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The two winners of the World Cup have contributed immensely to the terrible defensive record of Munich this season and more and more pressing calls have been made for them to be abandoned.
The change of regime at Bayern Munich is not going well. The work of Niko Kovac is threatened only months after succeeding Jupp Heynckes, triple winner of the title.
President Uli Hoeness has asked Heynckes to remain at the helm of Bayern this season, but the coach has instead opted for retirement. The veteran has already led Bayern four times – the latest being a bailout after Carlo Ancelotti's term ended prematurely – and he could answer the phone for the fifth time in the next few weeks.
Bayern is again in free fall; the stability that Heynckes gave the club to win his sixth consecutive Bundesliga title has disappeared. They languish in fifth place in the Bundesliga and are already nine points behind leaders Borussia Dortmund.
They lost the Klassiker before the international break and their bad form continued this weekend with a 3-3 draw at home against Fortuna Dusseldorf, which had to look like a loss with equalizer in the 93rd minute.
Kovac may be the first victim of the Bayern crisis, but in reality it is a decaying team. The core of the team remains the same as in 2013, when they won the Champions League under Heynckes. If a week is long in football, how long is five years?
The continued presence of Manuel Neuer, Jerome Boateng, David Alaba, Javi Martinez, Arjen Robben, Franck Ribery and Thomas Muller is testament to the club's constancy, but now is the time to ask if -any of them are passed. sell-by date.
The winners of the German Football World Cup, Neuer and Boateng, have been in bad shape for Bayern in recent weeks. There are legitimate questions now as to whether they will one day find their best potential.
Neuer has long been considered the best goalkeeper in the world, but the force field that seemed to cover him has disappeared. Neuer conceded 14 remarkable goals on his last 17 shots. It's not only bad; It's Claudio Bravo bad.
In terms of goals conceded, this is Neuer's worst performance since becoming a Bayern player. He has not been able to keep a clean sheet in each of his last eight games, a record unwelcome for the last time in 2010-11, while Neuer was still in Schalke.
Bayern have not seen such a series of goals conceded since 2000. In addition, this is the first time since 1994 that they have played four matches in the Bundesliga without a win. Neuer is a problem but it is not the only problem.
"Manuel is not as stable this season because the defense is not so stable," said Fortuna coach Friedhelm Funkel. Sky the Saturday. "He is still our best goalkeeper in Germany. He can not do anything about goals.
"But in a good phase, he might have saved one or two, because he would play a little better, and people now know it too." Bayern conceded 17 goals in just 12 games. made after 34 games! "
Düsseldorf should be the type of game that Bayern wins easily, especially from 3-1. But they are very vulnerable right now and that comes out of their defense issues.
We can not count on Neuer as he once was, but Bayern is so sweet in the center of his defense. There is little goalkeeper to do, given the quality of chances that have been abandoned by Boateng, fellow world champion Mats Hummels and Niklas Sule in the middle of the field.
Boateng might have helped Muller on Saturday, but his defensive work was disastrous. He turned his back to the cross, allowing Dodi Lukebakio to score from close range. His contribution to second place Fortuna was deplorable.
"When I saw how Boateng had tried to play the trap of the second goal, my dear, it was alarming," Funkel said.
"No coach in the world can make Boateng play the offside trap just because he's too lazy to run after his man. He takes two steps forward and wants to come out of a race with Lukebakio. This should not happen with a player of this class. "
Both Neuer and Boateng have suffered serious injuries over the past two seasons and far exceed their world-class standards. Neuer's metatarsal injury towards the end of 2017 prevented him from staying for most of the year, while many injuries to his thigh and hamstrings seem to have caught up with Boateng.
Indeed, discussions took place this summer on the departure of Boateng club to Manchester United or Paris Saint-Germain, but it remains in the boxes. But for how much longer?
Neuer has a competent deputy to Sven Ulreich – even though he made a mistake in the Champions League semifinal last season – and some Bayern supporters are asking for his inclusion.
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And if Bayern had a bigger talent pool in the defense center, Boateng would probably be out of the line of sight. But Sule and Hummels are also struggling and this is an area that needs radical reconstruction in a transfer niche.
In this regard, Kovac pays the price of Bayern's negligence during the summer transfer window. It's a team that has clearly had holes due to its failure in the Champions League against Real last season but where major changes were needed, only adjustments were made.
Loyalty is an admirable quality, but someone must master the situation and recognize that this club and these players are no longer what they were.
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