Bayern Munich directors must be feeling very uncomfortable at the moment. Their team are sixth in the Bundesliga and almost out of the Champions League.

So far their chosen successor to Juergen Klinsmann, who was sacked a few weeks before the end of last season for failing to secure any silverware, has had a worse run than the former striker.

Louis van Gaal, handpicked for what Bayern said was his discipline and teaching skills, was supposed to make everything good again after the Klinsmann experiment.

The Dutchman also got a roster boosted by more than 70 million euros worth of new signings including record Bundesliga transfer Mario Gomez, Croat striker Ivica Olic, Dutch midfielder Arjen Robben and Russian defensive midfielder Anatolyi Tymoshchuk as well as Croatia international Danijel Pranjic and Dutch defender Edson Braafheid.

Throw in 20-year-old Thomas Mueller’s superb current form and you have arguably a much stronger side. Klinsmann was begging for players but both Tymoshchuk and Olic, who were signed in December, joined in the summer.

Despite all this, Klinsmann still comes out on top on a head-to-head after 11 league matches played. Under him Bayern were in third place on 21 points with six wins, three draws and two defeats, with 25 goals for and 17 against.

Van Gaal’s Bayern are in sixth place after 11 matches on 19 points, with five wins, four draws, and two defeats. Goals are 17-9. So Klinsmann’s Bayern may have been conceding more goals but they also scored eight more in 11 matches. Without Gomez.

By this stage Bayern were already through to the next round of the Champions League under Klinsmann, all but out under van Gaal.

PHOTO: Bayern Munich’s coach Louis van Gaal watches his players during a team training session in Munich November 2, 2009. Bayern Munich will play Girondins Bordeaux in a Champions League soccer match on Tuesday. REUTERS/Michaela Rehle

Arjen Robben arrived in Munich and passed a medical exam on Friday, scored two goals after coming on in the second half with his new teammate Franck Ribery on Saturday, and then left his new home town on Monday to meet up with the Dutch international team in Enschede.

It was a remarkable weekend trip to the Bavarian capital. In just 27 minutes Robben and Ribery — Munich’s new dynamic duo quickly dubbed “Robery” by German headline writers — combined for two spectacular goals to lead Bayern to their first win of the season, 3-0 against defending champions VfL Wolfsburg.

“Robery” managed to dissipate the gloom surrounding the success-spoiled Bayern fans in just 27 minutes following the agony of their month-long “Fehlstart” — just two points from their first three matches in August and an incredible 16th place in the table before Robben arrived.

“I couldn’t have wished for a better start,” said Robben, who also rejuvenated Ribery after months of controversy over his apparent efforts to get a transfer to Real Madrid. “I’ve haven’t scored two goals in many matches before and never in my first match. But this is just the start. I came here to win matches and titles.”

Bild newspaper columnist Franz Josef Wagner usually writes about German politics. But he couldn’t resist devoting his page 2 column in Germany’s best-selling daily on Monday to Robben: “We’ve seen football the way Mozart or Rembrandt would have it played… What wonderful choreography with Ribery. Full-risk football, courageous football. Arjen Robben is worth every cent of the 24 million euros Bayern paid. Three cheers for Uli Hoeness. He’s invested the money in an artist and not a thug.”

PHOTO: Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery celebrate during Bayern Munich’s Bundesliga victory over VfL Wolfsburg, August 29, 2009. REUTERS/Michael Dalder

Louis van Gaal came to Bayern Munich because the Bavarians were looking for a “soccer teacher“, someone who would rid the club of former coach Juergen Klinsmann’s experiments — the innovative training methods, the meditation sessions and the Buddha statues – and bring the club back to basics.

So far so good. By the time Van Gaal arrived in July, Bayern had already signed strikers Ivica Olic, Mario Gomez and defensive midfielder Anatoliy Tymoshchuk.

Whether or not he would have agreed to all these transfers is unknown. But fact is Tymoschchuk, worth 14 million euros, would not be starting any time soon if captain Mark van Bommel had not been injured.

“My captain will always play,” said Van Gaal, pointing to the bench as the temporary place for the Ukrainian.

Van Gaal’s first Bundesliga match in charge was unimpressive. Mind you they were missing Franck Ribery, Luca Toni, Miroslav Klose and Martin Demichelis.

But apart from injuries there are other issues that come into play. Ribery is fuming for not being allowed to sign with Real Madrid, Toni could still leave in the hope of getting a starting spot at another team ahead of the 2010 World Cup while Demichelis has failed to recover his stinging form of the 2007/8 season. And Tymoshchuck doesn’t like the idea of the bench.

If anyone knows how to get the best out of a player is van Gaal. He did it in the mid ’90s with Ajax Amsterdam, though mainly with a group of talented youngsters, more open to the discipline of the Dutchman.

With Barcelona in the late ’90s he was successful only in Spain, failing to win any major European trophies. He flopped with the Dutch national team but again enjoyed domestic success last season with AZ Alkmaar, again with a group of relative unknowns.

Bayern is littered with big personalities. Ribery, van Bommel, Tymoschchuk, Toni and even Klose. Whether or not he will succeed in translating this energy into silverware looks to be this Bundesliga season’s most exciting story.

PHOTO: Bayern Munich’s coach Louis van Gaal looks up before their friendly match against Schalke 04 in Gelsenkirchen July 19, 2009. REUTERS/Thomas Bohlen

The departure of Kaka from AC Milan to Real Madrid marks the end of the Italian era in European football. Not only can Italian clubs not attract the best players in the world to play in Serie A but now, when they unearth a talent like Kaka, they can’t stop them from leaving.

Italians used to describe their Serie A as ‘il campionato piu bello del mondo’ , the most beautiful championship in the world. It was not just because Italians love nothing more than talking themselves up — Serie A was the first league in the world to sign up top foreign stars, bringing in international talent at a time when the English league, for example, stretched no further than Scotland in search of players.

Beginning in the late 1950’s when the likes of Brazilian Jose Altafini (AC Milan) and Welshman John Charles (Juventus) were among the top performers, Serie A prided itself on being the league that had the money to bring in the best in the world.

After the 1966 World Cup, where Italy was humiliated by North Korea, foreigners were banned as part of an attempt to strengthen the domestic talent base and the national team, but when the rule was relaxed in 1980, the top clubs began importing talent again and before long Italy had become the first league to truly take on global status.

Frenchman Michel Platini at Juventus led the new wave and then the biggest name of all, Diego Maradona almost single-handedly led Napoli to titles in 1987 and 1990. The great Milan sides of Arrigo Sacchi and Fabio Capello were built around foreign stars — the Dutch trio of Frank Rijkaard, Ruud Gullit and Marco van Basten helped transform Serie A from a league dominated by cautious and defensive teams into a showcase for the world’s best talent.

Germany’s Lothar Matthaeus and Andreas Brehme helped Inter to the title in 1989, and by the nineties, any player in the world who could be considered a match-winner was being snapped up by an Italian team.

Just ten years ago, the top teams in Serie A included players such as Ronaldo at Inter, George Weah and a young Andriy Shevchenko at Milan, Gabriel Batistuta at Fiorentina, Hernan Crespo, Pavel Nedved and Juan Sebastian Veron (all at their peak) at Lazio and the best of his generation, Zinedine Zidane at Juventus. It was the departure of the latter to Real Madrid in 2001 that suggested Spain was beginning to replace Italy as the place where the world’s best could get paid best.

Since then though, England’s Premier League, flush with television cash, has begun gobbling up players that in the past would have headed to Serie A. In the 1990’s the likes of Fernando Torres, Michael Ballack, Cristiano Ronaldo, Carlos Tevez and Didier Drogba would have almost certainly been Serie A players. Real and Barcelona in Spain and Bayern Munich in Germany have also proven stronger in the transfer market that Italy’s top teams. It would have once been unthinkable that Italian World Cup hero such as Luca Toni would choose to play in the Bundesliga rather than in Milan or Turin.

A week after Milan captain Paolo Maldini, who played with or against all those great talents from the late eighties onwards, finally hung up his boots, Kaka leaves Milan for a fee of around 68 million euros and Adriano Galliani, who runs Milan on behalf of tycoon and prime minister Silvio Berlusconi conceded the golden era of Serie A was now over: “Ten years ago Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo could have played in Italy but now no one even considers it,” he said.

That is the painful truth for Italian fans — it is not so much that Italian clubs cannot compete with Real’s occasional obscene bouts of cash-throwing that hurts but that Italian clubs are no longer even considered as likely destinations for the world’s best or most promising.

Berlusconi talked up Ronaldinho as the man who will now be the standard-bearer for Milan but the impression is that he moved to Italy after his best years, served with Barcelona, were over.

Money is the main reason for Italy’s relegation from Europe’s elite — Milan, Inter and Juventus no longer have the resources to compete with England and Spain’s top clubs. Italian clubs ignored marketing and merchandising as they presumed their wealthy owners — the Berlusconi, Moratti and Agnelli families — would take care of everything. Moratti still finds the cash but Milan and Juve now operate in the world of budgets rather than blockbuster transfer deals.

With the lack of foreign quality and top wages, Serie A has lost the sheen of glamour that once led fans from all over the world to tune in and watch. The days when Ronaldo and Zidane were face to face in an Inter-Juve match, with a supporting cast of quality Italians and exciting foreign players, is over. Does anyone watch Serie A on satellite or cable anymore?

The proof that this really is the end of an era is the way that the Italian media and fans have just shrugged their shoulders at the departure of Kaka. They know they cannot turn down offers of that size — offers their own teams used to make every summer.

KAKA: Kaka attends Brazilian training at Arruda stadium in Recife, northeastern Brazil, June 8, 2009. REUTERS/Sergio Moraes

ZIDANE: Zinedine Zidane shows his Juventus shirt at a news conference announcing his move to Turin, July 3, 1996. REUTERS/Claudio Papi

One of the best Bundesliga seasons I can remember came to a disappointing end in Saturday’s DFB-Pokal final. 

While the league gave us two great stories with the rise and fall of Hoffenheim and the ultimate triumph of Wolfsburg, the Cup final was a damp affair.

In the two posts below, Erik Kirschbaum reflects on Werder Bremen’s victory in the frightened rabbit final, while Karolos Grohmann considers the record of Bayer ‘Neverkusen’.

Unless you happen to be a Werder Bremen fan, you’d probably agree with the rest of Germany that Werder’s 1-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen in Saturday’s Cup final made for a deflating end to the season.

Germans have a term for it: “Angsthasen Fussball” (scared rabbit football) — an appropriate description for a fear-filled struggle between two of Germany’s biggest underachievers this year, doing everything they could to avoid one last defeat before the holidays.

That was a shame because Werder and Leverkusen are both capable of lighting up the scoreboard when they stay true to their attacking styles.

I’m an unabashed fan of the “DFB Pokal” (German Cup) and the atmosphere for the final each May in Berlin’s Olympiastadion in the company of 70-odd thousand fans is something I really look forward to. (It’s a wonderful stadium when it’s sold out, which rarely happens for Hertha Berlin.)

The final two years ago between Nuremberg and then-Bundesliga champions Stuttgart, won 3-2 by Nuremberg in extra time, was a classic Cup final — arguably the match of the season. But the 2009 final was a real dud.

“We’re all deeply relieved,” said Bremen sporting director Klaus Allofs, whose team were considered among the pre-season favourites for the Bundesliga but finished 10th. “There would have been a very bitter after taste if we had also lost the German Cup final after losing the UEFA Cup final.”

Bremen’s fears were understandable after the pain of their defeat by Ukraine’s Shakhtar Donetsk in Istanbul and Bayer Leverkusen fans would have know just how they felt (see the post from Karolos below).

So Bremen fans got to chant “Bayer Vize-Kuzen” as they celebrated victory this was one occasion when it was really hard to say “the better team won”. More accurately, the better team managed not to lose.

AND THIS IS HOW THE WINNERS REACT: Werder keeper Tim Wiese celebrates his side’s German Cup final win over Bayer Leverkusen in Berlin, May 30, 2009. REUTERS/Tobias Schwarz

Bayern Munich’s Franck Ribery is a joy to watch. His acceleration, ball control and creative play have quickly elevated him to the Bundesliga’s biggest asset.

But come next week the Frenchman could be gone as the pulling power quickly fizzles out of the German league.

Werder Bremen’s Diego has already left for Juventus. Hertha Berlin strikers Andriy Voronin and Marko Pantelic have said goodbye to their fans and Wolfsburg’s Edin Dzeko also looks set to leave.

The potential departure of Ribery, rumoured to be close to a deal with Chelsea, Real Madrid and every other major European club while his wife is reportedly looking for a house in Barcelona, largely depends on him.

Despite a contract to 2011, if Ribery decided he wanted to move on there would be little stopping him, even with a 50-60 million price tag. Ribery happens to be one of these players who can turn a match around and few teams would hesitate to come up with the cash.

Bayern have said he is not on the market, but this looks more like a feeble attempt to ward off any predators. Bayern manager Uli Hoeness then said this week he would not even pick up the phone if the figure was around 40 million euros. But somehow neither Hoeness nor general director Karl-Heinz Rumenigge have ruled out he could indeed go.

Bayern have tried to keep Ribery happy during a troubled season. They did finally secure second spot winning automatic qualification for the Champions League, which seemed to be a minimum requirement for the gifted French playmaker to stay on.

Then they dished out about 30 million euros for Stuttgart’s Mario Gomez and hinted another big name could come after consultation with new coach Louis van Gaal. Ribery had long said the team needed strengthening and now the club is coming through.

Then there are the fans. Adored in Munich like no other, it is unlikely that he will find a major European club where he will enjoy the kind of superstar status only he enjoys in Bavaria.

Bayern may be kind to Ribery now. They could be equally ruthless though if the right buyer came along. With Hoeness planning to become club president in the new year, the business-minded manager, who has long said the credit crunch is going to bite even deeper, would be delighted to take over with an injection of 50 or 60 million in cash.

New signigns Anatoliy Timoschuk, Ivica Olic, Alexander Baumjohann and Gomez will also keep them competitive even without Ribery.

PHOTO: Bayern Munich’s Franck Ribery celebrates his goal after scoring against Bayer Leverkusen during their German first division Bundesliga soccer match in Munich, May 12, 2009. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach

Now that the Bundesliga is done and dusted and Wolfsburg are deserved champions, one should spare a thought for Hamburg SV who until a few weeks ago were in the running for three trophies. They ended up with none.

But Hamburg are arguably the only team in the Bundesliga this season who managed to play high level football in all competitions. Wolfsburg only needed to do it for one, after being eliminated early on in the UEFA Cup and the German Cup. Bayern were out in the last eight in the Champions League and the German Cup.

Third-placed Stuttgart and fourth-placed Hertha Berlin also had only the Bundesliga to focus on.
 
Martin Jol’s Hamburg, plagued by injuries and suspensions throughout the season, were in the running for the Bundesliga title until three weeks from the end. They also reached the German Cup and UEFA Cup semi-finals where they lost to rivals Werder Bremen. And that is the really bitter part.

Werder, their rivals in northern Germany, eliminated them in both competitions and a week later also inflicted a Bundesliga defeat that dashed all of Hamburg’s title hopes.

They then lost further ground and going into the final matchday they were in danger of even missing a European spot for next season altogether.

That is until the very last minute of their match against Eintracht Frankfurt when Piotr Trochowski, arguably their most valuable player this season, scored the winner for a 3-2 victory, beating Borussia Dortmund to the last spot in the new Europa League next season.

Wolfsburg are only 90 minutes away from winning their first German championship and they have equalled or broken several records in achieving that.

No other team have ever had two strikers score 20 goals or more in a Bundesliga season. Grafite has 26, Edin Dzeko 25.

Wolfsburg equalled the longest winning streak in one season in the Bundesliga with 10 consecutive victories after the winter break. They have a near perfect home record, dropping only two points in 16 matches this term.

What can they improve on after such a season?

Coach Felix Magath will not be there next term, having signed with Schalke 04. Grafite has said he will stay on but Dzeko looks unlikely to partner him up front next season with big European clubs including Arsenal rumoured to be eyeing the Bosnian and team mates.

But don’t expect Volkswagen-backed Wolfsburg to be a one-off thing.

Former VfB Stuttgart coach Armin Veh is a leading candidate to succeed Magath. Veh has tasted Bundesliga success with Stuttgart in 2007.

What is even more important though is that Wolfsburg have another three years on the contract of playmaker Zvjezdan Misimovic, the main reason why Grafite and Dzeko have scored so many and why the team are a match away from winning the Bundesliga.

Misimovic, who had a spell at Bayern Munich, has been the driving force of the team, capable of splitting open defences with a vast arsenal of skills and his presence at Wolfsburg will be guarantee for other players to remain.

Car maker Volkswagen has invested heavily in the team under Magath, and with a boost in revenues next season due to Champions League football, it looks set to continue spending.

So for next season, just like in the final match of this campaign, Wolsburg have their fate in their own hands.

PHOTO: VfL Wolfsburg players celebrate following their German Bundesliga soccer match against Hannover 96 in Hanover, May16, 2009, REUTERS/Christian Charisius

It was clear from the start that Felix Magath’s move to VfL Wolfsburg in 2007, after winning consecutive league and cup doubles with Bayern Munich, was a step backwards before another big step forward.

No one really expected them to be top of the table with three matches left this season. Magath himself said the team had met their targets earlier than expected.

His next big step now turns out to be Schalke 04, one of the most fervently supported clubs in the country — as opposed to Volkswagen-sponsored Wolfsburg — but also a club that has long failed to live up to its potential.

Without a championship for 51 years, Schalke have come agonisingly close many times. Magath must change that. He has to reorganise a team that includes several key players on their way out, like formidable central defenders Mladen Krstajic and Marcelo Bordon, expensive signings that have failed to deliver like Orlando Engelaar and Jefferson Farfan and volatile striker Kevin Kuranyi, who is still undecided about his future.

Magath, who will have complete control over the team, has to change all that without playing in any European competition next season.

It’s a much bigger job than he’s done at Wolfsburg. Everyone in Gelsenkirchen expects to get what they have been missing out for the past half century. All the second-place finishes, all the last-gasp failures have left fans hungry for lots of silverware and they will want to taste success under Magath sooner rather than later.

PHOTO: VfL Wolfsburg’s coach Felix Magath gestures during their Bundesliga game at VfB Stuttgart, May 9, 2009. REUTERS/Thomas Bohlen