Bayern Emphasise Strength in Depth
With a simply massive Champions League tie ahead of them in mid-week against Barcelona, the Bundesliga title already secured weeks before the season’s climax, and a team full of reserve players fielded, Bayern Munich could have been forgiven for turning in a sub-par display in the Bundesliga against Hannover.
In practice, though, things turned out rather differently to how one might expect. Bayern battered Hannover by six goals to one, despite leaving out numerous key players ahead of their mid-week engagement with Barca.
After the match, Jupp Heynckes, the Bayern coach who will be replaced by Pep Guardiola in the summer, stated that Bayern have no ‘B’ team, they just have an excellent squad of top-class players. It was difficult to disagree with him after this performance, during which both Mario Gomez and Claudio Pizzarro scored twice.
Bayern are considered by some to be the favourite for this season’s Champions League, despite potentially needing to beat both of the Spanish giants, Barcelona and Real Madrid, in order to do so. With a phenomenally strong and well-drilled playing squad, a huge transfer budget available in the summer, one of the world’s top coaches on the way, and a trophy cabinet potentially full of Europe’s top prizes, it’s hard to imagine there is a club in better shape than FC Bayern at present.
Loading ...
