Weekend Warm-up: Is former Bayern Munich coach Hansi Flick in his final matches leading Germany?; Bundesliga predictions; Thomas Tuchel’s right-back plan; Throwing it back to The Hives; + MORE

When Germany’s list of international call-ups was released, the list generated a buzz — mostly because of who was not on it, more than who was.

After months of sputtering and chasing its own tail, Germany seems rudderless and without any real direction.

Less than a year before Germany hosts the Euro 2024 competition, Flick is still experimenting, still trying to figure out what pieces might fit on the roster, and then throwing lineup combinations at the wall to see what sticks.

If you missed the implication from all of that above, Germany is getting close to rock bottom.

Hansi Flick’s once golden touch has worn off. The former Bayern Munich boss has lost his magic, his feel for building a roster, and for extracting the most out of the players that he has. To say that Flick’s reign atop the German national team has been a disappointment, would be a vast understatement.

Despite a strong start to his tenure, Flick has tinkered far too much, without really learning anything about his players. Now, Flick is two hapless performances (which is a real possibility) from being sacked.

The DFB is running out of time (and likely patience) to put together a squad capable of even competing for the European Championships on its home soil. Is Flick in his final days as manager of Germany?

Bavarian Podcast Works: Weekend Warm-up Podcast Season 3, Episode 8

So the Champions League draw is official aaaaand ... Bayern Munich will face Manchester United and two others in the 2023 group stage. Okay, that’s being unfair to Copenhagen and Galatasaray, but that really is the first thing you think when you see a group like this.

Beyond that there is the news that João Palinha is on his way over from Fulham (transfer pending) and to finance the deal, Benjamin Pavard is headed to Inter Milan (confirmed) and Ryan Gravenberch is on the verge of a move to Liverpool FC (less than confirmed). Given the 40 minute Zoom time limit for meetings, we had to rush to fit all the topics in this time:

• What can Bayern Munich expect in the Champions League group stages this year?
• Do we expect any threat from Man United?
• How many Bundesliga teams will make it to the next round of the UCL?
• Is João Palinha really on his way to Bayern Munich ... and for HOW MUCH?
• Why Ryan Gravenberch never worked out for this club.
• The final word on the Benjamin Pavard deal and the implications of not getting a replacement.
• Can Christoph Freund be the guy to turn around Bayern’s failing youth system?

Song of the Week: “Hate to Say I Told You So” by The Hives

Released in 2000, “Hate to Say I Told You So” appeared on the second studio album from The Hives, which was titled “Veni Vidi Vicious.”

That early aughts influx of the The Hives, The Strokes, and The White Stripes (among others) brought a different sound to the alternative rock scene, which was much more raw than what was being played at the time. It was considered a type of Garage Rock 2.0, but sound hooked you right in no mattered what it was labeled.

This tune hits hard musically and lyrically from the get-go and hopefully can help get your Friday going in the right direction:

Bavarian Podcast Works — Preview Show: Borussia Mönchengladbach vs. Bayern Munich

Bayern Munich plays perennial bogey team Borussia Mönchengladbach in the Bundesliga this weekend. It is the late Saturday game with good reason, with Bayern winless in the last five encounters against Gladbach. In this preview, we discuss Gladbach’s phenomenal record against Bayern and the following:

• Changes in the Gladbach team since last season
• How the changes in the team have impacted Gladbach
• How Gladbach might decide to play against Bayern
• A possible lineup for Gladbach in light of the injuries
• Bayern’s injuries and a possible line-up
• Will the fans see Thomas Müller?
• How this match might play out
• How the rest of the Bundesliga teams might fare this weekend including Borussia Dortmund
• A prediction on Gladbach vs. Bayern

Tuchel’s plan of attack for right-back

One of the biggest concerns on the Bayern munich roster after the loan of Josip Stanišić to Bayer Leverkusen and the sale of Benjamin Pavard to Inter Milan is...”What happens if Noussair Mazraoui gets hurt?”

Thomas Tuchel’s plan is to get a replacement in these last few hours of the transfer window, but Konrad Laimer had also better stay frosty.

“We’re trying to close the gap in a short space of time. We have Konrad Laimer who can play there. We’re still trying to change things. If it doesn’t work out, we need to be flexible,” Tuchel said (as captured by @iMiaSanMia).

It is sort of appropriate to bring up Bouna Sarr here because he is, well, a right-back, who earns a paycheck from Bayern Munich. However, Sarr reportedly refused a sale to Turkey, so he is — once again — persona non grata at Bayern Munich.

It was just three years ago that Sarr was brought in for this exact purpose (to provide depth at right-back), but the signing proved to be wholly misguided.

According to Sport Bild’s Christian Falk, Sarr is still content to collect his salary without any chance of being a contributor to the squad (as captured by @iMiaSanMia):

Bouna Sarr is set to stay and run down his contract at Bayern. The Senegalese had enquiries, including from Turkey, but has always rejected them in favour of his wages at Bayern, estimated at around €3m base salary per year.

This guy is living the life...

Predictions

Picking Bayern Munich seems...dumb (?) here. If any one squad has been a bogey club to the Bavarians, it has been Borussia Mönchengladbach.

However, this is not the same Gladbach side that has pestered Bayern Munich over the years. If you are looking for a reason to think that the Bavarians could falter here, you could point to the squad’s chopp offense. Perhaps, Die Fohlen could muck things enough to frustrate Bayern Munich into a loss or a draw, but that is not the call here.

Bayern Munich will win...and won’t look too bad doing it.

Prediction: Borussia Mönchengladbach 1-3 Bayern Munich

Other Bundesliga predictions include:

• Borussia Dortmund 3-0 Heidenheim
• FC Augsburg 2-1 Vfl Bochum
• Bayer Leverkusen 4-1 SV Darmstadt 98
• Hoffenheim 1-2 VfL Wolfsburg
• Werder Bremen 1-2 Mainz 05
• Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1 FC Köln
• Union Berlin 3-2 RB Leipzig
• VfB Stuttgart 1-2 SC Freiburg

Prediction Records

Another good week in the books!

• Bundesliga Last Week: 7-2
• Bundesliga Total: 15-3
• DFB-Pokal Total: N/A
• Champions League Total: N/A
• DFL-Supercup: 0-1
• Total: 15-4