What if Bayern hadn’t bought Robbery?
Bayern were going through a transition period in the mid-2000s. While they had some young players coming up through the ranks like Bastien Schweinsteiger, and Toni Kroos, the team needed creative players to take them to the next level. The team still had elite players throughout the roster like Philip Lahm, Lukas Podolski, and Luca Toni.
Despite having some top young talents and star players, the team still struggled to consistently win the Bundesliga, even finishing fourth in the 2006/2007 season. This culminated with the team digging into their transfer funds, purchasing Franck Ribery from Marseille for €30 million. The team needed another winger, so then in 2009, the team purchased Arjen Robben from Real Madrid for €25 million. These two transfers shaped Bayern Munich for the next decade and helped the team win the treble in 2013. But what if they didn’t happen? (Transfer fee courtesy: Transfermarkt)
What if Bayern didn’t buy Robben and Ribery? Bayern had several young players they could play on the flanks such as Schweinsteiger, who strangely started his career as a winger. Thomas Muller, who was only a couple years away from making his first-team debut. It isn’t his preferred position, but fans have seen in the past that he can play in wider positions. The team might have even gone with a more narrow formation to avoid the use of wingers altogether. The current shape of the team is based around these two transfers.
Bayern bought Manuel Neuer in 2011 to strengthen their defense, but they probably wouldn’t have the attacking firepower to reach the 2012 Champions League final or even win the CL title in 2013. With Jurgen Klopp at the helm, they would have been in shadows of Borussia Dortmund for a long time.
Even if Bayern did buy wingers during this period, they probably wouldn’t have stuck around long enough for the team to reach the heights they did. There weren’t two other wingers in the world at that time, who had low enough value with an elite talent for Bayern to buy. These two transfers were perfect for Die Roten and came at the perfect time. One last thought to make Dortmund fans mad. If Bayern hadn’t bought one of Robben or Ribery, then the club probably would have gone for Borussia Monchengladbach’s Marco Reus in 2012.