 |
| Farewell, Jupp |
THE TERRIFIC TREBLE: IT’S ONLY THE
BEGINNING
Its summer
2012, and Bayern have acquired the services of Javi Martinez and Mario
Mandzukic – two standout performers at Euro 2012. In addition, Xherdan Shaqiri
and Dante were two of the biggest bargain deals which Bayern made this time
last year. Once these players gelled
with the likes of Robben, Ribery, Schweinsteiger and Badstuber, it was clear by
January that the Bundesliga title was destined for the Allianz Arena, for the
first time since 2010. By now, Die Roten
were cruising and excelling almost perfectly. They clinched the title on 6th
April – the quickest acquisition of the Bundesliga title in Bundesliga history.
Furthermore, FCB broke many a record within the league, overwhelming Borussia
Dortmund’s most away points of 37 in the 2011/12 season (same for Werder Bremen
in 2003-04), by 10 points. And that’s not all – they emulated longest winning
streak within a single Bundesliga season – Borussia Monchengladbach ( 1986/87)
and Wolfsburg (2008-09) both had their 10 game win streak toppled by Bayern’s
emphatic 14 match win streak [1].
Muller, Mandžukić and Gomez were imperative for Bayern in terms of obtaining
goals, and although the latter has joined Serie A club Fiorentina, Die Roten will still have a fabulous
crop of attack-minded players for 2013/14.
 |
| One, Two, Three for Bayern |
And who
could forget that exhilarating Champions League triumph over Dortmund at
Wembley? Arjen Robben, largely determined
and focused, made up for his pain-drenching penalty miss against former club
Chelsea in last year’s Champions League final, by netting the winner for
Bavarians in the 89th minute. But the final alone cannot do justice
to Bayern’s amazing European campaign. The 4-0 demolition of FC Barcelona,
which contained the likes of Andres Iniesta, Xavi, Lionel Messi and Cesc
Fabregas, at the Allianz Arena, has sounded out a severe warning to all clubs
competing in the top tier of European football next season. What was even more
emphatic for Die Roten was that they
played the Catalan club off the park at the Camp Nou, winning 3-0 as a result. If
similar performances in Europe are seen next season, then it is very much
possible that this current Bayern squad can emphasise that the Bavarian club is, deservedly FC Hollywood, and repeat (or even emulate) the famous European cup
hat-trick of 1974, 1975 and 1976. Will people, in the next two or three decades
be speaking of Bayern’s potential hat-trick of 2013, 2014 and 2015 Champions
League victories? Only time will tell.
 |
| Muller and Beckenbauer in the 1970s... |
The
DFB-Pokal (German Cup) was the icing on the cake as Bayern defeated Stuttgart
3-2 in an epic final which saw Mario Gomez (now of Fiorentina), net twice
against his former employers at the Olympiastadion, located in Germany’s
capital city, Berlin. It was Jupp
Heynckes’ final game as Bayern Munich manager, and the game in which the
historic German treble was accomplished by the club based in south-eastern Germany.
The FA Cup in England may not be regarded as highly as it was 5-10 years ago, but
in Germany and Spain, the DFB-Pokal and the Copa Del Rey respectively are highly
sought-after domestic cups, which are expected to be claimed by the top teams
in such countries. In this case, Bayern added a magnificent piece of silverware
to their trophy cabinet, which effectively capped off a scintillating season.
 |
| ...And another Muller in 2013! |
But why is
it just the beginning for Bayern? The signings of Mario Götze, Thiago Alcantara
and Jan Kirchhoff have added to the star-studded crop of players currently on
the books at the Allianz Arena. If utilised properly and regularly rotated, then
it is possible that Bayern Munich will once again be victors of yet another
German treble. In August, they come up against Chelsea, who they lost to in the
2012 Champions League final on home soil, in the UEFA Super Cup. No team from
Germany has lifted this trophy and they will want to make history yet again, as
well as avenging that pain-staking defeat to the club based in west London. Pep
Guardiola certainly has the vision and capability to emulate what Heynckes
achieved in his third stint as Bayern manager, and if his philosophy works to
its optimum with the Allianz Arena outfit, then the success he delivered at
Barcelona can be replicated at Bayern.
The
implications of Bayern’s historic season are also on an international scale. Neuer,
Lahm, Badstuber, Schweinsteiger and Müller are among the many talented German players
at Bayern. Last season, they proved that not only can a German team dominate
Europe, but also the world. Germany will be pursuing a 4th FIFA
World Cup title next summer in Brazil, and such players will be largely pivotal
in helping the country located in central Europe bring home a trophy which it
last won as West Germany in 1990.
MARIO GÖTZE AND THIAGO ALCANTARA:
ADDING TO THE SQUAD DEPTH
 |
| Controversial: Gotze with his Bayern shirt |
On the day
they thrashed Barcelona 4-0 at home, Bayern announced that Borussia Dortmund’s
21-year-old (then 20) attacking midfielder
Mario Götze would be joining them this summer, on a 4 year deal for £32
million, making him the most expensive German footballer of all time. This move
came much to the anger of Dortmund fans who felt betrayed and deceived,
especially during the latter stages of the 2012-13 season in which they were
dearly fighting for a place in the Champions League final (which they achieved
by defeating Real Madrid 4-3 on aggregate), having lost out on the opportunity
to clinch a third successive Bundesliga title. Marco Reus, who re-joined
Dortmund last year from Borussia Monchengladbach, stated that he cried when
Götze said that he’d be leaving at the end of the season. Götze finished the
season injured and thus missed the Champions League final, which was ironically
against his current club Bayern. Many
have criticised the fact that the signing of Götze is a “waste of money” or
“pointless buy”, given the readily available attacking midfield crop at Bayern
of Robben, Ribery, Shaqiri and Kroos. The competition for places may indicate
that Götze may not get as many games as he did at Dortmund, but on the plus
side, he has made a choice which he believes is the right one for his career,
in terms of progression and the chance to win more trophies. There is a
possibility that Guardiola will deploy the former Dortmund man as a “False 9”,
which he did so with Lionel Messi at Barcelona – a role which so profoundly
suited the Argentinean winger-turned-striker. The sale of Mario Gomez to
Fiorentina means that Thomas Müller and Mario Mandžukić are the only two
prominent strikers Die Roten have,
thus implying that Götze will play more games as a “False 9” than he would have
expected to at Dortmund (which was quite a rarity when he was on the books at
the Signal Iduna Park club). But it’s
not just the 21-year-old German prodigy who’s the new boy in Munich…
 |
| A Re-union with Pep: Thiago Alcantara |
…Thiago
Alcantara, who was considered to be Xavi’s natural heir at Barcelona, re-united
with his former coach last week, who was adamant that there was no alternative
as to signing Thiago. Ironically, when Guardiola was Barcelona manager, the Blaugrana beat Bayern 2-0 in the 2011
Audi Cup final, thanks to a brace from Thiago, which was a game that indicated
that there was a new star in Europe. The most primal reason why the 22-year-old
attacking midfielder departed that claret and blue Catalonian outfit is the
fact that he did not get as much playing time as he deserved, making 31
appearances in all competitions [2],
with Xavi being preferred to him in Tito Vilanova (who has just been replaced
by the Argentinean Gerardo Martino) side’s pecking order. Despite a far from
impressive season with Barcelona, in the European Under-21 Championships,
Thiago, alongside the rest of the Spanish Under-21 squad, played magical
football to claim a second successive Euro U-21 title, with the ex-Barcelona
prodigy netting an excellent hat-trick in the final, where Spain defeated Italy
4-2. Not only does Thiago’s move to Bayern help him make the most of his club
career, but increased opportunities to play first-team football is extremely essential
for him in terms of getting on to Spain’s plane for the 2014 World Cup.
But how
would the two youngsters fit into Bayern’s team if playing together? Guardiola
will have many a selection headache next season, and will hence feel the need
to rotate his squad regularly, although it is likely that he will play
4-2-3-1/4-5-1.
- Formation
A: 4-5-1
Martinez plays as a
holding midfielder, with Schweinsteiger and Thiago having flexible roles, with
the latter predominantly aiding Robben and Ribery. Götze plays as a false 9, leaving
main forwards Müller and Mandžukić on the bench.
- Formation B: 4-2-3-1
Guardiola drops one of Robben and Ribery, with Götze
playing just behind Müller, and Thiago on the right hand side of the attacking
midfield position zone.
All in all,
Bayern have acquired two wonderful youngsters who will be both crucial
first-team players and will be adhered to accept a potential squad rotation
policy at the club. If utilised properly, then Bayern may emulate the benchmark
they set last season.
WHAT CAN BAYERN’S UNIQUE 12TH
MAN EXPECT IN 2013-14?
 |
| Fanatical fever: The Allianz Arena faithful |
One would
expect the answer “trophies galore”. Indeed, Bayern have heavily invested into
the signings of Götze and Thiago, but that does not guarantee that they will be
treble winners again in the season ahead. It will take time for Guardiola and
his players to gel and utilise a philosophy, just as he did at Barcelona. It is
without question that Bayern may still require another centre back, and David
Alaba, who was marvellous for the Bavarians last season, will still need to
cement a regular starting place. Bayern are absolutely spoilt for choice in
terms of first-team players, so much so that not every prominent player will be
able to make Guardiola’s match-day squads. The atmosphere will, as always at
the Allianz Arena, remain electric and mesmerising, with Bayern fans demanding
more of the same of last season, and perhaps this time, an unbeaten season,
given the quality of the manager’s squad and the manager’s ability itself.
In addition
to the German Supercup, Guardiola’s side face Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea, in a
re-match of the 2012 UEFA Champions League final. In this case, the rivalry
between Guardiola and Mourinho will begin another chapter, which in the last 3
years has grabbed the attention of football fans worldwide. In December, Bayern
will fly to Morocco to compete in the 2013 FIFA Club World Cup, where they will
compete against other continental cup winners, in order to officially claim the stake of being the “best team in the world”. If
Bayern scoop up these three trophies, they will once again make history by
becoming the first German team to have won the sextuple – 6 trophies in a
calendar year – this was something which Guardiola achieved in 2009 with
Barcelona, and although he has players of a similar (but not of the entirely
same) ability at Bayern, there is absolutely no guarantee that Bayern will
achieve such honours in the latter parts of the 2013 calendar year. But if there is any guarantee, then that is
that the club certainly has a love affair with silverware, and is hungry for
more.
 |
| Will Mitchell Weiser get any game time this season? |
Moreover,
homegrown talent is something that is imperative at any club in the world. The
likes of Hargreaves, Beckenbauer, Schweinsteiger, Lahm are just some examples
of Bayern’s finest homegrown players in the past and the present. It’s anyone’s
guess who’ll be there in the future, but a name spoken of so significantly
amongst die hard Bayern fans is that of Mitchell Weiser’s – a 19-year-old
winger who spent the latter parts of the 2012-13 season on loan at FC
Kaiserslautern, and is an exciting young talent who has starred for Germany’s
under-18 team. Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, aged 17, is also an excellent prospect
for the Bavarian club. Appearances may be limited to the DFL-Pokal for Bayern’s
youth players, which they will need to grasp with both hands, in order to prove
that they are future first team players. At Barcelona, Guardiola blooded in the
likes of Thiago, Isaac Cuenca, Christian Tello, Marc Bartra and Sergio Busquets
from Barcelona B, into the first team. All of these players, bar Thiago are
currently on the books at Barca, and are showing promise each game they play. Bayern’s
12th man can expect some youth team players to make first team
appearances, and if successful, in a few years, they can cement a place in
Guardiola’s starting line-up. There is no doubt that Bayern’s players will put
in a minimum of 100% effort in order to be successful in the 2013-14 season on
all fronts.
PREDICITIONS FOR THE SEASON
 |
| Hola, Signor Pep |
With their
current squad, every Bayern fan will expect their club to be Bundesliga
champions yet again, though perhaps not by as great a points margin as last
season. They will be pushed hard by Borussia Dortmund, and even FC Schalke 04,
who haven’t won the German league title since 1958. The DFB-Pokal is another
trophy Bayern are expected to retain. They are capable of repeating last
season’s treble in 2013-14, although in terms of the Champions League, Real
Madrid, Barcelona, Juventus and Chelsea will have strengthened to the extent
that they are capable of adding a 2014 Champions League victory to their scroll
of honour. Barcelona are tipped to snatch the trophy off the team that
annihilated them on both legs of the semi-final of the tournament last season,
with the anticipated Messi-Neymar partnership expected to be the most feared in
Europe.
In
conclusion, Bayern are the champions elect for the Bundesliga and will be a
threat across Europe in 2013-14. However, opposition teams will not accept
failure without a fight, so we may well see the Bavarian club winning the
German league title by tight margins, in Guardiola’s first season in Germany.
IN A NUTSHELL:
- Bayern are expected to build on last season's treble and claim the sextuple
- Guardiola has the ability to make even more history with Bayern
- 2013-14 will not be as easy a season for Bayern as fans would expect
CREDITS FOR STATS:
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please feel free to leave a comment