Bayern Nearing Lead in Bundesliga
Five Straight Wins Puts Munich One Point Behind Leaders
Nov 11, 2008
Germany's record Bundesliga champion Bayern Munich have shown it only takes a strong surge to return to the title chase as Jürgen Klinsmann's side has closed to within just one point of the league leaders - just five games after being in 11th place in the standings.
Bickering and Infighting In 11th Place
The illustrious Bayern Munich had dropped all the way to 11th place in the Bundesliga after a 3-3 draw at home against Bochum in Week 7. It was the third straight game that Bayern had not won and the natives were getting restless already seven points behind leaders Hamburg.
Klinsmann had benched his captain Mark van Bommel and Bayern played to just a draw despite leading 3-1 with 83 minutes.
Finally A Victory
But in Week 8, Klinsmann's men finally found the winning column again, with Miroslav Klose scoring in the 86th minute for a 1-0 victory at Karlsruhe. Bayern was still in 11th place but the deficit to Hamburg was just five points.
Mid-Week Comments About Leading League By Christmas
Despite being way down in the standings, Munich management saw that the team was just five points back. And the usual brashness of manager Uli Hoeness came through as he told the German Press Agency, dpa, mid-week on October: "I can be kind of aggressive. I believe that Bayern will be 'Fall champion' (the term in German for the leader after the first half of the season) and then there is no worry about being behind other teams."
Bayern had nine more games before the Christmas break of about six weeks to fulfill Hoeness's prediction.
Superb Comeback Against Wolfsburg
The next game - Week 9 - Bayern fell behind Wolfsburg 2-0 at home. But Klinsmann's men turned the game around, scoring four straight goals for a 4-2 victory to jump from 11th to fifth place - four points behind Hoffenheim.
That led Bayern personnel to make some scary comments for the other Bundesliga teams. Klinsmann told t-online.de on October 28: "We are getting closer to playing how we want to play." And Munich playmaker added: "The fear we used to have before some games is gone. It is getting better and playing games is fun again."
Wins At Frankfurt and At Home Against Bielefeld
Bayern continued to play excellent soccer and beat Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1 on the road and then brushed aside Arminia Bielefeld 3-1 at home. And Munich had improved to third place but still four points behind Hoffenheim after 11 weeks.
Big Week 12 - Deficit Down To One Point
Bayern Munich proved to be the biggest winner of Week 12. Not only did Munich beat Schalke 2-1 on the road to push the fellow title contender four points behind it. But Klinsmann and co. saw Bayer Leverkusen lose a 3-0 in a 3-3 draw at Karlsruhe and Hoffenheim drop 1-0 at Hertha Berlin.
Bayern remained on third place but Leverkusen and Hoffenheim - both young and inexperienced teams - were just one point away, though they both had better goal differentials.
Confidence In Bayern Camp
And Bayern players and coaches knew they were closing in on the Christmas goal of leading the league. Italian striker Luca Toni, who finally scored, told German station Premiere on November 8: "It was a really important game for us. We're on the right way. We knew that if we won this game, we were really in the business."
And Hoeness added: "The goal about Christmas was just about our confidence and to try to push Bavaria forward."
Bundesliga Lead By Mid-November Already?
Bayern's next match is at relegation-threatened Borussia Mönchengladbach while Leverkusen hosts Schalke and Hoffenheim is at home against Wolfsburg. If Hoffenheim and Leverkusen both draw and Bayern win Klinsmann's men will be in first place already - just five weeks after being in 11th place.
