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With Hansi Flick, Hermann Gerland, Miroslav Klose, David Alaba, Jerome Boateng, and Javi Martinez all having left Bayern Munich, many are thinking that next season will be as good a time as any for the Bundesliga’s other powerful clubs to take a run at the king.
If there was ever going to be a year that the Bavarians could be susceptible to a slip up, the 2021/2022 season could be it.
With a new manager, a sometimes shaky new center-back, and some uncertainty as to how some players will fit in under Julian Nagelsmann, Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig and perhaps a few others are readying themselves for a coup attempt.
Bayern Munich captain Manuel Neuer knows exactly the type of pressure that his team will face next season — and thinks he as a good idea about what clubs are going to be able to beat apply it.
“I think Dortmund’s final push showed that they’ll always be serious competitors,” said Neuer to the club website. “Leipzig will definitely have a strong team again. We can expect those two teams to be up there next season.”
Like many players on the Bayern Munich roster, Neuer knows next season will be difficult, but the veteran also understands that his squad has proven their mettle over and over again through the recent years.
Surely, though, that aforementioned mettle will be needed as Bayern Munich adapts to life after Flick.