Bundesliga 2019/20 - Team of the season
Another fabulous season of the German Bundesliga got over on Saturday.
After a stuttering start to the season, Bayern Munich under Hansi Flick were back to their imperious best as the Bavarian giants wrapped up their eighth consecutive Bundesliga title with a few games to spare.
Robert Lewandowski won the Golden Boot after another insane season where he scored 34 goals. Thomas Muller, reinstated in the Bayern Munich lineup by Flick also had a record-breaking season, making 21 assists to create a new Bundesliga record.
Borussia Dortmund took second spot, Leipzig third and Borussia Monchengladbach secured the last Champions League place. Bayer Leverkusen finished fifth to narrowly miss out but will be joined by Hoffenhiem and Wolfsburg in the Europa League next season.
Paderborn and Fortuna Dusseldorf went down while Werder Bremen managed to secure the Bundesliga relegation playoff spot, defeating Koln 6-1 on the last matchday.
On that note, let's now look at the Bundesliga team of the season, considering not more than one player from a club. Predictably under usual circumstances it would have been otherwise dominated by a bevvy of Bayern Munich players. Considering a 3-4-3 formation, let us have a look at our Bundesliga team of the season.
2019-20 Bundesliga Team of the Season considering not more than one player per club:
Goalkeeper
Oliver Baumann (Hoffenhiem)
Hoffenhiem had a decent Bundesliga campaign once again, securing Europa League qualification.
They probably saved the best for last, thrashing Borussia Dortmund 4-0 in the last Bundesliga game of the season. Baumann, who has been at Hoffenhiem several for several years now, was very solid during the 2019-20 season.
He kept seven clean sheets but was most impressive when facing penalties, saving two of seven he faced.
Defence
Left Centre-Back - Dedryck Boyata (Hertha Berlin)
The Belgian centre-back was often linked to the big boys while at Celtic but a move never materialised before he moved to Bundesliga club Hertha Berlin on a free transfer last season.
As Hertha bolstered their squad, their performances as well as that of Boyota's began to improve. The 29-year-old who starred for third-placed Belgium at the 2018 FIFA World Cup led the 2019-20 Bundesliga for most clearances per game, averaging a massive 5.8.
Centre-Back - Matthias Ginter (Borussia Monchengladbach)
Borussia Monchengladbach only conceded more goals than Bayern Munich and Leipzig in the 2019-20 Bundesliga.
Marco Rose has transformed Monchengladbach into a solid defensive unit, with Matthias Ginter the leader of the pack. The 26-year-old was an ever present for Gladbach this Bundesliga season, playing 31 of 34 games.
Ginter was disciplined in his tackling, picking up only two bookings all season. Considering his current form and Germany's defensive woes, Ginter would have been a favourite to start at Euro 2020 had the tournament not got postponed.
Left Centre-Back - Ozan Kabak (Schalke)
Schalke were horrible in the second half of the 2019-20 Bundesliga season, going winless since January.
Without a seasoned defensive midfielder, their inexperienced defence struggled. But Ozan Kabak's performances were a beacon of hope. The Turkish international contributed massively to Schalke's success in the first half of the Bundesliga season, enjoying somewhat of a breakout season.
However, an injury to him following the Bundesliga resumption exacerbated Schalke's defensive woes as the team ended the season without a Bundesliga win for over six months.
Midfield
Left midfielder - Filip Kostic (Eintracht Frankfurt)
Frankfurt enjoyed a fabulous 2018-19 Bundesliga season but then proceeded to sell their best talents.
As a result, they struggled this season but Filip Kostic shone out. He was Frankfurt's creative fulcrum this season, managing a Bundesliga high 2.6 key passes per game while he also recorded 2.5 successful dribbles per game.
Kostic scored three goals and 11 assists as Frankfurt finished 9th in the Bundesliga.
Central midfielder - Kai Havertz (Bayer Leverkusen)
In an youthful and attacking Bayer Leverkusen side, Kai Havertz is the crown jewel.
In the 2019-20 Bundesliga, Havertz scored 12 goals and provided six assists while also playing in a multitude of positions. Havertz also happens to be the player with the most goals before turning 21 in Bundesliga history.
It seems unlikely that Leverkusen will be able to hold on to their star man. Havertz, who has also captained the club several times this season, is linked with several club's including Bayern Munich, Chelsea and Real Madrid.
Central midfielder - Maximilian Arnold (Wolfsburg)
Maximilian Arnold, a defensive midfielder for Wolfsburg, scored two goals and nine assists in the Bundesliga this season.
Wolfsburg themselves had a fabulous Bundesliga season, with the 26-year-old emerging as their most important player. Arnold turned up in big games often like in Wolfsburg's win over Leverkusen late in the season where he bossed the midfield.
Arnold somewhat disappointingly has only one cap for Germany. However, with performances like the ones he put up this season, he will be looking for more consistent appearances for his national team.
Right midfielder - Christopher Trimmel (Union Berlin)
When Union Berlin were promoted last season, everyone predicted that they would go down immediately.
However, with the team from the erstwhile East Germany stacked with quality, Union Berlin finished 11th to guarantee themselves another Bundesliga season.
Union were a defensively solid side but found goal-scoring tricky at times. This is where Christopher Trimmel emerged as the key player for the side. He got eight assists and his exquisite deliveries from set pieces were Union's main avenue for goal-scoring.
In fact, Trimmel has the most set piece assists in the top five leagues in Europe this season.
Attack
Left winger - Timo Werner (RB Leipzig)
Whoever Leipzig sign this summer in place of the outgoing Timo Werner, he will have massive boots to fill. The German forward is moving to Chelsea after scoring 28 goals in 2019-20 Bundesliga season.
In fact in his last game for Leipzig, he became the club's all-time leading goal-scorer. Werner has been among the top scorers in the Bundesliga in each of the last few years.
This season, Werner's 28 Bundesliga goals were second only to top-scorer Robert Lewandowski's tally of 34.
Striker - Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
Everyone now has run out of superlatives for Robert Lewandowski. The Polish forward scored a staggering 34 Bundesliga goals this season. Lewandowski started the season by becoming the first Bundesliga player in history to score in each of his first nine games of the season.
With 13 goals in his first nine Bundesliga games, Lewandowski was on course to break the legendary Gerd Muller's near four-decade record of most goals (40) in a Bundesliga season.
Although that was not to be as Lewandowski's form tailed off after a blistering start to the season, the Pole finished with a more than creditable tally of 34 goals, breaking Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's record of most Bundesliga goals (31) in a season by a non-German player.
Lewandowski scored against every team in the 2019-20 Bundesliga apart from Borussia Monchengladbach. His goals propelled Bayern Munich to an unprecedented eighth consecutive Bundesliga title as Lewandowski earned his third consecutive Torjegarkanone and fifth overall.
Right winger - Jadon Sancho (Borussia Dortmund)
Jadon Sancho turned 20 this year, and with the obvious exception of Kylian Mbappe, is certainly the best teenager in world football.
He contributed 17 goals and 16 assists in the Bundesliga this season, making him the only player in Europe's top 5 leagues, apart from Lionel Messi and Kevin De Bruyne, to register double digit season tallies in both categories.
Sancho scored a first career hattrick against Paderborn this season. Heavily linked with Manchester United, it remains to be seen where Jadon Sancho turns up next season.