Luca Toni might not be a player that’s too familiar with many football fans, but the former Italian International was one of the finest strikers ever produced by the country. With over 322 career goals, he is the fourth-highest scoring Italian player of all time. Toni was a late bloomer, as his very best days as a football came during the latter years of his career. He had spent several seasons in the lower divisions of Italian football, as well as promising spells with minor Serie A clubs Vicenza and Brescia. It was with Palermo that he became a star, as he helped them win Serie B and get promoted to Serie A. Toni was the league top scorer that season with 30 goals. This article will be looking at the Italian’s time at Bayern Munich, which saw him showcase his goalscoring brilliance at Germany.
An outstanding debut season
It was on 30th May 2007 that Bayern Munich Chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge confirmed the signing of Luca Toni, with the Bavarians paying a €11.58 million transfer fee to Fiorentina. He was signed along with Franck Ribéry, who went on to become one of the greatest players in Bayern history.
Toni had a bright start to life at Munich, with his most notable performance being against Greek side Aris in the UEFA Cup group stages. Bayern Munich thrashed their opponents 6-0 to finish as group leaders, with Toni scoring 4 goals. His goalscoring brilliance was seen in the Bundesliga as well, as Toni scored 3 goals against Hannover 96 and became the first Bayern player to score a Bundesliga hattrick since Hans Dorfner in 1989.
The Italian's contributions were immense for Bayern, especially in other competitions. It was Toni's late brace in extra-time during Bayern's quarter -final UEFA Cup match against Getafe that saw them win on away-goals. Bayern were however knocked out of the semi-finals by Zenit Saint Petersburg. They were still able to end the season on a high though, with Toni scoring yet another brace to help Bayern beat rivals Dortmund 2-1 in the German Cup final.
Luca Toni ended his first season with Bayern as the 2007-2008 Bundesliga top scorer with 24 goals. He contributed an astonishing 39 goals and 12 assists in just 46 games in all competitions.
An unfortunate end to a promising career
Toni's second season with Bayern was nowhere near as brilliant as his first, but the Italian still had a fine season with the Bavarians. He kept on scoring important goals for the club in both Bundesliga and the Champions League. The month of January saw the best of him that season, with 9 goals in 13 appearances. Unfortunately, an Achilles tendon injury severely affected Luca Toni during the second half of the season. Despite all these difficulties, he yet again finished the season as Bayern's top league scorer with 14 goals in 25 Bundesliga appearances.
The events that followed saw Toni's downfall at Bayern. He played for Bayern's reserve team after recovering from injury, which wasn't the best thing to happen for a player who was their top goalscorer. Things got even worse, as he was fined on 7 November 2009 for leaving the stadium during the match after being substituted at half-time.
Toni eventually had a fallout with then Bayern Manager Louis Van Gaal, which ultimately ended his time at the club. The Italian was sent on loan to Roma, and Bayern ended up terminating his contract after his return from loan.
It was a sad ending to a brilliant partnership, and one that will unfortunately be seen as yet another "What If" Incident had Toni stayed longer. Toni and Bayern had a magnificent match, but destiny had other plans for them.
