After a surprising uprising by Xabi Alonso and Bayer Leverkusen pushed Bayern Munich to third place last year for the first time in decades, the onus is on the team to win back the title this season.
Fans with Bayern Munich tickets are anxiously observing the season’s first few games to see what incumbent coach Vincent Kompany has in store.
Above all, more and more fans with Bayern Munich tickets are out, wondering whether the team has the suitable squad composition to make it work this season.
Bayern’s Challenge
Leverkusen’s unbeaten domestic double and an impressive turnaround from Stuttgart pushed Bayern into third place, costing coach Thomas Tuchel his job.
After a long and largely fruitless coaching search, during which several big names, including Alonso, Julian Nagelsmann, Ralf Rangnick, and Oliver Glasner, rejected the club, Bayern chose Vincent Kompany.
Despite a stellar playing career, Kompany was a surprising choice, given his one season as a Premier League manager resulted in relegation with Burnley.
With this season’s Champions League final at Munich’s Allianz Arena, Bayern have splashed the cash in the transfer market.
A year after parting ways with 100 million euros ($111 million) for England captain Harry Kane, Bayern have again raided the Premier League, spending a similar sum to bring in forward Michael Olise and midfielder Joao Palhinha.
But the fans with Bayern Munich tickets applauded the move, believing that these were long-awaited signings.
Former Bayern chairman Oliver Kahn, who was forced out of the club at the end of the 2022-23 season, promised German football’s empire would strike back this campaign.
“Bayern will fight back this season. A year without a title will sharpen old reflexes,” Kahn told Kicker on Monday.
“Bayern will do everything to become champions.”
Bayern powerbroker Uli Hoeness, not generally known for his reluctance to make bullish, sweeping statements, was unusually guarded earlier in August when he tried to shed the favourites tag.
“The reigning champion is always the favourite,” Hoeness said of Leverkusen. “We’ve taken care of that for ten years — now it’s up to them to do it.”
Leverkusen coach Alonso was similarly reluctant, saying on Thursday, “For me, the favourites are Bayern, that’s clear.”
While Bayern may have gone empty-handed last season, recent history shows that they rebound quickly.
And all of the fans with Bayern Munich tickets also know this.
Only on three occasions in the past four decades have Bayern not struck back immediately: 1991-93, 1995-96 and 2011-12.
Borussia Dortmund won successive titles twice —in 1995-96 and 2011-12.
Dortmund, last season’s Champions League finalists, have also gone through an eventful summer in the hopes of returning to the top.
Under new coach and former midfielder Nuri Sahin, Dortmund has recruited Serhou Guirassy and Waldemar Anton—both from Stuttgart—along with Pascal Gross, Maximilian Beier, and Yan Couto.
Despite their run to the Champions League final, where they lost 2-0 to Real Madrid, Edin Terzic stepped down after Dortmund came fifth domestically.
Busy Transfer Window
It has been a busy — and pivotal — summer transfer window for Bayern Munich. New sporting boss Max Eberl is in his first entire window of work for the Bavarians, overhauling an ageing roster with a heavy wage bill for new head coach Vincent Kompany.
One year after splashing out on Harry Kane — in a summer in which Bayern operated without any sporting director in place — what kind of job has Bayern done?
Eberl is hesitant to weigh in just yet.
“It’s always difficult to talk about yourself,” the 50-year-old was recently quoted by Bild as saying (as captured via @iMiaSanMia). “I think we put together a very, very good squad. We found players that fit us well. [Josip Stanišić] came back from loan [at Bayer Leverkusen].
For me, it feels good, but in the end, football is a results sport, and that’s what we will be judged on. For me it’s essential to have a competitive situation in the squad, give the coach opportunities with a certain mix and different types of players. [Sporting director Christoph Freund] and I believe that we’re very well equipped. But in the end the ratings will be given at the end of the season.”
Bayern’s transfer window this summer has been defined as much by their signings as by major sales — including of talent only recently brought to Bavaria. First team activity in review:
Incomings
FW Michael Olise (22) from Crystal Palace
DM João Palhinha (29) from Fulham
LB/CB Hiroki Itō (25) from VfB Stuttgart
CB/RB Josip Stanišić (24) from Bayer Leverkusen (end of loan)
Outgoings
CB Matthijs de Ligt (25) to Manchester United
RB Noussair Mazraoui (26) to Manchester United
FW Bryan Zaragoza (22) to Osasuna (loan)
FW Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting (35) (end of contract)
RB Bouna Sarr (32) (end of contract)
The good news for the fans with Bayern Munich tickets is that the side has spent well to bring in talent that can win games for them. Michael Olise, for instance, is a young prospect who’s had massive interest from teams such as Arsenal, City, and West Ham, but the youngster finally chose Bayern Munich.
Similarly, Palhinha comes to the team with immense experience by his side to be able to fit into Bayern seamlessly.
Fans with Bayern Munich tickets rate these signings 5/5
Alphonso Davies to Stay
No, a move to Real Madrid is not happening.
According to a report from The Athletic, Alphonso Davies is set to stay at Bayern Munich for this season.
With Real Madrid not ready to discuss terms that the Bavarians would deem acceptable, it appears as if Davies is entering a lame-duck season — with a clear pathway to making a move to Real Madrid next summer:
As it stands, there’s no prospect of an Alphonso Davies transfer taking place this summer. Real Madrid would only consider making a move this month if Bayern were to relax their position regarding the player, who they have not put up for sale as of now. If he does not renew his Bayern contract, he could join Madrid as a free agent in 2025.
With Raphaël Guerreiro, Hiroki Ito, and Adam Aznou all capable of playing left-back, it is unclear what Davies’s plan will be this season. He could feature regularly as he did last season, or the club could seek to sort out what exactly it has in the other three players for the position.
