THERE CAN'T be many football clubs who finish the first half of the season on top of their league table and well placed to win both domestic and European cup competitions but still feel they've underachieved. But then there's only one Bayern Munich, of course, the Bavarian behemoth for whom winning everything is never quite enough and losing simply not an option.

A few years ago, president Franz Beckenbauer famously dubbed the Uefa Cup "the loser's cup" but he obviously didn't know then that his club would find themselves in Europe's second-tier competition come 2007-8, for the first time in a decade.

The less than convincing performances in the group stage have betrayed the players' ambiguous attitude towards the cup. One by one, they've confessed to finding it difficult to raise their game in small stadiums in exotic places. In their heart of hearts, they probably feel that slugging it out with the likes of Bolton, Braga and Belgrade has been slightly beneath them.

To be sure, they were very careful to pay plenty of respect to Aberdeen when the draw came out - "they are an attractive opponent and strong fighters, we will not underestimate them", said their Dutch midfielder Mark van Bommel - but you sense that their position as firm favourites to win the competition hasn't exactly helped their preparations.

"The atmosphere will be great in Aberdeen", said Philip Lahm, "but we're Bayern, we'll go through". You can call it arrogance. But what's he supposed to say? Since all of Germany expects captain Oliver Kahn to hold the trophy aloft in the City of Manchester stadium come May, it really is "the loser's cup", in a sense: Bayern can but fail, because success is seen as mandatory, perhaps even mundane.

Missing out on the Champions League last season - they finished fourth in the Bundesliga - persuaded the board to change their parsimonious ways and raid their fabled savings account instead.

Bayern, who had about 160m in the bank, spent money like no other German club have ever spent before. Franck Ribery (25m from Marseille), Luca Toni (11m, from Fiorentina), Miroslav Klose (12m, from Werder Bremen) and six others were bought for a total of 82m, bonus payments not included.

This sum was partially offset by the sale of Owen Hargreaves, Roy Makaay and Roque Santa Cruz for a total of 35m. But factor in the wages - World Cup winner Toni is on 10m a year, the equivalent of a cool £144,000 a week - and the sheer extent of this cultural revolution becomes visible.

General manager Uli Hoeness has put together a squad good enough to win the Champions League. Sadly, they're in the Uefa Cup, though, where they struggle - precisely for that reason. It's a mismatch of gigantic proportions.

Back in the summer, Hoeness famously expected his exceedingly expensive side to be so far ahead of the competition that "binoculars" would be needed to see them. That hasn't quite happened although today's clash with second-placed Werder Bremen at the Allianz Arena gives them the chance to open up a six point-gap in the Bundesliga.

But a real sense of trepidation will still be felt before the trip to Pittodrie on Thursday. It's a big test of character, especially without the injured Ribery, who's been frankly sensational.

"Bayern looked like a Boeing without wings once they lost him", wrote Süddeutsche Zeitung after a 2-1 victory away to Rostock, when Ribery went off at half time.

The side's reliance on the Frenchman's mazy runs has indeed been a little embarrassing. It doesn't reflect well on manager Ottmar Hitzfeld, who's never been able to get the most out the side after a brief flourish at the beginning of the season. They didn't live up to the hype but really should have.

The lack of progress irked the board so much that vice president Karl-Heinz Rummenigge completely lost his cool after the 2-2 draw with Bolton in November.

"Football is not mathematics", he sneered in front of the press. In Germany, it's well known that Hitzfeld is a trained mathematics teacher.

Everybody was suddenly getting very nervous. And then the goals dried up: Bayern only mustered four scoreless draws in their last seven domestic fixtures before the winter break.

"They spent 70m to be level with us on goal difference", laughed Bremen's CEO Jürgen Born. Bayern didn't see the funny side.

For a while, they looked hell-bent on living up to their old "FC Hollywood" moniker again.

Hoeness shouted "Who do you think you are?" at two critical fans at the AGM. French defender Willy Sagnol demanded to be picked. Kahn was suspended and fined 25 000 for leaving the Christmas party too early. "I have to be tough lest there'll be a madhouse here", Hitzfeld explained after that decision.

And the manager sensed his second spell at the club was coming to an end in June and shrewdly jumped before he pushed. "I will not be renewing my contract", he announced in January. There's a strong chance he'll take charge of the Swiss national team.

Many experts warned about the lame duck-scenario but so far it seems as if "the General" is still in control of the dressing room. He seems eager to shore up his legacy with three titles and make life as difficult as possible for his successor, Jürgen Klinsmann, who's making life difficult for him, too.

The ex-Germany manager has already begun commuting to Munich from his home in Huntington Beach, California, to fine-tune his master-plan for next season. His presence is very much felt at the club HQ in Säbenerstrasse: The new boss hasn't quite arrived yet but the old one's already a little gone (or vice versa).

It's a strange premise, especially for Hitzfeld. "The situation's very fragile", he said. Bayern have lost but one game, away to Stuttgart, all season. Give it two or three more, though, and there'll be strong calls for Klinsmann to start work a few months earlier.

Aberdeen should be encouraged by Bayern's bizarre problems, but must also note that the visitor's record without Ribery is actually a very decent one. They've won three, drawn one, and a draw away to the Scots is the least they expect on Thursday.

In place of the Frenchman, either Bastian Schweinsteiger or new Argentinian recruit Jose Ernesto Sosa are expected to start. Neither, alas, is having a particularly good season so far. Alternatively, the manager could opt for a more defensive line-up and include the energetic but less technically gifted Hamit Altintop.

"We have enough good players to cope", said Hitzfeld. They'll have to, because an upset might be enough to derail their entire season.

Kahn, who is hanging up his gloves after this campaign, is certainly worried about going out with the wrong kind of bang: "There's so much pressure here, this club's about to explode", the 38-year-old warned a few weeks ago.