Serienmeister Stream: Episode 1 — Recapping Bayern’s ten straight Bundesliga titles

Bayern Munich made history by winning their tenth straight Bundesliga title in a row, a new record for Europe’s top five leagues. The Serienmeister Stream is a ten-part stream that covers ten special aspects of that glorious decade-long run. Enjoy!

So, we decided to kick things off with a short recap of how we actually got here in the first place. Ten years, ten titles. That’s a long time to recap, but we’ll try to make it as short and sweet as possible.

Title 1. 2012/13

Photo by Thomas Niedermueller/Bundesliga Collection via Getty Images

Bayern were reeling from two straight major trophy-less seasons, capped off with the Champions League final that never happened. The team was in a state of devastation, and it was going to take something special to fix things. What happened the following season was nothing short of miraculous. Coach Jupp Heynckes transformed his team into a juggernaut that swept aside every team in its path. By Christmas, Bayern were sitting pretty atop the Bundesliga table, having dropped points only four times. The new year brought even better results, as the team only dropped points once, and even that was after the league was won. No one doubted who was going to be German champions, and Bayern won the league earlier than any other team in history with a 1-0 win at Eintracht Frankfurt.

Oh, and they also won the treble to boot.

Title 2. 2013/14

Photo by Ronny Hartmann/Bundesliga Collection via Getty Images

Heynckes retired with dignity and was succeeded by Pep Guardiola. The Spaniard naturally had a lot to live up to. However, Pep took the challenge and, at least in the Bundesliga, blew it out of the water. Bayern went undefeated for a whopping 28 straight league games, never relinquishing their grip on the Meisterschale. As a result, they won the Bundesliga in Berlin on Matchday 27, breaking their own record for the fastest league title clinched ever. No other team had won the Bundesliga in March, and that record still stands to this day.

Title 3. 2014/15

Photo by Team 2 Sportphoto/ullstein bild via Getty Images

A season following a World Cup is always going to be hard, especially considering Germany went all the way in the tournament. Bayern struggled to get going, with two draws in their first four games. However, they quickly picked themselves up and enjoyed another successful Hinrunde, conceding only four goals in 17 games. While the Rückrunde was a bit more shaky, Bayern nevertheless continued on their way to the title. The title was eventually won off the pitch, though - after Bayern’s home win over Hertha BSC, challengers Wolfsburg lost afterwards, mathematically sealing Bayern’s Meisterschale once more.

Title 4. 2015/16

Photo by Matthias Hangst/Bongarts/Getty Images

Guardiola’s final season in charge of Bayern was probably his most eventful. The Bundesliga title race, if you can call it one, came down to the penultimate matchday. Not because Bayern was slacking, but because Thomas Tuchel’s Borussia Dortmund were a very strong opponent. Still, it was not enough to stop Bayern from clinching the Meisterschale away to neighboring Ingolstadt. The team only conceded 17 goals in 34 games, the best defensive record of all the ten title winning seasons. Wow, Bayern actually had a decent defense once, hard to believe, am I right?

Title 5. 2016/17

Photo by Swen Pförtner/picture alliance via Getty Images

Carlo Ancelotti will not be remembered fondly for his time at Bayern, but he did deliver a Bundesliga title. Thrice all season Bayern failed to win two games in a row, something that had not been plausible in previous years. Surprisingly enough, though, Bayern only lost two games in the league, although they drew a fair amount of games to make up (?) for it. But whatever the case, Bayern sealed their fifth straight league title with a resounding 6-0 win at Wolfsburg. Although the season was done and dusted, there was still room for some last minute drama with a 5-4 win over challengers RB Leipzig.

Title 6. 2017/18

Photo by Sven Hoppe/picture alliance via Getty Images

Ancelotti’s Bayern went down hard in his second season, so much so that the legendary Jupp Heynckes had to come out of retirement and rescue his freefalling team. Rescue he did indeed. After his comeback, Bayern only dropped points four times in 27 games, remarkable considering they dropped points thrice in seven games under Ancelotti. Heynckes’ Bayern was in such good form that they won the Bundesliga with five games to spare, the fastest league win in recent years. We love you, Jupp. God bless this wonderful old gentleman.

Title 7. 2018/19

Photo by Koji Watanabe/Getty Images

Niko Kovač took over for Heynckes, and boy, was his first season one heck of a ride. Many said that this would finally be the season that Bayern didn’t win the Bundesliga, and who could blame them? Bayern were languishing in Europa League spots in the fall. However, leaders Dortmund suddenly went bust and started dropping points here and there, and Kovač’s Bayern somehow got their groove going around the same time. A mad dash for the title was capped in style when Bayern won their final league game 5-1 against Eintracht Frankfurt, narrowly beating Dortmund to the title by just two points.

Title 8. 2019/20

Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images

A double winning 2018/19 season meant that Kovač’s job was safe - for the time being. However, he immediately jeopardized that safe job by only winning half of his ten league games in charge. After a 1-5 reverse to his old employers Frankfurt, Kovač took responsibility and resigned. Assistant coach Hansi Flick took over, and although his start was shaky, his Bayern enjoyed one of the best Rückrunde performances of all time, winning all but one of 17 games and driving his team to the title, which they clinched on Matchday 32 in rainy Bremen. Not even a global pandemic could stop the Flick express (Flixpress?) in its tracks as they romped to an eighth straight Bundesliga title, not to mention the club’s second treble.

Title 9. 2020/21

Photo by Stefan Matzke - sampics/Corbis via Getty Images

A pandemic-forced truncated schedule meant that the Flixpress (this needs to be an official term) had a rough trip ahead of them. A year’s worth of fatigue made Flick’s side falter at times, but they still finished the year on top of the league. Points were dropped here and there, but it was not enough to stop Bayern from winning their ninth straight Bundesliga title, this time while inside the stadium, but not on the pitch. Challengers Leipzig lost to Dortmund an hour before Bayern could kick off their title decider, which was eventually turned into a deadwood friendly. It didn’t stop Flick’s side from winning 6-0, though. Flick departed with dignity having won the sextuple and yet another Bundesliga title.

Title 10. 2021/22

Photo by Markus Gilliar/GES-Sportfoto via Getty Images

Ah, Julian Nagelsmann. My love-hate frenemy. I don’t like him, but I will give him credit for delivering the coveted tenth straight Bundesliga title, a title that no other team in Europe’s biggest leagues had achieved before. I’m still not sold on Nagelsmann’s Bayern, but it did have its moments from time to time. It was strong enough to win the tenth straight title, clinched at home against none other than direct challengers Dortmund. The season may have been dissatisfactory for many, but it still gave us bragging rights, a unique piece of history that only we can celebrate. Let us enjoy it as much as we can.