Bayern's New Look
June 13, 2007
The Southern German giants have shelled out 57 million euros ($74 million) thus far this summer to bring in international stars like Italian striker Luca Toni and French midfielder Frank Ribery. It's a change in strategy for a team that has previously been known as much for its relative parsimony, compared with clubs like Chelsea or Real Madrid, as for its success.
In terms of quality, there can be no arguing with bringing a Toni or a Ribery. The Italian scored 47 goals over the past two seasons for Fiorentina in Serie A, while the Frenchman helped lead the équipe tricolore to the World Cup finals last year.
And if Bayern get their way, that illustrious duo will be joined by Germany's best striker, Miroslav Klose, who's in the final year of his contract with Werder Bremen.
The prospect of fielding a new and improved Bayern with that trio has Commercial Manager Uli Hoeness dropping predictions of a new era of Munich dominance. But while they've collecting an impressive array of fresh talent, Bayern's bosses haven't really addressed the positions most critics feel were the weakest last year.
No new Ballack
The great Bayern teams of recent years were anchored by two playmakers -- first Stefan Effenberg, then Michael Ballack -- and Munich's slump to fourth in the league last season was widely attributed to their failure to find an adequate successor at this position.
Ribery, however, doesn't fit the bill since he, by his own admission, prefers to play on the wings. It remains to be seen whether Bayern coach Ottmar Hitzfeld will try to shoehorn him into that role, or whether the plan is to advance the ball along the sidelines. And Argentinean midfielder Ernesto Sosa is an unknown quantity.
Assuming Bayern can push the ball upfield more productively this season, they'll have no shortage of players waiting in the box to knock it in. The arrival of Toni, and perhaps Klose, however, could shake up what remains of team chemistry from 2006-7.
If Bayern do land Klose, Roy Makaay is probably gone, and Lukas Poldolski may find himself on the bench, since Hitzfeld is unlikely to play a 4-3-3. Meanwhile, the other new striker, Jan Schlaudraff, must be asking himself why Bayern bothered to sign him away from Aachen last winter.
It will be interesting to see whether Bayern can establish new hierarchy among the scorers or whether the front line falls victim to in-fighting.
No Defensive Help
Another problem zone was Bayern's defense, which was merely average last season. The interior of Lucio and Daniel van Buyten came in for particular criticism for being, respectively, too reckless going forward and too prone to costly blunders.
Bayern are hoping that the return from injury of central defender Valerien Ismael will be enough to shore up this crucial area. But Ismael turns 32 next year, and having broken his leg and missed almost all of last season, he may find it hard to return to his old form.
That defense could be sternly tested, as last season's mediocrity has dispersed Bayern's aura of invincibility and may lead opponents to attack more. The whole squad will be under intense pressure to excel in order to prove that management didn't squander mountains of cash.
One is tempted to give Uli Hoeness the benefit of the doubt. Since becoming Bayern's commercial manager in 1979, he has been by far and away the Bundesliga's best judge of talent.
But even he admits that Bayern 57-million-euro spending spree is a risk. Should the new acquisitions fail to perform, he may well regret not investing in a classic playmaker and another big man at the back.