| 07.10.2008 |
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| After finishing a review of the scathing remarks the rest of the German press had for Juergen Klinsmann after his first 100 days at the head of Bayern Munich, here's my appraisal. There are a few reasons to expect neither Klinsi nor Bayern's management to adhere to the soccer's traditional logic of kill the coach as soon as the team falters. The main reason is one of priorities. Even if the current situation speaks against it, Bayern has the talent to beat the rest of the Bundesliga. Short of outplaying teams on the pitch, Munich has also established a tradition of ensuring their reputation as Bavarian giants by buying up league players performing better than their own. Lukas Podolski a few seasons ago and Miroslav Klose now are just two of the more recent examples. But, ultimately, the Bundesliga is not the place where Bayern, or Klinsmann, really wants to make a mark. The team sees Europe as the stage where it wants to be in the spotlight, and that's where Klinsmann, along with the rest of his 11-man coaching team and team management have set their priority. And there's enough work for them to do. Bayern want to put an end to their long European hiatus and get back into the European elite after an embarrassing end at the hands of Zenit St. Petersburg in the UEFA Cup and an ongoing Champions League drought. Historians need to go back to 2001 to remember the last time Bayern reached the semi-finals. That's one reason why after securing enough points to stay first in their Champions League group, Bayern could return to Germany -- little more than a province on the European soccer map -- and let Klinsmann experiment with lineups (he hasn't started the same 11 players in any of Bayern's matches) and ways coax talent out of his players before facing their upcoming European competition. Bayern's management knew the team would be in for a rocky transition with Klinsmann coming and team leader Oliver "King" Kahn moving on to TV consulting job. But they decided to take a chance at European glory rather than simply continuing to dominate in Germany. It's not as if Klinsmann arrived in Munich with a long, star-studded resume, but in his biggest coaching endeavor he proved he can get players to perform. He impressed the world by successfully turning around the German national team and leading it to third place in the 2006 World Cup where he had the freedom to experiment with a variety of lineups during qualification since Germany was automatically given a tournament berth. But he's never coached a club team and never been subject to the demands of amassing league points with solid showing week in and week out will continue to be his biggest challenge. Hopes that can deliver some European silverware over the long term, and put in an impressive performance now, and the expectation that his experiments with yield the right team chemistry by the end of the season to deliver the Bundesliga title to Munich again, are driving Bayern to stand behind Klinsmann after a less-than-spectacular first 100 days with the team. Then again, you also need to stand behind a man to knife him in the back. We'll have to see how this one ends. |
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