Bayern Munich's pre-season injury problems

German giants FC Bayern Munich after two seasons without a title are preparing for a season in which the Bavarians can lift at least one trophy after only finishing second last season in three competitions - UEFA Champions League, Bundesliga and German Cup. The main aim is to win back the Bundesliga title, which in the last couple of years has been won by Borussia Dortmund.

The club has brought in a number of players to strengthen the overall squad, but now weeks into the pre-season there are injury worries to numerous players which has weakened the team. The latest to join the casualty list were Mario Gomez and Bastian Schweinsteiger over the weekend at the Liga Total Cup in Hamburg after injuries to David Alaba, Rafinha, Diego Contento and Claudio Pizarro.

Especially the injury to Mario Gomez could hit the club hard, then last season he scored 26 goals just alone in the Bundesliga. The striker is out with a foot injury and could miss upto three Bundesliga games. A potential replacement in seasoned Claudio Pizarro, who returned to Munich, is also out with hip problems leaving new Croatian striker Mario Mandzukic alone upfront.

Midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger is hoping for a better second half to the year 2012 after numerous injuries and failures, but again the Germany star is out with muscular problems. It is not known when he will be back.

Further the three side-backs David Alaba, Rafinha and Diego Contento are out. Young Alaba suffered a fatigue fracture, Rafinha has torn his ligaments while Diego Contento has bone problems.

All these injuries are forcing coach Jupp Heynckes to try out new combinations, then over the weekend Bayern Munich will face Borussia Dortmund in the German Super Cup and then the Bundesliga kicks-off a week later.

Could Robin Dutt be Germany's new Director of Sports?

Matthias Sammer made a surprise exit as Director of Sports of the German Football Association (DFB) on July 2 when he joined Bundesliga giants FC Bayern Munich. Since then the DFB has been on the lookout for a suitable replacement and now Indian origin Robin Dutt is said to be a potential candidate.

After the initial show the DFB is said to now intensify their search with top candidate Oliver Kahn turning down the offer with 1.Kaiserslautern CEO Stefan Kuntz and Robin Dutt now being considered for the job due to their diversified work profiles.

While Stefan Kuntz like Oliver Kahn is a former Germany international with management back; Robin Dutt has never played at the highest level of Germany football, but he made it through the different levels of coaching upto the Bundesliga were he has coached SC Freiburg and Bayer 04 Leverkusen.

47 year old Robin Dutt belongs to the new bread of concept coaches, who work to improve their players day-by-day. A concept which was also followed at the DFB in their youth system under Matthias Sammer. Robin Dutt especially in Freiburg was an attacking minded coach, all factors which could speak for him though his lack of international football for Germany could be a draw back.

Initially DFB president Wolfgang Niersbach had said that the DFB could take month's to appoint a successor to Matthias Sammer, but now the federation is looking to appoint a new Director of Sports before Germany's international friendly against Argentina on August 15.

Germany: Could Oliver Kahn replace Sammer at Director of Sports?

With Matthias Sammer making a surprise move to FC Bayern Munich earlier this week the German Football Association (DFB) were caught off guard, but after six years of great service to the DFB they allowed Sammer to leave without any problems.

Now the DFB is looking for a new Director of Sports who would continue Sammer's good work. Sammer has organised and structured Germany's youth development system, which has brought through players like Mesut Özil, Sami Khedira and Manuel Neuer amongst the older generation plus talents like Mario Götze, Julian Draxler and Moritz Leitner.

The DFB president Wolfgang Niersbach has stated that the search for a new Director of Sports could take a few weeks or maybe months, then the federation do not want to rush into appointing someone for the post.

A hot candidate to take-up Sammer's post is former Germany and Bayern Munich goalkeeper Oliver Kahn. The 43 year old Kahn has an MBA degree, holds a coaching licence and currently works as a TV pundit on German television.

Someone of Kahn's stature with his way of working and thinking could be an ideal candidate for the post, the only drawback being that Kahn has not worked within a club system or for the federation. And then there is his friend Matthias Sammer who has joined his former club Bayern Munich and it is known that Bayern president Uli Hoeness is a big fan of Kahn, so a return to the Säbener Straße could also be on the cards.

Bayern Munich appoint Sammer as surprise new Director of Sports

German Bundesliga giants FC Bayern Munich have in a surprise move to the public appointed Matthias Sammer as their new Director of Sports in place of Christian Nerlinger. After getting the clearance from the DFB (German FA) to leave his post as Technical Director, Sammer formally joins the Bavarian giants.

There had been rumours around the Säbener Strasse in Munich that Nerlinger could be releaved of his post after a second season without a title, something not acceptable to the FCB management. Then as per the clubs release there were differences of opinion regarding the strategy for the future of the team between the Board of Directors and Nerlinger. This disagreement led to FCB and Nerlinger deciding to part company ahead of the 2012/13 season, but with Euro2012 ahead it was decided to delay this announcement until after the tournament.

Now not only this announcement was made today, but also a new manager (Director of Sports) announced in Matthias Sammer, someone the FCB hierarchy had wanted to bring to the club over many years - first as player, then as coach and now they finally get the 44 year old born in Dresden as manager.

In the course of Monday morning Matthias Sammer has been released from his current duties with the German Football Association (DFB) and was thus free to take up his duties as FC Bayern Munich "Director of Sports" with immediate effect.

"On behalf of the club, I wish to expressly thank Christian Nerlinger for his work for FC Bayern over the last four years," commented FC Bayern Supervisory Board chairman Uli Hoeness, "I very much hope our excellent personal relationship will continue as it is."

39 year old Christian Nerlinger never was able to get out of the larger then life shadow of Uli Hoeness as Director of Sports in his three years in-charge and was never the attacking manager that people expect from a club like Bayern Munich.

"As always, I wish FC Bayern all the best and every possible success," commented Christian Nerlinger, "I've spent a good and very intensive time here and will maintain my links to FC Bayern as a friend of the club."

In Matthias Sammer FCB get a sharp football brain, who has been behind the restructuring of Germany's youth development system with the results filtering through from the bottom upto the senior national team. Sammer is an outspoken character, who has his own opinions and more often then less is not diplomatic which is something the FCB hierarchy would like to see in that position.

German FA extends Sammer contract

The German Football Association (DFB) has extended the existing contract with their Director of Sports Matthias Sammer by another three years until 2016. Sammer since being in office in 2006 has been successful in streamlining the youth system of the federation.

In 2009 Germany was the first ever UEFA member nation to be European champions in the Under-17, U-19 and U-21 categories at the same time. And the current wave of young players not only in the German senior national team, but through the youth teams is down to the work of Sammer and the coaches, who have been able to reform German football to be amongst the best in youth development around the world.

"I am delighted that, after extending the contract of the national team coach Joachim Low and his team, we can also plan in the long term with our director of sport. Matthias Sammer is one of the most important figures in our association, who has done excellent work in the field of youth development," said DFB president Dr. Theo Zwanziger.

Sammer, who has been controversial in the past due to his honest and direct approach, has been a sought after figure as he was linked a few months ago to coach Hamburger SV and even FC Bayern Munich were considering him an alternative to Louis van Gaal, but he has now decided to stay with the DFB and further develops its youth development system.

"I am delighted that the president Dr. Theo Zwanziger, general secretary Wolfgang Niersbach and treasurer Horst R. Schmidt are supporting our philosophy in youth development," Sammer said.

And added, "This work is the key to establishing German football at the summit of world football."

It seems Sammer still has some work to be done to position Germany as the best in the world, but the foundations have been laid and it is a very good path.