FC Bayern will no longer be that vulnerable

Kimmich lifts the bowl because BVB missed a historic opportunity.

IMAGO/kolbert-press

The most emotional championship was his first in 2010, but this was certainly the craziest, said Thomas Müller at the end of a rollercoaster ride of emotions and with his twelfth cup in the vita. An afternoon that started excitingly and ended dramatically, including a big bang at board level with the record champions.

Müller, Kimmich, Ulreich and Stanisic with fire

Müller and coach Thomas Tuchel compared their Bayern Munich team’s 95 minutes in Cologne with the entire course of the season. Started well, slowed down a lot, somehow muddled through. At half time they were suddenly champions again because Kinglsey Coman had given the lead early and Mainz led 2-0 in Dortmund. With the 1-0 in the back, however, Munich fell back into the sloppiness they had been used to for weeks, made a lot of mistakes and didn’t look like a team that really wanted the title. Okay, Müller and Joshua Kimmich as exceptions, plus Sven Ulreich and Josip Stanisic on the bench, who were very excited, as Cologne’s managing director Christian Keller remarked after the game.

Bayern got the well-deserved reward after a clumsy, unnecessary handball from Serge Gnabry in the form of the tenth penalty against them this season, typical. The team no longer seemed capable of reacting, Leroy Sané negligently missed the 2-1. But seconds later, emotions exploded after a fine individual performance by Jamal Musiala, the shot into champion’s luck.

Ironically, the form-seeking gifted

Ironically, the highly gifted, who recently struggled with his form, which is why Tuchel took him out of the starting XI. Although he wanted to have his footballer up his sleeve as a joker, as he noted. Everything done right. The irony: Bayern celebrated more exuberantly than in some championships that were bagged early. After a season that, despite all the joy, Tuchel did not classify as satisfactory. That says a lot about the quality of the Bundesliga, and this historic afternoon shouldn’t gloss over that. The Munich team didn’t weaken like they had since 2010/11, but it was enough again. He will not apologize for that, said Müller, nor do he and his FCB have to.

Bayern have often gotten up after bad weather, can BVB do the same? Who knows when there will be another chance to finish in front of the series champion? Tuchel was already looking ahead an hour after the title and was full of energy for improvements in the Bayern game.

Oliver Kahn and Hasan Salihamidzic were already history in the middle of the celebration, the club is reorganizing itself at board level. Also unique, this double dismissal, which burst in the middle of the title turbulence thanks to a kicker exclusive message. The team only found out about this in the dressing room, before they had stood guard with Cologne’s Jonas Hector and Timo Horn, who had left with a good mood.

Soccer heart, what more do you want?

The Bundesliga experienced an afternoon that it needed for its image. Objective soccer heart, what more do you want? Drama for the cup, for fourth place in the Champions League, in the relegation battle, where the big Schalke have to go back to second division after just one season and VfB Stuttgart have to go into relegation.

The fact that Bayern cheered again in the end can only be attributed to BVB and is almost unforgivable from a neutral point of view. The Vice now has to live with the loser image. At Bayern, on the other hand, the future began with the final whistle. One suspects that they will not make it as easy for their competitors as it was in 2022/23.