München – Once, it was the second living room of FC Bayern, the Olympiastadion in Berlin. Starting from 1998, when the Munich side defeated MSV Duisburg 2-1, they appeared in the final 15 times over 23 years, celebrating the grand occasion in the capital a week after the final Bundesliga matchday. 15 finals in 23 years, with twelve title victories. The golden cup smelled of wheat beer.
The last triumph was marked by sad circumstances due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In July 2020, Bayern, under coach Hansi Flick, won 4-2 against Bayer Leverkusen in the desolate, nearly empty Olympiastadion.
Since 2020, it has been a drought. Bayern have failed miserably four times, embarrassing themselves to varying degrees. The locations of shame: Holstein Kiel (second round), Borussia Mönchengladbach (second round), SC Freiburg (quarter-finals), and last November in Saarbrücken (again second round). All were light to mid-weight teams in German football.
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“I won’t let anyone talk me into having a cup phobia,” said Müller in an interview with BR24 Sport, adding: “I’ve experienced much worse times.” The record cup winners have had their ups and downs. “But the fact is,” Müller acknowledges, “that we haven’t…” he hesitated. “Or maybe it’s been four years…” Exactly. “It just isn’t happening,” the local Bavarian exclaimed.
A drought that has lingered too long. This time, the whole club is determined to reach the final experience in Berlin, absorb it, and bring home the cup.
The opponent in the round of 16 on Tuesday (20:30, ARD & Sky) at the Allianz Arena: the current heavyweight of German football, the double winners Bayer Leverkusen. “A tough challenge,” Müller remarked. The champions and title defenders, one of the giants in the country. And this is precisely the issue.
Against the top six teams from last season’s final table, Bayern has managed to win only nine of their total of 25 direct encounters in recent years. This is a non-Bayern-like success rate of just 36%, which is a mere third.
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Against cup rival Leverkusen, Bayern has recorded just one win in the last five Bundesliga matches, as well as one against RB Leipzig, their opponent in the last game of the calendar year on December 20. Bayern was successful twice against BVB and Frankfurt, with the best record coming against VfB Stuttgart, where they managed three wins in five encounters, including a 4-0 victory in October.
However, the Swabians only improved last season under coach Sebastian Hoeneß, transforming from relegation candidates to Champions League participants.
The pressing question remains: Can Bayern no longer handle the big games?
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At least nationally. In the Champions League, after the away defeats at Aston Villa (0-1) and Barcelona (1-4), they demonstrated contrary evidence with a 1-0 victory against Paris St. Germain last week, beating one of the giants of the Grande Nation.
Now it’s Leverkusen again – laden with the risk that the first title after 90 minutes, or after extra time or a penalty shoot-out, could vanish late on Tuesday night. “There’s pressure on the kettle,” Müller noted. At the mention of the dreaded ‘D-word,’ Kompany always smiles softly.
“We need this pressure to reach our best level,” the Belgian said on Monday, expressing his hope that his team’s performance “will match the magnitude of this match.”
The Bundesliga clash at the end of September ended in a 1-1 draw, during which guest coach Xabi Alonso adopted a very cautious, defensive approach.
Can Bayern finally settle the outstanding debt, dethrone the title holders in the cup, and set the course for the final? “It’s an important game for us because we want to go to Berlin again,” emphasized captain Manuel Neuer. And win the cup.
The last time Bayern made five consecutive cup appearances without a victory was during their darkest DFB-Pokal period, from 1987 to 1997.
