In their own backyard
After a disastrous season under Felix Magath, Bayern management spent 70 million euros, brought Otmar Hitzfild so they got hold of the title. The main aim popular General had was accomplished, but weak performance in UEFA Cup paid for the successful season in domestic championship. After they missed the opportunity to get to the Champions League last year, many people in Bayern already saw UEFA Cup trophy on their shelf. The role of favourites and easygoing attitude cost them a convincing defeat against Zenit from St. Petersburg and elimination.
Still, the fans are satisfied with the performance in the last season. The team conceded only 21 goals, while the attack led by excellent Luka Toni and Frank Ribery worked great. Our conclusion is that there is no reason for changes in the winning team from Munich. The biggest change happened on the bench when they hired former German national squad boss, Jurgen Klinsmann.
Changes, after all
Club management's biggest acquisition in the summer transfer window will spend the whole season on the bench. Of course, we are talking about the mentioned coach, legendary Jurgen Klinsmann. A lot is expected from him. First of all, he needs to defend the title which is never an easy task in Bundesliga. On the other hand, European trophies are expected, since the last time Bayern were on top of Europe was in 2001. The competition in the German Cup can bring solace to the fans if something goes wrong so they need to play better on that field also. Does Klinsmann have what it takes for all of the set goals? It seems that his biggest hope is precisely the thing why he was brought – offensive approach. The idea is for the Klinsmann to bring the play that adorned the German national squad on World Cup 2006, when he also was under great pressure from the public, like he is now. It is not only an offensive play, but the idea to pass the ball as soon as possible to the opposite half, to win as much space as possible and transform quickly thus jeopardizing rivals' net. This kind of tactics demands perfect squad in all lines which Bayern definitely has.
The biggest change on the pitch is definitely legendary Oli Kahn's retirement. Rensing will be in front of the net and Bayern have never lost with him as keeper. He seems to be a decent replacement for Kahn. Tim Borowski will reinforce the midfield and it will be interesting to see if he will manage to fight for a place on the pitch with Van Bommel, Ze Roberto, Schweinsteiger and Ribery in the team. Attacking tandem Podolski – Toni is expected to surpass last season's excellent performance which would be enough for the trophy to stay at Alianz Arena.
In
Tim Borowski (Werder Bremen), Hans-Jörg Butt (Benfica)
Out
Sandro Wagner (Duisburg), Jan Schlaudraff (Hannover), Oliver Kahn (retired), Stefan Celozzi (Karlsruher)
European dreams
As we have already mentioned, first on the list of goals is certainly the defense of the title in domestic championship. As a club with the biggest budget in Germany, Bayern are certainly the biggest favourites for the title. It remains to be seen what they can do in Europe. If the Bavarians reach the very finish of the competition, their mind could wander from domestic championship to the more prestigious competition. Still, Klinsmann has enough players to fight on all battlefields. We will see how he will use the huge potential of this team
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