Bundesliga
The way to the cannon is free: who will be Lewandowski’s heir to the throne?
Bayern’s Serge Gnabry celebrates in the familiar manner after his goal in the Bundesliga opener against Eintracht Frankfurt. photo
© Arne Dedert/dpa
In the past five years, the top scorer in the Bundesliga was Robert Lewandowski. Always, without exception. But Lewandowski is now playing in Barcelona. And the successor is open.
Sadio Mané as the direct successor to Robert Lewandowski at Bayern? Anthony Modeste to replace Erling Haaland’s sick successor at Borussia Dortmund?
Patrik Schick and Christopher Nkunku, who stayed with the top clubs Leverkusen and Leipzig, after their strong performances in the previous season? Or finally, after eight years, a German striker like Timo Werner, who has returned from Leipzig?
Who follows series winner Lewandowski?
The way to the cannon for the Bundesliga’s top scorer is clear. Series winner Lewandowski left the league after five successes in a row, as did his rival Haaland. The crowd of aspirants is great. “After Lewandowski left the league, this post is of course more in demand than ever,” said Werner at his presentation: “And the race is probably more open than ever.”
Lewandowski, who switched to FC Barcelona, had actually already chosen his successor. “Haller would actually be a candidate,” he said in the Sport1 interview. But Sébastien Haller, whom Dortmund signed for 31 million euros and intended as a replacement for Haaland (Manchester City), has been out for months due to a testicular tumor. “It’s very bad with his illness,” said Lewandowski: “I hope he recovers well and that we’ll see him back on the pitch soon. Otherwise, Bayern have enough players who can score a lot of goals.”
Bayern’s offensive broadened
Super talent Jamal Musiala was the only player besides Karim Onisiwo from Mainz to score two goals on the first day of the game. But the Munich 6-1 gala in Frankfurt was more of a sign that the Bayern offensive now seems to be more broadly based. Mané, who came from Liverpool as Africa’s footballer of the year, national player Serge Gnabry or the eternal Thomas Müller seem to be candidates. Ex-Bayern boss Karl-Heinz Rummenigge bet openly on Müller, who has scored in double figures in seven Bundesliga seasons, but has never been top scorer.
Dortmund’s Haller replacement Modeste finished fourth last year with 20 goals for Cologne behind Lewandowski, Schick and Haaland together with Nkunku. “Tony can also score 20 goals in Dortmund, where he will probably have three times as many situations in the penalty area,” said former Modeste and BVB coach Peter Stöger of “Sport Bild”.
But after there were only four German top scorers in the past 20 years – Miroslav Klose 2006, Mario Gomez 2011, Stefan Kießling 2013 and Alex Meier 2015 – the World Cup year also offers the DFB top scorers a good chance. In addition to Müller and Gnabry, a candidate is Karim Adeyemi, who was the seventh best German last year, who plays more on the wing but has just switched from Salzburg to Dortmund as the Austrian top scorer. And above all Werner, who returned to Leipzig after two personally mediocre years at Chelsea.
Exciting battle for the top scorer cannon
But the 26-year-old wants to “be careful not to make announcements”. Otherwise he would “probably be put through the wringer after the fifth matchday if I’m not first or second yet.” But he wants to score as many goals as possible. And if “first place comes out of it, I wouldn’t be sad about it, of course”.
Werner, Mané or Adeyemi, like Frankfurt’s Randal Kolo Muani and Jordan Siebatcheu at FC Union Berlin, are new strikers who are reviving the league. The newly promoted Schalke with Simon Terodde and Sebastian Polter as well as Werder Bremen with Niclas Füllkrug and Simon Duksch also rely on two real center forwards. There were also interesting changes within the league, such as that from Leverkusen’s noble joker Lucas Alario to Europa League winners Frankfurt.
But two of the hottest candidates are those who have extended their contracts long-term despite interest from top international clubs. In a “Sport Bild” survey, Leverkusen’s Schick was the favorite among previous top scorers and not only for the two-time winner Dieter Müller “the logical next top scorer”. Leipzig’s Nkunku was voted Germany’s “Footballer of the Year” and scored on matchday one.