Franck Ribery in Pre-Season action at Soldier Field Chicago. Photo by Don Mac Gregor
By Dan Gaichas
The last few seasons in the Bundesliga, it’s now been a matter of if Bayern Munich will the Bundesliga, it’s when. Last season saw Bayern win an unprecedented fourth straight Bundesliga title (26th overall), their 18th DFB Pokal, and 10th double. (Even the Women’s team are back-to-back champions.) Most impressive was how few goals they allowed in the league—a mere 17. The second stingiest defense last season—Dortmund—allowed twice as many. The only disappointment was an away goal from Atletico Madrid denying them a trip to Milan to vie for a sixth European Cup.
Yet, Pep Guardiola has moved to Manchester City while ex-Chelsea and Real Madrid manager Carlos Ancelotti takes over. The latest player to come from Dortmund is Mats Hummels returning to the club where he played as a youth. Bayern also added Euro 2016 Young Player of the Year Renato Sanches form Portugal. Add a healthy Franck Ribery, David Alaba, Thomas Muller, Arturo Vidal, Manuel Neuer, Philipp Lahm, Julian Green, etc.; and you have a team that are 2-11 odds to win an unprecedented fifth successive Bundesliga title.
It is for all intents and purposes Bayern’s to lose. The two significant factors that could stop them are themselves and Dortmund. How well they adjust to a new manager, even as one as successful as Ancelotti, can be intriguing. Mario Goetze returned to Dortmund after an ill-fated spell in Munich, but the question will be does Dortmund have the ability to close a ten-point gap from last season. An early test comes in the form of the Super Cup on August 26th (1:30pm CT, FS1). Bayern’s first DFB Pokal match is against FC Carl Zeiss Jena of the Regionalliga Nordost (4th Division) on August 19th.
For Bayern fans in America, they were treated to some entertaining soccer as the team visited Chicago, Charlotte, and NY/NJ. Julian Green featured in the matches and scored a hat trick in a win over Inter Milan. How much actual time Green sees with the main team will be something to look out for this season as World Cup Qualifying resumes this Fall for the USA
US International, Julian Green is looking to impress even more in the 2016 Campaign
It’s really Bayern Munich’s title to lose once again. All four of these past titles have been won by double-digit points. The issues will be how quickly the team adjusts to Ancelotti and how much of a challenge Dortmund mounts. A fifth successive title and possibly more could be on the cards come next May in Munich.
