Not quite a home run in Europe
Bundesliga champs Bayern Munich’s inability to win the Champions League since 2013 is mainly due to a tight-fisted policy
nMUMBAI:BAYERN Munich’s run to the Bundesliga title winning all seven games since the restart seemed a walk in the park. That they extended their record run to an eighth German league title in a row, simply underlined their dominance at home.
Unmatched in Germany with 15 league titles in 21 seasons, starting with 1999-2000, Bayern though have found European success hard to come by since their Champions League victory in 2012-13. The failure to replicate their home run in Europe is blamed on a conservative approach to buying players despite their deep pockets.
There is consistency, but not at a level that can take them all the way. Since the last win, Bayern have been in the semi-finals four times and the quarter-finals once. Last year, they were knocked out by winners Liverpool in the Round of 16.
Their last winning campaign sounds so distant.
‘Rob-bery’ screamed the German newspapers after Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery led Bayern to a thrilling 3-0 win over Barcelona at Nou Camp in the second leg semi-finals, after a 4-0 win at home. Not letting in a goal across two legs was nothing short of sensational, though Messi sat out the home game. After that, beating Borussia Dortmund in the final for their fifth title was a mere detail. Bayern’s player policy have come in for scrutiny as they are true European giants as one of the top-five earning clubs in the last few years.
Their revenue of €660.1 million in 2018-19 placed them fourth in the Deloitte Money League 2020. On transfer spends since the Champions League win though, they are 19th (as per transfermarkt.com), spending €544.40mn. That is less than even what Everton (15th, €619.76mn) or Dortmund (17th, €607.74mn) have spent in the period.
Bayern’s Bundesliga title, sealed on Tuesday with a 1-0 win over Werder Bremen, came with two games left. Pundits feel Bundesliga’s early resumption will give Bayern a head start when the Champions League, halted after they beat Chelsea 3-0 in the
Round 16 first leg, resumes in August (12 to 23).
Bayern have repeatedly tripped up in the final stages. Since their last title, Real Madrid have won four times, and Barca and Liverpool once. Juventus, Atletico Madrid and Tottenham have reached the final. And all have spent more than Bayern on transfers.
Over the years, Bayern have either cherry-picked from domestic rivals or invested only in players who are not too highpriced. Their transfer policy was one reason Pep Guardiola left after three seasons in which the Bavarians set all sorts of records in Bundesliga. Not winning the Champions League though was seen as a failure.
There was criticism of his style of play from club legend Franz Beckenbauer going into the third year amid friction between Guardiola and Bayern bosses— president Uli Hoeness and CEO Karl-heinz Rummenigge—over transfer targets.
Rummenigge later told The Bild Guardiola wanted to sign Neymar. He joined Manchester City after the 2016 season and they have backed him financially.
When Ribery and Robben joined, they were among the top-10 transfers that season. They served the club very well, but when they became injury prone, they were not replaced with fresh legs.
Bagging Robert Lewandowski from Dortmund on a free transfer in 2013-14 was a coup of sorts. Bayern though failed to adjust to the changing transfer dynamics in Europe. While Real, Barca, Paris St-germain, Juventus, Man City and Manchester United all spent heavily, Bayern, despite their riches, played Moneyball (management using business analytics). It worked for home, not for Europe.
Three years ago, unwilling to splurge money, they got James Rodriguez on loan from Real, but backed out when it came to buying him. This season, Brazilian forward Philippe Coutinho came on loan from Barca but is seen as overpriced and Rummenigge has said they won’t buy him.
Bundesliga’s rule that clubs must hold majority shares—to stop outsiders from taking control—has also prevented other clubs from achieving the financial heft needed to challenge the leaders, and in turn goad them into buying big players.
So, for now youngsters like midfielder Joshua Kimmich, forward Serge Gnabry, left-back Alphonso Davies and right-back Benjamin Pavard alongside Thomas Mueller, Lewandowski and Manuel Neuer present a strong core, but not enough quality otherwise. A power struggle between Hoeness and Rummenigge hasn’t helped.
Boardroom unrest was cited as a big reason for only short-term solutions attempted in the last transfer window.
Man City’s Leroy Sane was pursued for weeks before he was injured and instead Ivan Perisic, 30, arrived on loan. Rookie German striker Jann-fiete Arp was signed while Lewandowski craves for strong competition up front.
The coaching churn has continued. Since Guadriola, Bayern has had four coaches in as many seasons. Carlo Ancelotti came in 2016-17 but was ousted after a below-par start to his campaign in the second year.
Jupp Heynckes saw through the rest of 2017-18. In 2018-19, Niko Kovac, who built his reputation at Eintracht Frankfurt, came in but he didn’t get a free hand. Player power and poor results led to his ouster in the second season. Hans-dieter Flick, promoted from assistant coach, has brought stability.
Bayern realise they need to spend big to stay at the top in Europe. They invested €143.50mn in the transfer market this season, their best ever. Of that, €80mn was spent on French defender Lucas Hernandez, who had teamed up with Pavard in France’s 2018 World Cup triumph.
Bayern sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic told Germany’s Welt am Sonntag paper: “We want to strengthen ourselves with a top talent from Europe and also bring an international star to Munich who will raise the quality of our team and help us to offer our spectators attractive football with strong results.” His immediate job will be to see that Neuer, 34, renews his contract. Reports say the Germany No.1 goalkeeper wants a four-year deal with an annual salary of around €20 million to take him closer to Bayern’s top-earner Lewandowski. Bayern are willing to offer only a two-year deal at a much lower salary.
Change is in the air. Herbert Hainer replaced Hoeness as president in 2019 and Rummenigge mentors successor Oliver Kahn, due to take over in 2022. Bayern’s new era in Europe could be around the corner.