Bayern Rundown

By: Angela | June 7th, 2009

01. Mario Gomez inks the deal to move to Bayern and subsequently ends his 829 minutes of goal-less game play. My guess is this was the weight being lifted off his shoulders and the promise of some kind of a future. I am still somewhat on the fence about this because I’m not sure exactly what it means for Mario. I’m not sure if he’ll play regularly or if he’ll sit on the bench as Podolski did. However, with the way Luca Toni has been playing as of late, I’d love to see Mario and Miro pair up as the starting strikers and see what they can accomplish together. Mario will come to the Säbener Strasse on July 1.

02. Unfotunately, Zé Roberto will be leaving Bayern. He and the team couldn’t come to terms on a new contract. Bayern had offered a one year extension, the same deal they gave to Captain Dutch, but Zé declined the offer.

03. Everyone knows Bayern are in serious need of a goalkeeper. The situation has been bleak and it’s clear that Rensing isn’t quite ready for the top spot at Bayern. Perhaps he could go somewhere else and get some experience, but whether it was inexperience or too much pressure of following the great Oliver Kahn, Rensing couldn’t get it done. In light of that, Bayern have set their sites on Schalke and Germany keeper Manuel Neuer.

04. Captain Dutch, Mark van Bommel, the object of all my affections, has helped lead his National Team to the World Cup games and also leads the rating of Dutch midfielders. van Bommel is the first of Bayern’s players to have his team in WC2010 after the Netherlands beat Iceland 2-1.

Van der Vaart now ranks 7th in the rating of Dutch midfielders, which is led by Bayern Munich’s Mark van Bommel. Van Bommel scored the winner against Iceland and earned 12.53 rating points to boost his tally to 138.05 points over all.

05. Daniel van Buyten is unhappy at Bayern and might actually want to leave.

“The people at Bayern have to make clear whether they still need me or whether I’m surplus to requirements. I feel like other players get way more chances to prove their worth. I’m sick of warming the bench and I’m ready to move on,” stated Van Buyten to Kicker.

There are rumors of Bayern being a little leary to let him go based on the fact that Franck Ribery wants him to stay. If he goes, it will make Ribery unhappy and rumor has it that they don’t want to make Ribery unhappy.

06. The possibility of Ribery being unhappy if van Buyten goes, leads me to the latest move for Bayern. Danijel Pranjic of Dutch top flight side SC Heerenveen has agreed to terms with Bayern, but the players team has not yet agreed 100%. So while a deal looks to be in place, it isn’t a done deal yet. If Bayern are able to get a deal with Pranjic he would join five others this season including Mario Gomez, Ivica Olic, Alexander Baumjohann, Anatoliy Tymoschuk and Andreas Görlitz. Görlitz is not a new signing, but he will be returning from a two-year loan to Karlsruhe.

All of the new things will happen under the new coach, Louis van Gaal.

“The most important transfer is the coach,” Germany international Philipp Lahm was quoted as saying in an interview with the Süddeutsche Zeitung. The full-back is looking forward to working under Van Gaal. “He’s synonymous with a certain way of playing. I’m certain he’ll demand organisation and discipline, and give us clear tactical instructions,” Lahm said.

So here’s to a new season, new coaches, new players and hopefully a better played team.