New era dawns but Bayern should still be too good for Bundesliga rivals | Andy Brassell

Robert Lewandowski’s exit made for a rocky summer, but the champions are again surely destined for the domestic summit

Is this finally it? Before the start of every season we’re looking for a reason why Bayern Munich might not win the Bundesliga, and it has begun to feel like a vain hope for genuine title competition. In May Bayern were crowned champions for the 10th campaign in a row, and the Rekordmeister have been run to such an exemplary standard that few can see an imminent end to the medley. 

Yet this time there is a new cast running the show, with Oliver Kahn as CEO in a post-Hoeness and Rummenigge world, having to prove his authority in tandem with Hasan Salihamidzic, a sporting director who has never fully convinced. Bayern’s fabled stability has never really rested on who’s on the pitch or even who’s on the bench, but instead has come from higher up. Kahn and Salihamidzic are in the spotlight, and the rolling saga over Robert Lewandowski’s future was as delicate a summer task as could have been imagined for them.