Home > Football > Luca Toni and Franck Ribery in, Oliver Kahn out: The re-building of Bayern Munich

Luca Toni and Franck Ribery in, Oliver Kahn out: The re-building of Bayern Munich

The German giants have had a poor season, and Fiorentina striker Toni is already at the bottom of what will become a very full trolley this summer.

by Nick Latus on 31 May 2007

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Franck Ribery: Is he heading for Munich? (Gettyimages.com)

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Early reports would have football fans believing that Liverpool are about to become the most active buyers in the world in the coming weeks. Depending on which publication you read, the likes of Samuel Eto'o, Daniel Alves and David Silva are going to be putting pen to paper as Rafa Benitez realises he hasn't had anything close to a squad that can realistically compete for a league title and in multiple cup competitions.

But if you think a third-place finish in the Premiership and a runners-up medal in the Champions League is cause for panic, just imagine what is transpiring at German club Bayern Munich right now. For the first time in 14 years, Bayern have missed out on qualifying for the Champions League and will be playing UEFA Cup football next term.

To suggest that the German giants - known as FC Hollywood - are going to be active and competitive in the transfer market is an understatement. Look no further than the recent acquisition of Italian forward Luca Toni for a cool 11 million euros. When Toni wasn't busy flopping on the ground or crying to the officials, he managed to put in 49 goals in the past two seasons for Fiorentina in Serie A.

For the second season running Toni had been linked with moves to big clubs all over the world. Inter Milan and AC Milan would have welcomed the 30-year-old with open arms and he would not have had to adapt to a new language or culture. This says that Bayern Munich made the case to him that they are building a squad that will not just compete in Germany but will once again be feared across the continent.

Coming in to this season they could boast being repeat winners of the Bundesliga and the German Cup. Finishing this season a distant fourth place says two things:

1. Lukas Podolski was a terrible disappointment in his first season. How disappointing? The young striker collected just four goals during the season. This is just not going to get the job done in a league as competitive and high scoring as the Bundesliga. Podolski will now have to fight for playing time and work to add to his paltry goal tally in order to meet expectations.

2. Bayern Munich are about to be just as active as anyone on the transfer market. Look at the activity of the club thus far: Hamit Altintop, Jan Schlaudraff, Jose Ernesto Sosa and Marcell Jansen have all agreed to terms. Not impressed because none of these are big-name signings? Then you clearly don't understand how the Bundesliga played out this season. Frankfurt and Schalke battled it out until the final week of the season and none of them have world renowned stars suiting up. Instead, they are squads that are efficient, technically sound and the players work hard for one another.

FC Hollywood should be a thing of the past if Bayern Munich wish to regain the Bundesliga title. Egos should be ushered out the door immediately or slowly transititioned out. This means Roy Makaay, Claudio Pizarro and Marc Van Bommel should be moved. And I would go so far as to say Oliver Kahn's time at the club should come to an end after next season. The legendary goalkeeper will want to be part of (and take credit for) any success experienced next season, but he is not part of a long-term plan which is exactly what the club needs right now.

The prestige that comes with pulling on the shirt has not faded in the slightest bit, but that danger does loom on the horizon if young players do not see a forward-looking front office that is building something that goes beyond the immediate future. Suddenly the likes of Werder Bremen, Frankfurt, Schalke and Bayer Leverkusen could become just as attractive destinations for talent that would have in the past not thought twice about signing for Bayern.

Additional reports are stating that Franck Ribery has signed with the club as well. The Frenchman who made a name for himself, coincidentally, at the World Cup in Germany in 2006 looks to be the next significant signing. Still not impressed? Don't worry as I have a feeling the club is far from finished this off season.

Comments (13)

by John on May 31, 2007

Vfb Stuttgart not Frankfurt mate...

by Nick on May 31, 2007

I was writing it while chatting to a pal in Frankfurt and had Frankfurt on the brain.

by macleoud on May 31, 2007

I agree on most of what you have mentioned, but i need to give my opinion about one of the things that i didnt agree on, Oliver Kahn is not done yet, and you will be impressed next year, and the Bayern management will beg him to stay one additional year, and he will impress in the champions league for one last time, and retire at 40. Oliver kahn, can still impress, and he will. If Rensing cannot wait, then Rensing will leave, and Bayern will then sign Adler or Neuer when Kahn retires. Hopefully then someone like Effenberg will appear, we need a german playmaker with "balls" I swear if you just watch an old game of Bayern in the champions league, when the likes of Effenberg and Basler were playing, you would see that this is where we are supposed to be heading. Buying new players to do an overhaul is quite the right thing to do now, but Ottmar has in the back of his mind a search for a new Effenberg, and he has to be GERMAN.

by jadger on May 31, 2007

ummm, Kahn is already retiring next season, so no need to get rid of him, van Bommel was probably our best player last season, Pizarro already said he is looking to leave. you are on the ball arent u? suggesting things should be done, but are already a done deal "FC Hollywood" is archaic, no one seriously uses it anymore. The only thing you got right is that you don't like Italians.

by Nick on May 31, 2007

I got 99% of the article correct. Including the point about Podolski being a waste of space. .5% I got incorrect by not stating Van Bommel was one of the worst players on the squad, and the .5% was meaning to write Stuttgart when I wrote Frankfurt. Everything else was perfect. "Looking to leave" is different than "a done deal." I haven't read an article saying Pizarro is definitely gone.

by dion on June 01, 2007

Bayern thought it would last forever. It truly doesn't matter who they buy next season. It will take a good 12 games (more than a third of the season) to integrate Toni and Ribery while Makaay and van Bommel get limited playing time. Neither one can handle that. Hargreaves, Pizarro, Santa Cruz, Salihamidcic, Sagnol will all be gone. Podolski is not the first fine talent that Bayern destroyed. He needs playing time to flourish and not to be two platooned. When he does play, how many passes will he receive from Toni and Ribery. Kahn is a discordant factor. I'm certain Bayern will continue to make off the field headlines and end up fifth or sixth, after dropping out of the UEFA Cup. Hitzfeld's days are numbered. Altintop and Schlaudraff will rot on the bench, Sosa is another untested youngster that they won't be able to handle. The only true acquisition who will play regularly is Marcel Jansen, a brilliant offensive midfielder. A player who dearly loves the game and put every ounce of his abiliti

by macleoud on June 01, 2007

1- Altintop is a very important winger, he is there to replace salihamidzic, and everyone knows what quality of a footballer he is. 2- de Sousa is a young talent that caught Bayern's attention and impressed the scouts, Bayern arent building a team around him, he will be given a chance to prove himself or be loaned out. 3-Podolski's dip in form is normal as the whole team had a certain dip in form this season, and when the whole team goes down, even stars suffer. For example: robinho with R. Madrid, ronaldo, beckham, they were playing horribly when their team was not performing well, luckily as madrid's hopes of winning the spanish title became stronger, the moral boost lifted the players and the stars are performing again. Podolski is a young talent, german players take a while to shine it's a fact...(they discovered bierhoff when he was 28!) 3- Bayern will be winning the bundesliga from now until the dinosaurs return, Bayern never spend 1/4 as what they will be spending this summer or up until now. They

by Fahim on June 01, 2007

I want Thierry Henry in FC Barcelona next season because that is what they need to win everything. Thanks

by jenn on June 02, 2007

i hear that ze roberto who previously played for bayern and now plays for a club in south america will be done with his contract this summer... i think he would do well returning to the Bayern squad :)

by the big h on June 04, 2007

real madrid is the best and they are going to win the liga and p.s Bayern Munich suck as bad as germany(barcelona sucks)

by the big h on June 04, 2007

fuck u barcelona sux's go real madrid

by Inselaffe on June 07, 2007

One of the most complete team rebuilds continues unabated at Bayern Munich with the purchase of French midfielder Franck Ribery. Having no succeeded in achieving Champions league football, they have used the experience positively and taken the opportunity to gut this under-achieving leviathan. The malaise was alreasy there within the team for the last three seasons, and the often won titles despite their problems, this papered over the negative issues and was asking for trouble. Their performances this season are the result of poor team management over the last three seasons. Players such as Schweinsteiger and Podolski believed their own hype and were of the opinion that merely turning up was sufficient. I hope that they use the close season and their time away injured to reflect on their own aspirations and what will be required for 2007/8. I still believe Podolski was a good purchase despite his meagre haul of 4 goals. His proneness to injury may mask something more sinister and hopefully he will begin t

by Ben on June 08, 2007

With Toni, Ribery and Jansen, Bayern has made three excellent deals. Epspecially Jansen will give Lahm and Sagnol a hard time. It is probably no exegeration to say that Bayern has one of the best defences all over Europe. With the signing of Ribery and Toni (and maybe Klose), Bayern has extremly pushed it's quality in offence. I just wished that they would have also been able to sign Robben or Quaresma. What a magical midfield that would have been....