At Bayern Munich, crisis is always percussive. From the back of the orchestra, a club executive can be relied on to beat an ominous bass drum. Approaching the exit of the stadium after a setback on the pitch, a player will usually chime out an urgent warning. And a mournful violin might seem to be playing for the poor manager.
At Bayern Munich, crisis is always relative, too. The serial Bundesliga champions are said by the local media to be in crisis right now but they are still top of a domestic division they tend to stroll through. The current “crisis” is about the fact Bayern have not recorded a victory for three successive matches and were held to a 2-2 draw on Saturday by an Eintracht Frankfurt who finished the contest with 10 men.
Cue the drumroll from executive president, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge: “That was not Bayern Munich,” he said of a scarcely recognisable performance, careless in possession, not in control of midfield. “We need to set up differently.”
Ouch.
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That sounded like a specific criticism of manager Carlo Ancelotti, who, two months into his job already carries around an awkward burden: his predecessor, Pep Guardiola, who casts a long shadow, never dropped points in three successive games. Ancelotti already has.
The senior players have seen something unfamiliar, too, in the way Bayern’s opponents regard them. “Our rivals think maybe they can get something from games against us,” said Arjen Robben, scorer of the opening goal against Eintracht and a man with a special motivation to raise standards in Wednesday night’s Uefa Champions League meeting with PSV Eindhoven.
Robben began his long, thrilling adventure in European competition with PSV, fully a dozen years ago. He then added to his league title with Premier League and Primera Liga honours with Chelsea and Real Madrid.
This season he seeks another gold medal in a European Cup that has given him countless semi-finals, and two runners-up medals to set next to his one triumph, with Bayern in 2013. Robben turns 33 in January, and if you asked around the supporters of PSV, they might suggest that, much as they admire this uniquely effective winger, his fragile fitness means he might not have too many more years as an elite, jet-propelled superstar.
Robben played 76 minutes against Eintracht, more than he has managed in any of his three previous games this season. He was relieved to have emerged unscathed. Ancelotti was grateful, too, for his goal, although he detected signs of rustiness from a player who has been hampered by different injuries since August. Robben gave the ball away more frequently than he is used to doing.
Robben’s injury history – he has been plagued by muscle and knee problems throughout his career – means that each lay-off is greeted by his bosses and medical staff with special anxiety.
In the Netherlands, he is nicknamed “Mr Glass” and among the PSV followers who gather at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday night will be some members of the growing group of Dutch patriots who believe that, for all Robben has contributed to their national team in his 88 caps, it may be time to wean themselves off a reliance on his brilliance in the orange jersey.
Netherlands captain Robben dropped out of the squad for the recent World Cup qualifiers, including a defeat to France, citing a rib injury, a wound that did not prevent him turning out for his club in the fixtures immediately before and after the international break.
Bayern have been planning for a post-Robben era, too, notably with the recruitment two transfer windows ago of the younger wingers, Douglas Costa and Kingsley Coman, both of whom made more appearances in 2015/16 than a Robben whose absences with injuries cost him about half the campaign in total.
But right now, Ancelotti needs Robben’s experience, his undoubted match-winning qualities and the sort of leadership he was voicing ahead of the visit of PSV.
“It is making us cross that we haven’t won for three games,” the Dutchman said. “It’s important we get rid of that feeling.”
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