Sports / Feature and Column |
Bayern ditch Magath's law of minimum spectacle(Reuters)Updated: 2007-02-01 09:26 BERLIN, Jan 31 - In two-and-a-half years as Bayern Munich coach Felix Magath won two consecutive league and cup doubles, re-establishing the club as Germany's most efficient title-winning machine. His sacking on Wednesday, followed by the reappointment of former trainer Ottmar Hitzfeld, demonstrated that Bayern remain as ruthless in the boardroom as they are on the pitch. "It was not a pleasant day, as you can imagine," Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said at a news conference. "But these are things that you have to do for the best of the club." Bayern's two poor performances since the resumption of the Bundesliga, a 3-2 defeat by Borussia Dortmund and a goalless draw with Bochum, left them dangling in fourth place, in danger of missing out on a Champions League spot for next season. German media portrayed the change as an act of panic but the decision to bring back Hitzfeld was not just a knee-jerk reaction to an unusually low league position. The move is recognition by the club that winning by the rule of minimum possible spectacle is no long-term strategy, especially when there is a new 70,000 stadium to fill. A large chunk of the capacity crowd at the Allianz Arena whistled the players off the field on Tuesday after Bayern had once again spent much of the Bochum game passing the ball around aimlessly. Captain and goalkeeper Oliver Kahn backed their reaction. "It's absolutely normal for fans to whistle after a match like that," Kahn told reporters. "They should be expecting a clear win from a fixture like this." DRESSING-ROOM DISCIPLINE When Hitzfeld was forced out in 2004, Magath was asked to restore order in the dressing room and re-establish Bayern as the top team in Germany, after Werder Bremen had done the double in 2003/04. Magath, the former Hamburg forward and son of a Puerto Rican U.S. soldier, had no trouble bringing back discipline but under his guidance the team hardly ever did anything as extravagant as play entertaining football. When results were going well Bayern were prepared to put up with uninspiring performances. Since the departure of Michael Ballack at the end of last season there have been too many defeats -- five already in the league this term -- and no improvement in the style of play. "What's important is that we quickly get back on track and get better times and hopefully play better football," Rummenigge said. It is unlikely that Hitzfeld will be able to inspire an immediate change of style, but he will hope to see more from talented youngsters like Bastian Schweinsteiger, Lukas Podolski and Philipp Lahm. Hitzfeld joined Bayern in 1998 after winning two German titles and the Champions League with Borussia Dortmund. He guided Bayern to another European Cup win in 2001, as well as four more Bundesliga titles and two German Cups. That track record was enough to earn him another shot after his final season ended in disappointment, and he will be on the bench for the club's next game at Nuremberg on Friday. "It's important that we get back to our winning ways and we're confident that Ottmar Hitzfeld will do that for us," Rummenigge said. Winning would be a start, but the coaching switch will only be judged a success if the whistling stops as well.
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