Two modern stars will do some heavy lifting for their clubs this season as they strive to emulate the legendary Gerd Müller
The Bundesliga never does things quietly. It returned with – at least some – supporters in the stands in its typical character of cut, thrust and confusion, but there was some clarity amid the mayhem. On a weekend which ended with German football in mourning at the passing of the legendary Gerd Müller, the elite centre-forwards from the current competition showed they are pulling out all the stops to be worthy successors.
Related: Gerd Müller was world class but his brilliant legacy is too often forgotten | Scott Murray
Did somebody order 73 seconds of pure #Bundesliga class?
Enjoy the highlights of tonight's #BVBSGE! pic.twitter.com/aplesnncLt
Mönchengladbach 1-1 Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund 5-2 Eintracht Frankfurt, Wolfsburg 1-0 Bochum, Stuttgart 5-1 Greuther Furth, Augsburg 0-4 Hoffenheim, Arminia Bielefeld 0-0 Freiburg, Union Berlin 1-1 Bayer Leverkusen, Cologne 3-1 Hertha Berlin, Mainz 1-0 Leipzig
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The passing of Gerd Müller, confirmed by Bayern on Sunday morning, was described by the chairman Herbert Hainer as “a sad, black day for FC Bayern and all its fans”. While it will be acknowledged on Tuesday night at the Super Cup, Bayern have communicated they are working on a definitive tribute. The club’s manager, Nagelsman, described Müller with a smile a Monday morning as the scorer of “so many brilliant, and sometimes weird, goals”.
Last season’s runners-up Leipzig fell to a surprise 1-0 defeat at Mainz, despite the presence of their new forward André Silva. Nordi Mukiele’s sliced clearance (“it was unlucky”, suggested the new coach Jesse Marsch) gifted a simple winner to Moussa Niakhaté and the home side defended sturdily afterwards in a heroic performance. It had been a turbulent week for Mainz after Karim Onisiwo tested positive for Covid-19 and a further seven players were ruled out by mandatory quarantine. “It is certainly not a fair sporting competition,” the Mainz executive manager, Christian Heidel, said, adding that protocols set out at the beginning of the pandemic need updating to stop similar situations occurring. Either way coach Bo Svensson, who has turned the team around since arriving in January, deserved to flex his biceps in front of the main stand.
It was a great start for Köln and Steffen Baumgart, the flat-capped new coach who already has the locals (and presumably Hennes) eating out of his hand. After a shaky start against Hertha and going a goal down to Stevan Jovetić’s debut opener, his side made a stirring comeback in front of a delighted crowd of 16,500 thanks to a goal by the renewed Anthony Modeste and a Florian Kainz double. “When Florian scores a header,” said a delighted Baumgart, “then you know things are going right.”
The DFL marked a new milestone in appointing its first female chief executive officer, Donata Hopfen, who will replace Christian Seifert from 1 January in one of the key posts in the German game. “The Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 enjoy an excellent reputation worldwide, as does the DFL,” the 2014 German Media Woman of The Year said. “This must be maintained against the backdrop of technological, societal and media changes relating to football – while at the same time moving forward in an innovative way.”
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