Opinions varied over how critical the absence of Franck Ribery was to their Champions League final defeat to Inter Milan.
Ribery, who it was announced on Sunday has signed a five-year contract extension with the German giants, has been a key player for Bayern over the last few seasons but he was unavailable for the match at the Bernabeu stadium due to suspension.
Without the France international, Bayern slumped to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Inter to end their hopes of claiming an historic treble having already won their domestic league and cup.
It is impossible to tell how things might have gone in the Spanish capital if the much-vaunted Ribery had been available, but for Bayern honorary president Franz Beckenbauer the Frenchman's absence was key.
"We would never have lost with Ribery," the Bayern club legend told Sat.1 television.
"We missed him on every corner and at the end of everything. It would have been a different game with him.
"Without him, nobody had any courage. You have got to play differently in a final and not have so much respect - you have got to create pressure.
"It was just too little to survive against Inter. They were deserved Champions League winners."
However, Bayern coach Louis van Gaal had a slightly different view on matters.
While he admitted they had missed the Frenchman's magic, he pointed his side have won without the winger plenty of times before.
"It is always rather simple to say after a defeat that Ribery was missing. We played against Lyon, against Juventus and half the season without him," said Van Gaal, whose side were beaten by goals in either half by impressive Inter striker Diego Milito.
"I think that is a lack of respect for my other players. (Hamit) Altintop did his job well.
"We could have won this game anyway. Milito made the difference. Of course Ribery is a creative player and we need a creative player to play our style, but we have been successful without him."
The absence of Ribery looked like being something Bayern would have to deal with on a permanent basis following this season as, for much of the last 12 months, the 27-year-old has been widely tipped to leave the Bavarian club.
The likes of European giants Real Madrid, Barcelona, Chelsea and Manchester United were all linked with big-money moves for the flying Frenchman, whose contract was due to run out next year.
However, Ribery has put an end to speculation about his future by committing himself to Bayern, putting pen to paper on a new deal which ties him to the Bundesliga champions until June 30, 2015.
"I am very happy to have decided to stay with FC Bayern," said Ribery, who joined the club from Marseille in a 25million euro deal in 2007.
"My family and I are very happy to be staying in Munich. This club has become a big family for me."
Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said: "We are very pleased that one of the best players in the world has agreed to a contract extension. This is also a sign of the great objectives of FC Bayern in the coming years."
With Ribery now on board long-term, and the likes of Arjen Robben, Ivica Olic, and Bastian Schweinsteiger in his ranks, Van Gaal can feel confident about continuing to produce the exciting football his team has shown this season.
Bayern may not have been able to break down Inter's water-tight defence last night but Van Gaal, who has led Bayern to the domestic double in his first season in the hotseat, defended his tactics and commitment to playing attacking football.
"Every team can choose to play the way they want. But my choice, and that of the Bayern Munich board, otherwise they wouldn't have given me the job, (is to attack)," said the Dutchman, who could have become only the third coach in history to win the European Cups with two different clubs having also lifted it with Ajax in 1995.
"That is why the atmosphere around Bayern Munich has changed in Germany this season, because we are playing attractive football, we are playing for the public. It means also that we are in very good shape, and today (against Inter) it was not to be.
"Although if (Thomas) Muller had scored at the start of the second half it could have been a different game. We need to score goals at the right time, and a little bit of luck also comes into that.
"These are the small thing which settle it. Nevertheless, it's been a great season.
"I think that my teams will always be remembered."
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