Geschäft Review: Awards for Bayern Munich’s business from the season of 2010/11

Bayern Munich had a massively disappointing 2010/11 season after what could have been a treble-winning season in 2008/09, eventually ending with Louis van Gaal getting the sack. The team would win the DFL-Supercup but would fail to even reach the DFB-Pokal final, would lose in the round of 16 of the Champions League to Inter Milan who had also beat Bayern in the final not nine months earlier, and finished third in the Bundesliga behind Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen. The transfer window was also quite quiet by Bayern standards.

Here’s the window summed up:-

Arrivals

• Luiz Gustavo from TSG Hoffenheim for €17m (winter transfer)

Departures

• José Sosa to SSC Napoli for €3m
• Martín Demichelis to Málaga CF for €3m (winter transfer)
• David Alaba to TSG Hoffenheim on a six month loan (winter transfer)
• Mark van Bommel to AC Milan for free (winter transfer)
• Edson Braafheid to TSG Hoffenheim for free (winter transfer)
• Luca Toni to Genoa for free
• Christian Lell to Hertha Berlin for free
• Mehmet Ekici to FC Nürnberg on a one season loan
• Andreas Görlitz to FC Ingolstadt for free
• Michael Rensing’s contract expires

Other

• David Alaba permanently promoted to the first team.

Leiterkletterer: David Alaba

Photo by M. Donato/FC Bayern via Getty Images

Well, he didn’t have any competition, but David Alaba is very deserving of this spot.

He would make his debut in the 2009/10 season — becoming the youngest player in Bayern Munich’s competitive history — but wouldn’t really get a lot of chances in that season although he was registered as part of the team. He wouldn’t start for Bayern but would for Hoffenheim later in the season, and upon his return to the squad in the summer of 2011 he would become a starter in a variety of positions. He would be used in the centre of midfield, out wide on the right, as a 6, as a left midfielder but by the end of the season he was settled on the left side of defense. This would begin a beautiful ten-year history with Bayern Munich, playing 431 games, scoring 33 goals and assisting 56 times. He would form a magnificent partnership with Franck Ribéry on the left flank, but would move to the centre of defense under Hansi Flick in the 2019/20 season where he would spend his last couple seasons in Munich. Along the way, Alaba would pick up ten Bundesliga titles, two Champions League titles, six DFB-Pokals, five DFL-Supercups, and was named Footballer of the Year in Austria eight times.

Überschuss: José Sosa

Photo by Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images

José Sosa had a disappointing stint in Munich after joining in 2007. After a lackluster loan to Estudiantes in 2009, he would spend 2010 on the bench before in August he would be sold to Napoli for €3m.

Sosa would get going again, particularly in Ukraine with Metalist Kharkiv but would flounder again with unsuccessful spells at Atlético Madrid, Beşiktas, AC Milan, Trabzonspor, Fenerbahçe and now a return to his childhood club Estudiantes where he currently is.

Sehr Vermisst: Martín Demichelis

Photo by Quality Sport Images/Getty Images

Martín Demichelis wasn’t massively missed by Bayern Munich as the centre of defense would be stocked with players such as Daniel van Buyten and Dante for the next few years, but it is undeniable that he continued to be world class. Part of the Champions League-playing Málaga contingent, Demichelis would lead the defense with his experience and voice, impressing enough for Manchester City to purchase him for €4.5m in 2013 from Atlético Madrid who had picked him up for free earlier in the window. Demichelis formed a great centre back partnership with Vincent Kompany that won the Premier League in 2013/14 and would continue to be a great team player until 2016 when his contract expired and he would continue his career in the Spanish midtable with RCD Espanyol and Málaga. He eventually retired in 2017.

Reue des Käufers: None

Bayern Munich only purchased one player this season.

Neue Legende: Luiz Gustavo

Photo by Chris Brunskill Ltd/Getty Images

Luiz Gustavo was impressive in his two-and-a-half year stint, playing well in whatever role he was given in defense or midfield. He was mainly employed as a 6 in a double pivot, sometimes as a centre back.

Gustavo couldn’t ever quite break into the starting XI, and would be sold to VfL Wolfsburg for a fee of €16m. Gustavo would be world class in Wolfsburg for a few seasons but a downturn in form would see him sold to Marseille for €10m and then Fenerbahçe for €6m. Gustavo is 35 now, employing his trade with Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia alongside fellow Brazilian Anderson Talisca after a great career.

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What do you think of Bayern Munich’s transfer business from 2009? Could Luiz Gustavo have become a Bayern legend if he stayed? Let us know in the forum below.