Just like mighty Thanos, Bayern Munich are inevitable. For the last decade, they have absolutely dominated the Bundesliga, winning an unprecedented 10 titles in a row.
So, is an 11th straight title an inevitability? Maybe not, since there are some new challenges that the Bavarians must face this upcoming season.
SBOTOP shares these three factors that could see Bayern’s amazing run of consecutive Bundesliga championships come to an end.
The Robert Lewandowski situation
Bayern Munich could very well come into the new Bundesliga season without their superstar striker Robert Lewandowski, who has been angling for a move to Barcelona this summer.
The prolific Pole, who arrived at Bayern in 2014, has been instrumental in the Bavarians winning the Bundesliga title in all eight years he’s been with the club. He has scored a remarkable 238 Bundesliga goals in 253 appearances, including 35 last year to win his record-tying seventh Kicker-Torjägerkanone as the league’s top scorer.
Despite Bayern securing the services of Sadio Mane, Lewandowski’s potential exit would still be a major blow to Bayern’s Bundesliga 2022 odds to win their 11th straight title. Even for a club that possesses a wealth of attacking weapons like Bayern do, replacing Lewi’s remarkably consistent production of 30-odd league goals per season will be quite a challenge.
But on the other side of the coin, if Lewandowski doesn’t get the Barcelona move he so desperately wants, him staying at Bayern could have a potentially damaging effect on the entire team’s morale. He has not exactly handled the whole situation delicately as he’s pushed hard for Bayern to let him leave, and it remains to be seen whether the bridges he burned can still be repaired.
Granted, Harry Kane – who has recently been linked with a shock move to Bayern as a potential Lewandowksi replacement – recovered from his unsuccessful Man City transfer saga to star at Tottenham last season. But at 34 years of age, a less-motivated Lewandowski could suffer a significant decline in performance, which could then open the door for some of Bayern’s top competitors at the top.
Dortmund and Leipzig lurking
Bayern Munich have not been legitimately challenged for the title in recent years, with their two main rivals – Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig – both falling short of Die Roten’s level.
But this season could be a different story. Borussia Dortmund have had a busy summer transfer market as they’ve brought in Sebastien Haller and Karim Adeyemi to make up for the massive loss of Erling Haaland in attack.
Meanwhile, they’ve brought in two new centre-backs – Niklas Sule and Nico Schlotterbeck, who emerged as one of the most promising German defenders last season – to help shore up their major weakness in defence.
And Edin Terzic is back in charge as he takes over for Marco Rose, who had a disappointing lone season at Dortmund. Terzic had a decent spell as a caretaker boss in the 2020-21 season after Lucien Favre was sacked and will have a squad capable of challenging at the top.
And over in Leipzig, the Red Bulls showed much promise last season under Domenico Tedesco, who got the club back on track after the failed Jesse Marsch experiment.
Leipzig have not been nearly as active as Dortmund in the transfer market, but they did lock up young star Christopher Nkunku to a new long-term deal, which is massive. The French forward had a breakout campaign as he had 20 goals and 13 assists while creating many more Bundesliga 2022 highlights.
With both Dortmund and Leipzig looking in decent shape, any slip-up from Bayern could lead to a legitimate title race for the first time in a while.
World Cup hangover
And last but not least, there is the small matter of the mid-season World Cup, which will be a unique wrinkle that Bayern have not had to worry about in their previous 10 title triumphs.
Bayern will be by far the most affected of all the Bundesliga clubs as their squad is composed almost entirely of international stars – many of whom play for Germany – who will be representing their respective national teams in Qatar.
Granted, Bayern have some impressive depth up and down the squad, so they are capable of overcoming the inevitable fatigue that will set in during the second half of the season.
But if one or two injuries to key players pop up amid the gruelling schedule, then Bayern’s status as the undisputed Bundesliga title favourites suddenly looks a lot shakier, which should make this Bundesliga season that much more interesting and exciting.
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