This transfer window Bayern has been pretty active in both directions. Until now the transfers are:
In
- Joshua Kimmich - from Stuttgart
- Sven Ulreich - from Stuttgart
- Douglas Kosta - from Shakhtar Donetsk
- Arturo Vidal - from Juventus
- Pierre–Emile Højbjerg - back from loan Augsburg
- Jan Kirchhoff - back from loan Schalke 04
- Julian Green - back from loan Hamburger SV
Out
- Bastian Schweinsteiger - to Manchester United
- Mitchell Weiser - to Hertha BSC
- Claudio Pizarro - retired
- Pepe Reina - to Napoli
- Rico Strieder - to FC Utrecht
By far the most controversial transfer is Schweini going to ManU after 17 years with Bayern. There are fractions of the fans not being happy at all about the transfer, accusing Guardiola and Rummenigge of destroying the Bayern identity. Peter Neururer (ex Bochum coach) took it one step further (read more). I must confess that I'm the same camp also and think that a strong German/Bavarian core it's a must for FC Bayern to be successful.
If you look at the full squad of 27 players, 12 are Germans which it's not too bad (44%). However looking more closely, if we take out the three goalkeepers, from 24 field players, only 9 are Germans (37.5%). Even more worrying it's the picture of the starting eleven, which very likely has only Neuer, Lahm, Boateng and Muller as starter (36%).
Whenever Bayern has been successful, it had a very strong German core which was the core of the National Team as well:
- 1974, 75, 76 - Maier, Beckenbauer, Breitner, Schwarzenbeck, Hoeneß, Roth, Müller
- 1999, 2000, 2001 - Kahn, Babbel, Helmer, Linke, Matthaus, Basler, Effenberg, Jeremies, Scholl
- 2012, 13, 14 - Neuer, Lahm, Boateng, Badstuber, Kroos, Schweinsteiger, Gotze, Muller
I'm afraid that this full latinization of Guardiola (Dante, Rafinha, Costa of Brasil; Bernat, Thiago, Martinez, Alonso of Spain; Vidal of Chille) will contribute to more German/Bavarian players leaving. There are rumours that it was one of the reasons Schweini left, and Muller has voiced his concerns also (read here). I hope I'm wrong, but my prediction is that although Bayern can/will win the Bundesliga, they will not get far in Champions League.