The world of football spins faster than the rest of the Earth. One day you see your idol wearing a team shirt and the next day he is already wearing other colors and you don't even have time to stop and think about his legacy, in his most special moments with his previous club. Cold and formal farewells are becoming more and more common, and to something else. There are innumerable great figures from first-line teams who, after years at the service of the institution, leave as if nothing had happened. The tributes, the recognitions, the public displays of affection are scarce. A stage is closed and you have to think about the next one, or the calendar devours you and you stay behind.
This has been, with nuances, the case of Robert Lewandowski and Bayern Munich. A club that he served for eight seasons, to which he gave some of the best moments of its glorious history and from which he left without much fanfare, without much literature. "We know very well what we owe Robert, but other great players have gone before and Bayern did not collapse," said Oliver Kahn, in statements collected by the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung.
It could be considered admirable. Winning mentality, thinking about the future, you can't go on living from the past forever. But it is, in a way, a pity. The player's forms didn't help either. Success exhausts, and Lewandowski needed a change to try to continue succeeding far from there. Surely there was another way to do things, although he knew that the Bayern board, made up mostly of former club players, is uncompromising when it comes to negotiating contracts, transfers and departures. So he opted for coldness and clarity and achieved his goal, to go to FC Barcelona, at the cost of leaving a small stain in the memory of the Bavarian fans.
The hole it leaves is bigger, surely impossible to fill. Some consider that they should not try to replace him, that the team has the tools to continue succeeding without a '9' of his characteristics (and neither of his level, because it is almost impossible to find him). He himself assured, in his presentation with Barça, that "Bayern does not need a replacement", since "his attack is perfectly equipped". "The players will have more responsibility when it comes to scoring goals and they will be able to grow in that sense," he continued.
The club, however, moved quickly to tie up Sadio Mané, although he is not your usual center forward, and the young Mathys Tel, a 17-year-old striker from Stade Rennes who can count his matches on the fingers of his hands. in the elite. Mané, recently named African Footballer of the Year, occupied the left side of Jürgen Klopp's Liverpool attack. He really likes to appear in inside positions and is used to attacking the free spaces that a 'false 9' can leave, as he did for several seasons with Roberto Firmino. However, especially since the arrival of Luis Díaz, he was increasingly participating as a center forward, a position that now opens wide for him at Bayern with the departure of Lewandowski.
For his part, Tel is still very young and has everything to prove at the highest level. However, the signing of him cost almost 30 million, indicative of the confidence that the club's sports management has placed in his potential. Hasan Salihamidzic, the head of that department, defined him as "one of the greatest talents in Europe". He does not come as a replacement for the Pole, since his profile is different. "He is a very fast striker, technically good and versatile," explained Salihamidzic.
Julian Nagelsmann will have many different resources at his disposal to put together his attack. He has the dribbling of Coman, the associative capacity and overflow of Serge Gnabry and Leroy Sané, the verticality of Mané, the quality in reduced spaces of Jamal Musiala and the eternal youth of Thomas Müller, in addition to the support of Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka from the center of the field. However, the picture is completely different after Lewandowski's departure. As much as part of the board and teammates are publicly happy with the resolution of the situation, it will surely be years before Bayern can once again have a striker of the Polish's historical level.
Sandro Wagner, the club's former striker, publicly acknowledged that he is "excited, but somewhat skeptical" with the situation of the team after the departure of one of its greatest legends and, above all, with the possibility of playing without a pure '9'. Bayern has always had that figure since the times of Gerd Müller. Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Jürgen Klinsmann, Roy Makaay, Luca Toni, Miroslav Klose, Mario Gómez, Mario Mandzukic... Playing without a classic center forward would be a novelty in a club that has never been seen in this situation, that has never been set up such a scenario.
Nagelsmann, a master of tactical revolutions who has already demonstrated his knowledge and adaptability to different systems as manager of RB Leipzig, will have the possibility and, at the same time, the challenge of being able to shape the team and put his personal stamp on it. Manuel Neuer will continue to be unquestionable in goal. In defense, two scenarios open up: use a couple of central defenders, probably made up of Matthijs De Ligt and Lucas Hernández; or a line of three, to which Dayot Upamecano would be added, despite the doubts left by last season. Alphonso Davies is indisputable on the left flank and Noussair Mazraoui, recently arrived from Ajax, will most likely occupy the right side ahead of a Benjamin Pavard who is still on the starting ramp.
The midfield is unquestionably Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka (as soon as he recovers from the injury suffered in preseason), one of the best midfield pairings in recent years. Doubts arise ahead, where the possible combinations are infinite and the positions limited. Mané, Sané, Gnabry, Musiala, Müller, Coman and the newcomers Gravenberch and Tel will fight to occupy the attacking midfield.
Almost everyone could occupy various positions. Gnabry, Sané and Mané can play both on the wing and on the inside; Musiala is able to move in the inside position or more advanced; Müller usually has full freedom of action; Tel has been presented as a "versatile" player; and Gravenberch is an attacking midfielder who could also adapt to various positions depending on the scheme. Coman is the only tradable card, he cannot be moved from the lime line.
Bayern does not need a reconstruction, far from it, but Lewandowski's departure does force the team to consider new situations and new challenges to maintain the undisputed dominance they had in Germany and continue to be one of the strongest candidates for European success this year after year. Nagelsmann is surely the most suitable man to carry out such a transformation. A young coach, from the new school of German coaches, trained in the 'Red Bull factory' and very eclectic and chameleon-like. The pieces of the puzzle are on the table, they need to be made to fit so as not to miss the best '9' in their history since the time of the 'Torpedo' Müller.
