Jürgen Klinsmann was patently unhappy at the Allianz Arena on Saturday afternoon. The former striker prowled the coaching zone, stood motionless on the touchline with his hands buried in his jacket pockets, or gesticulated wildly at his players. His seat on the bench remained largely vacant.
Klinsmann’s current back problems make sitting down painful in any case, but the main reasons for his restlessness were the events on the field of play, where Werder Bremen handed his team a first defeat of the season. It was Bayern’s first-ever home reverse on the opening day of the Oktoberfest, but the real agony was the margin of victory: Bremen led 5-0 at one point before finally triumphing 5-2. Bayern have only conceded more goals at home once, a 7-0 thrashing by Schalke 32 years ago.
“They taught us a lesson. It hurts, and there’s no point talking our way out of it,” Klinsmann readily admitted afterwards. It was “a black day,” offered Franz Beckenbauer. “There are days when you break your finger picking your nose. I was part of the 7-0 defeat to Schalke 30 years ago, and this has been one of those days.“
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