A clear 4-2 in the DFB Cup final, not a single defeat in 2020, the eleventh double since 2001 – FC Bayern Munich appears almost unbeatable in summer 2020. Since Hansi Flick took over the team from Niko Kovac, he has formed a wildly determined team from a self-doubting and easily calculable squad that no longer wears down opponents with well-known Guardiola’s ball possession football, but occasionally also opponents hunt with high-quality pressing, permanently pressurize it and force it to make mistakes. Which led to the Leverkusen team pulling their hair out in 25 minutes, because the cup final was almost decided. And when the game was whistled after 93 minutes, the Bayern players almost gave the impression that they didn’t want to spend too much time with the party – because there are even bigger tasks to be done.
FC Bayern appear crisis-proof and wildly determined
These larger tasks are the outstanding games in the Champions League. Bayern still want to play four games in the premier class, including the pending second leg against the 3-0 defeated Chelsea in the first knockout round first leg. And then a triple is planned for the second time after 2013. “I don’t see any limit at the moment,” Leon Goretzka summed up the Munich euphoria quite well.
And at first glance, the prospects are actually brilliant. FC Bayern appear crisis-proof and wildly determined. Above all, however, the upheaval that was punishably delayed after the last triple finally seems to have largely been completed; Alphonso Davies, Serge Gnabry, Benjamin Pavard and David Alaba have found a young to middle-aged axis, which is wonderfully complemented by tireless routines like Thomas Müller and Robert Lewandowski . No wonder that Jürgen Klopp, who had already left Liverpool, immediately came to Bayern when asked about the favorites for the Champions League – but also Manchester City. Which brings us to the reasons why Bayern could ultimately fail to reach for the triple.
Bayern face a complex task
First of all, there is the hubris that was fatal to every title favorite that was called up in advance. FC Bayern had to experience this for themselves in the legendary tragic “Finale dahoam” in 2012, when the Munich team worked hard on the title and in the end the ease was missing. It was not for nothing that Karl-Heinz Rummenigge warned the team at the cup celebration: “Make it calm.” This is easier said than done in view of the fact that, unlike the English and Spanish competitors, the Munich team now has to endure a break of more than a month before playing up to four games within two weeks. It is difficult to stay relaxed and concentrated. In such breaks, the rhythm and the flow are quickly lost.
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Like the mode, enforced by Corona, it takes some getting used to for all teams. No return games, but only one game in each round, every three days, probably in the empty Lisbon stadium. Completely unpredictable, which teams get their formation, their dynamics on the pitch the fastest – these do not necessarily have to be the favorites.
At least as dangerous for FC Bayern is that the national invincibility is currently being transferred directly to international territory. Motto: Anyone who beats Leverkusen and Dortmund cannot be beaten in the Champions League. But without devaluing BVB and Bayer, Juventus, Barcelona and Athletico Madrid are a completely different caliber. The submissive devotion with which German clubs are careful not to concede too many goals in games against Bayern will not meet the Munich team in the Champions League. And there is also, and above all, Manchester City. Anyone who has recently seen Guardiola’s troop dismantling Liverpool under all the rules of the art knows what a complex task FC Bayern will have to do.
Bayern Munich could end up with only two titles
And finally there are the Munich weaknesses, which fell a little under the table in the midst of the Bavarian double glory, but which also came to light in the cup final. As dominant as Bayern are in the center, they are vulnerable when the opponent attacks quickly and dynamically via the wings. The observers of the Champions League competition will have registered exactly that the Bayern defensive seemed almost sluggish with such advances. Leverkusen could have scored two more goals with a little more consistency.
So far, the dream of a new triple has been little more than a vague prospect, with numerous stumbling blocks and imponderables that could result in Bayern ending up empty-handed – only as champions and cup winners.
