FC Bayern Munich: Random Thoughts and a Look Back at Match-Day 34

Bayern fans are probably feeling quite anxious ahead of the next week and a half or so. Two gigantic finals take place ahead in the coming two Saturdays, the first of which is the German Cup final or as we know it the DFB Pokal.

So, to just distract everyone from BVB vs. Bayern, let’s talk about Barcelona and their love of Bayern’s fullbacks. In the past, Philipp Lahm was tempted to join the Catalan giants. Lahm remained true to his roots and stayed at the club he captains today. He was recently founded offering an opinion about the political situation in Ukraine.

As all Bayern fans know, Mr. Lahm has an opinion on just about everything. He spoke against the club in Louis Van Gaal’s early days citing Barcelona as an example of how things should be done on the pitch. Lahm was fined heavily but that turned out to be a true wake up call as Van Gaal’s all conquering Bayern won everything ahead of them except the Champions League final.

He released his book during the course of this season titled 'The Fine Difference' where he criticized almost all of his former coaches barring his current coaches Joachim Loew and Jupp Heynckes. If Mr. Heynckes fails to win two trophies or at least the Champions League, he could be the next person Lahm talks about.

However, there is one thing about Lahm that never changes: his performances. He is as consistent a player as there is. Yes, there are some days when he has let an opponent off the hook once or twice such as Cristiano Ronaldo in the second leg of the CL semi-final against Real Madrid. Yet, he is the one who makes so much happen down whichever flank he is asked to play on.

Above all, he could become one of the most revered captains in the history of his one and only club if he could get his hands on the Champions League trophy that even the great Lothar Matthaus couldn’t. Opposite to Lahm, plays another player who recently was the subject of an offer from Barcelona.

When Karl Heinz Rummenigge found out that the Spaniards were dishing out an offer for this Austrian, he simply told them not to waste their money on a phone call. David Alaba is not for sale. Alaba has been nothing short of a revelation. Everyone at Bayern already knew he had talent, but he really broke out this year. Alaba can play just about everywhere except as a striker. He can even perhaps fill in for Manuel Neuer if need be.

Alaba took two of the biggest penalties in the history of Bayern. So many 19-year-olds would have choked, but he did not. Against both Mönchengladbach (Pokal semi-final) and Real Madrid (CL semi-final) Alaba converted. It is indeed a shame that Alaba will be suspended for the final of the CL. He really had a big hand in taking Bayern there.

So, let’s just take a look back at the final game of the Bundesliga season for Bayern which took place against Köln. This was supposed to be Lukas Podolski’s farewell match. All Köln needed to do to make the relegation play-offs was avoid defeat. The only problem was that they were taking on Bayern.
Jupp Heynckes fielded a line-up that will supposedly take to the pitch on the 19th of May if not the 12th as well. Luiz Gustavo had an injury to deal with and thus did not play a part in this match. Rafinha was left out of the starting eleven. This was the line-up:

Manuel Neuer
Philipp Lahm- Anatoliy Tymoshchuk- Jerome Boateng- Diego Contento
Bastian Schweinsteiger- Toni Kroos
Arjen Robben- Thomas Mueller- Franck Ribery
Mario Gomez

The team was trying to set up chances for Gomez but the German failed to convert and so his trophy went to Klaas Jan Huntelaar. I myself missed most of the match but from what I understand from reviews, the line-up fared quite well considering this was the first time they were playing together. With the score at 1-3, Heynckes took off Kroos and brought on Holger Badstuber.

There was just one breakdown in the entire match and that was when Lukas Podolski got past both the defensive midfielders and Tymoshchuk to set up Milivoje Novakovic. The match finished 1-4 in Bayern’s favor. Mueller was without a doubt the best player. He scored twice while Arjen Robben scored another. Pedro Geromel scored an own goal as well.

The match finished a minute early as German police had to take over to prevent the Köln fans from throwing flares on the pitch. Köln’s season had literally gone up in flames. Their hero [Podolski] departed with his head bowed. He will now pack his bags for London with a heavy heart but he did say afterwards that he felt his side deserved to be relegated.

This Bundesliga season could normally be considered to be a failure considering Bayern failed to win the title. However, Bayern’s season ending tally was 73 points, eight less than Dortmund who broke Bayern’s record tally of points. This was the second best Bayern defence in history; it conceded one more goal than the other two Bayern defences which finished a season having conceded only 21 goals.

In 45 of the past 49 seasons, 73 points would have handed Bayern the title. They were only beaten by an exceptional BVB side which also beat the record set by Leverkusen for the longest unbeaten run in a single season.  BVB won 15 matches and drew the other two in the second half of a brilliant campaign.

Speaking of Leverkusen, I just can’t help but fear Bayern’s season might end just like theirs did in 2002 with three runner-up finishes. I hope that doesn’t happen and I certainly hope that Bayern picks up two trophies in the next two Saturdays. Especially after the heartbreak of 2010. I really can’t believe that Bayern could be crowned as Europe’s best side on the 19th of May.

So, I would like to hear the thoughts of any fans on board. Questions and comments are all welcome.