Flying Kiwis – Sarpreet Singh, Bundesliga Champion
Eight in a row. Bayern Munich’s title reign continues after a 1-0 win over Werder Bremen gave them an unassailable lead at the top of the table with two games still remaining. Robert Lewandowski scored the only goal, no surprises there. Alphonso Davies was sent off with eleven minutes to go and Bayern did have to survive a couple nervous moments from their relegation-threatened opponents (Manuel Neuer made one incredible save late on) but they got there in the end to confirm the championship which had become rather inevitable over the last few weeks.
Ever since they beat Borussia Dortmund a few games back it never felt like anyone would catch them, not when they’ve won every single game since the league resumed. Hell, in all competitions they’ve won 22 of their last 23 games with a scoreless draw against RB Leipzig back in March the only blemish. The second game of that run was Sarpreet Singh’s debut... meaning Bayern Munich have not lost since Sarpreet Singh made his debut. Only a month earlier they’d sacked manager Niko Kovacs and they lingered as low as fourth on the league table but once they got cooking under interim (and now permanent) boss Hansi Flick they had the stovetop turned all the way up. It’s pretty incredible that they were poor enough to need to sack a manager a quarter of the way through the campaign and now here they are near the end of it having won so convincingly and still competing for a treble.
Sarpreet Singh was an unused sub in the clincher against Bremen. Familiar words in Flying Kiwis these days, Bayern had nine dudes on the bench with one being a reserve keeper, one being first team regular (when fit) Lucas Hernandez, and the other seven being young dudes who’ve played various degrees of reserve team footy this season. Hernandez was subbed on at left back immediately after the red card to take Davies’ place and that was the only change that Hansi Flick made. Nothing for the youngsters. Typical old Bayern.
But that does make it five bench spots in a row for Singh and that almost equals the total amount of matchday squads he was in for the entirety of the rest of the season before this (one SuperCup, a DFB-Pokal match, the league opener back in August, then a run of three games in December at the start of Flick’s reign). He’s only made one appearance for eight minutes in that time but hey no dramas that’s good enough to earn him a Bundesliga winner’s medal. Only the second New Zealander to play in the German top flight and also the second New Zealander to win the German top flight, how about them golden apples?
Quick note of cosmic alignment: Bayern Munich beat Werder Bremen to seal the Bundesliga title, earning Sarpreet Singh a winner’s medal. Werder Bremen are the club that Wynton Rufer played for back in the day, the only other New Zealander to play in the Bundesliga. Werder Bremen and Wynton Rufer won the Bundesliga title back in 1992-93 finishing one point ahead of Bayern Munich. Werder Bremen were the club that Sarpreet Singh made his Bundesliga debut against back in December. Wynton Rufer also played a big part in Sarpreet Singh’s youth football through his academy. Everything is connected.
Rufer played 32 out of the 34 matches that season, scoring 17 goals... Sarpreet Singh played one game for eight minutes, so it goes. Not all winner’s medals are created equal but they seem to be a generous sort in Germany. In England the Premier League limit is five games, having been halved from 10 a few years back to be a bit more inclusive and even then clubs can still apply for dispensation for players that miss the cut – usually used for long term injuries and reserve goalies. But apparently any appearance at all is good enough in the Bundesliga, so that’s nice of them. He could get a Champions League winner’s medal too if Bayern can live up to their favourites status when that one comes back around, here’s what UEFA’s regulations say about that...
“11.03 - The winning team is presented with 40 gold medals and the runner-up with 40 silver medals. Additional medals may not be produced”
So that’s just a blank 40 medals. Up to the club to decide what to do with them. Some staff members will probably be involved in that 40 but recall that Singh is a part of their 28-player UCL squad so even if he doesn’t get a game, which feels likely, if Bayern are to win it then he’ll probably still get another sparkly prize for the mantelpiece. Or the safety deposit box. Whatever suits. And at this rate he’s a decent bet to make the matchday squad for the German Cup final too which would get him a medal as well, be it golden or silver. Just gotta hope a few of those midfield/forward injuries take their cautious time in coming back.
Getting a winner’s medal for eight minutes of action is kinda tinny, to be fair. But then there are certain things we’ve gotta remember about this journey that the fella is on and this is only Sarpreet Singh’s first season at the club. Not only that but he was signed for the reserve team. He wasn’t intended to be a part of first team preseason but he was so immediately impressive that he was added to the list. Then he hung around on the bench for the initial few games until the transfer window closed with huge name reinforcements incoming (Ivan Perisic and Coutinho). Having been knocked back down the pecking order he dropped down to the reserve team and was their best player for the first half of the season. When Kovacs was sacked and Flick promoted to manager, Singh was one of four reserve players promoted to train full time with the top side... as he’s continued to do ever since. He made his first team debut in December. Then came the winter break, then came the pandemic, now he’s closing the season out with his best run of matchday squad inclusions and hopefully with the title all wrapped up he’ll get a little reward over the last two league games (although there is a cup final to prepare for as well as the Champions League which is expected to be completed from the quarters onwards in Portugal in August). He’s so far ahead of schedule already and also, you know, let it be known that this is not an easy to team break into...
If getting eight minutes of Bundesliga action from eight times sitting on the bench seems harsh, spare a thought for defender Lars Lukas Mai who has gotten zero minutes from 15 times on the bench. Oliver Batista Meier finally got a first team debut the other week, he’s been amongst the subs in nine league games. And poor old reserve keeper Stefan Ulreich has watched every single game from the sideline as Manuel Neuer has been ever-present between the sticks in literally all of Bayern’s competitive matches this season. And has signed a new deal to remain at the club too.
That pattern won’t change. Bayern are going to keep being Bayern. Coutinho is pretty much done at the club with his loan soon to expire and Ivan Perisic could go either way but Leroy Sane remains a high priority target for the Bavarians and Kai Havertz (unfortunately) feels most likely to end up at Bayern too. Doubtless a few more fellas will leave, a few more will arrive too, that’s the way that this powerhouse club operates. For a player in Singh’s position he’s gotta stay vigilant and working his arse off for any rare opportunity just to stay ahead of the chasing pack of his fellow reserve players but if that sounds harsh it’s only harsh because the rewards, when they come, are so enormous. The rules are different at a club like Bayern Munich, they didn’t just win an eighth league title in a row by accident.
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