Bayern Munich: 2013 or 2020?

[horsechoker]

Which team was better?

For me it has to be 2013, even though Lewandowski is better than Gomez and Mandzukic I think that Ribery and Cut Inside and Shoot man can't be beaten.

Moreover, the German spine would go on to win the World Cup while the current crop look off the pace.

Combined XI

Neuer (2013)

Lahm
Boateng
Alaba (2020)
Kimmich

Thiago
Schweinstiger

Robben
Muller (2013)
Ribery

Lewandowski

 

[giorno]

2013 the more talented side

2020 the better side

 

[paulscholes18]

Think the only change I would make would be Davis in for Kimmich and play Lahm at RB. As I think it would provide better balance down the left side.

 

[hasanejaz88]

I would still go for the 2013 side, they were a machine while the 2020 side still seems to weak in defense with their high line.

Neuer (2020)

Lahm
Boateng (2013)
Dante
Alaba (2013)

Kimmich
Schweinsteiger
Muller (2013)

Ribery
Robben
Lewandowski

8 players from 2013.

 

[Hansinity]

I definitely prefer the 2013 Bayern. They had the perfect balance between pressing a possession football. In my opinion one of the best defence ever, not on paper, ( Lahm and Boateng were the best in their position back then though ) but just they way they defendeded as a team. Schweinsteiger and Martinez were incredible in tackling and interceptions. Robben and Ribery helping the defence so much was also amazing to watch.

 

[5yearsRanking]

2013 side had an incredible CL run.
Wasnt so excited about their run and footy last year.

 

[passing-wind]

I think 2013 better overall side but I prefer the football of 2020. Jup Heynckes world class manager.

 

[RooneyLegend]

2013. They were a more balanced side. 2020 plays suicidal football and we're fortunate that PSG's stars made a mess of things. Teams barely created chances against Bayern 2013. I spent some time watching back at those ties and it's amazing how organised they were. Kroos' injury took them up to a level very few teams have ever reached.

 

[arthurka]

That Juup side had spirit and character. I will go for the 2013 side by some distance.

 

[tjb]

Not really fair as a lot of Bayern's players have just started establishing themselves, while Bayern in 2013 had already established themselves prior.

 

[el3mel]

2013. Robben and Ribery as wingers was honestly overkill.

 

[Zehner]

2013 was better since the individuals outclassed their 2020 counterparts. Bayern have no player as good as Robben and Ribery used to be. I'd actually argue they were better in every team area bar striker. And Thiago/Kimmich is probably on par with Schweinsteiger/Kroos.

 

[Lay]

2013 with Lewandowski would be overkill.

 

[Tonicruise]

2013 without a shiver of doubt. The WC generation in it's peak with Robbery on the wings what a beautiful time it was. Winning 2013 felt a lot more satisfying than 2020 for sure, having lost two finals in the previous 3 years certainly made it even more satisfying.

 

[SilentStrike]

2013 is one of the best teams I have ever watched in terms of peak.

It was a machine of 11 players working as a unit moving up and down the pitch. Beautiful yet destructive.

2020 looks too unstable at times, and they seem to rely on individual brilliance more despite having lesser individual quality. 2013 team would beat the 2020 team.

 

[GhastlyHun]

 

[amolbhatia50k]

2013. Among the better teams I've seen . Wouldn't say that about the 2020 one.

 

[Mb194dc]

Wait to see if they win everything again this year?

For me they're surely favourites for the CL again.

 

[GhastlyHun]

Wait to see if they win everything again this year?

For me they're surely favourites for the CL again.

Our defense is too shit right now, and i don't think we have a real fix for that without one or two new CBs, who won't come in this season.

 

[kouroux]

Our defense is too shit right now, and i don't think we have a real fix for that without one or two new CBs, who won't come in this season.

Move Hernandez as CB and start Davies at LB.

 

[Mb194dc]

Our defense is too shit right now, and i don't think we have a real fix for that without one or two new CBs, who won't come in this season.

Kimmich is back soon? You have other injuries?

I don't see any weaknesses in the Bayern squad with everyone fit. Just need to replace Alaba if he leaves.

 

[GhastlyHun]

Move Hernandez as CB and start Davies at LB.

Both have some deficits defensively.

 

[kouroux]

Both have some deficits defensively.

For sure but maybe it's something to try with the current players if no one is to be bought.

 

[GhastlyHun]

Kimmich is back soon? You have other injuries?

I don't see any weaknesses in the Bayern squad with everyone fit. Just need to replace Alaba if he leaves.

As always, we'd need more than one Kimmich. Since Pavard seems to have fallen off a cliff, he's probably set to start at RB, but we need him in DM alongside Goretzka to shield our CBs, too.

 

[Hansi Fick]

Move Hernandez as CB and start Davies at LB.

This will happen long term.
Also, Nianzou suffered two serious injuries since joining, surely he would have had a role to play.

 

[do.omb]

2013 team takes it by a country mile.
While the 2020 team was certainly good and the best team in Europe the overall level of competitions has seemingly dropped in the last few years and this team just never had that "aura" around them. Even the 8-2 against Barcelona was rather nervous for long stretches. Certainly not a bad team and rather fun to watch but a team and season that will probably always be remembered as the Covid first and foremost.
That 2013 team on the other hand was an absolute ruthless killing machine. With the fire of losing the Finale Dahoam igniting them, this team just completely ran over everyone, especially at the tail end of the season. With the exception of the last few minutes of the Arsenal tie there was never any doubt about this team winning the Champions League. In my biased opinion this team is up there with the very very best club teams to ever play European football.

 

[renandstimpyfan83]

2013 will definitely be remembered more fondly. They formed the backbone of the World Cup winning side a year later and last season’s CL will always be a bit tainted by being an abridged competition with no fans.

To be fair the 2013 side destroyed a Barcelona side close to their absolute peak. 2020 Barça is the worst side they’ve had since the Van Gaal & Antić season.

 

[Acrobat7]

The 2013 team is over-glorified. It had very close, tight results and lucky goals in the first two thirds of the season. Moreover, Kroos' injury forced Heynckes' luck a little.

If I had to pick one it would still be 2013 though.
But yes, imagine Lewandowski in that team!!

 

[Morty_]

Feels like everyone think Bayern 2013 was some unstoppable machine, who steamrolled every team they faced, that wasn`t the case.
People said Bayern got lucky in the 2020 final, but Bayern struggled against Dortmund in 2013 final too, could have gone differently.

 

[MrEleson]

If the 2013 team was so good (I know they were great), why were they only good for that season? Was it just because Pep came and tried to reinvent the wheel?

 

[hasanejaz88]

If the 2013 team was so good (I know they were great), why were they only good for that season? Was it just because Pep came and tried to reinvent the wheel?

Pretty much, yes. Heynckes was much more pragmatic in his approach and wasn't afraid of letting the other team have possession if he felt they could be attacked on the counter. He played that way against Arsenal and Barca in 2013, while Pep went to dominate possession against Real in 2014 and was trounced.

Injuries didn't help Pep as well throughout his time at Bayern but his move from pragmatism to more one-sided tactics was opposite to Heynckes, and not really suited to European football one might say. There is a reason Pep in all his years at Bayern, Barca and City has only been to two finals while Heynckes had been to 3 in barely 4 seasons in charge of a UCL team.

 

[renandstimpyfan83]

If the 2013 team was so good (I know they were great), why were they only good for that season? Was it just because Pep came and tried to reinvent the wheel?

Well they weren’t only good for one season, were they? In the three Guardiola seasons they won the league at a canter, winning the double in two of them and got to the CL semis each year.

2012-13 was essentially the start of a continued dominance that has never been seen before in German football.

 

[GhastlyHun]

If the 2013 team was so good (I know they were great), why were they only good for that season? Was it just because Pep came and tried to reinvent the wheel?

That's an interesting definition of 'good', when our 2014-16 teams are discounted.

 

[Hansi Fick]

That's an interesting definition of 'good', when our 2014-16 teams are discounted.

Not to forget 2012, when in the CL final, as Mourinho likes to put it, "the best team lost"..

 

[giorno]

If the 2013 team was so good (I know they were great), why were they only good for that season? Was it just because Pep came and tried to reinvent the wheel?

They weren't. They were already on the cusp of greatness the season before, just completely bottled everything. In 13/14 they were even more dominant until the CL semifinal, where they faced an equally great side in much better form. The 15/16 version remains imho the best bayern side of the era, went one missed penalty away from a treble.

But also, they struggled at times in the CL group stage(lost to BATE Borisov and rescued a late draw in Valencia), faced a relatively easy ride to the CL final(aside from the freak 0-2 loss to arsenal, a game they dominated, they faced a relatively weak juventus side, a barcelona side struggling with Villanova's cancer, running on fumes and with an injured Messi, and then Borussia missing Goetze in the final. And borussia could have easily been up at halftime in that game if not for Neuer. Only in the second half they took over) and were generally not as dominant in the cups as the 19/20 side(and equally dominant in the league from the moment Flick took over)

They had better talent individually, but it's a bit like comparing the '58 and '70 brazil. I'll stick with Pelé's answer

 

[Blackwidow]

What 2013 after Kroos' injury and 2020 have in common is the 4-2-3-1 as system with Müller behind the striker. If you look in the seasons between that years you will see that Müller did not play the role behind the striker in first and second legs of all the decisive matches that follow with the exception of the Juventus tie in 2016. Pep tried a more conservative 4-3-3 in the first away matches in the final stages - in which we usually not even scored and often even lost in that legs - the 4-2-3-1 was then only used for the end of the matches and the second leg - that worked in the "smaller" matches like against Porto and others (often even with high results) but not against Real, Barcelona and Atletico. Ancelotti played a 4-3-3 with Alonso, Thiago and Vidal. Heynckes started against Real Madrid in a 4-2-3-1 but because of Robben's injury had to switch after some minutes in the first leg. And against Liverpool Müller was booked both legs - Kimmich in the second.

If you would take the G+A/Game-quote for the matches in the 4-2-3-1 of Robben, Lewy and Müller that would be a lot higher than like it already is.

 

[kaiser1]

I think 2020 team. They did not draw a game

The 2013 team looked very shaky until the quarter-finals, they struggled in the groups, barely made it past Arsenal on away goals in the 2nd round.

In the 2013 final vs Dortmund, they had like 4 chances in the first 30mins which Neuer

 

[2ndTouch]

2013. They were a more balanced side. 2020 plays suicidal football and we're fortunate that PSG's stars made a mess of things. Teams barely created chances against Bayern 2013. I spent some time watching back at those ties and it's amazing how organised they were. Kroos' injury took them up to a level very few teams have ever reached.

Lost 3-1 to BATE in the group stages, and almost got kicked out by fecking Arsenal in R16 in 2013. Won every single game in 2020, scoring 43 goals in the process. Nuff said.

 

[Josep Dowling]

2013 Robben was a thing a beauty. When he cut in you just knew he would score. That team was unbelievable.

 

[JDoe]

Lost 3-1 to BATE in the group stages, and almost got kicked out by fecking Arsenal in R16 in 2013. Won every single game in 2020, scoring 43 goals in the process. Nuff said.

How Arsenal won that second game nobody knows, they had 2 shots and scored 2 goals. Currently there is no team on the same level as Real or Barcelona back then. We steamrolled all the teams until the final, and Dortmund was probably the better team than current PSG, even individually. We weren't too good in the first half of the season (much like currently) but were unstoppable in the second half.

Mandzukic was also extremely underrated. He had insane work rate and was excellent against all the big teams. I'd even argue that Lewa has not been the better, or often even worse CL striker than him in the knockout stages.