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You probably will not believe this...but Bayern Munich could have a problem with roster numbers during the Rückrunde.
Specifically, Bayern Munich is lasered in on adding a versatile defender during the winter transfer window per Sport Bild’s Christian Falk and Tobi Altschäffl (as captured by @iMiaSanMia):
Bayern’s priority in January is a defender that can play both at centre-back and right-back (Benjamin Pavard type of player), especially since both Kim (Min-jae) and (Noussair) Mazraoui will be with their national teams in January.
Center-back Matthijs de Ligt has dealt with several injuries this season so far and was also rumored not to be Thomas Tuchel’s favorite type of defender. Regardless of how the coach feels, though, Tuchel will need De Ligt.
One player who looks like he fit that profile is Chelsea FC youngster Trevoh Chalobah. However, despite being on Bayern Munich’s radar earlier this season, the defender appears to have fall off of the transfer screen for the Bavarians due to an injury (per Falk and Altschäffl via @iMiaSanMia):
A potential January move for Trevoh Chalobah has been ruled out by Bayern. The defender is out with injury until February, while Bayern want someone who would help immediately in January.
The type of player that Bayern Munich is looking for is not necessarily all that easy to find. A versatile defender with quality and experience, who can shift between multiple positions is not exactly a common profile.
As noted, Pavard fit that bill (so did Lucas Hernandez for that matter) but, but those ships have sailed. The French duo seems to have spoiled the club with their ability to shift around the backline. The same could be said for Josip Stanišić, who is on loan at Bayer Leverkusen, the league leader entering the weekend.
It can be assumed that Bayern Munich will look for a defender with that level of versatility and get a deal done in January. Some experts believe that Bayern Munich will also seek a younger player that it can lock up for three or four years.
However, if Bayern Munich opts to go for a shorter-term fix, who can step in immediately and help at two positions, the Bavarians could do a lot worse than Lukas Klostermann. The 27-year-old’s minutes are starting to ramp back up at RB Leipzig after being the odd-man out earlier in the season. It could be an affordable fit if RB Leipzig believes in its younger players.
Who do you want to see Bayern Munich pursue in January?
Bavarian Podcast Works — Weekend Warm-up Podcast Season 3, Episode 18
Bayern Munich was sleepwalking for the majority of its Champions League match against Galatasaray, but did pull out a victory that frustrated many fans.
The Bavarians eventually snared a 2-1 win ahead of this weekend’s Bundesliga showdown with Heidenheim. We will cover ALL of that, plus take a look at those pesky transfer rumors surrounding Joshua Kimmich and our old friend Robert Lewandowski’s recent struggles with FC Barcelona.
Here is the full rundown of what we have on tap for this edition of the Weekend Warm-up Podcast:
- A breakdown of the Bayern Munich vs. Galatasaray match.
- A preview of Bayern Munich vs. Heidenheim — will Thomas Tuchel learn his lesson with injuries?
- Thoughts on Robert Lewandowski’s struggles with FC Barcelona and those links to MLS (do I have to fire up another post like this?)
- How legit are the Joshua Kimmich transfer rumors?
Song of the Week: “Serve the Servants” by Nirvana
Of all of the grunge bands I was probably the least into Nirvana, but that does not mean that I was not a fan. I just preferred some of the other grunge bands a little more as they longer runs during the era (for obvious reasons).
That said, Nirvana is really the band that (maybe) unwillingly thrust grunge into the mainstream. “Smells Like Teen Spirit” was EVERYWHERE and all of a sudden people who normally did not have time for anything on the fringe of alt-rock jumped in.
For this week, though, I am going for a track off of “In Utero”, which was released in September of 1993, when a young version of me was having a good season in American football and enjoying all the spoils that came with his spending his first year in a co-ed public school after spending the previous three years in an all-boys school.
Anyway, before I change my mind and make the song “Glory Days” by Bruce Springsteen, let’s stick with the Nirvana selection. The lyrics in this song are incredible and, damn, this tune is just tragically underrated...enjoy:
If you want a live version of the song, check out this version that was recorded in Rome, Italy in 1994:
Entertainment Rundown: My Top 5 Underrated Absurd Sitcom Characters
One thing that I’ve thought about lately is some of my favorite characters from my favorite show. Something that kept coming back to me is how much I admired the work of actors playing absurd characters — you know, people that are so outlandishly over-the-top that they seem to make every show they are on, despite not being the type of person you would typically encounter in real life. I put together a little list of my favorites, but would love to get some of yours as well.
Check out my five selections:
- Stevie Janowski, Eastbound and Down: The partnership between Stevie Janowski (Steve Little) and Kenny Powers (Danny McBride) is really among the great comedic duos in television history. Janowski is thoroughly absurd for the entirety of the show, but it works...in every possible way. If you have not see this show, you should give it a chance, just for this on-screen relationship.
- Leon Black, Curb Your Enthusiasm: Played by J.B. Smoove, Leon is a riot every time he is on the screen in Curb. Larry David found the absolute perfect actor/comedian to portray Leon in Smoove. Always involved in some kind of hijinks outside of the main plot, Leon has become an absolute necessity to have in every episode of Curb.
- George Oscar “G.O.B.” Bluth II, Arrested Development: Will Arnett was already gaining some fame, but his turn as G.O.B. thrust him into stardom. Arnett stole scene after scene and was the perfect person to play off of Jason Bateman’s Michael Bluth, who was the ultimate comedic straight man. The first three seasons of the show are near perfection. It is a shame that Fox was so short-sighted with such a brilliant cast and set of writers.
- Jonah Ryan, Veep: Timothy Simons was incredible in this role as a political lacky failing his way upward in Veep. Itself, Veep was non-stop laughs powered by the perfect cast. Every single actor on the show nailed their respective parts, but Jonah was always a scene-stealer when his number was called.
- Johnny Drama, Entourage: Let me be the first to say it — Entourage was a great concept that immediately sputtered out once it hit the mainstream. For two seasons, it was a great watch, but it lost its edge once it became appointment viewing for everyone 30-and-under. The writing started to pander to that larger crowd. It is tough to say why that decision was made, but that is what seemed to happen. It is no secret that Ari (Jeremy Piven — Piven was BORN to play that role) was the best character on the show, but a completely underrated side character was Johnny Drama (played by Kevin Dillon). Drama was great for being a cartoonish version of a B-Lister, who flamed out, but his facial expressions, delivery, and knack for comedic timing were just ungodly. Dillon was fantastic in the role and brought his A-game to every line of the script. By the end of Entourage’s run, I was watching strictly for Drama and Ari.
Final thoughts
I actually thought about going all the way back to including Curly from The Three Stooges, but those were technically “shorts” so I left him out — though, I still love the Stooges....love them.
There are so many good ones that I could not possible capture them all...who would make your cut?
Predictions
Bayern Munich is a heavy favorite in this one for a reason. The Bavarians are the more talented team by a longshot and while Heidenheim has put in a very solid effort this season, this might be a bad spot for the newly-promoted side.
Prediction: Bayern Munich 5-0 Heidenheim
Other Bundesliga predictions include:
- Borussia Mönchengladbach 2-2 VfL Wolfsburg
- FC Augsburg 0-1 Hoffenheim
- SV Darmstadt 98 1-2 Mainz 05
- VfB Stuttgart 1-2 Borussia Dortmund
- VfL Bochum 1-3 FC Köln
- Bayer Leverkusen 3-2 Union Berlin
- Werder Bremen 0-1 Eintracht Frankfurt
- RB Leipzig 2-0 SC Freiburg
Prediction Records
- Bundesliga Last Active Week: 2-7
- Bundesliga Total: 43-38
- DFB-Pokal Total: 1-1
- Champions League Total: 4-0
- DFL-Supercup: 0-1
- Total: 48-40
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