Bayern Munich

Recently, Bayern Munich were demolished 4-0 by a stunning Real Madrid side to see them eliminated from the Champions League with an aggregate score of 5-0, which is a huge blow for a side which were tipped to retain the trophy due to their continued run of positive results.

Much of The club’s falterings, however, have been down to incorrect management by Josep Guardiola. Although the Spaniard enjoyed impeccable success with previous club Barcelona, he did not realise that his ‘tiki taka’ mentality may not exactly bode well with every club. There’s also the fact that there is no Lionel Messi at Bayern Munich to continuously spare the manager’s blushes. It’s fair to say that the Bavarians were far more powerful following Jupp Heynckes’ tactics.

There is, however, a cold and harsh up-side to these events for the Bayern players who will be representing their nation this summer. Rather than spending the next three weeks precariously planning and training for the Champions League final on the 24th of May, they shall be watching the match in the comfort of their five star hotel during Joachim Low’s national pre-tournament training camp.

With the national team, the players have different sets of rules and tactics to follow, tactics and instructions which most probably match their own skill set far more than the ones Guardiola envisaged for the club’s players. Another plus is that during a Champions League final, players do tend to give their all, meaning that there is now much less chance of injuries to any of them. They may also be pardoned during the Bundesliga since it has already been wrapped up and kept fresh for the German Cup showdown against Borussia Dortmund.

Simply put, Bayern’s collapse could turn out to be a blessing in disguise for the German national team. Low could have been secretly smiling during Real Madrid’s demolition of Bayern Munich, knowing that this might spurn the same players to find that hunger they lost and eat their way to success in Brazil.