Bayern Munich break new ground as Luis Díaz and Michael Olise evoke memories of Robben-Ribéry axis

On the final day of the 2018-19 Bundesliga season, when Arjen Robben and Franck Ribéry came off the bench to plunder a goal each against Eintracht Frankfurt in what would, for both, be their final appearance for Bayern Munich, no one imagined their like would be seen again.

Stationed on opposite wings, a duo affectionately nicknamed “Robbery” racked up 268 goals and 283 assists between them for the Bavarian club, helping to shape a decade in which Bayern amassed a glittering trophy haul that included seven domestic titles and a Champions League triumph.

There is little prospect of Luis Díaz and Michael Olise recreating those numbers. While Robben and Ribéry spent a decade together at Bayern, Díaz is playing his first season for the club at the age of 29. Olise, 24, could conceivably manage another 10 years at the club, but fans will probably have to enjoy his work alongside Díaz while they can. 

Still, longevity is not everything, and there can be no denying the effectiveness with which the pair have dovetailed.

Bayern Munich: Díaz-Olise axis exlipsed only by Harry Kane

Headlines this season have naturally focused on the goalscoring exploits of Harry Kane, scorer of a remarkable 27 goals in 31 games across all competitions. But Bayern are barely less potent down the flanks, from where Díaz has 14 goals and 11 assists to Olise’s 12 and 17. 

It is little wonder the pair have been likened to the Robben-Ribéry axis. Their numbers go a long way to explaining why, with Wednesday night’s 3-1 victory at Köln, Bayern set a new Bundesliga record of 66 goals scored at the season’s midpoint, comfortably eclipsing the previous record of 56.

‘Our wing duo is exceptional’

“Our wing duo is exceptional,” enthused Max Eberl, Bayern’s director of sport, following Sunday’s 8-1 demolition of Wolfsburg. “When I see Michael’s position and moves, he resembles Arjen Robben. 

“We were just talking about it in the dressing room. He’s kind of like the new Robben we have – delicate, elegant. And with Lucho on the other side, we have the Franck Ribéry type, the creative chaos maker.”

It was Vincent Kompany, the Bayern manager, who first heralded Díaz as an agent of chaos. But while the Belgian has not concealed his admiration for the Colombia international, he is less inclined to wax lyrical over the club’s record mid-season points total.

“I congratulated the boys a bit, but it’s not a priority for me to have the record,” Kompany remarked after the Köln win. “It’s not a title. The second half of the season starts tomorrow, and we’ll start again from scratch. We want to win that too.”

If Díaz and Olise can sustain their destructive form, that seems inevitable.