BFW Postseason Breakdown: Bayern Munich’s Biggest Surprise

It’s that time again!

Bayern Munich’s season is over and now we are left to debate what went right, what went wrong, and how everyone ended up in this place.

The BFW Postseason Breakdown will cover many of the controversial topics and talking points that emerged via the categories we will present for you to vote on.

Let’s not waste any more time and you can get down to it…

BFW Postseason Breakdown: Bayern Munich’s Biggest Surprise

The biggest surprise overall for this season was the shocking sacking of Julian Nagelsmann in March, but this discussion focuses solely on the players and who surprised us on the field. Let’s take a look at who the BFW staffer selected…

Chuck: Truthfully, there were not a ton of surprises with how players performed for me. I pretty much got what I expected from the roster. I did think that Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting did far better than I expected when playing a bigger role, while Serge Gnabry took advantage of the playing time he got at the end of the season. That said, the biggest surprise to me was how well Marcel Sabitzer played before getting loaned away. I had immense respect for Sabitzer and his talent, but he just looked like a fish out of water in 2021/22. However, when he was desperately needed in the Hinrunde, he was spectacular. To me, that was a pleasant surprise. Selection: Marcel Sabitzer.

RIPLT: When Robert Lewandowski left the club, we tried to go strikerless and while it did work (sort of), we needed someone who played primarily at striker. One of the players that we’ve been slagging off is apparently our top scorer in the league: Serge Gnabry. I will admit that I have been critical of Gnabry’s inconsistency, but when I looked up the official goal charts for this season, Gnabry has 14 in the league (most by any Bayern player) and is the top scorer in all competitions (17, joint with Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting). I was not expecting those numbers at all. Maybe, just maybe…he’s playing to survive one more season at Bayern. Selection: Serge Gnabry.

RLD: I had not really gotten a chance to see Noussair Mazraoui before he came to Bayern so he was a bit of a mystery to me. Having seen him get on the pitch when healthy he has been a remarkably pleasant surprise to me. He has good speed, instincts, passing range and controlled aggression when getting up the pitch but also cleans up in his own end and doesn’t neglect his defensive duties. His addition allows us great flexibility in roster decisions, schematically and personnel assignment wise. A great asset to the club. Selection: Noussair Mazraoui.

Logan: I went a different way with this, because at the beginning of the year who would have thought that Yann Sommer would be playing for Bayern this year? That is surprise number one. Surprise number two, was how well he melded into the team and the success he was able to have. Obviously nobody is completely satisfied with the season, but very few arguments can be made that it would have gone any different with Neuer in goal. Selection: Yann Sommer.