Freund: It is of great significance for Austria to qualify for the World Cup. Bayern did contact Anthony in the summer window

A few days ago, Bayern director Freund expressed his views on Austria's qualification for the 2026 World Cup and other topics.

My home country Austria qualified for the 2026 World Cup

"This means a lot to me. Austria has not been to the World Cup in 28 years, so this means a lot. The whole country is looking forward to it. The team deserves this honor. They played wonderful football and were full of energy. Rangnick did a great job. The final stage of the game was very stalemate, but it was even more exciting because of this. The whole Austria is in ecstasy. It's a great story. I'm personally happy for everyone involved because I know a lot of them. It's a great story and a great thing for Austrian football."

"The Bayern fans know Alaba and how important he is to the team off the field. A very good person who has done a lot to integrate into the team on and off the field. The past few months to a year and a half have not been easy for him because of his constant injuries, but he has always been there, even on the bench, supporting the team. He is an important liaison between the coach, the team and the captain, and he currently plays a very important role as a player and coach (laughing). Anthony's contact, and Kompany's reported phone call with him on transfer deadline day

"This period has not been smooth sailing. A lot has happened. We looked at several players and Anthony was one of them. We also had a conversation, but that is in the past. We are very happy with the current lineup structure. In the end, we completed the transfer smoothly and we are happy with it."