Squad rotation will be key for Bayern Munich this season

As Bayern Munich head into the ’17-18 season eager to put last season’s woes behind them. Squad rotation will be key for the club as they aim for success this season.

Bayern Munich head into the ’17-18 season as heavy Bundesliga favorites and a big contender in the Champions League. Last season the Bavarian club was largely disappointing, but not entirely. They won the Bundesliga by a fair margin, edging out runners-up RB Leipzig by 15 points.

Despite the point difference at the end of the season, there was a time where things didn’t look so good for Die Roten in the league. They even spent some time in second place behind the Bundesliga new boys.

Although Bayern did eventually win the Bundesliga title, things didn’t go so well for them in the Champions League and the DFB Pokal. The Bavarians bowed out of the European tournament in the quarter-finals after a controversial tie with Spanish giants Real Madrid.

Similarly, they were eliminated from the German cup semi-final with a disappointing 3-2 loss to Borussia Dortmund.

If the German giants are to avoid the disappointment of last season, there’s several things they must do. At the very top of that list lies one thing: squad rotation.

A squad full of stars

Bayern Munich’s squad is one of the most star-studded in all of Europe. Veteran players such as Arjen Robben, Robert Lewandowski and Manuel Neuer (to name a few) are among the best players in the world in their respective positions.

Furthermore, the club has several of Europe’s most talented youngsters within their ranks. Joshua Kimmich is only 22-years-old and is already a vital cog in the Bavarian machine. He is also one of the key players in Joachim Low’s Germany squad.

Niklas Sule, Kingsley Coman, Coco Tolisso and Renato Sanches are all some of the hottest prospects in Europe as well. Whether young or old, Bayern is loaded with talent. Except for a natural striker to back-up Robert Lewandowski, the Bavarians have good depth in each position.

Squad depth is certainly a good thing. Having multiple players who can play in each position is a vital part of any team’s success, but sometimes it can be too much of a good thing. Keeping players happy can be very difficult when more than eleven players deserve a spot in the first-team.

Playing for the present, but looking toward the future

Player happiness isn’t the only reason Carlo Ancelotti must rotate his Bayern Munich squad this year. As already mentioned, the Italian maestro has some of Europe’s most promising talents at his disposal.

Arjen Robben, Franck Ribery, Arturo Vidal and Rafinha are all on the wrong side of 30. Although each of them is still producing at nearly their top level, they won’t be around forever. It may not be long (specifically for “Robbery”) before those players follow in the footsteps of their former teammates Philipp Lahm and Xabi Alonso and hang up their boots for good.

They may be some of the best players in the squad now, but they simply cannot play every match. In order to ensure a safe future, Carlo Ancelotti must show faith in his youngsters and place more responsibilities upon their shoulders.

This means that Bayern’s aging squad members must accept a smaller role in the team. Franck Ribery, for example, might still be able to produce moments of sensational magic, but he must be prepared to lose a significant amount of minutes to the likes of James Rodriguez and Kingsley Coman.

Likewise, Arturo Vidal has been a massively important player for Bayern in the past few seasons, but he must now accept that Corentin Tolisso and (especially) Renato Sanches need the minutes against teams like Hamburg much more than him. It’s not that they’re better than him, but those minutes are vitally important to their development.

It all comes down to the manager

Bayern’s veteran players are not the only ones who have to understand the importance of rotation. Carlo Ancelotti himself has to realize that rotating the squad will be vital to Bayern’s success this season and in seasons to come.

Last season Mr. Ancelotti struggled much in this area. He had an obvious set of preferred players and too often started them when others could have and should have been chosen for the job. The aging Xabi Alonso was somehow one of the most-played members of the Bayern Munich squad!

While Alonso featured in the majority of Die Roten’s matches, Renato Sanches languished on the bench, rarely getting an opportunity to play. Granted, when he did play he was quite poor, but it’s hard to expect much more from the young Portuguese star. He can hardly be blamed for his poor start to life in Munich.

Joshua Kimmich started the ’16-17 season in excellent form, but soon found himself spending more time on the bench as well. He expressed his frustration at being forced to the bench. If it wasn’t for Lahm’s retirement, the young German might have moved on from Bayern Munich this past summer. Situations like theirs simply cannot happen again this season.

Next: Lewandowski: Bayern will have a strong season

Carlo Ancelotti has to be careful to avoid making the same mistake as last season. That may mean reserving Ribery and Robben for the big European matches. Or it could mean playing only one at a time. Whatever his solution, Carlo has to address the tall task at hand. That task? Achieving success this season while preparing the club for a bright future. There is hardly anything more important for the club during their current transitional phase.