Bayern Munich and the domination of German football

Article by e-Football Correspondent Ed Hewings

In the week where Bayern Munich produced one of the most dominant displays ever seen on the European stage (limiting Arsenal to 12% possession in the first half of their game) you may think it unusual to find Pep Guardiola complaining about something. However, the point he raises is a valid one.

Last Friday, he commented ahead of his teams trip to Hannover that the Bundesliga served up “pizzas and hamburgers” compared to the “gourmet” offerings supplied by the Champions League. Now on the face of it, this is an unusual comment, given that the German domestic scene is the second most popular in the world in terms of television revenue (having produced only a handful of 0-0s this season helps) and provides the majority of Bayern fans a way to see their team play. Some might even say it was disrespectful to the rest of the Bundesliga teams. Hannover certainly took this in their stride, with manager Tayfan Korkut commenting that Hannover intended to “make the pizza very spicy and put a bit of extra mayonnaise on the burger so Bayern will find it hard to digest.” However Bayern put aside any signs of indigestion and swept Hannover aside 4-0 to open up a 19 point gap at the top of the table.

But that’s the point right there. Guardiola’s words weren’t dismissive of the Bundesliga, it was making the point that as they are head and shoulders above absolutely everyone else (and by a long way now that Dortmund have fallen aside) the league is becoming somewhat easy fodder for them.

Whereas in other leagues, notably the Premier League, anyone can beat anyone else on their day. This is what makes football great. However, the Bundesliga is taking the form of a league where one of one will win for the foreseeable future. Unlike Spain and Italy, there is only one powerhouse club in the league. The record of 46 games unbeaten (still moving forwards) is testament to that.

How have Bayern done this?

Well, for starters they have always had an excellent youth system, producing the likes of Sebastian Deisler, Markus Babbel and the present players Bastian Schweinsteiger and Philipp Lahm to name but a few.

Couple with that the club being very well run by those who know the club, who aren’t just business people with an eye on a profit and the football second – see Franz Beckenbauer, Uli Hoeness and others – and you have the soul of the club pumping everywhere.

Excellent investment in the team as well has helped – money has been made available and spent well – there have not been many ‘dud’ players bought over recent years.

This season though, the thing that has set them apart from the rest has been the manager. Under Jupp Heynckes, the previous manager, Bayern were a special team. Now, under the tutelage of Pep Guardiola, they are a fantastic team, surely to be talked about in the same breath as Barcelona of 2009-10 and Brazil of 1970 no doubt.

Dortmund are the team who have come closest to Bayern over recent years, securing two Bundesliga titles in 2010-11 and 2011-12, along with pipping them to the German Cup on two occasions. Of course, they faced off in last year’s Champions League final with Bayern squeezing past Dortmund in the final few minutes.

But Dortmund are way off the pace this year. They of course have suffered with injuries, but the sale of Mario Gotze at the end of last season to their big rivals took a lot out of the team in terms of quality (not dismissing Mkhitaryan), soul, and confused the fans somewhat. Now with the news that their star striker Robert Lewandowski will also be joining the Bavarian outfit in the summer, it appears that Dortmund will fall further and further behind their rivals.

As a point of reference, let’s compare the two strikers who will be joining Bayern and Dortmund on frees this summer. Bayern have the aforementioned Robert Lewandowski, who is widely regarded as one of the finest out and out strikers in Europe, if not the world. Dortmund have signed Ji Dong Won as his replacement, who couldn’t get a game at Sunderland, who are struggling in the Premier League and who’s biggest claim to fame is scoring a 90th minute winner against Man City a few seasons back. Hmmmm.

Leverkusen made a stab at the title this season under Sami Hyppia, but their season has gone off the rails in recent weeks, the lack of squad depth becoming apparent quite quickly. However given that they are backed by one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies who have a fair amount of cash, they have the means (if not necessarily the setup at present) to challenge.

So where does this leave the Bundesliga? Well, unless one team is bankrolled a la Manchester City, and can attract stars of a higher level than those currently at Bayern (I can’t think of many out there), then Bayern will continue to dominate the fast food market of the Bundesliga for many years to come and hopefully continue to feast at the gourmet table of the Champions League...

I may just put a few quid on Bayern to retain their Champions League title this season...

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