Bundesliga 2025/26 Tactical Previews: FC Bayern München

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In the 17th of our 18th installments of Bundesliga previews to be released here on Get German Football news, it’s time to take a look at FC Bayern München. That’s right, the “big boys on the block” get the penultimate piece. There’s much to discuss when it comes to the giants, to the point that the first major section below sort of morphs into a highly nuanced critique of the work of FCB board-member-for-sport Max Eberl over the course of the summer. Why? Because the man who himself morphed into one of the most controversial German football functionaries ever over the last three-plus-years has earned it.

Bayern are expected to win every year. None of us covering this beat shall forget where we were and what we were doing on the final day of the 2022/23 season. Dortmund heartbroken. Bayern with their 11th straight title. Oliver Kahn and Hasan Salihamidzic sacked despite all of this? That’s how it goes at the “Stern des Süden”. It’s not ordinary life working this beat. Principles we claim to espouse get bent and sometimes downright broken at times. That applies to the fans too of course, who gladly support Bayern whenever they’re playing non 50+1 clubs or playing against other countries.

In any event, we might as well get to it. Before proceeding any further, the Dortmund section notes that all 18 Bundesliga head coaches have tipped Bayern to win the title again this year. This author will join the chorus despite all the issues we’re about to discuss. Eintracht Frankfurt remain the closest club to count as a challenger at this point, but they remain light years off talent-wise. Lots of movement at Bayer 04 Leverkusen since we published their section, but let’s not kid ourselves when it comes to that team gelling right away.

FC Bayern München

Precisely as was the case with Dortmund, Bayern receives an extended personnel section. Both the personnel section and the “notes from camp” subsections contain some thoughts on this summer’s Club World Cup. So much about the state-of-affairs at both Bayern and Dortmund requires the context of this novel tournament. The administrative teams at both clubs find themselves very much behind the curve due to their participation in that competition. Note that it will be easy enough for both front offices to catch up; by January at the very latest.

Major personnel shifts, Bayern

Estimated summer transfer balance = +€7.6 million

The Bayern administrative team literally got no time off this summer thanks to all the administrative wrangling they had to take care of for the Club World Cup. Eberl couldn’t even remain in the USA long to enjoy the festivities. After taking care of a few basic media duties, the FCB chief personnel executive had to hop a plane back to Bavaria and hunker down at the Säbener Straße. Most will view Eberl’s work as something of a failure based on all the targeted transfers that never materialized, the inability to get the Nick Woltemade deal over the line, and the current 25-man roster size heading into the season.

The fact is that Bayern have often operated with a small roster hovering around 26 to 30 professionals entering the season. It’s a rich club, but still a fan-owned one that has its financial restraints. The roster generally balloons up to around 35 to 40 professionals once the season is over. This is courtesy of the fact that the German giants always invariably give a few prospects a run out in Europe, the Pokal, and during the later stages of the season when the title is generally sewn up. The Niko Kovac/Hansi Flick squads that captured six trophies in 18 months stood below 30 professionals entering the 2019/20 and 2020/21 cycles.

One can just as easily focus on what Eberl and Freund were able to accomplish this offseason, beginning with the fact that both Jonathan Tah and Tom Bischof were brought in on frees and secured for low six-figure-amounts in time for the Club World Cup. The Tah and Bischof fees were easily offset by the loan fees procured on the Daniel Peretz and Bryan Zaragoza loan outs. A €5m fee on Joao Palhinha’s loan to Tottenham was also no small accomplishment. Loans without fees (Tarek Buchmann, Lovro Zvonarek, Maurice Krattenmacher, and Arijon Ibrahimovic) all counted as solid managerial moves.

Thomas Müller, Eric Dier, and Leroy Sané have all departed on frees. Nothing much could have been done about any of those situations. In the case of Sané, one probably needs to take the side of FCB management. While higher fees should have probably been secured in the case of Adam Aznou, Mathys Tel, Frans Krätzig, and Gabriel Vidovic, it’s difficult to ascertain how much bonus and re-sale money those sales will bring Bayern in the long term. Moreover, as Eberl himself famously complained when discussing his RB Leipzig team’s Loïs Openda purchase, media figures can be wildly inaccurate.

In that very famous Leipzig interview, Eberl didn’t do himself any favors by whining that he found himself hamstrung by media reports restricting his bargaining power. That brings us to at least one instance where one can criticize Eberl this offseason. It’s perfectly legitimate for the press to publish stories about instances – like the Kingsley Coman matter – in which he botched the deal. Nothing wrong with the public knowing that he sometimes needs to step up his own game.

All that really leaves us with is the blockbuster Luis Diaz purchase; something that’s already working out very well for both Bayern and German football. It hasn’t been a lazy or inactive summer for the German record champs at all. What has proved disastrous is the club’s participation in the inaugural Club World Cup. No amount of extra money Bayern netted from that tourney can compensate for the loss of Jamal Musiala. We might as well turn to that now.

Notes from camp, Bayern

Sané, Aznou, Müller, Palhinha, and Coman all represented Bayern in the CWC before moving on. That’s something crucial to keep in mind whenever considering why the FCB roster is presently so small. In Müller (2), Coman (2), and the injured Musiala (3), the mighty German giants have also lost scorers of seven of the 12 goals they scored in that tournament. Overall, there truly weren’t any “winners” from the Bavarian ranks from that competition. Kompany ended up giving few new players a chance.

Sacha Boey got in more playing time than usual and scored a goal. Aleksandar Pavlovic got some valuable minutes in, but the fact that he’s out injured again now cancels out that benefit. It was nice to see Serge Gnabry back in action some more and even watch the Stuttgart native semi-parlay the CWC into a decent Supercup performance. He’ll certainly be needed once again this year. Leon Goretzka’s goal was nice, but the German International required no real additional confidence boost after last season’s strong finish.

We move on to the resumption of camp, pushed all the way back to the first days of August. A tough test against Olympique Lyon was the first match on the docket. This time, Kompany did field some young talents like Bischof, Paul Wanner, and Lennart Karl in the starting XI. Karl made his presence felt from the start. Diaz drew a penalty. Olise converted from the spot and a little later from open play en-route to claiming both goals in the 2-1 victory. The defending champs could have easily scored four or five more against the side that demolished Hamburger SV a few days earlier.

Bayern opened up the Allianz for both the Lyon friendly and a subsequent match against Spurs a few days later. A near-capacity crowd filtered in to watch their team defeat Tottenham 4-0. Despite a penalty miss from Harry Kane, the German Rekordmeister cruised to victory. Diaz looked a little stuck on the left-hand-side at times. That mattered little as the North Londoners remained stuck in their own half for most of the match. Olise, Kane, and Diaz all missed more close chances. Karl and Kusi-Asare finally added goals late.

Karl received his much-hyped contract extension a couple of days later. Buoyed by this, Karl added a goal and an assist in the final pre-season friendly. Plenty of teenage talents featured in Kompany’s XI in the 2-1 victory over Grasshopper Zürich. Raphaël Guerreiro moved up to his high ten position to help anchor the youngsters. Gnabry, Boey, and Min-Jae Kim also stood in the starting blocks to help everyone else. Apart from these four outfielders, and still ultra-young keeper Jonas Urbig and Tom Bischof, all other starters were teens. Kusi-Asare scored again. Bischof registered an assist.

Winners from camp, Bayern

Lennart Karl, LW/RW

Can he live up to the hype? We’ll find out soon enough. In the feature article on the 17-year-old, Kicker was gracious enough to point out that Musiala incurred precisely the same criticisms of his lanky build when he first began donning Bayern dress. Yes, he looks like a water-boy. What do you expect from someone who won’t even turn 18 until next February?!? Erling Haaland struggled with precisely the same uneven facial hair growth when he played for Dortmund. It’s just how our species grows and matures. That’s humanity!

On a slightly ore serious note, the five-minute span in which Karl scored a wonder goal from about 20 meters out and then set up Kusi-Asare deftly showed what a special talent he is. Karl is a strong two-footed-player who somehow already knows how to use his left foot perfectly whenever serving on the right. He’s not in this squad by coincidence having already scored 13 goals for Germany at U17 level and below. It’s obviously way too early to compare his feel for spaces to the departed Thomas Müller, but keep an eye on the potential future “Raumdeuter”.

Jonah Kusi-Asare, CF

How about the young Sweden U21 international? The pre-season stats certainly can’t be argued with. Truth be told, however, we’ve barely had much of chance to scout him on the Bayern reserves either. Kusi-Asare only landed a starting role with FCB II late last season. First impressions – from Bundesliga watchers anyway – evoke some slight Joshua Zirkzee comparisons. That may be all the squad needs honestly. Zirkzee did his thing aptly enough during his two seasons as a backup between 2019 and 2021.

Granted, those Bayern title-winning sides also had veterans such as Ivan Perisic, Douglas Costa, and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting picking up minutes behind Robert Lewandowski. It is quite a bit to ask of the 18-year-old who still hasn’t figured out how to be impactful on deeper drops just yet. Kusi-Asare also missed from the penalty spot in the final friendly. The absence of Leroy Sané leaves an even greater hole for Kusi-Asare to fill. Reports that Bayern don’t plan on signing at least one more striker likely aren’t true.

Luis Diaz, LW/RW

The Colombian looks to be worth every penny of that €75m invested in him. Such a sum does naturally seem emblematic of Bayern’s current problems negotiating the transfer market, but at least we all get to put that behind us now and simply enjoy this talented player. He’s made his mark in every unofficial and official FCB match he’s participated in thus far. With his explosive touch, he can probably fill in at center forward as well. So too can Gnabry. Maybe Bayern won’t end up signing an extra striker after all.

Raphaël Guerreiro, LB/CM

The immortal one. Still going strong basically everywhere on the pitch he’s deployed. Kompany will have great use the 31-year-old – for lack of a better term – “Portuguese Swiss Army Knife” over the course of the season. It genuinely seems like just yesterday that Edin Terzic started (successfully) moving him higher up the pitch during the Dortmund days. It’s not fully the case that Bayern don’t have a problem at left-back. Guerreiro still remains susceptible to injury. The veteran still turned in a solid camp, as did makeshift left back Josip Stanisic.

Losers from camp, Bayern

Paul Wanner, SS

Pretty much everything concerning this German-Austrian’s career continues to cease to make any sense. Really? A move to PSV? Just when he was surely meant to get his chance with the German giants at some point this season? That’s precisely what a bad camp can do for a player. Kompany couldn’t oblige Wanner because he was hurt. The Dutch champions – dealing with the terrible news that Wanner’s former Bundesliga colleague Alassane Plea just got knocked out long-term – swooped in and made it happen….by signing another injured player who surely can’t fully pass a medical.

Nothing makes sense. Oh well. At least those of us working the beat don’t have to write up anymore Wanner stories. Beyond Wanner, there isn’t anyone who truly had a poor camp, per-se. This obviously owes much to the fact that it was a very short camp and there aren’t very many healthy bodies around. Those somehow hoping that this will lead to Bayern stumbling out of the gate at the beginning of the season may find their wish partially fulfilled. The prospect of Bayern falling out of the title-race this season nevertheless remains totally illusory. They remain favorites.

Tactical scout, Bayern

This year’s DFL Supercup didn’t exactly enthrall and excite. Bayern struggled to get out of first gear. Manuel Neuer spared the FCB blushes with several top-notch saves throughout the match. Stanisic exhibited some difficulties adjusting his marks on the left-hand-side. Michael Olise doesn’t always work as a ten as it leaves him tied up. Apart from these light criticisms, however, the team largely looked confident and on the level.

Lineup—Bayern—DFL Supercup

Konrad Laimer’s conversion to right-back – actually initiated by Thomas Tuchel – continues to yield dividends. It seems to make Joshua Kimmich a much better player as well, though some of that also has a lot to do with the revival of his partnership with Goretzka. The new center back pairing of Jonathan Tah and Dayot Upamecano works very well. The two physically gifted central defenders understand each other’s slants and run the bow-arcs smoothly.

A few personnel adjustments ahead of the Leipzig match would make sense, but it’s still unclear whether Kompany has the players to make it happen. Will he risk playing Guerreiro at ten in order to free up Olise? The author bets that he will. That should be it. Laimer shouldn’t be moved. Stanisic will play better. Kimmich and Goretzka can help their fellow veteran out.

Lineup—Bayern—Projected

Looking forward to a great game. 

GGFN | Peter Weis