The legendary Muller was a Bayern stalwart as the club rose from obscurity to establish themselves as a powerhouse in the European game — the striker top scored every season from 1964-65 to 1977-78. He was the Bundesliga’s leading marksman on seven occasions, racking up 40 goals in 1971-72. Fellow legend Franz Beckenbauer is famously quoted as saying: “Without Gerd’s goals we would still be sitting around in a wooden shack on Sabener Strasse [Bayern’s training facility].”
When Lewandowski arrived on a free transfer from Borussia Dortmund in 2014, he was perhaps best known on the world stage for his four BVB goals against Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid, firing Jurgen Klopp’s side to the Champions League final the previous year, when they lost to bitter rivals Bayern at Wembley.
After an average debut season in Bavaria with only 17 league goals, his Bayern career exploded into life in September 2015, striking five times in a mesmerising nine-minute spell as a substitute against Wolfsburg. For reasons best known to Pep Guardiola, Lewandowski languished on the bench for the opening 45 minutes. But with Bayern trailing at half-time, the Catalan sent on Lewandowski as a reinforcement and the Poland striker proceeded to dance with the Wolves.
His magical five-goal frenzy, from the 51st minute onward, swung the game dramatically in the Bavarians’ favour and sent his Bayern career into overdrive. It was the quickest hat trick, four-goal and five-goal hauls in Bundesliga history — as “Lewy” grabbed his own Guinness Book of Records tribute.
Lewandowski had definitely endured his struggles under Guardiola up to that point in a Bayern shirt, often cutting a forlorn figure when torn away from his central striking position and farmed out to the right hand side. However, the 28-year-old hasn’t looked back since that historic Munich evening, finishing Bundesliga top scorer last term with 30 goals — his most prolific season in Germany’s top-flight.
And he’s on course to repeat those feats again with a brace on Saturday. One in each half against Eintracht Frankfurt took his tally to 21 Bundesliga goals this campaign to complete his fifth 20-plus goal season, compared to Muller’s 11. His weekend offering included a typically clinical finish for his second, executing first time with minimal backlift while shooting with power and accuracy in one movement.
And Lewandowski has even added sublime free kicks to his repertoire this season, dishing up two delightful efforts in five days, including the match winner against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League.
Here he certainly outdoes Muller, who became renowned for scoring many vital goals lying prone on his backside.
“I was never into performing magic tricks for the crowd. I just wanted to score,” Muller said, explaining his unquenchable thirst for goals — some 477 in 540 appearances for the club.
Further down Bayern’s list of goal-scoring legends is current CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge with almost 200, a forward later sold by the club to join Inter Milan to ease Bayern’s financial difficulties — a fire sale absolutely unthinkable today.
Gerd’s namesake Thomas, who set up Lewa’s opener at the weekend, sits third in Bayern’s all-time scoring list already with 157 goals, despite admitting himself he’s not a striker.
The ’80s at the Olympia Stadion brought unsung hero Roland Wohlfahrt and just two caps for Germany, while Dieter Hoeness, brother of Bayern president Uli, was an absolute beast in the air.
The effervescent entertainer Giovane Elber caught the eye at the turn of the century. Clinical Dutchman Roy Makaay, an ever better finisher, soon followed the Brazilian. Claudio Pizarro (125 goals) served Bayern capably in two spells and is still going strong with a goal for Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga on Friday.
Germany international Mario Gomez, another predatory finisher with a real nose for the goal, was vilified for Bayern’s Champions League nightmare on home soil in 2012 against Chelsea.
That’s one way Lewandowski can edge closer to Muller in the greatest-ever stakes. Following the heartache of three straight semifinal Champions League defeats under Guardiola, including one wearing a mask against Barcelona, it’s time for Lewandowski to fire Bayern to European glory in Cardiff in June.
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