When the Ballon d’Or ceremony concluded last week, it was readily apparent that a handful of deserving names were snubbed from the top 15 of the rankings, but none were as controversial as Michael Olise’s exclusion, who placed a paltry #30 in the rankings. Of course, being among the world’s top 30 footballers is nothing to scoff at, but I believe I speak for everyone when I say that his performances last season warranted a top 10 finish, or at the very least, a spot in the world top 15.
Bayern Munich
players have routinely been snubbed from Ballon d’Or ranking lists, but few sting as badly as this one. Olise had a whopping 43(!!!!) goal contributions last season in just 55 games. Yes, 20 goals and 23 do not earn you a top 10 spot in the rankings anymore. Maybe the PR hype for him just wasn’t up there, but guess what? He doesn’t seem to care, since he’s off to an even better start this season.
Olise has already notched a staggering five goals and six assists in just nine games in the current season, and is on pace to having a blistering season. He’s currently well ahead of his peers Bradley Barcola, Lamine Yamal, and Bukayo Saka, and even if you ignore the goal contributions, one stat that truly highlights his immense value is +/- (plus-minus), i.e., how much better or worse is a team when a player is on the pitch versus when they aren’t.
Unsurprisingly, Michael Olise clears everybody else in this metric. His +/- per 90 of +3.83 is above Barcola (+2.35), Saka (+1.41), Yamal (+1.49), Raphinha (+2.60), and Wirtz (+0.21) (Fbref). Bayern Munich is so much better with Olise on the pitch, and he’s making a bigger contribution to his team’s success than other top players in his position. If he continues in this vein of form, he might not need PR to get him those individual awards.
This is an example of a player who quite literally lets his football do all the talking. A man of extremely few words (‘no words’ would be a more accurate description), Olise is balling out against elite opposition and making Europe notice. As the season progresses and Bayern face bigger challenges in the Champions League, it is going to be readily apparent that another world-class French winger has taken the world stage at Bayern Munich. It has been a while since Robbery’s departure, and Bayern finally has a player of the very same caliber.
And with Luis Diaz also showing out, we might finally have the wing-pairing we’ve been waiting for. For now, sit back and enjoy this Olisensation.
Bayern Munich traveled to Cyprus to face a very feisty and game Pafos FC side in the Champions League and the game, well, went as expected.
The Bavarians dominated from start to finish and received another thoroughly dominant performance from the attacking group. And, yup, Harry Kane had a brace.
Let’s dig into all of the details of the match — this is what we have on tap for this edition of the Bavarian Podcast Works — Postgame Show:
- A look at the starting XI — Vincent Kompany made a couple subtle changes and it worked really well.
- A rundown of the scoring and substitutions.
- Some final thoughts and takeaways on the match.
Also, be sure to stay tuned to Bavarian Podcast Works for all of your up to date coverage on Bayern Munich and Germany. Check us out on Patreon and follow us on Twitter @BavarianFBWorks, @BavarianPodcast @TheBarrelBlog, @BFWCyler, @2012nonexistent, @TommyAdams71 and more.
