As many of you will know, one of the many leagues that had been put on hold has returned: the Bundesliga. And although it isn’t our league, we’re delighted that it’s back and that we can once again enjoy the matches, goals and saves. And, of course, we’re looking forward to seeing new models of football boots and goalkeeper gloves soon.
We have seen football return, but in a very different way: empty stadiums, no chants, no celebrations amongst teammates and supporters, and no hugs after scoring a goal. All this may seem somewhat out of the ordinary, but in the current climate it has become the new normal. The German league has shown us a new way of understanding football, with many new rules and precautions. We have seen players entering the pitch separately, every player on the bench wearing a face mask and maintaining a minimum distance of two metres, the entire coaching staff wearing gloves, face masks and using hand sanitiser, and, finally, the balls being disinfected. These are scenes we have never seen on a football pitch before, and ones we will have to get used to for a few months.
Many of us have wondered whether all these precautions have actually served any purpose, given that on the pitch we saw players standing very close together during corner kicks, in defensive walls and in many other situations, thereby ‘breaching’ some of these new rules. We have also seen how players who were initially spaced apart on the bench ended up having a great deal of contact with the rest of the players once they were on the pitch. But it is clear that in a sport like football, physical contact is inevitable and it is impossible to avoid it entirely.
But let’s put the more serious matters aside and focus on the spectacle we’ve been able to enjoy. We’ve seen the players, dressed in white Bayern Munich jerseys, maintain their lead at the top of the Bundesliga thanks to a goal from the ever-reliable Robert Lewandowski, who was sporting his Nike Phantom Venom boots. However, they’ll need to remain very alert and focused, as their formidable young rivals, Borussia Dortmund, are hot on their heels and the gap is minimal, especially following their resounding 4–0 victory over Schalke 04.
In that match, Haaland scored again – a young player who, since arriving in Germany, or rather since the start of the 2019–2020 season, has not stopped scoring goals. Lewandowski already knows he has a very serious rival for the top scorer title. Haaland has scored 13 goals in his last 12 matches across the Bundesliga and the Champions League since joining Dortmund. It is no coincidence that he also wears Nike, albeit a different model: the Nike Mercurial Vapor.
What do you think will happen at the end of this season? Will Bayern win again, or will Haaland, Sancho and co. manage to step up and lead Borussia Dortmund to the German title? And who will ultimately be crowned top scorer?
