#bayern-munich

#bayern-munich

Said El Mala has burst onto the scene at FC Köln and he's quickly become a transfer target for several top clubs across Europe including Bayern Munich. His profile has been compared to that of Lennart Karl and Jamal Musiala with his pace, dribbling abilities, and finishing, but he's his own player and, by the looks of things, has quite a high ceiling ahead of him.

Bayern kicked off the tournament in a rather rusty fashion, as they found themselves trailing 3-1 to Juventus in their opening game. However, because Bayern have made a habit of comebacks nowadays, they came back in style to win 4-3. Ribéry, Sebastian Rudy (remember him?), Mandžukić, and Mark van Bommel scored the goals. The second and last group game pitted the hosts against Eintracht Frankfurt.

Among tactical implementation, developing players and dealing with the media, keeping a healthy dressing room atmosphere is one of the most important roles for a football manager. Managers can be strong tacticians but a failure to keep the dressing room under control could lead to total collapse-something Vincent Kompany's predecessors, Julian Nagelsmann and Thomas Tuchel, learnt the hard way. In contrast, the 39-year-old Belgian manager is capitalizing on his emotional intelligence to find the perfect balance at Bayern Munich.

Breaking through at Bayern Munich as a youth player is exceedingly difficult. Lennart Karl may have made it look easy, but usually one has to compete with an array of stars as an academy player to get game time. Felipe Chavez is in a fairly similar boat. He caught the eye with a bright display in the big 5-0 friendly against RB Salzburg before making his Bundesliga debut against VfL Wolfsburg.

FC Bayern kick off the Rückrunde on Saturday with an away game at RB Leipzig. Despite having 47 points and a goal difference of 66:13 - the best-ever first half of a Bundesliga season - and a comfortable 11-point lead over second place, the start of the second half of the season is kind of a new beginning for Vincent Kompany: "We're starting from scratch again," stressed the record champions' head coach.

Former Bayern Munich stars Thomas Müller and Mats Hummels had a little get together in Berlin to watch the NBA game between the Memphis Grizzlies and the Orlando Magic. As it turns out, the boys also ran into another familiar face - former Mainz 05, Borussia Dortmund, and Liverpool FC head coach (and future Real Madrid boss) Jürgen Klopp. German players (and brothers) Franz Wagner (18 points) and Mo Wagner (7 points) helped power the Magic to a 118-111 victory.

Bayern Munich continued their unbeaten run in the Bundesliga on Wednesday with a comfortable 3-1 win against FC Koln. The Bavarian club had to come from 1-0 down to clinch the victory as the hosts scored first late in the first half. Courtesy of the win on Wednesday, Bayern remain top of the Bundesliga with a lead of 11 points. After beating FC Koln, Vincent Kompany's men broke an impressive Bundesliga record.

Regardless of Serge Gnabry's upcoming renewal, Bayern are determined to sign a new winger, preferably a left-winger. The current focus is on Yan Diomande and Said El Mala, depending on their availability and the price in the summer. If Bayern Munich really does want Diomande, though, the competition will be fierce. According to Fabrizio Romano (via @iMiaSanMia), Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain are expected to take a run at the 19-year-old: Bayern, Manchester United and PSG are sending representatives to follow Yan Diomande.