Bayern Munich vs Nürnberg player-by-player analysis

Bayern Munich had bounced back with a 2-0 victory against Nürnberg in DFB Porkal Wednesday night. The main reason was Klinsmann had changed back to 4-4-2 formation. Now here's the analysis:

Michael Rensing, GK: Compare with last match, Rensing that evening did not have much threats that needed him to save. There was one great shot from the opposition that he also saved the ball well. He showed his concentration during the entired match. Also, compare with last match, he was also calm in the match as some mis-communication occured in the defense and he dealt with it well. So this was a good game for him.

Massimo Oddo, DR: Finally! This was what I was waiting for! He should have started the match. He was very effective offensively and defensively in the right flank and helped the team balanced. His great cross made Miroslav Klose to score goal. Also, during the entired game, he never stopped running and relieved the centre defense a lot. As I said before, he is the best full back in Bayern Munich and he should be the regular starter in the team.

Lucio, DC: As Bayern changed back to 4-4-2, it obviously could be seen that Lucio was far more comfortable. He did not need to fill in the space in the right flank as Oddo was there, so all he needed to do was stay in the position and made the accurate tackles and headers, and he did it well. Compare with the 3-5-2 formation, it seemed this formation could let him relieved a lot and he can play better.

Martin Demichelis, DC: As usual, his performace really matters. He made lots of crucial tackles during the game and helped the team to keep the clean sheet in the entired game. He once again showed himself that he is the most important player in Bayern Munich. Also, he had more guts to make some hard tackles, unlike last match. Good work for him!

Philipp Lahm, DL: We all can see the difference, don't we? Under the 4-4-2 formation, he was far more comfortable because he did not need to run all the way from the own base line to the other own base line! He always was in the right place in the defending, as there was Tim Borowski helped him in the left side. So, he could focus more on the defending, and assist more when the team was on the ball. Furthermore, as Tim Borowski was helping, his run to the front was more effective as he could use the left flank player to make one-two to create more space for him. So I believe Lahm is better in 4-4-2 formation.

Bastian Schweinsteiger, MR: It looked like he played at the right wing but in fact he ran from the right flank to the centre of the park. It seemed he could avoid the heavy traffic from the opposition and he played better that when he started in the middle. This run made the opposition confused and created more spaces for him to made chances. In Germany national team, it can be seen that this tactic can make him to create more chances and even score goals. So I believe he is better to put him in the flank rather than in the centre.

Andreas Ottl, MC: He replaced Mark van Bommel in this match. The main task for him this match was filling in the spaces in the midfield plus covering Ze Roerto when Bayern was in attack. He did a sensational job and the opposition barely had any chances. Furthermore, he also made some good run to create chances, epsecially his run assisted Tim Borowski to score the 2nd goal. For short term he is the important player in the squad rotation system, but in middle term, he can replace Mark van Bommel to be the regular starter.

Ze Roberto, MC: Even though the team in this match was playing 4-4-2 double defense midfielder formation, Ze Roberto did not look like he was one of the defense midfielders. When the team was on the ball in attack, he looked like he was an attacking midfielder as he always stood behind those two strikers. He again made lots of good runs and create spaces for the team. In the team was in defense, he was one of the defense midfielders to help Ottl to defend. It seemed this tactic could made Bayern Munich more balanced.

Tim Borowski, ML: He was not a left midfielder in fact. He always appeared in the middle of the park because he ran from the left side to the centre field to made chances. In the later second half, he was assigned to be the central midfielder when the team was switched to 4-2-3-1 formation. He grabbed a goal in the match and he limited lots of spaces from the opposition right side. This was his best game so far and I do hope he can play more good games.

Miroslav Klose, FC: His confident was coming back, slowly but surely it seemed. His goal in 7th minute showed his class. This was what the top striker should be. In the remaining time he made lots of runs to create chances but sadly it did not convert to the practical goals. He was substituted in the 65th minutes, but it seemed his confident was coming back.

Luca Toni, FC: Not much thing to say about him to be honest. He had chances but he all missed it. Also, he did make some runs but his stupid dribbling really killed him. I do hope he can be better in dribbling even though he is not required to do so. This is because dribbling is the most important part of the game and if his dribbling is better, he can score more than 39 goals, which was the number of goals last season.

Franck Ribery - substituted for Miroslav Klose: Congratulations that he is back!! He did make some runs and key passes before the 2nd goal was scored. After that, he was not required to make any magic runs as the team only needed to finish the game. As he was just back from injury for 2-3 months, all he needed to do now was to gain back the feeling. I do hope he can get back the feeling after the match as the team needs him more than ever later this season.

Jose Sosa - substituted for Bastian Schweinsteiger: As Schweinsteiger was tired and the team was leading 2-0, Sosa was not required to do too many things. All he needed to complete was holding on the possession and he did it well.

Lukas Podolski - substituted for Luca Toni: Podolski only had 9 and more minutes to perform after replacing Toni and he did not have sufficient time to perform himself.

Final words: This match proved Bayern Munich should use 4-4-2 formation as their primary formation. I am not objecting to use 3-5-2 formation, as this formation has its strength. However, it seems 4-4-2 formation is more balanced for the team in terms of attacking and defending. On the other hand, Massimo Oddo had proved himself that he is the best full back in the team and Klinsmann should pick him to play at the right back and bench Christian Lell, who did not play any good game so far. After Franck Ribery is back, it seemed he will be the regular starter in the left flank and Tim Borowski will be in the squad rotation system. Bastian Schweinsteiger will still be OK to be the regular starter as he performed really well, and also Hamit Altintop is still injured. All in all, Bayern Munich should keep this formation in the remaining of the season and it is the time to stick with it, that means no more experiment!!

Bayern Munich vs Werder Bremen player-by-player analysis

Bayern Munich last Saturday had the greatest defeat since Allianz-Arena had established, they were humiliated by 5-2 against Werder Bremen. My apology to upload this post late as I need a little more time to settle down my emotions. Now here's the analysis:

Michael Rensing, GK: This was the match he needed to forget. He seemed so powerless to avoid the opposition kept scoring. Even though he could not be blamed so much as the defense was tragic, I can see his weakness of his ability, which is the decision making on dealing with crosses. His timing and punching were so clumsy that led the opposition had the second chance to score, especially in 2nd goal and 5th goal from the opposition. There is one good thing however, he is still at young age and this is the process he needs to come through. Plus, this is his first defeat in his senior team career.

Lucio, DC: I can see his effort, but he was still powerless to avoid defeat. He had lots of pressure from the right side defense as there was always man short in that side. As Lell had gone to attack, there were lots of spaces left behind. Also, it seemed he was not good enough to be one of the 3-man defense. It is a bit harsh to judge him like this, but if playing 3-5-2, the demand of the central defense is very high. Lucio cannot fulfill the requirement.

Martin Demichelis, DC: He seemed OK, but before receiving the yellow card. He was too cautious after he had received the booking. It can be proved in the 1st goal from the opposition, he was not dared enough to tackle Markus Rosenberg and let him score goal. After that he did not contribute too much both in offense and defense. Still, he played too cautious and let the opposition keep scoring. He must forget this match and remember to be dared a little bit much even though he received a booking.

Daniel Van Buyten, DC: He had lots of pressure on the left side of defense. There were spaces anywhere and the opposition had lots of chances to play. Not much to say to him as he was substituted at halftime. However, he was not really get used to play in this position this match and made lots of errors.

Christian Lell, MR: Even though I am a fan of Klinsmann, this time I believe Klinsmann made a huge mistake on trusting on him. I believe he is the worst player in the field, I did not see any contribution in the right side attack, plus, as he ran away for the attack, he lost the ball easily and led the opposition to have counter attacks easily. He absolutely not deserved to have the regular starting place, both in 3-5-2 formation and 4-4-2 formation.

Mark van Bommel, MC: Yes he controlled his emotions but I believe it was a bit too much. He failed to show his passion all over the match. He failed to limit the midfield space off the opposition and allowed the counter attacks from his position. That performance was totally not satisfied and I believe Klinsmann should think about it on how to help him out or even put him on the bench.

Philipp Lahm, ML: He made lots of efforts this match, but he failed to run back after the team lost the ball. It indirectly increased the pressure to Daniel Van Buyten as there was lots of space from the left. I believe the ultimate reason was the formation. He seemed he did not get used to perform well in 3-5-2 formation as he owned the left side, which means he needs to run back and forth frequently to make this formation effective. When second half changed back into 4-4-2 formation, he looked comfortable to perform well as Ze Roberto, and Sosa later helped him lots in the left side.

Bastian Schweinsteiger, AMC: He seemed he did not have any way to break off the intense defense. He faced a very heavy traffic in this match and he did not have any way to break it through. Also, the discipline defense from the opposition made him did not have any chance to make his crucial set pieces work. Base on this match, there is a question regarding him - should we put him back to the flank for easier break throughs or still putting him on the centre field to create? This is what Klinsmann needs to think.

Ze Roberto, AMC: He is tired, no doubt. I really appreciated his restless effort in this match, but sadly he seemed to reach his limit. Obviously he has run out of gas last match and this match, he only hung on. He did not contribute too much during the match, and I could not see any magic moves from him. I did not put any blames from him but as a 34-year-old veteran, he should be rotated to keep him fit all over the season.

Luca Toni, FC: He did not perform really well this match. He had chances, but he did not convert one of them into actual goals. Yes the Bremen's defense was very tight but he still had chances to score. The point is he could not get the ball right. Again, he showed himself a stupid dribbling skills and I do believe he should not take this dribbling job. All he needs to do is score goals. This is more than enough.

Lukas Podolski, FC: Miroslav Klose's injury made him start the match. He did pulled back to the middle of the park but he could not break through the solid defense. He is the best formed striker in Germany no doubt, but if I say what he needs to improve, I guess we can all see it in this match. He needs to work harder to break through the solid defense as he will face more solid and harder defense in the upcoming season. This is also the progress the come through as he is still 23, and I believe he will be the best striker in Germany, as well as in the world.

Tim Borowksi - substituted for Daniel Van Buyten: One of the two tactical changes in halftime as Klinsmann changed back to 4-4-2 formation. He did really well in the match and scored 2 consolation goals to avoid further humiliation. I believe he can play more frequently and even start the match to rotate with Ze Roberto. He did very well in holding the ball in the midfield and controlled the flow effectively. It is such as waste to bench him.

Massimo Oddo - substituted for Christian Lell: Well, as I said, why didn't Klinsmann start Oddo? He was the best player in the match, and only two players I can praise (the other player is Tim Borowski). He did well in the right side even though second half lost 3 more goals. At least he did run the attack effectively and made an very accurate cross to Tim Borowski to score. He is definitely good enough to play at the right back and right wing back in the formation and he is the regulat starter. He definitely beats Christian Lell, and comparing with Willy Sagnol who is still injured, Massimo Oddo is better.

Jose Sosa - substituted for Ze Roberto: He did helped Philipp Lahm in the left side and both of them played comfortably. However, it was too late to put him on and his contribution meant nothing to the team.


Final word: This was the massive failure of 3-5-2 formation. The 3-man defense could not communicate well and the tackles were too soft. On the other hand, the wing backs were not really get used to this formation and found a very hard time to cope with. The advantage of 4-4-2 formation is there are more helps in terms of defense and offense. It looks more solid for 4-man defense and there is one more man on the flanks when it starts an attack. I believe Klinsmann now has a dilemma - keeping the 3-5-2 formation or going back to 4-4-2? Anyway, the players not must forget this match and start it up all again.

Steaua Bucarest vs Bayern Munich player-by-player analysis

After 524 days, Bayern Munich had celebrated the return of the Champions League with the away 1-0 victory against Steaua Bucarest Wednesday evening. Here's the player-by-player analysis:

Michael Rensing, GK: The first real test of the season. He was very busy in the evening as the opposition had lots of chances to shoot. He needed to make lots of saves in order to keep the clean sheet, unlike in the Bundesliga. He obviously was very nervous during the match as he could not make any clean saves when the shot was in threat. It was very lucky for him to keep the clean sheet as the opposition hit the post twice, especially one of them was come from his losing concentration of the incoming shot. However, I understand about it as this is the process that every young player needs to go through.

Lucio, DC: He had a fair game this match. He made crucial headers and tackles during the match, as well as had made some crucial attacking runs. His improvement in these few weeks made the defensive line became solid, this was very important for Bayern Munich because when a team is playing a 3-man defense, every defender must be very fit.

Martin Demichelis, DC: Again, he made another man of the match performance. His excellent positioning and accurate tackle did really relief the goalkeeper and the other defenders a lot. His excellent performance had already gained the trust from the team. As I said before, he is the most important member in the defensive line, his health and form do really affect the team a lot. Since his comeback from the injury, Bayern Munich only conceded 1 single goal in 3 matches, comparing with 6 goals in the 3 matches earlier, it definitely showed his importance in the team.

Daniel Van Buyten, DC: This was one of the magics of Klinsmann. He never got his best form from Hamburg after transferring to Bayern Munich 2 seasons ago, and now I can see his best form is coming back. He did a great job in this match. He made lots of crucial tackles and headers from the left side of the field. More importantly, he scored a winning header in the 15th minute of the match. I don't know what Klinsmann had told him before the match but 1 thing is very obvious, that is I started to find his best form.

Christian Lell, MR: Well, I was still confused why Lell was still in the first 11. I believe he needs to forget about this match as quickly as he can. In offense he lost almost all of the possessions, failed to cross the ball accurately, and also failed to make threats from his terrible shots. It did affect his defense performance as well, as he ran to the front, he could not go back in time to stop the counter attacks and made lots of spaces for the opposition. I think Klinsmann needs to think about his starting place, as I believe Massimo Oddo is the best right back and right wing back in the team.

Mark van Bommel, MC: This was the only change comparing to last Saturday's match. It was obviously to see he had controlled himself a lot, it might because the team had taken the early lead. Again he did lots of efforts outside the camera for limiting the midfield space but it was not enough. It was very obvious to see there were lots of chances for the opposition to have long shots to threaten the goalkeeper where he should have been there to stop that. I do believe he needs to work harder to regain the confident to the fans and Klinsmann.

Philipp Lahm, ML: Well, what I can say is he was just better than Lell. I can see he made runs in attack but there was not threatening at all. I can see he made tackles and headers but there were still lots of opposition attacks were coming from his side. This was because again, he ran to the up front of the field and he couldn't run back in time. The formation of 3-5-2 needs the wing back who has unlimited energy to run at the flank back and forth. Yes he was free in the attack but it affected his defense performance.

Bastian Schweinsteiger, AMC: He was one of the man of the match players in this match. His set pieces were accurate than successfully provided a goal for Van Buyten. He did make lots of runs in the game, as well as he worked very hard to make tackles in terms of defense. Once again, Bayern Munich must keep this player as he is the most valuable member in the team. I do believe his best is still yet to come. His performance was declined as his fitness was dropping. All in all, excellent performance for him.

Ze Roberto, AMC: Again, he was working the hardest within the players in Bayern Munich. I can see he made lots of efforts in the game in terms of offense and defense. However, it seemed he started to feel tired a bit as I can see his performance was dropping drastically in the later of the second half. Maybe this was because the opposition gave him lots of pressure, but more importantly, he failed to recover fully after the last match as his age is getting older. Klinsmann can consider about to reserve him in the next match.

Miroslav Klose, FC: Umm, it seems he failed to convert his hat trick performance in the national team to Bayern Munich. He was invisible in the match and he did not find chances for himself. Even he did not make any shots at all. So no wonder he was substitued during the halftime. I do believe his performance cannot convince anyone to grant him a starting place. It is fierce, and it is rude and cruel, but he is in the big club, he needs to pick it up as big club never waits.

Luca Toni, FC: First thing first, congratulations to his Champions League debut. However, same as a young debutant, he had a very nervous game. He could not perform like a goal scorer in Bundesliga as he missed lots of chances during the game. If he played better, he could score a goal or even two. Furthermore, he looked like a big cruiser in the ocean! He could not protect the ball and dribble the ball effectively. So, a question for you, which one is faster to make turns? A big cruiser or a little ferry?

Lukas Podolski - substituted for Miroslav Klose: Although he did not make any real contribution to the team, his performance was way better than Klose. At least he was willing to run and seek for chances. He was definitely better than Klose in terms of match forms. I believe he should gain a position in starting 11. As he keeps to play better, I believe Klose's starting place will be replaced.

Andreas Ottl - substituted for Ze Roberto: As Ze Roberto performance was dropping, Andreas Ottl was the most suitable player to replace his place. He did limit lots of space for the opposition and made some hard tackles during the game. Again, he gained the controlled the possession of the midfield well. So I believe he also deserve a starting place.

Tim Borowski - substituted for Bastian Schweinsteiger: For Klinsmann it seemed Borowski had only one purpose: that was retain possession in the later second half. He could do more than that obviously, as Ze Roberto seemed he was not able to play in full gear every match, Borowski could at least be his reliever.

Final words: This game showed the down side of the formation of 3-5-2. The wing backs were not fit and fast enough to run through that 110-yard long football field. It is a bit harsh to comment like this but hey, this is the world class wing back about. Also, generally the players were very nervous in the game, they could not perform fully just like in the Bundesliga. It is understandable because the team hadn't played the Champions League for 524 days and they needed to get back the match feeling. This is a bliss for Bayern this match as well as the oppostion hit the post twice. Also it is also a bliss that the other opposition in the group (those are Lyon and Fiorentina) can be managed well. So, after this match I feel confident Bayern can progress through to second round.

1. FC Köln vs Bayern Munich player-by-player analysis

Last Saturday Bayern Munich had battled through the tough first half and broke through 3 goals in second half to win against Köln in Cologne. The unchanged formation with last week led them to progress to the second of the league table, 2 points behind the league leader, Hamburger SV. Here's the player-by-player analysis:

Michael Rensing, GK: This is probably the most boring job in Bayern Munich. Again, he had not much chance to prove himself in terms of shot stopping, but he proved himself to be the highly concentrated and resolute goalkeeper. Köln only had 2 real chances in the entire game and Rensing did really neat and tidy to stop the goal. I believe the most important element of the good goalkeeper should be very good in concentration, and Rensing proved he did have.

Lucio, DC: He was at the right side of the 3-man defense line. He made a lot of neat and tidy header to clear most of the aerial attacks from the opposition's left flank. Even though he did not make any fancy attacks in the game, it was still enough for the team to win the game as his good performance made the defense became solid.

Martin Demichelis, DC: He proved himself to Bayern Munich that he is the best defender in the team. His position was excellent that he could able to intercept the passes easily. Also, his hard but clean tackles helped the team relieved lots of pressure. It could be proved by the last ditch tackle in the first half to prevent the opposition scored the goal and took the lead in order to keep the team clean sheet. Once again he is very reliable.

Daniel Van Buyten, DC: Same as Lucio, he was quite good in the game. He did the good job in the left side of the 3-man defense. He made lots of clean headers to clear the aerial attacks from the opposition as well. It is a good news for Bayern that Van Buyten's performance is getting better and better so the team can have more choices in terms of formation and players.

Christian Lell, MR: Fair performance for this lad. He did a fair job in the right side of the field and he could be seen that he made assists in the right side attack. I can see he is making a progress to be the good player in Bayern Munich and hope he can be one of the best players in Bayern Munich in the future. In short term, I can see he can challenge to the other similar players such as Willy Sagnol and Massimo Oddo to be one of the regular starters in the team.

Andreas Ottl, MC: I was quite surprised to be honest. I thought Mark van Bommel would replace him after his suspension, but in fact it was not. Also, it was quite surprised for me that he did a remarkable job. He controlled the flow of the centre field and relieved lots of pressure in terms of defense. At the same time, he did a great job on holding the possession in order to keep the attack to be sustainable. I truly believed that his performance this match was one of the best performances in his entire football career. Meanwhile, this performance could tell Klinsmann that he can replace Mark van Bommel to be the regular starter in the team.

Philipp Lahm, ML: He was not that shape in this game, but it was not a problem as well. He did the fair job in the left side of the field and made couple of runs in attack and made some crucial defense. Maybe he played all 90 minutes in the international game last Wednesday, so his performance was affected.

Bastian Schweinsteiger, AMC: Well, you won't think about food next morning if you ate too much last night. This is what happened in Bastian. I believed his physically fit for the match but mentally he was "full". So his performance was not as shape as the last few matches, same with Philipp Lahm. It is understandable for that as he is now the VIP in Bayern Munich and Germany national team. However, his neat and tidy set pieces assisted the team to break the deadlock in the beginning of the second half. So, good play for him.

Ze Roberto, AMC: He had a quiet game in the first half but he woke up in the second half. He had lots of breakthroughs in the second half and and assisted the team to extend the lead. It was quite a shame that he could not score the goal as he held the ball for too long and finally missed the chance. However all in all, his unstoppbale runs really helped the team to win the game.

Miroslav Klose, FC: It was a shame that he could not convert his good form in Germany national team to Bayern Munich. Many of the fans believed that he should have scored some goals in the game as he was a hat-trick hero in the Finland clash last Wednesday, but it turned out he did nothing. I won't blame him as the midfield of the team was fighting quite hard against the opposition and he had no supplies from the midfield so he did nothing. It is understandable.

Luca Toni, FC: This is what world class striker means. Two chances, two goals. Bascially he did not have lots of chances in the game before the scoreline had changed. However, he scored a half chance goal to open the score sheet in the beginning of the second half. Then, he scored the second goal 7 minutes later and led the team to win the game. It was quite shameful for him to miss chance in the later stage of the second half as the opposition were all out attack and led him got chances after chances. However, as the team was winning, it did not really matter.

Lukas Podolski, substituted for Miroslav Klose: This was definitely the turning point of the game. He proved himself he is currently on the best form. He made los of runs when he was in the field. He started the counter attack by passing the excellent through balls to Ze Roberto to lead the second goal of the game. Besides, he was more willing to pull back to the midfield to get the ball, this was the difference between himself and Klose. He definitely deserved the goal and definitely deserved the place in the first 11. Bayern Munich will regret if they sell him to somewhere else in January next year.

Massimo Oddo, substituted for Christian Lell: Congratulations to him for finishing the Bundesliga debut well. He did made assists on the right side defense as well as made some runs in right side attacks. He had not done too much work this match as the time limit and the team had already been leading 2-0 at the moment. However, he did look good for threatening the starting place of Christian Lell.

Tim Borowski, substituted for Bastian Schweinsteiger: He was substituted for holding on the possession on the midfield as Schweinsteiger's energy was declining. He did a good job for maintaining the lead. He deserved to have more playing time.

Final words: Another convincing win for Bayern Munich and it was a definite moral boosting for the team to play against Werder Bremen in the coming Saturday. One thing to remark it down is Mark van Bommel the captain was only on the bench and did not play. This showed Klinsmann was dared to change, dared to try. Also, it gave the message to van Bommel that even he is a captain, he can be stripped for the captaincy anytime. So, if van Bommel would like to retain his captaincy and regular starting place, he should have to control his emotions a bit to regain the trust.