Matthäus on Lewandowski, Bayern's title, Nagelsmann and more

Matthäus sits down with bundesliga.com to discuss the 2020/21 season, Bayern's latest title win, his expectations of Julian Nagelsmann joining the champions in the summer and his thoughts on Lars and Sven Bender, Lukasz Piszczek and Marcel Schmelzer all retiring...

bundesliga.com: Robert Lewandowski has once again outdone himself! After scoring 34 goals last season, he has now already reached 39 Bundesliga goals. How do you rate this performance?

Lothar Matthäus: "There's not much more to be said about Robert Lewandowski. He's unique and he's making Bundesliga history every weekend. The total of 39 goals is his own personal record, but he's also chasing down Gerd Müller's record, who scored 40 goals in the 1971/72 season. This record still stands, but I'm convinced that Robert will score at least one goal in the remaining two games. This would equal the record, but I'm going to go one further because I'm convinced he'll be the outright record-holder by the end of the season. He may soon be top of the list of all-time Bundesliga goalscorers since 1963. It's a shame for Gerd Müller, but if anyone deserves it, then it's Robert Lewandowski because he has scored an average of 20-30 goals every season, just like Gerd Müller did in his career. This season is special for him, but you also have to say that it's also down to the playing style and the attacking strengths of the team. This is sometimes to the detriment of the defence, which can concede a lot of goals, but you only concede these goals if you play such attacking football like Bayern do. Despite his personal quality, a player like Robert Lewandowski can also profit from the style and system that Hansi Flick has deployed in the last 18 months."

Watch: All 39 of Lewandowski's goals so far this season!

bundesliga.com: In your opinion, what makes Lewandowski so unique?

Matthäus: "He's a complete player. He's not only dangerous in front of goal, he's also a strong playmaker. He's quick, he knows how to use his body strength, and he makes the right runs. It was no coincidence that he was the FIFA Player of the Year because he showed everything that justifies this title. If he keeps going and has a bit of luck with the Polish national team at the Euros, then there is nothing stopping him winning the award for a second time running. The club and the team can rely on Robert Lewandowski and, even though he has already reached a certain age, you get the feeling that he is only getting better, not only in terms of his goal tally, but also in terms of his passion and his contribution to the team. He's not a player that just stands up front and waits for the ball because he works hard defensively off the ball and he has become an absolute leader. He has always been a model professional and you can only congratulate Bayern Munich for having a player like this in their ranks."

bundesliga.com: Bayern's Bundesliga record is also unique: nine league titles in a row! What does this ninth title say about Bayern?

Matthäus: "It means one title more than eight. Bayern Munich is dominant in the Bundesliga and this isn't because other teams are going through small dips in form. Teams are picking up points tallies which might have won them the title 20 years ago, but Bayern Munich has simply remained stable. There are a lot of quality players in the squad and not just Robert Lewandowski. You could start right at the back with the goalkeeper in Manuel Neuer and go all the way through to Robert Lewandowski up front and list the players who have this top international quality. I'm thinking of Thomas Müller, Joshua Kimmich, David Alaba and, more recently, Leon Goretzka, Serge Gnabry, and Leroy Sané, to name just a few. The big advantage at Bayern is that the squad is built in such a way that there are players there now who could effectively secure Bayern the title in five or six years' time and who also helped win the title for the last nine years. I'm talking about Kimmich, Sané, Goretzka, [Niklas] Süle, [Alphonso] Davies, and [Benjamin] Pavard, who are all players who still have seven or eight great years ahead of them. In this respect, Bayern is perfectly positioned for the future and Bundesliga rivals will have to push themselves even further in order to have a different German champion other than Bayern Munich."

bundesliga.com: If you like, you can congratulate Bayern on the title now...

Matthäus: "Congratulations to FC Bayern on their ninth successive Bundesliga title and their 31st title overall. They now have 30 Bundesliga titles and will get the fifth star on their crest. Congratulations on the success, but this success has come through hard work. They did everything possible to become champions again and the noteworthy thing is that they remain hungry for success and they have this DNA which leads to their success. You can only congratulate them on what they have achieved, especially during this corona situation, not only for themselves but for German football in general. Congratulations Bayern and I think German football can be proud to have a team like this in the country."

bundesliga.com: What were the decisive factors this season for Bayern to win the league?

Matthäus: "They simply repeated the things that made them stand out in previous seasons - the team spirit, the quality of individual players, and the hunger for continued success rather than becoming complacent after so much success in recent years. Despite picking up six trophies last year, they stayed hungry, which is the DNA that lies within Bayern. They always look forward rather and seek new successes and have been led well by Hansi Flick, who was a decisive factor in the success story they have written under his leadership. He had a good relationship with the players and he brought the team together. He brought a sense of harmony into the team and you saw this in the title celebrations on the pitch where everybody was happy in a circle together. In past years, there used to be players who stood to the side of the celebrations or who didn't feel like champions, but that was not the feeling I got this time. This shows that Hansi Flick brought in this human element to the team and fostered a sense of respect among the players in terms of accepting the decision of the coach when it came to being on the bench or not being in the squad. Hansi Flick talks to the players and I think the players really appreciated this. Julian Nagelsmann does the same thing at Leipzig, so I think Bayern will pick up more Bundesliga titles in the coming years."

bundesliga.com: Which moments decided the championship? The games against their direct competition?

Matthäus: "There were times in the past where teams came close and then lost one of these head-to-head games and this demonstrates Bayern's individual quality. Had Leipzig won the game six or seven weeks ago, then they would have been right behind Bayern, but Bayern won 1-0 even though they were not necessarily the better team. They made the most of their chances and Leipzig let a lot of chances go begging. Champions are able to win these kinds of games even when they're not the better side, and one of Bayern's strengths is to have that little bit of luck in the decisive moments. They make this luck themselves and it's not given to them for free. They work hard for it through performances in training, through concentration, and through the desire to win games where they might have already been written off or where they have been going through a difficult patch with injuries. They've continually shown, especially in the Bundesliga, that nothing puts them off their stride and that they won't complain about too much pressure or too many games or too many injuries. They accept it because there is nothing that can be done about it. They don't talk much about it and they just let their performances speak for themselves. Like in previous years, the performances in the Bundesliga were not completely perfect because that would've led to 34 wins, but they've been impressive and that's why they are deservedly German champions."

bundesliga.com: Julian Nagelsmann will be Bayern's new coach. How do you see this decision?

Matthäus: "It was absolutely the right decision. I liked the fact that it was a quick and clear decision in coordination with RB Leipzig. Leipzig would have liked to have held onto him, but it was clear that they couldn't once Bayern came calling. If you see the drama surrounding some coaches who have decided to move clubs in the last few months, then things were actually very calm when it came to Julian Nagelsmann. It was a decision concerning the two best teams in Germany in terms of their position in the table and Bayern is a team known beyond Germany, but the situation was resolved very quickly and everybody was able to get back down to daily business. These tasks have to be sorted out away from the pitch so that the important matters on the pitch can be concentrated on."

Watch: Nagelsmann - Bound for Bayern!

bundesliga.com: What can we expect from Julian Nagelsmann? To what extent will he bring a new approach to Bayern?

Matthäus: "In the same way that he changed a few things at RB Leipzig, I assume that Bayern will not just play 4-2-3-1 in the future, which was been the case 95 percent of the time recently. He tries to make his teams play more flexibly and variably, like he did at RB Leipzig, and some players might have to play in positions that they didn't play in under Hansi Flick. He demands more from the players and he wants to further develop them. He employs different systems in order to be able to react to the opposition or sometimes to confuse the opposition. Everything up until now has been successful at FC Bayern with the nine successive titles and the six trophies in the previous year, but I'm sure that Julian Nagelsmann will retain the good aspects and otherwise bring in some new ideas. Julian already did this in terms of the system at Leipzig and I'm sure he will try this at Bayern, maybe with three at the back rather than the four at the back that Hansi Flick played. He'll be joined by Dayot Upamecano, who used to play at Leipzig, so he has the players for a back three and he could manage it. The players are also intelligent enough to get to grips with a new system and to make it a success. He won't overload them, but he will encourage them to make the next step, even if they're just small steps. These small steps may contribute to continued success at Bayern Munich in future."

bundesliga.com: Let's move on to the relegation battle in the Bundesliga: There are some clubs you wouldn't have expected to be there... What does the tight race say about the Bundesliga?

Matthäus: "The Bundesliga is exciting. The Bundesliga champions were only crowned on Matchday 32, whereas five or six years ago, Bayern were crowned champions on Matchday 28 or 29. It's pure excitement in the Bundesliga, with great games and lots of goals. The relegation battle is one thing, but we could also talk about the fight for the Champions League places where there are three teams in a very tight race for only two spots. There are also the Europa League places and the direct relegation places and the relegation play-off spot, and these are all the exciting parts of the Bundesliga. The nice thing about the Bundesliga is that some teams also end up in positions that we didn't expect before the season. Wolfsburg and Eintracht Frankfurt are around the Champions League places. Frankfurt have a game against Mainz and if they win this, then they'll jump ahead of Dortmund into fourth place and Dortmund will be back down to fifth place. This is a very close fight and we're also finding traditional clubs down at the bottom of the table. Schalke have already been relegated, but 1. FC Köln, Hertha Berlin, and Werder Bremen are clubs that have all played their part in Bundesliga history. They're down at the bottom because they didn't do their homework, maybe in terms of their activity in the transfer market, or maybe they had the wrong coach, etc. This makes the Bundesliga exciting and I'm convinced it will definitely remain exciting until the final day. There are several so-called cup finals and it's great for the Bundesliga, for the media, and for the fans that this is all happening on the final day. Football lives through this excitement and we certainly have enough of this in the Bundesliga."

bundesliga.com: Who do you think is most likely to save themselves?

Matthäus: "Schalke is already relegated, and the two other places are spots that nobody wants to have. Somebody has to finish 16th and 17th and I think it will be a three-way fight for these two spots between Werder Bremen, FC Köln, and Arminia Bielefeld. I think these three teams will be fighting it out because Hertha Berlin has too much quality in their squad and they showed this in their last two games after the corona break. Mainz and Augsburg have already pulled away a little and a lot of the teams at the bottom still have to play against each other. I think Schalke still need to play in Berlin and against Köln and there will probably still be one or two more surprises. A team can still spring a surprise through a good performance or through picking up three points. Individual points help a little, but a win would be very important for these relegation candidates. Bremen and Köln are two traditional clubs, and Bielefeld also has a Bundesliga history even though the club has spent a lot of time between the first and second divisions. In my opinion, these are the teams that are the most in danger of ending up in the dreaded relegation spots."

bundesliga.com: The Bender twins, Lars and Sven, are calling it a day at the end of the season aged 32. Horst Hrubesch once said they were the best thing that ever happened to him in soccer! How do you see the two of them?

Matthäus: "If they were fit, then Leverkusen picked up points. Leverkusen now has to fight for the Europa League spot because the Bender twins were often injured, which is also why they are retiring. It's funny because they're twins born on the same day and they're also ending their football careers on the same day, so they really are doing everything together. They have done a lot for German football, both on a club level and at an international level. They were part of the Olympic team, which is why Horst Hrubesch praised them so much as he worked together with them there. They always gave their all and were role models in the Bundesliga without having the loudest voices. Unfortunately, they were not able to keep themselves fit, which is why they are retiring at the age of 32. They've played for long enough and for 14 years in total, having started back at 1860 München. Maybe we would have liked to have seen them for another few years, but it's sadly not the case and the Bundesliga will miss them. Bayer Leverkusen in particular will miss them and they will leave a gap in the team. We nevertheless have to accept their decision because health is always the most important thing. I can understand the decision when you have injuries every year and you have to constantly take breaks and do rehab and have surgery. At some point, you lose a bit of faith, but I think both of them can leave the Bundesliga with their heads held high because they have left an impression which deserves a lot of praise and recognition. I can only wish them all the best."

bundesliga.com: You know the Bender twins personally, don’t you?

Matthäus: "They are very nice and that's why they have this standing in the team. They are captains and leaders and you never heard a bad word from them, regardless of where they played. They were a part of the Bundesliga for the last 15 years and Leverkusen in particular will miss the Bender twins. The club will have to deal with the situation and find successors for them. Despite making the decision to finish their careers after a lot of injuries, I hope they stay in football in some form or another."

bundesliga.com: Lukasz Piszczek (35) and Marcel Schmelzer (33) are also calling it a day at the end of season. How do you see them and their careers?

Matthäus: "Both have led successful careers in the last 10 years, even outside of FC Bayern. As full backs, Piszczek and Schmelzer have both won championships and have played in Champions League finals. They have put in great performances for Borussia Dortmund and have shown loyalty. Unfortunately, time doesn't stop for anybody, but they were players who were brilliant in their peak. In the meantime, they have been overtaken by one or two players because speed is important in modern football. They weren't the quickest at the best of times and this is maybe why the coach didn't use either of them as often in recent years. But they are still heroes in Dortmund and they have achieved a lot with the club. For many Dortmund players or other Bundesliga players, it's just unfortunate that Bayern has been so completely dominant in the last decade, which means that fewer titles have gone to other teams. But they always gave everything and they both have a good mentality, which also meant that they respected and accepted sitting on the bench in the last few years. Schmelzer in particular sometimes did not even make the squad, but in terms of their attitude and mentality, they always gave everything for the club and the team."