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After Bayern Munich signed Leon Goretzka this past season, pundits in Germany and elsewhere noted that Uli Hoeness was closer to realizing his team of an “FC Bayern Deutschland”—a Bayern team loaded with starters on the German national team. As a World Cup summer is upon us, Niko Kovac's first days at his new club will be complicated by the absence of many of Bayern's key players.
Two schedules for FC Bayern Deutschland
Bayern recently released its summer schedule, Here are the key club dates:
Bayern Munich 2018 summer schedule
| 2 July (16.00 CET) | Start of training |
|---|---|
| 2 July (16.00 CET) | Start of training |
| 21 July (15.30) | Audi Football Summit against PSG (Klagenfurt) |
| 23 to 30 July | Audi Summer Tour USA |
| 25 July (19.00) | ICC match against Juventus (Philadelphia) |
| 28 July (19.00) | Audi Football Summit against Manchester City (Miami) |
| 17 to 19 August | DFB Cup first round |
| 24 to 26 August | Bundesliga Matchday 1 |
| 28 August (20.30 CET) | Farewell match for Schweinsteiger against Chicago Fire (Allianz Arena) |
Niko Kovac’s first day in the office is Monday, July 2, but Säbener Strasse may resemble a ghost town for significantly longer. July 2 falls at the tail-end of the Round of 16 at the 2018 World Cup. Barring a national catastrophe, Germany are virtually certain to advance that far.
The quarterfinals of the World Cup then take place on July 6-7, the semifinals on July 10-11, and the final itself on July 15. If Germany make it to the final, as many expect, Bayern's stars could play as many as seven games between June 17 and July 15.
The German national team will also play two final friendly matches beforehand: against Austria on June 2 and Saudi Arabia on June 8. Manuel Neuer may at last gain crucial game-time in these final friendlies before the World Cup itself begins if he is to be Germany's starting goalkeeper. Kicker reported early on Saturday that Jogi Löw had decided to take Neuer to the World Cup as Germany’s starting goalkeeper—or not at all.
International Champions Cup on the Audi Summer Tour
Shortly after the World Cup ends, the preseason begins: Bayern Munich play Paris Saint-Germain in Klagenfurt, Germany, on July 21. It’s the first match for Bayern in the preseason friendly International Champions Cup, Just two days after the opener, Bayern take off on their summer tour of the USA, flying first to Philadelphia, where they will meet up with Italian champions (and old friends Douglas Costa and Madhi Benatia) Juventus Turin on July 25.
The next stop is Miami, where Bayern will play against former manager Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City. The tour comes to a close on July 30th, after which the team will have a three week break before the opening round of the DFB-Pokal on August 17-19.
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The tour is still intense, but conditions will presumably be better than the disastrous Audi Summer Tour of Asia that seemed to presage the unraveling of Carlo Ancelotti’s stint at Bayern. The Bayern players faced a tight schedule and brutal heat as the team played in intense heat in Shanghai and Shenzhen, China, before a final sweltering friendly in Singapore.
The 2018-2019 Bundesliga season kicks off on August 24-26. But wait, there’s more! A final friendly match will intervene before matchday 2: a long-overdue farewell match for club legend Bastian Schweinsteiger, when Bayern host the Chicago Fire on August 28 at the Allianz Arena. Who knows? Maybe Basti will have won the World Cup with the Fire in the meantime.