Bayern: different manager – same result

The appointment of old favourite Ottmar Hitzfeld until the end of the current Bundesliga season will steady the Good Ship Bayern, won’t it? Not on the evidence of tonight, it won’t. A resurgent Nuremberg were tonight’s opponents for Bayern and Nuremberg wiped the floor with their Bavarian neighbours with a convincing 3-0 win.

The early stages of the game seemed to offer incipient glimpses of the heralding of a new dawn. Nothing major mind, but glimpses of attacking play and a new, more relaxed style. Owen Hargreaves, just named England’s player of the year (deservedly, although the competition was hardly difficult), was back to partner van Bommel in midfield while Schweinsteiger returned to the left, and all was set was a storming performance. Few mentioned that the storming performance would be by Nuremberg.

Bayern’s early promise simply evaporated into thin air once Sajenko scored in the twelfth minute. The self doubts and laboured build up play returned as though Hitzfeld was merely Magath in disguise (admittedly a good disguise as Magath’s a bit rotund-ish around the jowell area and Hitzfeld’s a bit hang-dogish nowadays). Bayern did show some much-needed spirit once Schroth had scored Nuremeberg's second in the 71 minute, but they had neither the guile nor the craft to unduly trouble Nuremberg.

On this showing Hitzfeld’s return will not bring the championship to Bayern. But one defeat is just one defeat and once he gets his feet under the tactics board he should make some progress in restoring the players’ self belief. The Bundesliga’s gone and fighting for a Champions League spot is now the aim. And in a couple of weeks Bayern entertain Real Madrid, another ailing has-been team. There’s still plenty to fight for this season – and that’s the first thing Hitzfeld will be drumming into his players’ heads at the next Säbener Strasse training session.