The new FC Bayern wasn’t all that new, at least if you looked at the line-up as a benchmark. In the first round of the DFB Cup against SSV Ulm, Josip Stanisic was the only player in the starting eleven who hadn’t spent the previous season in Munich.
Otherwise: Neuer, Kimmich, Müller, the usual, but luckily football remains a game where everything is rarely as it seems. In Bayern’s case, that meant: for a change, there was no embarrassing defeat in the cup.
The Munich team won their competitive debut 4-0 (2-0) confidently and with practice, without exerting themselves too much. The brave Ulm team, who had just been promoted to the second division, could barely keep up their resistance and the game was decided after a quarter of an hour. Thomas Müller (12th/15th minute), Kingsley Coman (79th) and Harry Kane (90th+3) scored.
And yet – watch out – there was a lot to note. Starting with the man who is certainly establishing new elements at Bayern, some of them quite exciting: Vincent Kompany, the successor to Thomas Tuchel as coach. A striking character.
How FC Bayern wants (not) to play under Kompany
“I have the feeling that I have been here for a few years. A day is sometimes like a week,” said Kompany on ZDF. The 38-year-old Belgian, who was particularly influenced by Pep Guardiola at Manchester City as a professional, is a reserved type, friendly and obliging in his communication, described by sporting director Max Eberl as “incredibly calm, incredibly human.” However, what is quiet on the outside quickly becomes loud on the inside. Kompany knows exactly what he wants. And what he doesn’t want.
What he doesn’t want is the kind of football that FC Bayern played under Tuchel; despite scoring lots of goals, it was rather static, with a slavish adherence to positions and a strict order. Kompany’s approach “comes close to activity,” said Eberl. It should be more dynamic, with constant castling and high pressing. Bayern should become hunters, hunters of gold and silver trophies, but first of all: hunters of lost balls.
Of course Ulm was not a reference, but it did give an indication of what Kompany had in mind. At 1-0, Stanisic’s vertical pass and Joshua Kimmich’s virtuoso take-over overcame the barrier, and at 2-0, Min-jae Kim’s impressive pass eliminated two chains. Müller’s double took advantage of services from Kimmich and Serge Gnabry. Another new development: unusual efficiency from Munich.
Müller explains where the “significant difference” lies compared to the previous year
The record cup winners harassed Ulm with energetic running and aggressive forward defending, Müller alternated with Jamal Musiala as a number ten and usually initiated the pressing; he also made himself useful as a wall player, and it was noticeable how many balls he managed to clear with one touch. Bayern’s performance with and without the ball gave an idea of Kompany’s doctrine, although the level leveled off in the second half.
“We were serious,” said Müller afterwards. “If you look at how we work against the ball and how we tackle, you can see a clear difference compared to what didn’t do us so well last year.” Interesting, striking view. Müller registered a “good performance, but there is still room for improvement with the ball.”
In any case, the information was limited to narrow corridors, as is usually the case with first-round matches in the cup. FC Bayern tried to revamp its team in the summer, but factors such as load management (with new signings Joao Palhinha and Michael Olise) or sick leave (with injured new signing Hiroshi Ito) prevented an extensive runway in the wonderfully old-fashioned Donaustadion.
At least late substitute Olise recorded an assist for Coman’s goal. Kane was also rested for more than an hour, and in injury time he nodded in a Müller cross. Kompany clapped on the sidelines.
The question of Kimmich’s teammate – and the Goretzka case
And what else? After numerous injuries and good preparation, Gnabry earned his place on the wing – the unlucky Mathys Tel not so much. Müller could be a real beneficiary of the irritating Kompany style in what is probably his last season. Kimmich is back in central midfield from the position of right-back – and will stay there.
Perhaps the most exciting personnel question is that of his teammate. Statement signing Palhinha, transferred from Fulham for around 50 million, sat out in Ulm until the 75th minute. Aleksandar Pavlovic played a solid part, without shining.
Leon Goretzka currently has no part at all, and despite being in perfect shape, he was completely absent from the squad. That was something of a demonstrative message: we don’t need you anymore. Goretzka’s contract still has two years to run, and the situation is strange. “We speak openly with the players. They know when their situation can be difficult,” said Eberl meaningfully.
Goretzka doesn’t really want to leave. On the one hand. On the other hand, it wouldn’t be football if everything was the same at the end of August as it seems in the middle of August.
