It’s time for one of the most unique smells in world football to return, heavy hops mixed with the sweet chargrilled smell of Wurst as you walk to a stadium is very much, and unmistakably, German – as is the atmosphere. The Bundesliga bangs back on Friday night but will this campaign end differently than the last 10? It just might you know.
By Chris Williams, our new Bundesliga expert
New Look Bayern
Bayern are the perennial holders of the Meisterschale, a straight 10 championships has made the silver salad bowl theirs, much to the dismay of those who wish to challenge.
But, there are changes afoot in Säbener Straße. Robert Lewandowski has departed for Barcelona, and he’s taken with him the remarkable stat of a goal every 100 minutes while in the Bundesliga; 384 games resulted in 312 goals with 75 assists as well as a number of long-standing records falling to his sheer ability to find the net.
‘Hurrah’ shouts everyone outside Munich. Well, maybe not so loud so soon. The Poland international has been replaced by Sadio Mané, who arrives from Liverpool having won every trophy possible while at Anfield, scoring some important goals along the way.
The 30-year-old can play in all of the forward areas and has started to evolve from a wide threat into a lethal striker who can lead the line. As proven by his display in the German Supercup last weekend, Mané not only scored on his debut but could have had a hattrick if not for two close offside calls which ruled out a duo of further strikes.
His positional play was superb, as was his linkup with Jamal Musiala and Serge Gnabry. The trio posted the highest Fotmob ratings after the match, Musiala topped the Bayern charts with an 8.6 while his attacking teammates posted an 8.2 apiece.
Bayern look hot going forward, but interestingly – still weak at the back to a well-organised attack. The opening month will tell us a lot about how May 2023 might look.
A Hero Returns
The Friday night opener often pits the Champions against a tasty team, and this season sees Europa League holders, Eintracht Frankfurt welcome Bayern into town.
Make no mistake, Eintracht should challenge for the league, but anyone who saw them last time out will know that their European exploits were at odds with domestic performances.
However, the Eagles shocked almost everyone in June when they announced that World Cup winning hero Mario Götze would return to Germany dressed in all white.
The now 30-year-old was dogged by injury over his time at Bayen, then on return to Borussia Dortmund. But last season in the Eredivisie with PSV he made 29 league appearances, the most minutes on a pitch since his 2014-15 campaign.
If the midfielder stays fit, Eintracht have a chance of punching at the weight their name, history and city deserve.
Hello, Again
Borussia Dortmund have had a torrid time of late, yes they finished second last season – but yet again they were too far off Bayern, eight points the difference and some of the performances under Marco Rose were abject at best.
The ex-Gladbach coach lasted one campaign at the Westfalenstadion, ousted in the summer he was replaced by Edin Terzić who led the Schwarzgelben to Pokal victory in 2021 while interim coach after Lucien Favre was sacked in late 2020.
Hindsight is wonderful, and I’m sure the Dortmund hierarchy now wish they’d not chased Rose at the expense of Terzić, who was kept around just in case.
With the dugout strengthened it was time for the Black and Yellows to upgrade their on-field options, and boy have they done that.
Sebastien Haller was the first announced but distressingly the forward was subsequently diagnosed with a testicular tumour and is now expected to be out for several months, we wish him all the best in his treatment and recovery.
Nico Schlotterbeck and Niklas Süle arrived from Freiburg and Bayern respectively and will undoubtedly shore up their backline.
The defensive duo have been joined by exciting wide forward Karim Adeyemi. While at Red Bull Salzburg the German netted 94 times, hitting 19 goals in 29 Austrian Bundesliga games last season.
And – he’s already off to a flyer, scoring the third goal in a 3-0 victory over 1860 Munich in the German Cup. Of the 76 minutes Adeyemi played in the Pokal he registered 100% in both his aerial duels and long searching passes – he’s one to watch for sure.
Lots to come
The beauty of the Bundesliga, as I hope you’ll come to see, is that there isn’t just one team – it’s not just Bayern, there are another 17 teams all with pedigree and passion.
Strap in there’s a full season ahead, from Union Berlin to the returning giant of Schalke 04, we’ll travel east to Leipzig and west to Köln, this league is wonderful – get ready to experience it.
(Images from IMAGO)
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