Dark cloud hangs over Bayern

By Manfred Christoph

Germany's biggest club ended last season without a trophy. Second to Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga, FC Bayern München's UEFA Champions League expedition ended with a 2-1 aggregate defeat against Real Madrid CF, and they were denied a place in the German Cup semi-finals by tiny TSV Alemannia Aachen.

Pressure on
The head of the club's board of directors, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, was keen not to raise the pressure on his players, but it was clear that he expected better of the team under new coach Felix Magath this season. "I hope that we will be ranked one place better in the table than last season," he said.

Winning intentions
Magath seemed to be in tune with Rummenigge, saying: "I came to Bayern to win the championship. Bayern can demand this from their coach." However, while the former VfB Stuttgart coach has rung the changes since taking over from Ottmar Hitzfeld, things have not been going as smoothly as hoped for.

First step
The 51-year-old Magath forged Stuttgart into a top European side last season, and was keen to do the same with Bayern. The first step was to shore up a defence which conceded 39 goals last term compared to 25 in the previous two Bundesliga campaign.

New arrivals
Lucio duly arrived from Bayer 04 Leverkusen for €12m, while Andreas Görlitz signed from relegated TSV 1860 München for €2.5m to challenge the club's wing-backs. Meanwhile, a perceived lack of quality in midfield was addressed with the €9m signing of BV Borussia Dortmund's German international Torsten Frings.

Deisler recovered
Up front, the slightly jaded-looking partnership of Roque Santa Cruz and Claudio Pizarro were offered additional competition by the arrival of Iranian international Vahid Hashemian, signed last season from VfL Wolfsburg, while Sebastian Deisler's recovery from depression gave Bayern another midfield option.

Drab run
However, a 2-0 win in their opening Bundesliga game at Hamburg proved to be a false dawn for the new-look Bayern. It was followed by a poor 1-1 home draw against Hertha BSC Berlin, a dismal 4-1 defeat at Leverkusen and most recently, an unconvincing 1-0 win against injury-ravaged DSC Arminia Bielefeld.

Fans unhappy
"The result was the only positive thing," said Magath after that game, his first home win. "But 1-0 is not enough." Sluggish in bringing the ball forward and timid and uninspired in attack, Magath agreed with the crowd's assessment, saying: "The boos and the whistles of the crowd were justified."

Competitive group
The coach's job now is to silence the boos as Bayern head into Europe - a stage upon which they have failed to live up to expectations in the last two years. A first game at Maccabi Tel-Aviv FC on Wednesday precedes meetings with AFC Ajax and Juventus FC in a competitive Group C.

Injury problems
Without Santa Cruz and injury victims Alexander Zickler, Paolo Guerrero and Mehmet Scholl, their first game looks awkward for a team who failed to progress beyond the first group stage in 2002/03, and then lost against Madrid in the knockout stage last season. Magath bowed out of the last 16 with Stuttgart last season, too. If Bayern struggle again in Europe - and maintain their underwhelming form in the Bundesliga - it could spell a difficult winter for their new coach.