Munich - Bayern Munich have lost their mythos of invincibility in German football after a stumbling start to the Bundesliga season, club president Franz Beckenbauer said. Smaller teams are now losing their respect for the champions, who are only 11th in the table after two wins in seven matches, Beckenbauer wrote in his column for Bild newspaper on Monday.
"The mythos that in the end Bayern (almost) always win has taken a break...The league senses that we are vulnerable," he said.
Bayern followed up two successive league defeats by with a 3-3 draw at home Saturday by Bochum who scored two late goals to earn a point.
There were jeers from home fans and coach Juergen Klinsmann, who on Tuesday in 100 days at the Bayern helm, said the performance was unacceptable.
Beckenbauer said the team was losing the tackles and on Saturday gave Bochum far too much room to play. He also hoped goalkeeper Michael Rensing would soon radiate the same assurance between the posts as the now retired Oliver Kahn.
"Bayern will only be able to recapture the mythos with hard work," he said.
"I keep my fingers crossed for Juergen Klinsmann. It may be the case that he upset many fans with radical changes. The criticism from the terraces and the media is something he will have to tolerate."
However Beckenbauer said the Bayern board would need to be remain calm, and that the relationship between Klinsmann and the team was "intact."
"That was not for example the case in the end with Felix Magath (dismissed in early 2007 before Ottmar Hitzfeld took charge). With Klinsmann I see no rift. He needs time for his ideas to take effect.
"We have to have patience and analyse in the winter break what needs to be done."
Klinsmann said Sunday he was determined to correct the mistakes and get Bayern moving back up the league table.
"We understand the fans' dismay and disappointment. They have every right to voice it," he told the Bayern Munich internet television channel FCB.tv.
"Seven games into the Bundesliga season, what Bayern have achieved is not acceptable, and I won9t accept it either."
However the coach said he was still optimistic for the season.
"We can still hit all our targets. We are through in the DFB Cup, we are top of our Champions League group, and in the Bundesliga, we fortunately have enough games to put things right step by step - although we obviously need more determination, and the players have to start living up to expectations. We have a lot of work ahead of us," he said.
