FC Bayern Munich are already champions of the
Bundesliga.
They were duly crowned victors on April 6th with a 1-0 win in Frankfurt,
with six league matches remaining, and remember it’s only an 18 team
league. It was however hardly a surprise when they did win with the gap
between themselves and second place around 20 points for most of 2013.
Dominating is the only way to describe their season, which was the
plan from the outset. Three years without a trophy was too much for the
Bavarian giants to take and combined with Borussia Dortmund’s resurgence
inspiring them, Bayern Munich’s board and staff set out to ensure that
the trophy drought ended immediately. They won the league with six games
left of 34 total, a new German record, and currently sit with 81 points
(equaling the all time points total) out of an available 90, winning
26, drawing only three, and losing just once. In route they scored 89
goals (2.97 per game) and conceded a mere 14 (0.47 per game), besting by
some distance any of the other current leaders in Europe’s top leagues.
This is particularly true defensively, with FC Barcelona, Manchester
United, and Juventus allowing 33 (1.03 per game), 35 (1.06 per game),
and 20 (0.61 per game) goals respectively. In brief, Bayern Munich are
good.
Bayern fell just short of the Champions
League crown last season, in their home stadium. They battled to defeat
Real Madrid in the semis only to dominate the final, concede a very
late equalizer, miss a penalty in extra time, and then go down in the
shootout to the seemingly preordained winner Chelsea. It is no
exaggeration this shattered the Bayern players and contingent. The
trophy has now eluded them since 2001. That was two years after the
bamboozling 1999 defeat to Manchester United, again a match on the
balance of play they merited to win. Since the 2001 conquest Bayern have
lost in a further two finals. They are desperate for European glory.
The Leader
Jupp Heynckes, 67, will be vacating his post as manager over the
summer. We know his replacement. Heynckes is as pedigreed a manager as
you’ll find in the game with over 1,000
Bundesliga matches as
player and then manager, the second highest ever. As a player during the
60s and 70s, he was a star striker in the golden era of Borussia
Mönchengladbach, winning five league titles, one domestic cup, and one
UEFA Cup. The goalscorer also won both the European Championship and
World Cup with West Germany (as it was then) in 1972 and 1974
respectively. And no bit part player was he, Heynckes’s goal scoring
ratio when compared to other Germans is only bettered by one, Gerd
Müller.
Then began his illustrious and lengthy managerial career,
unsurprisingly at his home club of Borussia Mönchengladbach. He was
unable to secure a trophy during this initial eight year stint (1979 –
1987), but his ability was obvious enough that Bayern Munich came
knocking. This would eventually be the first (1987-1991) of three stints
at the Bavarian club during which he won two league and two domestic
cup titles. Yet his departure deviates from the norm. Struggling
financially, Bayern sold a host of players in his last season and could
not afford Heynckes’s wages any longer.
He then began his managerial journey around the continent: Athletic
Bilbao (1992-1994), Eintracht Frankfurt (1994-1995), Tenerife
(1995-1997), Real Madrid (1997-1998), Benfica (1999-2000), Athletic
Bilbao (2001-2003), Schalke 04 (2003-2004), Borussia Mönchengladbach
(2006-2007), Bayern Munich (2009), Bayer Leverkusen (2009-2011) and
finally back again to his current post. It was reported he was to retire
this season, but of late stories have surfaced that he may continue in
either Germany or England. Highlights during this span include leading
Tenerife to the UEFA Cup semi-finals (1995), winning Real Madrid’s first
Champions League in 32 years (1998), and two Intertoto Cups with
Schalke 04.
But Heynckes will not go quietly into the night. The man known as
“Osram”, after a German light manufacturing company due to the reddening
of his face under stress, has already left his mark domestically and
now plans one last hurrah. Listening to excellent reporter Raphael
Honingstein over the years, it’s no surprise Bayern are where they are.
After Pep Guardiola’s Barça lashed them 5-1 on aggregate, Bayern
Munich’s directors recognized the distance they had fallen behind
Europe’s elite and vowed to make up the gap. Large investment into star
players and successful development of youth team players combined with
managerial know-how like that of Heynckes has seen Bayern return to the
upper echelon of the game. In fact Heynckes has modeled Bayern’s game
and team on the FC Barcelona ethos, emphasizing possession and pressing.
Don’t believe me, take the
words of the man himself: ”
If
we do draw Barcelona, we’ll be ready. I know them like the back of my
own hand, maybe even better than my own team … I know their philosophy,
their system, their tactics and all their players.” For certain Barça will not be facing a desultory Bayern team.
So where exactly are they good and who is good?
Everywhere and everyone.
Between the sticks
Manuel Neuer joined Bayern in 2011 for 22 million euros making the
27-year-old the second most expensive goalkeeper of all time. At 6 foot 4
inches, he is dominant in the air yet has as agile reflexes as anyone.
If Bayern continue their stingy defensive prowess domestically, Neuer is
on route to conceding the fewest amount of goals over a
Bundesliga season ever.
Defense
Ironically enough in seasons past the Bayern defense was clearly the
weak point, much like the German national team. This was particularly
relevant at the 2010 Champions League final against José Mourinho’s
Internazionale Milan where Bayern were predictably defeated. Hans-Jörg
Butt in goal was rather past his sell by date, yet it was the defensive
pairing of Martín Demichelis and Daniel van Buyten that experts pointed
to and said there was no way they could stop Inter. Furthermore, up and
coming talent Hölger Badstuber was shifted out left and clearly looked
out of position.
That was then. Demichelis was rightly dumped and Bayern brought in
Rafinha (5.5 million euros) to deputize the wide positions and Jérome
Boateng (13.5 million euros) from Manchester City to provide genuine
quality in the middle and competent cover on the right. Yet arguably the
most important defensive move was the recalling of youth team player
David Alaba
and recreating him as a left back. Immediately his quality was evident
and now Alaba is recognized as one of the game’s premier talents in the
position. Arguing that Alaba was not the critical defensive change is
only possible thanks to new man Dante. The big Brazilian, with eight
years of experience in Europe, is enjoying a fantastic debut season at
the German champions and with a cost of under 5 million euros, he was a
steal. Now while the epic game
Championship Manager is too
often detrimental to how football followers consider transfers, I often
wonder why at times it is not more closely studied because Dante was one
of those cheap pickups that became a monster defender. (And that is far
from the only example of the game’s amazing predictive powers). A
combination of physicality and ability, Dante is described by
Honingstein as “
a defender of quiet, unassuming elegance and unshakeable calmness, he has become the unlikely figurehead” of the team whose “
dependability, athleticism and passing have taken Jupp Heynckes’s side that extra step further.”
And let’s not forget the progress Badstuber has made since being a raw
talent. From Butt, Lahm, Demichelis, Van Buyten, Badstuber in 2010 to
Neuer, Lahm, Dante, Badstuber, Alaba in 2012 is chalk and cheese.
Thankfully for Barça the young local boy Badstuber is injured but Van
Buyten is currently in a purple patch of form.
Midfield
So while the defense is the most improved area, the midfield is
comfortably the most stacked. Megastars like Arjen Robben, Franck Ribéry
and Bastian Schweinsteiger barely warrant introduction. So when someone
like Robben, with near 70 million euros in total transfers to his name,
often rode the bench this season, it tells one there are options.
Robben has his critics but when he’s on, I will argue to the end he’s
almost unplayable. Then there are the younger guys like Thomas Müller
and Toni Kroos, starters for both club and country. Müller may not be
the most elegant but he has ingenuity and that unteachable knack of
being in the right spot at the right time. Kroos may not feature at all
over the series with an injury.
These midfielders above dictate tempo and catalyze attacking force so
the more physical and defensive game is left to Basque man Javi
Martínez, who
Busquets described as the “
key piece which the team needed”. So desperate were Bayern to sign him that they paid his buy-out clause, a hefty 40 million euros, a club and
Bundesliga record.
The midfielders on the bench are worth noting as well. Luiz Gustavo, a
25-year-old Brazilian defensive midfielder was a starter the prior
season and showed his potential and ability. Then there is Swiss
national Xherdan Shaqiri. The former Basel man caught the eye of many
during the 2011/12 UEFA Champions League and so keen on his talent were
Bayern they dropped near 12 million euros on the 20-year-old at the
time. He’s quick, competitive, unafraid of contact, versatile, creative,
and ambidextrous. Watch for this guy to become a true starter when
Robben moves along.
Forwards
Mario Gómez scored 41 goals last season. So the obvious move was for
Bayern to pull out their cheque books and sign Croatian Mario Mandžukić,
who has usurped “Super Mario”. This move is an ideal simulacrum for
Bayern’s ambition following the Champions League final hurt. Yes, Gómez
scored 41 goals, but his immobility was seen as too harmful on
Heynckes’s tactical plan and that was enough to have him
replaced. Mandžukić is essential for Bayern’s pressing game so his
absence tomorrow could prove more influential than most would have
thought. Claudio Pizzaro, on his second stint at the club, provides
experienced cover and a high probability of goals from the bench (four
goals in five substitute appearances). Looking to the game, Gómez is
more likely to start, as his height could prove deadly versus the
shortest team in Europe.
Bayern are coming off back to back 6-1 victories in the league,
before that a 4-0 and barely a month ago a 9-2 hammering of Hamburg. The
weekend 6-1 thrashing of Hannover was done without Lahm, Dante,
Martínez and Schweinsteiger, and only 45 minutes each from Ribéry,
Müller, and Robben. Mario Gómez and Claudio Pizzaro helped themselves to
a brace apiece. Like I’ve said, Bayern are deep.
Conclusion
A hunger for success, a well crafted strategy, a seasoned leader and
word-class professionals from one to eleven. Bayern will be Barça’s
toughest test of 2012/13. In conclusion, Bayern Munich are good.
