bolje ovakav poraz koji nije imao nikakve štete što se tiče gubitka bodova, ispadanja i slične katastrofe. istina poraz ne treba, pogotovo kad se povede 2:0, al možda ovo i nije loše, da ih se malo uzdrma, da kad bude bilo bitnije se ne opusti opet ovako

sad jedan 5:0 protiv hsv-a, tak da se vrati stara atmosfera

Bayern gets stuck in the oil barrel, concedes defeat (video highlights)

Well, that was an ugly and self-inflicted defeat. In an uncharacteristically complacent and slow display by both team and staff, Bayern conceded the first defeat of the season to… Manchester City.

Because of this, I will divide the match report in three:

The good

The first twenty minutes or so were a blast. Müller was all over the place. Ribéry and Alaba were making Richards and Demichelis crazy with their typical relays and cuts into the inside of the field. Kroos’ change of pace was absolutely outstanding; he was able to look up and provide clever, cutting passes, or run deep to cause a corner or find a header with one of his surgical-precision crosses.

And it yielded. Dante’s long ball found Müller (offside, admittedly, but only just), who ran in diagonal, like any right-minded striker, and produced a parallel, not crosses, finish. Brilliant.

Afterwards, and after a series of rebounds, Götze found the ball in the small box, unmarked, and at goal. 2:0.

The pressure Bayern put on City prevented the Etihadeers from plugging their formidable attack in.

The bad

To the casual observer, City’s first goal might have not been such a bad thing for Bayern. I mean, we were still up in the scoreline, and City’s offensive tirades had been sporadic and isolated. But after that first goal, David Silva realised what our own Michel has been saying for weeks now: Bayern aren’t quite up to speed in the defence department.

That first goal was a fatal succession of errors. Firstly, Alaba failed to cover the guy who crossed the ball in. Secondly, the centre-backs were behind the ball, for Pete’s sake. And thirdly, Lahm was complacent in his coverage. Okay, it was his first game since coming back from injury.

2:1.

From then on, it was a nap for Bayern. Yes, the penalty was a horrible call. Dante never touched Milner. But why is the centre back forced to open his position so much to catch an incoming player? Where was Lahm? Also, if Thiago was supposed to be the holding midfielder, he should have been protecting the defence. His game started out quite well, but he tends to forget about his defensive duties. Never, ever, should anyone bench Javi for this position. That’s why we paid 40 million for him. That’s why he was so important for our success last season.

2:2

The last goal? Well… Boateng. You can’t really blame him. Belching a cross upfield shouldn’t be a Champions League-winning team’s defence’s last resource. Lahm should have been covering Milner more closely, and the midfielders should have helped to close down spaces.

3:2

The ugly

Pep failed to notice any of the bad. I’ll just leave it at that.

Debunking five myths about Bayern and Pep Guardiola

One of the “perks” of being a Bayern fan these days, after the historic treble and now with Pep Guardiola at the helm, is hearing myths about the team, its culture, its fans and its tactics. Especially after a noticeable loss against Manchester City. It’s time to debunk them.

If you agree with the following, I encourage you to share it with fans of other teams to enlighten them. If you disagree… well, that’s life.

Myth #1: You won Group D. You are on top of the Bundesliga. Stop crying.

First, nobody is crying and there is no crisis at the moment. On the other hand, you cannot ask any of us to be “happy” after a defeat. Especially when self-inflicted, as it was on Tuesday. Earlier this week, my complaints about the recent performances of our defence were seen as exaggerated. I unfortunately was right.

It is not just leading standings that counts but how you win. If the team is shaky or unconvincing, we keep our eyes on the prizes and think “if we keep doing this, we won’t reach our goals”. That’s silverware.

From the management to players to the fan who watches at home, Bayern has a very strong winning culture and a zero tolerance policy towards losing. Exiting the Champions League at the round of 16 or quarters a few years in a row will push everyone to say “we have a problem”. Failing to secure a CL spot automatically triggers a crisis. Not winning the league a couple of years in a row may just push everyone to attend anger management classes.

What’s good enough for a majority of teams will not satisfying the club and its members. You don’t agree with such thinking? Mia San Mia… which means we are who we are.

Myth #2: Pep Guardiola was brought on to bring a revolution.

I played along with this one for a while but I am not buying it anymore. If you have a good memory, you remember that Pep’s hiring was announced in January 2013. At that time, FC Bayern was leading the Bundesliga as winter champion, but nothing was pointing for an eight-point lead to extend to 25 points by the end of the season. The Champions League form was good, but the competition was far from being in the bag. An ugly loss against BATE Borisov made question marks flash. In few words: thoughts of the treble were far-fetched for Jupp Heynckes, who wasn’t yet seen as potential coach of the year.

Add this ingredient to the mix: management was aware that Pep Guardiola wanted to return to coaching after a year off. It saw the occasion as unique to have him calling the shots a hugely talented squad.

If you have only the treble in mind, it is easy to put a cute spin on Pep’s arrival at Bayern. “He was brought on to change everything so that Bayern keeps winning in all competitions”. While a measure of change is necessary to avoid being predictable, it is too simplistic to say that he had a specific mandate to change a treble team. No way.

Myth #3: Pep is always right. He won it all with Barcelona. Let him do what he wants.

You don’t understand FC Bayern well if you say that. No coach, however celebrated, will receive a blank cheque to do whatever he wants. Pep is being a little stubborn with his pet player Thiago, as coined by Scott, with whom I sometimes have the chance to participate to the Rekordmeister Podcast. By bringing back Thiago as a defensive midfielder to keep him in the lineup, he single-handedly pulled the plug on any form of support for the defence. A disastrous decision. If he makes more of these, he’ll have to justify himself.

Moreover, his insistence on fielding a 4-1-4-1 with players playing out of position (recent examples: Lahm, Thiago) and key guys on the bench (example: Javi) is entirely out of line.

Myth #4: You just want Jupp Heynckes and his 4-2-3-1 back

Again, this is a simplistic argument. Not many people will ask for Jupp back and a straight return to last year’s tactics. Everybody accepts that Pep is our coach and that he can adapt the team’s play to a changing reality. Some of his changes were positive. Introducing in-play position swaps has worked. The idea that a defensive midfielder can pull back and send the full backs forward has worked. Effective change is appreciated.

But… I do want the 4-2-3-1 back.

Myth #5: Playing a 4-2-3-1 will make us predictable

Huh… nice try. Keeping a formation does not mean avoiding change. Look at recent Bayern history for an example. Throuhgout the tenures of Louis van Gaal and Jupp Heynckes as coaches, FCB played with a 4-2-3-1. LvG gave it a possession style, but it remained focused on asking the ball to do all the work, passing it towards the wings, then back and sideways when there was no clear-cut opening.

Then, Jupp came on and made changes. He introduced counterpressing in his first year, adding robustness to it, with new players, in the second year. Through two seasons, he developed a direct approach to attacking.

Huge changes, same formation.

If Pep is unable to work with a 4-2-3-1 and make changes here and there to the team’s playing tactics, you must ask whether he can take over a big club. Wasn’t it a common wisdom that big clubs like FC Bayern and FC Barcelona implemented systems that players and coaches would adapt to? Why does it suddenly become the other way around, with a coach that decides to change things to adapt the team to his philosophy? Nonsense.

I hope that this little editorial provides you with food for thought.