for years
Flick and Dantas: it’s a very special relationship!
As a last-minute transfer, Bayern featured the slim but talented Portuguese talent who had yet to make the breakthrough at Benfica Lisbon (that’s Tiago Dantas).
A transfer that was implemented mainly at the express request of Flick, because the Bayern head coach had been targeting Dantas for years. TO SPORT1-Information, the contact with Dantas took place a few years ago through José Boto, current head of scout for Shakhtar Donetsk in Ukraine. The 45-year-old Portuguese was the scout for Benfica from 2010 to 2018. During this period, Flick worked primarily as an assistant coach and sports director at the DFB. Since then, the two have never lost contact.
TO SPORTS TV Confirmed Boto: “I have known the Bayern manager for a long time, and about six years ago we invited him for an interview. There was also a tournament and he saw Tiago Dantas play. He has been a fan ever since and has always asked about him.”
Bavaria has a purchase option for the Portuguese
Like this summer!
Bayern have yielded to the central midfielder for a year. The club then has a purchase option of 7.5 million euros. Dantas (1.70 meters tall) should initially collect training for the match at Bayern II in the 3rd division. He was only able to sign up for the Bundesliga and the Champions League from January. But he already trains regularly with the pros, at the request of Flick.
From the level of training, professionalism and detailed work of the technical team, Dantas is behind SPORT1-Information very impressed. He feels welcome in the club and can feel the trust Flick has placed in him.
“As a coach, I really enjoy working with him. Tiago is a great footballer, he’s open-minded and inquisitive. He’s already showing his qualities in our training,” says Flick, who reveals how fit Bayern is for the game. professionals want to do: “He is short but has a strong disposition. We will work on his physique. We have a clear plan to improve him.”
Müller takes care of newcomers
Dantas showed his strengths (ball control, strategic ability, coordination) in his third division debut against 1. FC Kaiserslautern in 90 minutes (0-0). The right-handed tech savvy became the best player on the field. An achievement that the Flick sponsors did not miss.
To quickly settle out of the square, Dantas is already diligently learning German, but still finds the language difficult. Sits in the cabin SPORT1-Information even next to Thomas Müller, who is supposed to take care of Dantas acclimatization very carefully. After the four-time Portuguese U-20 international played Kaiserslautern, Müller was one of the first players to ask him for his first impressions.
It is still fully open whether Bayern will sign Dantas at the end of the season, but it cannot be ruled out. At Benfica, he still has a contract in force until 2024 and a termination clause of 88 million euros. However, the agreed purchase option would apply.
Compare with Thiago? Quick brakes
To go to Flick-Bayern, he even asked Benfica president Luís Filipe Vieira independently via WhatsApp. This agreed and prepared the Bavarians not only anticipation, but also hope for Dantas’s advance.
Will this work too? “Let’s see,” says Flick, “we’ll watch it very closely.”
The triple manager does not want to make comparisons with the almost eponymous Thiago, who left this summer for Liverpool: “Thiago is an exceptional talent and there is still a long way to go to reach this level. Tiago has his own identity, he is an exciting player “.
