Leroy Sané & Serge Gnabry Aren't Just the Heirs to Bayern Munich's Robbery Throne - They Could Be Better
By Ben Carter
Leroy Sané isn't a Bayern Munich player just yet, but when the Manchester City forward does return to Germany and starts calling the Allianz Arena home, the 24-year-old will be given the chance to create a legacy at a super club.
So soon after they left, Sané will have the chance to form a partnership which looks to fill the boots of Franck Ribéry and Arjen Robben. Bayern Munich's famous double act, which was dubbed Robbery, tormented opposition sides domestically and in Europe for a decade.
Ribéry specifically spent 12 years in Bavaria after joining the club from Marseille, and although Robben left at the same time as his partner in crime, he actually joined two years later. They made a combined 734 appearances during that time.
Players came and went around them too. Luca Toni, Miroslav Klose, Mario Gómez, Ivica Olic, Claudio Pizarro, Mario Mandžukić and Robert Lewandowski have all lead the line for the Rekordmeister during that time. But Robben and Ribéry? They were a constant for Bayern Munich for a generation.
It wasn't the reliability of 'Robbery' to always be available which made them so feared though. Robben was directly involved in 245 goals during his 10-year spell at the club. Ribéry's 306 goal contributions at Bayern Munich was just as impressive.
The key to Robben and Ribéry's success at Bayern Munich was their understanding on the pitch, which helped them come up clutch whenever the Bavarians needed them most. In total, 79 games across all competitions were won thanks to goals from either one of their star wingers.
It sounds like a mountain to climb for Sané. In some ways, it is. But half the battle has already been won as the Germany international has a world class winger waiting for him at the Allianz Arena, one who won the club's Player of the Year award in his first season there.
Just five years ago, Serge Gnabry wasn't at the level to play for Tony Pulis' West Brom. Now, the Bayern Munich forward has scored the same amount of goals in London as Everton this season, and he's even scored one more in England's capital city than Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Since leaving England on a permanent basis, Gnabry's been taking the Bundesliga by storm.
He was involved in 12 goals in his first season for Werder Bremen. The following year, whilst on loan at Hoffenheim, Gnabry's tally was 17 goals and assists. That went up to 22 when he was voted as Bayern Munich's Player of the Year and this season it's increased even more, currently sitting on 29.
Even without Sané at Bayern Munich, Gnabry is already living up to his end of the bargain.
The Manchester City forward isn't as potent in the final third as Gnabry, but as a player who has be flirting round the edges of being world class for four years, a move to Bayern Munich could be exactly what the doctor ordered for all involved.
It won't be easy to properly measure how Gnabry and Sané compare to 'Robbery', although it's something which people will still try, but the two Germany internationals already have one foot in the door when it comes to achieving immortality in the stands at the Allianz Arena.
It didn't come easy for Robben and Ribéry. It won't come easy for Gnabry and Sané either, but having two international forwards from your own country in a squad which is becoming increasingly multinational is something which would be a huge factor in most places on the planet - let alone somewhere with such a strong, hyper-local patriotism like Bavaria.
They will still have to immerse themselves in the Bavarian culture like so many have before, but Bayern Munich's next potentially generation-defining partnership do already have a headstart.
There's little doubt that between them, both players have more than enough talent to live up to expectations which were set over a decade earlier by 'Robbery', but to really have a lasting impact on Bayern Munich and even surpass their predecessors, Gnabry and Sané have to become bastions of their Mia San Mia mentality.