The German giants under the guidance of serial winner Carlo Ancelotti have not looked the best version of themselves in the last month or so. In addition to a sub-par performance against Anderlecht in the Champions League opener, which saw many key players such as Arjen Robbencriticise his teammates, the season has been plagued with rumours of player discontent.
Robert Lewandowski remarked about the club’s relatively muted transfer activity as opposed to the likes of PSG, Manchester United and Barcelona. Thomas Muller’s spell on the bench did not see him mince any words about his unhappiness and Franck Ribery’s substitution against Anderlecht saw him throw his shirt to the ground once he was hauled off. The recent Bundesliga game against Wolfsburg saw Die Roten give away a 2 goal lead and thereby relinquishing the top spot to Borussia Dortmund. The campaign reached its low point when Bayern were soundly beaten 3-0 in their group stage game against PSG. The match was easily Bayern’s worst performance under Ancelotti and the sword fell on the Italian as he was relieved of his duties in the aftermath of the game.
This is a situation which is very unlike a team that Ancelotti has managed so far. The Italian has a reputation of effectively managing some of the biggest superstars of world football and get them to play attractive football. If players such as Cristiano Ronaldo, ZlatanIbrahimovic and Didier Drogba, who were powerful personalities in their respective dressing rooms, led tributes to Ancelotti, then he has obviously done something right. For a team that was once named FC Hollywood for the news they made off the field, it needs a combined effort right from the board level down to the playing staff to ensure that Germany’s biggest club is dragged back to the days of sub-par performances domestically and on a continental level.
