Testing times for Van Gaal at Bayern
The Champions League game between Bayern Munich and Juventus on Wednesday may ultimately prove to be one of the defining moments of Louis van Gaal's career.
It's a bold statement to make considering that the notoriously authoritarian and rather taciturn 58-year-old Dutch coach, who took over at the German giants at the start of July, guided Ajax to the 1995 Champions League title.
Also on his CV is a myriad of other honours with Barcelona and, most recently, current Dutch champions AZ Alkmaar.
However, his new club's less-than-impressive start to the season means that the four-time Kaisers of Europe languish down in seventh place in the Bundesliga and the spotlight is shining firmly on Van Gaal.
Van Gaal moved to Bayern from AZ Alkmaar
The backroom power brokers at Bayern - Uli Hoeness, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Franz Beckenbauer - will be looking for significant reassurance against their Italian visitors that they made the right decision in employing the club's first non-German coach in more than a decade.
After last season's rollercoaster season which saw continual conflicts with Bayern old boy Jurgen Klinsmann, leading to the ex-Spurs striker and German national team coach being fired five weeks before the end of last season, that trio of power brokers brought in Van Gaal to be, as World Soccer magazine called him recently, "a Dutch rod of iron".
However, the problem with rods of iron is that they don't bend, they just rust with age.
Unkind people in Germany and much further afield are saying exactly that about the little loved - at least beyond the Dutch borders - and some would say unlovable, Van Gaal.
Bayern accrued 11 points in their first seven Bundesliga matches, but when it came to the crunch against Bundesliga leaders Hamburg on Saturday, even by Van Gaal's own admission, the 21-times German champions were found severely wanting and went down 1-0.
The problems just seem to be piling up for Van Gaal, especially with his most talented players.
Nobody within, or outside, Bayern seems to know what's going through Frank Ribery's head at the moment, but he seems to be thinking more about Madrid - with extensive press speculation that he'll join Real sometime in the next 12 months - than Munich.
The new big-name signings Mario Gomez and Anatoliy Tymoshchuk are also demonstrably struggling to adapt to what Van Gaal might want from them, perhaps with him resenting their arrival as their signings were finalised before he arrived.
Bayern, probably observing how their former coach Felix Magath's traditional Germanic and disciplined coaching methods had worked so well at surprise champions Wolfsburg last season, opted to bring in someone with a reputation of being of similar ilk.
However, anyone who remembers that Van Gaal's last coaching job beyond the Dutch borders was at Barcelona could have anticipated problems, even if Munich is physically, linguistically and culturally much closer to the Netherlands than Catalonia.
"The jury is out on Van Gaal, a Dutchman lacking the humanity of Bobby Robson and the popularity of Johan Cruyff," wrote Jimmy Burns in his book Barca, published shortly after van Gaal's first season in Spain.
This was despite him winning the La Liga title in 1997-98.
"Van Gaal has treated Barcelona's other players as if they were Dutchmen. He is like an expatriate business executive who cannot understand the local way of doing things," added Simon Kuper, writing in the Financial Times around the same time.
And according to the prevailing Spanish media portrayal of him in the late 1990s, Van Gaal apparently possessed a personality that could be called, in contradictory fashion, defensively aggressive.
However, that wasn't the Van Gaal I encountered. I spoke to him several times during his two stints at Barcelona and, when he wanted to, he could be extremely amiable.
From a Bayern fan's perspective, it probably doesn't matter which Van Gaal manifests himself in the coming days.
Ribery has been linked with a move to Real Madrid
If he can motivate Bayern's players to rise above their recent mediocrity and give "The Old Lady" a good mugging on Wednesday then he will be forgiven, at least temporarily, for many of his other perceived failings in Bavaria during his first three months there.
On the other hand, if Ciro Ferrera's Juventus frustrate Bayern, then Van Gaal is likely to face more hostile headlines.
Van Gaal's current situation reminds me of the final scene of the terrific 1960s science fiction film "The Day The Earth Caught Fire", which is one of my favourite films.
The camera lingers on two separate newspaper headlines, 'World Saved' and World Doomed', while waiting to hear the outcome of a nuclear explosion designed to tilt the world back into it's right position.
Perhaps Suddeutsche Zeitung has prepared similarly dramatic sports pages for Thursday morning.
~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~20~RS~)
Hi, I'm Phil Minshull. I've lived in Spain since 1997 and covered Spanish football since the first day I got here. My blog aims to provide some insight into what's happening in La Liga, and there is much more to it than only Real and Barcelona, as well as elsewhere around Europe.
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Interesting, if poorly researched article. Bayern lost 2-1 to Mainz, which was a shock. However, in the following weeks, they beat Dortmund 5-1 away and also gave the reigning champions, Wolfsburg, a 3-0 slapping. So, the new Bayern team is blowing hot and cold? Hardly surprising, given the amount of new signings. Van Bommel was to be the captain and as Van Gaal said, his captain always plays. Van Bommel is injured and although he has many detractors in Germany, he does give the Bayern midfield defensive stability and score important goals. Braafheid and Pranjic, both of whom were signed by Van Gaal are playing like a pair of smoked salmon and Gomez is playing like a girl´s blouse. Many however suggest that the sales of Lucio and Ze Roberto have hurt Bayern more than the lack of form of their current new crop. Even Beckenbauer was moved to point out Bayern´s defensive frailties, voicing the opinion that it was a mistake to let Lucio go.
The result which to date has hurt Bayern most was the away loss to table-topping Hamburg. It was a good game, from which Bayern deserved to take something. They were robbed, some might argue.
The jury is out on Van Gaal. Although his reputation goes before him, his media appearances on German TV have seemed humane. Some have suggested that he has mellowed. A lot will depend on the results of both the games against Juve, but commentators say 4 points from the two ties will be enough in that CL Group. I would agree.
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I heard that Ribery is playing centrally and he may not like being there or not be able to perform to his best. With Robben and Ribery both liking to cut inside I thought they woukd play a Barca style 4-3-3 this season.
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A fairly boring post here but who would be a manager?? A well respected manager building a team from a shambles that Klinsmann left.. sitting 4th in his league and is supposedly under pressure..
you speak about a trio of power at Bayern but why do these guys never get taken to task over who they bring in?? They bring in managers and backroom staff which dont work and take no blame for it... and obviously this is the case at many other domestic and national clubs throughout the world.. now their job is one I would consider in football!!
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Sorry just noticed it's 7th and not 4th.. even though there are only 3 points between them and 3rd place...
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Van Gaal is not a manager who will give instant success. If the Bayern directors expect this, they have not done their research properly and are to blame mostly for Bayern's poor form. Van Gaal has proven at Ajax, AZ and Barcelona he can build a team that can play both beautiful and effective football. At AZ the team and van Gaal had a really poor season in 07/08, finishing in mid-table. The chairman kept confidence in the manager and was rewarded the AZ's first league title in over 25 years.
No doubt the result against Juventus is important, but I do not think that Bayern are ready yet to challenge the likes of the Top 4, Real and Barca (as was proven last season) in Europe. So they will do well to reach the quarters, and will survive their group easily I feel.
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Roonaldos... Van Gaal and Ribery had a bit of a tiff after VG said he wanted Ribery to play as a playmaker. It was all " Yes, he will" " Oh no, I won`t" stuff. May have had something to do with the much hoped for transfer to Real and putting the Frenchman in his place, but he was injured anyway and is still short of full fitness. The way Bayern seem to be playing, it looks more like a 4-1-4-1 system. This may not work, because VG also wants Schweinsteiger to play and he is a winger too!
Sugardunkerton... Do you feel sorry for managers/trainer like Klinsmann who sign on that dotted line? I don´t. Klinsmann is an ex-Bayern player and knew what he was getting into. He wanted to revamp and modernise BM and ultimately wanted too much too quickly. I watched Uli Hoeness explaining why they had to release Klinsmann and believe me, he didn´t enjoy it. The man was close to tears.
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Traveled to see Bayern play at Hamburg this Saturday, great atmosphere at Norbank Arena. My chief complaint was the deployment of Schweinsteiger; when he plays more towards the wing he's excellent but he was stuck in the center of the park and had little to no effect on proceedings. Thought Tymoshchuk's distribution was good if lacking a little in rhythm. Their back 4 looked very mediocre, Elia was able to move wherever he wanted to whenever he had possession. Bayern were unlucky not to get a point from Lahm's opportunity in the last few minutes, he was setup beautifully by Ribery and Robben but really failed to connect. I think Bayern will be OK this season, but they'll face a stern test in Hamburg and Wolfsburg again. And Bayer Leverkusen are also off to a great start.....go on Sami Hyypia!
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I am a keen spectator of German football after I fell in love with Dortmund and the league when I watched a game there a few years ago.
I was actually very surprised at Bayern going down at Hamburg. I knew that it was a very big game as Hamburg are one of the favourites behind Bayern for the Bundesliga crown, but still, considering how ruthlessly Bayern had been dispatching sides (including my own poor BVB!) it was a bit of a surprise.
I do believe that they will regain the title this season however. They have a lot of quality and significant fire-power which not many sides can compete with. As for the Champions League? Hmm, maybe ina couple of years.
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I completely agree with DutchPar. He will need some time to build a successful team maybe, but when he does it, they will be unbeatable. Look at Ajax, he needed two years to win his first prize, then they won everything there was to win. AZ he needed time, and he won the league title. Barcelona, he came to there, and won the title for the first time in 4 years with them, stopping Real, and Atleticos dominance the years before. The board will have seen these statistics, and will realise that he needs some time, but he will be successful. Otherwise you don't get him as a manager. Having said all this though, I believe he will put in a strong challenge for the title this season.
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Although Van Gaal can indeed be typified as defensively aggressive authoritarian rod of iron, it has to be noted that when given enough time, his teams always deliver. It took a couple of years for him to build his legendary Ajax team; he transfered Barcelona into a good team and got Rivaldo and Figo to play together; and maybe the most impressive of feats: he managed to break through the decades long dominance of the Dutch traditional top three by winning the league title with AZ. Though unlovable, Bayern will not regret it if they stick it out with the Iron Tulip.
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The jury is always out at clubs like Bayern. He arrived in the summer and has still to adapt to the Bundesliga. Van Gaal is definately a difficult and stubborn person, but that`s the way he is and he can show off silverware. His only real failure was as the national coach. It took him four years to win the championship with AZ, time he will not get at Bayern.
But Bayern made mistakes in recent years, signing some average players and the wrong coach in Klinsman. If he`s given enough time he will succeed. His three christian names Aloysius Paulus Maria can`t be more catholic and are a perfect fit for the Bavarian capital.
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Interesting article on Van Gaal, but it seems that they are missing is a strong midfield personality. In recent years they've had Ballack who filled that role and before that Effenberg. Of course they have Van Bommel but I'm not sure he has the capacity to fill that role. However, they should still have enough to not struggle with the likes of Ribery and Robben they should create plently of chances for whichever of the forwards they decide to go with.
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"...the club's first non-German coach in more than a decade."
what about Ottmar Hitzfeld? He has been at Bayern twice in the last ten years and he's Austrian.
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this was a pretty boring post, and pointless
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Would I be correct in saying that over the last couple of seasons, the strength of teams in the Bundesliga is generally on the rise? That the days of Bayern's stranglehold on the title could have passed?
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I think the quality of the german bundesleaguer is not even that good you know. look at that grafitti who is abnging them in. he could never do it in the 1st division him, or even for the scottish prem like. i think bayern need to promote from within, someone with bayern blood. klinsmann, although he played for bayern towards the latter end of his courier was never a bayern boy. he was from goppingen. and played for stuttgart kickers. maybe someone like effen effenberg or even one of the boys like jeremy jeremies. or oliver khan. maybe even owen hardgreaves
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The talk of Magath is interesting, have long been a fan of his teams and the way they play their football. I actually think he'll make Schalke a force to be reckoned with this season as well. Very strong league the Bundesliga actually, they have 6 or 7 teams all capable of winning it given good runs.
From what I have seen, Bayern need a steadying influence in midfield. As someone else attested to they seem to lack rhythm at times and seem to try and force things too much. They undoubtedly have the most talented squad in the division and if they tick, can be a force in the Champions League. Robben can be unplayable at times, such an exciting player to watch. What do people think of Gomez, is he of Champions League stock? And what on earth has happened to Hertha?? Shocking start to the season, their solid defence of last season has been breached 17 times in 7 games already. They still have Raffael though, a joy to watch at times.
http://www.worldfootballcolumns.com
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ScotsmaninGermany - I wouldn't say I feel sorry for them as such.. some of them are simply not up to the task and have to be moved on.. I would bracket Klinsmann in this category.. I personally thought he was weak on some issues and didn't stand up for himself.. I just think these director of football types are gaining more power and quite often seem to undermine the coaches with their frequent media sessions..
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Quite simply one of the Worlds best coaches, loved or not. Alex Ferguson hasn't stayed where he has for 20 odd years due to his phlegmatic, affabilty and endearingly soft, approachable persona!
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I had a bet with one of my regulars that Klinsmann wouldn´t last his f irst season at Bayern. He questioned my rationale. It was quite simple. Klinsmann ostensibly coached the German national team at the WCup in 2006. Strangely enough though, the German team then reminded me of the Stuttgart team of the late 1990s. Which was trained by none other than the current coach of the German team, Jögi Löw. Klinsmann´s job was to sell the product that was Germany 2006, take the pressure off the players and staff and essentially help to show the world how Germany can be. In all of this, he succeeded. It still doesn´t make him a good coach though. ( Which was why I was sooooooo glad he didn´t join Liverpool ) So now he is playing golf in California, which is fair enough, but a football trainer a la Ferguson, Benitez, Magath, Hitzfeld etc he is now and never shall be.
His sacking left me 50 Euros richer.
As to the Director of Football type, yes, it can´t be easy with the gray eminence of Hoeness, Beckenbauer and Rummenigge in yo neck, but, Hell, if you can´t stand the heat...
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Oh and Bigbird, it is good to see the Flying Finn doing well at Leverkusen. It was a shame to see such a solid professional leave Anfield, but I for one shall be keeping an eye on him and wishing him well.
As for Hertha Berlin, they just sacked their coach on the back of 6 consecutive League losses. As bizarre as it may sound, they are missing the goals and performances of Andrei Voronin. I never thought I would say that, but there you are...
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16. At 12:02pm on 29 Sep 2009, tomefccam wrote:
I think the quality of the german bundesleaguer is not even that good you know. look at that grafitti who is abnging them in. he could never do it in the 1st division him, or even for the scottish prem like. i think bayern need to promote from within, someone with bayern blood. klinsmann, although he played for bayern towards the latter end of his courier was never a bayern boy. he was from goppingen. and played for stuttgart kickers. maybe someone like effen effenberg or even one of the boys like jeremy jeremies. or oliver khan. maybe even owen hardgreaves
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I wonder how ignorance of such magnitude is even possible.. Or is this a pathetic attempt at wummery. Also, i am not usually a supporter of 'spelling police' but this is just beyond apalling.
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22. Grafite scored one of the best goals of the last European season, for Wolfsburg vs Bayern. It might be on youtube. You are quite right to point out the ignorance of our esteemed co-poster. I get to see the Bundesliga each and every day, ( altho I would still rather watch the EPL )and I can assure everyone, there is quality here. And his idea of getting Jens Jeremies or Effenberg to do the job is risible in the extreme.
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22. march_2kAlso, i am not usually a supporter of 'spelling police' but this is just beyond apalling.
The spelling police are best left well alone, they can be appallingly cruel... ;o)
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#22 It's 'appalling'.
Inspector Spellcheck
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C-ITFC09: what about Ottmar Hitzfeld? He has been at Bayern twice in the last ten years and he's Austrian.
Hitzfeld's a German and even played for the 1972 Olympic West German team.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottmar_Hitzfeld
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Hey 13.
Hitzfeld isn't Austrian, God knows where you got that from but he's born and raised in Germany, Baden Wurttemberg to be exact, the region Stuttgart is in lol.
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Yeah but what's happening in Spain? :P
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forfar-loon, NEARPOSTHEADER,
you got me there ;) I am hanging my head down in shame.
That said, THAT comment was still appalling.
scotsmaningermany,
some people might not rate Bundesliga because of lack of recent success in the CL, but it's good to watch for a neutral, there's still quality there, it's main strengths being
- lots of teams challenging for the title
- open, attacking approach by most teams (statistically, Bundesliga was the highest scoring league among the top leagues in Europe (GER, ESP, ENG, ITA) in the last 2-3 years - although this year, there are many high-scoring games in the PL as well.
- atmosphere - the highest average attendance among top leagues for some years running.
Dzeko and Grafite formed one of the most dangerous strike partnerships in Europe last season, with Misimovic supplying a plenty of assists. Shame Wolfsburg lost their coach Magath to Schalke though, it might have an impact on the team's performance.
I am looking forward to seeing how the Dzeko-Grafite partnership would fare against United.
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Bundesliga teams have some great fans
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Doesn't help that Klinsmann was trying harder to introduce mental wellbeing classes rather than focus on his team on the pitch..
Whoever posted that humpty guff about the state of the Bundesliga with regards to Grafite's ability... Seriously??.. Championship or SPL... aye ok.. and Im a Celtic fan by the way.
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Man, seriously, do some research. Even i know more about German football than you.
Bayern LOST 2-1 to Mainz.
And you're acting like its the end of the world. Bayern have just been blowing hot and cold, they beat champions Wolfsburg 3-0 recently and Dortmund 5-1, I believe.
Get your facts right!
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I think that the German bundesliga can lay a claim to being the third best league in Europe behind England and Spain. The other contenders would be Italy of course but the number of teams that challenge in the bundesliga make it far more competitive. Last year four teams could have won the title going into to the last day of the season and beyond this were teams such as schalke, dortmund and leverkusen. With a close balance between the top division teams I think that the days of a bayern domination are over and the title will be shared around.
One reason for this competition could be role of foreign players in German football. Most teams have a number of useful brasilians for example and when one looks back at the German league over time, bayern held a dynasty of the top german players when they were at their peak. Other clubs are not letting this happen as much now which has to be good for the overall league.
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16. At 12:02pm on 29 Sep 2009, tomefccam wrote:
I think the quality of the german bundesleaguer is not even that good you know. look at that grafitti who is abnging them in. he could never do it in the 1st division him, or even for the scottish prem like. i think bayern need to promote from within, someone with bayern blood. klinsmann, although he played for bayern towards the latter end of his courier was never a bayern boy. he was from goppingen. and played for stuttgart kickers. maybe someone like effen effenberg or even one of the boys like jeremy jeremies. or oliver khan. maybe even owen hardgreaves
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You sir, are an idiot and clearly know nothing, never mind spelling.
For a start, you spell it Grafite. And anyway, you're a numpty if you think he'd struggle in the SPL. As a Rangers fan, Grafite would tear every team to pieces and Grafite himself would probably get into most good sides in the world, high end EPL/La Liga sides.
Bundesliga is brilliant.
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As you probably know, Phil, Van Gaal won't do much until he has a complete Dutch team - He went to Barcelona after being succesful with Ajax but in Barcelona only did something when he had at least 8 Dutch players - and loads of controversy. He had to go back to Holland to do something useful again and now, until he gets his Dutch team he won't do much - Ribery is still there destroying his little notebook plans...
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van gaal knows his football no doubt, and im gratefull for his first period at ajax, tho he could work with the finest generation since the van basten generation, he would find it alot harder now with the bosman arrest.
his problem is the media haha, sometimes its hilarious but usually its embarassing to see him go all out on someone he doest consider to understand the game, he just makes himself look bad and that s a shame.
still i hope he does well in bayern, ribery and robben together get s me switching to german MOTD on saturday:)
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Seems, like Klinsmann last year, thing get blown out of proportion in the media. I don't think a loss to Juve tomorrow will dent their CL campaign. It may be detrimental to their confidence, but it's only one game, the season is long. Whether you lose 2 games now or two games later, it's still 2 games. Currently in the BL Leverkusen and Hamburg haven't lost yet. If they continue through the rest of the season like this, then kudo's to them, but both teams have traditionally started strong and fade by the winter break.
Gomez flopping is a matter of opinion. He's missed some big opportunities in front of net. However, he's still Bayern's top scorer at this point and has 6 goals in 10 games. Tymo has started out slow, but he's new to the team. I thought he played his best game yet against Hamburg, was disappointed he was substituted.
As for the Hamburg game, they went down but they played some pretty good football. Some of the best I've seen them play over the last couple of years. They deserved at least a draw (had more possession and won more of the 1-on-1 challenges), but that's how football goes. They played a new tactical system in that game, and had 3 twenty year olds in the lineup. I think Bayern are just beginning to warm up.
Remember, last year's supposed 'poor' Bayern still finished 2nd (3 pts. behind Wolfsburg), their 'poor' defence still conceded only 5 more goals then the team that conceded the least (BL is a high scoring league) and in the CL only Barca scored more goals and the only game Bayern lost was against Barca, the team most could not beat. If that's what a 'poor' Bayern can do, then it will be interesting to see how well they do when they start firing on all cylinders.
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29. Some good points made there about the Bundesliga and its attractions. I´ve been living in Germany since 1996 and it is interesting to note which teams have won the Bundesliga in that time... Bayern München, Borussia Dortmund, VfB Stuttgart, VfL Wolfsburg, Werder Bremen and interestingly enough, Kaiserslautern back in 1996 ( methinks ) and that as a team promoted from the Second Division. If my memory serves me, Magath trained Wolfsburg and Bayern and Ottmar Hitzfeld trained Dortmund and Bayern. What price Magath to do it in the next few years with Schalke 04?
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Gomez flopping is a matter of opinion. He's missed some big opportunities in front of net. However, he's still Bayern's top scorer at this point and has 6 goals in 10 games. Tymo has started out slow, but he's new to the team. I thought he played his best game yet against Hamburg, was disappointed he was substituted.
As for the Hamburg game, they went down but they played some pretty good football. Some of the best I've seen them play over the last couple of years. They deserved at least a draw (had more possession and won more of the 1-on-1 challenges), but that's how football goes. They played a new tactical system in that game, and had 3 twenty year olds in the lineup. I think Bayern are just beginning to warm up.
Remember last year's supposed 'poor' Bayern still finished 2nd (3 pts. behind Wolfsburg), their 'poor' defence still conceded only 5 more goals then the team that conceded the least (BL is a high scoring league) and in the CL only Barca scored more goals and the only game they lost was against Barca, the team most could not beat (the eventual CL winners). If that's what a 'poor' Bayern can do,then it will be interesting to see how well they do when they start firing on all cylinders.
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Re Grafite. A striker needs service. I´m not sure how much service he would get playing at Rangers or, let´s say, Bolton, no disrespect intended. But playing alongside Dzeko and the excellent Misimovic, make no mistake, the man does well.
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Can I ask you about Real Madrid for this year? With their new galacticos signings, are they good enough to beat Barca to the Spanish title? Any thoughts appreciated!
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I was at the game last Saturday and Bayern where clearly not "robbed", a close game played at a high level in a great stadium. They where at least matched by an increasingly impressive Hamburg team. Bayern are clearly lacking something so far this season which may only be a temporary thing as they have such a pedigree. However, the reluctance to offer Ze Roberto the 2 years he was searching for may prove costly and provide Hamburg with the final ingredient to finally roll back the years.
A good league with lots of candidates not unlike the the situation in England.
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Veronin wasn't the key man for Hertha ..
that was Pantelic
Veronin had a few good games ..including ( I think a hat-trick )
but Pantelic bailed them out virtually every week & with Simunic at the back they had a hard man to play alongside Friedrich ..
As for Bayern ..Obviously you blokes don't watch alot of Hamburg ..
Boateng tied both Ribery & Robben up ... end of ..
& Petric was as up for this game more so than ex HSV'er Olic..
As Van Gaal said after the match ..who scores the goals ..wins ..( a very philosophically astute man ..) Petric got the deserved goal ..
Klinsmann was never the man for Bayern ..although Magaths form before Bayern was also untried . Bad few months at his beloved HSV proved that he was still learning ..
Van Gaal will get then in Europe next year ..if only because the other teams are far too inconsistent
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Chardgeezer: You seem to rate Pantelic quite highly. Do you he will be a success at Ajax? He is still regaining match fitness at the moment, so the jury's still out.
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Van Gaal's a good coach but seems to have a penchant for clashing with his star players.His falling out with Rivaldo at Barca is a prime example.Even though it was obvious the Brazilian was more effective in the middle Van Gaal insisted he play on the left.Same thing seems to be playing out with Ribery.I wish him well though.At least he doesn't keep reminding us that he's European Champion like a self appointed'Special'coach does!
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Dear Phil,
I think you wrote an honest view on Van Gaal but I dont agree with everything you said.
He may not be the most friendly or down to earth coach but he sure did earn his assignments to both Barcelona and Bayern.
He introduced, and won many trophies, with a very attacking system where wingers, fluent and one touch passing where very important. He introduced that at Barcelona while most, if not all Premier League teams simply used the long ball aproach. Only Manchester United started to train on one touch passing, and showed some superb footballing at the end of the nineties.
Such a system demands very disciplined players, who master position play to perfection, and work for the team. That was new to the squad of Barcelona in general and Rivaldo in particular, who quickly revolted and wrecked the team spirit. I do agree Van Gaal hired too many old Ajax players like Kluivert or Overmars, who either where too many times injured (overmars, or did not perform at all (kluivert, Reiziger).
He left Barca, got back for a little time again, only to be sacked. That was a bad choice.
But a few years ago, he signed up for midfield club AZ Alkmaar, and turned a mediocre team into a solid, well playing winning machine, that broke just about every record in Dutch league history, and last year won the title. Week in and week out AZ played absolutly stunning football, in a squad that played a little less attacking that Van Gaal prefers, and he also stopped putting so much discipline into players.
That got the notice of several top clubs who sacked their manager. Van gaal weighed several options to finally choose Bayern as his new employer. Bayern, who previously hired Klinsmann, with the order"make our team play beautifull and attacking" wich is a nuisance in german static football history. Klinsmann couldnt gell a team.
Van Gaal, arrogant, confident as always, but nevertheless also recognizing his former mistakes with star players like Rivaldo and Figo, has mainatined a low profile towards Ribery while the latter was flirting with Madrid. Just after a few games you already saw Bayern play in a much different way than last year. Their passing was fast and effective. The position play is growing every game. And the forwards are starting tow ork together. That resulted in some fine games with plenty of goals. The addition of Robben was a very clever idea, and he and Ribery are doing some fantastic work upfront. The fans are happy, the Bayern board is happy and, perhaps even more importantly, Van Gaal has earned the praise of the football mad German press, who have lauded Van Gaals new reign and systems.
All that, makes tonights game to Juventus a mouth watering prospect for any football fan. But more than that, even if Bayern lose, that will not be the end of Van Gaal. Far from that.
For me, the best coach in the world remains Guus Hiddink (im biased, because im Dutch), but for attacking, and entertaining football Van Gaal is in the same mould as Wenger.
I hope you enjoy the game.
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As Bayern have won about 60 to 70 per cent of all the titles in Germany in the last 15 years (!) I like almost all German fans are happy to see them struggle. Against Hamburg they were okay but it was no surprise to see them lose and they´ve also lost their aura of invincibilty. They´re still looking for their post-Hitzfeld identity.
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A big thank you to everyone who has taken the time to post comments in response to my blog in the last couple of days.
One of the main themes seems to be how well will Bayern do this season.
To put my head above the parapet, I don't think they will win the Bundesliga.
I agree with bowelrodent, among others, who think that the overall strength of many other teams within the Bundesliga, at least on the field, has risen over the last few seasons.
After all, who would have predicted five years ago - when Bayern, Borussia Dortmund and Werder Bremen seemed to be almost the only three teams that mattered - that Stuttgart and Wolfsburg would both emerge victorious in the last three seasons.
Impressive coaches like Felix Magrath and Armin Veh - I wonder how long it will be before one of the other is lured to La Liga or Serie A – have been the guiding lights but nevertheless a few new names have entered the firmament along with the traditional powers.
In comparison to his last big adventure beyond the Dutch borders, i.e. Barcelona, van Gaal has more or less been given the players he has to work with rather than being able to dictate a list of people he wants signed (with the exception of Arjen Robben), and that could make a difference.
I broadly concur with the following comment, again from a recent edition of World Soccer. “Bayern, vastly superior to the rest in economic power and talent, will always be favourites. But if the Bavarians slip - and they are not infallible – expect a stampede to jump into the breach.”
... and I think they have already slipped slightly, coming out of the starting blocks.
Scotsmaningermany: I can't confess to have seen a huge amount of Hertha Berlin last season but, from what I did see, I certainly seemed like Andrei Voronin was a significant part of their success story.
Donttellmymum: “However, the reluctance to offer Ze Roberto the 2 years he was searching for may prove costly and provide Hamburg with the final ingredient to finally roll back the years.” I've always been a big fan of Ze Roberto even back in the days when he was a peripheral figure at Real Madrid. He's 35 now and I'm following his progress at HSV with interest but he might have one last good season left in him.
OK, that it for this week. I'll be following what happens in the Allianz Arena tonight with interest, but since I'll be at Real Madrid v Olympique Marseille, it'll have to be from the TV pictures later.
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Phil,
First of all I think your article is poorly researched/documented.
Having said that, Louis van Gaal has been on Bayern's wishlist a couple of times. Throughout the years, he has a proven track record of being one among very few managers, that can actuallty improve the quality of individual players AND the team. He is very fanatic, giving everything he's got. For the benefit of the team, and of the individual player.
Therefore, he has the right to demand the same from his players. In that respect, it doesn't matter if you're a world star or a coming youngster: Either Ribery or Müller, both have the same responsibility towards the team.
Louis van Gaal is one of the most 'humanized' trainers in the business. The warmth of his personality is touching. And that is not new. From every player he works with, he knows his birthday, his wives' and his childrens'... Whatever problem you have, his door is always open and he is always looking out to help. That was already the case back in '95, when he won the Champion's League with a very young Ajax squad.
Van Gaal's start in Munich is none other than his start in Barcelona, Alkmaar or even Ajax Amsterdam. Ups and downs in the beginning, because players have to adapt to his way. But his work has always paid out. Don't forget he had a dreadful season two years ago, when AZ finished 12th. He even wanted to quit that season, but the players begged him to stay, pledging to prove they were worthy of him staying at the club.
So last year, they won the league in incredible style.
I predict a great era for Bayern Munich in the years to come. Van Gaal only needs time, and the management will give it him. Unlike Klinsmann, Van Gaal has a proven system. Beckenbauer, Hoeness and Rummenigge know that. They are aware that the Duthcman could be the key to them winning the Champion's League in the years to come.
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Its very disappointing that Klose isn't being given many starts. A proven goal scorer, with nearly a 1-in-2 strike rate across his career at every level. I feel last seasons first choice strike force of Klose and Toni is stronger than this seasons.
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Another quality of Van Gaal, indeed, is his willingness to work with young and unproven players. Just take a look at the list of players that where either coached by him, or taken up to Ajax, AZ or Barcelona.
Van der Sar - named goalkeeper of the year 2008 -2009, started out with Van Gaal.
Seedorf - multiple championship winner and started with Van Gaal
Ibrahomovic - scouted by Van Gaal and on his request he came to Ajax Amsterdam, is now top striker.
Edgar Davids
Nwanko Kanu
Mido
Dani
De Zeeuw
Overmars
Carlos Puyol
Xavi
Iniesta
and who can forget:
Bergkamp
Finidi George
Jari Litmanen
The De Boer brothers
Some of them are still playing at the absolute european top, others have made a name forever in football. All that, thanks to, or mostly thanks to Van Gaal.
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What hurt him in Barcelona was his Dutch attitude.
Bruttaly honoust, and not worrying about presentation only content.
In the Netherlands this is common, in other countries this is experienced as shocking.
I don't think it will hurt him in Germany, because the Germans know their Dutch neighbours all too well.
And lets be frank a lot of people in the press do not research or check their stories. Which is anoying when you are a professional who does. He already gave the German press a run for their money and the Bayern fans loved it. Quite an opposite reaction to the Barcelona fans.
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