Bayern Munich defender Matthijs de Ligt was probably having a nice offseason.
The Dutchman finished off a strong individual campaign, was called up to the Netherlands national team, got married, and then it all fell apart.
For a week now, De Ligt’s name has been dragged through the mud with a series of reports from the media. One could theorize that the slew of leaks was an organized tactic to give fans a reason to think that the center-back makes too money and is hurt too frequently. Maybe that’s the case or maybe some journos colluded to come up with a similar story for fun…who knows how or why different versions of the same story emerged from different outlets, we just know that they did.
And like he had to do several times while working under Thomas Tuchel, De Ligt had to stand in front of the media and answer questions about it.
“I’ve already said this is not the time for me to think about it. We’re playing at the EUROs now and that’s very important for me and the national team. That’s why I can’t say now what I think about this situation. But what I can say is that I’ve now played my second season at Bayern — I’m very happy. For now I’m focused on the EUROs and then we’ll see what happens,” De Ligt said (as captured by @iMiaSanMia).
The thing is…De Ligt deserves better than this. Whether it was strategic leaks from the Bayern Munich front office or a group writers conjuring up a narrative against the defender, the Bavarians are making a grave mistake — one that will hurt this team for years to come if they do not change course on the rumored plan to ditch De Ligt.
For two years, the Dutchman has been the team’s best defender (and no, it has not been close at all) and he has answered the bell whenever called upon — even facing the media after tough defeats when other players avoided the scrum.
Now, De Ligt will just do what he always does — focus on the task-at-hand and continue working to get better. He will try to help a banged up Netherlands team rally for a strong tournament, but the odds will be stacked against them. That will not matter to De Ligt, though, he will just push forward and do what is necessary to help his team.
“It’s quite special, because I know all the stadiums. Of course, as a Bundesliga player I will be under extra scrutiny. But that only makes the challenge even better,” De Ligt told (as captured by @iMiaSanMia).
As for where he stands with Bayern Munich, it was exactly a week ago when some fans dismissed the possibility of De Ligt leaving Bavaria. Now, it looks more and more like a serious situation.
Bavarian Podcast Works: Weekend Warm-up Show Season 3, Episode 48
Somehow, the weeks around here keep getting crazier.
Bayern Munich is a whirlwind of activity and the German national team is ready to kick off one of its most important tournaments in years,
Clearly, we have a lot to talk about, so let’s get to it on this edition of the Bavarian Podcast Works — Weekend Warm-up Show:
- I’ve got a bad feeling about this…new regime. The current roster? The transfer plans? Something just does not feel right and the New World Order in Bavaria could be guiding Bayern Munich into an iceberg of failure.
- Is the front office purposely creating a leadership void to reboot the team’s mentality?
- Hiroki Ito is a good player, but does he make Bayern Munich better? What about Jonathan Tah? Will they be better than Matthijs de Ligt and Dayot Upamecano?
- If Bayern Munich sells off De Ligt, it is incredibly dumb — especially if it is over money.
- Alphonso Davies looks like he could stay, while Joshua Kimmich, Leon Goretzka, and Serge Gnabry do not want to leave Bavaria…now what? Money could be an issue for all of these players as well.
- Here we go with Germany! Julian Nagelsmann’s legacy will start to be determined now. Did he already make a mistake by calling in Emre Can for Leon Goretzka?
Song of the Week: “Enjoy the Silence” by Depeche Mode
Released in 1989, “Enjoy the Silence” was fresh off of Depeche Mode’s seventh (!?) studio album.
While the band had many, many hit songs — and are truly one of the godfather-type bands of alt-rock — this song might be their most recognizable to casual listeners. Enjoy:
United could make play for Goretzka
According to a report from FootballTransfers, Manchester United could get serious about a pursuit of Bayern Munich star Leon Goretzka this summer:
Manchester United are interested in signing Leon Goretzka who has been made available for a move this window by Bayern Munich, FootballTransfers can reveal.
We are told that while Man Utd are aiming to sign younger players this window, it isn’t a strict policy, especially as they want someone with experience to play alongside Kobbie Mainoo.
Goretzka’s name has been penned in as one in that mould and Man Utd value the midfielder at around €40 million.
The online outrage directed at Goretzka does not seem to affect him, but the lack of support and the lack of support from the new regime is a consistent theme. If the club wants to keep him, Max Eberl and Christoph Freund have a funny way of showing it.
Goretzka reportedly still wants to stay and fight for his spot in Bavaria — a position that has not been able to be usurped from him, no matter how hard Thomas Tuchel tried to make it happen.
Maybe — just maybe — instead of continuing to try and throw new bodies at existing problems, Bayern Munich should embrace the talent on its roster and work to form it into the best possible version of itself.
The club does not need to overhaul this roster, but make a few tweaks, work harder, and be better.
Entertainment Rundown
Shogun
Well, you guys were right…it was very good! Let’s get to it:
- Admittedly, I can see why the pacing probably turned some folks away, but I was onboard for it. In the end, the build-up to the finale worked really well. I get it, though, you really had to invest your time and mind into the show to get the most out of it.
- When Toda Hiromatsu took his own life to prove a point, it was a big “Ned Stark” moment for me. Something horrible that was totally preventable, but that needed to be done to prove a point — and to advance the plot. The death did rub me the wrong way because someone who is as good of a leader (and a legend!) as Yoshii Toranaga should have been able to see through his mistakes to save his friend.
- The betrayal of Kashigi Yabushige was foretold throughout the series, but to see it play out was wold.
- Toda Mariko’s willingness to sacrifice herself with that blast was crazy.
- Toranaga’s willingness to let all the pieces fall into place before making his final move was a true chess move…it required patience and resolve, but he played the situation perfectly.
- Ishido made a very good foil throughout the series.
- Overall, the story came together quite nicely with all of the political intrigue you would want from a series like this. Toranaga was always playing the long game, but knew that sacrifices would be necessary. Unfortunately for him, there was great loss throughout the season, but all of that led to his ultimate victory.
Rating: 8.25/10.00
The Iron Claw
Way back in the day, my parents used to take to me a farmer’s market at some point over the weekend and within that dirt mall was a magazine shop. I would typically grab some kind of sports magazine (Sports Illustrated, Sporting News, Sport, Baseball Digest, Hockey Digest, etc), a comic book or two, and every once in a while a Pro Wrestling Illustrated or some other thing.
I was into pro wrestling a bit like most kids growing up in the early-to-mid 80s and in those magazines included a heck of a lot of info about “the territories.” Of course, we had the WWF on Saturday mornings or on PRISM in Philly, but through those magazines, I would read a lot about the Von Erichs — the ill-fated family who is the subject of The Iron Claw. I want to say I picked up one magazine right at the time of the rivalry between the Von Erichs and the Fabulous Freebirds. That was really as much as I knew about them as WCCW was not televised in my area (or at least was not something I found on the limited options we had at my house). By the time Kerry Von Erich got to WWF as the Texas Tornado, I was out of that phase.
Anyway, I only knew how bad things were at a very high level for that family, but I did not know the in depth story, which this movie detailed.
The story itself is uber-depressing and filled with a litany of bad decisions by family member after family member until there was only one brother left (the movie did leave out an entire brother to help streamline things), which finally culminated in the reality that the patriarch of the family was really ripping off his own sons.
It is deep to say the least.
The acting is good…really good (Maura Tierney is always top notch, same for Holt McCallany), but the story just did not fully connect for me. Maybe it was just too much to squeeze into the time constraints of a movie. Surely, a lot of things had to be skipped over (in real life, it is an extremely sad tale that is even worse than what the move could portray) and there were a lot of quick time jumps, but while it was interesting, it was just too dark with too much sorrow.
A lot of people will compare it to The Wrestler (a Mickey Rourke venture, which was fiction built on a number of stories about wrestlers over the years), but The Wrestler — while dark and focusing even more on extremely bad decision-making — works almost perfectly and is aided by the fact that it is fiction.
Trying to base a biographical movie on such a sad set of subjects was a big task and while I am glad I watched it, I don’t know if it something that will draw me back again and again (though, admittedly, every time I am scrolling channels late night, I do seem to stop on it to see if there are any intricacies I missed previously).
I once used the term “misery porn” to describe Mayor of Easttown (fantastic series), but The Iron Claw truly might fit that bill even more.
Sidenote: No one will ever convince me that the NFL has a bigger steroid problem than Hollywood…
Rating: 7.50/10.00
Bavarian Podcast Works — Preview Show: Germany vs. Scotland (Bavarian Football Works)
Germany will kick off its EURO 2024 campaign against Scotland with a team lacking on the typical Bayern Munich influence.
In fact, only Manuel Neuer, Joshua Kimmich, and Jamal Musiala could feature as starters for ex-Bayern Munich coach Julian Nagelsmann. As the home country, Germany will have the crowd at its back (and maybe on its back, too), but things will not be easy, as France, England, Spain, and Portugal are all expected to make a strong charge at winning the title.
Now, it is time to get going to and discuss how this all might play out, so let’s get to it:
- A look at Julian Nagelsmann’s probable starting XI.
- Why Germany absolutely needs a strong performance against Scotland to help, well, everyone stop feeling so apprehensive about the team.
- A prediction on the match.
Hummels out at BVB
The feud between Mats Hummels and Edin Terzić ultimately claim the Borussia Dortmund careers of both men:
Hummels would have been a nice addition at Bayern Munich as a depth piece, but there are far too many center-backs on the roster at this stage.