9 minute read
THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY
BUILDING A DYNASTY
BAYERN MUNICH WON THE TREBLE IN 2013 BUT THEN FAILED TO RECRUIT PROPERLY AND IT ALMOST COST THEM. MICHELLE OSEI BONSU LOOKS AT HOW THE BAVARIANS HAVE BUILT A TROPHYWINNING MACHINE…
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The 2020-21 season across Europe’s big five leagues has been an interesting one, with more genuine title races than is usual on the continent. Many of the reigning champions – be they in the Premier League, Serie A, Ligue 1 or La Liga – have found that hanging on to the trophy has been a much harder task than they might have expected, and the same to a degree applies in the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich. But, after some wobbles, die Roten found their feet and pulled away, with an unprecedented ninth consecutive title – and 31st overall – becoming an increasingly likely prospect as the rounds passed. From a neutral, or anti-Bayern, perspective, that was a disappointing development. The Bundesliga is blessed with interesting coaches and talented player, but none have been able to maintain a challenge to Bayern’s dominance. For supporters of the Bavarian titans, business as usual is encouraging. However, nothing lasts forever, and all good things must come to an end. Bayern fans could be forgiven for having a concern that key players such as Robert Lewandowski, Thomas Muller, Javi Martinez, Manuel Neuer and more are approaching the tail-ends of their careers, whether those final seasons are spent at the Allianz Arena or elsewhere. In 2013, Bayern made history as the first German side to win the coveted treble. But unlike the period that followed, during which they struggled to replicate the same form – mostly in Europe, due to a lack of strong recruitment and failure to make replacements in key areas. Bayern’s hierarchy learned from the aftermath of the Champions League win in 2013 and moved to ensure the Champions League win of 2020 was a springboard, not a plateau. Already, Bayern’s management has guaranteed that, by and large, the squad has a deputy who is more than ready to step into the regular XI as players age out or move on. That is why the club was able to call David Alaba’s bluff when the Austria star demanded a hefty increase on his annual wage packet in order to commit his future to Bayern – and why, for the first time in over a decade, he’ll be playing his football elsewhere. And it’s why die Roten will be saying auf wiedersehen to veteran defender Jerome Boateng, as opposed to extending his contract. The 32-year-old may not be the only old-timer on his way out either, as the summer transfer window opens shortly after the end of the season. So, who are the players Bayern are entrusting to keep the trophy machine running smoothly, for next season and beyond? And it’s not just domestic success that’s on the agenda either. After a seven-year wait between European trophies, Bayern want Champions League dominance too. High on the list is the player whose goal won the Champions League in 2020, Kingsley Coman. It was the France international who found the net and scratched that seven-year itch, ironically against his former club, Paris Saint-Germain. Coman also spent time at Juventus prior to moving to Germany but it is at Bayern that he has found his footing and made clear his ambitions to be part of the Bayern attack for years to come. He’s part of a young group of exciting attack-minded players that also includes Leroy Sane, Serge Gnabry and the youngest of all, 18-year-old Jamal Musiala. Musiala was not a household name prior to the start of the season but after his exploits against Lazio – when he became the youngest
TOP LEFT: Robert Lewandowski poses with the 2020 Champions League Trophy
ABOVE: Bayern Munich's Kingsley Coman holds the trophy after winning the 2020 UEFA Champions League final match between Paris SaintGermain and Bayern Munich
AROUND THE WORLD
THE SUMMER OF 2021 WILL SEE PLAYERS FLUNG TO DIFFERENT POINTS OF THE GLOBE FOR INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION. MICHELLE OSEI BONSU PICKS OUT THE BAYERN PLAYERS REPRESENTING THEIR COUNTRIES IN THE POST-SEASON…
The COVID-19 pandemic is still looming large but life is starting to get back to normal in many places, and that means international football tournaments – albeit mostly without full stadiums, or any fans at all, and all proper safeguards and precautions in place. Bayern Munich’s stars will be kept busy, whether at Euro 2020 – which takes place across Europe – or the Gold Cup, where Alphonso Davies will fly his club’s colours while wearing the red of the Canada national team. The Gold Cup hasn’t, though, been too kind to Canada, who have to face fellow North American powerhouse the United States Men’s National Team in the group stage. They should nevertheless qualify for the next round, as Group B is rounded out by Martinique and a preliminary match winner that won’t be determined until July. There’s far more Bayern interest in Euro 2020, of course. Germany, France, Spain, Poland and Austria can all have Bayern representatives – just about in the case of David Alaba, who appears bound for the exit this summer. Germany will almost certainly include Manuel Neuer, Joshua Kimmich, Serge Gnabry, Leroy Sane and Niklas Sule, among others, while it remains to be seen if Neuer’s fellow veterans Thomas Muller and Jerome Boateng are considered. Jamal Musiala is a wild card option. Javi Martinez and Marc Roca might not make the Spain set-up, while Robert Lewandowski is the key man for Poland, but it’s France that will benefit most from Bayern’s squad. Benjamin Pavard and Theo Hernandez were part of the group that won the World Cup in 2018 and both they and Kingsley Coman – who didn’t go to Russia three years ago but was involved in Euro 2016, when France were runners-up – have been part of Didier Deschamps’ recent plans. Few would be shocked if they returned to club training with another medal in their collection.
ABOVE: A Champions League win in 2013 was an impressive achievement for Bayern but it took seven years to be replicated
TOP RIGHT: Moenchengladbach's head coach Marco Rose before the German Bundesliga soccer match between Borussia Moenchengladbach and Eintracht Frankfurt
BOTTOM LEFT: Alphonso Davies will be featured with Canada in this year's Gold Cup
BOTTOM RIGHT: Dominance of domestic football has been achieved through smart recruitment and financial power German and, by virtue of his dual citizenship, the youngest Englishman to score in the Champions League – he certainly is now. The 2020-21 season also saw Musiala become Bayern’s youngest-ever Bundesliga scorer and the club tie him down to a long-term contract, running until 2026. It was Muller that Musiala replaced against Lazio, and, long-term, it is Muller that Musiala is expected to succeed in the Bayern set-up. Muller turns 32 in September, and provides the ideal role model for Stuttgart-born Musiala to follow. Sane arrived at Bayern in 2020 after a productive spell at Manchester City, and reportedly cost €45m up front, potentially rising to €60m. He has had his ups and downs since returning to the Bundesliga four years after leaving Schalke for City, largely due to injury. And with the depth Bayern boast, that can make it exceedingly difficult for a player to nail down a consistent spot in the team. The 25-year-old Sane has often been overshadowed by national team colleague and fellow former Premier League player Gnabry, but there is no denying his talent. He showed it in Manchester, winning back-to-back titles, and has been productive for Bayern in 2020-21. Only Joshua Kimmich and Muller have been more reliable creators than the winger. Gnabry, who wears the No 7 previously held for more than a decade by the brilliant Franck Ribery, has gone from strength to strength is his time at Bayern. He quit German football for Arsenal in 2011, aged 16, struggled to make an impact at the Gunners and bounced around on loan. A return to German football with Werder Bremen was the making of him and after a single season, Bayern swooped. Gnabry was loaned to Hoffenheim for the 2017-18 season and made his Bayern breakthrough the following year, but it was in the successful 2019-20 Champions League campaign that he really came to the fore. Returning to London to play Tottenham in October 2019, Gnabry hit four of Bayern’s seven goals. He later claimed a brace at Chelsea, setting a record for away goals by a player in a single Champions League season. This year, Gnabry’s goal tally has been bettered by only Muller and, of course, Lewandowski. Speedster Alphonso Davies, who blew Barcelona way in Bayern’s 8-2 demolition of the Catalans in August 2020, is part of a Bayern defensive unit that will only get better. The versatile Kimmich, arguably more of a midfielder today but UEFA’s Champions League Defender of the Season in 201920, Tanguy Nianzou and Theo Hernandez are already formidable. The addition of RB Leipzig’s Dayot Upamecano to replace Boateng, feels almost unfair on opposing attackers. Bayern are forming a production line, reinforcement upon reinforcement, for the years ahead. In all areas of the pitch, the Bayern machine should keep rolling forward. Can anyone slow it down?
ROSE AMONG THORNS
BORUSSIA DORTMUND HAVE TURNED TO BORUSSIA MONCHENGLADBACH’S MARCO ROSE TO IMPROVE THEIR FORTUNES NEXT SEASON. MICHELLE OSEI BONSU EXPLAINS WHY.
Borussia Dortmund and their supporters had high hopes at the start of the season. Yes, last season saw Bayern Munich win the title, again. And BVB weren’t even close, finishing second by a 13-point chasm. But it was a new season, their exciting crop of youngsters were a year older and more experienced and €25m had been spent of Birmingham City prodigy Jude Bellingham, joining Gio Reyna, Jadon Sancho and Erling Haaland. By December the wheels had well and truly fallen off and, following a humiliating 5-1 home defeat to newlypromoted Stuttgart, coach Lucien Favre was given his marching orders. Edin Terzic was named interim boss as Dortmund’s management tried to arrest the team’s free-fall and salvage the season. At least, qualifying for the Champions League to make holding on to Sancho, Haaland and the like a possibility. Terzic was only ever a stop-gap and Marco Rose will take over in the summer. Perhaps it was his Borussia Monchengladbach side’s 4-2 win over Dortmund in January that tipped the balance in his favour, or maybe it was his prior relationship with Haaland, from when they were both at Red Bull Salzburg. BVB evidently saw something in the 44-year-old – Champions League qualification with Gladbach and a run to the knockout stages was surely part of it. The irony is that Gladbach endured a horrendous winless run after Rose was announced as BVB’s heir apparent, while Terzic orchestrated some strong Dortmund form. At least with Terzic staying on Rose’s staff, the new man will be able to consult with his predecessor.
