Unofficial midpoint meaningful

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This article was published 18/12/2020 (2073 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

If this were a typical season, it would be around now that the Hinrunde, or first half of the Bundesliga campaign, would conclude and the Herbstmeister, winter champions, proclaimed.

This, of course, has been anything but a typical season, and due to the pandemic and delayed start to the schedule (Bayern Munich played into late August), the German top flight’s cosy Christmas break has been reduced to a fortnight, the actual Hinrunde falling on an unremarkable Wednesday in January.

So, let’s break with tradition — everyone else is doing it — and make today the Hinrunde, with a Herbstmeister at the end of it.

Besides, there are three teams in the running, and given Bayern’s penchant for running the table between February and May, it might be the only title race we get this term.

Bayern, as it happens, aren’t even first right now. But they’re just a point back of leaders Bayer Leverkusen, and, to heighten the drama, will visit Leverkusen in the day’s final match (today, 11:30 a.m., Sportsnet.)

Leverkusen, despite losing Kevin Volland to Monaco and Kai Havertz to Chelsea in the summer, are the only side still unbeaten after 12 rounds. They’ve dropped just two points since early October, making them the form team in Europe, and haven’t allowed a goal in five matches across all competitions — a stretch of more than 450 minutes.

Manager Peter Bosz has previously described his group’s playing style as “compact” — both in defence and attack — and while it may seem a simple, even obvious, depiction, it really is as straightforward as he says.

There is little about this Leverkusen outfit that’s remarkable. They don’t have a top-three goal scorer or playmaker; none of their players averages more than three shots per game; they’ve scored fewer than half as many goals as Bayern from open play; neither their defence nor offence is chart-topping; there is no talisman, no superstar.

Instead, they do well at bits of everything. They also happen to have players who enjoy keeping the ball, and none more so than 17-year-old prodigy Florian Wirtz (his side’s youngest-ever debutant, replacing Havertz), who has four assists and leads Leverkusen in key passes. Most of the players are quite young. Striker Patrik Schick, at 24, is the elder of the forwards.

Leverkusen aren’t really the best at anything, except winning football matches. But winning against Bayern? Even they’ll believe it when they see it.

Since dropping a 4-1 decision at Hoffenheim in their second Bundesliga match of the season — it came just a month after they completed the treble — Bayern Munich have gone 18 games without losing, including six in the Champions League. Meanwhile, the trophies have kept on coming.

In September, they won both the German and European Super Cups, and on Thursday striker Robert Lewandowski was named The Best FIFA Men’s Player, beating out Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. The Poland international also headlined the Men’s World XI — a who’s who of superstars including both Ronaldo and Messi and 2019-20 Bayern teammates Joshua Kimmich, Thiago Alcantara and Alphonso Davies.

Davies, named a joint-winner of the Lou Marsh Trophy as Canada’s top athlete last week, became the first North American appointed to the most prestigious all-star team in club football.

Bayern’s reputation precedes them; they are favourites in every match they play, including today’s at the BayArena. Win it, and they’re the Herbstmeister, just another plume in a Tyrolean hat already crowded with them.

Now, our Hinrunde Saturday is all the more intriguing because RB Leipzig are also in the running.

Presently tied for second with Bayern but trailing on goal difference, Leipzig could exit the weekend atop the standings with a win at home to Koln (Saturday, 8:30 a.m., Sportsnet) and a Leverkusen-Bayern draw. Based on current form, they’ll almost certainly keep their end of the bargain.

Like Bayern, Leipzig have lost just a single Bundesliga match this season, and they’ve drawn away to both Bayern (3-3) and Leverkusen (1-1). Most impressively, they beat Manchester United in their final Champions League group stage match to progress to the knock-out rounds, where they’ll face Liverpool in February. This is the circle they run in now.

Having lost top-scorer Timo Werner to Chelsea in the summer, Leipzig have adapted by becoming the best defensive side in Germany. Central defender Dayot Upamecano is enjoying another standout campaign and could be the next player to make a big-money transfer, and Werner’s goals have been replaced by contributions from everyone.

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Leipzig take shots from everywhere — wing-back Angelino is a prime example — and the result is that their opponents are often knocked unsteady shortly after kickoff. Just ask United.

That said, it’s hard to see Leipzig, good as they are, finish the season as champions. Ditto Leverkusen. Bayern are simply too good.

Which is why today, early as it is, there is something at least modestly at stake for all three. One of them will finish the 2020 calendar year above the others. And given the sort of year it has been, and the quite atypical circumstances of this season, there is something meaningful in that. Superficially, unofficially meaningful. 

jerradpeters@gmail.com

Twitter @JerradPeters