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The Week in Germany: Sports

May 9, 2008

Bayern Munich Celebrates Bundesliga Title, Set to Launch New Era Under Klinsmann

Klinsmann celebrates with Germany during the 2006 World Cup. © picture-alliance/dpa

Bayern Munich wrapped up their 21st German soccer title on May 4 with a goalless draw at VfL Wolfsburg, completing a start-to-finish domination of the Bundesliga.

The result gave Bayern an unassailable 10-point lead over Werder Bremen with three matches left in the season.

The final whistle triggered joyful celebrations on the field by Bayern players who were immediately provided with giant glasses of Bavarian beer - most of which landed all over teammates.

"It was a special season because the expectations were huge and there had been great disappointment from last year," outgoing coach Ottmar Hitzfeld told Premiere TV. "The pressure was high. We invested heavily in new players and you never know how it is going to go," he added.

"It gives me great satisfaction that I can hand over to Jürgen Klinsmann a super team which can again compete at the top next season," said Hitfzeld, who leaves to take over as Switzerland coach after the UEFA Cup European Championships in June.

But Bayern Munich's players cannot afford to rest on their laurels after running away with the league title with three matches remaining.

Former Bayern coach Felix Magath said that Bayern will be a force to be reckoned with next year: "Bayern will be on one level with the big clubs like Real Madrid, AC Milan and Arsenal."

It is a view not shared by all and German media commentators recently acknowledged that Bayern are in a class of their own in the Bundesliga but have a gap to make up in Europe. If the team is to make its mark among Europe's elite it will need to invest further and discover a playing style it can call its own, they said.

With Ottmar Hitzfeld stepping down following a fifth league title and a third domestic double with Bayern, the focus will now be on the impact new coach Jürgen Klinsmann is likely to make.

Klinsmann, whose first task in taking over as German national team coach in 2004 was to change the whole philosophy around the team, will certainly have his own clear ideas on the team's playing style.

Yet it is unclear what changes he wants to make to the squad, or what transfer money might be made available to him, amid speculation that Barcelona's Deco and AC Milan's Gennaro Gattuso are high on the wanted list to strengthen the midfield.

Bayern spent heavily on new players at the start of the season, and there is little doubt that newcomers such as midfielder Franck Ribery and Bundesliga top scorer Luca Toni made the difference.

"We have won two-and-half titles including the (pre-season) league cup. That's enough for the first year with a completely new team," general manager Uli Hoeness said. "Had we won more the pressure next season would have been enormous."

But Bayern's performances in the UEFA Cup this season were unimpressive, and the semi-final exit in a 4-0 defeat at Zenit St Petersburg exposed shortcomings against a classy European side.

With midfielder Ribery and striker Toni, Bayern have the right players on board, but only next season will show what Bayern's 21st championship title is really worth, the Munich-based daily Süddeutsche Zeitung wrote: "Was it only the end of something - the end of a team jazzed up by Ribery and Toni but at its core still a pragmatic, very German Hitzeld-and-Kahn Bayern? Or was is the beginning of something - the beginning of a great international Ribery-and-Toni era, to be fostered and honed by global player Juergen Klinsmann?"

Klinsmann's main task will be to give Bayern its own signature, an "original Munich playing style" just as Manchester United, Barcelona or Arsenal have a distinctive way of playing.

For now, Bayern can enjoy a winning season and the satisfaction that the considerable risk of investing some $100 million in new players has paid off.

Meanwhile the Bundesliga focus is on the race for Champions League and UEFA Cup places.

Source: dpa

Links:

UEFA Euro 2008

Bundesliga (German Soccer League)

Deutscher Fussball-Bund (German Soccer Federation)

Franck Ribery Dazzles German Soccer (TWIG, May 2, 2008)

Soccer Sensation: World Cup Coach Klinsmann Goes from LA to Munich (TWIG, Jan. 18, 2008)

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