If Spain had ruled football for the past five to six years, it?s now the re-emergence of German football at the top, with Bayern Munich as its showpiece
The king is dead, long live the king! That?s how the German media celebrated Borusia Dortmund and Bayern Munich?s triumph in the Champions League semi-finals. The results over the two legs signalled an indisputable power shift in club football. If Spain had ruled the sport for the past five-six years, it?s now the re-emergence of German football at the top, with Bayern as its showpiece.
So, this is more than just a couple of wins in favour of two fantastic German clubs. This is a story of a group of supremely talented footballers fulfilling their potential, two top coaches guiding them, a dedicated youth system providing the infrastructure and platform, a very popular and strong football league and, most importantly, a great football culture.
Dortmund were excellent at home against Jose Mourinho?s Real Madrid and resilient at Bernabeu. The result of the tie over the two legs was 4-3 in the German side?s favour and one has to admit that they deserved their place in the final. An exciting young team under one of the most astute tacticians in the world, answering to the name of Jurgen Klopp. He has built this side from scratch, going on to win the Bundesliga back-to-back in the last two years and breaking Bayern?s hegemony in German football. Robert Lewandowski, Mario Gotze, Marco Reus?all grew in stature under his watch. Add to the list Shinji Kagawa who was sold to Manchester United after last season.
Klopp was offered the Chelsea job, but his answer was plain and simple. ?I am here to build my career. Not destroy it.? He has been working on a dream project, which is not finished yet. But his work has already caught the imagination of his peers, and also the big club owners. Not for nothing Manchester United reportedly want him as Sir Alex Ferguson?s eventual successor.
Bayern were very unlucky to lose the last year?s Champions League final on penalties. It was an irony that the excellent Bastian Schweinsteiger had missed from the spot. Coach Jupp Heynckes badly wanted to make amends this time. And how well have his players responded!
Bayern have won the Bundesliga in record time this season and dominated every Champions League fixture except the return leg match against Arsenal that they lost 2-0. After winning 3-1 in the first leg, they lowered their guard a bit, which was very un-German like.
But they regrouped and reorganised quickly and now haven?t conceded a goal for 365 minutes in European football. Their hammering of Barcelona was as spectacular as it was clinical. True, Lionel Messi virtually ran on one leg in the first game and never came off the bench in the second. But it was very unlikely that even a fully fit Messi could have changed the outcome. Such was Bayern?s dominance in every aspect of the game. It was like a well-oiled machine running on a German autobahn.
Six years ago, Thomas Muller came to Kolkata with the Bayern Under-19 side. He was a work in progress then. ?Der Bomber? Gerd Muller, who was the assistant coach of the team, spoke highly of the youngster. Muller won the Golden Boot in the 2010 World Cup. He already has eight goals in the Champions League this season with one more match to play.
His progress as a player speaks volumes of Bayern?s method of grooming young talents. Actually, German football was driven by the failures in the recent past. Germany were very consistent both at international and club levels?reaching World Cup and Euro semi-finals and the Bundesliga clubs performing creditably in the Champions League. But for a country with such football pedigree and rich heritage, they haven?t won anything significant of late. Bayern lost twice in the European Cup finals in the past four years…The Germans don?t take failures lightly.
Heynckes urged his players to be a real team. Superstars, like Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery, were categorically told that they had to contribute more and adapt to the German work ethic and team discipline. Both Robben and Ribery were seen regularly track back and help their defenders this season.
Unlike Pep Guardiola?s ?tiki-taka? or Rinus Michels?s ?total football?, Heynckes? Bayern are not presenting anything new. But they have taken the team effort to a new level with the players moving like greased lightning box-to-box.
Bayern would be more powerful next season with Gotze making a switch from Dortmund. Heynckes will walk into a golden sunset, albeit reluctantly, and Guardiola will take over. But it would be a challenge for him to emulate his predecessor?s achievements and go beyond. Sports work in cycles and it is only natural that Barcelona are fading away after five seasons of breathtaking football. Yes, they were depleted, having lost the likes of Messi, Carles Puyol and Javier Mascherano to injuries and Sergio Busquets to suspension in the Champions League semi-final. But Barcelona need rebuilding, especially in goal and defence. The world-class academy that they have will ensure a steady supply of talent, but the Catalans have become a little too predictable and need to change their style.
Tito Vilanova has a tough task ahead. More importantly, is he the right man for the job? The club management will have to address the issue sooner rather than later. With Barcelona, Spanish football, too, marched into uncharted territories internationally. Their success story started with the 2008 Euro, when Spain eventually shed their underachievers tag. They won a World Cup and another Euro in the next four years. The 2014 World Cup, however, is going to be very interesting. Germany haven?t won the World Cup after 1990. No German club has won the Champions League since 2001. Bayern or Dortmund will break that jinx this time. It is expected that the success in club football will trickle down to the national team as well. This is the golden generation of German football and they are ready to rule. The power shift will be complete if Germany go the distance in Brazil.