Last Week in Bayern News
July 20, 2020 Guest Contributor: Subrat Borgohain
Sunday
To me, summer vibes and vacation time are always a proxy for an impending transfer window and a restart. However, this time has been the first time in living memory when Bayern players and all of us here enter holiday season without having our eyes peeled for possible transfer news or looking forward to the new season starting soon.
Hoping that the team might successfully finish in August what they set out do when the Hinrunde started – winning the Champions League – is what we all look forward to.
On the other end of the emotional spectrum, the home of the Bavarians sent out a shining message in opposition to any form of discrimination around the globe, as put very succintly by Karl-Heinz Rummenigge:
Monday
Flicki Flacka is a real thing, fight me. Have a look at our trophy cabinet, if you need more convincing.
Süle’s training videos continue to flood my feed. And joining him is the talisman Leroy Sane. Well, you can’t blame us for being too happy.
Adrian Fein is set to join the first team for next season according to Kicker. And closely following his footsteps is Lars Lukas Mai, who is set to go out on loan in order to join the first team later. Furthermore, Alexander Nübel’s transfer was expected to shake up the status quo for Bayern’s 2nd goalkeeper position, and, according to Kicker, Sven Ulreich might be on the move. Oof.
You know what else makes all of us happy? Six years ago today, the German national team won the world cup in Brazil. How many Bayern players were in that team, you ask? Seven. Seven Bayern players led by our captain, Philipp Lahm.
A dream come true indeed, Müller. Perhaps dreams come true again. Perhaps in Lisbon?
Also, that away kit!
Tuesday
Two words: Serge. Gnabry.
Two more: North. London.
Karl-Heinz Rumenigge had some strong opinions on the proposed European Super League, Bayern Munich’s dominance in the Bundesliga, and Borussia Dortmund. He snubbed the first, suggesting that Bayern are dominant only because they give 100% till the last day and maintained that in terms of pure infrastructure and team quality/depth, and Dortmund was the team to look out for for Bayern every season.
One last tidbit for this day is that Bayern is supposed to play a friendly on July, 31st to prepare for the Champions League. Judging from Cuisance’s words, methinks the opponents might be Olympique de Marseille. One would assume we get to see Sané in action and the team won’t be a Bundesliga team (spoiler alert: heh, you’d be surprised).
Wednesday
As we’ve already mentioned, I find great joy in watching loops of Niklas Süle and Leroy Sané training. The French contingent at Bayern Munich agrees, methinks. On a side note, to feel elated that two of the 2018 World Cup winning defense make up Bayern’s rock solid wall for the Champions League, might as well be criminal.
Since there was not much else to do on this uneventful Wednesday, we decided to check out the schedule for the 2022 world cup.
Also, according to Sky Sports, the International Football Association Board (IFAB) proposes that the five substitutes rule should remain in effect for next season as well. Wonder if the DFB complies.
Thursday
We had a zen moment on Thursday. Partially because a 4th consecutive day of Niklas Süle and Leroy Sané training videos, but more because we realised that Serge Gnabry, Lewy and Müller have shared 83 goals between them this season. Crazy, right? No? Well consider this. The whole Chelsea squad has scored 95 goals this season. That’s, like, barely 7% more. Wonder if Lewy will make up that 7% too in the Champions League, the madman.
Kinglsey Coman has been hiding a big facet of his gameplay all these years. What do you associate Coman’s style of play with? Sudden bursts of speed from a standing start and twists and turns in an advanced attacking role, right? What if we told you that he’s been taking lessons from Manu all this time? Don’t believe us?
King, indeed.
Friday
There was a clip earlier this week featuring Phonzie’s speed and the reactions in a Randy Moss moment. Why am I talking about American Football out of the blue? Methinks Herbert Hainer played that a couple of times, couldn’t believe his eyes and had to say it eventually, come on.
In case you are a part of the quiz team at your school or an aspiring quizmaster, here’s a tidbit for you: Alvaro Odriozola, similar to Kingsley Coman in 2015/16 (who won both the Bundesliga and Serie A back then), is the only player this season to have won both the Bundesliga and La Liga.
I am convinced Alphonso Davies can do anything he puts his mind to.
More proof of my claim:
Saturday
3 more weeks. 3 more weeks till Football resumes, I get some of my life energy back and Flicki Flacka is dubbed a real phenomenon. Godspeed.
Bayern München, provided they comethru Chelsea, will use the Municipal Stadium of Mafra for training when the UCL resumes, and there’s a chance Hansi Flick is going to integrate even more youth into the first team next season.
Oh also, Niko Kovac found a new club. Just saying.
Top quality stuffs! Thank you Maurice. I subscribe to a few Bayern-related social media accounts & news channels so I am quite up-to-date when it comes to … news (and rumours) but I still expect Miasanrot sum-up every week, it’s very enjoyable to read and especially when you refer to some German sources (though I would need help from Google).
As I said in one previous comment, it’s been extremely pleasant being a Bayern fan these days, except for the rumors surrounding Alaba and Thiago. From what I read Thiago seems closer to leaving than staying, while it’s more optimistic regarding Alaba.
What is your personal opinion on this matter (on whether one or both would leave and can Bayern cope with this hypothetical loss)?
Thanks as always for your comment Hien. It’s great to get feedback and to know that this new format is working for you.
You’re quite right that we’re all a little upset by the constant rumors surrounding Thiago and Alaba. As you point out, the situation around Thiago seems to be especially bleak. There seem to be far more rumors indicating his departure rather than staying. For Alaba on the other hand, it seems as if there is a better chance of him staying. If I had to guess, I suspect Thiago will likely leave and Alaba will stay. However, I can also confidently say that no outcome would truly shock me with the two of them.
As far as how Bayern will cope with either or both of them leaving, this is I think more obvious. Bayern can absolutely adjust to both players leaving however both would be significant losses. I think at this point, Thiago’s departure is a little more impactful than Alaba’s simply because of the depth at their respective positions. We have a lot of high quality options at both CB and LB now. However, as well as Goretzka played in place of Thiago at the end of the season, he still has a long way to go to truly replace the Spaniard in nearly every facet of the 6. His positioning, defensive ability, distribution and ability to work in tight spaces are all at least a grade below Thiago’s. The good thing is that Goretzka improved significantly with the extra playing time and appears to be working hard. Moreover, the only time Bayern are likely to really feel that downgrade is against the elite competition in Europe, so hopefully Kimmich and Goretzka can both improve enough before that crucial stage in Europe to overcome the departure of Thiago.
Alaba I think would be a loss from a different perspective. You can easily argue that with Hernandez, Sule, Pavard & Boateng, there is significant coverage for the 2 central defensive roles. Hernandez also provides cover for Davies at LB. However, as this season proved, a few injuries can leave you in a dire situation very quickly. That being said, I think there are some potential intangible losses with Alaba. He is one of the last players that came through the Youth Academy within the squad and therefore holds a special connection to the club. On top of that, he has really taken on a leadership role within the team over this season. He became the leader of the defense and has been a huge influence on Alphonso Davies. There is even a chance that we could see a bit of a dip from Davies next season if he does not have the experience and guidance of Alaba there.
So while Bayern will survive without either player, I think there is likely to be some pains to get through if either or both of them leave. The good thing is that with every departure, it opens up playing time for others. Hopefully if we are forced to adjust to them being gone, that means that new, younger, players will get a chance and prove themselves.
Just a thought regarding Thiago…any possibility that he’s just waiting to see if Alaba can cash in on a huge wage increase so he can get a better deal for himself?…or perhaps the Havertz deal is not dead and he’s waiting to see how that develops as the midfield would be even more crowded than it is already.
I just can’t see what reason he has for leaving Munich as we love him, he loves Munich and unless he wants to raise his kids in Spain, which I understand, I can’t understand the move to a place like Liverpool or Manchester.