Reds take first step back to normality

FCBayernNews · News fetcher Joined: 31 Aug 2006 Posts: 1395 votes: 2

12.02.2007

Relief was the dominant emotion sweeping through the 69,000 crowd at the Allianz Arena on Sunday afternoon, as Bayern defeated Arminia Bielefeld 1-0 to register a first victory in four attempts since the winter break, simultaneously handing Ottmar Hitzfeld a successful home debut in his second spell as Munich coach.

Almost as important as the first three points of 2007 was the attitude shown by a team recently thrown off course by self-doubt and lack of confidence. The rearguard looked solid, the midfield well-organised, and the strikers swift and direct. Just a week into the new Hitzfeld era, the side made visible progress.

Stable defensive platform

"In my opinion, the fact we've made progress was as important as the three points," the 58-year-old head coach observed. "You only succeed as a team with a solid defence. That's the fundamental element in winning matches." The coach expressed pleasure at a "better organised" back four, "which exuded plenty of confidence."

Centre-backs Lucio and Daniel van Buyten have shipped their share of flak recently, but Hitzfeld thought the pair were "outstanding. They didn't allow Bielefeld a single chance." In fairness, the visitors' toothless attack rarely got as far as troubling the Bavarian back four. Apart from Zuma's cross-cum-shot on six minutes, Oliver Kahn's solitary save came from Masmanidis' long-range effort four minutes from time.

Searching for fluency

By contrast, the Reds' attacking efforts showed great promise, especially before the interval, with patient build-up play before two or three rapier passes to release a man behind Bielefeld's packed defence. Roy Makaay's 11th goal of the season on eight minutes was a classic route one affair, before what Hitzfeld described as "dream passing" between Ali Karimi, Lukas Podolski and Mark van Bommel unfortunately ended in a wrongly disallowed goal.

"The second goal would have freed us mentally," Hitzfeld lamented. "You always relax at 2-0, but instead we were still a little nervous, and we gave away possession unnecessarily. That shows we're still lacking confidence. But you can't expect us to regain our old fluency all at once. You have to make step-by-step progress ."

Stuttgart and Werder within range

Lukas Podolski, making a first start since matchday eight in Bremen, agreed with the coach. "We've failed to win our last three matches, so you can't expect us to put four or five past Bielefeld." Hitzfeld declared himself pleased with the 21-year-old striker. "Lukas was full of desire and belief, and gave a good account of himself. It was a first step for him. He's in contention for the future."

The immediate future comprises away trips to Alemannia Aachen and Real Madrid. "We'll try and start a winning streak," Makaay commented, "but we're 11 points behind the leaders, so talking about the title would be laughable." Hitzfeld named a similar set of priorities: "We've made up three points on Bremen. Stuttgart and Werder are within range."