AWhen the referee whistled, Bruno Labbadia yelled. He knew what was coming, above all: who was coming. He had seen him repeatedly in his team’s penalty area that evening. In the 40th minute, when he slammed the ball into the goal from five meters. In the 51st minute, when he picked up the ball, spun and shot it firmly and flat into goal. In the 85th minute, when he pushed the ball into the goal from a maximum of two meters. Now, in the 93rd minute, Labbadia, the coach of Hertha BSC, kicked a plastic bottle so hard that it flew a few meters through the arena in Munich, although not very full. Then Robert Lewandowski put the ball on the penalty spot.
In the first few weeks of the new season, some FC Bayern players were talked about in the highest tones. About Manuel Neuer, who as a goalkeeper fends off so many balls in a one-on-one that strikers are afraid of him, with the exception of Andrej Kramaric, perhaps. About Joshua Kimmich, the tireless leader who has found his place in the middle. About Leroy Sané and Serge Gnabry, who played as fast and beautifully on the outside as Ribéry and Robben in the first game against Schalke. But about Lewandowski? The “Spiegel” recently claimed that the striker illegally diverted several million euros from his Polish marketing company RL Management and used them for private purposes. His former adviser has filed a civil suit against Lewandowski’s company in Warsaw, demanding compensation. Lewandowski calls the lawsuit “unfounded”.
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