FC Hollywood: Chapter 5: Breno. The Latest Entry Into the Never-Ending Bavarian Drama.

"We’re delighted we've succeeded in signing Breno, a young and exceptionally talented player........a signing for the future."

Those were one of the many praises sung by the management at FC Hollywood (Bayern Munich for those still confused at the title) after the unveiling of their heir to Lucio, Breno Borges. At the tender age of 19, Breno had already had already bagged the biggest trophy in Brazil and won the acclaim of South American journalists after being nominated as part of the Team Of The Season alongside Thiago Silva and Hernanes. It can be very easily argued that Breno was the most hyped and highly thought of players from the XI but while Thiago Silva is now rated as one of the best defenders in the world and Hernanes is dazzling crowds in Rome, Breno sees himself with a dark prospect of prison time and a premature end to the only thing he grew up knowing. Here are the chain of events that brought Breno to his predicament:

• May 11th 2011: After returning from a cruciate ligament injury and playing 13 matches during the season, Breno suffers a second cruciate ligament tear in his knee and is out indefinitely.
• September 20th 2011: News breaks through that Breno was in hospital after his house had completely burned with only him in it. Breno was still recovering from his injury
• September 22nd 2011: Breno is suspected of arson by district attorney Thomas Streinkaus-Koch.
• September 23rd 2011: Breno is admitted into Max-Planck Institute of Psychiatry on the request of his club after it was rumoured that he would be considering retirement due to injuries and depression.
• September 24th 2011: Breno is arrested over charges of arson held by the Munich's Prosecutor's office. 
• October 6th 2011: After a massive media campaign, which included Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff, Breno is released on bail though with his passport suspended. He still faces trial over his involvement in the fire. 

How did it all go so wrong in three years? Cause and Effect, as they say. The effect is the mental breakdown of talented players. The cause? FC Bayern Munich.


FC Hollywood is not a name branded by me, nor is it a very recent phenomenon. Its a moniker that has stuck with the Bavarian giants ever since the mid 90's during their first barren spell since their Bundesliga dominance began in the early 1970's. From Trapattoni's amazing rendition of why Italian's should never play German's in cinema to Stefan Effenberg, Thomas Strunz and Claudia Strunz's reenactment of the Bold and the Beautiful. While it was all humourous to see the glamorous self anointed kings of German football stumble themselves into embarrassing situations, things went onto much darker premises with the coming of the new decade; and the coming of the greatest German talent of the decade. 


The Sad Clown:


It is with Deisler that we see glaring similarities with the situation Breno currently finds himself in. 

 "At some point, he will be mentioned in the same breath as [Fritz] Walter, [Uwe] Seeler and [Franz] Beckenbauer."

That was said of Deisler by his then Borussia Monchengladbach coach, Freidel Rausch, after the young midfielder had just played 11 games. Deisler was soon also named as "Germany's answer to David Beckham"; after all, the similarities were glaring. Both were right midfielders, both were exemplary passers of the ball and put their name on the headlines with a brilliant goal that only the greatest of talents can score. For Beckham, it was the goal from the half-way line against Wimbledon. For Deisler, it also originated from the half way line but rather than going straight for goal, Deisler decided to beat 6 defenders and then score. Thus a legend was supposedly born. 

"I became so unhappy when I tried to make others happy. I felt like a sad clown,"

Fast forward eight years and you see Deisler holding a press conference officially announcing his retirement at the age of just 27. Injuries had curtailed his career but his constant bouts with depression was what caught the media's eyes. Depression that wasn't helped with the atmosphere surrounding him in Munich:

 ".....(he is) one of the biggest loss makers for FC Bayern"

That was how Deisler was once described by a Bayern Munich board member, Edmond Stroiber. With that type of mentality held against players by high ranking officials, there is little wonder why some of the weak-hearted would fall into darkness.

The Curious Case of Young South Americans:

So why does Bayern have such a history with young players failing to make the grade, in particular South American players. 

Roque Santa Cruz, Jose Ernesto Sosa, Martin Demichellis and now Breno, all young players who generated a lot of hype at a young age in their home country but ultimately failed to fulfill their talent at Bayern. People might be quick to point to the success of Claudio Pizarrio, Lucio, Giovanne Elber and Ze Roberto who distill this theory of Bayern's allergy towards South American players but one should remember that all those players were signed from German clubs, German clubs other than Bayern with whom they joined at similar age to Santa Cruz etc. That ultimately proves that the failure of these young South American recruits at Bayern has much more to do than just differences in culture between the country and the continent.

Switching from the heavenly beaches and warm weather of South American to the cold, winter conditions of Germany would be extremely tough for any footballer. Time for adjusting is required but the Bayern management along with the fans quite simply do not afford that time on its players since the immediate need for success is necessarily thrown upon every player. One might wonder why this isn't the case with many of the European heavyweights; clubs like Manchester United, AC Milan and Barcelona to name a few. The reason is simply because non of those sides expect success like Bayern Munich does, there hasn't been a Real Madrid, Juventus or Arsenal in Germany to challenge to Bayern Munich year in year out for the title. Every season, Bayern Munich are favourites, no exceptions. And with that favourites tag comes the expectations placed upon the players, second place will always be a failure and the players will have to take the blame for it. Young players can be vulnerable to this, particularly ones that are still trying to settle into a new environment and culture. 

I would never say that my time at Bayern Munich was wasted because while I was there we won the league, the Champions League, the Club World Cup and it was a very enjoyable time to be involved in a club that is always winning. But with that comes a pressure – a pressure to win every game. I didn’t really play that often, so that was obviously frustrating for me – and after several years I realised it was time to move on.

Breno's Story:


As mentioned before, Breno was signed by Bayern Munich for 12 Million Pounds, a massive fee for a German side, especially for a youngster, amidst much fanfare and expectation. He was the first talent to be spotted by Bayern's newly appointed South American scout, Giovanne Elber, and also garnered the seal of approval from head scout Paul Breitner before arriving. The German giants were not the only team in the running for the defender's signature. In-fact Madrid were within a pen stroke from signing Breno before they put in a last minute request to have his bone structure tested to prove whether he was actually as young as he was claimed to be. Yes, he was that good. Suffice to say, Breno did not take that request as a compliment to his abilities. 


In economics, there is a monetary term known as opportunity cost defined as a measure of cost in terms of the best alternative available. Breno's 12 Million Pound price tag might've been considered quite high on its own, but economically it would be increasing even today; something that has come from a decision completely out of his control but one that he has been a key weapon in the armory of the critics that have been putting Breno down for so much of his career in Germany. Along with Breno FC Bayern had another talented, though not nearly as hyped, young central defender on their books by the name of Mats Hummels. His sale to Dortmund was put solely on the head of Breno, eventhough Breno had barely been tested in Germany either by Hitzfeld or the manager behind Hummels' sale, Jurgen Klinsmann. Jurgen might've been sacked soon after but Breno is still carrying the weight of that decision. 


Given the massive risk Klinsmann had made in choosing Breno, someone who had only two Bundesliga appearances till then, for Hummels (who had just completely one year at Dortmund on loan and continuously showed his talent), many were questioning Klinsmann's decision to persist with Breno on the sidelines even after the poor form of Bayern two regular starting defenders, Lucio and Martin Demichellis. Breno's chance to finally show his credentials only came after injuries to Demichellis and Van Buyten meant that there were no more central defenders left to play but the young Brazilian. As luck would have it, those two games ended up being ones that will be forever etched in the minds of Bayern Munich fans; for all the wrong reasons. 5-1 against Wolfsburg and 4-0 against Barcelona. 

Grafite scores his wonder goal with Breno not able to stop

The knives were out in full and Breno was the lamb to slaughter. It was a culmination of poor managerial decisions all coming back to take down not only the manager but the player himself. It was evidently clear that Breno was in no way ready to face two of the best offensive sides of that European season. The result might have seemed shocking at that point in time given how much hope was placed on the defender but in retrospect, there was little chance for anything else happening. Breno looked slow, overweight and completely out of his depth due to a lack of playing time prior to setting foot on the pitch for those two matches. 


A Chance at Redemption, Torn Away:


Much like Hummels in January 2008, it was suggested that a loan away from the tension and expectations at Bayern would best to get the Brazilian back on his feet and in match fitness for the next season. It was Bayern's Bavarian rivals, FC Nuremberg, who came asking for the Brazilian's services in January 2010. Even though Nuremberg were in a battle for survival by the time Breno joined, the quieter and less public surroundings at the club, along with faith shown in his abilities by manager, Dieter Hecking, brought out the best in the Brazilian as his performances soon seemed to gratify the fee paid by Bayern two years ago. His performance against his parent club in a 1-1 draw, a great result for Nuremberg, being a particular highlight. 


After 8 appearances and only 10 goals conceded, things finally seemed to be looking up but as quickly as he got his chance to prove himself at Nuremberg, it was taken away by a horrific tear in his right knee ligament which kept him out for the rest of the season and his loan spell at Nuremberg. Bayern's Bavarian brothers were still willing extend the Brazilian''s loan for the next season, eventhough there was a risk that he would not play till the next year, but with the continued deterioration of Bayern Munich's defence, general manager Hoeness and coach Louis Van Gaal decided against it.


Light at the end of the tunnel?


Its difficult to see how Breno can continue from here in Germany. Even if he manages to escape a prison sentence for his part in the house fire, there is little hope that Breno will have much of a role to play at Bayern this season. The superb performances of new arrival Jerome Boateng, Holger Badstuber and Daniel Van Buyten mean that Breno would once again find himself at the bottom and fourth choice. While he is now back with his family in Munich, his suspended license means that for now he can not move from the country and therefore will not be able to move back to his home country for some recovery time after the recent tragic turn of events. 


The best possibility of reviving his career would be going back to his home country with his wife and children in January and back to the culture he grew up with and found happiness in his career with. Sao Paolo were quick to come to the help of Breno and even after being pegged back during the summer in a bid to sign the defender, they are keen to have their once favourite son back. 

"We were there after the fire, we sent a lawyer, we sent a psychiatrist. There is definitely interest from Sao Paulo,"  

"We are interested, we are talking to him," he continued, "Breno is 21 years old [ed. note: Breno turned 22 on Thursday], he went there too young and he never was able to settle. 

Those were the words of Sao Paolo president Juvenal Juvencio. Moving back to Sao Paolo would be the perfect move for Breno. Being 22, he still has a quite a few years to go in his career before he can think about calling it a day, though his fragile knees could mean that he can not go deep into his 30's as a professional footballer so trying to make the most off the time he has is essential. German football fans are all to familiar with the issue of depression in football and how it can devastate a player of immense talent, Breno's house fire and admittance of depression brought back dark memories of Robert Enke's death in 2009. It took 6 years for Enke's depression to fully manifest itself into a suicide attempt and though Bayern have yet to comment on Sao Paolo's latest statement of interest, it would be best for them to allow Breno to leave before his case treads along the same lines as Enke's. 

'In Brazil, I had less money and luxury, but I was happy. Here I have money, but I lack everything.'