|
By Oliver Trust
BERLIN, March 20 (Xinhua) -- While Bayern Munich is almost a dead cert to win its fifth consecutive title as they are 13 points ahead of second-placed RB Leipzig, fans of the German Bundesliga are thrilled by the race for the season's top scorer.
For the first time in the league's 54-year history, three strikers have managed to score more than 20 goals after the 25th round of matches.
For a long time, Borussia Dortmund's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (23) and Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski (21) seem to be having a private duel. Since last weekend the race for what is called in Germany "die Torjaegerkanone" (top scorer canon) has changed into a three-horse race as Anthony Modeste (22) has joined the battle and seems to be a serious contender for the title with nine games to play.
When FC Cologne beat Hertha BSC 4-2 last weekend, the 28-year old Frenchman contributed three goals to take his tally to 22 which has put him second in the table ahead of Lewandowski who failed to score. Aubameyang secured Dortmund's 1-0 victory over league newcomer FC Ingolstadt.
While Lewandowski and Aubameyang are among the usual contenders when it comes to the league's top scorer standings, Modest is for a surprise. The striker plays for a Bundesliga underdog as far as budget and expectations are concerned while Aubameyang and Lewandowski are on the books of the league's two biggest giants.
Though Colognes is not playing a major role in the Bundesliga, Modeste's role for his club could not be bigger. While Lewandowski has scored 21 of 61 Bayern's goals and Aubameyang 23 of Dortmund's 54, both are beaten percentage-wise by Modeste who has scored a remarkable 22 out of 37 (60%) for his club.
In the last 18 months, Cannes-born Modeste, whose ancestors came from Martinique, has scored 42 goals in 64 games. It makes him the most successful foreign player in Cologne's history. In the 1996/1997 season Austrian Toni Polster scored 21 goals.
While Lewandowski and Aubameyang have been among Europe's best scorers for several years, Modeste seems to have now reached his best level aged 28. It might be an explanation for why French national coach Didier Deschamps seems to be reluctant to pick Modeste for the national team. To wear the French shirt is one of Modeste's unfulfilled desires. He calls it a "dream to play for France. But it is not me who has to decide."
At least Cologne's CEO Joerg Schmadtke considers Deschamps' decision a mistake. "Who can understand that a 22-goal striker is not being given the chance to play for his national team," Schmadtke asked. "Looking at the amount of goals, Anthony does a better job than Aubameyang and Lewandowski. Both get far more passes and chances than he does with our team."
Cologne's goalkeeper Timo Horn praises Modeste's value for his team talking about his versatility. "As a goalkeeper you never know what he's doing. Short corner, far corner, left or right, you never know. He's a threat when he appears in front of your goal," Horn says. Hertha coach Pal Dardai described the quality of Modeste talking about the striker's speed, which is "a different dimension we could not handle".
And not only the capital city club have been impressed by Modeste's ability to use his speed to directly attack their goal.
Modeste has developed into a kind of life insurance for his side and the club is not willing to sell yet. While his contract will not run out before June 2021, club CEO Schmadtke rejected a recent offer from a Chinese club which, according to rumors, was as high as 50 million euro.
"We don't intend selling Anthony," Schmadtke said, knowing every goal will increase his striker's attractiveness to other clubs.
In contrast to Lewandowski and Aubameyang, Modeste is not only Cologne's scoring machine but also a part of the team's defensive system as he has to start attacking opponents in their half of the pitch - then try turn possession into goals.
While Cologne is dreaming of qualifying for a European competition by coming sixth in the end-of-season table, someone in the Modeste family is already happy. After his three goals, the Cologne striker took the ball to surprise his two-year old son Brooklyn. "This one," the Cologne hero said, "is going straight into my son's play room. He will love this ball, so do I," Modeste said with a broad smile on his face.
And Modeste's teammates are also all looking forward to being invited to dinner as he has won a bet he made before the start of the current season. Not so sure the Frenchman would break the 20-goal mark, the team physio now has a restaurant bill to pay.
