Wertung der Fußballer: Bayern Munich 2018/19

Niko Kovač arrived in Munich. Fans were excited to say the least as he was coming off of a fantastic season at Eintracht Frankfurt, winning the DfB Pokal. The season would see Bayern Munich secure a domestic double but only a round of 16 finish in Europe, which is thoroughly disappointing, the only solace being we lost to Liverpool, who would go on to win the entire tournament.

For those unfamiliar, FIFA has a player rating system from 1-99. Players from 50-65 can be considered reserve or lower division players. 65-75 are usually younger players with high potential or other lesser players. 75-85 roughly are those that one would consider top level players, and from there on all players beyond are considered world class. The rating cap is around 93-95, as no player has exceeded a 94 rating since Ronaldinho and Iker Casillas (95 each) all the way back in 2005.

Now, let’s look at what Bayern Munich’s ratings should have looked like in my opinion after the 2018/19 season a.k.a. their FIFA 20 ratings. The change denoted in the bracket showcases the change from the FIFA 19 rating given in the previous article. New transfers will retro-actively be given a new FIFA 19 rating. You can read about the 2012/13 season here, the 2013/14 season here, the 2014/15 season here, the 2015/16 season here, the 2016/17 season here, and the 2017/18 season here.

Goalkeepers

Manuel Neuer - 85(-2)
If I’m being honest, Neuer was anything but good this season. Thankfully the rust of being on the shelf for an entire year would wear off by the end of the season.

Sven Ulreich - 75(-2)
Ulreich was average at best. Did not play much either.

Defenders

Niklas Süle - 86(+2)
Süle looked excellent throughout the season.

Mats Hummels - 87(-1)
Hummels was not as ace as he was in previous seasons with little bouts of inconsistency, but was good nonetheless.

Jérôme Boateng - 84
Boateng did not do anything to warrant a downgrade but did not impress in any large manner.

David Alaba - 85
Alaba was pretty inconsistent, being mistake-prone at times but also extremely potent at times. Neither really outweighed the other.

Rafinha - 79(-3)
Filling in both full back positions like he did last season, Rafinha was just okay. Lack of game time is mostly what puts him down.

Joshua Kimmich - 89(+5)
Kimmich was the most crucial player to Bayern’s defensive and progressive processes. This was when he really started to look like the regenerated version of one Philipp Lahm.

Midfielders

Javi Martínez - 82(-4)
Javi’s decline was on display this season unfortunately. He was not poor but definitely a shadow of his previous self.

Thiago Álcantara - 90(+2)
Thiago was fit for most of the season, and showed us once again why he is one of the finest players in the world on the ball.

Leon Goretzka - 84(-1)
Goretzka was consistent throughout the season, but honestly a little disappointing considering the expectations we had for him at first.

Corentin Tolisso - 80(-4)
Tolisso got such little minutes I can’t even rate his performances. Honestly I can’t even picture what he looked like in the 2018/19 kits.

Renato Sanches - 71(-1)
Sanches continued to spend time on the bench and being invisible in general.

James Rodríguez - 86(-3)
James would find himself lost once again in the Kovač regime. He certainly performed when called upon, but Kovač seemed not to want to call upon him often.

Attackers

Thomas Müller - 87(-1)
Müller continued getting game time but having no real role or place in the team.

Franck Ribéry - 81(-3)
Ribéry would sadly not get a mercurial or even a consistent season to send him off, but of course we had that iconic final goal in Bayern colours.

Arjen Robben - 84(-6)
Robben, somehow being an elite winger even as the clock winded down on his career, fell off this season, and fell off hard. The years finally caught up to him.

Sandro Wagner - 80(-4)
Wagner would barely touch a football this season, mostly coming off the bench.

Kingsley Coman - 85(+1)
Coman would rise in quality once again, but once again would find injuries limiting his game time and thus his upgrades.

Serge Gnabry - 86(+1)
Honestly this was the first permanent transfer Bayern made that as a fan I was extremely excited about the day of the announcement, having watched him rocket through defenses at Bremen and then do the same on loan at Hoffenheim. He did not disappoint either.

Alphonso Davies - 72
We all forget sometimes that Davies was originally bought as a left winger.

Robert Lewandowski - 92
Lewandowski maintains his 92 rating for a third consecutive season, teetering on the edge of shattering through the barrier of ‘one of the best’ and into the conversation for ‘best in the world’. While his goal production was not as efficient as previous seasons with just 22 goals, his link-up was what truly impressed. This was the season Lewandowski evolved from being a traditional number 9 to truly becoming a player a manager can look to construct the entire attacking system around.

What do you think of these ratings? Are there any you would change? Have I had more howlers than EA? (If you answer yes I will be under your bed tonight). The discussion is open as always.