After several years of turmoil, Schalke look determined to preserve their Bundesliga status this seasonIf you’ve got an early chance to nail your colours to the mast and make a good impression with your new fans, you have to take it – and that’s exactly what Nico Schlotterbeck did. Earlier this week, shortly after making his Bundesliga debut for Borussia Dortmund, the young Germany centre-back was a guest on a chat show on the club’s in-house television channel in front of a live audience.The Sky presenter Sebastian Hellmann, Schlotterbeck’s fellow panellist, mentioned an upcoming assignment at Schalke’s game with Borussia Mönchengladbach, the Top-Spiel (top game) of the second weekend of the league season, in the prime Saturday early evening, 6.30pm...
Bayern Munich might win their 11th title in a row, but between now and then we can enjoy another fascinating seasonMeet the new boss, just like the old boss. Though the opening weekend of the Bundesliga had its familiar themes and outcomes, it most definitely had a story to tell. Some will tut or shrug, but they shouldn’t. “You don’t go to the theatre because you’re wondering how the swan from Swan Lake will turn out,” as Süddeutsche Zeitung’s Martin Schneider put it.Let’s start with what the world most expected, or at least feared. Bayern Munich began 2022-23 like a hurricane, not so much pulling back the curtain to the campaign on Friday night at Eintracht Frankfurt as tearing it...
Robert Lewandowski’s exit has made for a rocky summer, but the champions are surely destined for the domestic summit againIs 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 has 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...
After eight glorious years at the serial Bundesliga champions, the upright striker is at the mercy of his club’s roughshod waysThe big problem for Robert Lewandowski is that he is a professional. He has one year left on his contract at Bayern Munich and he wants to leave, but nobody believes he will down tools and create a fuss if they choose to hang on to him for another year. He likes his job. He likes his colleagues. He has a level of self-respect that means he will carry on diligently even if his bosses are treating him outrageously. He doesn’t want to let anybody down, least of all himself.This, after all, is a forward so dedicated to his trade...
A 10th title in a row has not translated into Champions League success for Bayern and club face challenge to stay at the top From 2013 to 2022, the title winner in Germany bears the same name. Bayern Munich are celebrating a 10th championship in a row. A decade of dominance is a novelty in the five strongest leagues in Europe. Such statistics are otherwise known in Europe only from clubs such as Skonto Riga, Dinamo Zagreb, Rosenborg or Dynamo Berlin from the old East German Oberliga.Bayern are a club who win titles. In the past 50 years of the Bundesliga, they have ended up on top 30 times. They owe this to their unique identity: as the club of...