Bayern Munich: Franck Ribery’s injury more heart-breaking than knee-tearing

Bayern Munich’s talismanic Frenchman Franck Ribery suffers a potential career-ending injury in a display that was not worthy to end a career.

On matchday 7 of the ’17/18 Bundesliga season, Bayern Munich faced Hertha Berlin in a 2-2 draw. A lackluster performance rounded off several weeks of poor performances, player grumbles and possibly the career of one of the most talented and electrifying players ever to play in Munich.

A year after setting the World Cup alight, helping France reach the final, Franck Ribery signed for Bayern Munich in what ended up as one of the club’s most expensive windows ever. Approximately €88 million was spent renovating a club that finished fourth the previous season, the worst in recent memory.

The challenges of attracting big names when not playing Champions League football is difficult but Bayern persevered and ended the window with several players who would provide many great moments for the club in the coming years.

The King arrives

Ribery was Bayern’s record signing at the time, joining from Olympique de Marseille for what now seems like a criminally low €25 million. His arrival started off what was set to become one of the most exciting periods of the club’s history.

Luca Toni bagged the goals and Miroslav Klose brought in more German talent. But it was the speedy Frenchman who aided in getting Bayern seen and heard across Europe.

My most vivid memory of Ribery in a Bayern shirt came in his second Bundesliga match against Werder Bremen. The ball was launched in the air after a Bremen set-pieceand came down only to be perfectly controlled by the Frenchman’s right leg. The ball stayed motionless for what seemed like forever before he flicked the ball over the opposing player’s foot and launched a counter-attack.

The following years he spent at Bayern were among the club’s most bizarre. With Germany finishing in second place at the 2006 World Cup, Jürgen Klinsmann took over the club in 2008. Although Klinsmann was a former player and club legend, his time managing the club was far from successful.

Managerial shifts

Klinsmann was soon sacked, and Jupp Heynckes was brought in as Bayern’s new manager. What emerged was a partnership second only to one that came in the season after. In his mid-20s — with an under-performing team and several spells sidelined injuries — he was clearly the best player Bayern Munich had to offer.

After the appointment of Louis van Gaal as permanent manager of Bayern Munich, his ability on the left flank was twinned perfectly with the skills of another new Bayern signing, Dutch right-winger Arjen Robben.

Affectionately dubbed “Robbery,” the price the club paid for both their services (just under €50 million), is an absolute steal. The rest of the club was catching up to Ribery’s immensely high standard which, despite constant injuries, only seemed to improve with age.

Although his performances were extraordinary and on a level that the club had never seen before, Bayern were still faltering. A Champions League final defeat to Inter Milan, which Ribery missed due to suspension, followed by a round of 16 knock out to the same club, were buried in the past when Jupp Heynckes stepped up to manage Bayern one last time.

Jupp Heynckes comes home

With Van Gaal’s philosophies firmly instilled in the club, Heynckes allowed hot prospect David Alaba first team minutes at left-back. The partnership the two formed took the role of mentor and student. Both playing in their prime, right-backs across Europe were scared of what the duo achieved.

A 4-2-3-1 that exploited speed on counters and physicality in defending seemed to be exactly the right way to play to Ribery’s strengths. After falling short in every competition in ’11-12, Bayern’s hunger came back tenfold the next year. In his article for the Player’s Tribune, Arjen Robben says that “every match, whether in the Bundesliga, or a cup game or a Champions League qualifier [was] played to right the wrong of that [2012] final.”

And that is exactly how Bayern Munich’s historic ’12-13 season unfolded. The performances Ribéry put in throughout this historic year lead to him being nominated for both the Ballon d’Or and the 2013 UEFA European Player of the Year (which he won by a considerable margin).

His win made him the first player outside of Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta to win since the trophy’s renaming and the first Bayern Munich player to win the award since Stefan Effenberg in 2001.

While this was his best season going on personal plaudits, this was by no means Franck Ribery’s peak. His peak was, arguably, a consistent stretch from 2008 to 2014.

Injuries on injuries

From 2014 onwards, age and perpetual injuries caught up with Ribery. But — being the fighter he is — the Frenchman refused to give up. This is a player that would play for Bayern until he can physically no longer give any more.

But maybe that’s not such a good thing. Is Franck Ribery’s insistence on playing and giving everything hindering the development of Kingsley Coman? Is it proving to be too much for James Rodriguez to settle in Munich when he cannot get minutes? All of these are very possible drawbacks of having a player as dedicated to the club as Franck Ribery. Maybe his never-say-die attitude to soccer does have negatives.

Prior to settling in as Bayern’s number 7, Ribery had played for six separate clubs. His career was looking like it could become that of another talented journeyman, playing good season after good season but in different leagues for different teams. He settled in Munich and made it his home. And for that, I thank him.

There has been a lot of discussion amongst fans as to whether or not Ribery can still hack it at the level that Bayern Munich need to be on to compete internationally — or even domestically. He is 34 and by the time this season finishes, he’ll be 35. Xabi Alonso retired aged 35, and he was playing in a marginally less physically demanding position and was much less injury prone. Ribery, however, is currently suffering from his 32nd leg-related injury within the past 10 years according to Transfermarkt.

The beginning of the end

Ribery’s career is undoubtedly winding down and no Bayern fan wants to see him struggle through 90 minutes as he risks damaging not only his body but his legacy. His latest setback is likely to keep him out of action for several months, and there is a strong belief that his season may be over. What’s more, his contract expires at the season’s end.

In the worst case scenario — which doesn’t look too unlikely — Franck Ribéry may have played his last ever game for Bayern Munich.

That would be heartbreaking for a few reasons. He can’t escape having to eventually play his final game at Bayern — much to his disappointment, he will not be able to play for the club until he is 100 years old — but the fact that his supposed last game was a dreary 2-2 draw against Hertha Berlin will always be disappointing.

Next: Bayern Munich back to winning ways in Freiburg rout

If his last appearance for Bayern Munich was done on his terms, Franck Ribery would leave in the same way he arrived: in a blaze of glory with everyone astounded that one player could bring so much talent to a team.