Bayern München

[Hamzah]

Maybe he puts Martinez in defence so he can use Schweini as the deep lying playmaker. He played the same position in the 4-1-4-1 for the German national team in some Euro qualifiers. Perhaps Thiago is backup to Schweini for that position.

 

[Meitux]

Maybe he puts Martinez in defence so he can use Schweini as the deep lying playmaker. He played the same position in the 4-1-4-1 for the German national team in some Euro qualifiers. Perhaps Thiago is backup to Schweini for that position.

Yeah,Schweinsteiger will have the lone box to box role,but i don't know if Martinez is used in defence just for not to be benched or is better than the other current defenders.Particularly he is surely better than Van Buyten,Kirckhhoff isn't ready to step up yet,so Boateng is his competition if he'll be used there but generally its a waste of his talent in defence as i said before.And Pep said Thiago can play in multiple positions so mostly he will rotate with Schweinsteiger,maybe few times for attacking midfield position but Pep also said that he may use Ribery there and sometimes Shaqiri has played centrally, there are many players for 2 attacking midfield positions really..So mostly yes it will be for Schweinsteiger,although if hes about to play there he needs to improve his defensive abilities.

 

[Maria]

Call it bad choice of words. Maybe 'bemoan' would have been a better term, maybe not. I just find it interresting that he says this after beating a fourth-division team 5:0 in the cup, so it was basically uncalled for, especially considering that no open criticism has been reported so far, so I try to get to the bottom of his motivation. No matter what it is though, it's merely a footnote. And no, Mourinho would never say such a thing. According to him there is no pressure in football.

You say it was uncalled for, but as far as I know he gave an interview or it was a press conference, so I'm assuming that he just answered some questions. Because the only time that I can remember Pep going in a rant without answering to a journalist is before the CL game aginst RM, after all the accusations that Mou threw at him. And like I said, what Pep said yesterday didn't really looked like a complaint to me.

You probably won't like the term, but I don't mean 'teachers' pet' in any pejorative way.

I refer to the Thiago transfer, specifically to what it does to their squad which ties in to another cardinal sin, namely, changing the formation. Now Pep never striked me as a fan of a double pivot, but can you name me one reason as to why exactly he disbanded the double-pivot of Martinez/Schweinsteiger, which was arguably the best working DM partnership of the last season ? And then plays Thiago as DM which was immediately followed by a Schweinsteiger interview where he felt the urge to express his insecurity concerning his position and then he plays Schweinsteiger as a DM again and Martinez as CB when it's clear as day that their defense is far more vulnerable this way ?
Please note that it isn't me who will be asking this question, because I see what he tries there, but all the people and papers I mentioned and a lot more will if there's no instant success and it will be the first thing held against him.

The other thing about the Thiago transfer is that Pep specifically insisted on this transfer when he said that he wants Thiago or no-one, and thereby maneuverd himself into a catch-22: Does he play him as DM now and thereby forces Schweinsteiger, the undisputed holy cow of Bayern, out of his position ? Van Gaal tried that once and weeks of constant complaining and unrest followed. Does he field him in midfield and bench e.g. Kroos, one of the most talented midfielders in Germany, a NT player ? Doesn't he field him at all or only sporadically and halt his progress, and again, of a transfer he specifically insisted on ? If he doesn't play him, the question will naturally arise why the club had to waste money on him. If he fields him, no matter where he does, Thiago better pulls off spectacular performances or this is just asking for trouble. Pep didn't slap him for no reason; he knows exactly what the situation is.

I don't know what Pep has in mind with Schweinsteiger or with Thiago, but if I were I Bayern fan I would ask myself why Gotze was bought before complaining about Thiago. It seemed to me that they were pretty covered with Muller, Kroos, Robben, Ribery and Shaqiri in the AM position..not so much in the CM where everytime Schweinsteiger missed(though I haven't watched them as much as a fan would have in the past) they looked like a different team. So in my opinion they would have been better off getting Thiago and Lewandowski this summer, but I guess the temptation to steal Dortmund's and Germany's most talented younster was too big for them to rezist.
And as far as his experiments with the formations go, he did this at the beginning of every season and if he didn't liked the result he switched to a safer choice in March-April(remember for example his 2nd El Clasico at the Bernabeu, where he started with VV-Puyol, Pique, Milito, Maxwell-Keita, Busquets, Xavi-Dani Alves, Messi, Pedro)..so they may start with a formation now and finish with a different one at the end of the season.

 

[Hamzah]

He probably likes Martinez because he's comfortable on the ball. When he was with us he eventually started using two defenders who are good with the ball Piqué and Masch.

I don't think he's that bad as a CB but he does lack some natural instincts for that position, he is like Masch for us. It's also a shame to waste his talents.

 

[Stric]

I'm not saying Martinez in defense and Schweini as DM is a 100% failure or chaos, but it's definitely worse than playing the two of them as a double pivot. That was the absolute perfect match and screwing around with that will bring no good out of it. It can only be worse. It's as if Pep is bored and just wants to experiment.

 

[Semi-Neutral]

It's as if Pep is bored and just wants to experiment.

...

Sounds about right.

 

[DennyCrane]

I don't know what Pep has in mind with Schweinsteiger or with Thiago, but if I were I Bayern fan I would ask myself why Gotze was bought before complaining about Thiago. It seemed to me that they were pretty covered with Muller, Kroos, Robben, Ribery and Shaqiri in the AM position..not so much in the CM where everytime Schweinsteiger missed(though I haven't watched them as much as a fan would have in the past) they looked like a different team. So in my opinion they would have been better off getting Thiago and Lewandowski this summer, but I guess the temptation to steal Dortmund's and Germany's most talented younster was too big for them to rezist.

Well, Götze will play constantly once fully fit, no two ways about it, be it as an AM, False 9 or whatever Pep has in his mind. Benching the (at least as far as I'm concerned) most gifted german player won't happen. Rib and Rob are set too, Shaq is a luxury sub, Müller is versatile/polyvalent enough to occupy many positions. That leaves a question mark behind Kroos. Kroos is the home-grown (more or less) and a NT player (and has played a lot so far), so he already has an edge over T.

And as far as his experiments with the formations go, he did this at the beginning of every season and if he didn't liked the result he switched to a safer choice in March-April(remember for example his 2nd El Clasico at the Bernabeu, where he started with VV-Puyol, Pique, Milito, Maxwell-Keita, Busquets, Xavi-Dani Alves, Messi, Pedro)..so they may start with a formation now and finish with a different one at the end of the season.

Exactly. But doing that with a treble winning squad on such a fundamental level ? I see pitfalls all over the place here. And tbh, formations are overrated anyway as they are merely a numerical reference for general positioning, which mostly applies in a defending phase of the match anyway.
What about the gameplan, the synergies, the interplay: Looking at Bayern so far, they remind me of Peps' late-stage Barca more than anything, Rib and Rob still ball-hog too much, too many uninspired crosses and generally holding on to the ball for way too long instead of fast ball distribution. No fluidity, severe lack of off the ball movement and even the defensive lulz are already visible.
Now I'm painting a dark picture here and imo Pep is more than capable of solving this. Furthermore, productivity and results can cover up a lot of flaws, but will he deliver those from day-one, even more, is that even possible ? And are the players willing to follow his path ?
As of today, out of the teams with an inferior position to start with, every coach worth his salt will field 3 defensive midfielders or at least two with purely defensive duties and watch Bayern pull their hair out getting through it.

 

[Luftstalag14]

 

[Galning]

Ribéry & Robben look so weird with a suit.

 

[Meitux]

Boateng like some old man who works in an office with those glasses..like a lawyer maybe

 

[barcanuck]

Gustavo looks like he wants the heck out

 

[Meitux]

Pep starting with Boateng Dante and benching Martinez . Interesting to see how ter Stegen performs today.

 

[Tomchin]

Aufstellung / line up FCB: Neuer - Dante, Alaba, Boateng, Lahm, Müller, Schweinsteiger, Robben, Ribéry, Mandzukic, Kroos | ^M.Hörwick

Einwechselspieler / substitutes: Starke - van Buyten, Kirchhoff, Rafinha, Shaqiri, Pizarro, Martínez #FCBBMG

So weird that Martinez isn't starting at DM. Who's partnering Schweinsteiger in CM then, Kroos?

 

[Meitux]

No its a 4-1-4-1. Schweinsteiger plays the lone role as box to box and Muller Kroos as attacking midifelders..

 

[Corb]

Streams?