2021 is history, and many exciting developments can be expected in the Bundesliga again in the new football year.
On the occasion of the turn of the year, the sport.de-Editorial four daring theses for 2022.
Will FC Bayern miss their tenth championship title in a row? Isn’t FC Schalke 04 returning to the House of Lords? Will Erling Haaland stay with BVB and will Robert Lewandowski turn his back on Munich?
FC Bayern will not be champions
Heiko Lütkehus: For me excluded. Sounds boring and it is, but in my opinion the competition is much weaker this year than in previous years. Even BVB as the most valuable pursuer on paper is already nine points behind the record champions.
Christian Schenzel: Sure, and suddenly calm returns at the DFB, Watzke and Rummenigge no longer give interviews, Haaland stays with BVB, FIFA is taking the World Cup away from Qatar and the VAR is becoming a fan favorite.
Tobias Knoop: Phew, it’s really extremely difficult for me to come up with a contrary opinion. But after all, rumor has it that anything is possible in football …
FC Schalke 04 will not return to the Bundesliga
Heiko Lütkehus: That could happen. I see FC St. Pauli and Hamburger SV the most. Third place is possible for Schalke. In a possible relegation, however, I would see the first division clubs at an advantage as things stand. Trend: Schalke just missed the Bundesliga return.
Gerrit Kleiböhmer: Yes, that will happen. Sure, a club like FC Schalke 04 claims to be promoted straight away. But with the upheaval around summer, nothing more than fourth to sixth place is possible. Maybe it will work with the Bundesliga return in 2023.
Tobias Knoop: No, I think the Schalke team will do it. In the end things went really well even without Simon Terodde. When the Super-Knipser is fit again, he shoots the miners in first or second place.
Erling Haaland stays with BVB
Gerrit Kleiböhmer: I hope not. Because BVB is developing more and more into Borussia Haaland, the whole game is designed for the Norwegian. If he goes, others in Dortmund can step out of his shadow again. Of course, they would have to take care of around 50 goals a year, that’s clear.
Christian Schenzel: Locked out! Everyone knows he’s leaving. Of course, the Dortmunders too, who just can’t say it publicly yet. And Haaland has to go too. BVB is simply the wrong club for its next step – athletically as well as financially.
Tobias Knoop: Yes, I believe in staying in Haaland. BVB is throwing a lot (more) money down his throat for another year and his dream club Real Madrid first has to raise the cash for Kylian Mbappé in the summer. In 2023, Haaland will be gone for good.
Robert Lewandowski leaves FC Bayern
Christian Schenzel: I think the probability is higher than many Bayern fans would like. If rumors last that long, there is usually a bit of truth behind them. Lewy would also not be the first player to leave Bayern, although that is actually unthinkable – see Schweinsteiger and Alaba.
Gerrit Kleiböhmer: It has been the case for years that Lewandowski’s departure has been talked about. And what always happens in the end? He stays, extends and breaks the next records – in the Bayern jersey.
Tobias Knoop: Definitely no. My tip: Lewandowski will stay beyond 2022 and will end his career at FC Bayern at some point.
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