FC Bayern Munich: Mid-season player ratings
Pep Guardiola
Pep Guardiola and Bayern Munich can never be kept out of any football fan’s list of top 5 managers and top 5 teams respectively. Therefore, when Guardiola decided to end his sabbatical and take the reins of FC Bayern Munich from Jupp Henckeyes, who had already made Bayern the best team in the world, many people got the impression that the ‘era’ of FC Barcelona at the top of the pecking order had come to an end officially.
Pep Guardiola rarely deviates from his ideology, and during his extremely successful stint at Barcelona, he had sold off many star players who weren’t part of his grand plan. While this worked for Guardiola at a team of ‘schoolboys’ like Barcelona, not many can guarantee similar results at FC Bayern Munich, which is definitely not a slacker in the department of having combustible players.
Despite the rumours of a rift between the club and the coach, FC Bayern have been producing results not very different from what they had been achieving under Jupp Henckeyes. So without further ado, here are the mid-season ratings of Bayern’s players.
Manuel Neuer: 8
Neuer is officially the best goalkeeper in the world as of now, and not many would disagree unofficially. Neuer is an absolute rock in between the goalposts, and the only reason we can’t get enough of his acrobatic saves is because of Bayern’s airtight defence (which is why his rating isn’t higher than an 8).
Despite this, Neuer’s athleticism and positioning has saved Bayern from many awkward situations. He has kept 10 clean sheets in 17 games in the Bundesliga, and has only conceded 8 goals this season. If things keep going like this for the 27-year old shot stopper, nothing but an extremely unfortunate injury (touch wood) could stop him from becoming even better with every passing year until he is well into his 30s.
Neuer’s role as Bayern’s number one is in no way under threat. Even though Pep is known for tinkering with his players quite a bit, it would be downright stupid of him to replace Neuer. And (thankfully) Pep seems to be agreeing with me, as he turned down Manchester City’s 40 million pound bid for Neuer with just two words: No chance. Expect Neuer to stick around for a while.
Dante: 8.5
If Neuer is a rock between the sticks, then Dante is a brick wall just in front of him. An absolute bulldozer of a defender, he has combined strength, pace and heading ability to evolve into one of the best centre backs in the business.
His role under Guardiola hasn’t been tinkered with either, and he has carried his previous form into this season. Despite the whirlwind of changes that have been going around him, Dante is fast evolving into the best centre-back in the world.
Jerome Boateng: 7
With Holger Badstuber still on the mend, Jerome Boateng is practically indispensable to Pep’s Bayern Munich. His pace, aerial ability and his tendency to fly into tackles have been largely responsible for the ridiculously low number of goals that Bayern have conceded this season.
He might have goofed up in the second game versus his old employers, Manchester City, in the Champions League, but Jerome is definitely enjoying a career high this season. Badstuber will have to work tremendously hard to get himself back on the team roster if Boateng continues playing like this.
Under Guardiola, Jerome tends to move out, almost to a familiar position of a full back, while Bayern’s full backs blast forward, crossing the ball and making overlapping runs with Bayern’s super duo on the wing, Ribery and Robben. While this is working for him, it remains to be seen if this is how Bayern wish to continue.