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.
Robert Lewandowski, whose snappily taken equaliser in the league's curtain-raiser on Friday night helped Bayern Munich weather the early storm from hosts Borussia Mönchengladbach, had already shown his respect for Müller at the end of the last campaign. When Bayern's current No 9 equalled Der Bomber's season Bundesliga goal record of 40 from 1971-72 on the penultimate day of the season at Freiburg, he lifted his jersey to reveal a T-shirt of a vintage stencilled image of a mop-topped Müller, annotated with the words "4ever Gerd." He subsequently met Müller's wife Uschi in the club's museum to pass on his gratitude and good wishes.
When Lewandowski’s late goal on the season’s final day against Augsburg saw him beat the record, it was celebrated with unfettered joy – and it was the ultimate nod to Müller’s legacy. That 40-goal mark was simply something that people believed would never be beaten, which is why it meant (and means) so much to their current No 9.
The 22 goals that Lewandowski has scored – and celebrated with no timidity – against Borussia Dortmund since leaving the club in 2014 have made their contribution to his Bayern numbers, and few would bet against him adding to that in Tuesday night's Super Cup at Signal Iduna Park but perhaps for once, he won't be the main attraction. If Lewandowski came through the front door of the party on Friday night, Erling Haaland drove straight through the venue and parked his Bentley in its swimming pool on Saturday evening.
The Norwegian was the main architect behind BVB’s resounding and thrilling 5-2 win over Eintracht Frankfurt on coach Marco Rose’s debut, scoring twice, providing two assists and reminding the world, in the words of captain Marco Reus, that he is an “incredible package” of skill, hunger and stratospheric improvement.
Casual Dortmund and Bundesliga watchers will look at the numbers, 62 goals in 61 games for the club, and think Haaland arrived as he is now. In fact the growth of his all-round game, which frustrated his team-mates at the beginning and is polished beyond recognition 18 months later, is quite remarkable. We do, in the words of Freddie Röckenhaus of Süddeutsche Zeitung, “gradually have to realise that he is just redefining the entire position of the centre forward with his incredible force.” Saturday’s performance would be defining for most strikers. For Haaland, we are coming to expect the same again next week.
Lewandowski and Haaland have similar, if not quite identical roles in their teams’ respective seasons. Keep us afloat while we get our bearings, and then carry on doing what you’re doing as we work out the details. The initial impressions are that the Poland striker might do some more heavy lifting early on. Bayern started badly in Gladbach, going a goal down to Alessane Pléa’s strike with their high line all at sea, and they were fortunate to escape a couple of unrequited penalty appeals involving Dayot Upamecano, especially when the Bayern debutant tangled with Marcus Thuram.
For new coach Julian Nagelsmann, getting his ideas across will take time. “We haven’t had a lot of training sessions after the Euros,” he said on Monday morning, “and it’s not that easy, and we won’t have many in the next few weeks, so we just have to work with video.”
Haaland is in transcendent form (perhaps helped by Norway missing the Euros), but he has the benefit of a renewed Reus with him. Haaland laid on the opener against Eintracht for Reus, who then provided his second. The captain’s difficult decision to sit out the Euros already looks like paying off. “Marco had an excellent pre-season,” Rose said on Monday, “and that’s been important for his mindset. He’s proactive and he can be a No 10, play on the wing, he is good on one-on-ones, and he assists and scores.”
There is no pretending for now, though, that it’s not all about Haaland, a man whose shadow is so mighty it covers Dortmund’s patchwork defence. “There was not even one second where we thought about selling him,” the club’s former player and sporting director-to-be Sebastian Kehl told journalists on Sunday morning. “We’re ambitious, and Erling makes the difference. We’re convinced that he will help us to reach our goals.”
Lewandowski was doubtless have a response on Tuesday, but we can justifiably hope for a back-and-forth to fire this new season. – Guardian
