Team Focus: Busy Bayern Aiming to Become Europe’s Best

Saturday May 19, 2012.

It could be a date that will live in the memory of FC Bayern Munich if Philipp Lahm is the captain who gets his hands on the UEFA Champions League trophy in the Allianz Arena.

The build-up to Bayern’s date with destiny has been a long, drawn out affair. The Bayern board-room circus of Messrs Rumminegge, Hoeness and Nerlinger have made it abundantly clear that nothing other than red ribbons on the trophy will be acceptable.

Indeed, you could argue that Bayern’s eye on the Allianz Arena final was a hindrance in their battle with Borussia Dortmund for the League championship. Dortmund’s narrow 1-0 win over Bayern at Signal Iduna Park in April was the defining moment in BVB’s second league triumph in consecutive seasons.

But a memorable two-legged win over Real Madrid, culminating in a penalty shootout triumph in the Bernabeu, has restored confidence in Jupp Heynckes and his team to deliver glory at the end of the season.

Remember, there is still a chance that the Bavarians could secure a double – with a DFB Pokal final against Dortmund in the coming weeks.

Bayern have been busy in recent weeks looking ahead to their tussle with Dortmund at the top of the Bundesliga next season. It’s just over 20 years since Bayern went three seasons without winning Germany’s biggest prize and they have already made strides to ensure that period isn’t repeated.

Nerlinger and Heynckes signalled their ambitions for next season with the £12m signing of FC Basel prodigy Xherdan Shaqiri who was in blistering form for the Swiss side in their run to the Last 16 of the Champions League.

The addition of Shaqiri came just weeks after the club lost out on the battle for the signature of Borussia Monchengladbach’s Marco Reus who opted to join Borussia Dortmund for £14m rather than make a largely unpopular move to Munich.

But 20-year-old Shaqiri has shown on the highest stage – against Manchester United – that he will be a stunning addition to the Bayern squad. In 24 league matches, Shaqiri has six goals to his name but in Europe, has excelled with a WhoScored rating of 6.92 from six games in the Champions League, making one assist too.

Shaqiri’s role in the Bayern attack is uncertain but the recent speculation over Arjen Robben could open the perfect position as an inverted winger on the right-hand side of the 4-2-3-1 system. The Swiss international can also play in a central attacking midfield role and will be stiff competition for Thomas Muller who has been disappointing this season.

Another area Heynckes has been keen to strengthen is in the centre of their defence. Bayern have done remarkably well given the inconsistent selections in the back-four and the number of matches where they have played without a central defender.

Strangely, one of the most familiar defensive selections under Heynckes has been Ukrainian midfielder Anatoly Tymoshchuk and Brazilian Luis Gustavo. Both have done very well at the back on the odd occasions that they have been called upon due to other injuries in the squad. But even with Daniel Van Buyten, Jerome Boateng and Holger Badstuber – Bayern still look fragile in the heart of the defence.

It wasn’t surprising to see Bayern secure the signing of Gladbach’s Brazilian defender Dante, who has been a revelation under Lucien Favre in the past 18 months or so. The central defender had a £4.5m transfer buy-out clause on his Gladbach contract and the 28-year-old has made 32 appearances so far this season.

Dante has a WhoScored rating of 7.13 and has been at the heart of Gladbach’s dogged defensive performances this season. On average, he makes 1.8 tackles, 2.9 interceptions and 3.9 clearances per match in the Bundesliga. The defender will bring a towering presence at 188cm and a dominant style of defending – something which is missing when Bayern use the likes of Badstuber and Gustavo in the back-four.

Like most Brazilians though, he is a very gifted footballer and will suit Bayern’s dominant possession game. He has a pass completion ratio of 88.2% from 2193 attempts this season and makes an average of 68.5 passes every game.

It seems to be that Bayern’s transfer dealings are not over yet and in particular, Heynckes is still looking for a back-up goalkeeper to replace Hans Jorg-Butt and a striker to fill the void of super-sub Ivica Olic who will be joining VfL Wolfsburg in the summer.

Werder Bremen’s talismanic 33-year-old Claudio Pizarro was reported by a German newspaper in April to have agreed a pre-contract with FC Bayern. However, that rumour was refuted by Werder’s sporting director Klaus Allofs who said: "I do not know anything about it".

Pizarro has played nearly 160 times for Bayern and Bremen combined and has scored 16 goals in 27 games this season. The Peruvian has also contributed eight assists and has a WhoScored rating of 7.49.

The striker’s excellent overall game makes him the number one target for Bayern but this week, Nerlinger has been reported to be scouting Montpellier’s Oliver Giroud. The 25-year-old French striker has netted 20 goals in 32 games and has a WhoScored rating of 7.45. Giroud has 4.4 shots per game and would be a similar option to Mario Gomez, if they secured his signature.

Despite domination in recent campaigns by Barcelona on a continental stage, Bayern Munich are making strides to becoming the number one team in Europe. Both financially and on the park, 2012 could be a historic year for Heynckes if they can get their hands on the Champions League trophy.