How Lewandowski measures up to the Bayern greats
Tuesday, August 21, 2018
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Bayern's Polish striker Robert Lewandowski turns 30 today; has he earned his place among the club's all-time greats?
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The top scorer in the European Qualifiers for the 2018 FIFA World Cup finals with a record 16 goals, Robert Lewandowski did not enjoy his finals trip to Russia with Poland but has plenty to look forward to as he celebrates his 30th birthday.
As Bayern return to the UEFA Champions League group stage in September, the Polish international's next target is to close in on team-mate Thomas Müller in the list of the club's all-time top scorers.
For the moment, Lewandowski sits fourth in the Bavarians' rankings – no small achievement given he only arrived from Borussia Dortmund in 2014.
Moreover, with 106 goals in 126 Bundesliga appearances for Bayern, he is scoring at a ratio of 0.84 per game, though he has a way to go to equal Gerd Müller's frightening strike rate of 0.88 per match – 398 goals in 453 outings in West Germany's top division.
Bayern's all-time European top scorers
62: Gerd Müller
42: Thomas Müller
30: Karl-Heinz Rummenigge
28: Robert Lewandowski
26: Dieter Hoeness
24= Giovane Elber
24= Mario Gómez
24= Arjen Robben
21: Franck Ribéry
19: Claudio Pizarro
Oliver Kahn and Philipp Lahm lead the way when it comes to UEFA club competition appearances for Bayern, with Lewandowski's 44 putting him 31st in the club's rankings. His 0.64 goals-per-game tally is impressive, but – again – Gerd Müller's figure from his 35 European Cup games is a European-best 0.97.
Bayern's all-time top UEFA Champions League/European Cup appearance-makers
107= Oliver Kahn
107= Philipp Lahm
101: Thomas Müller
91: Bastian Schweinsteiger
88: Hasan Salihamidžić
82: Franck Ribéry
73: Samuel Kuffour
72: Manuel Neuer
71: Mehmet Scholl
68: David Alaba
Bayern's all-time top UEFA Champions League/European Cup scorers
42: Thomas Müller
34: Gerd Müller
28: Robert Lewandowski
24= Giovane Elber
24= Mario Gómez
24= Arjen Robben
19: Claudio Pizarro
17= Franck Ribéry
17= Roy Makaay
16= Karl-Heinz Rummenigge
16= Dieter Hoeness