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Tuesday 29 April 2014

Guardiola failings & Ribery's crisis behind Bayern slump - Effenberg

Guardiola failings & Ribery's crisis behind Bayern slump - Effenberg

The former Germany star has pointed the finger at the pair for the club's struggles since lifting the Bundesliga in record time
Stefan Effenberg has questioned whether Pep Guardiola's philosophy will win Bayern Munich this season's Champions League - especially with key man Franck Ribery "in crisis".

The Bavarians lost 1-0 to Real Madrid in the first leg of their semi-final last week, having gone through a slump in form since sealing the Bundesliga crown back in March.

Effenberg believes that Bayern's passing game was not effective at the Bernabeu and feels their key men are not performing as strongly as last season.

"Bayern win 90 per cent of their games," the Sky Germany pundit told Goal.

"In the Bundesliga, they demoralise opponents with their constant possession. At a higher level, it's a different game. Teams like Manchester United, Real, or maybe Chelsea in the final defend perfectly.

"They can block an attack with two or three steps. To react to this and change your footballing ideas is difficult. Guardiola's system reached its limit in Madrid.

"Bayern have so much quality that the treble should be their standard. They lacked a change of pace against Madrid.

"They always want the ball and pass in front of the box like in handball. So the game loses its dynamism. Some say it is boring, others say it is static.

"What's more, Franck Ribery is not in as great shape as last year. Their game stagnates because of his crisis."

Effenberg also warned Bayern's squad that a gung-ho approach in the second leg may not pay dividends.

"I don't think they should risk everything. The players have the quality. While it is 0-0, they can be patient and control their attacks.

"They can score a goal in the 85th minute. The players should not run at Madrid in panic. If you do that, you make mistakes. They all know what they have to do."

Borussia Dortmund beat Real Madrid 2-0 in the last round after losing the first leg 3-0 in Madrid but Effenberg believes Bayern should not copy BVB's tactics.

"BVB must not be their role model. Bayern can't play like that. Apart from anything else, their starting position is totally different.

"I thought Madrid would be more attacking because that's their usual style. But Carlo Ancelotti drew the right conclusions: they let Bayern have the ball and exploited their mistakes.

"They had three great chances so their win wasn't undeserved."

Bayern started the match at the Santiago Bernabeu with both Mario Gotze and Thomas Muller on the bench but Effenberg does not believe their absence was pivotal.

"It would be wrong to say that the loss was caused by individuals. Whether Gotze or Muller plays, it shouldn't be decisive.

"The others should have made the difference. On the field, there was more than enough quality and potential to have solutions to the problems that the game posed."

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