3 Biggest Concerns for Bayern Munich's Fans in 2015-16 Season so Far

More than three months into the 2015-16 club football season, Bayern Munich look to be head-and-shoulders above all of Europe’s top clubs.

The Bavarians have won all but three games in all competitions, hammering most opponents in a time in which other top clubs of recent years, like Juventus and Chelsea, have struggled.

The Bundesliga champions are playing their best football yet since the arrival of Pep Guardiola in the summer of 2013, and they look to have true class in every position.

Yet every team in world football has its problems. To find Bayern’s may require a fine-toothed comb, but they do exist.

Click “Begin Slideshow” to see B/R’s top three picks among the areas Bayern fans are concerned about thus far.

Away Form

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As great as Bayern have been this season, their success will ultimately be measured based on their performance in Champions League games.

Approximately half of these matches will be played away from home, an area where Bayern still have something to prove.

Bayern’s two losses and one draw this season have all come away from home: First in Wolfsburg in the DFL-Superpokal, then away to Arsenal in the Champions League, and finally in Frankfurt in the Bundesliga.

Most clubs would be thoroughly satisfied to have had only those setbacks while winning their other seven away matches in all competitions, including a 3-1 DFB-Pokal triumph against cup holders Wolfsburg. However, the defeat at Arsenal in particular was worrisome given the club’s recent history.

Under Guardiola, Bayern have won just one of six Champions League knockout round matches. Last season, results away from home became progressively worse in the Champions League.

Bayern were held to a 0-0 draw by Shakhtar in Lviv, then lost 3-1 away to Porto before Barcelona did one better and earned a 3-0 win at Camp Nou. And although Bayern won the return legs of all three rounds, their first-leg deficit against Barca was too great to overcome.

The October loss to Arsenal was a shocking result for Bayern fans primarily because the level of their club’s performance in that match was so poor compared to what it had been in every match for months until that point.

In the Champions League knockout rounds, one such performance could be enough to put Bayern out of contention. Thus, there is reasonable cause for concern.

Arturo Vidal

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In the eyes of many, Douglas Costa has proved to be the best signing of the summer transfer window. The same can’t be said of Arturo Vidal, who has left something to be desired.

Hailed by many as a major coup following the sale of Bastian Schweinsteiger, the Chile international has had bright moments but struggled to play at his best over 90 minutes.

Vidal has come under heavy criticism from Franz Beckenbauer, per Sky Sports Deutschland (h/t Adam Skinner of the Daily Express), and there are concerns that the midfielder may (as Schweinsteiger had been for years prior to his departure) be already suffering from chronic pain that could cut short his career at the highest level, as discussed in depth in this article.

It’s also possible Vidal is just tired after playing two consecutive years without a proper summer break. Or that he’s still adapting to life in Munich.

Regardless of the reason, Guardiola didn’t select the 28-year-old for the Champions League home match against Arsenal after the Chilean’s horror show at the Emirates. The trainer also kept Vidal benched for the DFB-Pokal clash with Wolfsburg.

At present, it looks like the former Juventus man has some distance to go if he is to deliver on the level expected of a Copa America winner and Champions League finalist.

The Club's Direction and Future

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As Guardiola approaches the two-and-a-half-year mark in his three-year contract at Bayern, the question is becoming more and more of a concern: Will he continue as coach past the expiration of his deal in 2016? Or will the Bavarians have a new man at the helm in 2016-17?

Since Guardiola’s arrival, Bayern have changed drastically. Their style of play has changed again and again; now it’s closer to what it was under Jupp Heynckes than it was in Guardiola’s first year at Bayern, but it's still markedly different from that of the treble-winning side.

There is a big question mark over how prepared the club will be for a more “normal” coach if the visionary Guardiola leaves.

Furthermore, there is the issue of the club’s shifting identity. Many Bayern fans have long been attracted to the image of their club being “Germany’s” club and producer of national team players. But the last player to emerge from the Bayern academy and become a Germany international was Thomas Muller, and the number of players in Joachim Low’s selection has decreased in recent years as the likes of Schweinsteiger and Toni Kroos have been replaced at the Allianz Arena with foreign players.

Some Bayern fans see this as a problem, others don’t. But among fans in general—whether they support Guardiola or are against him—there is angst over whether the coach will extend his contract or move on at season’s end.