Bayern Munich will want to shake off a first season without silverware in a dozen years as quickly as possible and hope to have history on their side in their attempt to bounce back.
A final 4-2 Bundesliga defeat at Hoffenheim, after leading by two goals inside five minutes, was a reflection of the entire campaign with too many ups and downs.
Bayern garnered 72 points, one more than last term when they won the league for an 11th time in a row, but it was only good enough for third place, one behind impressive VfB Stuttgart and a massive 18 behind unbeaten champions Bayer Leverkusen.
A fresh start is needed, and a new coach
"We now want to get out of the season and start again in the summer. We now look to the future," veteran forward Thomas Müller said.
Goalkeeper and captain Manuel Neuer said: "A fresh start is needed, also from our side, the team. We need to show a different side in order to be able to really go for it again."
Neuer's first statement referred to Bayern's ongoing search for a new coach in succession of Thomas Tuchel, who lasted only 14 months after succeding Julian Nagelsmann.
Bayern were neither able to keep Tuchel after all, the likes of Leverkusen's Xabi Alonso, Germany coach Nagelsmanm and Austria helmsman Ralf Rangnick are staying put, Oliver Glasner is not allowed to leave Crystal Palace, and Bayern board member of sport Max Eberl has effectively ruled out Roberto De Zerbi who is now available.
It further complicates matters that ex-Bayern player Alonso, and Jürgen Klopp who bids farewell at Liverpool later on Sunday, could become available in 2025.
Neuer answered "yes" when asked whether Bayern have gone through too many coaches lately, while Eberl insisted that "we will find a good solution. A very good friend of mine always says: The best comes at the end."
Whoever takes the Bayern hotseat will be tasked to bring back success immediately, definitely in the Bundesliga but also in the German Cup, where Bayern went out against third division Saarbrücken, and preferably in the Champions League as well where they narrowly lost in the semis against Real Madrid.
Bayern have come back strong in the past
The last time Bayern came up empty-handed was in 2012, and they came back strong with a first title treble in club history in 2013, which included winning the Bundesliga by a record 25 points.
The same happened in the form of 2008 and 2010 domestic league and Cup doubles, after being beaten for the Bundesliga title the year before by Stuttgart and Wolfsburg, respectively.
Record champions Bayern have gone without a Bundesliga title two years in a row only in 2011 and 2012 and 1995 and 1996 in recent history, with Dortmund lifting the trophy on each occasion.
Kaiserslautern in 1998 and Werder Bremen in 2004 are the only other champions in that period.
The past has shown that other teams have found it hard to challenge record champions Bayern over more than a year, with even Dortmund having their ups and downs and having to settle for seventh in Klopp's final season there 2014-15, and fifth this term.
Bayern will hope that this trend will continue but Leverkusen CEO Fernando Carro has already vowed that his side will be hungry for more next term.
"We want to play for the title again and want to advance in the new Champions League," Carro said.