World Cups are not kind to Bayern; the stars of the club after all make up the spine of the German national side. Bayern players have a history of struggling following international tournaments (the exception being Euro 2012). Following the 2006 World Cup, Bayern suffered in the 2006-07 season. They finished fourth, outside the UEFA Champions League spots (the Bundesliga did not have the fourth qualifying spot during that season). They had to suffer the ignominy of playing in the UEFA Cup in the following season.
In 2008-09, following Euro 2008, Bayern had to battle hard to stay in the Champions League slots and have Jupp Heynckes to thank for steering them through their last five games to a second place finish. In 2010-11, following the 2010 World Cup, Bayern once again had to battle to stay in the top three, ahead of Hannover 96. They had Andries Jonker to thank for taking over following Louis Van Gaal's long overdue sacking midway through the second half of the season.
Considering they won the treble in 2012-13, is the fact that they fail following major tournaments, a myth, despite recent history stating otherwise? Was 2012-13 a strange outlier?
The answers to those questions depend on who you ask. The Bundesliga clubs would disagree. They did so recently when Karl-Heinz Rummenigge asked for a delayed Bundesliga start date. This is what the Bayern chairman had to say following the rejection of his request:
"The reason for that is that they saw it as their only chance to cause Bayern any problems. I would like to see a bit more solidarity among the clubs who sent a lot of players to the World Cup. Dortmund also sent eight or nine players." (Bild; Bavarian Football Works)
Thus, Rummenigge does feel that weariness affects his club's stars. Bastian Schweinsteiger did not play the majority of the starting games in 2012-13 for example. Yet, while the concerns are definitely legitmate, especially in light of the small amount of time the international stars have for resting their legs, other factors affected the club in 2007, 2009 and 2011. In the 2006-07 season, Bayern players and Felix Magath just did not agree on matters anymore. Also, Bayern went into that season without Michael Ballack, their midfield star. Eventually, Magath was sacked and Ottmar Hitzfeld took over.
Jürgen Klinsmann was given the coach's job in the 2008-09 season. Klinsmann was relatively inexperienced at club level and it showed on the pitch as his team sometimes played without much direction. He was just not the right man for the job and was shown the door less than a year into his new job.
In the 2010-11 season, Louis Van Gaal attempted some disastrous experiments. He put Thomas Kraft in goal instead of the experienced Hans-Jörg Butt for example. He reduced Holger Badstuber to tears by criticizing him. Eventually, the players stopped listening to him. The Bayern board's insistence on standing by him was unhelpful. The lack of rotation hurt the players immensely. Eventually he was sacked.
Recent evidence shows Bayern will not do well this season. Pep Guardiola is not exactly the father figure which Jupp Heynckes was. He is more of an authoritarian figure. The team has lost a player who played a massive part of the previous three campaigns in Toni Kroos. They have nine players returning late after holidays following long World Cup campaigns.
Can Bayern buck the trend this time?
