Kaiserslautern Revenge

5 wins in a row, 5 games without conceding a goal in a row.  Exactly on this day, Kaiserslautern defeated Bayern Munich last season 2-0 at the exact same stadium, and Bayern finally got their revenge.  It's also the first time since 2010 that Bayern has been in first place, since they last won the title in the 2009/2010 season.  Bayern started out brilliantly with having four quality chances in the first ten minutes alone.  Gomez failed to convert his shot from a tough angle off a set piece, Van Buyten's header was brilliantly saved, Gomez header was saved off the line & then Lahm had the chance of the half.  A great dribble going past two players before playing a 1-2 with Muller and getting an easy 1v1 with the keeper.  Lahm missed just wide, however he should have scored, or at least passed to Gomez for an easy tap in.  Either way Bayern earned a penalty for a clear handball on Rodnei as he was trying to mark Muller in the box.  Gomez scored and the first half ended 1-0.  Most of the first half was a standstill after the first ten minutes, few chances for Bayern.

"It was all him!" Gomez & Muller duo continue to impress

The 2nd half started a bit more lively, and Bayern earned another penalty.  This time Muller was fouled for silly and completely avoidable foul in the box, once again Rodnei being the culprit.  It looked by the looks that he got kneed in the jewels, but you would have to ask Muller yourself if it really hit the spot.  Anyways, it was a case of deja vu, with Gomez scoring another penalty.. or rather the rebound.  The goalkeeper guessed the right way and stopped it, but the ball bounced back to Gomez who coolly slotted it in.  Lahm had a similar situation with Muller, yet again with a 1-2 but he took one touch too many and lost the ball instead of shooting the ball on target.  Gomez put the icing on the cake finishing completing what is hopefully the first of many hat-tricks, with Muller doing some fantastic build up, getting the ball from Ribery, heading towards the opposite directions and running with it before laying it off to Gomez, who slotted it in clinically.  While Ribery & Lahm didn't score nor assist, they were fantastic in attack and nearly every attack was coming from their side.  It's a shame Robben was injured, and Rafinha benched, because the right side with Boateng & Alaba was very non-existant in attack today.  Hopefully Jupp comes to his sense here and starts Rafinha on the right, we need a player who can initiate attacks from the back on the right side & attack well.

If we don't move, maybe he'll score.. ...

Bayern didn't allow FCK any chances, as has been the story of the season so far, even though they have had the easiest schedule opening that I remember in recent years.  Soon enough however, with Champions League opponents & tough Bundesliga teams, the defense will finally start to get tested.  What was particularly impressive this match was Goller, or Gomez & Muller.. and my bad attempt to recreate a new Robbery-like nickname for certain Bayern players.  However with their early form, one has to wonder whether Muller & Gomez can be more important than Ribery & Robben this season.  A look at some stats:

7 Games ~ 1 goal conceded, 6 clean sheets

Muller: 1 goal, 7 assists

Gomez: 6 goals, 1 assist

Out of 7 games altogether, Bayern has scored 15 goals altogether.  Nearly 1/2 of those have been scored by Gomez & Muller, and just over 1/2 have been assisted by the two as well.  Another outstanding statistic is that out of the 7 assists that Muller has made so far, 5 of those are goals that Gomez has scored.  That's almost every goal Gomez has scored so far this season!  It shows that their chemistry is getting better and better and unlike Robbery, they aren't injury prone like the two wingers (knock on wood).  Now it's time for international break, but Bayern have bounced well after the Bundesliga opener defeat to Monchengladbach.  Also well done on Jupp on yet another well coached match, so far early signs show that the Bayern FO got the right coach for the job!

If you wish to discuss the match, go here

Finishing the job.. and unto the Champions League

So Bayern after winning 2-0 at home, had to go Zurich which itself was a short trip to simply not not loose by more than 2 goals.  Simply keeping a clean sheet would do the job and that's what Bayern did.. along with scoring a goal the 6th minute thanks to Mario Gomez.  That's the 5th clean sheet in 6 matches so far this season.  Bayern started out well, the first 20 minutes attacked but due to the early goal, they started to relax afterwards and the match itself wasn't necessarily too interesting.  Ribery while quiet the first half, exploded the 2nd half and really should have scored or assisted a goal, but poor finishing along with other players not being clinical enough to score his assists, he ended up with nothing.  Still it is encouraging, but we will need him in that form the entire 90 minutes, not just the 2nd half when the opposition may be fatigued.

Gomez took a knock right at the end of the first half and got taken off for Petersen.  Rafinha was rested, and Robben on the bench as he was injured but could still play.  Bayern simply didn't want to risk him unless they had to.  So far Jupp's "rotation policy" has worked very well.  Actually, I would not be surprised at all if I saw Tymoschuk starting over Gustavo this weekend against FCK for precisely this reason.  This also encourages players that aren't starters to give it more than usual, since they get to play more during the season and have chances to impress.

A team goal worth winning a match with

Bayern didn't look too threatened by Zurich, especially in open play as there were very few chances made.  However during set pieces the team looked confused and was making mistakes.  Neuer cleared a ball with his wrist as if he was playing volleyball, but the ball should have been cleared before reaching the target.  He also punched the ball off another set piece and it fell to a Zurich player just outside the 18 yard box, but he shot wide.  Otherwise while secure, Neuer needs to instill confidence in our defense the entire 90 minutes and mistakes like that can prove costly vs clinical opponents like United or Barcelona.  Another set piece was cleared by Boateng, but the ball fell to the ground kindly to Bayern as it could have been an easy tap in on another day.  Even against Wolfsburg, Helmes scored a legitimate goal called wrongly offsides..  yeah you guessed it, from yet another set piece!  Heynckes will need to get to work on this but otherwise we can look to the upcoming match vs FCK after a 4 game winning streak, with confidence.

You can view the match discussion here

A 5 star thrashing

Boateng said that Bayern would soon "explode into form" a few days ago and so Bayern listened.. as they thrashed Hamburg 5-0 at home in a match that could have easily went to double figures if the hosts were more clinical.  With the important Zurich tie on Tuesday, it was clear what game is the most important, as Heynckes decided to do a bit of rotating this time out.  3 changes from the team that won against Zurich, Tymoschuk & Van Buyten clearly starting so Gustavo & Boateng could be rested, while Muller starting due to outperforming Kroos.

 Ribery along with Robben in top form, Robbery masterclass

Bayern basically dominated the match from the first until the last minute, and I could not tell was this because Bayern was playing that good or whether Hamburger was really that bad.  I'm assuming it's a mixture of both.  All 3 changes that Jupp made paid off, as all three players had good games.  Van Buyten played well in defense, and scored the all important goal off a set piece to start things up and what a header.  Tymo while limited in attack bar one great shot, dominated the middle entirely with Schweini as well as giving him the license to roam and attack more.  After scoring the first goal, Bayern scored a quick 2nd soon after, Robben taking a quick throw in to Muller who passed to Ribery and all he had to do was a nice dribble with a good finish.. along with Hamburg's dreadful defending along the way.

After a couple of chances being missed by Bayern, Robben took upon himself with a majestic goal, running past 2 players and with someone by him and the keeper to beat, he lobs it over him.  Messi would be proud of him.  Muller than had two golden chances to score, once he chested it and hit the post and then another chance right after he couldn't control the ball.  Right before the half ended, Muller had another 1v1 with the keeper and decided to shoot when he should have really passed to Gomez for an open net.  Not to fret, all that matters is that they got the win.  Both Muller & Gomez missed a few chances this game, and need to find their finishing boots soon, but I'm not worried.  When players of their caliber keep getting in the right positions and getting chances, they are bound to start scoring soon enough.  The season just started, with a bit more match fitness, I'm sure both will return to their goalscoring form.

Robben with a great performance & sublime goal yet again

2nd half started the same way, Bayern dominating and Hamburg playing awful.  They did have a bit more posession during the second half but could not do much with it, Petric was missed and it was clear.  Bayern continued to make chances and the first few minutes even played on the counter attack, then the 4th goal came and it was that man Mario Gomez.  He finally broke his scoring duck, and hopefully he can start scoring at will like he did last season.  You could see it meant a lot to him since the entire team joined on the celebrations!  Robben was taken off around 60th minute and Ribery along with Gomez were replaced 20 minutes from the final whistle, all for Alaba, Olic & Petersen.  Once again, Jupp went for a bit of resting and rotating since the forward three have to play in the important match vs Zurich.  It was a good idea and even though I would have preferred this to be done sooner, he has to be commanded on letting 5 B players get some game time so early into the season.  The final goal came from Olic, after Schweini sent in a cross which Badstuber headed towards Olic for an easy header.  He looked injured for the last 10 minutes after the goal, hoping he is ok.  The diversity of the goals was a nice touch as well, with all 5 different goalscorers, 2 goals coming with the left foot, one with the right & 2 headers.  All in all, the fans can be very satisfied even against an awful Hamburger team, players rested, many goals, yet another clean sheet & good fussball.  What more could you ask for?

2-0 win at half time

So the much anticipated match vs Zurich ended in a 2-0 win.  Asking me beforehand, would I take this result?  I would probably bite the hand of whoever would offer it to me, a clean sheet and 2 goal cushion is great.  Yet after the game while still happy at the result, still sad considering the circumstances.  I know it's early, but the defense looks unrecognizable.  By saying that, it's a good thing, a great thing actually considering it has been embarrassing for years now.  3 clean sheets in 4 matches is great progress, and it's not just about the clean sheets.  It's also that Bayern hardly gives the opposing team any chance to score during the game.  Braunschweig had 0 chances during the game, Monchegladbach bar the silly error only had a long range shot saved by Neuer, Wolfsburg came somewhat close a few times but handled ultimately and now Zurich only had one chance all match during a set piece which in itself was dreadfully defended as a whole.  In other words, the defense looks like a huge upgrade.  Every single player looks better.  Neuer is a huge improvement in just about every aspect, Boateng looks like the best defender we've had in ages, and Rafinha so far suprisingly looks very solid in defense.  Not to mention both Badstuber and Lahm both look better than previous seasons, Badstuber because he has a capable partner next to him along with playing deeper and not being exposed to his lack of pace and Lahm because he's always been a world class LB playing on the right.  From last season, every single position from the back 5 looks improved and it shows.  We will see if it continues though, we need to know how they cope vs strong, attacking teams.

Schweini scoring an early goal, with a header!

The match itself started in high spirits, Bayern attacking from the get go.  In general in the match they should have scored at least 4, 5 goals but poor finishing and good goalkeeping let them down.  Either way the first goal came very quickly, something Bayern isn't used to at all actually.. I believe the first since Podolski was here did Bayern score a goal so quickly during the match in the first few minutes of the match, Schweinsteiger being the culprit with a great, accurate header.  The ball came from a corner which fell to a Zurich player, Gustavo stealing the ball and passing quickly to Robben on the left side for a cross, which deflected off a Zurich defender and then it was all for Schweini to head it home.  And he did so in the 8th minute of the match!  For the first 20 minutes of the game, Bayern tried to attack and score that 2nd goal but couldn't, the best chance came with Lahm playing a 1-2 with Gomez and getting a 1v1 with the keeper which he missed.  Gomez also had 2 good chances in the half but it didn't seem his night, as neither went in.  The rest of the half was Bayern in control not necessarily trying to score but simply control the tempo and hold on the ball, which they did with ease.

With Buyten on the bench, Ribery may have found a new boyfriend

2nd half started with Bayern attacking at will, as they spend most of the half just trying to score a goal.  Many, many chances came Bayern's way but they decided to miss them all to make the match more interesting and tense! (I kid..)  Gomez getting another chance and surprise, him missing yet another chance, as Ribery had a good move to give Gomez a clear chance but he shot a bit too far off the net instead of going for a placement shot.. he went for power when he was so close to the net!  Ribery himself hit the post from a free kick, and then had a chance himself which he shot right at the keeper.  Lahm also had a rebound shot saved by the keeper, which he really should have scored.  There were also late penalty claims from Muller who was introduced 55th minute & Gomez later on in the final minutes, neither given unfortunately.  It seemed Gomez rounding the keeper and shooting, he was finally going to score late in the match.. but a defender ran and saved off the line!  It simply wasn't his night.  I understand why Jupp did not bring in Olic at all during the game, even though that's precisely what most Bayern fans are wondering about.  Gomez still tried, and still got into positions, he didn't want to kill his confidence.  I believe it was the right decision, because sooner or later when you get those chances you are bound to start scoring them.  A good start would be vs Hamburg this weekend.

Robben.. the man who always scores brilliant goals

In other words Bayern played, much better offensively than all previous matches even though finishing let them down.  Robben apparently played at 70%, so maybe once he reaches 100%, we can see more of him because bar his assist & goal, he didn't do too much during the game.  The encouraging thing is that the last 2 matches vs Wolves & Zurich, Bayern started to create more chances.  Hope they keep improving in this regard, and then the goals will likely start to flow.. one by one..  The next game is at home vs Hamburg who if you believe Bild, are coming to play an ultra defensive formation, so scoring more than just a goal here would show that Jupp's offensive tactics are starting to bear fruit.  Even if they do not, he must have more time as they say Rome itself wasn't built in a day.  However due to Hamburg's likely formation and tactics, it could end up as a very slow and dull match where a goal may decide the tie.  Ahh what the hell, at this point give me the 3 points and we can worry about good fussball in a month or two.

Live match discussion: http://www.soccer24-7.com/forum/showthread.php?t=190956

Last minute goal

After loosing 1-0 to Monchengladbach, Bayern needed a win vs Wolfsburg away from home.  Wolfsburg won their first match 3-0 away from home to Koln, so it didn't look like an easy tie, especially with Magath as their new coach.  The game looked like it was going to end 0-0 until the last minute of extra time Gustavo scored the winner with a well placed finish on the bottom, left corner.

Bayern started slowly, especially the first half chances were scarce for either team.  Helmes scored a legitimate goal last minute of the first half, but the lines-man incorrectly called it offsides.  2nd half started and for the next twenty minutes, Bayern dominated and finally showed some attacking ability for the first time this season.  They made several chances and came close but no goal.  Afterwards the game slowed down and neither team could close the match out.  Olic came on the last ten minutes and helped make the goal as he made a run passing to Ribery, who layed it off to Gustavo to score the winner!  A player that Bayern have desperately missed last season came through.

 Why the long face Felix?

Another important point that caught my attention is the defense looks more stable, Wolfsburg made very few chances and after this match Bayern have conceded only one goal in 3 games.  Yes the attack is suffering a lot lately, but Heynckes was interviewed after the game and stated that he hasn't worked on any offensive tactics, all he's done is work on their fitness & defensive organization which shows.  Next match will be at home vs Zurich and the first time Ribery & Robben start together, hopefully we can seen some attacking variety and not another borefest..  along with the defensive quality that we've see so far.  I know a lot of Bayern fans are angry that the team plays so stale, boring and predictable attacking wise with very little off the ball movement in attack.. just remember the first 3 months during Van Gaal's reign.  Bayern looked clueless in attack then and later on became the most exciting attacking team in years in the club's history.  Heynckes should be given more time, right now all that matters is that he  drastically improves the defense and keeps winning.

Deja Vu.. another bad start to the Bundesliga Season

You've seen this before haven't you, you must have if you are a Bayern fan.  Two years with Van Gaal, the season with Klinsmann, yet again Bayern start the season in poor form..  a loss at home vs Borussia Monchengladbach.  I am not overreacting about the loss, as it's only the first match of the season.  However a lot of what I saw was dissapointing.  Off the ball movement was non-existant, players just expected someone to do it all themselves or merely a two player combination to get a goal.. or perhaps the amount of crosses coming in which hardly were effective bar 3 occasions all match (there were over 20 crosses).  The safe passing was also discouraging, Bayern was playing it safe all match vs a team that finished 16th last season in the Bundesliga and at home, never anything creative but all predictable which made it easier to stop.  The amount of hopeless crosses into the box was getting more and more apparent that Bayern lacked any real ideas.

 Boateng dissapoints first match of the season

Another tactical change was the positioning of the forward line, they were allowing BMG during the entire match to pass the ball around their defense when during Van Gaal's era they never allowed teams to breathe even in their own half.  Their goalkeeper and central defenders had far, far too many touches and allowed too much time on the wall.  Gomez was positioned as an attacking midfielder during the entire time that Bayern wasn't in hold of posession.  I am unsure why this was, you have to ask the coach.  The move itself is ridiculous as Bayern should at the end of the day be playing attacking football.  If not, then at least one of Ribery, Robben or Muller (if not two) need to get benched/sold for a better counter-attacking formation.  However they are all great players and it would be ridiculous to do such a thing, yet Heynckes was playing overly defensive even though BMG defended nearly the entire match.  The defense was actually solid for once, bar the silly mistake which both Neuer & Boateng were at fault for.  Schweinsteiger also should look at himself today, he was awful in that match and added nothing to the game.  He was basically playing defensive midfield (again Heynckes, why are there 2 defensive midfielders against a team like Borussia?), but not offering much defensively like Gustavo was.  Generally bar the defense (excluding their error), there was nothing positive in the match vs BMG.  They have a lot to prove, as they are already 3 points behind Dortmund who look just as good as last season! 

The only optimistic point here is that the last time Bayern lost at home to BMG, they won the Champions League in 2001!

Three & Easy

So Bayern played their first match of the season in the DFB Cup vs Braunschweig, newly promoted Bundesliga II team.  Ribery and Robben were out due to injury as much as it may surprise everyone.. but the team still showed a boring yet professional performance.  It looked like Bayern wasn't really bothered to go all out or anywhere near that, and it showed as there were hardly any chances.  They basically created two chances all match, scoring one & also gaining two penalties thanks to MOTM Thomas Muller as Braunschweig's silly & unnecessary mistakes.  Gomez & birthday boy Schweini both converted their penalties in the first half, easing entirely into 2nd half.

It's far too early into the season to make too many judgement calls, especially vs an opponent such as Braunschweig, but some observations were there.  For one, Bayern was too static and just passed the ball around, but like I said it was more for conserving energy that we were shown a yawn-inducing match.  For one, Bayern kept a clean sheet!  Boateng first half especially looked like a one man defense.  Some good clearances here and there, he keeps impressing.  Still waiting for him to show more offensively though, I'd really like him to break out of his shell and start building up some good attacks from the back.  So far it's more of safe passes.  He still made a few mistakes, same with Rafinha, but both ran back and made up for it.  Neuer was basically a spectator other than a few passes here and there, but his distribution is really class and he showed on several occasions.

Which youngster will have a break-out season?

Alaba looked solid, but he looks a bit out of his depth at LW, mostly because he is a central midfielder and is being played out of position.  Still he impresses and you notice his talent on the pitch.  Offensively there wasn't much to talk about, since Bayern didn't really make many chances.  Muller earned two penalties & scored a brilliant 3rd goal which was a lob over the keeper at a tight angle.  One thing that I wish Muller would do a bit more this season is attack the goal, shoot from distance, get the ball and go attack right away.  It could go a long way in making him a goalscoring machine.  Really would like for him to be more ruthless and after last season, he needs to show that he can grow and not stagnate in being the same player as he was 2 years ago.  Especially if he does, he could loose his place to Toni Kroos who has been probably the best Bayern player during pre-season.  Still with Heynckes in charge, there are already a few new young players that are impressing in Alaba, Kroos, Usami & Boateng.  Boateng looks to get the hang of it already, but I am interested if any of the other three can have a breakout season. 

New season starting.. will anything be different?

So after the 10/11 dreadful season where Bayern won nothing, management decided to finally spend this summer.  As per usual, they blamed the coach they fired for everything as they usually do and pretend they were blameless in just about everything.  It's obviously everyone else's fault but theirs.  Anyways for the upcoming season, they hired Heynckes early before the season even ended and I would imagine they talked to him about transfers as well.  And Bayern has spent roughly around 40m euros, with some clauses on Neuer's case potentially increasing by 7m depending on performances/trophies.  Bayern has already bought Neuer (18m), Rafinha (5.5m), Usami (loan), Petersen (2.8m), Boateng (13.5m) and sold Ekici for 5m euros which means Bayern have the net spend of 35m euros.  Based on the Vidal chase, we know for certain that they are or perhaps were willing to spend 10m euros at least.  Especially considering that we spent nothing on a record breaking revenue year last summer, one would hope we don't stop at 35m euros.. 

 Kahn's replacement is finally here

Now lets get to the players that we have already signed and see what they can offer.  The biggest one, the superstar Neuer is obviously going to improve the team drastically.  Very expensive for a keeper, but we got arguably the best keeper in the world or second best after Iker The Saint Casillas.  In terms of having a complete keeper, this is what you get.  World class distribution, something lacking severely, he is a very good passer on the ball.  He started many good counters for Schalke last season, once even when Schalke played Bayern to Raul which resulted in a goal.  He also is a good organizer of the defense, and is solid at corner when he collects the ball, also things we have missed in our defense.  I think you will find few Bayern fans (other than Ultras) that won't see him as the biggest positive contributor to our team of all the signings.  However Neuer alone can't make all the difference, and thankfully Bayern and Heynckes have addressed the defense heavily this summer.



The second most expensive signing is Boateng.  I won't talk about the City war or words drama, because it was boring but thankfully it made them lower their demands.  Signing a player that has hardly played CB as a pro to save us from our central defensive problems was a huge question mark, he has a lot of pressure to perform.  So far, I've only seen him play vs Barcelona B team but he looked very assured and composed.  One thing that I expected from him is to pass the ball from the back, he is known for his good passing but hopefully that comes with time.  Either way it's impossible to judge now, we need to see more of him but he impressed from the little I did watch. 

Usami, the future replacement of Robbery?

Another player that impressed during pre-season is Takashi Usami.  While he doesn't run as much as he should and gets tired pretty quickly, you can see his class.  He knows when to pass, doesn't get troubled when others pressure him and has great ideas even if some of them don't work in the end.  He still has a lot of adapting to do, but if he keeps improving and showing his class at this rate.. Bayern may have already found a replacement in a few years for either Ribery or Robben.  Very excited about this signing.  Petersen was bought for Gomez, as depth as they have similar styles.  Played great in Bundesliga II and still needs to adapt to Bayern's way of playing just like Usami, though I don't think he can do any worse than Miro Klose has for Bayern in the past 2 years.  Rafinha has looked pretty good so far as well, I'm very interested in seeing how he plays with Robben and how he can handle playing defensively with a player ahead of him who doesn't help much defensively.  Hard to judge the players since any of them bar Neuer are likely to turn out great, solid or flop signings.  At least Bayern addressed part of the defensive problems.  However, I would still like if they bought one more defender to partner Boateng, they still have the money to do so.  There is still exactly a month left in the transfer window, hopefully Bayern use it to buy one more class player.

Last minute goal.. the "typical" German way

Inter Milan 0 - 1 Bayern Munich

What a night in Milano for Bayern Munich!  Bayern played the current treble winners of Europe, the team that beat Bayern in the Champions League final 2-0, in Italy.. and won.  You could see it before the match, you would hear a new interview every few hours from the Bayern camp, Schweini saying Milan is better, Muller saying Bayern lost because they didn't play to their potential rather than Inter playing so well, Van Gaal saying Inter play defensive football, etc etc..  The point is there was a bit of bitterness and anger, that much is clear.  And they did what needed to be done, talk the talk and walk the walk.  Good thing because had they lost, they would have looked like fools for all the little digs at Inter.

Tap in or not, he knows how to score

At times during the match, you would have thought that Bayern was the home team the way they played.  This match was also weird in the sense that there was only one goal scored.  It could have easily ended 2-2 or 3-2 for either team, very even match.  Chances galore, Inter through Eto'o & Cambiasso had chances to win the the match, while in Bayern with Ribery hitting the crossbar, Robben post and Gomez chance but all went begging.  Then at the end, Robben dribbled and shot from 20-25 yards and Cesar fumbled the ball..  Mario Gomez then running and tapping it in to celebrate in a funky dance.  Probably one of the easiest goals he's ever scored, also Lucio who was amazing all match was found ball watching when he should have tried to close the space.  With everything that went on in the match, this is probably the best match of the knock-out stage so far.

blood & sweat from Schweinsteiger, the new Effenberg

I did think that Leonardo would be outcoached by Van Gaal and that's exactly what happened.  His initial tactics were good, the counter attacking style as soon as getting the ball pass to Eto'o or Sneijder and hope they would play with one another to get the goal.  It almost worked on a few occasions, but Kraft saved the day.  Van Gaal put Gustavo in midfield to man-mark Sneijder all match.  First half he had trouble, Sneijder got away from him on several occasions and was casuing Bayern trouble along with Eto'o.  Whatever he said at half time worked, because Bayern pretty much controlled and dominated the entire 2nd half bar the last 5 minutes with Gustavo keeping Sneijder quiet.  Leo on the other hand made no changes once his initial plan wasn't working, which is where he failed short of and with a bit of luck, got punished because of it.  Inter will have to do really the impossible and that is to win at the Allianz Arena.  Bayern this season have lost there only once, vs Mainz when Bayern was at their worst form of the season, had many players including Robbery injured and Mario Gomez benched while Mainz was firing on all cylinders.  Still with that loss, Bayern have the best home record in the league in home matches with the most goals and points gained.  Two things that dissapointed me in particular from the match was Ribery & Muller.  Ribery I expected to be the best player for Bayern beforehand, yet he was one of the worst.  He will need to play better in the next leg, we expect more from highest paid player in the team even though Badstuber just standing back in defense after Pranjic's injury surely didn't help him.  Muller was invisible for most of the match and at times looked lazy in his running, which was really really irritating.  He had 2 near perfect passes to Gomez that were intercepted by good defending and a few other moments where he looked good in posession.  He still looked better than last year in Champions League, but he also didn't look as good as he looks in the league.  When the opposing team is marking Robbery & Gomez, you are expected to have a far, far bigger presence in the field than a few plays or passes here and there.  No excuse, he along with Ribery need to improve for the next match.  With this result, I would say Bayern are likely to advance.  I was very proud of their performance vs Inter and am hoping they play a bit better in the 2nd leg considering it's at home.

Inter Milan vs Bayern Munich Preview

Wednesday the 23rd of February.  It gives me goosebumps, I imagine the same is with the rest of the Bayern fans.  Inter Milan vs Bayern Munich, revenge is going into the minds of the Bayern players but whether they will get it is another thing entirely, especially as it doesn't necessarily have to come on Wednesday.  Inter Milan did the unthinkable last season, won the treble while beating Bayern Munich in the final with the scoreline of 2-0.  Many things have changed since then, Mourinho in particular has left Inter Milan.  They are weaker defensively due to one of their star defenders being out for the season and even ex-Bayern player Lucio who is "doubtful", even though according to him "I will definitely make it vs Bayern".  Rafa Benitez replaced Mourinho and with ridiculous expectations, he failed and got fired.  His replacement Leonardo (not the blue Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle) has tried to make this Inter much different than the Inter Bayern played last year.  They are more about attacking, scoring goals and looking good.  Well, that seems to be the case in some matches and in other matches not so much but it's obvious it will take some time to adapt to Leonardo's style.  Milito has dropped in form dramatically and either way will miss the match due to an injury, however the biggest difference is Eto'o who looks unstoppable in many matches this season.  He dribbles, passes and scores at will and for my money along with Lucio if he makes, those two are the players that Bayern needs to worry most about.  Eto'o defensively as our defense just like last season seems suspect.  It has improved as there is no Daniel Van Buyten starting in the center but not by much.  Bayern on the other hand have several changes when you look at the starting line-up, even though they spent no money in the summer.  I mean after all when your team shows huge gaping holes last season in defense during Champions League over and over and over again in many matches, why would you want to improve that weakness just because you had a record revenue?

That man Eto'o, is the one to watch for

The back-line bar Lahm looks completely different.. well to be fair, it's looked different in almost every match but I will try to guess the right back 4 and keeper.  Breno, Buyten, Badstuber, Tymo, Kraft, Butt, Gustavo, Pranjic, Contento, Demichellis have all been rotated and made starters at one point of another.  Lahm has as usual played every single game because why would you get a player to let him rest once in a while, it's obvious that he is a robot that never gets tired even though his performance this season may have dropped compared to last season..  I should really stop with the sarcasm now, but I just can't help myself when I see Bayern FO and Van Gaal let these problems go the way they have.  Badstuber is no longer a left-back (thankfully), he starts at LCB and Tymoschuk who is a midfielder obviously partners him.  Van Gaal obviously has a plan and he thought why not turn another midfielder into a defender, and he did the same thing with buying Gustavo.  Kraft has replaced Butt as the number keeper, the difference between the two isn't drastic enough to bother comparing though I suspect his lack of experience is definitely a minus.  In midfield, Van Bommel ex-captain has left and it's likely Pranjic partners Schweini.  Kroos is likely to come on for the 2nd half to take over for Pranjic, as he is likely the long-term starter and partner for Schweinsteiger.  No more Olic, as he is out for the season.  Now Mario Gomez starts and has scored 27 goals this season.  There are reports  with Van Gaal stating that Gomez might miss the match due to an injury which was not apparent at all vs Mainz.  Perhaps I am being hopeful here, but I believe he is simply playing mind games with the young Inter coach.  As much as I like Klose, this isn't a match to test if he's still got it or not.

Riibery, was he the missing link that Bayern 

needed in last year's final?

Either way, this match is hard to predict.  Inter have looked good in some matches and ok in other matches, so you don't know what to expect.  The champions won't back down though and they are on home turf.  Bayern have started to gain some form since around mid-December and especially the past few matches with Ribery and Robben being re-united, they have looked at least attack wise, very very dangerous.  Ribery in particular looks to be doing his best to get back to the old Ribery that many Bayern fans fell in love with, getting 2 assists vs Hoffenheim and playing outstanding and my MOTM vs Mainz.  He got no goals or assists, but he was a danger and part of many attacks, he also had an outstanding 81% of his tackles won, 22 of his 27 challenges.  He was everywhere in defense and attack.  If I were a betting man (I'm not), I would probably put my money on Ribery being the player to watch for Bayern.  Yes if Gomez makes it, he will be hard to contain, Muller has gotten into some fine form, Robben is being Robben and Schweini is passing as well as you would want him, but I think Ribery feels the most "guilty" of the attacking bunch to make a point.  After all, he did get the red card and missed the final, which he was needed considering how useless Altintop and his pass-back ability was all match.  Eto'o and/or Lucio for Inter would be the players Bayern will have to watch out for & Ribery for Bayern.  Either way if Gomez does make it and is fit to start, I don't think this Inter team will be able to contain Robbery & Co. from scoring at least one.  However I believe Inter will definitely also score on Bayern, as Eto'o seems in great form this season and Sneijder is due a super pass or two.  There is only so much a defender in poor form, 2 midfielders turned into defenders and a young little rookie in goal can do against such great players.  I want a revenge, though I would lying if I said I wouldn't take a scoring tie in Milan at the moment.  1-1 would be my preferred result, 2-2 would be even better.  Either way, that is what I think will happen but no one can guess what can happen in a Champions League match like this.  Bayern got the toughest draw for the round of 16 and a revenge ticket with it.  Lets see if they take it..

Gomez & Olic.. it's not just about the goals

After the 08/09 season, Olic was brought in for free since his contract ended in the summer.  At the time, I wasn't too happy since I wanted Bayern to get a real target striker.  A few weeks after however, Bayern did buy Gomez for a record fee.  Olic had his best season last year scoring 7 goals in Champions League including a hat-trick in the semi-final match vs Lyon as well as a goal apiece to Manchester United.  Suffice to say, he had a very good season.  Unfortunately for him, he got injured for the entire season this year and Gomez has literally taken over from his reign .. at least so far.  I will basically explain why in my opinion, Gomez fits the team better than Olic, if both are fit and I'm not just looking for goals as the reason.

Olic naturally is a second striker, he plays behind the main forward.  Last season when Gomez was benched and "Golic" was no more, Olic played as the main man and Muller played behind him.  Muller like Olic is a second striker by nature who can also play out wide or hybrid playmaker role.. well basically any attacking position.  One thing that I noticed so many times during the second half of the season, Olic would drop back many many times running after the ball because he is thinking as a second striker, so basically the 4-2-3-1 formation turned more into a 4-2-4-0.  It was problematic since when we got the ball, we had no one to pass it to.  I know to some I will sound like a mad man, complaining about tactics last season when Bayern won the double and reached the CL final, 1 match away from having the best season ever..  however this was a problem at times.  Many times Robben, Muller or Ribery would get the ball but would have to wait and hold the ball until Olic went forward once again.  Gomez for the most part, stays right at the defensive line, waiting for either a pass or make a run.

 Olic & Gomez,both lovely additions to the new 

Bayern revolution

Mario Gomez is positionally speaking, a monster.  He is the type of player at the end of a match that you ask why he missed a chance or two that he should have scored, even though he actually scored one or two from other chances.  He knows where to be and when, Ruud and Luca Toni in particular understand what I'm stating.  The good change between Gomez and Olic is that Gomez hugs that back line and always has players on him, especially at the moment since teams know he will score a goal per game average.  In particular during the 4-0 thrashing of Hoffenheim for example, the 4th wonder goal from Robben.  If you notice the cross from Ribery, there are 3 defenders in the box all marking Gomez.  Robben gets the ball free and one of them runs to him, only for Robben to do what Robben does.  Gomez does this constantly, which completely stretches every defense since they have to double mark Robben, they have to do the same with Gomez and with Ribery's form getting better, will have to do the same with Ribery.  In other words if the team stays fit, teams won't be able to focus on a specific player, and Gomez helps make space for the wingers & Co.  I think Olic personally is a great team player and I cannot wait until he is back.  His running and giving his heart out in the field is something none of our strikers bar Muller show to such an extent anyways...  I think for Olic to work in the system best, he would have to play behind Gomez where he was successful last season before Gomez got benched, and that's where Thomas Muller plays.  Let us be realistic folks, is there any Bayern fan somewhere that would want young Muller benched?  Because I will find you, and I will change your mind...

Robbery.. the dynamic duo

February 12th, 2011.  Write it down, memorize it.. it's the first game that Ribery & Robben played together in the 10/11 season.  Both nearly at their peak form, it was a joy to behold, and one of Bayern's best games of the season.  Bayern played Hoffenheim at the Allianz Arena after the week before they played Koln leading 2-0 at half time only to let them score 3 second half to win the match.  A complete meltdown would be an understatement.  This match Bayern scored 2 first half but held in the 2nd half only to score 2 other goals thanks to the brilliance of Robben.

Robben's comeback filled with goals

Now it's undeniable that both Robben and Ribery at their best are world class and some of the best in the world at their positions.  I also believe they are the best wing pair in Europe, due to their similarities and differences.  Both are fast and love to beat their man.  Both can score and create but there are differences between the two.  Robben is the hybrid winger, the type in the style of Messi & Ronaldo.  He will score .. a lot.  He is a goal scoring threat and needs to be double and tripple marked throughout the entire match.  He scored 19 goals last season in the 2nd half of the season, similar form to the 2 best wingers in Europe at the moment.  He has come back this season and already 5 matches into the season, he has 5 goals & 2 assists.  Once again, he shows he is like those two in being an absolute world class goalscoring machine.  Now it might be the system, Lahm that plays behind him and Schweini pulling the strings from the back that he has turned into such a goalscoring type as before he would just be one of the players that could put the ball in the net when needed.  His highest goalscoring seasons with Chelsea and Madrid were 9 and 8, yet with Bayern he scored 23 goals last season and if he didn't get injured this season, 30 goal mark would have been more than probable.  Ribery on the other hand is a different player, not as selfish as Robben he is more of the creative type of player.  Bar last season, he has lead the assist charts for Bayern every season, he was the creative force of Bayern for 2 years running nearly single-handedly creating most chances by himself.  He has amazing vision and great passing ability, he knows when to pass and shows imagination while doing it.  Now both players can create goals and and make them, the difference is that one is more of a goalscorer and the other is more of the "creative" type.  This offers a great mix of diversity, makes Bayern unpredictable and very difficult to stop.

Love is in the air!

They showed this vs the Hoff as well.  The first goal, a brilliant team goal.  Ribery gets the ball and pushes forward, makes certain that 3 players are unto him and then passes to Muller who then lays a perfectly well weighted ball to Robben to cross low for Mario Gomez to finish.  The second goal, Ribery again does what I state and that is to create.  He misses an easy chance first though and than passes it to Muller who finishes by shooting on the keeper's side of the net.  The last goal is really excellent example of Ribery's vision.  He takes the ball from half the field, does a fake so the 2 opposing players stop for a split second, accelerates brings 2 players towards him  dribbles past one and takes one look then to cross to Robben with his weak foot who then finishes.  Gomez is at the time being marked by the 3 defenders giving Robben some room who has only 1 defender to beat.. he takes a step and then shoots a brilliant shot that curves in the top corner.  Robben also shows his 2 abillities as a goalscorer in both goals.  The first getting the ball in a counter and dribbling past 3-4 players and then slotting the ball home while the 2nd showing his great long range shooting.  The biggest question mark is whether these 2 stars can stay fit because if they can, Bayern has a shot on their day vs any opposition.  When they are injured, Bayern obviously suffer.

Now it would be simply put unfair of me not to include the love that they share with one another, straight from the FCB.com website.

“We wanted to prove we’re a great team,” Robben declared in a joint post-match interview with Ribéry. “It's not good when I don’t have Robben on the field,” said the France star. If both play, opposing defences are stretched far greater, and FCB are far less predictable on both flanks. “He adds extra quality to the team,” said Robben, returning the compliment and finishing with a broad grin: “And I love him too, of course.”


I feel like love is in the air..  Happy Valentine's Day!

Pranjic and Ottl.. not the duo you want at the center of the pitch

Last article I talked about who would replace Van Bommel after he left, yet I didn't believe the solution would ever be Pranjic and Ottl.  I have no idea why Van Gaal would go to this route.. hell I don't think anyone would think of going this route.  Fair enough Kroos is injured, but there are still 5 players for this position.. 3 of which are playing in the wrong positions at the moment.  That's right, Gustavo (left-back), Tysmoschuk (center back) and Schweinsteiger (attacking midfielder) which is the biggest crime of the 3, all out of position.  It's not too difficult to understand why our defense is shipping goals when half of the defense has players who are midfielders rather than defenders with the young keeper who just shakes his head or drinks his water bottle whenever they score a goal.  Bar Lahm, I can't see at the back where any type of leadership can possibly come from.. and he's not even the vocal kind either.  Now fair enough about Gustavo, I can understand playing him left-back since he is seen as a temporary solution for our weakest position with potential to become permanent if he impresses.  I can deal with such a move from Van Gaal.
 

"Why do you keep playing me out of position?"

What I can't deal with however is Tymo and Schweini being played out of position.  If Breno was not ready, than Van Gaal should have stopped being so ridiculously hard-headed and spent 25 million euros that the FO handed to him during the summer.  Or better yet.. and here comes the crazy idea, keep him loaned to Nurnberg for a full year after.  Now Tymoschuk who is an average defender and is positionally just about all over the place in every game, starts over him.  If he didn't want to spend the money, than he should be starting Breno instead of a player out of position.  Then there is the case of Bastian Schweinsteiger which makes every single person I assume outside of Van Gaal and perhaps his wife, ask what exactly is going on?  Why is one of the best players from last season along with Olic and Robben moved out of position..  Why is the best Central midfielder in the Champions League last year moved from his position?  Why is the best central midfielder from the World Cup that was just last summer moved from his position?  So Ottl .. OTTL of all players can start over him?  Pranjic is known to be the type that needs a dominant midfielder next to him, due to his height and lack of strength..  Ottl is definitely not it.  Van Gaal uses the excuse of Schweinsteiger being played as the #10 as to why Gomez is scoring the goals.  Now don't get me wrong, Schweini has assisted a good amount of goals to Gomez but he is needed farther back where he can control the game and add some defensive steel back to our team.  Gomez has scored 25 goals already this season, Schweini has a total of 8 assists so far this season.. now maybe my math isn't very good but Schweinsteiger hasn't even created 1/3rd of Gomez's goals.  Not to mention Schweini himself is far too slow and is not a great dribbler to be a solution there, our game is too static or predictable with him there bar a good pass here and there.  I'm sure Muller more than likely has assisted more goals to Gomez than Schweini, yet another player who has been played out of position.  I would assume everyone rates Ottl as the worst of the 6 midfielders we have, and considering the need of Pranjic to be paired with a very phsyical and dominant midfielder, Van Gaal somehow managed to choose the worst pair(combination) possible of the five players available.  This pair was awful from the first match, yet because our attacking game made up for it and we kept winning, Van Gaal stuck with this silly combination until this match, where the 2nd worst home attacking team scored 3 goals on Bayern in a matter of 26 minutes.  Absolutely disgraceful...

Van Gaal is also known for making such silly moves where he plays players out of position, it's not just a central midfield phenomenon.  Muller in particular I am still not sure if he has played once this season in his natural position.  Altintop has been switched as a left-winger many times when he never played that position this and last season.  He tried to turn Alaba into a left-back when he always known as a left-winger, attacking midfielder or his main position in central midfield.  When he first joined Bayern, he tried to change Ribery into an attacking playmaker and play him in the middle.  There is also the case of Riquelme at Barcelona, in other words he is known for making ridiculous changes with players.  I guess we should be thankful for Schweinsteiger's case.  All in all, Van Gaal needs to stop this ridiculous changing around of positions for players because it has hurt the team far more than help them.  And please .. put Schweinsteiger back to his natural central midfield position.

Sell sell sell.. and then comes Gustavo

Well the transfer period was incredibly hectic and many big players moved for huge prices during the month of January.  I'm not talking about Bayern of course, but the English Premier League certainly was the busiest of all the leagues.  Bayern on the other hand had a different plan, sell one fifth of their squad and get one player of quality.  Luiz Gustavo was the only player that Bayern Munich bought and he came for a whopping 15m euros.  While many other left, including captain (at the time) Mark Van Bommel.

Gustavo has definitely been bought this season at least as a left-back.  Contento completely failed to live to expectations, Pranjic was seen at best as a back-up option and Braafheid was never seriously considered for the role.  So far he looks ok, a bit clumsy and solid defending.  He hasn't been stellar but after only 4 games, it is simply a tad hard to judge him by.. however I am expecting him to perform to a higher level once he starts gelling with his team mates and has a better understanding of the system Bayern plays.  Anyways his signing is something that can only be judged the longer he plays, we might have a better idea of how successful the signing is sometime during next season.

Bayern wondering why they bought you in the first place as well..

Now onto the players we have sold.  It started from Van Bommel, ex-captain and the first ever non-German captain to many others.  A free transfer to Milan..  Haas, a youth player and simply a squad number unless a defensive catastrophe happens has moved to the Premier League.  Braafheid to Hoffenheim on a free to sweeten the deal for Gustavo; Alaba on loan to Hoffenheim; Demichellis to Malaga in Spain for 3m euros, & Knasmuller to Inter Milan for 300,000 euros.  Most of these players are either old like Van Bommel and Demichellis or simply not good enough like Haas, Braafheid and Knasmuller (at least for the time).  Alaba is rated highly but needed game time which is why he left.  The problem now is Bayern has sold too many players, with no actual replacements.  Quite a few signings will likely come during the summer but a couple of injuries here and there and it's doubtful that they can cope.  Not to mention players like Klose, Kraft, Altintop & Ottl being free agents during the summer.  However Bayern had the worst injury crisis in 30 years according to our medial team the first half of the season, perhaps we will be more lucky the 2nd half?  Bayern Dusel might be the last hope, though I remain optimistic about the rest of the season..

Van Bommel out.. who will step in his shoes?

Van Bommel, the first non-German captain officially left Bayern Munich in the winter transfer period, to AC Milan.  A bit weird that he left, 33 years old with rumors of not getting an extension & to a club where he can't play Champions League for this season on only a half a season contract.  There have been rumors that he got in a disagreement with Van Gaal, supposedly due to him loosing his starting place to Toni Kroos whose currently injured until mid-February and potentially the armband soon after.  Whether these rumors by Germany's most famous newspaper is true, I don't know but it does seem interesting.  Either way, we can thank Van Bommel for his years here but the question is who will take over his place?

Goodbye Van Bommel..

Toni Kroos is the obvious and most likely choice.  Could be the reason Van Bommel left, and I agree with Van Gaal if he sees it this way.  He can pass very very well, is excellent in the possession style of football Bayern have.  The Iniesta-Xavi combination could be the way that Schweini-Kroos may work, even though there are slight differences in positions and styles they play.. my comparison is in the way they keep possession and spray the ball around the field.  He has a good long range shot and adds something in free kicks and set pieces.  Positionally he is already great as well.  His biggest and perhaps only worry is his defensive game.  He needs to run at players more, be more aggressive and generally improve his defensive game.  He has shown glimpses of improvements but it is not at the level needed.  With Schweini by his side and Van Gaal's system however, it will be easier for him to develop.

Kroos.. working on his defensive game

There is always the option of Tymoschuk, after all Klinsmann bought him for that very reason.  He has been turned into a center back of late however, but he is always an option.  His weaknesses is that he is more of an old DM, a pure destroyer rather than the more recent players who can pass and initiate attacks much better.  However with him on the field in midfield, others like Schweinsteiger can have more freedom to attack.  Ribery and Robben wouldn't have to work as much defensively as well, but his attacking game suffers and he is not the type of player that Van Gaal prefers in that position.

 Tymoschuk or Pranjic.. could either of the two partner Schweini next?

The other choice is Luiz Gustavo, the Brazilian that came from Hoffenheim for 15m euros.  Now for this season at least, he will likely play left-back.  However after this season if Bayern sign a left-back, he could Schweini's partner.  He is a player that fits Van Gaal's system more than Tymoschuk for example, he has speed and good passing ability.  One of the best midfielders in Germany.  Another choice is Pranjic, who played very well vs United in Champions League.  Now I am a fan of Pranjic, he might even be one of my favorite players in the team.  He's not the most talented, but his devotion is praise worthy.  We bought him for 7.7m euros as a depth player, management only paid 7 million euros and Pranjic took 700,000 thousand euros from his own pocket to make sure the deal would happen.  He never complains when he is on the bench, he always gives 100% when on the field and runs all game long.  Good passer with good crossing and energetic, but I don't think he will be a starter..  he is not dominating enough in the middle of the pitch and can get muscled off the ball.  Last player left is Ottl... well he really isn't even a choice at this point.  The player could also be a new signing in the summer, who really knows what Van Gaal is thinking?

Who should Bayern buy in the winter or should they even bother?

Well it is officially New Years and I wish everyone a happy New Year!  Hope this year will be better than your last, for all of you.  Now that we've got that out of the way, lets talk about Bayern.  If you would have asked me two days on whether Bayern would sign anyone, I might have even said no at least not during this transfer period.  Yet Bayern have been very busy, it's already the first day of the transfer season and Bayern have sold Demichellis for 3m euros, loaned Alaba to Hoffenheim & bought Gustavo for 15 million euros.

Demichellis was always going to leave, however I'm very dissapointed we only got such a small sum of money from him.  Malaga are lucky to have gotten him so cheap.  He was always going to leave, he wanted to start and Van Gaal & he always had problems.  However it's a step in the right direction as it shows Bayern weeding out the weak links, especially ones that earn 5 to 5.5 million euros per year.  Alaba being loaned out is an outstanding move in my opinion, especially as it goes to Hoffenheim.  They just sold one of their best players that plays in Alaba's position, which gives him room to play.  Also they are a club known to play youth players which gives Alaba another advantage.  Just a fantastic move.  Gustavo on the other hand I wasn't all for this move, but nonetheless he can be a great signing.  The great thing about him is that he can play left-back, center-back and his original position in central midfield.  We already have plenty of players who can play in midfield, but him being able to play CB & LB is helpful since our left-backs are Contento whose simply put not good enough to start & Pranjic who at best is a good depth player there (good in attack, average defender).  At the heart of the defense, we have Badstuber, Breno, Tymoschuk & Van Buyten.  Van Buyten was supposed to join Hamburg but they didn't want to pay his high wage demands, I'm assuming Bayern wants to get rid of him as soon as possible.  So assuming he leaves in January, that would have left Bayern with 3 defenders which is simply put unacceptable for a team that fights for more than one trophy.  Gustavo being able to play there is a huge plus for depth purposes.

 Goodbye and good luck Demichellis

One position rather than player I would have wanted Bayern to go after this winter transfer period is something that I unfortunately hear nothing about.. the right back position to get someone as a back-up for Lahm.  He has played over 70 games in a row for Bayern being substituted only once during 70th minute in a Cup match.  Simply put, this is disappointing and something Bayern has to fix.  Even if it is a player like Gustavo or Pranjic, find someone who can play more than 1 position but make sure he can play right-back.  It could be a cheap option, but I have seen Lahm playing this season and he's been very disappointing.  He looks like he has ran out of gas and needs more breaks otherwise he would unfortunately crack and break down entirely.  The only other position Bayern even needs to address during this time is the wings, to have someone who can play either side if Ribery or Robben get injured..  Kakuta and Shaqiri have been linked here and there, I think Shaqiri in particular can't be any worse than Altintop.  Otherwise for this transfer period, I just don't see Bayern in need of signing any other type of player.  I can see in the summer a goalkeeper or better said Neuer being in need, a left-back and depending how Breno does for the 2nd half of the season, a defender.  Otherwise Bayern is already set in every position.

 Our first winter signing, Luiz Gustavo

Now that Alaba & Demichellis have left, the only players I imagine could leave Bayern during this time is Klose, Altintop, Van Buyten (all 3 due to playing time) & potentially even Van Bommel.  Klose shouldn't leave until the summer since Olic is injured and our depth will weaken there.  We also have no winger other than a converted Muller or Pranjic even though he can only play on the left, so we should keep Altintop until the summer.  Then both can leave and we can find better replacements, unless Shaqiri or a player of his type is found to replace Altintop now.. however the problem would lie that they can play in Champions League.  Buyten just isn't needed at all anymore, his wages are pretty big and Gustavo has already been brought as back-up there in case of injury emergency.  Van Bommel should leave as I doubt he's needed at Bayern anymore, however the only reason I can see this move not happening until the summer could be due to him not wanting to move.  Whatever club he will move to, I doubt they will have a bigger chance of winning trophies than Bayern and he's the captain here.  However he's been absolutely awful all season and should leave.  Bayern has Schweinsteiger, Kroos, Tymoschuk, Gustavo, Pranjic & even Ottl all who can play in central midfield in two positions, simply put there are too many players that can play there and there needs to be room for everyone to play.   So in general, I would hope for Braafheid, Van Buyten & Van Bommel to both leave and hopefully we can scrap some money of their transfers while using it to get a cheap back-up for Lahm.  It will be interesting (lets hope) what direction Bayern will be going this winter transfer period...

Once again, Happy New Years everyone!