T
H
E
B
R
EA
K
D
O
W
N CUPFINAL
Ten-manRBLeipzig
stageda remarkable
comebacktobeat
Freiburg in the
DFB-PokalCup
showpiece,coming
frombehindtodraw
1-1in regulationtime,
bravelyholdingfirm
inthe extrahalf-hour,
thenprevailing4-2 in
thepenalty shootout.
EUROPEAN
QUALIFIERS
Bayern,Dortmund,
Leverkusen,RB
LeipzigplusEuropa
Leaguevictors
EintrachtFrankfurt
gointothe Champions
League.UnionBerlin
andFreiburghavea
EuropaLeaguedate,
whileColognewill
takepartin the
EuropaConference
Leagueplay-offs.
RELEGATEDAND
PROMOTEDTEAMS
GreutherFurthand
ArminiaBielefeldexit
thetop-flight,with
theirplacesgoingto
seconddivisiontop-
two,Schalkeand
WerderBremen.
HerthaBerlin(16thin
theBundesliga)edged
outHamburg (thirdin
theseconddivision)
inthe relegation/
promotionplay-off.
PLAYEROF
THESEASON
Polandhitman
RobertLewandowski
onceagainproved
irresistibleinfront
ofgoal.After eight
seasons,hesayshe
wants to leavethe
AllianzArena.Will
theBayern boarddig
theirheelsinand
force himtorespect
hiscontract,which
expiresnextyear?
Asrelentlessandvoracious as ever,
BayernMunichrecordedtheirtenth
straightBundesligatitle,anachievement
which,accordingtoone’sviewpoint,
caneitherbeattributedtothe Bavarian
behemoth’s vastlysuperiorfinancesand
squad,orthedistinctlackofstrength
indepth in theGermantopflight.
Inthe 59th runningofthe Bundesliga
marathon,the Bayernfraternityhad
plentytocelebrate.A gloriousautumn
inwhich theRedsstrucka record 56
goalsintheopening 17 fixtures;the
team’sinfallibilityinbiggames,picking
up 16 outof 18 pointsin theirclashes
withtop-fourrivals(indescendingorder,
Dortmund,LeverkusenandRB Leipzig)
andthe goalscoring feats of starstriker
Robert Lewandowski,whose 35
Bundesliga goalspropelledhimto
hisfifthconsecutivemarksmanof
theyearaward,hisseventh in total.
BayernbossJulianNagelsmann,
atthe Allianz-Arenahelmforjustten
months,describedthe first majortitle
ofhiscoachingcareeras“very special”.
Yet evenhe wouldhavetoadmitthatin
thegrandschemeofthings,heandhis
sidehadcomeupsomewhatshort.
Bundesliga successaloneisnot
enoughfor theBayernmasters.Thisis a
clubdefinedinacross-the-boardterms
andinothercompetitions, theReds
singularlyfailed,surprisingly beatenby
Villarrealatthequarter-finalstageof
theChampionsLeagueandhammered
5-0byBorussiaMonchengladbachin
thesecondroundoftheGermanCup.
AtBayerntheylovetowintrophiesin
clusters.Thatwas notthecasethisterm.
YettheBavarians’dominancecallsthe
restoftheleague’squalityintoquestion
Teninarow
forBayern
Allin all, it wasa season of contentious
issuesatBayern.JoshuaKimmich
prevaricatingoverhisCOVID- 1 9 vaccine
andonlyrelentingafter contractingthe
virusandsufferinga lungcomplaint.
SeveralotherBayernplayers,including
GermaninternationalsSergeGnabry
andJamalMusiala,havingtheirwages
dockedfortestingpositivewhile
unvaccinated.Bayernfansangrily
attackingthe Bayernbrassovertheclub’s
commerciallinkswith Qatar, citingthe
GulfState’s poorhumanrightsrecord.
Centre-backNiklasSulecontroversially
announcinga Bosman free moveto
arch-foesDortmundinmid-season.
Foralltheirdominance on thehome
front,Nagelsmann’sBayernareanything
butthe finishedarticle.Nagelsmann
willnotneedremindingof histeam’s
problemareas:theover-relianceon
Lewandowski,the redflagsincentral
defence,whereneither newboyDayot
UpamecanoorLucasHernandez
havebeenconsistentlysolid,andthe
physicalitydeficitincentral midfield.
JoshuaKimmich,akeyfigurein this
department,maybe an excellent
playmaker, butdoesnothavethe power
ordisciplinetoguard thebackfour.
Ithas to be a major concern for
44 WORLDSOCCER
City-bound...
Haaland waves
goodbyeto the
Dortmundfans
TEAMOFTHESEASON
DavidRaum
(Hoffenheim)
JoskRBo GLeivapzrdioig)l(RobertBaLeAndricrkhn)
NicoSchlotterbeck
(Freiburg)
SalihOzcan
(Cone)
JeremieFrimpong
(BayerLeverkusen)
Robert
Lewandowski
ayernunic
Christopher
Nkunku
(RBLeipzig)
Thomas
Muller
(BayernMunich)
ManuelNeuer
ayenMunic)
NICKBIDWELL
GERMANY
JamalMusiala
(BayernMunich)
