By 
The 2020-21 season will always be remembered under the umbrella of COVID –it has been very difficult for all involved: the clubs, the coaching staff, the players, the media, but especially the fans. In an unprecedented time, however, it was a huge achievement by Christian Seifert and the DFLto find a way to return and showcase our football to the world. From the outside, the Bundesliga gained huge respect and momentum from being the first league to return to playing matches. And from there, we’ve seen a season with exciting games and fierce competition throughout the Bundesliga; from the title race to the fight for Europe, and of course the battle to stay in the league.
Ultimately, FC Bayern München showed its class in the end, pulling away from competitors for a ninth straight title. It was a fantastic achievement by Hansi Flick in his two years as Head Coach, and he now departs after great success. But we can’t talk about Bayern without talking about Robert Lewandowski. With his41stgoal and surpassing Gerd Müller on the final Matchday of the season, Lewandowski has written himself into German football history. He ranks among the very top strikers, not only in terms of the Bundesliga but in world football right now. He has developed into a complete “number 9”, and I compare him to the great Marco van Basten. Complete in every area of the game, there is no weak point with Robert Lewandowski. And I think the respect that he showed to Gerd Müller when he scored his 40thgoal to tie the record –this for me was one of the moments of the season. I hope we get a couple more years out of him!
As a former VfB Stuttgart player, I was also very pleased to see young Sasa Kalajdzic coming through. With 16 goals this season, he is another real number nine. And then we can’t look past Andre Silva or Erling Haaland either. When you’ve scored 28 or 27 goals respectively, and you’re only finishing second or third in the goalscoring race because of Lewandowski…It’s crazy because both of those guys would have thought they could have done enough to take the goalscoring crown. But that is the level that Lewandowski sets.
I love to talk about the strikers, but one other player that has stood out to me is VfL Wolfsburg’s, John Brooks. For me, he is the centre back of the year. Determined, consistent and with a great range of passing, Brooks has taken it to another level –a Champions League level. Head Coach Oliver Glasner also deserves huge credit for the job he has done with the Wolves, and I am curious to see them compete in Europe next year.
We have seen a lot of coaching moves this season, and it creates a very unusual circumstance where so many head coaches have committed to other teams. But Borussia Dortmund’s Edin Terzic has to be considered as a candidate for Bundesliga Coach of the Year. He manoeuvred a very difficult situation in a very impressive way. Of course, there are always high expectations at Dortmund, but he got the locker room together, he got the players and club behind him, and most importantly he delivered a title (DFB Pokal) and Champions League football for the coming season –all this despite everyone knowing he wasn’t going to be the coach next year. What he achieved is quite remarkable.
Equally, Bo Svensson deserves huge compliments for what he has achieved at Mainz 05. Before his arrival, Mainz had won just one match, but Svenssondelivered nine more victories and ultimately steered the club to safety.
But when we talk about Coach of the Year, FC Union Berlin’s Urs Fischer must also be in that conversation. What Union have done, with the budget and resources they have, is an unbelievable achievement. Their football warrants credit too: a courageous and high-pressing style, but also versatile depending on the opponent. When they got off to a fast start, everybody thought: “OK this is just the first couple of months.” But they built on what they did in the previous season, and then they topped it. It is admirable what they have showcased, and now European football awaits. That stadium is going to be on fire! It doesn’t matter who they play, it’s party time in Köpenick!
At the other end of the table, the drama of the relegation battle went down to the wire. If I had to pick the bottom three at the start of the season, I think it would have surprised everyone to seethatSchalke 04 was unable to get themselves out of danger. It was a bad start, and they just couldn’t turn the corner. But this is what happens when you’re down the bottom: everything works against you. And then you saw these big powerhouses sliding downwards and there was a real fight. It is truly fantastic for Arminia Bielefeld but it’s a tragedy for Schalke and also for Werder Bremen –not so long-ago German Champions. It’s going to be tough for these clubs to come back next year because the Bundesliga 2 is loaded like never before.
For 1.FC Köln, they cleared the first big obstacle and will now go into the relegation play-offs. The team will be lifted by this, but there is zero guarantee -the play-offs is a 50-50 situation. Holsten Kiel will be fighting hard to get into the Bundesliga, so still, two fascinating games to go.
It was a season of twists and turns, of records and drama right until the end. But that is what we have come to expect from the Bundesliga. Goals, chances, excitement and tension. The players will now take a well-earned break, but the management will already be focused on next season. We of course hope that fans will return, and that world-renowned, unique Bundesliga atmosphere is back to complement the skill that we see on the pitch. I am already looking forward to it!
