For 49 years, Gerd Müller held the record of 40 goals this season, which was considered one for the ages. Generations of strikers bit their teeth on it, no one even moved near. Until Robert Lewandowski came and shot his way into the history books of the Bundesliga with a 2-2 win in Freiburg. A tribute from kicker reporter Frank Linkesch.
He plays a season for eternity: Bayern striker Robert Lewandowski.
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Comparisons between Gerd Müller and Robert Lewandowski are lagging because of the many years that lie between the careers of these exceptional strikers, they would not do them justice either. Everyone shapes their epoch and has a place in the Bundesliga hall of fame as sure as it deserves it. Many older fans probably feel sad that someone has now stepped into Gerd Müller’s sphere. But it is in the nature of man that he always strives for new records.
Top brands have always been fascinating and are there to be outbid at some point. Nobody was more predestined for this than Lewandowski, the most complete striker of his generation. The Bayern goalscorer scores his goals with right and left, with his head, in the penalty area and from a distance, with penalties and free kicks. That makes it difficult to calculate and often impossible to defend. The model athlete knows how to use his body, is difficult to separate from the ball and usually does not need a lot of time and space to, as the vernacular says, shoot the round into the corner.
Against PSG it became clear what was missing without him
Four times in the season that was coming to an end he scored three times, once even four times, only four times he came away empty-handed. Lewandowski guarantees goals. To reduce it to that would be unfair, however. Lewandowski is a cooperative attacker who often picks up balls so that others can move up. And it binds opponents who cannot afford to let them out of their sight for just a brief moment. Especially when you were out of the Champions League against Paris St. Germain, you noticed what the Bayern game was missing without him.
It is noteworthy that Lewandowski improves year after year at an age when others end their careers or at least think about them. At the age of 32, he has reached the zenith of his productivity, having only set a new personal high with 34 goals this season last year.
At 27, he cracked the 30 mark for the first time
At the age of 27, he cracked the 30 mark for the first time, which he achieved for the fourth time in 2020/21. The Pole will receive his sixth kicker top scorer next Saturday after the last game of the season against FC Augsburg, here he is missing another one of Müller’s seven. He will also win the Golden Shoe as Europe’s best goalscorer for the first time, with which Lewandowski has finally achieved everything that the team can win in terms of titles and individual awards. However, this will not satisfy his hunger for goals, the former Dortmund player is far too ambitious for that. A model professional and perfectionist, the logical legacy of Müller.
Nevertheless, there is still room for improvement, as a comparison with the other top leagues in Europe shows. In Spain, Lionel Messi holds the record with 50 goals this season, in England Dixie Dean (Everton FC) even with 60. Well, that was 1927/28, other times. Josip Skoblar cheered 44 times for Olympique Marseille in 1970/71, only Italy lagged behind, where Ciro Immobile and Gonzalo Higuain share the top spot with 36 goals each.
And who should trump Lewandowski?
Whether Lewandowski can even add one in the coming season? Difficult to imagine, but not impossible. After all, he missed five games this season: one to spare, four because of an injury. Müller, on the other hand, was on the field in all 34 games in his record season. Only one thing is clear: the discussion can start all over again, whoever can get hold of Lewandowski at some point. How many years do you think it will last?
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