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Bayern Munich rebounded from the disappointment of coming third in 2001-02 by signing two of the best players from Bayer Leverkusen to help win the Bundesliga by 16 points.
Whereas the top five sides had all won over 60 points in 2000-2001, only Bayern Munich exceeded this mark two seasons later as they comfortably won the title.
Holders Borussia Dortmund fell to third place in the title, a point behind Stuttgart. The loss of Michael Ballack and Ze Roberto as well as injury to defender Jens Nowotny saw Leverkusen battle relegation, ending up in 15th, just four points clear of the drop zone.
CHANGES
Ottmar Hitzfeld was retained as Bayern Munich boss despite a poor campaign and immediately sought about improving his squad to ensure Bayern did not have another disappointing season. Sebastian Diesler was signed for €9 million from Hertha Berlin, with Ze Roberto (€12m) and Michael Ballack (€6m) both joining from Bayer Leverkusen.
Having guided Leverkusen to the Champions League final the previous summer, Klaus Toppmoller found himself out of a job by February. Udo Lattek was lined up to replace him, but was forced to decline the role due to health problems. Thomas Horster stepped in as caretaker until the second last game of the season, when former Nurnberg boss Klaus Augenthaler took over.
B04 spent over €30m during the transfer window, with Juan and Franca coming from Brazil and Daniel Bierofka and Jan Simak joining from 1860 Munich and Hannover respectively. They also signed a number of German players aged 21 or under, but could not replace the experience of Ze Roberto or Ballack.
Borussia Dortmund’s biggest expense was €8.5m for defensive midfielder Torsten Frings, who had excelled for Werder Bremen in the previous season. Head coach Matthias Sammer also brought in young goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller to challenge first-choice stopper Jens Lehmann.
SUMMARY
Unlike the previous few seasons which went right to the wire, the 2002-03 Bundesliga season was over…
Source link : https://www.footballcritic.com/season-reviews/bayern-reclaim-title-after-poaching-michael-ballack-the-bundesliga-in-2002-03/132
Author : [email protected] (Martin Macdonald)
Publish date : 2024-07-23 13:00:00
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