Under Cover Munchen

With a season to put behind them, Bayern Munchen are looking to improve on last term's disappointment. The German giants finished second in a league they should win every year and bombed out of the Champions League to eventual champions Barcelona with a scoreline I won't mention for the sake of the club's reputation. Former Bayern Munchen great, Franz Beckenbauer, made his feelings known which demoralized the team even more. The Club was in an obvious need of change. You would think that a squad that struggled to lift trophies, would bring in names known in the world of football to help them raise the level. Real Madrid over achieved that policy this summer after a terrible season at their standards. Bayern Munchen is taking a more subtle approach. Signing six names so far this summer. You may be asking yourself when you saw these news reports, struggling to remember. The truth is, you don't remember because the press tends to publicise significant players moving to big clubs, not small names that are hardly recognized. The only reports you remember this summer of Bayern Munchen is their fight to hold on to Ribery. Lets take a look at who they have signed started with the biggest of the names to the smallest names.

1. Mario Gomez: Probably the most well known of the new players. The striker Gomez spent his entire career at Stuttgart until now. Despite his the Latin roots of his name, he is a German international with 24 caps. Last season Gomez scored 33 goals in all competitions which was good enough to seal his €30 million move to the German Giants this summer. He is impressive in the air standing at 6'2, and weighing in at a thumping 190 lbs. The large target will be challenging Italian frontman, Luca Toni, for the big strikers job most likely along Klose. Look for the 24 year-old in action wearing the Bayern Munchen strip next season.
   


2. Ivica Olic: Olic really appeared on the scene in last summer's EURO 2008 with Croatia (a real bruiser in the fantasy game at the time). Standing at 6'1, the 29 year-old is another candidate for a big striker at his new club. He arrives from Hamburg SV with credentials of 16 goals last season in all competitions. Places for strikers are up for grabs with Lucas Podolski leaving the club this summer.
   


3. Anatoliy Tymoshuck: You may recognize the name from Russia's most recent standout club Zenit St. Petersburg. He was part of the squad who triumphed over Rangers in the 2008 UEFA Cup final, Beating Bayern Munchen in Russia in the semi-final second leg of that tournament 4-0. The 30-year old will be anxious to start with German Giants that he helped scalp 2 season previous.
   


4. Danijel Pranjic: Names begin to grow more unfamiliar at this point when the Club signed Pranjic from Dutch outfit Heerenveen. He was impressive in last seasons campaign in the Dutch Eredivisie scoring 16 goals and 8 goals in 30 games played.
   


5. Edson Braafheid: The German giants signed this 27 year-old defender from FC Twente Enschede. Not a big name, but recently earned his first cap for his home nations of the Netherlands.
   


6. Alexander Baumjohann: Perhaps a rising young star. He plays for the German U-21 and is transfering over from his last outfit, Borussia Mönchengladbach. Looks to be another midfielder that could grow into a fine player.

Bayern Munchen may not have signed big stars like Real Madrid, but that's not to say their system won't be affective. The low profile players could be surprises. All of them have good numbers statistically and it's not like Bayern to sign players not able to compete at a high level such as the Champions League. Let's see what they can bring to the table this season with a splash of new talent.

Viva el futbol y Hala Madrid

Bobby