Bayern in turmoil

German giants Bayern Munich seem to be in crisis at the moment. The clubs latest result a 1-1 draw at home to Schalke leaves the Bavarians six points behind leaders Bayer Leverkusen.

Poor discipline

At half-time in the Schalke game Italian striker Luca Toni was substituted and decided he didn’t want to watch the second half. So he got in his car and headed home. The gesture showed a lack of respect for the fans and his teammates.

Germany international full-back Phillip Lahm criticised the clubs transfer policy in a German national newspaper. Both players received hefty fines for their discretion’s. However I believe Lahm was right. What is the clubs vision for the future?

Previous glory

When I was a youngster I saw Bayern Munich as a European football giant. I remember hearing about players like Lothar Matthaus and Olaf Thon as there wasn’t much German football on television when I was a boy. They seemed like a special club with special players. Icons like Matthaus and Klinsmann made the club great and before my time the fantastic talents of Frank Beckenbauer and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.

New coach

Bayern sacked Jurgen Klinsmann  as their head coach last season. They finished second in the Bundesliga after former coach Jupp Heynckes had taken control of the club on a temporary basis for the remainder of the season This summer saw the arrival of veteran Dutch coach Louis Van Gaal.

Van Gaal had seemed the perfect choice for the top job as he had just guided AZ Alkmaar to only their second ever league title in Holland and had won numerous trophies elsewhere. On joining Bayern he said they were the ‘dream club’. It could turnout to prove more of a nightmare for the former Ajax and Barcelona boss.

He won the Champions League in 1995 with Ajax and also claimed three Dutch titles. He also won two league titles in Spain with Barcelona. With a resume like that it seemed that he couldn’t fail at a big club like Bayern. Yet just a few months after being appointed there are rumours of him being fired. I think he is the right man for the job but other influences are far too strong at Bayern for him to do his job properly.

Big figures

Bayern seems to be a club who have too many personalities competing for the control of the club. Their president Franz Beckenbauer will always have a major influence on the club. Then they have a general manager in the shape of another Bayern legend Uli Hoeness.

Former Bayern stalwart Cristian Nerlinger is also a team manager/general manager and he will takeover from Hoeness when he leaves the club. That is a lot of big figures to compete with for power. Van Gaal who is a big character himself seems to be fighting against behind the scenes problems.

Struggles to continue

Bayern will continue to struggle on the field until they sort their off-the-field problems out. Van Gaal is a top manager and should be given control of the team. If the Bayern board and everybody who has a say in the club allow the Dutchman to do his job and not obstruct him at every turn, then the club can achieve the great things they have in the past. However if they keep such a tight stranglehold of the club then the team will continue to struggle on the pitch and that’s not good for Bayern or for German football.