Groundhog Day: a situation in which a series of unwelcome or tedious events appear to be recurring in exactly the same way.
You may struggle to see the correlation between the 1993 Bill Murray flick with the world of football, but the above definition is something many football supporters can empathise with – especially those with an affinity to Bayer Leverkusen, Schalke, Borussia Dortmund or Hoffenheim, all of whom have had some of their star players poached from them by Bayern Munich.
Here’s a list of times Bayern stole the best and brightest from their Bundesliga underlings.
Leon Goretzka
Bought from: Schalke (2018)
Fee: Free
Bayern apps: 22
Attacking midfielder Goretzka, who’s becoming an increasingly important player for Germany, attracted interest from the likes of Juventus, Liverpool and Chelsea, but opted to move to Bayern upon the expiration of his Schalke contract.
The 23-year-old looks set to go on to become a big player for Bayern, but has so far only managed two goals for Niko Kovac’s side.
Serge Gnabry
#Gnabry: "It's a huge honour for me to sign for #FCBayern. I have exciting times ahead of me, which I look forward to." #MiaSanMia pic.twitter.com/3SjyOPXyjS
— FC Bayern English (@FCBayernEN) June 11, 2017
Bought from: Werder Bremen (2017)
Fee: Reported £8.5m
Bayern apps: 20
The former Arsenal youngster has seen his stock continue to rise since Arsene Wenger saw no room for him at the Emirates.
His 11 Bundesliga goals for Bremen in the 2016/17 season convinced Bayern Munich that a relatively cheap youthful signing made a lot of sense going forward. He joined Hoffenheim on a season-long loan deal last term but is back at the Allianz Arena and progressing well.
Niklas Sule
Bought from: Hoffenheim (2017)
Fee: Undisclosed (reported £21.84m)
Bayern apps: 64
The highly-rated 23-year-old centre-back sealed a move to Bayern from Hoffenheim in July 2017. Chelsea were interested in the German international, but he chose Bayern.
Since then, Sule has impressed for the German champions and looks set to continue as one of their most important players going forward.
Sebastian Rudy
Bought from: Hoffenheim (2017)
Fee: Free
Bayern apps: 35
The German international midfielder followed Sule to Bayern from Hoffenheim, having been their most creative player in the 2016/17 season.
However, after making just 35 appearances for Bayern, it was decided that Rudy would be shown the exit door ahead of this campaign, with the 28-year-old struggling to break into Niko Kovac’s first XI.
Manuel Neuer
Bought from: Schalke 04 (2011)
Fee: £22.5m
Bayern apps: 302
The second-most expensive goalkeeper of all-time has proven to be worth every penny for Bayern. Neuer has won six Bundesliga titles and one Champions League with the German giants so far.
Benjamin Pavard
Bought from: VfB Stuttgart (2019)
Fee: (reported) £31.4m
Bayern apps: 0
The 22-year-old was far from a household name as little as a few months ago, but that all changed at the 2018 World Cup.
Pavard starred for France as Les Bleus claimed the trophy in Russia and his sumptuous strike against Argentina won Goal of the Tournament.
He will join Bayern at the end of the 2018/19 season.
Michael Ballack
Signed from: Bayer Leverkusen (2002)
Fee: £4.5m
Bayern apps: 157
The golden boy of German football at the turn of the century, Ballack won three league titles and three German Cups before moving to Chelsea on a free in 2006.
Robert Lewandowski
Signed from: Borussia Dortmund (2014)
Fee: Free
Bayern apps: 217
The Polish star is undoubtedly one of the most feared centre-forwards around and is still Bayern’s standout attacking player, having scored 172 goals for the club so far.
Ze Roberto
Signed from: Bayer Leverkusen (2002)
Fee: £7.13m
Bayern apps: 178
Another member of the exciting Leverkusen side in 2001/02, Ze Roberto initially joined Bayern in 2002 and re-joined after a season with Santos in 2007.
Mats Hummels
Signed from: Borussia Dortmund (2016)
Fee: £30.7m
Bayern apps: 99
This one really caught Dortmund fans in the feels. BVB had given Hummels his big chance, signing him from Bayern after he failed to make a first-team breakthrough and even made him their club captain.
However, the pull of a return to Munich proved too difficult for the World Cup winner to resist and he re-joined his former club in 2016.
Mario Gomez
Signed from: VFB Stuttgart (2009)
Fee: £22.5m
Bayern apps: 174
A Bundesliga winner with Stuttgart in 2007, Gómez joined Bayern a couple of years later and enjoyed a prolific four-year spell with the club. He would then embark on a new challenge with Fiorentina in 2013, with a loan to Besiktas in between, before a return to Germany with Wolfsburg in August 2016.
Now back at Stuttgart, having signed in January, the 33-year-old has five goals to his name so far this season.
Lucio
Signed from: Bayer Leverkusen (2004)
Fee: £9m
Bayern apps: 218
The 2002 World Cup winner was another to make the switch from the BayArena to Munich. He spent five seasons in Bavaria before joining Inter, where he won the treble under Jose Mourinho.
Mario Gotze
Signed from: Borussia Dortmund (2013)
Fee: £27.75m
Bayern apps: 113
The one-time darling of the Dortmund support, Gotze made the move to Bayern on the eve of the Champions League final in 2013 to sour his reputation with the clubs fans.
After struggling to nail down a place in Bayern’s side, though, Gotze returned home, making the opposite move to Hummels in 2016.
Luiz Gustavo
Signed from: Hoffenheim (2011)
Fee: £12.75m
Bayern apps: 100
After making his name with Hoffenheim, Luiz Gustavo joined Bayern in January 2011 and helped them to a Bundesliga title and Champions League, before joining Wolfsburg in 2013. The Brazilian midfielder moved to Marseille in 2017 for a reported £9m.
Robert Kovac
Signed from: Bayer Leverkusen (2001)
Fee: £5.63m
Bayern apps: 122
An unheralded stalwart of Bayern Munich’s defence between 2001-05 after starring with Leverkusen. Since retiring, Kovač managed the Croatian Under-21 team and served as assistant manager at Eintracht Frankfurt before joining brother Robert’s coaching staff at Bayern. It’s always good to keep it in the family.
Miroslav Klose
Signed from: Werder Bremen (2007)
Fee: £11.25m
Bayern apps: 149
Despite being the most prolific goalscorer in World Cup history, Klose didn’t enjoy a great time at Bayern, frequently playing the role of substitute. After failing to secure regular football, he joined Lazio in 2011 before retiring in November and is now a member of the German national team’s coaching staff.
Honourable mentions
Sebastian Rode (Frankfurt – 2014), Mario Mandzukic (Wolfsburg – 2012), Ivica Olic (Hamburg – 2009), Tim Borowski (Werder Bremen – 2008), Marcell Jansen (Monchengladbach – 2007), Lukas Podolski (Koln – 2006), Valerien Ismael (Werder Bremen – 2005), Torsten Frings (Dortmund – 2004), Claudio Pizarro (Werder Bremen – 2001), Dante (Monchengladbach – 2012).
The post 15 players Bayern Munich poached from their Bundesliga rivals appeared first on Squawka News.
From Squawka NewsSquawka News http://bit.ly/2RFKRqv
No comments:
Post a Comment