10 Things for Bayern Munich Fans to Look Forward to in 2015
The 2014 calendar year was a huge success for Bayern Munich in almost every way. The club broke records on the pitch, in the finance department and elsewhere, and won the domestic double of Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal for a second consecutive season.
In the summer, Bayern had more players at the World Cup in every stage. Seven among their squad were winners with Germany. And following the summer break, the Bavarians have set them on course to win silverware on three fronts, both domestically and in the Champions League. As it stands, a treble is certainly a possibility.
As Bayern prepare to resume their season on January 30, B/R takes a look at the things the club and their fans have to look forward to in 2015. Click "Begin Slideshow" for our top 10.
Breaking Records (Nearly) Every Week
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Hardly a week goes by without Bayern breaking at least one or two records. In the spring of 2014, they won the Bundesliga in record time, set a record for most consecutive domestic victories and away wins in the Champions League and games undefeated in all competitions, among others. In the fall, Xabi Alonso broke a record for most touches in a Bundesliga game. The club smashed their record for revenue in a season as well as club membership. And heading into the winter break, they had conceded fewer goals than any other club in the first half of a Bundesliga campaign.
The aforementioned paragraph could be extended to book length if all records set are included, but in the interest of brevity, it's abridged to just a few lines. Bayern have broken records again and again and again, and the 2015 calendar year will surely lead to more on-pitch, financial and other records.
A Fit Thiago
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It's been almost 10 months since Thiago Alcantara last played for Bayern, the Spaniard having initially suffered a knee ligament injury that was not anticipated to rule him out of the World Cup, before two big setbacks put him on course to play only a year after the initial problem.
The 23-year-old is a hugely talented midfielder who had imposed himself on the German giants' squad following his transfer in the summer of 2013. His progress was very impressive especially when considering that a serious ankle injury had kept him out of action for most of the first half of the 2013-14 campaign.
This time, the road to recovery may take a little longer. And there still is no certainty that Thiago will ever be the same player. But if his knee is fully rehabilitated and Bayern take care in bringing him back into first-team football, he will have all the effect of a new world-class transfer.
Guardiola's Second Crack at the Champions League as a Bayern Coach
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Pep Guardiola has won almost everything possible at Bayern, and his side have barely missed a beat during his season-and-a-half at the helm in Munich.
Many believe his side are favorites to win the Champions League. But the only way to justify the favorites tag is to make potential into reality, and the fact remains that the one (but impossible-to-ignore) ugly spot on his career at Bayern is the club's record 5-0 aggregate loss to Real Madrid in last season's Champions League semifinal.
Having beat the Blancos in the clubs' previous two knock-out ties and having reached the final in three of the previous four seasons compared to Real failing to do so for over a decade, such a hefty defeat was a very bitter pill to swallow.
Guardiola has the chance to set the record straight, that last year's debacle was just a fluke, as he makes a second attempt for European glory this season.
He's used his "free pass" but now will be under much more scrutiny to deliver. After all, having inherited a treble-winning team with financial and personnel resources that leave the rest of the Bundesliga miles behind, a domestic double just isn't enough.
On the bright side, the ex-Barcelona man is a proven trainer who has claimed the Champions League trophy twice as a coach. And he knows what is at stake.
The Possibility of a Treble
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If Bayern manage to win the Champions League, the possibility of a second treble in three years is quite high. They are 11 points clear of Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga, which they may well wrap up in record time just a year after setting what now is the current record. That leaves the DFB-Pokal as the final hurdle.
The Pokal is a different animal altogether, being a one-off in which one bad game can spell the end of a team's title hopes. The competition is not particularly dangerous, only domestic opponents, and several top-flight teams (Schalke among them) have already been eliminated.
Bayern coasted to the final last season and were clear favorites to win, but they controversially benefited from a ball that had crossed the goal line not being declared a goal. The match went to extra time, in which they beat Dortmund 2-0. Still, the game showed just how narrow the margin for error can be in a final.
Bayern are favorites in every competition in which they are currently participating and on paper ought to win a treble. But it will be a very difficult task. Still, if they play to their potential, no team will be able to stop them.
Phasing out of the Old and in of the New
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With each passing season, Bayern edge closer to an inevitable transition period.
Xabi Alonso, Philipp Lahm, Dante, Franck Ribery, Arjen Robben and Bastian Schweinsteiger are all over 30 years of age. And although they may be able to take care of business as usual in the Bundesliga, one-by-one they will eventually need replacing if Bayern are to remain competitive as one of Europe's top two or three clubs.
Already, Dante is being phased out, with Mehdi Benatia having shared his responsibilities in domestic play but started in five out of six Champions League fixtures. Ribery is months from his 32nd birthday, the age at which on average the neuromuscular velocity (the attribute that gives players their explosive quickness) begins to decline. Lahm is returning from a serious bone fracture, and Schweinsteiger has proved to be very injury-prone in recent years. Any combination of them and/or Alonso and Robben could begin to see their minutes curtailed, depending on the rise of their possible replacements.
It's an exciting time from a Bayern perspective, as team rebuilding becomes more and more of a focus at the club. Mario Gotze may play more and more of a leadership role. Sebastian Rode may be given more and more minutes. And then there are youngsters like local lad Gianluca Gaudino as well as recent signings Sinan Kurt and Joshua Kimmich.
Bayern may be nearing a transition phase, but the signing and use of Benatia is a perfect example of proactive squad planning. If they can continue in the same way, their squad evolution may well be seamless.
Reserves Improving
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One barrier to Bayern's success in squad development is the level at which their youth teams and reserves compete. This is partly a result of performance but largely structural, affected by a league setup that is not particularly favorable for the Bavarian giants.
Geographical isolation has in many ways benefited Bayern, with players from a broad area having only one nearby top-tier club to aspire to play for. For example, Bastian Schweinsteiger (born 69 kilometers outside Munich) is considered a "local lad" and hardly had the option of another club, while five Bundesliga clubs can be found within a 69-kilometer radius of Duisburg.
The downside is Bayern's academy teams compete against those of Stuttgart, Freiburg, Hoffenheim and Mainz, as well as what amount to many also-rans.
Competition in the North Rhine-Westphalia may make it tougher for some teams to attract talent, but it also means that the level of play is so high that Leverkusen even opted to dissolve their reserve team in favor of focusing solely on using their academy teams for development and their senior side for those ready for play at the highest level.
Competition is even worse for Bayern's reserves, who face only teams from Bavaria as part of the Regionalliga Bayern. This is changeable, however, with promotion to the 3. Liga a possibility (accession of a reserve team to the 2. Bundesliga is prohibited by DFB statues) should they win their Regionalliga.
FC Bayern II narrowly missed out on the 3. Liga last season, losing their promotion play-off to Fortuna Koln. And they have a bit of a gap to make up, with 1860 Munich II four points ahead and Wurzburger Kickers seven points clear in first place.
With the likes of Sinan Kurt and Gianluca Gaudino as possible selections to the squad, however, a late-season run for first place is not out of the cards.
If they are promoted to the 3. Liga, it would be a big boost for the Bayern reserves and would make the club a more desirable destination for younger players and those with little chance of immediately turning out for the first team.
Surpassing Barcelona as Europe's Second-Highest Revenue-Generating Side
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On November 28, Bayern announced a record turnover of €528.7 million, a more than 22 percent increase from the previous season's total of €432.8 million, according to Hamish Mackay in the Daily Mail. On July 7, Barcelona reported revenue of €530 million, as reported by Kurt Badenhausen for Forbes, only fractionally higher than that of the Bavarian giants.
Real Madrid remain atop football's rich-list at €603.9 million, per Joe Wright's Goal.com report, and are unlikely to be caught this year. But Bayern could well surpass Barca.
The Germans have proved to be a hugely lucrative business, especially in the last five years, and have grown at a remarkable rate. Given their expansion efforts in Asia and the United States, their growing number of world superstars and their relentless pursuit of perfection, they could well become world football's second-richest club.
Summer Signings
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As quoted in the biography of former German FA (DFB) treasurer Heinrich Schmidhuber, per Goal.com, former Bayern president Uli Hoeness said:
"If the stadium (Allianz Arena) is paid off in six to 10 years, then FC Bayern will be a very powerful side, and the other Bunesliga clubs will face a tough task. All proceeds from boxes, viewers, advertising, etc, that are now used for eradication of debt, will be used to improve the squad.
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Four years later, Bayern have eradicated all their stadium debt, the club announcing so in their official magazine in November (per BBC). Having paid off a 25-year loan in just nine-and-a-half years, Bayern's financial success is hugely impressive. And now the time has come that they can spend even more on their summer signings.
As of yet, the rumor mill hasn't exactly heated up with news of transfers. But Bayern are constantly targeting new stars and looking to develop and evolve. Considering their soaring revenue and relatively low fixed payments, there's no doubt they'll be in the market for big-name reinforcements this summer.
The Ballon D'Or to Finally Be Awarded to a Bayern Player
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It's been more than three decades since a Bayern player last won the Ballon d'Or. Current club executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge claimed the award in 1981, his second-consecutive honor.
Now, a year after Franck Ribery finished third in voting, Manuel Neuer has a chance to be named the best player in world football. The Germany international has a strong and unique case for the award, having decidedly outplayed Cristiano Ronaldo and arguably having had a better campaign than Lionel Messi at the World Cup.
There is a good case to be made for each of Neuer's competitors, and the Germany international remains a bit of a long shot as a bet. But he still has a good chance of claiming the award on January 12. If he does, it will certainly be something for Bayern fans to celebrate.
Uli Hoeness' Return
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Uli Hoeness was released from jail last Friday, at least during daytime hours, and is set to return later this year to the club he helped build both as a player and within its management.
The 63-year-old was convicted of evading some €28.5 million of taxes and was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison last spring.
In November, however, Bayern president Karl Hopfner announced in a press conference that if released on parole, Hoeness would be welcomed back at the club. Karl-Heinz Rummenigge later confirmed to German TV channel ZDF (h/t ESPN) that Hoeness would return to Bayern to take on a role in the club's academy system.
Hoeness is a controversial figure since his conviction but still enjoys huge support among the Bayern faithful. Regardless of his crimes, he's dedicated his life to promoting the club and is a huge reason for their success especially in the last few years.
Even if not given the same powers he enjoyed as president before he stepped down last year, he'll be welcomed back with open arms.
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