Bayern Munich and the Robert Lewandowski dilemma

Negatives in positives

Both Pep Guardiola and Bayern Munich President Karl-Heinz Rummenigge have made statements saying that one of Robert Lewandowski’s best attributes is that he is not as injury prone as many other players.

"“He’s never injured because he focuses so much on the right diet and proper preparation.” -Pep Guardiola"

While, for the most part, this has been accurate, ‘never injured’it has often been challenged at the worst time of the season. Specifically against Barcelona in 2015 and against Real Madrid in 2017.

In 2015, Lewandowski had to play Bayern’s Champions League semi-final matches against Barcelona with a protective facial mask, having suffered a blow to the head against Borussia Dortmund in the cup the week before. While he was technically “fit” to play both legs, the disadvantages of having this obstruction surely impacted his play.

Oddly enough, two years later another injury forced him to miss the first leg of Bayern’s 2017 Champions League quarter-final fixture against Real Madrid.

Missing a difference-maker like him in the squad against a team like Madrid is something that will leave every fan wondering “what if”? Die Roten played very well over both legs and were unlucky to get knocked out the way they did.

With a fully fit Lewandowski starting the first match, who knows what could have happened? As a gifted penalty taker, would he have converted the spot-kick that Vidal missed? With a finally fit Robben and Ribery running the wings, was this the best chance for Bayern to finally beat a Spanish team?

Unfortunately, we’ll never know.

For a multitude of reasons, Lewandowski’s performance in the return leg was stopped after 88 minutes when he was replaced by Joshua Kimmich. Possibly to aid in midfield after Vidal’s unfortunate dismissal, but largely due to fatigue, Joshua Kimmich was brought on in place of a world-class striker. Versatile though he may be, a striker the Kid is not.

I do not want to put the blame of those results entirely on Lewandowski not being at 100%, nor do I want to put the blame on Kimmich not being good enough as a forward. There is a whole litany of reasons for Bayern’s exit. But ultimately, the Lewandowski dilemma is the one that appears most likely to happen again this year.