Ribery & Toni signing for Bayern in 2007
Ribery took the legendary number 7 shirt, Scholl was the last to wear it and was loved by Bayern fans in his many years with us even though he was injured through many seasons. For 3 years in a row, Ribery played as good as one might wish, goals and assists galore. He along with Lahm made the best left wing in Europe for a few seasons. His last season when Robben came back however, was probably his worst in his career. Nearly half season injured, the sex scandal with a French hooker while being married, speculation on joining a different club and the time he spent playing was very poor compared to his first 3 years. He even got a red card in the semi-final vs Lyon which meant he couldn't play in the final of Champions League. Bayern went to court and fought but ultimately lost, they also protected him vs the sex scandal news. Ribery then decided last summer that he would extend with Bayern on a 5 year contract, even though his wages currently are the highest of any player. Now that history is out of the way, I only think about one thing.. getting Ribery back to his old form..
It was clear last year, we missed Ribery in the CL final. He's always been Bayern's most creative player since he's signed for us and Altintop spent the entire game passing back to Badstuber. This season especially when Robben gets back, we need him for the Champions League title fight. Robben last season was phenomenal and if he can regain such a form, we need Ribery to do the same. Having "Robbery" on form would be dangerous vs any team. Until last month, Ribery was either injured for 2 months or average. However the last few matches he reminded everyone of Ribery of old. In his last 4 matches, he scored 5 goals & assisted 4 goals! Those phenomenal stats may be a bit misleading as he played 3 very poor teams however he showed his old self during that time which is great.
Ribery misses his old partner
One other thing that he is lacking since last season is Lahm. Robben with him behind played his best season ever and Ribery with Lahm behind him also was at his best, this common denominator insinuates that Ribery needs a great left-back to be at his best. Contento just isn't good enough, Alaba is far too young to handle it & Pranjic is far too weak defensively to be a long-term option as Ribery's partner. Ribery needs someone stable defensively that has the IQ to play the quick passing game with Ribery. Baines, Criscito, Tremoulinas & Coentrao are names that have been thrown as his potential future partners. Baines however recently stated that he wishes to play with Everton until the end of the season and I doubt Bayern will pursue him in the summer if he doesn't join them in January. The others are all potential good options. The best option in my opinion could be Coentrao, though last season Benfica asked for a ridiculous 30m which Bayern quickly walked away from. Either way depending who joins is very important as it could help escalate his form back to where it was with a proper left-back. Getting Ribery back to his old form could be the missing key to getting Bayern to accomplish what they've wanted since 2001.. the Champions League trophy
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