The curtain has come down on a disappointing season at Bayern. The dethroned Bundesliga champions finished a relatively poor fourth, missing out on the Champions League for the first time since 1997. The time is right for an analysis of the positives and negatives in 2006-7."We were especially poor against less strong opponents and dropped too many points," Ottmar Hitzfeld exclusively told premium channel FCB.tv, "we've drawn our conclusions, we know what we're lacking, and what we have to do better in the new season."
Interview: Ottmar Hitzfeld
FCB.tv: Ottmar Hitzfeld, what were the fundamental reasons why Bayern finished no higher than fourth this term?
Ottmar Hitzfeld: "I'm very pleased we were able to make it up to our fans at least a little by winning our last two matches, and also that we gave Mehmet Scholl a decent send-off. But at the end of the day, it was a very disappointing season. We were especially poor against less strong opponents and dropped too many points. On the one hand, it was because we were less hungry after the tremendous success of back-to-back doubles, and we thought we could win trophies by giving it 80 percent. On the other hand, it was certainly because we lacked certain types of player. We often faced teams who did nothing but defend, so perhaps we needed a physically powerful striker with strength in the air, or a midfielder capable of beating two men and giving us a numerical advantage. That's something we definitely lacked. I also believe to an extent the team was unable to cope with the pressure. But we've drawn our conclusions, we know what we're lacking, and what we have to do better in the new season."
FCB.tv: Have you completed your analysis?
Hitzfeld: "Naturally, we've kept up a continuous dialogue as we put together a concept for the new season: the kind of players we need, the positions where we need strengthening, the players we want to keep and the players we no longer require. The decisions over who's staying and who's going were made fairly early."
FCB.tv: Four players officially took their leave on Saturday, and Owen Hargreaves is moving on as well. Could Roque Santa Cruz be the next departure?
Hitzfeld: "He's still contracted to us, but he's talking to other clubs. We have ideas of our own. The decision whether he's going or staying hasn't been taken yet."
FCB.tv: Three new signings have been confirmed so far - or do you know more than that?
Hitzfeld: "Obviously I know more than what has been announced so far. We've completed one or two other transfers, but Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Uli Hoeneß want to announce everything together as a single package, so we'll all have to be a little patient."
FCB.tv: Will you be adding players from the club's youth section?
Hitzfeld: "Yes, Mats Hummels was already part of the squad this season, and he'll continue to train with us next term. We'll also add Toni Kroos, he's trained with us and played a few games for the reserves. He's still young and needs match practice, but I reckon both will appear for the first team in the course of the season."
