Robert Lewandowski, Gerd and Thomas Müller, and Bayern Munich’s greatest ever goalscorers
Robert Lewandowski made his 100th Bundesliga appearance for champions Bayern Munich against Mainz on Matchday 4, scoring his 81st and 82nd goals for the club in the process.
After the Polish goal-machine brought up his century, bundesliga.com takes a look at where the highest-scoring active Bundesliga player ranks in the pantheon of great Bayern goalgetters…
1.Gerd Müller
The exacting demands of modern-day football mean Lewandowski is unlikely to better Müller's 365 goals in 427 Bundesliga games for Bayern. A penalty box predator par excellence, Müller netted an incredible haul of 40 in the 1971/72 season - still a league record - and was named 'Most Valuable Player in Bundesliga History' by the DFL in 2003. "Without him, we'd still be getting changed in a wooden cabin," said former team-mate Franz Beckenbauer to put Müller's contribution in turning FCB into a football powerhouse into context. That says it all.
Watch: bundesliga.com's tribute to Gerd Müller on his 70th birthday
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2. Robert Lewandowski
Lewandowski's double against Eintracht Frankfurt on Matchday 24 of the 2016/17 campaign moved him onto 100 goals for Bayern in all competitions in just his 136th appearance, a feat bettered only — in 13 fewer games — by the inimitable Müller. Lewy actually chalked up his half-century faster than Der Bomber, though, and will have high hopes of reaching triple figures for the record German champions' this term, as he currently stands on 82...
Watch:All 30 of Lewandowski's strikes from 2016/17!
3. Karl-Heinz Rummenigge
Now a deft mover in the boardroom, the former Ballon d'Or winner - back-to-back, if you please - was also smart on his feet on the pitch, scoring 162 goals and playing a central role in successive Bundesliga titles (1979-81). Only Gerd Müller has scored more goals for the Bavarians than "Kalle".
4.Thomas Müller
Nothing says 'Bayern' like 'Müller'. Gerd was yesterday's icon, Thomas is today's. The 28-year-old — yes, still only 28 — is closing in on 300 Bundesliga games for the club and has netted 111 goals and counting. If that's not enough for you, he has more than a century of assists too, underpinning his claim to be one of Bayern's all-time greats.
Watch: Thomas Müller, brilliant with and even without the ball
5.Claudio Pizarro
The Peruvian is the Bundesliga's all-time leading foreign-born scorer, and 87 of those goals came during two spells with Bayern in which he contributed to no fewer than six Bundesliga titles. Pizarro, who was still banging in the goals for Werder Bremen last season, also won the treble of Bundesliga, DFB Cup and UEFA Champions League with FCB in the 2012/13 season.
Watch: Claudio Pizarro's best goals against Bayern and Bremen
6.Luca Toni
Top scorer and a double winner in his first season at Bayern, the Italian's 24-goal haul of 2007/08 included a 'perfect' hat-trick against Hannover.
Watch: Luca Toni's Top 5 Bundesliga goals!
7.Mario Gomez
Often decried, but outrageously prolific, Gomez netted 75 times in just 115 Bundesliga games for the record champions, spawning a double (2009/10) and an unprecedented treble (2012/13) for the club, and he's still finding the net on a regular basis with Wolfsburg.
8. Giovane Elber
After making his name at VfB Stuttgart, the Brazilian's partnership with Carsten Jancker proved to be a thorn in the side of the rest of the league after he moved to Bayern in 1997. Four top-flight titles and a Champions League win followed in the next six years, and he claimed the 2002/03 Torjägerkanone.
9.Miroslav Klose
Like Pizarro, Polish-born Klose made his name at Bremen, but then employed his considerable powers to devastating effect at Bayern. Though not the most prolific name on the list — 24 goals in 98 Bundesliga appearances for FCB — the FIFA World Cup winner's tireless harrying of opposition defences was integral to a brace of domestic doubles during his four-year stint at the Allianz Arena.
Watch: Thanks for the memories, Miro!
10.Jürgen Klinsmann
There was a Bundesliga title to show for "Klinsi" from two seasons at Bayern (1995-97) in which time the striker - most recently the USA coach - grabbed 31 goals in 65 appearances.