Weekend Warm-up: What’s the next move for Bayern Munich and Robert Lewandowski?; Christian Falk throws cold water on Harry Kane-to-Bayern rumor; Throwing it back to Cornershop; SC Freiburg reigns supreme; and MORE!

This whole situation between Bayern Munich and Robert Lewandowski is a mess.

Whether you place the blame on Lewandowski or the board — or even if you feel the club should just cut ties and move on, this whole situation has become extremely awkward.

Surely, the club has the right to insist that Lewandowski fulfills his contract and conversely, the player has every right to request a transfer to FC Barcelona.

There are no winners, only losers...this is something that many fans are acknowledging at this point.

Without Lewandowski, Bayern Munich loses the focal point of its attack and a player whose production simply cannot be matched. With the Polish Hitman, Bayern Munich could make one last serious run at a Champions League title — if morale stays at a good level.

Therein lies the rub.

So far, Lewandowski has not only been rumored to be unmotivated to continue on in Bavaria, but has started to whine a bit about his situation. None of this is a good look, but this is not all on Lewandowski.

Bayern Munich’s front office should not be absolved of blame.

The laissez-faire approach to contacting Lewandowski, the lack or urgency in getting a deal done, and the overall lack of tact in dealing with a high maintenance figure like Lewandowski shows that the front office figures might be a bit tone deaf in how to deal with the modern athlete.

When throwing all of that into a blender, you get the current debacle hanging over the club like a dark cloud.

As a wise man once said, “There’s no easy way out...no shortcut home.”

Where do things go from here? What should be done? You tell us.

What’s YOUR plan for 2022/23? Take the poll and give us your thoughts on how to proceed in the comments.

---

Falk denies Kane rumor

In Friday’s Daily Schmankerl we saw a wild rumor that Bayern Munich had made contact with Tottenham Hotspur for Harry Kane, but the Flexxxxx Master (aka Sport Bild’s Christian Falk) has burst through the wall like the Kool-Aid Man to shoot down that rumor:

While it would have been exciting for Bayern Munich to make such an attempt, the story was always a little shaky. That said, CEO Oliver Kahn and sporting director Hasan “Brazzo” Salihamidzic are — allegedly — on their way to England at some point soon to try and get a deal done for Liverpool’s Sadio Mane.

A little stop in London wouldn’t hurt, would it?

---

Bavarian Podcast Works: Weekend Warm-up Podcast Season 1, Episode 53

If you are the type of person who loves the drama surrounding sports — and you also love Bayern Munich — then this was a week built for you.

This is what we have on tap for this episode:

• A look at the latest news on Robert Lewandowski, his — alleged — pompous exchange with Julian Nagelsmann, and why it is probably time to find a good deal and send him packing.
• Why there might be cracks in Nagelsmann’s foundation at Bayern Munch.
• An update on Konrad Laimer and why it might take until July for teams to get serious.
• An appreciation of Germany’s recent success.
• Bayern Munich’s more-than-serious work in trying to acquire Liverpool’s Sadio Mane.

As always, we love your feedback and appreciate all the support!

Be sure to stay tuned to Bavarian Podcast Works for all of your up to date coverage on Bayern Munich and Germany. Follow us on Twitter @BavarianFBWorks, @jeffersonfenner, @TheBarrelBlog, @tommyadams71, @bfwinnn, and more.

---

Song of the Week: “Brimful of Asha” by Cornershop

It is hard to pinpoint why this song popped into my head. I probably had not thought about it in 10 years (at least), but I wanted a song with some good vibes and this just seemed like a fit for what we needed this week.

Released in 1997, I was on the verge of turning 21, living a very good college life, and this song hit the local alt rock station. I’m not going to say it was a phenomenon, but it was very popular for a stint and is pretty damn catchy.

There have been a few remixes and remakes, but the original still gets the job done for me. Enjoy:

---

SC Freiburg reigns supreme in fan vote

To paraphrase Maury Povich, “Bayern Munich...you are NOT the most popular team in the Bundesliga!”

I doubt Oliver Kahn reacted like our first guy from The Maury Povich Show video above did, but SC Freiburg is the new king in town when it comes to fan popularity as Sport Bild reported:

FC Bayern’s long-term dominance has been broken. SC Freiburg dethroned Munich after six titles in a row. The cup finalist is the new number 1 in the Bundesliga – not on the pitch, but with the fans.

The Bundesliga barometer from the Butting Group and SPORT BILD was surveyed for the 19th time under the direction of Professor Alfons Madeja from Nuremberg. On matchdays 33 and 34, 5,449 fans were asked how satisfied they were with their own club. The big surprise: Freiburg wins ahead of Leipzig, Union Berlin and Frankfurt. Only then do the industry leaders FC Bayern and Borussia Dortmund come in fifth and sixth.

---

Entertainment Rundown

Obi-Wan Kenobi

I am looking forward to hitting the latest episode and like where the story is going. No, the acting (aside of Ewan McGregor) is not always top notch, but the story is good so far. There does seem to be a fair amount of people picking apart timelines, cannon, plot points, etc. — and how they all relate to the previous films and shows, but I am not overly concerned with any of that.

As someone who likes the original trilogy, but thinks the prequels and sequels were both botched to a point (I hold the sequels more under fire because they had ample time to really understand how the prequels were flawed...and still messed them up), I’m just trying to enjoy Obi-Wan Kenobi for what it is. Finding a way to ensure all of that stuff could be crammed effectively into a limited series being produced almost 50 years after the original storyline was made into a movie is not the kind of thing I am going to fret about.

I’m looking forward to watching these storylines play out.

The Boys

As always, The Boys has been a rollicking run of craziness. The opening few scenes were a little much for me in terms of gore, but hey, I knew what I was getting into by watching this show. The acting and plotlines have been great so far and there might not be a better actor portraying a character right now than what Antony Starr does with Homelander on an episode-by-episode basis. Starr perfectly captures the facial expressions, insecurities, rage, condescending tone, better-than-thou attitude so perfectly of his character.

The overall plot for this season is thickening by the episode and I cannot wait to see how it all comes together.