LIGAsthenic – Villarreal-Aus & Kahn criticism: The shaken self-image of FC Bayern Munich

Dear football friends,

How badly FC Bayern’s self-image has been shaken can be seen from the fact that what they do and what they say hardly match.

He doesn’t let anyone put him under pressure, explained the new FCB CEO Oliver Kahn at the weekend to his colleagues from “Doppelpass” and the longer he spoke, the more one got the impression that the criticism of the last few days was having an effect on his person indicates.

He leads too little, he hides in his office, is not approachable and does not show himself, according to the anonymous and diffuse criticism of the past few days – and in response to this he promptly sits in a TV studio, which he has not done since taking office has done and explains himself and his club in every detail.

Whether he did his agenda a favor is at least questionable.

Bavaria – top nationally, not internationally

Bayern weren’t much better in Bielefeld than in the Champions League either.

A lot of possession, but few surprises, little pace, always vulnerable at the back, too generous with big goal opportunities.

A league smaller than Manchester City

The difference between, say, City and Bayern Munich is that the Pep Guardiola club can afford to bank assets of hundreds of millions of euros during such a top game, while Bayern Munich play the big assets all the time must leave – if only for reasons of amortization.

Manchester is said to have invested a billion euros in their squad under Guardiola in recent years, of course Bayern plays in a different league there.

A league smaller.

Bavaria’s underfunded imagination

It is well known that this is the case. The fact that Bayern CEO Kahn explains at length in his TV studio appearance why the transfer of Erling Haaland is financially beyond everyone’s imagination, including his, impregnates the impression that Bayern are increasingly reaching their limits.

Boundaries that they are rarely, if ever, able to push back with their ideas of solid, value-added, sustainable football. FC Bayern can no longer get a player that the whole football world wants.

And the fact that the signs are pointing to farewell to Robert Lewandowski also goes in the same direction.

If the players in FC Bayern uniform become too coveted for the market, then they leave. David Alaba was the last person to do this and it is to be feared that it will be the same with Kingsley Coman or Jamal Musiala.

Fragmented football market

The corona pandemic and now the war in Ukraine, with all its economic sanctions, have already and will continue to aggravate the financing of top-flight European football. The oligarch-heavy Premier League will also feel the effects of this.

If big money is no longer pumped from all pipelines into professional football, but only from a few, then there is not only a risk of a divide between rich and poor, but also increasing fragmentation even within the top flight of international club football.

Bayern in their own league – but in which?

Bayern play in their own league, but that can no longer be misunderstood as an award. What if they no longer belong in the circle of Real Madrid & Co.? Clubs that are well known and don’t care where the money comes from, whether from Arab sheikhs, Russian oligarchs or American hedge funds – clubs like Real, ManCity or Liverpool will always find sufficient sources of money.

How the Bavarians hold up against this market dynamic will be interesting to see. That is exactly the task of CEO Kahn, who has to open up new sources of money and moderate the conversation with the fans – keyword Qatar.

That he can succeed has not become more likely these days.

About Thilo Komma-Pöllath:

The sports journalist and author (“Die Akte Hoeneß”) sheds light on what is happening in the Bundesliga for Eurosport.de in his weekly blog “Der LIGAsthenik”. Often skeptical, ironic, critical – but ultimately someone has to keep the ball flat.