Bayern München - Story of Success

[Drachenfurz]

Hello.

I recently remembered the FM. I found an old Game of mine, which I continued in the nearer past.

First of alle, I apologize for my english. Since I am from Germany and Bayern München is my favourite club, I started the game about 2 years ago. In between there were some major breaks. I am now in the year 2009. I started in season 2004/05.

I hope you find the story interesting.

I try to summarize the first years in short (as much as it is possible). The current season will be more detailed.

Please do not hesitate to comment on decisions I made or on the style, I write this diary.

[Drachenfurz]

Hello.

I recently remembered the FM. I found an old Game of mine, which I continued in the nearer past.

First of alle, I apologize for my english. Since I am from Germany and Bayern München is my favourite club, I started the game about 2 years ago. In between there were some major breaks. I am now in the year 2009. I started in season 2004/05.

I hope you find the story interesting.

I try to summarize the first years in short (as much as it is possible). The current season will be more detailed.

Please do not hesitate to comment on decisions I made or on the style, I write this diary.

[Drachenfurz]

Season 2004/05

During the first season new Bayern Manager Patrick Schulz tried out a few things. Because of some changes Bayern had a few problems to adjust to the new coaches style.

Nevertheless at the end of the year, Bayern München won the Championship in Germany with 76pts and 99:32 goals. Of 34 games, Munich won 23 and lost 4 times. 9 points behind Schalke. Places 3-6 were Dortmund, Stuttgart, Wolfsburg und Bremen. Relegated to the second divison were Bochum, Bielefeld and Mönchengladbach. New teams in the first division are Essen, Cottbus and Aachen.

Bayern München also succeeded in the German DFB Cup. After defeating Saarbrücken, Mainz, Hertha BSC Berlin, Dortmund and Wolfsburg, the final was won against Stuttgart with a 3:1.

Less luck Bayern had in the Champions League, where the Team of Inter Mailand proved to be too strong. Munich won the groupstage against Inter, Celtic and WIT Georgia, survived the 2nd round and the quarter final against Kobenhavn and Arsenal, but were beaten 2:5 on aggregate against Inter in the semi final.

[Drachenfurz]

During the first season the following transfers has been made:

Leaving:

Willy Sagnol to Athletico Madrid € 2.9 Mio

Samuel Kuffour to Sevilla € 7.5 Mio

Michael Ballack to Chelsea € 40 Mio

Erdal Kilicaslan to Levante € 0

Martin Demichelis to Real Madrid € 2 Mio

Vahid Hashemian to Udinese € 4 Mio

Coming:

Juan Veron from Chelsea € 7.5 Mio

Ian Harte from Levante € 6 Mio

Leon Andreasen € 2.4 Mio

Christian Chivu € 22.5 Mio

After the season the following roster changes has been made:

Leaving:

Tobias Rau to Leverkusen € 1.5 Mio

Jens Jeremies to Bremen € 1.2 Mio

Alexander Zickler and a few Amateurplayers for € 0

Coming:

Christian Pander from Schalke € 0

Tim Wiese from Kaiserslautern € 0

Diego Klimowicz from Wolfsburg € 0

Mark van Bommel from Eindhoven € 0

Traianos Dellas € 0

Wesley Sneijder from Ajax € 15 Mio

[Drachenfurz]

During the first season the following transfers has been made:

Leaving:

Willy Sagnol to Athletico Madrid € 2.9 Mio

Samuel Kuffour to Sevilla € 7.5 Mio

Michael Ballack to Chelsea € 40 Mio

Erdal Kilicaslan to Levante € 0

Martin Demichelis to Real Madrid € 2 Mio

Vahid Hashemian to Udinese € 4 Mio

Coming:

Juan Veron from Chelsea € 7.5 Mio

Ian Harte from Levante € 6 Mio

Leon Andreasen € 2.4 Mio

Christian Chivu € 22.5 Mio

After the season the following roster changes has been made:

Leaving:

Tobias Rau to Leverkusen € 1.5 Mio

Jens Jeremies to Bremen € 1.2 Mio

Alexander Zickler and a few Amateurplayers for € 0

Coming:

Christian Pander from Schalke € 0

Tim Wiese from Kaiserslautern € 0

Diego Klimowicz from Wolfsburg € 0

Mark van Bommel from Eindhoven € 0

Traianos Dellas € 0

Wesley Sneijder from Ajax € 15 Mio

[Drachenfurz]

In the first season the following players played for Bayern München:

(Games in Total/Goals in total)

Pizarro 47/32

Kovac 46/7

Ze Roberto 45/8

Makaay 44/34

Kahn 42/-

Santa Cruz 42/29

Frings 39/1

Lucio 37/3

Hargreaves 36/2

Harte 35/1

Veron 33/4

Salihamidzic 32/1

Semler 29/9

Schweinsteiger 27/3

Deisler 25/3

Jeremies 23/2

Görlitz 22/-

Rau 17/-

Andreasen 17/1

Chivu 14/-

Rensing 14/-

Sagnol 11/-Ballack 2/-

Kuffour 1/-

[Drachenfurz]

Season 2005/06

The second season of the new Manager was even more successful than the first one. Bayern won the Bundesliga again. With 95pts and 116-15 goals they were 19 points ahead of Schalke. Places 3-6 went to Wolfsburg, Stuttgart, Dortmund and Hertha BSC.

Relegated were Aachen, Rostock an Essen. They were replaced by Mönchengladbach, Bielefeld and Burghausen.

After defeating Kornharpen, Trier, Frankfurt, Saarbrücken and Duisburg Bayern München met 1. FC Köln in the final of the German Cup. Köln disappointing in the second division did the big surprise. After a single chance, Lukas Podolski made the only goal of the match and stole the Cup from München.

In the Champions League Bayern did better. During the group stage they beat Inter, Bukarest and Olympiakos. Afterwards they eliminated Valencia, Athletico Madrid and Manchester United. The big final against Real Madrid was a big victory for the german champions. With goals from Salihamidzic and Klimowicz, they won in style and became Champions League Winner. What a success for the club!

[Drachenfurz]

Roy Makaay became Scorer of the year in Germany by scoring impressing 30 times. Klimowicz came in second (20 goals).

During the season only Piotr Trochowski left the club (€ 1.2 Mio to Freiburg).

During the winter Bayern bought Marcin Barski from Los Angeles for € 3.5 Mio.

At the end of the season the following transfers took place:

Players in:

Levan Kobiashvili from Schalke € 0

Jose Manuel Jurado from Real Madrid € 0

Francesco Totti from AS Roma € 0

Antonio Cassano from AS Roma € 0

Players out:

Ian Harte to Liverpool € 3 Mio

Sebastian Deisler to Manchester United € 12.5 Mio

Oliver Kahn (end of career)

[Drachenfurz]

In this season the following players played for Bayern München:

(Games in total/goals in total)

Tim Wiese 45/-

Michael Rensing 9/-

Oliver Kahn 5/-

Ian Harte 19/1

Philipp Lahm 36/1

Christian Pander 24/1

Alexander Görlitz 27/1

Hasan Salihamidzic 29/1

Christian Chivu 20/-

Traianos Dellas 34/1

Robert Kovac 36/1

Lucio 29/2

Leon Andreasen 26/1

Torsten Frings 33/-

Owen Hargreaves 36/-

Mark van Bommel 39/7

Juan Veron 32/8

Sebastian Deisler 14/3

Bastian Schweinsteiger 24/8

Wesley Sneijder 28/8

Ze Roberto 29/9

Marcin Barski 15/7

Diego Klimowicz 42/27

Roy Makaay 33/36

Claudio Pizarro 39/28

Roque Santa Cruz 29/11

Borut Semler 25/12

The following World Cup had a few surprising results to offer. France, Spain, Portugal and England lost already in the group stage. The big surprise was the team of Australia, who lost the Match for the third place against Germany with 2:4.

In the end, Brasil defended the world cup by beating Italy in the final with a smart 1:0 victory, celebrating their 6th World Cup

Remarkable: Bastian Schweinsteiger was the best scorer during the World Cup. Scoring 4 times was enough to win this award.

[Drachenfurz]

Another new player for Patrick Schulz` team: Bayern München bound young irish Wonderkid Paul Daly to the club. The midfielder joins the Munich club in december.

As another big surprise, Jürgen Klinsmann was fired as Germany coach. His successor is Patrick Schulz. The young coach from Bayern München will try to combine both jobs. Of course this means, that a few players of Bayern will have a place in Germanys national team.

First job for Germanys new manager is to qualify for the European Championship in Austria/Switzerland in 2008. Germanys qualifying group consists of:

Russia, Liechtenstein, Slovenia, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

[Drachenfurz]

Season 2006=07

Directly before the start of the season 2006/07, Bayern München spent a few more millions for their roster. Kölns young striker Lukas Podolski joined the club from Munich. Köln received € 9.75 Mio.

End of August Bayern München beat Newcastle for the European Supercup. München won 5:3 by penalty shootout.

During the season Bayern München was very active on the transfer market. And their moves were very spectacular. They sold Christian Chivu to Betis Sevilla for € 22.5 Mio.

Furthermore they agreed to a player exchange deal with Arsenal. Roque Santa Cruz left Germany. Santa Cruz + € 5 Mio were used to get Cesc Fabregas from the Gunners. The young midfielder is a man for the future, while Bayern has so many strikers that they should easily handle the new situation in the offense. And a new club record achieved Bastian Schweinsteiger. He left München because of a € 59 Mio!!! offer from Deportivo La Coruna. Patrick Schulz said that an offer like this is not negotiable. We did not have any doubt about this one.

[Drachenfurz]

In the middle of the season Bayern also competed in the Club-World Cup. Tweo easy wins agsinst Northern Spirit (2:0) and Orlando Pirates (4:0) and the german Champion earned € 7.5 Mio for taking part in this tournament.

[Drachenfurz]

The season itself was quite successful. Bayern won the German Bundesliga for the third time in a row. 91 pts and 110-23 goals meant that they ended with 17 points in front of HSV. Places 3-6: Stuttgart, Dortmund, Leverkusen and Mainz.

Burghausen, Bielefeld and Hannover were relegated and in exchange Rostock, Aachen and Karlsruhe were promoted.

Claudio Pizarro was the most successful striker, scoring 16 times.

In the German Cup, Bayern succeeded aswell. After defeating Sachsen Leipzig II, Oberhausen, Duisburg, Leverkusen and Bochum, they won against Offenach (Second division) with an impressive 5:0.

Very unlucky ended the season in the Champions League for Bayern. The group stage proved not to be a problem. Bayern won their group against PSV, Valencia and Partizan. During the knock out rounds, they defeated RSC Anderlecht, Arsenal and AS Roma.

The final against Chelsea was a very close thing. Chelseas impressed with their midfield consisting of Ballack, Lampard, Rosicky, Makelele and Ronaldinho.

At half time Chelsea led by goas from Ballack and Lampard with 0:2. The dutch connection van Bommel and Makaay evened the score. And the extra time began. Kezman was the man of the match, by scoring in minute 95 for the victory. A great match from both teams.

[Drachenfurz]

After this season a lot of players changes happened to the Bayern München team.

Leaving the club are:

Marcin Barski to Borussia Dortmund € 5 Mio

Borut Semler to SC Freiburg € 8 Mio

Diego Klimowicz to Schalke € 500.000

7 new players replacing them:

Emilson Cribari from Udinese € 0

Dede from Dortmund € 0

Gilardino from Parma € 0

Freddy Adu € 0

Barry Ferguson from Blackburn € 0

Yildiray Bastürk from Hertha BSC € 0

Alessandro Nesta from Milan € 22.5 Mio

[Drachenfurz]

And what about Germany?

6 of 10 qualifying games occured during this season.

5 victories and 1 draw at the end of these games.

Northerin Ireland were beaten 2:0 and 3:0.

Scotland was beaten 2:0

In Russia Germany came to a 0:0

Liechtenstein was no match 3:0 and Slovenia was beaten 4:0.

In the friendly games the results were very mixed. Losing against Argentina 0:1 and a draw against Portugal (1:1) showed that it is a long way to the top. Even the victory against Poland (3:0) could not hide this fact.

[Drachenfurz]

In this season the following players played for Bayern München:

(Games in total/goals in total)

Tim Wiese 52/-

Michael Rensing 7/-

Philipp Lahm 31/3

Christian Pander 26/2

Andreas Ottl 10/-

Hasan Salihamidzic 29/2

Andreas Görlitz 36/1

Lucio 35/3

Robert Kovac 37/1

Traianos Dellas 22/-

Christian Chivu 16/1

Leon Andreasen 24/1

Torsten Frings 29/-

Owen Hargreaves 29/-

Jose Jurado 9/1

Levan Kobiashvili 27/4

Juan Veron 28/4

Mark van Bommel 38/9

Francesc Fabregas 14/2

Paul Daly 11/-

Francesco Totti 30/10

Wesley Sneijder 26/7

Ze Roberto 29/4

Bastian Schweinsteiger 15/4

Paolo Guerrero 3/-

Marcin Barski 9/11

Borut Semler 5/3

Diego Klimowicz 11/11

Lukas Podolski 35/24

Claudio Pizarro 39/29

Roy Makaay 28/19

Antonio Cassano 30/21

Santa Cruz 13/10

[Drachenfurz]

Season 2007/08

Some minor changes in the team occured this season aswell:

Dellas left the club. He moved to Werder Bremen for € 1.1 Mio.

Jose Jurado left Bayern. He joined Wolfsburg for € 2 Mio.

Therefore Bayern bought Johann Berger from Mönchengladbach for € 750.000.

Finally another players exchange took place. Totti left Bayern after one season again. He moved to Milan together with € 7.5 Mio. Bayern bought Fusco from Milan who impressed the scouts of the german champion.

[Drachenfurz]

Different season, same results.

Bayern finished the fourth season in a row as number one. Furthermore they won the German Cup after defeating Meuselwitz, Aachen, Bochum, Oberhausen, Mönchengladbach and finally HSV.

In the Champions League Bayern won the group stage against Lok Plovdiv, Partizan and Deportivo.

Afterwards they defeated Ajax and Inter until Juventus proved to be to much for Bayern. After a very unlucky 0:2 in Turin (a goal from Pizarro has been disallowed) the revenge in Munich failed. At least Bayern won the match with 1:0 and was the much better team. But Juventus`defense was a very high mountain to climb.

At the end of the season only a few player changes occured.

Leaving the club was only Mark van Bommel, wo joined PSV for € 6.25 Mio. Furthermore Ze Roberto ended his career.

Joining Bayern München were Kevin Hofland from Wolfsburg (€ 0) and goalie Nestor Peralta (€ 0).

[Drachenfurz]

And Germany?

The qualifying was easy. Victories against Scotland (1:0), Russia (3:1), Slovenia (2:0) and Liechtenstein (6:0) meant the successful qualification for the European Championship.

The friendly games went horrible.

After losing against Tunesia (0:1) Ireland destroyed Germany with 0:3. Only Hungary was beaten (4:0). Much work to do before the European Championship starts.

[Drachenfurz]

European Championship

The following players has been called up to the European Chamionship:

GK: Wiese, Butt

DF: Fahrenhorst, Friedrich, Görlitz, Hinkel, Huth, Lahm, Metzelder, Pander

MF: Ballack, Borowski, Broich, Deisler, Frings, Hitzlsperger, Kehl, Schweinsteiger

ST: Asamoah, Klose, Kuranyi, Lauth, Podolski

First match:

Germany was beaten by Belgium. Belgium finished one of their few chances in style. Sonck scored against Wiese and Belgium started with a big surprising victory in this tournament. Germany is with the back to the wall after one game already. Spain beat Finland 3:1.

Second Match:

A close match between Germany and Finland ended with a lucky victory for Germany. Ballack saved Germany. He scored the only goal about 10 minutes before the end. Spain beat Belgium 1:0.

Third Match:

Very much pressure for Germany. With Belgium (3 points) and Spain (6 points) ahead, Germany has to beat Spain with at least 2 goals to be into the next round for sure. Since Belgium seems to have the easier game against Finland.

Germany did it. Belgium defeated Finland 3:2 and Germany destroyed Spain in an impressive manner with 4:1! With this victory, Germany even won the group in front of Belgium. Spain already sitting on their baggage on their way home.

The Quarterfinals:

France - Belgium 2:0

Switzerland -Turkey 0:2

Italy - Norway 0:2

Germany against Netherlands. What a match. So close, a match that did not deserve to have a loser. In the end, Germany celebrated. An even game, that was decided in the extra time. Van Nistelrooy scored twice for the Netherlands while Deisler and Kuranyi scored for Germany. It was Miroslav Klose who finished the dreams of the dutch in minute 117. Germany moed to the Semi Final to meet Turkey.

The Semi Final

France - Norway 2:1 eT

Turkey was the better team in half one. They missed the chance to score more often to take the lead into the second half. At half point Kloses 1:0 was evened by Nihat. After the change Schweinsteiger and Deisler scored for Germany. Germany moved to the great final against France.

The Final

The dream is over. France proved to be too good for Germany. France won with 2:1 (Giuly, Trezeguet - Lauth). In the end, Germany should have been beaten by more than 1 goal, but France did not manage to score again.

Pity aswell: The contract from Patrick Schulz was not renewed. His successor as a Manager for Germany is Klaus Augenthaler.

Deisler scored 4 times during the tournament and won the scorer award together with Nihat and Van Nistelrooy.

[Drachenfurz]

The following players played for Bayern in this season:

(games in total/goals in total):

Wiese 49/-

Rensing 7/-

Dede 25/5

Lahm 24/-

Pander 17/-

Görlitz 28/1

Salihamidzic 27/2

Lucio 25/1

Nesta 22/3

Cribari 36/1

Kovac 33/2

Hargreaves 25/2

Frings 25/1

Andreasen 16/1

Kobiashvili 23/-

Veron 14/2

van Bommel 19/3

Daly 17/2

Fabregas 25/9

Ferguson 22/2

Fusco 18/4

Ze Roberto 10/-

Sneijder 21/1

Bastürk 28/3

Berger 23/3

Gilardino 34/27

Pizarro 32/21

Adu 25/12

Podolski 20/2

Makaay 29/17

Cassano 31/18

[Drachenfurz]

Season 2008/09

From now on I will write more detailed about the work as a Manager in Munich.

12.07.2008 - The first round ot the DFB Cup has been drawn. SV Wehen (third divison) will meet Bayern München. Comment from Patrick Schulz: Should be an easy win. But I already know my players. They like to prove me wrong.

21.07.2008 - Germanys League Cup (Bayern won it 3 times in a row) - Semi Final

Even with a "B-Squad" Bayern had no problems with Leverkusen. Daly, Podolski and Lucio scored for Bayern.

28.07.2008 - German League Cup Final

The match against Hertha BSC was very strange. After 3 minutes Bayern led by 2 goals from Cassano. Hertha proved a great morale by returning into the match. Already at half point they scored three times (Ludwig, Wielaert, Ludvigsen) and led with 2:3. 12 yellow cards and yellow/red later, Cassano scored in minute 91 to even the score. The match moved to penalties. Bayern had the better nerves. They won the match in the end with 6:5 after penalties and reclaimed the title.

30.07.2008 - Spectacular transfers in Munich. After Liverpool asked for the price of central defender Cribari, Bayerns Manager asked for € 25 Mio thinking, that Liverpool would never offer that much money for the 29 year old italian. WHat a surprise when 1 day later, the offer over € 25 Mio reached Munich. Bayerns Manager thought of the offer and accepted it. Cribari signed a contract in Liverpool and left Munich after just one season.

But Patrick Schulz already had an alternative at hand. € 15.25 Mio of the money was re-invested into Christoph Metzelder from Real Sociedad. The German national hat this sum as a fix transfer sum in his contract and Bayern offered him a good contract. The former Dortmund player was very glad to be back in the Bundesliga.

[Spav]

Good start. I like seeing the summaries of the earlier seasons so that I can see how your current team has been built.

I'll be interested to see how your writing is now that you are going to give us more details on the current season.

KUTGW

[Drachenfurz]

Thanks Spav. I thought it would be better to post the history for a better overview instead of starting in the year 2008 with 4 seasons played already.

Your comment in my mind, I thought it would be better to post an overview of my current team. Who ist part of the team and on which position do they play. I try to summarize their past in the dress of Bayern Munich aswell.

Goalkeeper:

Absolutely my number One is Tim Wiese. The young goalie came from Kaiserlautern, three years ago. Even Oliver Kahn was noct able to stop his rise. Wiese is Europeanm Goalkeeper of the year for the past 2 seasons. One of the best goalkeepers worldwide he is not for sale. Munichs Manager told all interested clubs to keep their fingers off from Wiese who is essential for the team.

Nestor Peralta (or Michael Rensing) are both young goalkeepers and reserve. Since Wiese is number one, they just receive a handful of matches. Rensing asked for being transfered since he wants to play more often, but until now he did not find a new club. Peralta is a talented player. But he has much to learn. His problem is Tim Wiese. He will not get much practise. I hope he will adjust to the german lifestyle and he accepts sitting on the bench.

[Drachenfurz]

Left Defender:

Three very good players for just one position.

Currently being the main force is Dede. Brasilian international and with an 8.40 rating last season, he stormed the first team in his first season for Bayern.

Directly behind him is Philipp Lahm. The german international came back from Loan from Stuttgart 3 years ago and can play both sides of the pitch. Lahm is an extreme important player and plays as often as Dede does.

Third man for this position is steadily improving Christian Pander. The young german international gets his share of first team football and is getting better from season to season.

[Drachenfurz]

Right Defender:

A close fight for the number One spot. For four years Salihamidzic and Görlitz shared the matches. While Salihamidzic has a small advantage, Görlitz`great advantage is the age. At the age of 32 Salihamidzic (called Brazzo), he thinks of retirement. His career will surely end in Munich and with Görlitz getting very much time on the field, his successor is already waiting. And do not forget Philipp Lahm who can easily play on this position as well.

[Drachenfurz]

Central Defender

Two legends and 3 very good Defenders of middle age are fighting for 2 free spots.

Lucio and Alessandro Nesta, two legends in their thirties are surely an impressing first line for any striker. But Patrick rarely let them play together. He positions one of them beside Kevin Hofland and Christoph Metzelder. These four build a very good defense. The only problem about this position is the age. Metzelder is the youngest with 27 years. Experience is important, but Nesta and Lucio won`t play for 5 years anymore. Some young players should join Munichs defense within the next 1 or 2 years.

Robert Kovac is in his last season for Munich. 34 years old, he gets weaker and slower. He had great success and a great time at Bayern, but his contract will not be renewed. If he ends his career or looks for a new challenge is up to him. Right now he is a valuable reserve if the main four defenders get injured or booked.

[Drachenfurz]

Defensive Midfielder

In Munich, Bayern plays with one defensive midfielder. In away games they play with two of them. Currently Munich has 4 players for these positions.

Torsten Frings, veteran german midfielder, is the leader in our midfield. Frings is an essential member of our squad and number one. Beside him Owen Hargreaves, english international, is an important player. Hargreaves is a very good reserve or partner for Frings. In very difficult situations, Hargreaves would also be able to play as a defender.

Behind them, Levan Kobiashvili (georgian international) and Leon Andreasen (danish international) fight for their places. Kobiashvilis first season was impressing. But the last season was not good. In the age of 31 he has a disadvantage against Andreasen, whose future looks bright ahead of him. Kobiashvilis contract is expiring and Patrick Schulz wants to wait if the contract should be renewed or not.

[Drachenfurz]

Midfielder

3 youngsters and a veteran for 1 or 2 places. The last season showed: Fabregas is the man to beat. He is very important and debuted in the spanish national team last year. The Wonderkid is always watched by the Top 5 clubs in Europe, but Bayern tries everything to keep him.

His congenial partner would be Paul Daly. The 19 year old Wonderkid from Ireland is very dangerous in front of the goal and gets better from year to year.

Fusco is the third youngster. The italian U21 international has a few problems with his temper. He is very aggressive. The last season was good, but he is currently Number 4 in the midfield.

Number 3 is the oldest midfielder, Barry Ferguson. The scottish international was quite disappointing last year. But his experience is of much value for Munich. He is the leader for the young players and plays regularly.

[Drachenfurz]

Attacking midfielder

After Ze Robertos career ended, only 3 players for one or two positions. Patrick Schulz is looking for a forth man and found one in his own amateur squad.

Definitely the number one is Wesley Sneijder. The young dutch midfielder is a very important player. On a good day, he decides a match on his own. Last season was not his. Because of a few injuries he was a bit disappointed. But Patrick Schulz keeps him as his leader behind the forwards.

Yildiray Bastürks start last season was terrible. It took about half a year for him to play better. He is not very dangerous in front of the goal, but he makes a lot of assists.

Number 3 is young austrian international Johann Berger. He already gets his share of time on the pitch. But he is not very stable in his matches. Number 3.

Markus Steinhöfer from Bayerns second team joins the first team. But a terrible injury forces him to pause for 7 months. Patrick Schulz will give him a few matches to see if he can play for Bayern or not.

[Drachenfurz]

Forward/Striker

2 (away) at most 3 (home) places to share. And 6 candidates for them. It is quite a rotation between the six man struggling for one of these spots. First of all we have the italian connection. Cassano and Gilardino are excellent players, both playing for Italy on a regular base. Both had a great start in Munich. Especially Cassano who was an Enfant terrible in Italy did very well and impresses the club again and again. Gilardino is a great striker, one of the best in Europe. Then we have the two Bayern Veterans. Roy Makaay and Claudio Pizarro. Both scored more than 100 times for Bayern and both are still excellent finishers in front of the goal. Last but not least the two youngsters Lukas Podolski and Freddy Adu. Adus Debut season was quite good. He really made an impact and surely Bayern will have much fun with him. Podolski had a great first season, but the last one was terrible. Scoring only twice (!) he was really disappointing. Many minor injuries did not allow him to do better.

So that is my team.

[Drachenfurz]

Back to the present...

03.08.2008 - Juan Veron announces his immediate retirement. The argentinian Midfielder thinks that he has to do this because he finds it more and more difficult to retain a place in the team. He played 105 times for Argentina (18 goals). For Bayern he played 107 times (18 goals). Comment from Patrick Schulz: It is a pity but we did not try to convince him to stay for another season. He earned a lot of money and was injured regularly. Furthermore he needed very long to regenerate so we decided to let him go. We wish him the best for his future. He is already looking for a job as an Assistant Manager.

03.08.2008 - 1. Match Bundesliga

Bayern München - 1. FC Kaiserslautern (0:0) 0:0

What a disaster. 15:1 shots on goal for Munich. They did not find a way past Kaiserslauterns keeper. 13 yellow cards in a very hard game. A disappointing draw for Bayern that shows that Bayern is still looking for their form.

Team

Wiese, Lahm, Dede, Metzelder (ab 46. Lucio), Nesta, Frings, Daly (ab 46. Ferguson), Bastürk (ab 46. Cassano), Podolski, Adu, Gilardino

[Drachenfurz]

10.08.2008 2. Game

VfB Stuttgart - Bayern München (0:2) 0:3

With Cassano in an impressing form a deserved victory for Munich was the result. Stuttgart did not have the quality to be on the same level and Bayern (at last) makes use of their many chances.

Team:

Wiese, Lahm, Pander, Metzelder, Lucio, Frings, Fabregas (64. Ferguson), Sneijder (64. Berger), Hargreaves, Makaay, Cassano (64. Gilardino)

Goals:

0:1 Cassano (13.)

0:2 Cassano (40.)

0:3 Makaay (52.)

[Drachenfurz]

14.08.2008 - Andreas Ottl from Bayerns Reserve joined St. Gallen (Switzerland). Bayern earns € 750.000. Ottl played 10 times for Bayern in the first league (no goal)-

16.08.2008 - German Cup First Round

SV Wehen - Bayern München (0:1) 0:2

Not a celebration, but a very strict and easy game from Munich. The amateurteam mever had a chance against cool Bayern München. Disappointing for the fans, but it proved to be no match.

Team:

Wiese, Görlitz (74. Lahm), Pander, Nesta, Kovac, Kobiashvili, Andreasen (51. Ferguson), Daly, Berger, Gilardino, Pizarro (74. Podolski)

Goals:

0:1 Pizarro (34.)

0:2 Ferguson (88.)

16.08.2008 - The draw for the second round in the German Cup has been made. Bayern will meet Kaiserlautern in the Allianz Arena in Munich.

18.08.2008 - Munichs Manager was very busy. He offered a few players new contracts. Salihamidzic (2012), Wiese (2013), Gilardino (2013) and Lahm (2013) signed new contracts.

20.08.2008 - The draw for the Group Stage of the Champions League has been made. Bayern Münchens group consists of Lazio Rom, Ajax Amsterdam and Betis Sevilla.

[Drachenfurz]

24.08.2008 Third League Match

Bayern München - 1. FC Nürnberg (2:1) 5:1

During the first period, Munich had many problems and Nürnbergs Keeper kept his team in the match. But the goas directly after the break broke the resistance of the guests. Bayern could have scored 3 or more goals extra but Nürnbergs Keeper saved his team from a digger defeat.

Team:

Wiese, Salihamidzic, Dede, Lucio, Metzelder, Hargreaves, Fabregas (59. Fusco), Sneijder (46. Bastürk), Podolski, Makaay (59. Pizarro), Adu

Goals:

1:0 Podolski (2.)

1:1 Vittek (14.)

2:1 Dede (31.)

3:1 Bastürk (47.)

4:1 Podolski (48.)

5:1 Pizarro (71.)

After the match, the physios reported that Salihamidzic got an injury. He will miss the next week.

27.08.2008 4th League match

SC Freiburg - Bayern München (0:0) 1:1

A very lucky draw for the home team of Freiburg. Iashvili scored in the overtime und for the rest of the match, Munich missed a lot of chances to save the 3 points. This failure saved Freiburg one point.

Team:

Wiese, Görlitz, Pander, Hofland, Nesta, Frings, Andreasen, Ferguson (63. Daly), Berger (63. Bastürk), Cassano, Pizarro (63. Adu)

Goals:

0:1 Adu (64.)

1:1 Iashvili (90.)

31.08.2008 - One day before the transfer window is closed, Munich reacted on the fact that in the last weeks a few midfielder left the club (van Bommel, Veron, Ze Roberto). They bought Jermaine Jenas from Newcastle United for € 10 Mio. The attacking midfielder is 25 years old and an english international. Munichs Manager Patrick Schulz was very happy to present such a great footballer. Even now it is more difficult for Bastürk and Berger to get into the team, Jenas will surely be a big help. He is dangerous in front of the goal and knows how to play the deadly pass.

[Drachenfurz]

06.09.2008 5th League Game

Bayern München - Bayer Leverkusen (2:0) 4:1

In the end a deserved victory for Munich. Leverkusen was not that bad. It was a closer game than the result looks like. Leverkusen just did not make use of their chances.

Team:

Wiese, Görlitz, Lahm, Nesta, Hofland, Hargreaves, Fusco, Bastürk (46. Jenas), Makaay (59. Fabregas), Podolski (46. Gilardino), Cassano

Goals:

1:0 Fusco (30.)

2:0 Podolski (38.)

2:1 Babic (47.)

3:1 Lahm (51.)

4:1 Ricardo (85. Own Goal)

During the match Fusco got an injury. He will be out of action for one week.

08.09.2008 - Reserves Keeper Jan Schlösser will join Borussia Dortmund on January 1st. Munich would not renew his contract and Dortmund pays € 900.000 for him.

09.09.2008 Champions League Group Stage 1st game

Bayern München - Lazio Rom (1:0) 2:0

With a lot of injuries and booked players, Munich had problems to fill the bench for this match. Many of the players were not 100% fit. Under this circumstances the victory was too easy. The italian guests were rarely in front of Wieses goal. 11 yellow cards in this very hard match, but Bayern was the better team and the victory was absolutely ok.

Team:

Wiese, Salihamidzic (59. Lahm), Dede, Lucio, Nesta, Kobiashvili (59. Hargreaves), Frings, Ferguson, Sneijder, Cassano (87. Gilardino), Pizarro

Goals:

1:0 Ferguson (30.)

2:0 Dede (54.)

In the other match of the group Ajax and Betis came to a 0:0.

[Drachenfurz]

13.09.2008 6th League match

Borussia Dortmund - Bayern München (1:1) 2:3

A few days ago, both clubs were talking about the Schlösser-transfer and now they meet on the pitch. The victory of the guests was deserved. Dortmund was dangerous througout the match but especially Gilardino was cold as ice in front of the goal. Bayern had a plus of chances and the last 10 minutes of the match were magificient from both teams.

Team:

Wiese, Görlitz, Dede, Lucio, Hofland, Andreasen (46. Frings), Hargreaves, Daly, Jenas (71. Bastürk), Makaay (71. Podolski), Gilardino

Goals:

0:1 Lucio (33.)

1:1 Boutahar (39.)

1:2 Gilardino (83.)

1:3 Gilardino (86.)

2:3 Kehl (89.)

16.09.2008 - 2nd leg German Cup

Bayern München - 1. FC Kaiserslautern (1:0) 2:0

No doubt about this one. Kaiserslautern was not dangerous and especially during the minutes 40 - 50 overwhelmed by Munichs attacking force. Bayerns Manager eben allowed goalkeeper Peralta to play a few minutes.

Team:

Wiese (50. Peralta), Salihamidzic, Pander, Nesta, Metzelder, Kobiashvili, Fabregas (64. Ferguson), Bastürk, Podolski, Pizarro, Cassano (50. Gilardino)

Goals

1:0 Bastürk (45.)

2:0 Pizarro (49.)

20.09.2008 - 7th League match

Bayern München - Hansa Rostock (3:0) 9:0

Yes, it is true. 9:0 for Munich. In the 6 matches before Rostocks Keeper was beaten only twice. And now this disaster. Bayern managed to do a new club record (highest league win) und they could even shoot 2 or 3 more goals. This time, Bayern did not make prisoners.

Team:

Wiese, Görlitz, Lahm (54. Pander), Hofland, Lucio, Hargreaves, Ferguson (62. Daly), Jenas, Makaay (54. Gilardino), Cassano, Pizarro

Goals

1:0 Makaay (6. Penalty)

2:0 Cassano (9.)

3:0 Lucio (16.)

4:0 Pizarro (53.)

5:0 Pander (59.)

6:0 Gilardino (70.)

7:0 Jenas (72.)

8:0 Gilardino (85.)

9:9 Gilardino (90.)

[Drachenfurz]

20.09.2008 The draw for the 3rd round of the German Cup was made. Mainz 05 from the second division will meet Bayern München in Mainz.

24.09.2008 - Champions League group stage 2nd match

Betis Sevilla - Bayern München (0:1) 0:3

The spanish team did not well until minute 70. Until then they were no match for Bayern. In the last 20 minutes Betis was very dangerous and in the end, the result was a bit too high. Nevertheless an important victory for the German champion.

Team:

Wiese, Salihamdzic, Dede, Metzelder, Lucio, Kobiashvili (46. Hargreaves), Frings, Fabregas (67. Fusco), Sneijder (46. Bastürk), Gilardino, Podolski

Goals:

0:1 Lucio (38.)

0:2 Podolski (66.)

0:3 Gilardino (75.)

In the other game of the group, Lazio beat Ajax Amsterdam with 2:0.

27.09.2008 - 8th League Match

Bayern München - Borussia Mönchengladbach (1:0) 5:0

The rivals from the 70s now seem to play in different classes. Bayerns offense were too good for Mönchengladbach. An impressing victory with Gladbach who were totally overrun.

Team:

Wiese, Görlitz, Lahm, Nesta, Hofland, Andreasen, Daly (69. Ferguson), Berger, Jenas (69. Sneijder), Adu (69. Makaay), Pizarro

Goals:

1:0 Nesta (18.)

2:0 Jenas (55.)

3:0 Adu (67.)

4:0 Pizarro (81.)

5:0 Pizarro (82.)

[Drachenfurz]

07.10.2008 - Paul Daly and Christoph Metzelder both picked up an injury. They will miss 2 weeks.

15.10.2008 - Freddy Adu got an injury. He will pause for one week. Furthermore Lucio picked up an injury and will miss 3 weeks.

15.10.2008 - Champions League Group Stage 3rd Match

Bayern München - Ajax Amsterdam (0:0) 2:0

Even with 10 men Munichs victory was deserved. The dutch were not dangerous and Bayern now stands with 3 victories in 3 games on top of the table. Chances for reaching the knockout rounds are extremely good.

Team:

Wiese, Salihamidzic, Pander, Hofland, Nesta, Frings, Fusco (46. Ferguson), Berger (54. Sneijder), Bastürk (54. Hargreaves), Cassano, Gilardino

Goals:

54. Minute Hofland sees his second yellow card and Munich has to play with 10 men.

1:0 Ferguson (72.)

2:0 Cassano (82.)

In the other match of the group Lazio beat Betis Sevilla with 2:1.

18.10.2008 - 9th League Game

Rot Weiß Oberhausen - Bayern München (0:3) 0:3

A victory which was never in danger. The guests led by Lukas Podolski came to an easy win. In the second half, Munich calmed down and did not do much more than neccessary.

Team:

Wiese (61. Peralta), Görlitz, Lahm, Hofland, Kovac, Hargreaves, Kobiashvili, Fabregas (61. Fusco), Jenas, Podolski, Makaay (61. Cassano)

Goals:

0:1 Podolski (15.)

0:2 Podolski (27.)

0:3 Podolski (38.)

22.10.2008 - 10th League Game

Eintracht Frankfurt - Bayern München (0:2) 0:3

Frankfurt could not put Bayern under pressure. The victory against harmless guests was well deserved. The two goals directly before the break ended all dreams of Frankfurt.

Team:

Wiese, Salihamidzic, Dede, Hofland, Nesta, Frings, Andreasen (58. Kobiashvili), Ferguson, Sneijder (58. Berger), Gilardino (58. Cassano), Pizarro

Goals:

0:1 Andreasen (38.)

0:2 Pizarro (43.)

0:3 Cassano (71.)

[Drachenfurz]

25.10.2009 - 11th League match

Bayern München - Hertha BSC Berlin (1:0) 3:0

Business as usual in Munich. Berlins keeper Malafeev saved his team from a bigger defeat. About one hour with one man less, Berlin had not any chance. Munich played not very good, but good enough to score three times and celebrate an easy win.

Team:

Wiese, Görlitz, Pander, Kovac, Nesta, Hargreaves, Fusco (46. Fabregas), Bastürk (57. Jenas), Makaay (46. Gilardino), Cassano, Podolski

Goals:

1:0 Podolski (22.)

30. Minute: Saric gets his second yellow card

2:0 Gilardino (57.)

3:0 Gilardino (87.)

28.10.2009 - Champions League group stage 4th match

Ajax Amsterdam - Bayern München (0:1) 1:2

A close but deserved victory for the guests. Tim Wiese saved Munichs victory in the last 10 minutes. Because of this success Munich qualified for the next stage.

Team

Wiese, Salihamidzic (72. Dede), Lahm, Nesta, Metzelder, Frings, Kobiashvili (72. Hargreaves), Ferguson, Sneijder, Gilardino (72. Adu), Pizarro

Goals

27. Minute Wiese saves penalty from Fabian Rochemback

0:1 Pizarro (32.)

0:2 Gilardino (65.)

1:2 Sonck (89. penalty)

In the other match of the group Betis beats Lazio 1:0.

This means Munich is automatically winner of the group.

[Drachenfurz]

01.11.2008 - 12th League game

Karlsruher SC - Bayern München (0:1) 1:1

Bayern tried anything to win this match. Karlsruhe had just one shot on goal and they scored this one. After the 1:1 Bayern was not able to beat the home keeper again. The draw was very lucky for Karlsruhe.

Team:

Wiese, Görlitz, Dede, Nesta, Hofland, Hargreaves, Andreasen, Fusco (66. Fabregas), Jenas (84. Berger), Podolski, Makaay (66. Cassano)

Goals:

0:1 Jenas (5.)

1:1 Pereira (58.)

04.11.08 - 3rd round DFB Cup

FSV Mainz - Bayern München (0:2) 0:2

A very easy victory for Munich against the club from the second division. The match was decided early and Bayern did not do much in the second half to score again.

Team:

Wiese, Salihamidzic, Pander, Kovac, Metzelder, Frings, Kobiashvili (67. Hargreaves), Daly (67. Ferguson), Berger, Pizarro, Adu (67. Makaay)

Goals:

0:1 Daly (29.)

0:2 Kobiashvili (40.)

In the quarterfinal Bayern München meets SC Freiburg in the Allianz Arena in Munich.

[Drachenfurz]

15.11.2008 - 13th League game

Bayern München - 1. FC Köln (2:0) 5:0

Day of the dutch. Köln did not have a chance and especially Wesley Sneijder was in a magnificient form. München could have scored 3 or 4 more goals.

Team:

Wiese, Görlitz, Dede, Lucio, Metzelder, Andreasen, Fabregas (65. Ferguson), Sneijder, Makaay (83. Bastürk), Pizarro, Cassano (72. Gilardino)

Goals:

1:0 Sneijder (1.)

2:0 Fabregas (6.)

3:0 Pizarro (48.)

4:0 Sneijder (51.)

5:0 Makaay (55.)

18.11.2008 - Paul Daly picked up an injury. He will miss one month.

19.11.08 - Champions League group stage 5th match

Lazio Rom - Bayern München (0:0) 0:0

Lazio was the much better team. Bayern fought vor this draw. Keeper Tim Wiese saved the draw for his team. He was in excellent form on this day.

Team:

Wiese, Salihamidzic, Lahm, Hofland, Nesta, Hargreaves, Frings (64. Kobiashvili), Fusco (46. Ferguson), Bastürk, Podolski (64. Adu), Gilardino

[Drachenfurz]

20.11.2008 - Podolski picked up an injury. The young striker will be out of action for two weeks.

23.11.2008 - 14th League game

Schalke 04 - Bayern München (0:0) 0:0

A match which did not deserve to have a winner. Both teams strong in the defense and weak in the offense. Not a good game. Both teams were too early satisfied with the draw.

Team:

Wiese, Görlitz, Pander, Lucio, Metzelder, Frings, Andreasen, Fabregas (64. Fusco), Jenas (30. Berger), Makaay, Cassano (67. Pizarro)

Jenas picked um an injury on minute 30. He will be missing the next month.

26.11.2008 - And the next one. Freddy Adu got an injury and will miss 2 weeks.

26.12.2008 - 15th League match

HSV - Bayern München (0:0) 0:1

A very disciplined match by Bayern. Again without a goal for their opponents. A close match with little advantages for the guests. Victory was lucky but Bayern was the more active team.

Team

Wiese, Salihamidzic, Dede, Nesta (66. Metzelder), Hofland, Hargreaves, Kobiashvili (58. Frings), Ferguson, Sneijder, Pizarro (58. Cassano), Gilardino

Goal

0:1 Nesta (50.)

[Drachenfurz]

29.11.08 - 16th league game

Bayern München - Werder Bremen (0:0) 4:0

Bayern was the much better team. Bremen never tried to shoot on goal from Tim Wiese but they kept the 0:0 until Roy Makaay in minute 54 scored. Even this high the victory was well deserved.

Team:

Wiese, Görlitz, Pander, Lucio, Metzelder, Andreasen, Fusco (46. Fabregas), Berger, Bastürk (46. Sneijder), Makaay, Cassano (72. Pizarro)

Goals

1:0 Makaay (54.)

2:0 Makaay (79.)

3:0 Pizarro (86.)

4:0 Fabregas (88.)

01.12.2008 - Owen Hargreaves picked up an injury. The english international will miss for two weeks.

02.12.08 - Champions League group stage 6th game

Bayern München - Betis Sevilla (1:0) 1:0

Bayern was the better team. The victory was deserved but Munich did not do much to win. Before the match Betis still had chances to reach the next round but during the match you never see something that makes you think, that they try to break into the knock out stage.

Team:

Wiese, Salihamidzic, Dede, Nesta, Hofland, Kobiashvili, Frings (46. Metzelder (75. Bastürk)), Ferguson (46. Fabregas), Sneijder, Gilardino, Pizarro

Goal:

1:0 Pizarro (41.)

75. Minute Metzelder was injured. He will miss one week.

In the other match Ajax and Lazio came to a 1:1. Following to this result, the Italian reached the next round.

[Drachenfurz]

06.12.08 - 17th league game

Wolfsburg - Bayern München (0:1) 0:2

An even game with the bit more active team as the winner. The result was one goal too much. A 0:1 would have been the fairer result. Wolfsburg only problem was that they did not make use of their chances.

Team:

Wiese, Görlitz, Lahm (63. Pander), Lucio, Nesta, Frings, Andreasen, Fusco (63. Fabregas), Bastürk, Makaay (46. Pizarro), Cassano

Goals:

0:1 Makaay (14.)

0:2 Pizarro (63.)

12.12.08 - Champions League Knock Out stage round one drawn:

Chelsea - Barcelona

Lazio - Juventus

Sporting Lissabon - BAYERN MÃœNCHEN

Celtic - Newcastle

Manchester United - Milan

Lille - Eindhoven

Arsenal - Hertha BSC

Porto - AS Rom

14.12.2008 - 18th league game

1. FC Kaiserslautern - Bayern München (0:0) 1:0

The players from Munich seemed to have problems mit the fitness. Some of them were totally down. Gilardino and Cassano did not score for quite some time now and now Bayern lost the first time this season. The match was even. Bayern had the opportunity to even the score, but Makaay missed his penalty in the first half.

Team:

Wiese, Salihamidzic, Dede, Hofland, Lucio, Frings, Andreasen, Fabregas (69. Fusco), Sneijder, Makaay (53. Gilardino), Podolski (69. Berger)

Goals:

15. Minute: Makaay missed penalty

1:0 Riedl (64.)

76. Minute: Berger has to go out. He is injured.

19.12.2008 - Makaay picked up an injury. He will muss one week.

[Drachenfurz]

01.01.2009 - Tim Wiese has been named as europes goalkeeper of the year. The german international reclaimed this title.

03.01.2009 - Munichs signs King! The new year starts with impressing transfers in Munich. Bayern signed Ledley King from Tottenham Hotspurs. The 28 year old D/DM© is leaving Tottenham for free. Due to this fact, Bayerns Manager Patrick Schulz told the press that the contract of Levan Kobiashvili will not be renewed at the end of the season. The georgian international may leave the club under the Bosman rule.

04.01.2009 - One day after signing King, Munichs presents the next new man for the next season. Kim Kallström from Paris St. Germain joins Munich for free at the end of his contract. The 26 year old AMC will surely make an impact beside Sneijder. Probably this means, that Bastürks future in Munich is doubtful. The turkish midfielder never really confirmed his class. Amateurplayer Markus Steinhöfer is put into the Reserveteam. He had a few chances to show his talent but was not able to do so.

05.01.2009 - Jermaine Jenas picked up an injury. He will miss for 3 weeks.

06.01.2009 - Salihamidzic is injured. The bosnian will pause for one week.

11.01.2009 - Amateurplayer Paolo Guerrero joins Unterhaching until the end of the season on a loan deal. The contract of the striker is expiring and will not be renewed. He played 3 times for the pro-team (no goal).

20.01.2009 - Cassano picked up an injury. He will be out of action for 2 weeks.

20.01.2009 - New contracts. Patrick Schulz renewed the contracts of Frings (2012) and Pizarro (2014). Both are essential parts of the team and Patrick Schulz hopes that both will end their career in Munich.

[Palermo88]

can you write the league table?

[Carpit]

nice story its made me think but writen mine with inter im on 2020 and have won the league everytime even with the sellin of top players

[Drachenfurz]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Palermo88:

can you write the league table? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I will. Problem is that I am a bit further in the season (game 28 I think), so I first will write the results until that point and then I will post the current table.

[Drachenfurz]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Carpit:

nice story its made me think but writen mine with inter im on 2020 and have won the league everytime even with the sellin of top players </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Thank you Carpit. I know it could be a bit boring for the readers. Until now it makes me fun playing it since Bayern is my favourite club. But I also thought of a new game or leaving Bayern to find a new challenge. I plan to end this season and the next one (till the world cup 2010) and then I decide whether I leave the club or if I still want to push it further.

Fun for me is the european challenge with teams like Chelsea, Barcelona, ManU etc. During this national season, Stuttgart proved to be a good competitor. But the teams behind Munich are not constant enough to challenge me for a few years in a row. Most of them sell their important players to other clubs. I do not have to sell players, although I decided that Ballack, Schweinsteiger and Deisler or Chivu may leave because the offer is big enough for me to get a good replacement.