In two-and-a-half years as Bayern Munich coach Felix Magath won two consecutive league and cup doubles, re-establishing the club as Germany's most efficient title-winning machine.His sacking on Wednesday, followed by the reappointment of former trainer Ottmar Hitzfeld, demonstrated that Bayern remain as ruthless in the boardroom as they are on the pitch.
"It was not a pleasant day, as you can imagine," Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said at a news conference. "But these are things that you have to do for the best of the club."
Bayern's two poor performances since the resumption of the Bundesliga, a 3-2 defeat by Borussia Dortmund and a goalless draw with Bochum, left them dangling in fourth place, in danger of missing out on a Champions League spot for next season.
German media portrayed the change as an act of panic but the decision to bring back Hitzfeld was not just a knee-jerk reaction to an unusually low league position.
The move is recognition by the club that winning by the rule of minimum possible spectacle is no long-term strategy, especially when there is a new 70,000 stadium to fill.
