Bayern can come Klose to UEFA Cup glory

Europa League / Alsy / 20 September 2007 / Leave a Comment

Sports journalist Alister Morgan looks at why Bayern are the team that noone wants to play in the UEFA Cup

Watching Champions League highlights this week it's clear that a few interesting changes had occurred this season. Chelski's special players failed to beat Rosenborg and lost the 'special one' in the process. Cristiano Ronaldo was cheered by two sets of fans and, most striking of all, Bayern Munich was nowhere to bee seen in the competition.

The perennial Bundesliga champions stumbled badly last season finishing a poor fourth behind champions VFB Stuttgart, FC Schalke 04 and Werder Bremen. Ten points off the summit at the end of the season, Bayern will take little comfort in a close finish between the top four - this is a team used to domestic dominance. Even the top leagues in Scotland and Turkey can manage a two-horse race but Bayern, (Bundesliga champions in the previous two years), expect to win everything at home and reach at least the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

It's fair to say that they plan to return to Europe's top table as soon as possible as the club, not renowned for extravagance in the transfer market, smashed previous records and their existing wage structure to bring in new talent. Usually Bayern buy heavily in the domestic market poaching the best talent from across the Bundesliga but this year they poured millions of Euros around the world.
They poached one of the best young defenders in Germany when persuading Marcell Jansen to switch from Borussia Monchengladbach while Miroslav Klose's switch from Werder Bremen gives Bayern Germany's best striker.

They've also signed talented Argentinean midfielder Jose Ernesto Sosa from Estudiantes as well as securing the more robust talents of Mark van Bommel from Barcelona. It's worked well and Bayern have enjoyed an excellent start to the new season. After five games they top the league scoring an impressive 12 goals and conceding a miserly two.

Bayern are just (1.33) to win Bundesliga 1, miles ahead of nearest rivals Werder Bremen (18) Schalke 04 (12) and Stuttgart (27). All the talk in Germany revolves around the exciting play of Hitzfeld's team and their new imports. Two more players joined Bayern after turning down offers from around Europe. Luca Toni switched from Fiorentina at a cost of €18 million (£12.5m) and has already bagged three goals while his strike partner Klose has four.

Outshining even these strikers is a player who many assumed would be playing at the Emirates stadium this season - Franck Ribéry. Switching from Olympic Marseille, the France winger has won the first Bundesliga Player of the Month and is the toast of German football after a series of superb displays.
Bayern have a stunning array of firepower but it's hard to gauge their true strength against Europe's best until they rejoin the Champions League circus next season. They certainly have enough strength to dominate domestically and sail through the early rounds of the Uefa Cup.
There's little value to be had betting against Bayern in the early stages of this competition but (4.8) to win looks very tempting ahead of main rivals Tottenham (13) and Athletico Madrid (17.5) although Everton are criminally under-priced at (26).

In truth Bayern look almost too classy for the Uefa Cup this year. Schalke 04, Bremen and Stuttgart all lost their opening Champions League matches and the irony is that Bayern's main domestic rivals will struggle to make an impact in the Champions League using up valuable resources needed to fend of rivals at home in the Bundesliga.

If you're looking for a German team to back in Europe then ignore the Champions League and back Bayern in the Uefa Cup. They have the squad and the pedigree to handle strong teams at home and weakened opponents abroad with Chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge promising even more signings in January.