Jason Pereira

 

When looking at football clubs on the world stage, there are few larger than German giants FC Bayern Munich.

Having picked up four European Champions League titles, twenty national championships and thirteen German Cups, Bayern Munich are officially the world’s third most popular club side with over 132,000 registered members (Benfica and Barcelona being the top two).

As their name suggests, Bayern Munich are located in Munich, which is the capital of German state Bavaria. Bayern Munich were first founded in 1900; however they remained relatively unsuccessful until they won their first national trophy in 1932, winning their first German championship after beating Eintracht Frankfurt in the final.

If you look at Bayern Munich’s record over the past decade, few clubs have been as successful. 

Having won the league seven times in the past ten years alone, as well as three league cups complemented by the UEFA Champions League in 2001, few expected them to do as poorly as they did last season.

Last year’s shambles saw Bayern struggle to fourth place in the league, finishing ten points behind winners VFB Stuttgart and thus missing out on Champions League qualification. 

This year Bayern suffer the ignominy of having to play in the UEFA Cup, a competition meant for the second tier of Europe; they spent big in the summer transfer window to ensure that it does not happen again.

This summer window was one of change by Bayern Munich. Shocked by last season’s failures, a complete revamp of the club took place. Quite a few players left the club, joining other clubs for Champions League football, retiring or not being deemed good enough, while even more players came in, looking to help Bayern win their 21st Bundesliga title. However, what was perhaps the most important decision by the club was to continue coach Ottmar Hitzfeld’s contract for another year, and he will hope that he can lead Bayern to success once again.

This is not Hitzfeld’s first spell in charge of Bayern Munich; he had previously been their manager between 1998 and 2004. 

Although Hitzfeld had never been one of the greats of the game as a player, the highlight of his playing career being two Swiss Championships with FC Basel, he has proven himself to be an astute manager. Having started off his managerial career winning the Swiss Cup with FC Aarau in 1985, Hitzfeld then led Grasshopper Club Zurich to the championship twice (in 1990 and 1991) as well as picking up two Swiss Cups. He eventually moved to Germany in 1991 to take the reins at Borussia Dortmund, leading them to one of the most successful periods in their history as they won the Bundesliga twice, as well as the Champions League.

After being named World Coach of the Year, Hitzfeld landed up at Bayern Munich where his tactics were instrumental in the club winning four Bundesliga titles, two German Cups and the Champions League. After taking a break from the game, Hitzfeld is ready to try and lead the club he was most victorious with back to success.

As for the team itself, there have been a plethora of changes. When German captain Michael Ballack left Bayern Munich for Chelsea on a free transfer in 2006 they had no idea how great the impact would be on their title hopes, and they have made sure that their squad is adequately filled with the same types of players- those that can win you a game almost single-handedly. 

Spending around seventy million euros in the summer, Bayern Munich brought in eight players, some of whom were among the most coveted players in the world.

In defense, Marcell Jansen was purchased from Borussia Monchengladbach. The twenty-one year old plays at left back, although he can also fill in as a winger due to his versatility. It is in midfield and up front where Bayern Munich made the most additions to the squad, bringing in seven players. 

In midfield, Bayern Munich added four players- Brazilian winger Ze Roberto returning from Santos, José Sosa joining from Argentine side Estudiantes, Hamit Altintop leaving Schalke and Franck Ribery arriving from Marseille. 

After the departure of Ballack, fans called for a ‘star’ player to replace him and they have definitely got that in Ribery. The French winger was supposedly wanted by the likes of Arsenal, Real Madrid, AC Milan and Liverpool- all Champions League clubs but he eventually decided to move to Bayern Munich. Upon joining the club, Ribery stated “I’d like to play well, have fun and bring on as many victories as we can get.” After shining at the World Cup, Ribery has the world at his feet and should he continue his rate of improvement Bayern will have some player on their hands. 

After the departures of Claudio Pizarro and Roy Makaay to Chelsea and Feyenoord, Bayern Munich needed to strengthen up front and that they have done. Bringing in three players capable of scoring goals, Bayern Munich should not have a problem breaking down opposition defences this season. 

Their first signing was finalized earlier in the season, but officially took place on July 1st when Jan Schlaudraff joined from Alemannia Aachen. Although Schlaudraff will not be one of the premier strikers, he was starting to make waves in German football and should prove a competent backup should injuries occur up front.

The two major signings were those of Miroslav Klose and Luca Toni, two players that almost any club in the world would be happy to have. Miroslav joined from Bundesliga rivals Werder Bremen with an established pedigree, having top scored for Germany at the World Cup finals as well as netting week in, week out for Bremen in the Bundesliga for the last few seasons. 

Luca Toni comes with an even better record, having been part of the Italian World Cup winning squad, as well as being the only player to score more than thirty goals in Serie A since 1959. Toni came to Bayern hungry for success, telling reporters, “I signed with Bayern to win both the Bundesliga and the UEFA Cup.” 

Bayern have moved well in the transfer market, buying both quality and quantity to help shore up the weak areas of their squad, and general manager Uli Hoeness was happy with their dealings, saying “We are very proud of our new players. Actually we have spent a lot of money, but we are looking forward to this investment paying off.”

So, how will Bayern do this season?

After their failures of last year, both the players and fans will hope that the team will do better and with their dealings in the transfer market I cannot see anything other than a Bundesliga title win.

Bayern Munich have already come roaring out of the blocks, climbing to first place in the table with a three point advantage over second placed VFL Bochum after just four games. With the team playing some of the best football it has ever played, thrashing title contenders Werder Bremen 4-0 away from home, I would not be surprised if Bayern do not relinquish their lofty position for the rest of the season.

As Spanish side Sevilla have stepped up from the UEFA Cup to the Champions League, Bayern have a good chance of winning the UEFA Cup as well, and should they continue their fine form perhaps a small bet on the league and cup double would be a smart one for football fans across the world.