Just like in any sport, football is always embracing new developments and styles on which the next generation of players will thrive. Every decade or so, the Bundesliga comes across generational talents, whether players or coaches, who introduce, implement, and succeed with a new brand of football.
As of today, football fans are seeing the game change right before their very eyes. Traditional strikers, now, can’t single handedly carry their teams to consistent wins, no matter how many Bundesliga 2024 highlights they produce.
On the other side of the coin, teams who have young studs who play in a more dynamic, fresher, more modern style of play are slowly but steadily trending to the right direction.
Most teams in the German top flight have one or the other, but it seems like the standard of success is having a healthy mixture of vets, young guns, and innovative coaches; just ask the lads at Leverkusen.
Harry Kane, a No.9 through and through
A few years ago, Robert Lewandowski, a world-class goal scorer, was Bayern’s primary striker. He led the top flight in goals scored for five straight seasons and won the Meisterschale each of those seasons.
So, it could be argued that a big part of Bayern’s success is directly proportional to the amount of goals Lewandowski scored.
Lewandowski made the decision to leave the Bavarians in July 2022, taking his skills to La Liga and joining Barcelona. This move left a massive hole in Bayern’s offence, and replacing a talent such as Lewandowski was a big task for any player in the football world.
Luckily for the Bavarians, they managed to acquire the services of Harry Kane, England captain and one of the most prolific goal scorers in the entire world.
Kane, like Lewandowski, is poised to win the Bundesliga Golden Boot award in the German top flight, but the difference is, Kane’s healthy production doesn’t necessarily translate into wins.
Both Kane and Lewandowski are in their 30’s grew up around the same time and the same style of football; tactical, surgical, and graceful. But it seems like today’s style of football in the Bundesliga needs a lot more than just a maestro wearing No. 9.
Harry Kane leads the league with 27 goals, seven goals clear of Stuttgart’s Guirassy at second. Kane has virtually scored in every matchday in the top flight, yet, Bayern are currently 10 points behind Leverkusen in the league standings.
Their championship hopes are still very much in reach, but Bayern might need to get more pieces involved instead of just heavily relying on their lone striker night in and night out.
RB Leipzig’s budding duo
In the opposite end of the spectrum, RB Leipzig are gunning in the top flight by primarily playing through their young stars, Lois Openda and Xavi Simmons. This season thus far, Openda has scored 17 goals and claimed four assists, while Simmons has six goals and eight assists.
It’s clear that Leipzig head coach Marco Rose’s style of play funnels heavily through his two young studs. And to his defence, Leipzig are currently one of the best teams Germany, rubbing elbows in the upper echelon of the top flight and faring pretty well in the Champions league to boot.
But at times, their lack of a prominent veteran presence is eminent, consequently costing them matches. They may not win the Bundsliga this year, but they surely are trending on the right direction.
Leverkusen’s healthy mix of vets and young guns
The German outfit that seemed to have perfected the right balance of traditional and modern football is none other than Leverkusen. Die Werkself boast a historic record while pulling away in the title race under the stewardship of Xabi Alonso.
A young and talented duo of Boniface and Wirtz funneled with the football IQ of right winger Jonas Hofmann and midfielders Grimaldo and Xhaka guided by the well-structured system of Xabi Alonso, Leverkusen have been obliterating adversaries left and right across all competitions.
Focusing on possessions, spreading the workload, and scoring through the middle, Alonso’s Die Werkself continue to be an enigma other outfits can’t seem to fathom. There’s a reason why they’re the SBOTOP Bundesliga 2024 odds favourite to win the season by a large margin.
This season, Leverkusen have emerged as the epitome of a modern day football club, where it functions through sound, traditional, and effective football philosophies, incorporated with modern and electrifying talents, all harmoniously meshed together to be the most formidable outfit in the Bundesliga.
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