Latest news with #Rekordmeister
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Bayern back on top as Schick shines brightest: the Bundesliga season review
Team of the season It's Bayern Munich, despite Mainz and Freiburg, unexpected troublers of the European places, deserving praise for their stratospheric improvement from 2023-24. The Rekordmeister is rarely more provoked than when presented with serious opposition, and Xabi Alonso's Bayer Leverkusen had done just that with last term's domestically unbeaten double-winning exploits. Leverkusen were still excellent but could simply not match Bayern's pace in the end. They played with dazzle but Vincent Kompany also did the one thing that was beyond Julian Nagelsmann and Thomas Tuchel in beginning to sort out Bayern's leaky defence, conceding their lowest total in the Bundesliga (32) since Hansi Flick's treble-winning season of 2019-20. He also made them competitive in the Champions League, in which they were unlucky to lose to Inter. Player of the season There can be reasonable shouts for Bayern's Michael Olise in a stellar first Bundesliga season, his teammates Harry Kane and Jamal Musiala, Mainz's Jonathan Burkhardt (whose brilliant season propelled him into the Germany side), Serhou Guirassy in continuing to score consistently domestically and continentally for Borussia Dortmund as their season fell apart – all while acknowledging that it probably would have been Omar Marmoush had he not left Eintracht Frankfurt for Manchester City in January. Advertisement The prize, though, goes to Patrik Schick, a player whose body has consistently rebelled against his elite talent but who was Leverkusen's motor through much of a season when few thought he would be a key player. Schick scored 21 Bundesliga goals despite starting only 19 matches (albeit with 12 substitute appearances tacked on) and they were, as per his varied palette, goals of all sorts, with left, right and head. As with last season, he had his share of clutch moments, notably the stoppage-time winner in the comeback victory at Stuttgart in March, as well as a brace in the win at Dortmund. It was a delight to see him at his best again. Coach of the season While Kompany's first season worked well and Bo Henriksen transformed Mainz, there can only be one choice: Freiburg's Julian Schuster began the campaign with an impossible job in succeeding Christian Streich – the Bundesliga's longest-serving coach, club legend after almost three decades of continuous service, perpetual overachiever and beloved philosopher – when stepping into his first head coaching role. He missed out on Champions League qualification on the final day but returned the Black Forest club to the Europa League with 13 points more won than in the previous season; a remarkable achievement. Schuster was modest about his efforts, handing Streich much of the credit after that final-day loss to Eintracht Frankfurt. 'What I was able to learn from Christian is still deeply embedded in me,' he said, 'and without him I wouldn't be sitting here.' The club's chief financial officer, Oliver Leki, spoke for many when he said Schuster 'was already a bit of a coach as a player' and while the club deserves credit for having plotted the succession plan so well, the rave reviews Schuster gets from his players says all that needs to be said. Game of the season Get ready to catcall; the Leverkusen-Bayern goalless draw in February stands out. It was the game that the title race hinged on, with Florian Wirtz's incredible miss in stoppage time allowing Bayern to escape with a draw and to have the breathing space that defined the rest of the title race. It had been an exhilarating match (despite the lack of goals), run by Wirtz, dominated by Leverkusen from start to finish and a testament to their remarkably high standards when a significant drop-off from their historic double-winning season would have been understandable. Advertisement If goals are more your thing (which is forgivable) then Holstein Kiel's 4-3 win over Borussia Mönchengladbach – their 4-2 win over Dortmund in January was in with a shout as well – in which they lost a two-goal lead and a 3-2 lead before the excellent Shuto Machino hit the winner in stoppage time, was thrilling. Kiel were one of the high points of the season, top-flight first-timers and heavy favourites to be relegated before a ball was kicked yet competitive for most of the campaign and the Michael Myers of the Bundesliga season who kept coming back even when it looked as if they were done, until the drop was confirmed in their penultimate game. Goal of the season Here comes our first bit of rule-bending. Olise's solo goal against Shakhtar is not a Bundesliga goal, having come in the Champions League, even if it was scored by a Bundesliga team on a ground (with the Ukrainian club playing this season's European games at Schalke) but it demands mention, with the France international gliding through a host of defenders before sitting the goalkeeper down and stroking the ball home. If we want to be more strict, let's go back to the first goal of the Bundesliga season because there is nothing quite like a Granit Xhaka piledriver from range, this one coming against his former club Mönchengladbach. Shock of the season Arminia Bielefeld had a Rolodex of them. While winning the Michél Kniat's team knocked out four Bundesliga sides on their way to the DFB Pokal final in Berlin – most notably Leverkusen, who were unbelievably denied the season consolation prize of retaining the cup by Maximilian Grosser's back-post volley on an unbelievable April night in the semi-finals. Arminia couldn't quite get it done against Stuttgart in the final (though they did hit the woodwork at 0-0 before the Swabians took control) but it has still been a historic season for the club. Comeback of the season Dortmund's rally from 10 points behind the top four with eight games left to snatching a Champions League place on the final day was special (Lars Ricken dizzily claimed Niko Kovac's work was 'one of the greatest coaching achievements in the history of BVB'), but the return of Friedhelm Funkel was even more out of leftfield. The 71-year-old stepped back into the FC Köln head coach's position with two games of the second-tier season left and Effzeh wobbling within sight of the finishing line, which led to the dramatic double sacking of coach Gerhard Struber and sporting director Christian Keller. They won the last two, clinched the title and with the party clear-up still ongoing Funkel was off again, seemingly piqued that the board were hesitating over offering him the permanent position for next season. It was fun anyway, totally in keeping with the mania of the club – and Funkel made €250,000 for his brief intervention of a third spell there. Quotes of the season
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Bayern Munich held a meeting with Rafael Leão's representatives
Kicker report that Bayern Munich representatives held a meeting last week with the entourage of Milan forward Rafael Leão (25). With no new contract for Leroy Sané and Serge Gnabry's contract expiring in 2026, the Bundesliga champions exploring their options for reinforcements in the wide areas. Per the report, Leão is not averse to joining Bayern, who held a meeting with the Portuguese's representatives at the end of last week with the Rekordmeister showing genuine interest. Advertisement Leão – who scored 12 goals and provided 13 assists in 50 games for Milan last season – holds a contract with the Lombardy club until 2028. However, although there is interest from both the club and player, a potential stumbling block is Milan's valuation. Kicker cite Italian sources who claim that Milan want in excess of €100m for their prized asset, potentially too much for Bayern Munich who have also been priced out of a move for Florian Wirtz. GGFN | Daniel Pinder
Forbes
30-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
How Much Will Bayern Munich And Dortmund Earn From The Club World Cup?
Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund will participate at the FIFA Club World Cup this upcoming ... More summer. (Photo by) How much will Bundesliga clubs Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund make at the upcoming 2025 FIFA Club World Cup in the United States? A report by the German magazine kicker this week shed light on the finances of the tournament. The world soccer governing body FIFA had previously communicated that the tournament would include a $1 billion prize pool distributed to the 32 teams. The winner of the tournament could earn up to $125 million. For European clubs like Bayern and Dortmund that would have been €923 million when FIFA made the announcement. The collapse of the US dollar, however, means that the prize pool to be earned by clubs from UEFA has dropped to just €877 million. The prize pool is divided into two categories. The first category is the sporting performance pillar which is worth $475 million. The second category is the participation pillar worth $525 million. While all teams from South America ($15.21 million), Oceania ($3.58 million), and all other confederations ($9.55 million) will receive the same guaranteed amount of money this isn't the case for Europe. According to FIFA, clubs from UEFA, the participation money will vary between $12.81 million and $38.91 million. How does this break down for the two Bundesliga clubs? While Austrian club RB Salzburg is the lowest end of the prize pool available for European clubs. This is determined by the UEFA club co-efficient ranking and the club's contribution to UEFA marketing over the last four years. Based on that, kicker have calculated that Manchester City ranks ahead of Real Madrid within UEFA's ranking. Man City will, therefore, receive around $38 million from participating in the tournament. Real Madrid ranks second with $35.8 million. The two Bundesliga clubs Bayern and Dortmund rank third and sixth respectively. This means that Bayern will earn a guaranteed $33.5 million and Dortmund $26.6 million. The report adds that Man City could earn a maximum of €110.4 million ($125 million). With Bayern ranked only marginally behind the Premier League giants, the expectations in Munich are that the Rekordmeister could earn over $100 million from playing in the tournament. Dortmund would come in just under the $100 million mark should the Black and Yellows win the tournament. Both clubs have aspirations to go deep in the tournament. The Rekordmeister has been very aggressive in its pursuit to sign Florian Wirtz from competitor Bayer Leverkusen. With Leverkusen expecting €140 million ($160 million) for the player, a deep run at the Club World Cup would help Bayern. For Dortmund, in the meantime, the expectation was that the tournament would help alleviate the financial impact of missing out on Champions League football. But recent results in the Bundesliga have put Dortmund back in the race for a top-four spot. Hence, the tournament could now be a significant financial bonus rather than an insurance policy for Dortmund.
Yahoo
26-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Joshua Kimmich highlights importance of consistency after Bayern Munich's 4-0 win at Heidenheim
Bayern Munich shook off their Champions League exit disappointment at the hands of Inter with an emphatic 4-0 Bundesliga win over Heidenheim at the Voith-Arena. Goals from Harry Kane, Konrad Laimer, Kingsley Coman and Joshua Kimmich saw that Bayern is now only two wins away from lifting the Meisterschale, but that could certainly change these next couple of weeks if Bayer Leverkusen have any sort of slip-ups themselves. Even with the amount of injuries Vincent Kompany has been dealt with as the season reaches its crucial, closing stages, Bayern made a strong account of themselves in the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinals at Inter. They fell just short, losing 4-3 on aggregate, which means that there is now added impetus to wrapping up the Bundesliga title. By this time last season, Leverkusen had already wrapped up the title mathematically, but its Bayern' time to return to the top of the German footballing pedestal. Advertisement After the 4-0 routing of Heidenheim, Kimmich, who scored Bayern's fourth goal of the match, stressed the importance of the Rekordmeister needing to exhibit a level of consistency, which they have not necessarily done for parts of this season across all fronts. 'We always want to be there in important moments. But the reality is that every 3 days is important. Every game is important. We can't say that only the Champions League is important and not the Bundesliga. We felt that today and saw how we celebrated every goal. It was a very important step towards the title,' the midfielder stressed (via @iMiaSanMia). 1. FC Heidenheim 1846 v FC Bayern München - Bundesliga The title is now well and truly in Bayern's hands and they have the chance to stay consistent until the season concludes to end the campaign on a high note. For now, Kimmich reiterated that Bayern is just focusing on taking care of their own business and not worried about what Leverkusen may or may not do right behind them in the table. 'We're now 9 points ahead and Leverkusen have to win. But we're not really looking at them. We have to win at least two more games to secure the title,' he emphasized. Having already tallied 87 league goals from the 30 matches played so far, Bayern has the chance to clinch the title and reach a century of goals on the season in doing so, which would improve on the 94 goals they scored last season, albeit in a season that included losing eight league matches. Looking for more thoughts and analysis on Bayern Munich's 4-0 win over Heidenheim in the Bundesliga? Awesome, then check out our Bavarian Podcast Work — Postgame Show for a break down of how it all played out. You can get the podcast on Patreon, Spotify, or below: Be sure to stay tuned to Bavarian Podcast Works for all of your up to date coverage on Bayern Munich and Germany. Check us out on Patreon and follow us on Twitter @BavarianFBWorks, @BavarianPodcast @TheBarrelBlog, @BFWCyler, @IredahlMarcus, @enadmo1135, @TommyAdams71 and more. Advertisement More from
Yahoo
29-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Kingsley Coman sidelined as Bayern Munich's injury crisis worsens
Kingsley Coman sidelined as Bayern Munich's injury crisis worsens Bayern Munich were dealt a blow prior to their Bundesliga game against St. Pauli on Saturday afternoon with an injury to Kingsley Coman (28). The Rekordmeister confirmed that the Frenchman would be sidelined because of an irritation to his left foot. Advertisement It's unclear as to how long Coman will be out for. Coman, who has a contract at Bayern Munich until 2027, is above Leroy Sané and Serge Gnabry in competing for a starting place in Vincent Kompany's squad and although just eight goal contributions (four goals and four assists) in 22 Bundesliga games this season, the French attacker posts come incredible figures. Per Opta, the Frenchman has created the most chances from open play per 90 (players with 750+ minutes) across Europe's top five leagues this season, with 2.6 created, ahead of Bayern Munich teammate Michael Olise (2.54) and Manchester City's Kevin de Bruyne (2.53). GGFN | Daniel Pinder
