Bundesliga 2017-18 season review and awards: Bayern dominate once again

Bayern Munich dominated again, although the fight for Europe kept fans interested. Here’s a look back at the Bundesliga season that was.

Bayern Munich made it six straight league titles this spring, dominating the Bundesliga once again and establishing themselves as one of the best teams in club history. The 28-time league champions may have wanted to wrap up the title early in order to focus on the Champions League (ultimately bowing out to Real Madrid in the semifinals), but nothing about this season can be deemed a failure.

Bayern didn’t get off on the right foot. After dressing room discord led to the sacking of manager Carlo Ancelotti, the legendary Jupp Heynckes was brought in for one last title run. The move worked and Heynckes galvanized the squad, getting the most out of Colombian striker James Rodriguez in his debut Bundesliga season, and proving that even a 72-year-old can still successfully go up against some of the country’s best young managers.

Borussia Dortmund were a major disappointment for the bulk of the campaign. The team went through a spell of just two wins in 14 games across all competitions, which led to the firing of manager Peter Bosz. His replacement, Peter Stoeger, inherited a mess, but set the right tone with a win in his league debut. The 2-0 win against Mainz in December, however, did little to fix the mess the team found themselves in.

Calls to make the league more competitive aside, there were also some positive surprises near the top of the table, including Schalke, Hoffenheim and Bayer Leverkusen, a trio that spent much of the second half of the season competing for a place in Europe and adding some flair and excitement to a tournament rendered moot after Bayern captured the Meisterschale with five matchdays remaining.

Here’s a look back at the best and worse from this past season.

Best team: Bayern Munich

Bayern were by far the best team in the league again this season, especially after Heynckes took over at the end of September.

In a way, Bayern find themselves in a similar position to PSG. While the French club steamrolls teams in Ligue 1, none of it seems to matter if you can’t win the Champions League. Still, the heartbreaking loss to Real Madrid in the Champions League semifinals shouldn’t tarnish what has been a great season for the Bavarian giants. In addition, Bayern’s backbone will also form the core of Germany’s team at the World Cup. Bayern’s success is often seen in what Germany can do at a major competition. It’s no surprise Germany, the defending world champions, are among the favorites to repeat.

“If I watch the Bundesliga, I’m interested in Bayern,” former German international Michael Ballack told the German sports magazine Kicker. “Behind them the level is manageable. [The Premier League is] the measure of all things. I just see a big difference in quality, but I saw that years ago. A few years ago we thought other clubs like Dortmund could at least close the gap, but it seems they are further apart.”

Best manager: Jupp Heynckes (Bayern Munich)  

Bayern, after being down five points to Dortmund in September, were able to turn things around and win the title with a double-digit point lead. One of the biggest reasons was having a veteran coach like Heynckes.

A proven winner, Heynckes was brought in for Ancelotti and won his fourth league title with the club as a manager, forever cementing his legacy as one of the best in Bundesliga history. His 4-2-3-1 and return to attacking soccer delighted fans and scared opposing backlines. It was reminiscent of Pep Guardiola’s time at Bayern.

Heynckes will officially retire at the end of this season, to be replaced by Niko Kovac. Bayern will move on. However, don’t ever rule him out. There’s no saying he won’t make a return, either at Bayern or somewhere else, to help remedy a bad situation.

Best player: Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich) 

Bayern’s offensive linchpin since 2014 has been the towering Polish striker. The former BVB player rarely disappoints, and has established himself as one of the very best players in the world. His 29 goals earned him the title of league top scorer.

His goal against Koln in December took him into the top 10 goalscorers in league history. A few months later, against Schalke, Lewandowski scored in his 11th successive home game, equalling a record held by Heynckes.

An accurate and efficient finisher, Lewandowski, who also featured in his 250th league match this past February, is also expected to shine at the World Cup this summer. Honorable mentions go to Bayern’s James Rodriguez and Mark Uth of Hoffenheim.

Next: Why is the Bundesliga so easy for Bayern?

Biggest disappointment: Borussia Dortmund

Borussia Dortmund were supposed to contend for the title this season and were expected by many to break Bayern’s lock on the Bundesliga. Instead, they were largely disappointing, going through an awful spell during the fall that resulted in the sacking of Bosz, who had taken over the club for Thomas Tuchel last summer and was lauded as one of the greatest coaching prospects in Europe. Dortmund finished fourth and hung onto a Champions League position despite falling 3-1 to Hoffenheim, who moved into third position in the final German table, on the final day of the season.

This was also supposed to be an more-experienced side. Instead, Bosz’s tactics, which worked at Ajax, proved all wrong and the team paid the price. Bosz’s 4-3-3 wilted under the pressure of opposing offenses and the defense, riddled by injuries, couldn’t help but leak goals. Even after opponents figured out how to crack his backline, Bosz continued to use the same tactics and the loses kept piling on. By the time he moved to a 3-4-3, it was too late and he got the sack. Bayern made a mockery of BVB twice this season, defeating them 3-1 in November and 6-0 in March. BVB also lost to Bayern in the SuperCup final 5-4 on penalties and 2-1 in the third round of the domestic cup.

The team also began the season without left-back Dan Axel-Zagadou, a summer signing that was supposed to make the defense stronger. At the same time, the return of Marcel Schmelzer and Raphael Gerreiro failed to click and the loss of right-back Lukasz Piszcek, out after a knee injury at the start of October, coincided with Dortmund going on a losing streak that didn’t end until December. By then, it was too late to go on a title run.

Biggest overachiever: Schalke

Under manager Domenico Tedesco, Schalke have been one of this season’s pleasant surprises. After finishing 10th last season, Schalke surprised many by challenging for a Champions League spot for much of the year. They ultimately finished second in the table.

Schalke’s output shouldn’t really come as a surprise given their roster and the technical wizardry of their coach. The team featured some of Germany’s finest talents, including goalkeeper Ralf Fahrmann and midfielder Leon Goretzka, as well as foreigners such as budding American midfielder Weston McKennie.

The Gelsenkirchen-based club were also able to exploit the weaknesses of past title contenders, such as BVB and RB Leipzig, by powering up the table. Schalke’s 2-0 win against Dortmund last month was just the latest example of how far the club have come in such a short span under Tedesco.

Best American player: Christian Pulisic (Borussia Dortmund)

Despite the United States failing to qualify for its first World Cup since 1986, the future of the American lineup is bright in large part thanks to Pulisic. The 19-year-old star, who has nine goals in 20 games for the United States, had another strong season in the Bundesliga.

Despite BVB’s inability to compete for the title, Pulisic got some valuable time playing against some of the strongest clubs on the planet. For such a young player, Pulisic is a complete talent. His passing skills, ability to draw fouls and speed make him one of the world’s best young talents. His eight goals and eight assists this season in all competitions was a testament to that burgeoning skill.

Pulisic’s wonderful season has again brought with it transfer rumors, particularly from Liverpool. While it would be a surprise if Dortmund were to part with Pulisic this summer, it would also buck the trend of Americans playing in the Premier League. As of this season, 28 Americans played in either the German first or second division. That’s compared to just seven in the Premier League and nine in the Championship.

‘Never give up’ award: Hamburg

The fight to stay in the top flight was as heated as could be and Hamburg did all they could to stay up with the big boys. Even a 2-1 win against Borussia Monchengladbach (where Hamburg may have played their best game of the season) wasn’t enough as a result of Wolfsburg’s win against already-relegated Koln. It was too little, too late.

While they competed for several weeks for 16th place, which would have forced them into a two-legged playoff series against the second division’s third-place team, Hamburg squandered too many chances down the stretch and were relegated for the very first time in the club’s 130-year history. Hamburg have been the the only ever-present in the Bundesliga since its formation in 1963.

The prolonged relegation battle, while enticing to watch for neutrals, proved bruising for Hamburg as well as Koln, who finished last. Nurnberg, the most-relegated as well as the most-promoted club in German history, will get another crack at the first division next season after securing their promotion.