Aubameyang Beats Bayern’s Lewandowski to be Bundesliga’s Top Scorer

Gabonese international player, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored a brace against Werder Bremen on the final day of the season to beat Bayern’s Robert Lewandowski to the Torjagerkanone.

Lewandowski led the day with a goal while Aubameyang stood second in the charts with 29 goals. The Dortmund Gabonese player, in the final game against Werder Bremen, decided to turn the tables.

He scored twice at the Signal Iduna Park to topple Lewandowski and win the Bundesliga top scorer award. Aubameyang's first goal was a stunner putting him on level with Lewandowski with 30 goals.

But the Gabon international was still not done. On the 89th minute, he scored a penalty to take his season tally to 31 goals and made it 4-3 in favor of Dortmund on the day.

The 27 year old striker also made history after he leveled Dortmund's goal scoring record tally in a single season, which was set by Lother Emmerich in the 1965/1966 season campaign. This was also the second time in Bundesliga’s history that two players scored more than 30 goals in a single season.

The former Saint-Etienne striker is the second African player to win the Torjagerkanone after Ghana’s Tony Yeboah did so twice with Eintracht Frankfurt between 1992 and 1994.

"The Torjagerkanone means a lot to me." Aubameyang said before adding, "It was a great effort made by the whole team. I am grateful to everybody. The training staff, my fellow players and everybody who works for the club. It is just great."

Denying Bayern’s Lewandowski the award which he had won in 2013-2014 with 20 goals and again in 2015-2016 with 30 strikes is not the only thing that sets him world apart from the other African players.

In 2016, Aubameyang was awarded as the African footballer of the year becoming the first Gabonese player and the first Bundesliga player to win the award. His vision and skills to execute are quite compelling. In December same year, he was named by the Guardian as the eighth-best footballer in the world. 

The son of the former Gabonese captain, Pierre Aubameyang, started his career in AC Milan’s youth team in January 2007. He made a name for himself and attracted international scouts as he scored against every team Milan played against, finishing with seven goals in six games. This ambition saw him being awarded the Roberto Bettega Trophy for being the top scorer for the competition.

Upon joining Saint-Etienne in 2011 on a permanent deal, Aubameyang, continued to showcase his prowess. In February 2012, he scored his first hat-trick against Lorient. In that season, he scored half of the team’s away goals and went on to be Ligue 1 top goal scorer with 16 goals.

On 20th April he won his first major trophy as a professional player and finished the season with 18 goals and seven assists in all competitions.

2012-2013 was Aubameyang's break-through season. He ended as Ligue 1's second top goalscorer, scoring 19 goals in 37 appearances and finishing behind the great, Zlatan Ibrahimovic. He also provided eight assists.

The player known for his speed and capacity to play both as a winger and a striker. He joined Borussia Dortmund in 4th July 2013 on a five year contract and continued to make history. In 2015-2016 season, Aubameyang became the first player in Bundesliga history to score in each of his team’s opening six matches of a season in August. He later extended his record to eight matches.

Although signed to Dortmund until 2020, Aubameyang is now on high demand. He has been linked to a move to other top clubs such as Real Madrid and Manchester City. It is also reported the highly rated striker has been offered over $1.04 million a week for a Chinese Super League transfer deal. If he accepts to play for Tianjin Quanjin, he will become the highest paid footballer in the world.

It remains to be seen if Aubameyang will accept the record breaking Chinese deal or move away from Dortmund to another club. But one thing remains clear about the Gabonese captain, he is not yet done.

Wherever he goes, the Gabonese goal-scorer is sure to be looking to etch his name into history and leave the biggest impact. Aubameyang's strengths will continue to set him apart as one of the greatest players to grace Africa and the world of football.