The first half of 2010 will go down in the record books as one of the most exciting periods in Bayern’s history. Impressive morale and massive fighting spirit helped carry coach Louis van Gaal and his men to the brink of a historic triple crown on which they only narrowly missed out. fcbayern.de looks back at the key achievements, magic moments and misadventures of a remarkable six months.
3 January: Bayern begin preparations for the second half of the season at Säbener Straße with a two-point deficit to year-end leaders Bayer Leverkusen and a squad smaller by four players. In the evening Van Gaal and his team fly off to their winter training camp in Dubai. Missing are Andreas Ottl and Breno, loaned out to Nürnberg, Luca Toni, also on loan to Roma, and Alexander Baumjohann, who’s been transferred to Schalke.
15 January: Goals from Martin Demichelis and Miroslav Klose give Bayern a successful return to Bundesliga action with a 2-0 victory over Hoffenheim. “I had hoped we would put the fear into people, and I think we did,” says Van Gaal afterwards.
1 February: A few minutes before the closing of the winter transfer window, a deal is agreed to loan Edson Braafheid to Scottish giants Celtic. Meanwhile Daniel van Buyten has extended his contract until 2012, Thomas Müller till 2013 and Holger Badstuber till 2015.
10 February: Up-and-coming youngsters Diego Contento and David Alaba, who’s just 17, make their competitive bow for Bayern in the 6-2 DFB Cup quarter-final victory over Greuther Fürth.
Topics of this article