All-foreign defender introduces Joao Cancelo Is Bayern's "German FC" plan coming to an end?

introduction

In the past ten seasons, Bayern has achieved the feat of winning ten consecutive Bundesliga titles, which is not only the peak of Bayern's entire history, but also represents the highest level of team building in Europe. However, the closely linked German national team fell from the World Cup title to two consecutive World Cup group stage exits, and Bayern's "FC Germany" goal seems to be drifting away from the team's way forward. With Neuer's accident, Bayern can be said to have attracted an all-foreign defense for the first time in history. So, how did Bayern's team develop over the past decade to form today's pattern?

Represented by Mueller, the strength of the youth academy is one of the pillars

Mueller is one of Bayern's youth academy representatives

Bayern's youth academy is at the top of the German level and is also a banner in Europe. The success of this youth training not only brings huge economic benefits, but also has a highly unbalanced advantage in tactics. The most typical representative of this is Mueller.

At Bundesliga level, apart from Bayern, no team has been able to recruit attacking players of Müller's level in the past decade with the same level of salary. Mueller's high-quality and efficient output in the league has not been interrupted since his debut, which has allowed Bayern to accumulate a huge unique advantage over the course of a long season. More importantly, Mueller's output in the knockout stages of the Champions League is definitely qualified, which also makes Bayern firm in investing in youth training. Compared with the "gambling" cultivation-selling-profit model of many Bundesliga mid-table teams, Bayern's youth training has been relatively stable, no longer taking profit as the first goal, but focusing on cultivating outstanding talents for the first team.

The instability is huge, and the prospects of youth training coexist with opportunities and challenges

Stanišić is a quality product of Bayern's youth academy

However, the youth training model still has great instability. Compared with Heynckes' luxurious squad with Müller, Lahm, Schweinsteiger, Alaba and others in the third period, Bayern's only self-training in recent years is Stanišić. Although Musiara also has a youth qualification, he is a recruit from Chelsea, and the replicability of this model of poaching other people's quality products is minimal, and it can hardly be called in line with Bayern's youth goals.

Bayern's youth decline and Germany's consecutive outings are highly intrinsically related, and are likely to indicate some of Bayern's internal problems. In the German national youth who won the European Youth Championship, Bayern's role is not very heavy, which may further affect Bayern's dominance in the next few years.

After leaving Bayern, Weizer finally found his own way

However, the decline of Bayern's youth academy is only relative. Even without the massive emergence of quality players capable of competing at the Champions League level, Bayern's youth graduates such as Frieder, Lucas May, Dosch and Weizer have proven to have a place in the Bundesliga.

Bayern's next dominant team capable of attacking the six-time trophy could be a core of players of this age represented by Vanner. It can be inferred from this that Bayern's dominance may return to its peak for another five to seven years.

"Excavator"? In fact, this is the healthiest development model

Due to the large number of players purchased from the Bundesliga, Bayern are often dubbed "excavators". But with a little analysis, it's normal for Bayern to focus on this. First of all, Bayern's goal is to be the leader of the Bundesliga for a long time, so the main part of the composition of the personnel must be the Bundesliga players.

The large-scale use of foreign players and the introduction of signings from other leagues are more likely to occur in mid- and lower-range teams and foreign teams (e.g. Leipzig and Augsburg). Because the use of foreign players is more like a gamble, hoping to obtain high output through small cost input, which is very unstable and difficult to build long-term stable competitiveness. Bayern clearly cannot adopt this model on a large scale.

American king Donovan's experience at Bayern was not successful

On the other hand, the entry rules of the Bundesliga differ from those of several other major leagues. In the Premier League, for example, the Premier League's "hukou" gives local players an additional, even spillover, price portion. Because all teams need to meet the rules of the hukou, and it is difficult for the middle and lower reaches of the team to rely on youth training to fill the hukou, hardware-wise, their training facilities and scouting systems are far less than the big teams; Software-wise, their youth appeal and team prestige also make it difficult for them to recruit outstanding youth players.

Therefore, in many teams, it can be found that the youth training products from the traditional powerhouse, although they may not be excellent in quality, can also get the opportunity to gain a foothold in the Premier League.

The Premier League's "household book" system gives players different values

In the Bundesliga, this logic is reversed by the rules of registration. Mid-stream and downstream teams no longer have the pressure to meet the hukou, but can give a lot of time for local youth players to grow. As a result, high-quality local youth players often appear in the middle and lower reaches of the team - because the sample is huge enough, there is enough room for trial and error, and there are naturally gold to stand out. For the sake of their own competitiveness, Bayern must select high-quality players to bring in. The so-called "digger" is essentially a normal player operation under the rules of the German league. Given the Bundesliga's investment rules, this model is also healthy and beneficial at league level, guaranteeing the Bundesliga's competitiveness in European competition to the greatest extent.

High-quality Bundesliga support makes two dynasties

Dent demonstrated world-class standards under Heynckes

In Heynckes III, a series of Bundesliga internal signings such as Dent, Mandzukic, Neuer, Gomes and so on have become an important guarantee for Bayern's competitiveness in the continental arena. When it came to Frick's six-time champions, this part of the people were Gnabry, Gretzka, Kimmich, Juler, Pavard.

In fact, Bayern's signings from within the Bundesliga, with the exception of Lewandowski, a superstar, have not dominated the team to this day. Frick's exit from the quarter-finals of the Champions League in the second season has clearly demonstrated this. When Lewandowski, the once-in-a-century superstar, is gone, Bayern can choose two models for the main player, one is to use youth players as the main player, and the other is to use German players returning from overseas. Alaba played as a back and centre-back over the two legs, which is already close to Beckenbauer's level of play.

But modern football is different from fifty years ago, and the difference between backfield and front is a gap, and Bayern cannot achieve this with two games. At the end of the season, Frick's departure and Alaba's move to Real Madrid essentially meant that Bayern should take another path in the face of the gradual instability of the Bundesliga's internal support - with German returnees as the main players. And the person who bears this heavy responsibility is Sane.

From Boateng to Sane, the role of overseas German players has gradually intensified

Bayern are generally not interested in bringing in German players from abroad. From 2006 to 2014, Bayern bought only Bout and Boateng from overseas, and since the summer of 2014, Bayern have imported only two German players from overseas, Tashcher and Sane.

Sane's significance to Bayern is special

Sane is a special one, he is a clearly demanding transfer target for Bayern and, more importantly, he is the main manager of the generation after "Robery" that Bayern have identified. Later in his career, the injury-plagued Robery attendance was not guaranteed, and Bayern made various attempts to win in the Champions League, bringing in a number of wingers including Gotze, Douglas Costa, Koeman and Gnabry.

However, none of these people can become the actual successor of "Robery" like Sane. Koeman is a complete winger, but has not enough ball ability to be a manager in major games; Gnabry is mechanically similar to Koeman, but the two experiences of Bremen and Hoffenheim have led him to a certain extent to the path of pseudo-nine, and he cannot show sufficient dominance on the wing.

Sane's Premier League experience is a valuable asset

Sane's move to Bayern is important not only for Bayern, but also for the German team. As far as Germany is concerned, this is the first time that black players at the level of the main manager can participate in a World Cup-intensity match. On the premise, Sane can be qualified to be the main manager, firstly, his resume is tough enough: he has fully trained in the Premier League and has enough Champions League knockout matches to support, which is unmatched among wingers of similar age in Germany; The second is excellent ability: Sane is a complete winger, high-intensity attack and defense are still in place, and also really has the "forward" attribute and hard solving ability, all abilities are above the passing line.

In contrast, Draxler and Timo Werner have major flaws: Draxler is unstable in receiving the ball, the offensive means are also low-quality and inefficient, and he can also act as Mr. Dongguo in the Confederations Cup, and he will be directly revealed in the World Cup; Werner Middle Road side, first line and second line are all stained, and after intensity, it is at best a "wingman's wingman".

Havertz had an affair with Bayern during his time at Bayer Leverkusen

In the next few years, if there are still players like Sane emerging in top overseas teams, Bayern will still make these players their primary transfer targets. Among the current overseas German players, there is only one who has the ability to serve as a manager in Bayern - Havertz, and he is the goal pursued by Bayern, which is very similar to Bayern's pursuit of Sane. In terms of transfer policy, this will be the signing that is most in line with Bayern's overall development vision.

Sommer joined, subverting Bayern's tradition of goalkeeping

Neuer's accidental injury gave Bayern a turning point. As a matter of common sense, Bayern should choose a German goalkeeper to strengthen the squad in this case. Including Sommer, Bayern have only four foreign goalkeepers in their history. In fact, after Neuer's injury, Bayern considered recalling Nubel as a replacement, but ultimately failed to make the trip for various reasons. In this case, choosing the Swiss instead of a German goalkeeper is a very bold attempt, which shows that the Southern Star is no longer obsessed with using the Germans at key points in the lineup.

Sommer's arrival heralded the completion of the non-German defensive line

The obvious effect of this change is that Bayern's influence on the German team will be weakened. In fact, both late Loew and current Frick are keen to boldly use non-Bayern players in friendlies. But in the big game, it is difficult to leave Bayern players in the core position.

Loew tried a completely different model in the Confederations Cup, choosing Gundogan and Kroos to partner in midfield in the final tournament, in part to avoid some of the unsolvable problems of Bayern's logic system (such as the lack of absolute attacking strength). The German team under Frick has a more special selection method such as Raum and Stach, and the substantive purpose is roughly the same. On the other hand, Bayern can use German-speaking foreign aid to solve the problem of local players, which is the significance of introducing German-speaking foreign aid.

Bayern have high expectations for Nubel

As far as Sommer is concerned, Bayern will most likely not be able to find a German goalkeeper of the same level of play at the moment. Although the point of goalkeeper may not be the point that determines the team's performance on the field, it may be directly fatal after a problem. Ulreich's mistake may seem accidental, but it is also a reflection of the low quality of German goalkeepers under Neuer (in the case of the Champions League semi-finals) and their inadequacy.

It is very understandable that the German-speaking goalkeeper will be Bayern's first choice after this stage – on the one hand, the need for club culture, and on the other hand, the need for competition on the field. The general trend of de-moralization of the back defense is basically irreversible, so the non-de-moralization of the goalkeeper is naturally a close second. In a larger sense, the selection of German-speaking goalkeepers is more like a step in the transition, paving the way for the larger use of foreign goalkeepers in the future. This also indicates that Bayern may even introduce French-speaking goalkeepers in the future.

Sabitzer, a bold attempt to solve the midfield problem

At Leipzig, Sabitzer helped the team reach the last four of the Champions League

Another German-speaking player that must be mentioned is Sabitzer. Sabitzer's hardcore qualities are vastly underestimated and it is no coincidence that he was able to reach the last four of the Champions League as a winger. As a winger, Sabitzer has influence at both ends of the offensive and defensive ends, and although his offensive killing moves are not very good, he has indeed solved problems in major games. This offensive firepower advantage dooms him to play even in midfield. Bayern introduced him to discover the drawbacks of Gretzka's inconsistent forward insertion and Kimmich's long-range shot.

In Frick's two-legged match with Bayern the following year, Kimmich's personal disastrous play directly tilted the momentum of the game towards Paris - three goals at home in the first leg were already tragic, and it was very difficult to win two away games in Lewandowski's absence, and the intensity of the away game was difficult for Bayern to dominate. And Sabitzer's attacking weapon is what Bayern bet on - to further increase the offensive firepower and intensity of the game in a strong matchup in order to control the trend of the game, or at least not let the momentum tilt to the opponent's side.

Sabitzer did not live up to Bayern's initial expectations of him

Sabitzer's departure was justified. A draw away from RB Salzburg somewhat caused Nagelsmann to lose faith in Sabitzer, and he did not get a chance to play in the next three games. The two rounds with Huang Qian are a test of the quality of the coach. Nagelsmann split the combination of Gretzka and Kimmich in the first leg, but returned home in the second leg and the intensity of the game forced him back to his previous mode. And Gretzka and Kimmich have also proved to be only at the level of the Champions League quarter-finals without additional structural blessings.

The significance of Sabitzer's signing is that it is a useful attempt by Bayern to discover the problems of Gretzka and Kimmich and make bold changes. Austria's youth training model is different from Germany's, so there are players who are really organized in the midfield position and can help control the field. The significance of this kind of idiosyncratic player is not only to change the problems of Gretzka and Kimmich in midfield, but also to have the possibility of solving problems at all points.

French power, black and white combined

Hernandez is Bayern's champion of the transfer fee

At the end of the 19/20 season, Bayern sent away meritorious players Boateng and invested heavily in French defenders Upamecano and Lucas Hernandez. Together with the original Pavard and Saar, they had the capital to form a defensive line of all-French forces. The core idea of this kind of team formation is "black and white combined, black dominant".

Pavard's performance at the World Cup in Russia was impressive

"Black and white combination" is the general trend in today's football. Under the influence of immigration and other factors, the base of black players has increased thousands of times compared to the past, which has given more black players the opportunity to appear on the stage of top competitions. Blacks have a natural power advantage over whites, and the position that most needs the strength element on the court is the position closest to the two goals. In terms of the back line, the central defender is the source of the strength of the defensive line, and the demand for strength elements in this position is also the most clear, so as to derive a series of defensive capabilities such as confrontation and competition. The conventional advantage of whites is technology, and the derived concepts are passing and possession, big feet and so on.

The principle of "black dominance" is also the need for strength elements in the defense line. As black and with an innate advantage in terms of strength, Upamecano undoubtedly needs to play as a central defender for most of the games.

Hernandez is slightly different from Pavard, who often plays at right-back and is flawed in many game scenarios due to the strength factor. Hernandez has won top honours as a left-back and qualified in the Champions League as a right-back (during Atletico). These full-backs have sparked their versatility on the positive side, but to some extent they are no longer able to take on the role of core centre-backs.

Upamecano is the top centre-back of the moment

In addition, there is another reason why Upamecano can partner the core central defender - Guinea genes. There is no doubt that the Gulf of Guinea gene is one of the brightest in the entire history of football. This is not just the region of West Africa, if you have some basic geographical and anthropological knowledge, then it is easy to think that Brazil is also the beneficiary of the Gulf of Guinea gene, which gave birth to two generations of stars, Bailey and Dal. In contrast, Upamecano has only picked up the wisdom of his predecessors and has shown top hardcore qualities in the current era.

Croatian player, the heritage of Eastern European football

Bayern's last two Champions League wins have been linked to Croatian players. In Heynckes' third installment, Oric played the role of a backup in one of the few critical times. Under Frick, Perisic, on loan from Inter Milan, played as a starting winger in the knockout rounds, making a remarkable contribution to the eventual victory. The Croatian in Bayern's squad today is Academy defender Stanišić.

Perisic has performed very well at Bayern

Croatia's strength in football is inseparable from the huge football population base. In addition, Croatian football is deeply influenced by the former Soviet Union and the former Yugoslav Federation, so in many places it has developed a model that is very different from the traditional five major leagues, which also provides dividends for Croatian players in European competition. In the case of Perisic, as a very traditional winger who pulls away to the touchline when attacking, you can see in him the shadow of Lobanovsky's advocated attacking tactics on the wing - wingers pull apart, full-backs cut in front of the ribs. Just as Lobanovsky used this move to crush Maldini, Bayern swept Europe under Frick with a highly similar style of play.

From today's point of view, this is actually just the simplest model of wing overload, but the experience of predecessors can come up with a scale and a half claw, and it is still effective, which is the greatest value brought by the Bayern squad of Central and Eastern Europeans.

The whistle signed Cancelo, the most eye-catching deal

The Cancelo deal came suddenly and quickly

The most shocking deal on this year's winter transfer window deadline was undoubtedly Cancelo joining Bayern on loan. Portuguese full-back, has worked out in multiple leagues and evolved into a full-back under Pep Guardiola. From a technical point of view, Cancelo is likely to be the first full-back in the world. From the perspective of the stadium elements, the arrival of Cancelo complements Bayern's technical elements, on the other hand, it also proves the phased decline of the overall environment of the Bundesliga - if the Bundesliga has a full-back of the same quality or at least close to the level, Bayern will certainly not list Cancelo as the first option.

Cancelo was also a means of solving the problems of Gretzka and Kimmich. Kimmich's offensive problems stem from being too stiff, which leads to passing problems, and the so-called "playmaking" problem. The value of Joao Cancelo is that when he is on the right wing, Kimmich can use his right foot more smoothly to pass for him. Cancelo is typical of Pavard and others with the ability to handle the ball on both feet, so at high intensity, Kimmich's pass will not be so easy to get off the ball, even if it is deviated. Further implications, Cancelo is likely to play at the back in stages, while Kimmich goes to the full-back position. Putting in a technical point with a more obvious technical advantage in the midfield is conducive to the balance of attack and defense.

Dutch heritage from Ajax

De Ligt and Blind worked together at Ajax

Matthijs de Ligt and Blind are the more crucial Dutch players in Bayern's squad. As for Hrafenbech, it is a point where relative ability still needs to be improved, and Bayern are unlikely to need him substantially in the knockout stages of the Champions League. In the past few seasons, Ajax's system has been relatively fixed, so the roles of players cultivated and trained are relatively clear. Blind and Matthijs de Ligt can both be seen as standard shooting defenders at the moment, with solid defensive ability. And Herafenbech is an eight-in-eight with excellent forward ability. In the Champions League knockout round, Bayern's most ideal defensive centre-back combination should be Upamecano + Matthijs de Ligt. Matthijs de Ligt is the perfect match for Upamecano in terms of characteristics, as he makes up for the technical shortcomings.

Guardiola and Ancelotti, a myth of the Spanish language family

Taking over Bayern is a huge challenge for Pep Guardiola

After Heynckes stepped down for the second term, Guardiola took over the Southern Star. Throughout the history of football, Pep Guardiola's "wonderful" level in the knockout stages of the Champions League is second to none. Pep Guardiola's fresh thinking for Bayern is the construction of a midfield, and the use of Thiago and Alonso has given the Southern Star a whole new way of looking at things.

In addition to the need for "pass control" with Barca to balance both ends of the offensive and defensive ends, Bayern's advantage is that its own defensive system has been improved, but the injury problems caused by high-intensity defense cannot be ignored. To that end, Thiago and Alonso are tasked with strengthening control of the ball and the momentum of the game. The case in point came in the Champions League knockout stage against Juventus in the 15/16 season. With Kimmich starting as a centre-back, Alonso and Thiago used their technology to control the momentum of the game. This made the Southern Star truly aware of the huge influence of backfield technical points.

Carlo Ancelotti offers Bayern some new ideas

Ancelotti basically followed Pep Guardiola's thinking. However, the runaway situation after Vidal's red card in the second leg against Real Madrid forced him to change, for which he brought his love brother James with him. Logically, as "Robery" ages and his physical function declines, using the South American No. 10 position that is biased towards tradition or even classics should be a trick to solve the lack of offensive firepower in the front. But the reality is that Hames clashed with Mueller's duties as the number ten, and Mueller, as the soul of the team, could not go to the wing, far from the core of the attack. So in that season, Ancelotti left class early.

A masterpiece of the realm that has been refined

(Photo) Heynckes enters the palace four times

Heynckes, who has arrived at the Allianz Arena for the fourth time, has reached the pinnacle of his personal coaching career. Compared to Carlo Ancelotti, Heynckes' reputation as a champion in German football made his tactical adjustments more convincing. Heynckes didn't completely erase Hames' No.10 role, but on important occasions such as the knockout stages of the Champions League, Heynckes chose to see Hames as the No. 8, one of the greatest moves a highly skilled coach made later in his career. Despite his flawed defensive ability as the number eight, Hames still got the job done in crucial games. Using the technical point of the number eight to make up for the lack of control of the ball in front has also become a valuable asset left by Heynckes to Bayern.

"Scientists" laid the cornerstone, and Frick pushed to the top

Kovacs is by no means generic at the tactical level

After Heynckes retired, Bayern urgently needed a competent coach with a coaching experience in German football. Kovac, who led Eintracht Frankfurt to Europa League and German Cup titles, was the perfect choice. At Eintracht Frankfurt, Kovac's two key tools were a three-centre-back system and a strong attacking spot on the left flank of Rebic. At Bayern, Kovac will have to come up with new tricks to keep the team going.

Kovac was the first coach to discover Kimmich's problems as a midfielder and address them head-on. In addition, he has returned to Pep Guardiola's thinking to a certain extent in the use of midfield, using the skills of the Spaniard to cover the defense. For Gnabry, Kovac did not see him as a mere winger, but focused on developing his breakthrough attributes, making him a de facto pseudo-number nine behind Lewandowski. And all this laid a solid foundation for Frick's success.

Frick pushed Bayern to the top

Frick accepted Bayern and got an almost perfect squad. And the only question is in the midfield: how can the various problems of Gretzka's partner with Kimmich be solved? Just when Frick was helpless, an accident happened to deliver the correct answer to Frick - Pavard was injured.

In the following phase, Frick let Kimmich play as the starting right-back, while Thiago was paired with Gretzka in midfield, Perisic and Gnabry winger and Muller occupied the nominal number ten. Considering the specific circumstances at that time, it can be said that Frick has given a most consistent system. And the lessons learned by several former coaches in exchange for actual performance are also indispensable to Frick.

Nagelsmann and the "Red Bull lineage"

After Frick announced his departure due to disagreements over transfers and a number of other reasons, Bayern once again faced a crossroads in choosing a manager. At this point in time, Bayern need a coach that is actually very similar to when they recruited Kovac - German football coaching resume and ability. Having spent two top-flight coaching spells at Hoffenheim and Leipzig, Nagelsmann was the obvious choice. Upamecano and Sabitzer moved from Leipzig and were also associated to some extent with Nagelsmann.

Nagelsmann is the coach in line with Bayern's vision

In addition, Bayern also has one Red Bull element that is easily overlooked – Mane. Mane was tapped into Red Bull Salzburg's system, and after the last training in the Austrian league, he was seen as a direct replacement for Lewandowski. Nagelsmann boldly used Red Bull players at key points in the squad and was impressed by the team's current technical and tactical choices and future team building ideas. In addition, Red Bull's recruitment policy itself is a "combination of black and white", which is largely in line with Bayern's development vision.

Conclusion: A model for the all-European team-building model

From the point of view of team building, Bayern is a model for all European teams today. Whether it is the diversity of players used, the development of players, or the relevance of tactical system construction and player introduction, Southern Star is a model for all of Europe. In terms of management, Bayern is also different from the traditional German management, avoiding most of the internal friction through a relatively reasonable organizational model, which is also an indispensable element required for team building.

Together with Heiner and Salihamidzic, Kahn forms Bayern's new Iron Triangle

Bayern's operating model is not only highly replicable within the Bundesliga, but also has important reference significance for most of Europe's top giants. Retaining traditional values, combined with the idea of attracting people who keep pace with the times, and the management with excellent business ability, this can be referred to and improved in most teams. Bayern will remain the benchmark in Europe for a long time to come.