MUNICH — The idea of a single standalone fixture — das Eröffnungsspiel — to usher within the new Bundesliga season after the lengthy summer time hiatus is a comparatively new one, courting again solely to 2002.
This showpiece Friday night time occasion all the time options the defending champions and sometimes takes place on their very own pitch. Nonetheless, in recent times, we’ve seen deviations with Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen, respectively, touring to Borussia Mönchengladbach (2021 and 2024) and Bayern going to Eintracht Frankfurt (2022) and Werder Bremen (2023).
To kick off the 2025-26 season, Germany’s Rekordmeister enjoys the preliminary house benefit in a possible tester in opposition to RB Leipzig. Not since 2020 and the times of lockdown and an 8-0 drubbing of Schalke 04 has the Allianz Area performed host to the ceremonial opening, and it will likely be an event of grandeur earlier than 75,000 combined with Bavarian Weißwurst (conventional sausage), beer and bonhomie.
The Bayern gamers this week have been photographed of their conventional Oktoberfest apparel forward of the massive forthcoming early autumn Wiesn pageant that dominates town. They have already got the Franz Beckenbauer Tremendous Cup of their possession after a deserved 2-1 win over Pokalsieger VfB Stuttgart on Saturday night time.
But amid the grins and good vibes right here within the Bavarian capital, there’s appreciable every day strain, and never simply on the taking part in squad. For the second-year coach Vincent Kompany and sporting CEO Max Eberl, this feels very true.
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It is no secret that Kompany, after relegation from the Premier League with Burnley, was removed from first option to succeed Thomas Tuchel 12 months in the past, however the Belgian impressed Eberl and others together with his soccer imaginative and prescient, articulate and personable method, and, after all, fluent German language abilities.
Final season will be described as a professional success. Bayern gained the Bundesliga by 13 factors, having surrendered the crown to Leverkusen the season earlier than. Ninety-nine league targets made it the third-best season in membership historical past on that entrance.
The negatives have been one other early exit from the DFB-Pokal, a cup Bayern final lifted in 2020, and the painful UEFA Champions League quarterfinal dismissal by the hands of Inter Milan.
Each will be described as unfortunate, though Kompany can be anticipated to win the Meisterschale (Bundesliga trophy) and extra this season. The supervisory board can be much less forgiving one yr on. An enormous optimistic was the fashion of soccer that the majority would agree is passend (becoming) with what the Bayern public enjoys in a manner that Tuchel’s soccer merely wasn’t.
Possession play allied to a excessive and daring early press has been the Kompany recipe, though it did not all the time go to plan. For instance: early within the season in opposition to Barcelona within the Champions League and Frankfurt within the Bundesliga.
Bayern can get into hassle when the defensive Kette (literal chain) turns into disconnected, leading to rescue acts out of necessity, incessantly by Manuel Neuer. This brings us to Eberl, who will get talked about extra vigorously amongst soccer followers right here in Munich way more than whether or not Kompany is an effective coach for Bayern.
The very fact is, being the Sportvorstand (sporting CEO at Bayern) carries with it an immense duty to continuously assemble long-term plans whereas realizing that the improper strikes within the brief time period can price you your job.
Eberl additionally has to work below the shadow of the Tegernsee: in different phrases, honorary president Uli Hoeneß, who all the time has an opinion when requested about just about any subject below the solar. A license to work away in peace hasn’t been a luxurious afforded to Eberl since his transfer from Leipzig 18 months in the past, nor will he count on to amass it anytime quickly.
Final winter, Eberl and sporting director Christoph Freund made extending the contracts of key gamers like Joshua Kimmich and Jamal Musiala the precedence. However the dealing with of Thomas Müller‘s departure appeared clumsy.
This summer time, long-time attackers Leroy Sané and Kingsley Coman have left the membership. Sané’s contract had been allowed to run down, whereas Coman’s transfer to Al Nassr introduced in €24 million.
Bayern’s outlay of €75 million, together with extras for the signing of 28-year-old Luis Díaz from Liverpool, has not met each fan’s approval. Sure, the Colombian is a splendid footballer and marked his first official look within the Tremendous Cup with a objective.
However as with Harry Kane, we’re not speaking about gamers right here contributing to a sustainable switch technique. They’re for the attacking right here and now, and there are query marks about its composition not less than within the brief time period, with playmaker Musiala set to overlook an enormous chunk of the Hinrunde, the primary a part of the season.
Who’s going to fill the Musiala gap? In opposition to Stuttgart, it was largely Serge Gnabry, with the usually irresistible Michael Olise dropping in there every so often. I need to admit I’d have favored to see 25 aggressive minutes from 17-year-old Lennart Karl on Saturday. He is small, left-footed, represented by Michael Ballack, and whereas not a direct like-for-like Musiala substitute, certainly represents the long run for Bayern.
As an alternative, Karl was handed solely the briefest of cameos in Stuttgart and this brings us properly to the theme of the Bayern Campus, as they name it, and Kompany’s perspective to bringing in youth. Ultimately week’s pre-match information convention, Kompany addressed the thorny topic, acknowledging the significance, however including the caveat that we within the media might need to be affected person.
After all, each coach needs to be aware of self-preservation and his pragmatic want for outcomes. Others can fear about lengthy haul plans that he might by no means be a part of. Eberl and the Bayern decision-makers are attracted by the thought of bringing in Chelsea‘s Christopher Nkunku for the Musiala place. Hoeneß favors a mortgage, whereas Eberl feels a everlasting signing. The supervisory board meets on Monday, and Eberl’s work will definitely be critiqued.
In different positions, I really feel the addition of Jonathan Tah, arguably the very best Bundesliga defender over the previous couple of seasons, will add solidity to Bayern. Plus, the proficient Aleksandar Pavlović is again after struggling a fractured eye socket. Kane’s assertion this week that the present Bayern squad is the smallest he has ever been a part of as a top-level skilled was not meant to draw controversy however is fairly an announcement of truth.
Within the first few matches, with these skinny choices, does Kompany have the proper method with out Musiala within the artistic division? The 19-year-old attacking midfielder Paul Wanner is now not an alternate since he has been transferred to PSV, whereas Raphaël Guerreiro appears like an ill-fitting No. 10 possibility at this stage of his profession.
In opposition to Leipzig, we’ll study extra.
