The domestic fall of Bayern Munich

Last season, FC Bayern won the German cup and the Bundesliga before appearing in the UEFA Champions League Final. This season, their great European form has continued but that same brilliance has not been seen in their Bundesliga campaign.

Bayern Munich website

Several summers ago, I took a tour of Allianz Arena in Munich. While I wasn't there for a game, I was struck by its sheer beauty and could imagine the trophies that its tenants Bayern Munich won and would win by the boatload. However, their almost assumed domination of the German Bundesliga has fallen flat this season as the Bavarians have lost three of their last five league games. Furthermore, they find themselves in fifth in the table, a whopping nineteen points behind the leaders Borussia Dortmund and five points out of the final Champions League spot. So how can Bayern go to the San Siro and beat the defending European champs, Inter Milan, followed by a 3-1 loss at Hannover?

Philipp Lahm in Bayern's 3-1 loss to Hannover (Getty Images)

The answer lies in my defiant stand of the Bundesliga as a viciously exciting league with no true big boys. Germany is a place where teams can fight their hearts out against Barcelona one year, only to be in a league relegation battle the next (Stuttgart). A team can have a chance at a title on the final matchday of the season (Hertha Berlin), only to be relegated the next. Germany has got to be one of the only countries in the world with no teams representing its capital city in the top division.

As much as I love the Premier League, you can maybe count on around three games a weekend that are complete tossups as to who will win. There are of course countless surprises that come up. But in Germany in the present day, you simply don't have a clue. Now, Borussia Dortmund have taken hold of the league and look to be poised for a title. But they finished 5th last year, while 3 of the top 8 are in the bottom 5 this year and 2nd place Shalke who have also impressed in Europe this year, are 10th domestically.

Bayern will most likely finish in second or third this year. But they won't do so without a stern reminder that they cannot coast in the league they play in. Because historically good teams constantly fall, they always come back the next year looking ready to fight. Bayern find themselves stuck somewhere in between, always one of the best in the league. They lack the desire that's found in some of these teams that come off bad seasons and Bayern need to find it somewhere else. The players need to realize they represent a team that has won 22 German titles and that they are expected to return to such form. When they find themselves again, Germany may become a one man band, but you can always count on the rest of the league to be a damn good time.