Bayern Munich

League: Bundesliga

Owner: Public Limited Company. Stockholders = 75% Bayern München eV, 8.33% Adidas AG, 8.33% Audi AG y 8.33% Allianz SE.

Coach: Julian Nagelsmann

Best Player: Robert Lewandowski

Titles

Bayern Munich enjoyed an outstanding period with Hans-Dieter Flick as their coach, winning six titles in 2019 – 2020. The following season, Bayern lifted the Bundesliga and, recently, the German Supercup; the second one, with Julian Nagelsmann as their coach.

Structure

Bayern München eV is the majority stockholder with 75%, followed by three giant German enterprises: Adidas, Audi and Allianz. Herbert Hainer is the current president of Bayern München eV, elected in November of 2019. Oliver Kahn, former player and club legend, is their CEO. Hans-Dieter Flick* has been one of their most successful coaches, saying goodbye to team at the end of last season to manage the German National Team. The Board decided to hire Julian Nagelsmann, a young coach with a promising future, paying R.B. Leipzig, approximately, a fee of 25 million euros.

*Flick replaced Niko Kovac in November of 2019.

Coach

Nagelsmann shined as Leipzig’s coach, transforming them into contenders; UEFA Champions League semifinalists in 2020, and runners-up in Bundesliga and German Cup in 2021. Julian has already lifted his first professional trophy this season, beating Borussia Dortmund in the German Supercup.

Players

Goalkeepers	Defenders	Midfielders	Striker/Wingers
Manuel Neuer Sven Ulreich Christian Früchtl	Alphonso Davies Dayot Upamecano Lucas Hernández Niklas Süle Benjamin Pavard Tanguy Nianzou Chris Richards Omar Richards Bouna Sarr Josip Stanisic	Joshua Kimmich Leon Goretzka Jamal Musiala Corentin Tolisso Marc Roca Michaël Cuisance Taylor Booth Marcel Sabitzer	Serge Gnabry Kingsley Coman Robert Lewandowski Thomas Müller Leroy Sané Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting Malik Tillman

2021-2022 Season

Style of Play

Nagelsmann’s preferred lineup, in his first five matches, has been 4 – 2 – 3 – 1; different from the 3 – 4 – 2 – 1 or 3 – 1 – 4 – 2 used in R.B. Leipzig.

Bayern’s press is high, intense and organized; trying to retrieve the ball and start a quick counter-attack. Full-backs have freedom to attack, being crucial to the offensive system. Centre-backs play high up the pitch. The central midfielders form a rectangle with the centre-backs or cover the spaces the full-backs left. They join the attack if they find space. Wingers cut towards the opposition’s goal or play on their respective side. The deep-lying forward has free roam, while the striker stays on the centre as an offensive menace.

Transfer Market

If we take into account the signings made by Niko Kovac (July 2018 – November 2019), Hans-Dieter Flick (November 2019 – June 2021) and Julian Nagelsmann (July 2021 – present); we see that they have been effective and measured.

With Kovac, Bayern signed Lucas Hernández, Benjamin Pavard, Alphonso Davies, Michaël Cuisance and Leon Goretzka. With Flick, Leroy Sané, Marc Roca, Bouna Sarr, Alexander Nübel, Tanguy Nianzou, and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting arrived. He also included Joshua Zirkzee in the first team. Finally, Marcel Sabitzer and Dayot Upamecano were signed with Nagelsmann.

Goalkeeper

Alexander Nübel has been the only goalkeeper, considered as Manuel Neuer’s successor. Nübel arrived from Schalke 04 as a free agent, playing this season for AS Monaco (loan).

Defence

Hernández has been their most expensive signing – 80 million euros – a footballer that can play as a left back or centre-back. The Frenchman plays better as a centre-back, lacking consistency. Pavard is a right full-back, important with his defence and offensive runs. Davies has become one of the best left-backs in the world. Sarr and Nianzou have not played much, having a secondary rol as a right-back and centre-back respectively.

Midfield

Goretzka arrived as a free agent from Schalke 04 in July 04 of 2018, transforming into a crucial midfielder for Bayern. Cuisance and Roca have not played much, with Michaël representing Olympique Marseille (loan) this season. Sabitzer was bought last week, a quality player capable of playing as a midfielder or winger.

Attack

Sané arrived from Manchester City in July 2020 with a fee of 49.5 million euros. The German has been disappointing as a winger, lacking forcefulness in front of goal and effectiveness in his decisions. Choupo-Moting signed as a free agent, scoring important goals as a backup striker. Zirkzee is a striker with a promising future.

Opinion

Bayern Munich is a complete team, contender in the Bundesliga, UEFA Champions League and German Cup. Their coach has the quality to lead them to multiple titles, backed by a very competent and prudent Board. The majority of the players were part of Flick’s «sextet» in 2020, counting with experience, quality and desire to win.

Offensively, Lewandowski is still lethal in front of goal, supported by Müller, an intense and intelligent footballer. Gnabry, Coman and Davies are excellent on the wings, taking advantage of their speed and ball control to pressure the opposition. Kimmich is a complete midfielder, capable of organizing the offense and recover the ball. Goretzka is a box-to-box midfielder, having vision, strength and goalscoring capabilities.

Defensively, the team could improve, allowing space in their own half. Süle and Upamecano need to develop their passing accuracy and defensive awareness. Bayern’s defensive line is high, thus, they need to read better the opposition and avoid counterattacks. Fortunately for them, Neuer is one of the best goalkeeper in the world (if not the best), crucial with his interventions and leadership.

Here, three lineups that Nagelsmann could use due to rotations or injuries: