Vincent Kompany might be a future legend, but Babbel was as surprised as the next man, when the German giants presented the now former Burnley manager as their future coach.
“It was a big surprise and to be fair, I can't offer much of an opinion on him, as I haven't seen him working much with Burnley. There’s a very divided opinion on him, it seems. One side think, 'what a manager' while the other says, 'how can you take Kompany, he was so naive in the Premier League' because he wanted to play the same style of football he played in the Championship. I'm really looking forward to how he wants to play,” says Babbel when talking to Tribalfootball on behalf of NewBettingSites.
While Kompany certainly wasn’t top of the list of candidates for Bayern, Babbel feels very excited about the coming season for the club with which he won the Bundesliga.
“There's a massive change now, as they've signed many players. With players coming, they also have to sell some players to get a bit of money back,” says Babbel as Bayern have already brought in Michael Olise and Joao Palhinha.
“If Olise can bring his performances from Crystal Palace with him to Bayern Munich, he will be a fantastic player. But the pressure in Munich is different to Crystal Palace, because you have to perform every day. It is not so easy to play for a big club like Bayern because you have to win every single game.”
Premier League players are low risks
With Harry Kane and Eric Dier already in the squad, Bayern have added even more Premier League experience with the latest signings and why wouldn’t you want to shop in the Premiership, Babbel asks.
“It is the best league in the world. If you have a chance to get a player from England, you have to do it because they are strong, they are technically good, they bring so many positive things with them. If you take a player from, say France or from Belgium, it can work, but there is always a risk that he is perhaps not good enough for Bundesliga.
“But if you get someone from the Premier League you know he’s showed in the best league in the world that he can perform so if we sign him the risk is very small. Harry Kane played an outstanding season and Eric Dier was playing regularly as a centre-back, and no one expected him to be the main man in defence. That's the reason why they take players from the Premier League.”
Bayern Munich are in the process on rebuilding after their worst season in ages with not a single title added to the cupboards at Säbener Strasse. While Babbel expected the series of titles to end at some point, he was nevertheless surprised at how poor the season turned out.
“It wasn't normal to win the Bundesliga 11 times in a row but to finish 18 points behind Leverkusen was unbelievable. That was the biggest surprise for me but Leverkusen was performing so unbelievably well with a fantastic style of football.”
Shut up or stay at home
While Leverkusen outgunned everyone another of Babbel’s former clubs also played a fantastic brand of football. VfB Stuttgart, with whom Babbel also won the Bundesliga, finished second ahead of Bayern which means Champions League-football are looming next season which was a huge surprise.
An equally big surprise was it when Union Berlin qualified for the Champions League the year before which ended up almost costing them relegation. Does VfB Stuttgart risk a similar season with richer clubs sniffing around the best players?
“I can't believe the same will happen. Union Berlin came up from the 2. Bundesliga and did better and better. They ended up in the Champions League after five or six years of progress. It was clear at one stage this would end. Similar to Bayern Munich.
“Stuttgart may lose many top players, but the management and also the supporters are more realistic. They know that last year was unbelievable, but also the years before VfB were nearly relegated and were struggling. So, if they can finish in the middle of the table, everyone is happy.”
Babbel wasn’t happy when the German football federation, DFB, failed to oppose a World Cup in Saudi Arabia. Just like Marcelo Bielsa, is he worried where football is heading?
“If DFB says it’s against our ethics, well, let’s stay at home. But you play the qualifying, you go to the tournament, and then you say, it is not right how they live. So, stay at home. If UEFA or FIFA are saying, the next tournament is here, you have to accept it or don’t start. This is what I don't like because we play anyway. We play, because if we don't play, we lose money. In the end it doesn't matter where it is, it doesn't matter how they live, it doesn't matter what they do. We play the tournament.”