Was there a crisis?
Although the primary one is probably another question - was there any crisis at all in the camp of the current champions of the country? The absolute majority of analysts back in August, estimating the chances of the teams for the season, did not play the main favorites of the tournament at all for the Munich team. The applicants are possible, but, for example, the same Werder Bremen was very well established in the offseason and its composition was not inferior to the Bavarian superclub, and Schalke gained financial resources in the course of the play that Rummenigge and Hennes had never dreamed of.
Not to mention the fact that Ballack's summer departure was only partially offset by the purchase of van Bommel. Magat had to rebuild the team’s game structure in midfield in order to harmoniously weave the Dutchman into it and minimize the consequences of parting with Michael. Schweinsteiger, who was not very used to performing such functions, was seated at the director’s console in the middle line. This does not mean that Bastian is not at all capable of playing the game of Bavaria, but for the partners to recognize him as a leader - both charismatic and gaming - it took some time. With this circumstance, the unforced and damn insulting loss of points in the first round and the beginning of the second is quite compatible.
The conflict in the club’s leadership regarding the role of Schweini in the Bayern game surfaced just the other day, and its denouement for the team that had once been maliciously named FC Hollywood turned out to be nothing like a happy ending. The loss of points in the home game with Bochum was, as they say in such cases, the last straw. Felix Magat lost his post, paying for mistakes that he might not have made.
PRESENT FROM THE MANAGEMENT
In the summer of 2004, one of the first weighty statements of the newly appointed Bayern Mentor concerned the acquisition of Brazilian Lucio. Magat sincerely admired the Bayer defender cost the Munich team more than all the newcomers to all his previous teams. Felix, of course, exaggerated, but the fact remains. If Ottmar Hitzfeld, having joined the team, immediately put on the Rummenigge table a short list of the players he needed, then Magat took the purchase of Lucio almost as a gift from the club's top management. Alas, in the future he practically did not receive such kind of presents.
Ballack's departure became known long before Michael took a picture with a Chelsea scarf in the stands of Stamford Bridge. However, instead of looking in advance for an adequate replacement for their leader, Magat began to slip in economy class playmakers - Iranian Karimi and Paraguayan dos Santos. The long-awaited van Bommel was presented only on the flag of the pre-bid campaign, and he, as has already been said, could not fully replace Ballack.
What was left to Magath? He began to build the game in the middle of the field from what he had available. And it cannot be said that he made any tangible flaws in this field. On the contrary! After all, it was Magat who made the risky decision to entrust the position of the supporting midfielder to the young Andreas Ottl. However, the young midfielder coddled and became one of the main revelations of the first round of the championship. Yes, Bayern even dropped out of the leading trinity, but, firstly, for 15 rounds the backlog of 5 points could be easily eliminated, and secondly, with two “salad bowls” in the previous two seasons, Felix nevertheless earned another more tolerant attitude. The same Hitzfeld lost the championship race in 2002, but he was not shown the door, but only bought a new batch of stars (Ballack, The Robert, Deisler) and extended the credit of trust.
RUSSIAN EXAMPLE
The logic in the return of Hitzfeld, of course, is slightly more than in the dismissal of Magat. Since a new coach is needed, other candidates do not seem to pop up right away. However, what prevailed in the actions of the Bavarian leadership - the desire to remove Magat or the desire to see Hitzfeld again on the coaching post? One can only speculate. Given all the above circumstances, the decisive role seems to have played nevertheless nostalgia for Hitzfeld. If Ottmar had been flattered by Igor Surkis’s proposal and worked today in Kiev, Magat would hardly have received such an emergency resignation.
However ... It is quite possible, during this time Ottmar had a good rest, picked up new ideas, looked at football from the other side and was eager to take on the management of the old-new team with renewed vigor. One of his Russian colleagues benefited from a similar vacation.