Bayern Munich deserve more praise for domestic double than it will get

Bayern Munich should receive much more credit and praise for its Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal domestic double.

As the whistle blew for the final time in the season, Bayern Munich celebrated after a tiring campaign as they defeated Bayer Leverkusen to win yet another DFB-Pokal title. Coupled with its Bundesliga win from last month, the victory clinched them its sixth domestic double in the last 10 years.

While the team hoisted up the cup trophy, there was a glimmering anti-climactic feeling. Sure, any cup tournament win is to be appreciated and marveled at not only by the team’s fan base but from other clubs as well. But for many of Bayern’s prized talents like Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Muller, it was just another trophy to add to an already stout resume.

In the big picture, the empty Olympiastadion somewhat personified the current state of what many now view of Bayern’s recent domination in Germany.

Bayern Munich’s rise to its complete control of German soccer

As of late, Bayern has run the table like no other team in German football history. They recently extended its Bundesliga record with an eighth straight league title. Over the second half of the season, no team poses any kind of a challenge to them — a microcosm of what the league has now become. And with this season’s DFB-Pokal tournament, Bayern were the clear favorites throughout, and they played like it after only trailing for a total of four minutes over the knockout stage.

This has led many to undermine Bayern’s historic domination by looking down on their accomplishments and often labeling the Bundesliga as a “farmers league.” The recent narrative on the club has revolved around how its achievements are essentially not deserving of high praise. It is why after the team clinched the league last month, much of the outside reaction was shallow, empty and filled with disinterest for what many presume would happen before the season kicked off.

But this season was far from the team’s previous over the past decade. While they ended up taking home another domestic double, it did not become an effortless run even by the team’s own high standards. It is why the team deserves far more credit for pulling off what was seen as an unlikely feat back in November.

As what now feels like long ago, Bayern was a team in disarray over the first half of the league campaign, which opposing rivals enjoyed watching from afar. For a team that casually stays away from drama and off-field controversy, Bayern was the talk of the town for all of the wrong reasons. Now former manager Niko Kovac had a fall out with the team and the squad played far from being a cohesive unit.

Around the time that the board sacked Kovac, it felt as if Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig were the clear frontrunners to finally dethrone Bayern’s reign.

But new manager Hans-Dieter Flick turned the tide for Bayern and led them from seventh place in the Bundesliga after matchday 14 to the top of the table by season’s end.

It is difficult to pinpoint one exact reason for the turnaround under Flick because Bayern just seemed to click on all cylinders, especially with some of the team leaders. Robert Lewandowski continued his streaky run as a prolific goal-scorer thanks to his movement in the box and sheer ball control while there. Thomas Muller reverted back to a familiar role as a space-exploiter in the final third and made the most of his key passes into the box.

And Thiago Alcantara continued to play a vital role in the team’s progression up the field; he topped out on a career-high 0.86 xGBuildup90 in league play.

What makes this particular run special is how they coped with depth concerns. While injuries and underperformances from players did not faze them in years past because of its deep roster, this season turned out to be an anomaly for Bayern. From the backline with Niklas Sule to its attacking unit with Philippe Coutinho, long-term injuries forced the team’s hand and placed Flick at a difficult position to wiggle out of.

Still, Bayern faced adversity and dealt with it like any other well-run team would do so.

Most notably, Flick worked around with different combinations for his four at the back and played a couple of players in different positions. For instance, Flick picked up where Kovac left off and continued to use the speedy Alphonso Davies as his left-back — and it worked for the benefit of the club. Davies showed off his closing speed out on the flanks and gradually made stark improvements with positioning in the final third. Other talents like David Alaba and Joshua Kimmich showed off their versatility for Flick and opted to play multiple positions in order to alleviate the pressure off of him.

Flick also effectively incorporated the new additions and seemingly made the team forget that they had lost a couple of integral players in last year’s transfer window. Aside from Lucas Hernandez and his injury-riddled campaign, each new arrival played a key role in the team’s turnaround. Benjamin Pavard proved his worth by providing playing time as both a center-back and left-back. Loanees Philippe Coutinho and Ivan Perisic each faced injuries over the season but still provided quality stints while playing in the team’s balanced 4-2-3-1 setup. And for a team who had lost club legend Arjen Robben following his (temporary) retirement, Serge Gnabry stringed together a career-high 25 goal contributions in both league and cup play.

One can not overlook how well they pressed as a unit following Flick’s arrival as manager. Under Kovac, Bayern still pressed like a competent squad from the middle blocks to up high in the opponent’s defensive third; they logged an 8.56 PPDA in 10 league games. Once Flick took over, Bayern bolstered its pressing efficiency by posting a league-high 7.55 PPDA in 24 games under his guidance. Bayern simply overwhelmed opponents by pushing up high and providing immediate pressure on the opponent’s ball carrier.

Regardless of which perspective one would prefer to view Bayern’s season, it was a year that did not mirror the previous lackluster domestic double title runs. The plethora of young talents from Dortmund and Leipzig made the early portion of the Bundesliga a captivating one to follow, but Bayern’s ability to overcome internal issues led to a 100-goal league campaign and a coveted domestic double. While the 2015–2016 season under Pep Guardiola takes the crown as the most prolific side of Bayern’s eight straight league titles, this season’s run can be argued that it surely is the most impressive one.

Only time will tell on just how historic Bayern’s season and overall Bundesliga monopoly will be viewed upon down the road. Will fans appreciate the team’s organized and high-octane play, or will they add an asterisk due to the grand financial disparity between them and the rest of the league?

Bayern can surely silence critics if they can wind up making this season a treble-winning campaign.