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Reuters - With Michael
Ballack transferred to Chelsea after leading Bayern Munich to three
Bundesliga championships in his four seasons at the club, coach Felix
Magath has thrown open the auditions for his replacement.
After Bayern executives decided they would not buy a replacement for the
almost irreplaceable one, Magath had no choice but to look down his
expensive bench for a new playmaker.
Bayern's success this season will likely hinge on whether Magath can
adequately fill the gap.
There are plenty of candidates for the central midfield role that
Ballack excelled at: Owen Hargreaves, Roque Santa Cruz, Ali Karimi,
Julio dos Santos, Mehmet Scholl, Bastian Schweinsteiger or Sebastian
Deisler.
"We've got time to try out a few things," Magath said. "We're not in any
sort of emergency situation."
Hargreaves, one of England's few bright spots at the World Cup, won
fulsome praise from the normally reserved Magath for a strong effort
filling Ballack's shoes in a pre-season League Cup semi-final win over
Schalke 04 this week.
"Owen did a very good job," Magath said of the 25-year-old who has been
at Bayern for nine years.
But Magath also has Paraguay's Roque Santa Cruz, normally a striker, who
dropped back to midfield as Ballack's replacement late last season after
nine months out with a knee injury and also performed well.
"It's a position I feel comfortable in and wouldn't have any problem
playing it," said Santa Cruz, echoing Hargreaves who also said he felt
fine playing in the position.
Karimi, a national hero in Iran, failed to shine at Bayern in his first
season. But Magath retains his faith in him.
Magath, by contrast, has less faith in Schweinsteiger than former
Germany coach Juergen Klinsmann, whose confidence in the 22-year-old was
unlimited. His strong performance at the World Cup should nevertheless
lead to more time on the left midfield.
Bayern also have Paraguay midfielder dos Santos, acquired in mid-season
from Cerro Porteno after it was becoming clear that Ballack would leave.
But he spent most of the second half of the season on Magath's bench.
Deisler, one of Germany's most creative midfielders, is not expected
back until the autumn from another knee injury, and Scholl at nearly 36
is only fit enough for short stints. |
