Donata Hopfen was less than two months managing director of the German Football League, when she had already raised the verbose Bayern patron Uli Hoeneß against herself.
With their cheeky statements (“If playoffs help us, then we talk about playoffs”), the new strong woman in the Bundesliga not only angered many football fans and traditionalists, but also and in particular Hoeneß, who had built up the current national dominance of the Munich for decades.
Hoeneß said accordingly: “The new managing director of the DFL is now thinking about the dominance of FC Bayern day and night. And now they come up with this idea.” He spoke in his typical clarity of “wit idea”. It is not about tension and attractiveness, but about “a law against Bayern Munich”. This discussion is more up -to -date than ever for a few months, combined with the question: How can this Bundesliga be exciting again?
End of the series not in sight
Bayern are ten times in series champions, one in the European top league unprecedented series. But that’s not all: The team, which is still well -led by the still well -placed veteran and Thomas Müller, not only fetches shell for shells, but also does this year after year in impressive manner. Eight titles were run in with a double-digit point lead, after which it looks again this season. Only in 2018/19 there was a close duel with Borussia Dortmund. In short: an end to the series is not in sight.
Football specialist Matthias Sammer, who was the Munichs director of the Munich team from 2012 to 2016, sees the mentality of FC Bayern as a big plus in addition to the financial and personnel superiority. “If there is a failure, everything is questioned. There is a different way of thinking for other clubs. There you are already satisfied with smaller successes, failures are being talked about,” said Sammer the “Munich Bild” and gave an example of the disappointing end in the premier class Against FC Villarreal.
“At Bavaria there is only: victory or catastrophe! This affects the spirit, spirit and mentality of every player,” said Sammer. This is sometimes exhausting, but the competition also has to form. “Developing this greed is a process that doesn’t go overnight. But that’s exactly what FC Bayern is,” said Sammer, who shaped the initial phase of this dominant decade together with the then coach Pep Guardiola.
next generation is ready
This spring actually seemed to open something like a glimmer of hope. National player Niklas Süle moved from Munich to Dortmund, the otherwise so flawless Bavaria suddenly lost in Bochum or failed in the cup, the scaffolding of the abome master around Neuer (36), Müller (32) and world footballer Robert Lewandowski (33) is not getting younger either and now has only contracts until summer 2023.
But does that really make hope? The next generation is already ready with the 1995 year around the international Joshua Kimmich, Serge Gnabry and Leon Goretzka. And when Bundesliga stars like Dortmund’s Erling Haaland or Leipzig’s Christopher Nkunku are traded on the transfer market, the name Bavaria, of course, quickly falls. However, one can confidently exclude that a Gnabry moves to Leipzig or a miller to Dortmund. Süles remarkable side exchange is likely to have already marked the summit in this regard.
Playoff idea vs. tradition
BVB boss Hans-Joachim Watzke is also not too optimistic that something can quickly change in the existing conditions. “Nobody denies that the missing master race is basically a problem,” said Watzke at “ZEIT ONLINE”. What can you do against dominance? “Could help – if you are honest – only blatant socialist or extreme capitalist instruments,” said Borussia’s desperate club boss.
With a view to tension and variety, the playoff idea is undoubtedly attractive, but a look at the past few years of the DFB Cup is sufficient. There were only five titles for Munich in ten seasons and, for example, defeats against Frankfurt, Gladbach or second division Holstein Kiel. It remains to be seen whether the league is willing to leave decades of traditions behind and to overload the full calendar even more in order to generate more excitement in the last one -dimensional master fight.
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