The Bundesliga will celebrate its 59th anniversary when the 2021-22 season officially kicks off this week.
Bayern Munich looks like a heavy favourite to repeat as German champions, while traditional Bundesliga teams SV Werder Bremen and Schalke were both relegated at the end of the last term, which means this season will have a somewhat unfamiliar look.
Here’s what you need to know about the 2021-22 Bundesliga season.
How the Bundesliga works
The campaign kicks off on Aug. 13 and runs until May 12, 2022.
A lot of Europe’s top leagues consist of 20 clubs, but the Bundesliga only features 18 teams, which means each side will play 34 games (rather than 38), evenly split between home and away fixtures, and they will face each other twice.
The team that finished atop the table will be crowned German league champions, and will also qualify for the 2022-23 UEFA Champions League. Clubs that finish second through fourth in the final standings also book their spot in the Champions League. The fifth-place team qualifies for the 2022-23 UEFA Europa League.
The bottom-two teams will be automatically relegated to the German second division for 2022-23. The third-worst team will play a two-game playoff against the third-place side in Germany’s second division, with a spot in next season’s Bundesliga season at stake.
The title favourite
The big question going into the campaign is whether there’s a team out there that can slow down the juggernaut that is Bayern Munich, who are seeking to win their 10th Bundesliga championship in a row.
If recent history is anything to go by, the Bavarian giants should easily cake walk to the title again. They’ve won each of the last two Bundesliga seasons by a comfortable 13-point margin, and in 2017-18 they cruised to the title by topping second-place Schalke 04 by a whopping 21 points.
Notably, Bayern has lost key defender David Alaba, who left on a free transfer to Real Madrid. Also, manager Hansi Flick left his post to take over Germany’s national team, with 34-year-old Julian Nagelsmann (formerly of 1899 Hoffenhim and RB Leipzig) hired as the new man in charge. But the core of last season’s championship team remains in place, while a pair of promising young prospects in French defender Dayot Upamecano and English fullback Omar Richards have been added to a side with a great deal of quality and depth.
The other contenders
Spearheaded by Norwegian international Erling Haaland, Borussia Dortmund looks like the most likely candidate to end Bayern’s decade of dominance. Dortmund has shown over the past few seasons that it can score goals, with its dynamic attack, led by Haaland, and completely overwhelm opponents. If they can manage to do that again this season, and tighten things up defensively, they may pip Bayern to the title.
With new striker Andre Silva and American coach Jesse Marsch now at the helm, RB Leipzig look to continue their upward trend after finishing second place last season. Leipzig’s attack isn’t the most dangerous, but it did sport the league’s best defence (just 32 goals against) and Hungarian goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi led the league with 15 clean sheets in 2020-21.
The newcomers
VFL Bochum are back in topflight after an 11-year absence, finishing first in the German second division last season to win promotion. Veteran strikers Simon Zoller and Robert Žulj each scored 15 goals last season, but Žulj has since signed with Al-Ittihad Kalba in the UAE, which means Zoller will be looked upon to lead the attack.
Greuther Fürth are back in the Bundesliga for the first time since the 2012-13 season after a strong second-place showing in the second division. Swedish striker Branimir Hrgota (16 goals last season) remains in tow, but key midfield creator David Raum (a league-high 13 assists) is now with TSG 1899 Hoffenheim.
Jadon Sancho has left the building
The Bundesliga suffered a big loss this summer when English forward Jadon Sancho left Borussia Dortmund on a reported €85 million transfer move to Manchester United.
Sancho, 21, scored 50 goals and registered 64 assists in four years in Germany, and is considered one of the best young players in the world, so his departure leaves Dortmund with an even bigger hill to climb when it comes to topping Bayern Munich for the title this season.
Canadian content: Alphonso Davies
Davies missed most of Bayern’s pre-season after suffering an ankle injury this summer while he was with the Canadian national team. The 20-year-old speedster from Edmonton returned to full training this week, so it’ll be interesting to see how Bayern incorporates him into the team – whether they plan to insert him into the starting 11 right away, or ease him back by using him off the bench.
When he is fully fit, Davies will remain Bayern’s first choice left fullback/wing-back this season, ahead of Josip Stanišić and newcomer Omar Richards. The Canadian will also likely have more attacking responsibilities handed to him if manager Julian Nagelsmann decides to use a three-man defence.
Lewandowski eyes 300 goals
Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski is seeking to become just the second player to record 300 career goals in the Bundesliga.
The Polish striker, 32, currently sits at 277, and he’s coming off a fantastic 41-goal campaign in 2020-21 (he bagged 34 the season before that), so chances are very good he’s going to easily eclipse the 300-goal mark at some point this season.
Lewandowski is still a long way off from becoming the Bundesliga’s all-time top scorer, though. Former Bayern legend Gerd Mueller plundered 365 goals from 1965 to 1979.
John Molinaro is one of the leading soccer journalists in Canada, having covered the game for over 20 years for a number of media outlets, including Sportsnet, CBC Sports and Sun Media. He is currently the editor-in-chief of TFC Republic, a website dedicated to in-depth coverage of Toronto FC and Canadian soccer. To check out TFC Republic, click here.
