Bavarian woes

Once the Bundesliga's serial champions, Bayern Munich were officially plunged into crisis after losing to newly promoted Mainz last weekend. At least that's what the German media are saying. Anyway you slice it though, Bayern are winless in their first three games of the season.

The club's brass, of course, is trying to put a brave face on things.

"After three matches, we have two points, and that's not a good situation for us.” said the club's chairman of the board, the legendary Bayern striker Karl-Heinz Rummenige. He called the situation disappointing, but not a crisis.

Supporters' revolt

Ask the team's fans though, and the alarm bells are already ringing.

“What's missing is team spirit,” said one fan after the 2-1 loss in Mainz. “Of course you can lose a game, even here, but they didn't show any energy or creativity.”

Another was more upset with the board than the players.

“They'll say it's bad luck, that we're just off to a bad start.”

He added that he thought Bayern had trouble owning up to their mistakes, and this year's bad start was down to one big one.

“I think we bought all the wrong players.”

Going shopping?

While the club isn't ready to own up to a crisis, it may well be ready to admit to a mistake in their purchases over the summer.

Thus far, the club's several newcomers have yet to nail down a spot in the starting 11, and the loss of players like midfielder Ze Roberto and Lucio on defense has left the Bayern side looking short-handed.

Now the club appears to be reacting as it often does when its dominance on the field is threatened - it's getting out it checkbook.

Spanish media are reporting that Real Madrid have accepted a bid from Bayern for Dutch winger Arjen Robben. The reports say that the agreed fee is 25 million euros, which would equal the price Bayern paid for Franck Ribery two years ago. That was the second most expensive transfer in the club's history.

Pluses and minuses

Robben's skill and pedigree (he's starred for both Chelsea and Real Madrid) will almost certainly improve Bayern's talent pool. But it may also create a logjam among the team's many big names, all of whom expect to play in just about every game.

The club's new head coach, Louis van Gaal, however, earned a reputation in his native Holland as well as Spain, as something of a tough guy.

He lived up to that after the embarrassing loss at Mainz last weekend saying that while it is unusual for him to substitute players in the first half, “this time I took out two, and it could have been even more. Our performance was very disappointing.”

Digging out

It's early days yet, and with a few good results that disappointment could turn into success. But the team's upcoming matches promise to be tough ones.

Bayern host defending champions Wolfsburg on Saturday, and then travel to the always-strong-at-home Dortmund.

If Bayern come out of those matches empty-handed, club brass will find it almost impossible to deny there is a crisis.

Author: Matt Hermann

Editor: Rick Demarest