certainly do not. The experts at Kicker
currently rate Hummels the best central
defender in Germany and Dortmund
general-manager Michael Zorc was
more than happy to make the old boy
his most expensive purchase of the
close season at €30.5m.
While Bayern have spent big on new
defenders, paying a club record fee for
Hernandez and investing €35m on
another French World Cup winner,
stopper or right-back Benjamin Pavard,
they have anything but a complete
roster. The double farewell of long-
serving wingers Arjen Robben and
Franck Ribery has left them short of
width and they also need an understudy
for striker Robert Lewandowski.
Faced with an ageing squad, Bayern
simply had to use the pruning shears. At
the top level, football is a sentiment-
free zone. However, they have
undoubtedly lost a huge amount of
knowhow in the shape of Robben,
Ribery, Hummels and the Brazilian
right-back Rafinha, who after eight
seasons in Bavaria has signed for
Rio club Flamengo.
Bayern coach Niko Kovac apparently
wants to work with a squad of 23,
including 16 established outfield players,
three keepers and four up-and-coming
youngsters, one of whom is the newly
acquired 19-year-old ex-Hamburg
striker Jann-Fiete Arp. Will that be
sufficient for Bayern to thrive on
multiple fronts? Lewandowski, for one,
thinks not, telling a press conference
during a pre-season tour of the USA: “I
hope that the board will strengthen us
as a team. Not only with youngsters, but
with guys who are the best in the world.”
As at all clubs, much will depend
at Bayern on the chemistry between
coach and pros. But will the resultant
brew be mountain-moving synergy
or torrents of bad blood? The departed
Rafinha recently claimed that many of
the squad were unhappy with Kovac,
that the boss did not trust many of the
players and was loathe to make contact
with the others. If Rafinha is correct,
trouble could be in store. It’s no secret
that Bayern players want Kovac to adopt
a more co-ordinated attacking formula.
A major theme this season will be how
quickly the new coaching appointments
hit their stride in the top flight. For Achim
Beierlorzer at promoted Cologne, survival
is the name of the game, while the bar
will be set considerably higher for the
other six: David Wagner at Schalke,
Gladbach’s Marco Rose, Oliver Glasner
of Wolfsburg, Hoffenheim’s Alfred
Schreuder, Ante Covic at Hertha Berlin
and Julian Nagelsmann, who has
swapped Hoffenheim for RB Leipzig.
Nagelsmann, in particular, faces a real
examination of his credentials. Not only
must he keep the Roten Bullen in the
Champions League frame, he also has
the huge task adding greater care in
possession to RB’s traditional virtues
of pressing, speedy transitions and hard
running. If the Leipziger are to challenge
for trophies this season they have to be
taught to play with far greater control
and guile.
The place to go last term for attacking
football, Eintracht Frankfurt are likely to
find it much tougher now prolific strike-
twins Luka Jovic and Sebastien Haller
have moved on to Real Madrid and West
Ham respectively.
Let’s hope that
visionary boss Adi
Hutter has a rabbit
or two to pull out
of the hat.
Nick Bidwell(^) COLOGNE
Backed by one of the most fervent fan
bases in the country, the second-tier
champions should be carried along on
a large wave of Rhineland euphoria. In
new coach Achim Beierlorzer they have
an exceptional motivator.
(^) PADERBORN
The smart money says that the North
Rhine-Westphalia outfit will struggle to
survive. This is only their second season
in the Bundesliga – after finishing last in
2015 – and on the face of it their squad
is too small and inexperienced. They had
hoped for a partnership arrangement
with RB Leipzig, but ditched the idea
after their fans protested.
(^) UNION BERLIN
It’s going to be a magical adventure
this term for the people’s club from
the leafy south-eastern suburbs of the
capital, with their first-ever campaign
in the top flight and the chance to
strut their old-school stuff among the
corporate big boys. Truth to tell, they
probably surprised themselves when
seeing off Stuttgart in the promotion/
relegation play-offs.
GERMANY BUNDESLIGA (^) Season Preview 2019-20
“I hope that the board will strengthen us as a
team. Not only with youngsters, but with guys
who are the best in the world”
Bayern’s Robert Lewandowski
Backing...Jonas Hector (in
white) and Cologne will have
huge support this season
Examination...
Julian Nagelsmann
Debut...Union Berlin
PROMOTED TEAMS
G E R M A N Y
(^) B
U N D E S L I
G
A
(^2)
0
1
9
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0
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