The 2014–15 FC Bayern Munich season was the 116th season in the club's history and the 50th consecutive season in the top flight of German football, the Bundesliga, since their promotion from the Regionalliga Süd in 1965. Bayern participated in the season's editions of the DFB-Pokal, DFL-Supercup and UEFA Champions League. It was the 10th season for Bayern at the Allianz Arena.
Background Overview Context Bayern came into the 2014–15 season as the defending Bundesliga champions and defending DFB-Pokal champions. In the 2013–14 season, Bayern were knocked out of Champions League by eventual winners Real Madrid in the semi-finals, losing 5–0 on aggregate. Bayern hired Michael Reschke as Technical Director. This is a new position and will provide "support" for Matthias Sammer, the Sporting Director for Bayern.
Transfers
Robert Lewandowski, Sebastian Rode, Juan Bernat, Pepe Reina, Medhi Benatia, Xabi Alonso, and Sinan Kurt transferred to Bayern. Lewandowski was the second "key" player within a year to move to Bayern from Borussia Dortmund. Bayern bought Medhi Benatia from Roma for an undisclosed fee. Pep Guardiola wanted to sign another player due to Javi Martínez's injury in the German Super Cup. For this reason, Bayern brought Xabi Alonso from Real Madrid for undisclosed fee. Lukas Raeder, Alessandro Schöpf, Mario Mandžukić, Toni Kroos, and Diego Contento left the club. Contento had been at the club for 19 years. Mandžukić wanted to leave Bayern because the "playing style of coach Pep Guardiola simply does not fit him." Julian Green was loaned out to Hamburger SV and Daniel Van Buyten retired. He had been offered another role at Bayern.
Pre-season Pre-season started on 9 July. During pre-season, Bayern defeated Red Baroons Dietmannsried 3–0 on 18 July in its first friendly match of the season. This was Holger Badstuber's first match in 594 days. Badstuber injured his ACL against Borussia Dortmund on 1 December 2012. and re-injured it on 19 May 2013. He returned to first-team training on 5 May 2014. Also in pre-season, Bayern faced MSV Duisburg on 21 July in a benefits match which ended in a 1–1 draw. Robert Lewandowski made his pre-season debut and scored his first goal for Bayern. Pre-season continued with the 2014 Telekom Cup. Bayern faced Borussia Mönchengladbach in the semifinal on 26 July which Bayern won in a shoot-out, after a 2–2 draw in sixty minutes. Bayern defeated VfL Wolfsburg 3–0 in the final the following day and won the cup. Bayern took a tour of the United States. This is Bayern's first pre-season tour in the United States in a decade. Bayern were in New York City for three days. During the tour, on 31 July, they defeated Chivas Guadalajara 1–0 at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey and won the Audi Football Summit Cup 2014. Bayern were also in Portland, Oregon for four days. While in Portland, on 6 August, Bayern lost to the MLS All-Star team 2–1 on 6 August. Pep Guardiola was angry because of "harsh challenges" and didn't shake Caleb Porter's hand after the game. Two of the tackles came from Osvaldo Alonso and other tackle came from Will Johnson. The tackle by Johnson injured Bastian Schweinsteiger. During pre-season, Thiago "suffered a relapse" of his knee injury that he picked up in March 2014.
Mid-season Prior to the winter break, Bayern signed Tom Starke to a contract extension and gave Gianluca Gaudino his first professional contract. Bayern defeated Mainz 05 and immediately went on winter break. During the winter break, Bayern signed Joshua Kimmich as their first transfer signing for the 2015–16 season. Most of the players returned on 7 January. David Alaba, Holger Badstuber, Pierre-Emile Højbjerg, Medhi Benatia, and Tom Starke had returned earlier. Bayern loaned out Højbjerg for the remainder of the season and sold Xherdan Shaqiri. Højbjerg also received a contract extension. Bayern left for a nine-day training camp in Doha, Qatar on 9 January. Philipp Lahm and Thiago didn't go to Doha, Qatar. While in the Middle East, Bayern played two friendlies. In the first match in Qatar, Bayern defeated the Qatar Stars League XI 4–1. In the second match in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Bayern defeated Al-Hilal 4–1. Bayern finished mid-season training with a 5–1 win against VfL Bochum on 23 January. On 13 January, Allianz Arena increased capacity to 75,000 after the city of Munich approved the increase which is for Bundesliga matches only. The capacity for UEFA Champions League matches also increased.
Transfers and contracts
In Name Age Moved from Type Transfer window Contract ends Transfer fee 9 FW Robert Lewandowski Yes Borussia Dortmund End of contract Summer 2019 Free 20 MF Sebastian Rode Yes Eintracht Frankfurt End of contract Summer 2018 Free 18 DF Juan Bernat Yes Valencia Transfer Summer 2019 Undisclosed 23 GK Pepe Reina Yes Liverpool Transfer Summer 2017 Undisclosed 5 DF Medhi Benatia Yes Roma Transfer Summer 2019 Undisclosed 3 MF Xabi Alonso Yes Real Madrid Transfer Summer 2016 Undisclosed 24 FW Sinan Kurt Yes Borussia Mönchengladbach Transfer Summer 2018 Undisclosed
Out Name Age Moved to Type Transfer window Transfer fee 5 DF Daniel Van Buyten Yes Retired End of contract Summer Free 32 GK Lukas Raeder Yes Vitória Setúbal End of contract Summer Free 34 MF Alessandro Schöpf Yes 1. FC Nürnberg Transfer Summer Undisclosed 9 FW Mario Mandžukić Yes Atlético Madrid Transfer Summer Undisclosed 39 MF Toni Kroos Yes Real Madrid Transfer Summer Undisclosed 26 DF Diego Contento Yes Girondins de Bordeaux Transfer Summer Undisclosed 37 MF Julian Green Yes Hamburger SV Loan Summer Undisclosed 34 MF Pierre-Emile Højbjerg Yes FC Augsburg Loan January Undisclosed 11 MF Xherdan Shaqiri No Inter Milan Transfer January Undisclosed
Contracts Name Age Status Contract length Expiry date Other details 18 DF Juan Bernat 21 Yes Transfer Five years 30 June 2019 23 GK Pepe Reina 31 Yes Transfer Three years 30 June 2017 5 DF Medhi Benatia 27 No Transfer Five years 30 June 2019 3 MF Xabi Alonso 32 Yes Transfer Two years 30 June 2016 24 FW Sinan Kurt 17 Yes Transfer Four years 30 June 2018 16 MF Gianluca Gaudino 18 Yes First pro contract Four years 30 June 2018 22 GK Tom Starke 33 Yes Extension One year 30 June 2016 — MF Joshua Kimmich 19 Yes Signing Five years 30 June 2020 Signed for the 2015–16 season. 34 MF Pierre-Emile Højbjerg 19 Yes Extension Three years 30 June 2018
Friendly results
Match DateKick-offTimes up until 25 October 2014 are in CEST (UTC+02:00). Times from 26 October 2014 to 28 March 2015 are in CET (UTC+01:00). Times on and after 29 March 2015 are in CEST (UTC+02:00). Opponent Goalscorers and disciplined players Bayern Munich Opponent Dream Game 18 July18:00 N Red Baroons Dietmannsried 3–0 11,150 Alaba Hägler — Friendly 21 July18:30 A MSV Duisburg 1–1 24,126 Lewandowski Steinhart Schnellhardt Telekom Cup 2014 Semifinals 26 July20:30 N Borussia Mönchengladbach 2–2 42,000 Lewandowski Ribéry Kruse Penalties Lewandowski Alaba Badstuber Rafinha Højbjerg Martínez Nordtveit Raffael Hahn Kruse Wendt Korb Telekom Cup 2014 Final 27 July18:15 N VfL Wolfsburg 3–0 50,000 Lewandowski Rode — Audi Football Summit 1 August02:00 N Guadalajara 1–0 25,073 Pizarro Martínez Rafinha Pereira Sánchez Solís 2014 MLS All-Star Game 7 August03:55 A MLS All-Stars 1–2 21,733 Lewandowski Boateng Wright-Phillips Alonso Donovan Johnson Paulaner Cup 6 October17:30 N Paulaner Dream Team 5–1 — Müller Pantovic Eberwein Alonso Prünstner Friendly 13 January18:05 A Qatar Stars League XI 4–1 6,838 Weiser Ribéry Pizarro Harbaoui , Friendly 17 January18:00 A Al-Hilal 4–1 — Dante Schweinsteiger Lewandowski Pizarro Weiser Digão Al-Dawsari Friendly 23 January18:00 A VfL Bochum 5–1 29,299 Robben Dante Götze Rode Latza http://www.sport.net/bochum-1-5-bayern-munich-birthday-boy-robben-runs-the-show-in-friendly-thrashing_308358
Bundesliga
Bundesliga review
August Bayern defeated VfL Wolfsburg 2–1 on 22 August in the opening match of the Bundesliga season. Thomas Müller and Arjen Robben scored for Bayern and Ivica Olić scored for Wolfsburg. Junior Malanda failed to convert an opportunity that would have equalised for Wolfsburg. The original shot came off Manuel Neuer then off the crossbar. Then after the ball hit the crossbar, Malanda missed from a yard out. Bayern had chances to score more goals. Sebastian Rode had a goal wrongly ruled out after the assistant referee flagged for offside and Arjen Robben hit the crossbar. Bastian Schweinsteiger, Rafinha, Thiago, Franck Ribéry, and Javi Martínez were out injured. Jérôme Boateng finished his two-match suspension which he received during the 2013–14 season. Robert Lewandowski, Juan Bernat made their league debuts for Bayern. Jérôme Boateng finished his two-match suspension which he received during the 2013–14 season. 17 year-old Gianluca Gaudino made his first Bundesliga appearance of his career and 18-year-old Lucas Scholl was on the bench for the first team for the first time. Bayern finished the matchday tied for third with Hannover 96. Then, on matchday two on 30 August, Bayern finished August with a 1–1 draw against Schalke 04 on 30 August. Robert Lewandowski scored for Bayern and Benedikt Höwedes scored for Schalke 04. Lewandowski's goal was his first competitive goal for Bayern. Bayern disputed Höwedes' goal after it came off his arm. Bayern managed 10 shots on target, which was the worst total for Bayern since Pep Guardiola took over as head coach. This was Schalke 04's first point against Bayern since 10 December 2010. Xabi Alonso made his debut. Bayern finished the matchday tied for fifth with Eintracht Frankfurt.
September Bayern started September with a 2–0 win against VfB Stuttgart on matchday three on 13 September. Mario Götze and Franck Ribéry scored for Bayern. Holger Badstuber left the match with a thigh injury. Bayern finished the matchday in second place. Then, on matchday four on 20 September, the match against Hamburger SV finished in a 0–0 draw. Guardiola decided to rotate players from their midweek Champions League match. Thomas Müller was on the substitutes bench, however, he replaced Arjen Robben in starting line-up after Robben was injured during the warm-up. Bayern finished the matchday in fourth place. On matchday five, on 23 September, Bayern defeated Paderborn 07 4–0 with two goals from Mario Götze and a goal each from Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Müller. Bayern finished the matchday in first place. On matchday six, on 27 September, Bayern defeated 1. FC Köln 2–0 with a goal from Mario Götze and an own goal from Daniel Halfar. Bayern were denied a penalty shot, again, after Arjen Robben went down. Xabi Alonso broke the record for having the most touches on the ball in a single match. Bayern finished the matchday in first place.
October Bayern started October with a 4–0 win against Hannover 96 on matchday seven on 4 October. Both Robert Lewandowski and Arjen Robben scored two goals each. Xabi Alonso took a shot from just inside his own half, which was subsequently tipped over the crossbar. With the win, Bayern got their 23rd win in 26 matches in Munich against Hannover. Bayern finished the matchday in first place. Bayern then defeated Werder Bremen 6–0 on matchday eight on 18 October with two goals from Philipp Lahm, two goals from Mario Götze, and a goal each from Xabi Alonso and Thomas Müller. Alonso's goal was his first goal since transferring to Bayern. Bayern finished the matchday in first place. Then on 26 October, on matchday nine, Borussia Mönchengladbach ended Bayern's six-match winning streak in all competitions with a 0–0 draw. Bayern had a chance to win four consecutive league matches for the first time in 47 years. Borussia Mönchengladbach's tactics against Bayern was to crowd the penalty area and play counterattacking football. Yann Sommer made a fingertip save from a David Alaba shot that hit the post. Arjen Robben was injured for the match. Bayern finished the matchday in first place.