Bayern Munich’s Campaign Tracker: Where they stand across all competitions

FC Bayern did something in the 2023/24 season that they hadn't done since 2011/12: go trophyless. For 11 straight years, Die Roten had won at least one--or, in many cases, more than one--trophy across the three major competitions that they compete in. These three competitions, the Bundesliga, Champions League, and DFB-Pokal had been dominated by Bayern in their illustrious history. Remember: FC Bayern won 11 straight Bundesliga titles until a great Bayer Leverkusen side ended their reign.

The Bavarian club has won more Bundesliga titles than any other team in the history of the competition, lifting the trophy an incredible 32 times. They have also amassed six Champions League titles, with the most recent being in 2020, when they also decisively won the treble.

In my opinion, the Bayern squad that went trophyless last season is arguably better than some of the previous teams that did win. But why did this team not win a single trophy last season? Some like to say the reason for them not winning anything last season is the "Harry Kane effect," where people claim Harry Kane is just a bad luck charm. Others like to say it's because FC Bayern has a lot of improving to do on the defensive end, or that the other teams were much stronger last year in comparison to years before.

Whatever the reason, Vincent Kompany's team is looking to get back to winning ways this season. With a quarter of the season done, we look at Bayern's route to glory in all competitions and eventually pick the competition that they have the biggest chance to break the trophy duck.

Road to victory for FC Bayern in the Bundesliga

How are Bayern going to get back to winning ways in the league? Well as of right now, things are looking very good for them in the Bundesliga, as they are unbeaten in the league after 11 games and have a lead of five points at the top of the points table.

Bayern also have a pretty manageable schedule ahead in which they could extend their dominance at the top, with coming fixtures against Augsburg at home, Heidenheim at home, Mainz away, Borussia Mönchengladbach away, and Wolfsburg at home. Their trickiest fixture is Borussia Dortmund at the Signal Iduna Park on November 30.

It is quite early for anybody to call the race for the Bundesliga title over yet, but the Bavarian side's schedule seems to favor them even more. Only the slight injection of Bayer Leverkusen and Eintracht Frankfurt in the middle of February could cause any type of turbulence in the Rekordmeister's path to securing yet another Bundesliga Meisterschale. It seems as though the team is coming back with a vengeance, and only an incredible season from another team in the top 6 or an unduly failure to garner points from this point on could end Bayern's dream.

Road to victory for FC Bayern in the Champions League

The Champions League, as we have seen so far this season, has been a bit more of a struggle for Bayern. They have managed to lose two of their four games so far, only earning six out of a possible 12 points. They are, as of now, sitting in the 17th spot in the standings. Bayern Munich, who seem to be a contender for winning the tournament nearly every season, had been in a bit of a lull when they lost to Aston Villa by a goal and then 4-1 to FC Barcelona. This came after winning the first game 9-2 and before beating Benfica by a singular goal. Their coming fixtures may offer some reprieve though, as they will face a struggling PSG side at Allianz Arena after the international break, followed by Shakhtar Donetsk, Feyenoord, and Slovan Bratislava.

They most certainly are not out of contention to win the Champions League by any stretch of the imagination, but this team has made everybody wonder if they aren't built for European glory this season. In my opinion, Bayern are still somewhat finding their feet and tend to start a bit slower in this competition, so the losses they have accumulated will not define the measure of how deep they will go in the tournament. If anything, I think that they will kick into their next gear when they face PSG and start cruising from there.

Road to victory for FC Bayern in the DFB Pokal?

This competition may be the most difficult of the three to predict for FC Bayern. They are in the round of 16 already, which is very good. The issue with this, however, is that they will now face the team that stole the most recent Bundesliga title away from them- Bayer Leverkusen. After that, it just depends on which team can show up in must-win games and continue to not show weaknesses. This competition is knockout style, and it is incredibly unforgiving of any mistakes. The best-case scenario is for Bayern Munich to win against Bayer Leverkusen and then hope that Red Bull Leipzig or Eintracht Frankfurt don't make a deep run.

Which competition do Bayern have the best chance of winning?

The truth is that this season Bayern Munich have a real shot at all three titles and could possibly earn the treble. That being said, there are a lot of outside factors that could stop that from coming to fruition. Barring an incredible run like Bayer Leverkusen's, I think that Bayern have a legitimate shot at lifting the Meisterschale and getting Harry Kane his first taste of a league title.

If Bayern start playing like a true contender the way we all know they can in the Champions League, then they could have a strong chance at repeating their treble from 2020, provided they win against Bayer Leverkusen, they should realistically be considered the favorite to hold the DFB-Pokal as well.

As an optimist, I want to say that Bayern Munich can win the treble this season and it will be something that we can write home about at the end. As a realist, I think that Bayern will win the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal, and make a deep run in the Champions League.

My prediction for each competition is as follows:

Bayern will win the league by a decent margin. I believe Bayern will most likely make the quarterfinals, and maybe even the semifinals of the Champions League, but may not win the title this time around. In the DFB Pokal--dependent on their result against Leverkusen--I think they will win a little bit easier. As things stand, Bayern looks in a good position to win at least one title this season and everybody can stop talking about Kane never winning a trophy.