Football Season Guide

Bayern Munchen head into a new season with a fresh face on the sidelines as they seek to maintain their dominance in the domestic campaign by lifting a record seventh straight Bundesliga title. With Jupp Heynckes not willing to extend his tenure beyond the short stint that he was brought in for, Bayern have replaced the legendary coach with Niko Kovac who enjoyed a successful reign at Eintracht Frankfurt which ended by helping them lift their first major trophy in two decades after the Eagles won the DFB Cup last season. The aggressive approach adopted by Kovac at Frankfurt will find lots of support amongst the Bayern fans who have seen their side dominate opponents in almost every match on the domestic front, though it is in Europe where the club will look to improve their fortunes after underwhelming campaigns in the last couple of seasons. The decision to bring in Kovac, who is untested at a big club, also signals a shift in the transfer policy for Bayern who are yet to bring in a big name signing this season. Leon Goretzka's arrival on a free transfer, confirmed back in January, represents the only immediate signing for Bayern so far, with their other new signing, Alphonso Davies, not linking up with the team until the winter break. Renato Sanches and Serge Gnabry have returned to the club following the end of their loan spells, and it remains to be seen whether Bayern will be making any moves in the final two weeks of the transfer window. There have been a couple of big departures though, with Douglas Costa's loan to Juventus being converted into a permanent move while Arturo Vidal has also left the club after being snapped up by Barcelona. Jerome Boateng is also seemingly surplus to requirements with Bayern having shown willingness to enter into talks with Manchester United for the defender only to pull out after the English club reportedly mooted only a loan move initially. With both Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben not at their effective best last season, and Kingsley Coman still on the road to recovery after spending large portions of last season on the treatment table, it will be a new look Bayern lineup taking to the field when the season kicks off, though they do have enough quality to once again be seen as clear favorites for the Bundesliga title.