Completing an unprecedented decade of dominance, Bayern Munich has won the German Bundesliga title for the 10th season in a row.
The German giants have sat atop the Bundesliga table since mid-September, meaning it was only a matter of time before clinching the title, which it ultimately did against rival Borussia Dortmund in a 3–1 win in Saturday’s edition of Der Klassiker. Serge Gnabry, Robert Lewandowski and Jamal Musiala scored the goals to set off the celebrations at a packed Allianz Arena—scenes that have become rather common over the last 10 years. Nevertheless, it’s an achievement to be celebrated. No “top five” league in Europe has ever fielded such a dynasty. Juventus came close to pulling off the 10-peat in Serie A but fell a year short after last season’s stumble.
And if there were any year for Bayern to fumble its hold on the title, it was this one. Before the season, longtime chief executive officer Karl-Heinz Rummenigge retired after 30 years in an executive role with the club. After Rummenigge took over as chief executive in 2002, the club tallied 14 Bundesliga and 10 DFB-Pokal trophies along with two Champions League titles.
Meanwhile, manager Hansi Flick left the club for the German national team after leading Bayern to two Bundesliga titles and a Champions League trophy in 2020–21. In came RB Leipzig’s Julian Nagelsmann, who brought Dayot Upamecano and Marcel Sabitzer along with him after Bayern lost former defensive standouts in David Alaba, Javí Martinez and Jérôme Boateng to free transfers.
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But the club carried on with business as usual, locking up the Bundesliga—its record 32nd title all-time; the next-closest club is Nurnberg, with nine—with three games remaining in the season. Its goal differential (+62) is nearly twice as high as that of the next-best club, RB Leipzig (+33). Still, there is plenty to build upon after disappointing exits from its biggest cup competitions.
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Bayern was bounced from the second round of the DFB-Pokal in humiliating fashion with a 5–0 loss to Borussia Mönchengladbach back in October. Then, after going undefeated in a tough Champions League group featuring Barcelona and Benfica, Bayern was upset by Villarreal in the quarterfinals on a 2–1 aggregate.
The club also had to face the wrath of its supporters over refusing to discuss a sponsorship deal with Qatar Airways, which led to members booing the club’s directors at the annual general meeting.
But the one constant for Bayern over most of the last decade has been the stellar play of Lewandowski. After a legendary season where he broke Gerd Müller’s longtime Bundesliga single-season goalscoring record, Lewandowski returned with another incredible campaign. He leads the league with 33 goals and is coasting to another scoring title—his fifth in a row and and seventh in nine seasons (his first came as a Dortmund player). A seventh scoring title would tie Müller for the most in Bundesliga history.
The Polish international set a new Bayern record by scoring in 19 consecutive games, a mark that carried over from the end of last season. Lewandowski was also awarded with The Best FIFA Men’s Player award for 2021 but lost the Ballon d’Or to Lionel Messi, who said Lewandowski deserved one himself.
All eyes move toward his future now, with reports swirling of a potential exit—Barcelona has been reported as a possible destination—despite club officials saying publicly that they have no desire to move him along. If Lewandowski is to leave, then consecutive title No. 11 may be harder to come by, though you’d expect Bayern to still be the favorite to get it done.
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George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism