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1. Borussia M'Gladbach vs FC Bayern Munich - another stunning defeat by the underdogs - game review
By Richard Wiegand founder of ProSoccerTactics.com
This article was written from the perspective of a lifelong FC Bayern fan. But the lessons and
tactical recommendations the I make are relevant to most teams, not just for Bayern Munich. The
article is not intended to denegrate any players – simply to highlight matters of strategic
importance. The recommendations made were made in part to help Bayern get to the Champions
in
League final – because I strongly believe that FCB has the potential to get there. As I point out in
the article, to get there, Bayern will have to open up their purse strings and buy some quality
players…
Rafinha and Arjen Robben had difficulty containing Marco Reus of Gladbach
FC Bayern has difficulty re-capturing momentum after the winter break
• This is the second time that Gladbach beats FC Bayern – at the season start
Does Bayern have difficulty getting oriented after a break?
• What kind of preparation did FCB have in their training in Dubai?
• Did they play too many prep matches? Are they simply “played out”?
• Is it a good thing to play prep matches against weaker opponents prior to season start?
weaker

2. India vs FC Bayern Munich winter break prep game 2012
Recommendations–> Play less prep matches – work on mental prep as much as physical prep
–> Don’t play prep matches against weak opponents – this lowers your standards
–>Better to study video clips of top plays from the top clubs in the world, even older videos of
top teams from the video archives – this serves to raise your standard of play to greatest heights
–> Study video clips of your mistakes during the past Fall season. Why did we concede the goals
that we did? How can we remedy these strategic mistakes?
FC Bayern is showing that it has a problem with a lack of depth -Management needs to buy
more players NOW
• FC Bayern without Franck Ribery – a team that is beginning to show that it clearly lacks depth
• Towards the end of last Fall, Bayern missed Schweini and Kroos showed that he could not fill
his shoes in the midfield•
• Gomez once again can’t seem to score goals against the toughest opponents. There is growing
evidence that his ability to control the ball and distribute it to his fellow attackers is a serious
issue for the team
Mario Gomez at times does not fit in with Jupp Heynckes' style of attack
Recommendations–> FCB mgt must buy a solid central defender to supplement van Buyten –>
buy Diego Lugano (Uruguayan national currently plays at Paris St. Germain)

3. Diego Lugano - Uruguayan star central defender currently plays at PSG in France
–> FCB mgt must buy a solid outside defender –> buy Fuchs (Schalke)
–>FCB mgt must buy a workhorse midfielder –> buy Farfan or Vidal
–>FCB mgt must buy a killer forward –> buy a Luis Suarez or a Barrios
Luis Suarez - star Uruguayan center forward who currently plays for Liverpool
–>Toni Kroos is not working hard enough as a midfielder – it’s time to give him a break or
consider selling him

4. Toni Kroos was unable to gain traction against Hanke and company
Who cares about POSSESSION anymore?
FC Bayern dominated the match from a possession perspective (about 60 /40) but clearly showed
very little penetration or threat in front of the goal – is this a sign that Heynckes needs to go
back to the laboratory and concoct new attack strategies?
• Bayern’s attacks are becoming predictable – time to shake things up a bit
Recommendations–> possession without shots on goal or aggressive drives to the net can
actually wear out your team’s mental strength and creativity
tually
–> practice plays that generate shots
–> instead of trying to possess the ball the whole match, let the other team come at you
>
sometimes and focus on quick counter
counter-attacks after regaining possession
–>the Barcelona diagonal short slip pass to an on-running overlapping middy or back and even
running
to fellow attackers is a must play to integrate - FC Bayern forwards were not making these
diagonal runs hardly at all near the top of the penalty area!
Gladbach’s attacks – though few and far between – were lethal – What did these attacks
entail?
–> quick counter-attacks that catch Bayern defense off off-guard or sleeping
–> attacks end with quick lethal shots – not endless passing or dribbling near the Bayern
penalty area
–> diagonal runs made by Gladbach attackers into the most dangerous spaces into the
gaps/seams or behind the Bayern defense

5. Patrick Hermann scored twice and was Gladbach's star of the show vs FC Bayern Munich
Recommendations –> next time, Lahm should follow his mark – Lahm was way off once
again– allowing Hermann to slip in to shoot and score
–>Tymoschuk could have slid in to intercept or at least disrupt Hanke’s through ball to
Hermann – Tymo was in range to slide in but did not want to get his pants dirty - this was very
uncharacteristic of his play
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