Three Reasons Why FC Bayern Munich Slipped into Crisis

The Allianz Arena of FC Bayern Munich in Munich, Bavaria

Football is a game that attracts passionate fans all over the world and few teams have inspired as much passion as FC Bayern Munich. The German football club has a storied history and, since the turn of the millenium, has been arguably the third most successful and powerful club in the world after Real Madrid and FC Barcelona. However, in recent years, the club has experienced a crisis that has left many fans wondering what has gone wrong.

The trend accelerated this year after FC Bayern Munich put in inconsistent performances in the Bundesliga, endangering the championship for the first time in 10 years, and sacked coach Julian Nagelsmann despite still being represented in all major competitions, including the Champions League. Things have changed since then. Successor Tomas Tuchel has been knocked out of the Champions League and DFB Pokal and lost the top spot in the Bundesliga to arch-rivals Dortmund. Since he took over the team, he has a record of 2 wins, 2 draws, and 3 defeats. Now, more uncomfortable questions are being asked, including that of a replacement of club boss Oliver Kahn who only recently succeeded club legend Karl-Heinz Rummenigge in 2021.

The reasons for FC Bayern Munich’s decline are multifold and its top management plays the main role. In this article, we will explore the root causes that have led to the current mysery.

1. An unbalanced squad with vacant key positions

Since the departures of David Alaba, Thiago Alcantara, and most recently star striker Robert Lewandowski, Bayern’s squad has been severely weakened. Bayern could only adequately replace Alaba with Matthijs de Ligt. Bayern has spent more money than ever before, buying players that they don’t need. They have too many defenders of varying quality and too many wingers who are expensive but lack the quality that Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery once had.

The missing playmaker

Bayern Munich desperately misses a playmaker that acts as the leader, brain, and heart of the team. Someone who can control the game and make the decisive pass to break the opponent’s defensive lines. Real Madrid has Toni Kroos and Luka Modric, Manchester City has Kevin de Bruyne and Ilkay Gündogan, Barcelona has Frenkie de Jong. Bayern used to have Thiago Alcantara. Now, they have nobody. Joshua Kimmich is a very good player but he is not that playmaker. Neither is he a strong leader nor is he the kind of intelligent player who can control the game for a team of the calibre of Bayern Munich. Kimmich is the biggest misunderstanding of modern German football. Resultingly, Bayern urgently needs to find a replacement for Thiago. One potential candidate who could be available is Frenkie de Jong in case Barcelona wants to get rid of him for financial reasons. If you are willing to pay a €20 million salary for Sadio Mane, you should do the same for De Jong who is a player Bayern actually needs.

The missing striker

Everybody has been talking about the vacant striker position at FC Bayern. In their home game against Manchester City, Bayern had an expected goal stat of ~3 but scored only once per penalty. A strong box player is missing. The experiment to play without a traditional striker clearly failed. Sadio Mane may have been a world class player, but he is not a classic number 9 and he seems past his prime. Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting is not a world class player and often injured. Football is an easy game. You need a goalkeeper, defenders, midfielders, and most importantly a striker. Only when you score goals do you win football matches. Bayern forgot to get a striker. The difficulty is that there is only a limited supply of good enough strikers that Bayern can afford. The management missed its chance last year when many strikers were available at much cheaper prices. The best candidate is Victor Osimhen. However, at a rumored €150 million price tag, he is too expensive. Harry Kane is too old and expensive. A gamble could be recently fallen from grace Romelu Lukaku. The most likely candidate is Randal Kolo Muani from Eintracht Frankfurt.

2. Weak leadership

Bayern’s top management with Oliver Kahn and Hasan Salihamidzic is not up to the task. Herbert Hainer is a strong business manager but he is not a football expert who can lead FC Bayern on his own. He lacks the charisma Bayern Munich needs.

Oliver Kahn is not a top manager and lost his spark

Oliver Kahn has only very limited experience as a business manager. He studied Business and Management via remote courses at relatively unknown universities. Besides that, his pratical experience in leading companies before becoming CEO of Bayern Munich is practically non-existent and it shows. Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and particularly Uli Hoeneß had time to learn on the job as Bayern Munich was still a smaller club at the time. Oliver Kahn does not have that time. As a player, Oliver Kahn was commonly referred to as "The Titan" because of his irrepressible will to win. As a CEO, there is nothing left of this character trait. He seems tired and his speeches are characterless without any significance. This is doubly unfortunate and a big misunderstanding, as the supervisory board brought him in precisely because of his ability as a player not to mince words. Lastly, Kahn doesn’t seem particularly interested in getting his hands dirty and working hands-on at FC Bayern. He comes across as aloof and unapproachable to employees as recent newspaper stories indicate. However, Bayern Munich urgently needs a leader who dives into the details, works on operations, and leads by example instead of thinking high-level only.

Hasan Salihamidzic needs guidance

Salihamidzic is a dealmaker. He has engineered deals that previously seemed impossible at Bayern such as the signing of Matthijs de Ligt and Sadio Mane. His good contacts to other clubs and key stakeholders have helped Bayern to get deals done. However, Salihamidzic needs guidance on who to buy and what the long-term plan is. Oliver Kahn, along with the coach, should be that advisor. However, since Oliver Kahn is rather removed from day-to-day operations, a balancing force is missing. The coach alone has not enough power to counterbalance Salihamidzic.

3. No long-term vision and a lost culture

Due to the weak leadership, Bayern has lost its vision and culture that once made it so strong and set it apart from investor clubs. The famous “Mia san Mia” no longer exists. There is an ongoing debate over what Mia san Mia exactly represents. That debate will now gain renewed importance in the crisis. What is clear though is that Bayern Munich has always stood for the unconditional will to win together as a team and family. This feeling has been lost if recent discussions are to be believed. The importance of a strong culture and clear vision for a club is demonstrated by the failure of mega-star teams like Paris Gaint-Germain.

What’s next?

Bayern Munich must now quickly bring calm to the club and clarify the above 3 points. It cannot be that the club continues to frequently change key positions. The fluctuation is already too high and brings further unrest. However, a final change, this time at the top of the club's management, may be necessary to turn things around.