German Football 
/ Ben Lyttleton / 20 February 2012 / Leave a Comment 
Bayern's "world class at his peak" midfielder Arjen Robben
"The prospect of Bayern going a second straight season without the title, for the first time since 1995 and 1996, becomes more likely."
Bayern Munich are facing another season without a league title says Ben Lyttleton, and discontent within the camp might just hinder their Champions League aspirations also.
When the draw for the Champions League Round of 16 was made last December there were sighs of relief in Munich. Bayern, who did well to top the toughest group which contained Napoli, Manchester City, and Villarreal, were drawn against FC Basle, surprise qualifiers ahead of Manchester United, and friends and neighbours of the German giants.
After all, Basle began the season with former Bayern stalwart Thorsten Fink on the bench; his successor Heiko Vogel used to work with Bayern's youth teams; and last month, Bayern signed Basle's playmaker Xherdan Shaqiri, who will move in the summer. It all looked perfect for the team who will host this year's Champions League final and it was why Bayern were backed as third-favourites behind Barcelona and Real Madrid to win the competition.
Fast forward ten weeks and the picture is not so rosy. In the last fortnight, Bayern have dropped four points, going from top to third and they are now four points behind new German leaders Borussia Dortmund. Last week showed that teams often drop points before vital Champions League matches (Lyon, Barcelona and Bayer Leverkusen all lost before their midweek ties) but no-one expected Bayern to drop points at bottom-of-the-table Freiburg.
The game finished 0-0 and with Dortmund beating Hertha 1-0 to extend their unbeaten run to 16 games, closing in on a club record 19 from 1991-92, the prospect of Bayern going a second straight season without the title, for the first time since 1995 and 1996, becomes more likely. Dortmund are now [1.85] to win the Bundesliga, with Bayern [2.98]. Borussia Moenchengladbach, one point ahead of Bayern, are [11.0].
You can normally gauge how things are going at Bayern by monitoring which of their top brass is speaking and about what, and last week suggested things are not altogether breezy in Bavaria. First, Franck Ribery declared that, "the second team is not strong enough", suggesting that there is little strength in depth (as Rafi Hongistein explains here, the Shaqiri signing goes some way to solving that
) and he was proved right on Saturday, as David Alaba and Luis Gustavo struggled against Freiburg¹s pressing game.
Then chief executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge weighed in with a long-winded
criticism of referees showing bias against his club. "Referees are always deciding against Bayern when they are in doubt, because that will bring some peace and quiet to their life the following week. Our fans can handle wrong decisions, while other teams' fans constantly hassle them." As this analysis based on findings from Wahre Tabelle shows, Bayern have actually gained two points from refereeing decisions, as they have had two fine goals wrongly disallowed, but scored three goals that should have been ruled out.
The biggest talking-point going into Wednesday's game at Basle, for which Bayern are [1.66] to win (Basle are [6.4]) and [1.13] to progress (with Basle [8.0]) concerns the player whose performances single-handedly inspired them to the 2010 final: Arjen Robben. Bayern are at a delicate stage of contract negotiations with the Dutch winger, whose current deal expires in 2013, and, as if to show that he is not indispensable to the team, he has been benched for the last two matches (the Shaqiri signing also strengthens Bayern's hand).
Bayern's honorary president Franz Beckenbauer waded in to the Robben-debate last week, suggesting that his "selfishness" had cost him "recognition" inside the camp. "At some point the team-mate will say if you're not going to recognise my pass then next time you can come and get the ball yourself", Beckenbauer said. Robben's bosses immediately tried to defuse the situation: Rummenigge said, "Everyone knows he's an important player", while coach Jupp Heynckes said "he's world-class when at his peak".
The worry for Bayern is whether his peak will come this week. Basle have started the spring campaign slowly, with two draws since their winter break was over they needed a last-minute equaliser against Young Boys on Saturday to scrape a 2-2 draw. But they showed against United that they can be dangerous at St-Jakob Park. Former Bayern captain Stefan Effenberg warned that Bayern are lacking in leadership and need the likes of Phillip Lahm and Manuel Neuer to stand up and be counted: this week will be their biggest test.
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Felix Magath is a figure that polarises opinion in German football, but Kevin Hatchard thinks the teak-tough tactician may finally be working his magic at Wolfsburg....
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