FC Bayern Munich is again unable to get beyond a draw in the Bundesliga – this time at TSG Hoffenheim. In addition to a weak chance conversion, the defensive is still a problem for coach Julian Nagelsmann.
When David Alaba cheered with the folding chair in the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid on Wednesday evening, one or the other Bayern fan must have felt a little melancholy. The emotional images went around the world. The Austrian was and still is an integral part of the club’s history. The pain was all the greater for many fans when he was drawn to Real Madrid last summer. And it may have grown again over the past few months.
The 29-year-old is having an excellent season for Los Blancos, establishing himself as a key leader in the back four. His calmness on the ball, his clever passes and his dynamism when dribbling are good for the build-up game of the record Champions League winner. But his communicative style is also important.
Exactly one such player is currently missing from Munich. Someone who gives clear commands and, especially when playing with the ball, is able to regain control even in turbulent phases. Bayern are currently inviting their opponents to counterattack too often by not getting their risky passes to the teammates in the build-up.
Bayern still concede too many goals
However, one should not look glorifyingly into the past. Alaba was also not indispensable for Bayern in terms of sport – otherwise he would have had his high demands for a new contract met. Together with Jérôme Boateng, he was jointly responsible for numerous goals conceded last season. Also because his duel behavior is often too hesitant.
However, it has only gotten marginally better in the new constellation. In the Bundesliga, Munich are already conceding 28 goals after 26 games – too much for their ambitions, especially in the Champions League. Too much also in view of the sums that Hasan Salihamidžić and the club bosses have spent on the defensive network alone in recent years.
Since 2017, Bayern have spent €195.5m on six defenders. Added to this are the free transfers of Omar Richards and Tanguy Nianzou. At Säbener Straße, the decision was made to reorganize the defensive line. Players like Javi Martinez, Boateng and Alaba left. Benjamin Pavard, Lucas Hernandez and Dayot Upamecano came for big bucks.
The interim conclusion is sobering. The 1-1 draw against TSG Hoffenheim again revealed blatant coordination problems. When conceding a goal, Pavard and Serge Gnabry both moved into the center, which opened the wing only for assist provider David Raum. A goal that Bayern have conceded several times this season: First, the opponent comes through the center too easily and then plays on the open wings.
What could the optimal defense look like?
However, dumping all this on the expensive defenders would not be effective. Joshua Kimmich is also missing in midfield to provide stability in the center. Especially since the defensive problems shouldn’t really be a question of quality. On their own, the central defenders in the squad can be a great asset for FC Bayern. And yet they have not worked optimally together in the most varied of compositions.
Actually, it’s hard to explain. If it’s not because of the individual quality, then why? The people of Munich are probably in a very vague situation. In the last season, the individual quality of some individual players was not enough to keep the shop shut – this one lacked above all their ability to defuse dangerous situations through efficient communication.
As vulnerable as the performances of the Alaba/Boateng duo were, their set-up was good despite a few mistakes. So if FC Bayern could bake an optimal defensive line, it would probably mix the individual quality of the current players with the leadership qualities of the former. But one can only dream of that.
Bayern’s conceded goals, especially in the last few weeks, mostly result from players being on their own too often. The goal conceded in Salzburg, when Hernandez was not told that he was secured and could defend more aggressively, or the curious Müller own goal against Leverkusen when Sven Ulreich gave no command – flat hierarchies only work if everyone really takes responsibility and not only fight their own duels on the pitch.
Süle is leaving, who will replace him?
From this perspective, it is almost even more strange that Bayern are giving up the central defender who has performed most consistently in recent months in Niklas Süle. The 26-year-old is an important cornerstone for Julian Nagelsmann both in the core tasks in the defensive area and in the build-up game. In the summer he moves to BVB.
And replacement? It doesn’t currently exist. With Antonio Rüdiger, Andreas Christensen (both Chelsea FC), Nico Schlotterbeck (SC Freiburg), Matthias Ginter (Borussia Mönchengladbach) and Bremer (FC Torino), the list of rumors was long. It is questionable whether the great savior is there now. In terms of quality, none of these players should be a clear upgrade to Süle, Upamecano or Hernandez. The player Bayern actually need is not currently on the market.
One could cynically say that they even let this player go. Alaba may have his sporting flaws, but his value in keeping the entire defensive together may be underestimated. Maybe he could have been the decisive piece of the puzzle in Julian Nagelsmann’s back three. The glue that can tease the last percentage points out of the still young teammates.
Because the fact is that Upamecano and Hernandez have not been at the club for long. How are they supposed to suddenly become leaders? FC Bayern’s vacuum, it’s homemade. Leaders don’t just grow out of thin air. They need time to develop into such. Radical upheavals therefore only rarely work.
For the coming season, Bayern therefore need a major solution in central defense. Someone with experience who could jump right in at world-class level. Only such players are either not available or far too expensive. Because the market for central defenders at the absolute top level, which is also part of the truth, has become thinner.
Will Alaba soon be celebrating with Munich’s folding chairs?
Whether it was a mistake to let Alaba go cannot be answered conclusively. On the one hand, Bayern misses him a lot for the reasons mentioned. On the other hand, the club management had good reasons not to promote him to the top category of the payroll.
The Bavarians must therefore rely on a development process. One that actually has no place in their own self-image. Because mistakes are included, from which the players have to learn as quickly as possible. Mistakes lead to title losses, as happened in the DFB Cup. In the medium and long term, however, they can also lead to Upamecano or Hernandez becoming the next big leaders at FC Bayern. The only question is whether they are given this time and given the trust.
It currently seems as if the club does not yet classify the situation as acute. In the Champions League, however, Bayern run the risk of being countered by their first major opponent with their coordination problems. At the latest then there would probably be more wind in the debate. It would be a hurricane, on the other hand, if it were David Alaba of all people, who emotionally stretches one or the other folding chair into the Munich sky.
It would at least be a story with great irony. But maybe by then Nagelsmann will still find the right buttons with his possibly aspiring leaders.