FC Bayern fright Dodi Lukébakio: only Cristano Ronaldo and Marco Reus scored more often

Dreams of World Cup with Belgium

Dodi Lukébakio was not really happy about his personal Bayern six-pack. In the 2: 3 of Hertha BSC against FC Bayern Munich, the Berlin striker scored against the Munich team for the sixth time in his career. The World Cup in a few weeks in Qatar remains his goal. Belgium national coach Roberto Martínez is said to have him on the slip. But the 25-year-old doesn’t want to be driven crazy either.

“My focus is not on the World Cup. I play for my club and then we’ll see what happens,” said Lukébakio on Saturday night. He doesn’t see a special Bayern coincidence that would allow him to keep scoring against Manuel Neuer. “Only God knows if I score or not. I made it, but we have to get points,” he recalled of the difficult situation of the Berliners in the table basement.

It’s not his fault that Hertha just can’t win. He has made six goals this season, just as many as in his entire career against Munich. He scored four times for Fortuna Düsseldorf, now twice for Hertha against Bayern. Of all active professionals, only Marco Reus (twelve goals in 33 games) and Cristiano Ronaldo (nine goals in eight games) have scored more goals against the record champions, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scoring just as often.

“With the courage and the power”, the Berliners will get back on the road to success, said Lukébakio. “Everyone can see that we are a different Hertha,” he drew a comparison to previous seasons, when the standings were just as bad, but the performance and atmosphere were much worse.

And the World Cup? “The important thing now is the Bundesliga and in the end we’ll see what happens next. I don’t decide if I’ll be there, but of course I dream of it,” said Lukébakio, who made his fifth appearance for his country in the last international match against the Netherlands (0-1) in September. A plus point that Martínez may take into account: In the round of 16 Belgium could go against Germany with Manuel Neuer, so a goal expert like Lukébakio might be helpful.

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