German Debate: Is Bayern’s Season Turning Into Another Nightmare?

Considerable investment in the summer, which saw the like of Mario Gomez and Arjen Robben attracted at considerable cost, hopes were high Bayern would be able to re-assert their presence in the Bundesliga and also challenge in Europe.  Concern is beginning to mount that this season might be heading down the same route as the last one; a promising start evaporating into nothing leaving Bayern empty-handed and relegated to a mere supporting role.

Decimated by injuries

There are mitigating factors in their recent performances, most notably a lengthy injury list, the most obvious victim of which is Franck Ribery.  Arjen Robben has also not been immune to injury since arriving from Real Madrid, and so Bayern have been deprived, at times, of their two most creative midfielders when they need them most.

Nevertheless whilst claiming injuries as a factor, it can’t be cited as the only reason by Germany’s biggest side for obvious failings, as the starting XI sent out by van Gaal against Bordeaux still contained plenty of quality.  It could also be argued these losses have been offset by the emergence from the youth team of several promising players such as Thomas Mueller and Holger Badstuber.

Transfer policy

One area that perhaps has let Bayern down this season is the transfer policy pursued by the club over the summer.  Whilst van Gaal has been given funds to spend in the market, the Dutchman has also been keen to distance himself from some of the arrivals, such as the acquisition of Mario Gomez.  The deal that took the German international to the Allianz Arena was struck nearly 12 months ago, and the inference from van Gaal has been that the former Stuttgart striker wouldn’t have been his first choice to bolster the attack.

It would appear this lack of cohesion between senior layers of the administration at the club and the manager continues to plague the relationship between van Gaal and the like of Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Uli Hoeness.

Rummenigge was quoted in the German press as stating the performance in France against Bordeaux a fortnight ago wasn’t befitting of a Bayern team and has also announced that he believes the side should be top of the Bundesliga by Christmas.  Such statements are anathema to van Gaal’s modus operandi as a manager who demands that everyone in the club from the cleaner upwards adhere to the same vision, and don’t criticise the club to external sources.

All down to the manager

It would therefore appear that matters are already close to breaking point at Bayern, with van Gaal set up as the obvious scapegoat.  Some within the Dutch media would claim this was inevitable.  One high profile summer article described van Gaal as the “young boy in short trousers”, in a clear reference to his pre-football management career as a sports teacher, and intimating that van Gaal would be out of his depth in the hostile and unfamiliar environment of Bayern Munich.

Over in the German media though, van Gaal’s image of Dutch aloofness and arrogance continues to plague him.  Whilst accusations of over-confidence in his own abilities may have been a reasonable accusation at one point in his managerial career, such a statement now is more a lazy stereotype of a man whose character has mellowed over the years.

Undeniably though Bayern Munich aren’t delivering on the pitch, and the tactics employed by van Gaal are hardly helping matters.  A bright start against Bordeaux quickly disappeared and they struggled to make any inroads, as the French champions kept them under constant pressure in the midfield.

Bayern’s desperate lack of width was regularly highlighted in the first half with left-back Edson Braafheid the only one really looking to play from a wider angle.  Daniel Pranjic, supposedly the left-winger, was seen more in the middle, as Bayern’s narrowness played perfectly into the hands of Bordeaux, who packed out their midfield.  The introduction of Robben at half-time temporarily alleviated the problem, but his influence soon waned as Bordeaux doubled up on the danger-man.

Midfield was also a disaster with Mark van Bommel increasingly not looking like the top quality sort of box-to-box midfielder he threatened to become when emerging at PSV Eindhoven.   He seems to have neither the range of passing nor movement to be put into the same rank as the like of Xabi Alonso or Michael Essien.  It took until 52 minutes for van Bommel to get ahead of his strikers and make his presence felt in the box, whilst he was also culpable for the opening goal after letting Yoann Gourcouff wander free at the far post.

Across the entire pitch Bayern looked laboured in possession, and so far van Gaal hasn’t been able to get across his usual philosophy of high tempo passing, which characterised his successful spells at the helm of AZ Alkmaar, Ajax and Barcelona.

Much work to be done

With so much expectation following a heavy summer of spending, the clock is already ticking for van Gaal, who needs to get his ideas over to this Bayern side quickly.  Already being undermined by other members of the Bayern management team, van Gaal needs everyone at the club to pull in the same direction, if they are to realise their ambition of still being in the Champions League post-Christmas and becoming Winter Champions of the Bundesliga.