Recap: Bayern 1 – 2 Mainz
By: Angela | August 22nd, 2009
Somewhat reminiscent of the game in Mainz in 2006. Though a very disappointing result. However, Mainz deserved this win much more than Bayern. They clearly wanted it more. The first half was a nightmare. I don’t have anything good to say about anyone until Mueller came on and Olic as well. Why Olic isn’t starting games is completely beyond me at this point. I am not at all impressed with Tymo. I still don’t have faith in Lahm being Captain. In the event that he was needed, it was Schweini that was arguing and Lahm was nowhere to be found.
There were a lot of mistakes by all parties in the first half. Rensing included. The announcers had said that he’s got a lot of talent, but is lazy as a goal keeper. I’m not sure that I have a valid argument for disagreeing with that. I keep hoping that he will prove me wrong, but I continue to see no reason that he’s deserving of the number one spot. I know he hasn’t had much opportunity to develop but not even bothering to move from your spot when the ball goes to your right really makes disgusts me. The score in the first half really should’ve been 3 or 4 to 1.
Müller is the reason that Bayern takes back a point to cut the lead in half at the beginning of the second half – though he’s not getting credit. It’s being called an own goal, but from what I seen it looked like it was all Müller. This kid continues to show his worth to the team. There is talk of him going on loan to another team, but I think he continues to prove that he wants to stay with the team. I’m not sure that he’d get regular playing time if Altintop actually starts to play like he’s capable, but it’s been proven that he’s reliable and dependable in a clutch.
Mainz did a lot of attacking and have had some great passes. And let’s not forget that beautiful bicycle kick in the first half by Bance. An offside call takes away a goal opportunity by Bayern, but at least they appeared to have wanted to play a little bit more in the second half. There was a great cross from my guy, The Belgian Bull, but it was for not as no one bothered to try to do anything with it. That seems to be the MO today as Müller put a beautiful cross over when he first came on in the first half, but no one did anything with that either.
I keep trying to remind myself that perhaps the team needs some time to gel. That they’re are several new players that have never played together and they need to find a rhythm. However, that only suffices for so long and I think we’re starting to get past that point. Missing key players doesn’t help the matter any, but it’s going to happen and the team should be able to function without them.
Olic nearly ties it up with a header, but its deflected off the post. Olic and Müller have been fantastic this second half. And another great chance for Müller, but he’s denied by Mainz’s Müller. H. Müller has had a fantastic game for Mainz as well. He made some brilliant saves.
There was an opportunity for a penalty kick in which Sosa kicked it over the bar. I don’t care too much for him as a player, but that probably shouldn’t have gone as high as it did. There were opportunities in the second half for Bayern to tie it up, but they weren’t able to capitalize on much of anything. T. Müller had an excellent game.
As a random aside, I think if you’re going to be an announcer for any sport, you should have to say player’s names correctly. It makes me cringe every time I hear van biten. He’s not the only one they butcher on the team. I’m just saying – if you’re going to announce, learn the proper way to say all the player’s name’s. Please.
The announcers talked a lot about the missing van Bommel and the things that were missing from the match since he wasn’t around – so see, it’s not just me. I really don’t have a whole lot of positive to say about this match. Aside from T. Müller and Olic. Mainz deserved this victory. H. Müller and Bance were definitely the men of the match.
And on a completely different note, I’d like to wish a huge get well and hopeful recovery to West Ham United’s Calum Davenport who was stabbed, along with his mother, on Friday night. Davenport underwent surgery and is in critical condition. His mother is recovering from her injuries.
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About the first half: Mainz found that attacking Braafheid and crossing would isolate Bance and give him free headers.
When there are two CB’s they’re supposed to gang up on the lone forward, not play Russian Roulette to see which one’s going to give up a goal first. If it were Ollie in goal, he would have skinned DvB and Badstuber alive.
The midfield just stood aside and allowed the Mainz procession to pass through. And they played LONG BALLS!!! I was shocked!! What I’d give to be a fly on the wall in the Bayern dressing room at half time…
2nd Half: At least the midfield decided to wake up. Tymo was all over the place, but I think that was because Van Gaal decided to play him very deep and set up what looked to me like a 2 man midfield with Lahm and Braafheid as wingers.
But it was too little too late. With Klose and Gomez, I’d have expected Bayern to really work the wings and cross like Van Helsing fighting Dracula, but no! Braafheid stunk it up just as much in the second and almost everyone else gave crappy service. Didn’t help the Klose and Gomez didn’t camp out in the Mainz area.
Van Gaal didn’t help by refusing to play Ribery because of the “agreement”, and Sosa for Klose was puzzling.
Good points: Muller and Olic were outstanding, although Muller allowed the ball to go too deep sometimes before realizing he was supposed to cross. Tymo finally showed signs of life in the second by playing like a true DM. He’s quite different from vB, but I honestly think tactically it would not have been very different, but vB’s leadership would have probably helped.
I don’t know what to say otherwise. What has really changed from last season? The defense is pathetic, the midfield formation has changed, but the players haven’t gotten used to it just yet, or are just not suited for it. There’s still a lot of work to do…
And finally Rensing. I think his quality might also have to do a bit with the coach. Kahn worked under Sepp Maier, one of the greatest (German) goalie’s of all time. Rensing works under Junghans, one of the most ridiculed German goalie’s of all time. It might not have anything to do with performance, but it makes me wonder.
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Well since I have very little positive to say, I guess I’ll dispense with that first… They showed effort in the second half, still does not make up for that sad excuse of a first half. They played like they thought Mainz would just roll over because it was Bayern. Muller needs more playing time, especially when Ribery is out. He is the only one capable of being that spark plug…
Rensing needs to be permanently put to pasture… He was outplayed by Mainz’s 2nd string goalie… We have 10 days left in the transfer period and this needs to be addressed badly. It’s not just that he can’t stop anything, it’s also the complete lack of any leadership like Kahn used to show (glad you noticed this also A Kap). A goalie needs to be getting on his players when they are not playing for one. Kahn would have never stood idly by with that pathetic first half effort. He’d also have EASILY stopped Mainz 1st goal and probably the 2nd. The reason i am so miffed at Rensing about the first goal is if you look at the defenders position, the only place that ball could have been shot was that part of the net and Rensing was lost in space again. Rensing is not mentally fit to be a Bundesliga goalie, even on poor teams and certainly should not be the man for a club that fancies itself as a contender in Europe. Goalie is 90% mental, 10% physical and Rensing fails miserably on the mental part. Why do I divide it this way? Part of ‘mental’ is keeping your head in the game when the ball is on the other side of the field…being in position…knowing when to charge and when to stay in net… Rensing can’t do any of these things even adequately.
I am not trying to pin this loss on Rensing. Lack of effort by everyone in the first half sealed that. Gomez flopping like a fish at every opportunity trying to draw a penalty kick instead of trying to score. Badstuber really had a bad first half as did DvB. They are actually making me MISS Lucio.
Anyway, let’s hope they use this as a wake up call. It’s still very early and the ship can be righted. This hopefully will show them that anything less than 100% effort versus anyone in the Bundesliga will most likely end with a loss.
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@A Kap if I were Van Gaal, that locker room would have been torn to shreds, ans I’d have broked all the furniture.
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A Kap: An Augustiner for you on me sometime, you are right on, right down the line. I’ll stick in some other comments.
*I actually thought the early substitutions were a good idea. I mean, no question, changes needed to be made, but still many coaches will keep the continuity for the half and see what happens. I liked the pro-active nature of it, and the not so subtle “you pieces of scheisse need to pull one back before half” message.
*I don’t find fault in the reasoning of Kahn, Hoeness and others when they have said that it takes an extended period of time for a young keeper to develop. But I think the commitment to a long-term progression for a young keeper needs to be predicated on the player demonstrating measurable, consistent improvement. I really don’t think anyone can say Rensing has shown that.
*Can you just see Klinsmann sitting on the beach, counting his money, grinning and seeing his reputation slowly being restored? Well maybe that’s too strong. But, this season might provide for some really interesting historical revisionism.
*I think one can always judge the mental strength of a team based on how they come out against inferior opposition. Because, it doesn’t take any effort to get pumped up to play Bremen. But how a team handles going to Mainz (or Neckarelz), I think shows how seriously the take their craft, and pure attitude does in fact matter more, in a match like today’s. So in this instance, I think leadership does matter a bit more. But, no matter who has been wearing the armband, I would argue for this and all of last season, this team comes out flat against inferior competition. And the really terrible thing about it is, you can’t teach this: to get up for these matches is in a guy’s blood, or it’s not. Sadly these days, it seems coming to Bayern means one becomes a blue blood, and doesn’t bleed red.
*You’ve gotta hope Wolfsburg and HSV split the points. The one good thing about next week is: if you’ve got to have your back totally against the wall, it’s best that time comes when you face your toughest competition. That certainly seems to be the case next weekend. I’m going to try to go back into the data banks and see what the biggest point deficit Bayern ever overcame to win a title was. Can’t have been much more than 6.
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The one Bayern game I get on GOLTV and this is what I get.
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I think it’s time Bayern buys Neuer before Manchester United do.
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It’s my understanding that Ribery was hurt and that is why he didn’t play today. I could be wrong though.
I don’t really have anything to add that hasn’t been said. I just hope Bayern can find a quality keeper because it’s clear that Rensing isn’t ready for Bayern. He doesn’t show any leadership, he hardly says anything to the team; let alone the defense, there are too many times when he stands perfectly still rather than moving in the direction of the ball – at least fake it. I just don’t see a reason to stick with him all season.
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Roger, in regards to Rensing, if he keeps putting in performances like that even I will join your chorus calling for his departure!
Although deep down I feel Rensing deserves until December to prove us wrong! If he can’t improve by then, even I’ll be calling for Sebastian Frey if Uli Hoeness is not picking up the phone!
With regards to Badstuber he his very young and inexperienced still, but I believe he’ll learn from today’s mistakes and improve six fold!
However Van Buyten on the other hand has no excuses, he should be setting the example and taking over leadership duties in the defense.
I agree with everyone it seems only young Thomas Muller and Ivica Olic turned up mentally today and should be rewarded with starts next week. I’m impressed with Muller as he really seems to make things happen when he is on the field of play!
Maybe Lahm and Schweni be soon considered for pasture duties if they keep playing the way they were?
The team is now under alot of pressure to perform next week at home against Wolfsburg, lets hope they’ll be buzzing next week with their ears red and sore? Particularly Lahm, Van Buyten, Rensing, and Schweni!
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My guess is they are going to get it really good in the press the week. The Munich press pulls no punches when there is a performance like the first half today. I won’t say the full game. The team in the second half, even with only one goal scored, actually looked to be Bayern. They manufactured a lot of chances in the second half, but the Maintz goalie played really well, unfortunately. I can’t see them not bringing their best next Saturday.
@Luke If they really think Rensing is going to be great, they need to loan him out to another team. His confidence is so bad right now and I don’t see any signs that will change in Munich. Let him get his head in the right place while they get a 1 or 2 year stand in who will give them the type of play a big European club has to have out of a goalie. Tim Howard didn’t survive at ManU in the same situation.
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playing a 4-4-2 diamond requires that the right and left midfield players be competent defenders… none of Bayern’s wide midfielders can defend and that was the problem these last three matches teams are simply bypassing tymo/van Bommel in the middle and sending the ball out to the wing where whoever is there for Bayern was either out of position or defending poorly and getting passed… this looks like the last game Bayern will play a 4-4-2 diamond after the match van gaal basically said Bayern cant play with two strikers and it looks as if he would be switching to a 4-2-3-1 system like how he made Bayern played the majority of this match. that should allow for both tymo and van Bommel to play together when van Bommel is fit and give much more defensive cover and since Bayern has strikers that play the same, all play as if they are the “9″ so the teamwork between them is horrible and 95% of attacking possession is wasted, playing one of them as striker will solve that problem by subtraction.
this slump is the result of van gaal overestimating the players, Bundesliga players are by nature poor defensively with only a few exceptions, van gaal thought that if he got the players drilled into a defensive system the bad defending would disappear, which did not happen and now he has to compensate and change the formation.
Rensing was not really responsible for any of the goals Bayern conceded this season, van Buyten has been especially horrible defensively and has been responsible for all the goals Bayern has conceded so far mostly because he was out of position on counterattacks. and today he was out of position for the second goal and the first goal he was slow in getting to and keeping up with Ivanschitz which allowed Ivanschitz a clear look and free shot on goal. van Buyten even though he seems to have lost weight and be more conditioned this season he still defends poorly in any instance where he has to move quickly.
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Up to now am still shocked by what i saw in the first half of the Mainz Vs Bayern match. I just couldn´t ever imagine bayern falling apart to a promoted team they hammered 5:0 a year ago.
My first culprit to this is bayern goalie, since the preseason matches up to yesterday´s dreadful match, Rensing has not convinced me as a short stopper by any means. We should try to remember that most of bayern´s successes have come as a result of top drawer saves from the men in the bayern posts. As Stefan Effenburg(not sure of the spelling)put it, that bayern´s mistake of not signing a top goalkeeper this season will cost them greatly, i think he was right. JUST TAKE A LOOK AT ALL THE GOALS IN THE LAST 3 MATCHES you will see this clearly.
Next is the selection, i would suggest that the coach picks players based on form and strength other than names. At the moment Klose is not in anyway close to his best and therefore should not play.
The defence will always find it difficult to tighten up if the offensive is not so aggressive to keep the ball in the opponents´half.I suggest that in absence of the key players bayern should use Muller in the hall, Gomez and Olic upfront, Schweni on the left flank and Ailitop on the right. That to me would be a more offensive team capable of performing than the previous squad.
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I know Ribery was injured but Bayern could have used another playmaker. With VDV available from Real Madrid and his willingness to play in the Bundesliga, he would be a great addition for Bayern. Imagine him playing with Ribery on the left wing.
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It is fortunate that this series of problems is evident from the early matches. If it was not clear beforehand that there is not the requisite quality in the squad to win the league, it is certainly evident now. It is either time to alter the tactics to something more playable by the current squad, or the board have to bite the bullet and purchase a number ten to play behind the strikers. As good as VdV is, dealing with Real Madrid at this juncture could be difficult, given the animosity surrounding the Ribery negotiations. There are few candidates for this creative role, but there are some affordable solutions. Even Riquelme from Boca would give them something to work around.
The problem against Mainz was merely a repeat of issues that emerged against Hoffenheim and Bremen. The defence not only needs to be solid and disciplined, it needs to be a springboard for any attacks and generally impart the confidence required by the team to attack without fear of potentially leaking lots of goals. An experienced defender by the end of the transfer window is actually more important right now than any other position. We have a week to save our season, lets hope the people with the cheque book feel the same way
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I’ll take you up on that Augustiner, Luke! I do agree that it seems the players coming in to Bayern seem to have some sort of entitlement with the way they’re playing. Van Bommel might be a good leader, but no one’s scared to play for him like they were Effenberg and Kahn. As vBommel once famously said, “Bayern braucht mehr Arschlochen” (or something like that). Bayern needs a thug who will beat the crap performances out of the players.
Roger, I remember Kahn “hotstepping” every time the ball was in the vicinity, ready to pick a foot to plant and dive. Can’t say I’ve really looked, but I haven’t seen Rensing do anything remotely close. Maybe it’s a different technique, but a lot of tennis players also do the same when setting up to return serve, so it seems to be somewhat standard. With that Rensing isn’t doing very well on the 10% as well.
The historical revisionism will be complete and the Bayern board will have lost all credibility if Van Gaal switches to (and results in success) to the Hitzfeld 4-2-2-2 that Grinsi Klinsi also ended up using. At that point, I’ll have abandoned all hope for Bayern for the next few years.
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I told you guys and you critisized me calling me a crybaby etc. This situation won’t benefit bayern- You could have had Robben, Sneider or Van der Vaart + 30 million and you would have had an awesome team. This is just the start of things to come – I told you guys _ you saw how the Lescott situation affected Everton (LOSING 6-1 to Arsenal and now 2- to promoted Burnley). If a player wants to leave let him go. FR80 should be sold to Real – At the moment your team is not up to European standard. You won’t have a chance against Barca, Real or any of the big 4 EPL teams. Do you think Man u or Liverpool fear bayern!? LOL – Rebuild your team – both Sneijder and Robben are proven performers and with the extra 30 million you could attract another key component. You are a team that deserve better. sell Ribery to Real…the benefits outweigh the loss. Please guys….sell us Ribery…..
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Oh FR80, you are so smart! Ribery was injured and has publicly said he’ll be at Bayern for this coming season, so comparing this situation to Lescott’s is like comparing apples to cheeseburgers.
Robben and Sneijder were reportedly offered, but ask yourself how injured they’ve been over their careers and see if it would be worth having them in the team. VDV, shamelessly engineered his exit from Hamburg by openly wearing the Valencia jersey and then went to Madrid, what does that say about his attitude? When Bayern requires strong, mature players, why would they consider him?
Ribery hasn’t even played this season, and everyone has said he’s been a model professional. It’s not like the players Real has right now are complete chumps. See how the team Madrid has so far fares before whining about how you are entitled to the players you want.
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FR80, you are a Real fan looking out for Real’s fortunes… If Bayern’s board were to listen to you, they’d be bigger fools than you are
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United States
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