CBC-Sports

Louis van Gaal on short leash with Bayern

October 5, 2009 05:11 PM | Posted by   John Molinaro  

The boo birds of Bavaria were out in full force on Saturday as Bayern Munich was held to a 0-0 draw at home by lowly Cologne.

Sitting firmly in the relegation zone after eight rounds on the Bundesliga, Cologne put as many players as they could behind the ball for 90 minutes, thwarting Bayern’s potent attack at every turn.

Interestingly, Bayern has now gone three straight games without scoring, its longest goal drought in nine years. Needless to say the natives are restless, as Bayern was booed off the Allianz Arena pitch by their fans at the end of the game.

It’s hard to believe that Bayern has now gone over 270 minutes without a goal, especially with the calibre of players they have at their disposal, including goal machines Miroslav Klose and Mario Gomez, and French winger Franck Ribery.

Then again Dutchman Louis van Gaal, currently in his first season in charge of Bayern, does have a habit of turning clubs stocked with world-class talent into a team of under-achievers.

The man has done some wonderful things in his coaching career, most notably leading Ajax to glory in the early part of the 1990s, winning a string of Dutch titles, the Champions League and the UEFA Cup.

Last year, van Gaal guided AZ to the Dutch championship, the first time in 28 years that a team outside the big three (Ajax, PSV and Feyenoord) won the league crown.

But he also fell out of favour during two different spells while in charge of a star-studded FC Barcelona due to his coaching methods and team selection, and somehow he couldn’t help a talent-rich Netherlands side qualify for the 2002 World Cup.

A return to Ajax in 2004 as the team’s technical director also ended abruptly, his prickly demeanour doing him few favours, just like it didn’t help to endear him to the Barcelona faithful while he was employed by the Catalan club.

Far from possessing the Midas Touch, van Gaal often times turns whatever he touches into stone, Bayern Munich being just the latest example.

As for the game against Cologne, van Gaal was full of excuses, including the old standby that it’s hard to beat teams who do nothing but defend for 90 minutes.

"It's difficult to play against a wall. When a Bundesliga team only defends, it's hard to get through," van Gaal said.

But consider the depth of talent between the two teams, and you can’t help but wonder how Bayern didn’t manage to score several goals against Cologne, never mind just one.

Already bets are being taken by German bookmakers as to when – not if – van Gaal will part way with Bayern.

If their goal-scoring drought lasts much longer, you’d be wise to put some money down on the Dutchman being axed by the end of the month.

Follow John F. Molinaro on Twitter at http://twitter.com/JohnMolinaro

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