Berlin: Even if Bayern Munich goes on to win the Bundesliga title, it will be scant consolation for what has been a disappointing season.
After winning the last 10, a record-extending 11th consecutive league title is seen as the minimum target for what remains the biggest and most successful club in Germany.
The Bundesliga is the only remaining target after quarterfinal exits against Manchester City in the Champions League Wednesday and Freiburg in the German Cup two weeks before that. And if closest challenger Borussia Dortmund can stop its own self-inflicted setbacks, the league title race could become uncharacteristically exciting over the remaining few weeks.
It’s what Bayern wanted last season after beating Dortmund 3-1 to complete a decade of dominance with yet another league title. Former captain Philipp Lahm and former CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge bemoaned the lack of lack of worthy rivals at the time.
But neither Lahm nor Rummenigge foresaw Bayern’s own decline. The Bavarian powerhouse now has 10 points less than it did at the same stage of the league last year.
Dortmund, which is two points behind, is one point worse off than it was last season, yet the “black and yellows” have never had a better chance to capitalize on any Bayern slip ups to end their own 11-year wait for the title.
The big question remains whether Dortmund can push Bayern to the end. The team coached by Edin Terzic should be level following Bayern’s 1-1 draw with Hoffenheim last weekend, but conceded a late equalizer to draw 3-3 against 10-man Stuttgart after Gio Reyna had scored what seemed Dortmund’s winner in injury time. It was a typical Dortmund disappointment, coming just as expectations had dared to rise.
But Bayern’s troubles this season are also self-inflicted. Chief executive Oliver Kahn and sporting director Hasan Salihamidžic are under scrutiny for their decision to fire coach Julian Nagelsmann before decisive games last month. They said they were worried the club would not reach its goals for the season.
The gamble didn’t pay off as Bayern dropped out of two competitions in as many weeks under coach Thomas Tuchel, who has only two wins from six games in all competitions.
Tuchel benched team captain Thomas Müller for both Champions League games against City when the veteran might have made all the difference. Bayern missed a huge chance in the second leg when the ball rebounded in front of the goal line. Bayern fans are used to seeing Müller appear at the far post to score in such situations, but instead there was no one there and Erling Haaland went on to score at the other end.
Bayern held a huge banner criticizing their club’s leadership late in the game. Kahn and Salihamidžic are also facing scrutiny for not adequately replacing forward Robert Lewandowski, who left for Barcelona in the offseason. Sadio Mané made a good start but hasn’t been given much playing time since returning from the injury that kept him out of the World Cup.
Kahn and Salihamidžic are already facing questions about reinforcements for next season, when Tuchel will have more time to impose his playing style and leave his imprint on the team.
But this season isn’t over yet, even if Bayern wants it to be. The Bundesliga leaders visit Mainz Saturday, while Dortmund hosts Eintracht Frankfurt in the late game.
AP
