Bayern Munich have been very busy this summer trying to fight back after a winless trophy. What they have done in the market seem to have convinced bookmakers that they now have what it takes to take the title away from Borussia Dortmund who have dominated the German football in the last two years.
2011/12 was supposed to be the perfect season for Bayern Munich and for very long period it seemed that everything was coming together nicely. They started the Bundesliga season in great form and were winter champions: things than turned in the second part and they finished their season eight points shy of Borussia Dortmund. They reached the German Cup final but were outplayed by the title winners and suffered a humiliating 5-2 defeat. And the most painful result of all, they made it to the Champions League final at their own Allianz Arena and after dominating for 120 minutes they were defeated on penalty.
As a result the season turned into nightmare and they are now two years in a row without winning a trophy which is the worst result since two decades. Bayern Munich have reacted to the ‘drought’ as they always do to similar setbacks, by buying. Already back in February they secured Xherdan Shaqiri from Basel: the 20-year old Swiss winger has a huge reputation in his own country and to demonstrate his determination to settle immediately in the German football he has rejected the chance to represent his country at the London Olympics. After selling croatian veteran Ivica Olic to Wolfsburg they signed his compatriot Mario Mandzukic who had a very good Euro 2012 and managed to be joint-top tournament scorer despite his nation’s early exit. Nils Petersen has gone on loan to Werden Bremen after failing to leave a mark in the Allianz Arena and has been replaced by proven Bundesliga goal-getter Claudio Pizarro who played for the club already between 2001 and 2007.
They have also made some small changes at the back with Hoffenheim’s Tom Starke who will replace reserve goalkeeper Hans-Jorg Butt and with Brazilian compatriot Dante who will replace Breno. Once again their market strategy was clear and effective and unless there will be huge surprises we should see them winning the title back. Franz Beckenbauer is also trying to bring Sami Khedira home even tough Real Madrid are unlikely to let him go. Borussia Dortmund on the other hand have been far less impressive in the market and have lost main man Shinji Kagawa to Manchester United.
Bayern Munich are currently treaded at 1.87 to win the Bundesliga title with Dortmund who can be backed at 2.90. If the Bavarians will not implode in the second part of the campaign they should be able also to take advantage of Dortmund’s inexperience at juggling domestic and European campaigns. As happened in the last season this will probably prove damaging for them at least in the first 3 months of the new season.
John Pentin
Tags: allianz arena, bayern munich, betting, Borussia Dortmund, Bundesliga, claudio pizarro, goal getter, Mario Mandzukic, soccer, sports, Xherdan Shaqiri