Thought i should make this post to give ppl here an insight on how Bayern will most likely look like, cause im tired of hearing nonsense like Martinez playing CB when he is a proven DM...
Thiago's answers trully calmed many people down. Not that there was any reason to panic like some fans did.
He knows he has to earn his spot and Bayern is aware of his quality.
Truth is: Bayern doesn't really play with a defensive midfielder. They didn't under Van Gaal, they didn't under Heynckes.
That's why Luiz Gustavo and Tymoshchuk never really fit in on Bayern's formation. Even though both of them made good matches with Bayern, their place was always in doubt.
Let's review:
* Tymoshchuk was bought without Louis van Gaal agreeing on it, just like Gomez. So that wasn't a good start. Often played out of position, Bayern even played better under van Gaal with experiments such as: Altintop-Bastian, Pranjic-Bastian and other combinations on the central midfield role when van Bommel wasn't able to play.
* Luiz Gustavo then arrived giving Tymoshchuk even LESS minutes. And Gustavo was always criticized because he was too defensive and didn't had the passing skils of van Bommel.
* Javi Martinez came because he is like van Bommel. Only with a better temper than the Dutch. No wonder he made a fantastic partnership with Schweinsteiger, similar to that of him with van Bommel on Bayern's first year.
* Thiago is a player similar to that of Kroos, Javi and Bastian. He can defend and pass the ball well, plus he is great on one v one situations.
* While Luiz Gustavo is good, Bayern doesn't really play with a full-time defensive midfielder. You all might say: "Barcelona plays with Busquets" - Well, Busquets isn't really a 100% defensive midfielder. He has great vision on the pitch, excelent passing skills and furthermore: he combines well with Xavi and Iniesta.
Overall, I think Gustavo will end up leaving the club. If not this season, the next. That is why I don't see Javi as a fulltime CB under Pep, aside from the fact that we do have 4 CB in Boateng, Kirchhoff, van Buyten and Dante. 5 when Badstuber comes back...
My guess is:
Bastian-Javi will start. Probably Kroos as well, on the 4-3-3 formation. Thiago will get minutes rotating with Kroos most likely.
Javi
Bastian-Kroos
Javi
Bastian-Thiago
Even in a 4-1-4-1 formation, it will always end up in a 4-3-3 formation while defending. It will only be a 4-1-4-1 when Bayern attacks:
Defending (4-3-3)
Neuer
Lahm, Boateng, Dante, Alaba
Javi
Bastian-Kroos/Thiago
Robben-Müller-Ribéry
Attacking (4-1-4-1)
Neuer
Lahm, Boateng, Dante, Alaba
Javi
Robben-Bastian-Kroos-Ribéry
Müller
And of course, while attacking Bayern usually adds Alaba and Lahm, so the formation will actually look like a 3-6-1:
Neuer
Boateng, Javi, Dante
Lahm, Robben----Bastian, Kroos----Ribéry, Alaba
Müller
Probable rotation plan
(Players are listed in the order of preference that I think Pep will have)
Players that won't be rotated: Neuer, Lahm
* Central defense: Dante and van Buyten - Boateng and Kirchhoff
* Left-back (and I have my doubts on this one): Alaba and Contento
* Central midfield: Bastian, Kroos, Javi, Thiago, Gustavo (for 2 positions)
* Offensive midfield: Götze, Müller, Shaqiri
* Left-midfield: Ribéry probably with Shaqiri at some point.
* Right-midfield: Robben, Müller, Shaqiri
* Striker: Mandzukic, Pizarro, Müller
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Heynckes be trollin
