Bayern Strikes
Fansided

Four ‘What if’ situations in recent Bayern Munich history

By Joshua Bishop

MUNICH, GERMANY - DECEMBER 14: (BILD ZEITUNG OUT) Philippe Coutinho of FC Bayern Muenchen celebrates after scoring his team's sixth goal with team mates during the Bundesliga match between FC Bayern Muenchen and SV Werder Bremen at Allianz Arena on December 14, 2019 in Munich, Germany. (Photo by TF-Images/Getty Images)
MUNICH, GERMANY - DECEMBER 14: (BILD ZEITUNG OUT) Philippe Coutinho of FC Bayern Muenchen celebrates after scoring his team's sixth goal with team mates during the Bundesliga match between FC Bayern Muenchen and SV Werder Bremen at Allianz Arena on December 14, 2019 in Munich, Germany. (Photo by TF-Images/Getty Images) /
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BELGRADE, SERBIA – NOVEMBER 26: Robert Lewandowski of FC Bayern Munich celebrates with the match ball following his four goals during the UEFA Champions League group B match between Crvena Zvezda and Bayern Muenchen at Rajko Mitic Stadium on November 26, 2019, in Belgrade, Serbia. (Photo by Srdjan Stevanovic/Getty Images)
BELGRADE, SERBIA – NOVEMBER 26: Robert Lewandowski of FC Bayern Munich celebrates with the match ball following his four goals during the UEFA Champions League group B match between Crvena Zvezda and Bayern Muenchen at Rajko Mitic Stadium on November 26, 2019, in Belgrade, Serbia. (Photo by Srdjan Stevanovic/Getty Images) /

What if Bayern didn’t sign Robert Lewandowski in 2014?

Right now, Robert Lewandowski is the undisputed best number nine in the world, and luckily he scores his goals for Bayern Munich. But what if Bayern hadn’t secured his signature? Die Roten had two main strikers in the treble-winning 2013 team: Mario Mandzukic and Mario Gomez.

In 2013, new coach Pep Guardiola arrived in Bavaria, and Bayern shipped off Gomez and had Claudio Pizarro as the primary backup option in this position. Mandzukic did not fit Guardiola’s system, so the manager wanted a new number nine. Enter Robert Lewandowski, famously on a free transfer from Borussia Dortmund.

What if he hadn’t moved to Bavaria? There was heavy interest from Manchester United and other Premier League sides, so there were no lack of suitors for Lewy. Bayern probably would have continued to use Mandzukic as the number nine for few seasons and wait to sign a new striker.

The problem with waiting on signing a striker is that the transfer fees were rising exponentially, and Bayern might have had a hard time to sign someone of his quality for a reasonable fee. Fees for a striker are naturally high, and this was the time when the market is about to explode. Moreover, we all know that Thomas Muller is not at his best as a number nine, so Die Roten wouldn’t have used him as a striker.

Die Roten certainly wouldn’t have enjoyed domestic success post-Guardiola, and you could make the argument they’d be even worse off without Lewandowski in the Champions League. How many times during the Ancelotti and Kovac era was Bayern saved by the heroics of Lewandowski? If he was not playing in Bavarian colours, then Bayern probably would have lost the 2019 Bundesliga title to Dortmund, and the start of the 2019/20 season would have been worse than it did.

Lewandowski himself probably would have successfully engineered a transfer to Real Madrid at some point if he was not at Bayern, and then Madrid would have had Lewy and Ronaldo destroying La Liga and all of Europe. We are certainly thankful he ended up with us. Most importantly, we wouldn’t have witnessed the five goals in nine minutes against Wolfsburg if he hadn’t made the switch to Bavaria.

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