The Sports Lowdown For All Your News and OpinionsBayern Munich are one of the biggest football clubs in the world. They have a fantastic squad, manager and stadium and are one of the most successful clubs in the world commercially. However, while they go from strength to strength, there is a worry that they may be having a negative effect on their domestic competition, the Bundesliga.
Between the years of 2006 and 2011, no team managed to successfully defend the Bundesliga. Stuttgart, Bayern, Dortmund and Wolfsburg were all champions during the period. This resulted in the Bundesliga being one of the most exciting leagues in Europe as several different teams had a realistic shot at winning the league each year. The only downside for German football during this period was the fact that no German team managed to lift a European trophy.
After winning the Bundesliga in 2011, Borussia Dortmund went on to retain their title in 2012. This was the last time a team other than Bayern won Germany’s domestic league. The following year saw an all German Champions League Final, as Bayern beat Dortmund 2-1 thanks to a late Arjen Robben goal. This was the peak for German domestic football.
Since then, however, its been all about Bayern. 2014 saw them win the league by 19 points. In 2015, they won it by 10, although in reality, the league had been sewn up since Christmas. Despite their domestic dominance, Bayern have not been able to transfer this to European football, where they have failed to reach the final since winning the tournament in 2013.
The biggest threat to Bayern last season was Wolfsburg, and this may be the case again this season. The ambitious club have made some big money signings in recent seasons, including Andre Schurrle and Julien Draxler. However, they lost their start player, Kevin De Bruyne, in the summer and if they continue to do well then their top players could be targeted by bigger clubs with more financial clout. Like all other German clubs, Bayern aside, they are vulnerable to big spending Premier League clubs.
Borussia Dortmund have competed with Bayern and have shown that while it is impossible to compete with the Bavarian club financially, shrewd signings can lead to success on the field. However, after Robert Lewandowski left Dortmund to join Bayern on a free transfer, it signalled the end of them challenging Bayern. Prior to this Mario Gotze had also moved between the two clubs. Although Dortmund held on to the likes of Mats Hummels and Marco Reus, the departure of their two talisman left them substantially weaker and they could only manage a seventh place finish last season, which saw their enigmatic manager Jurgen Klopp leave the club.
With the last three Bundesligas in the bag, Bayern look unstoppable again this year. They currently have a perfect record of nine wins from nine and sit seven points clear at the top of the table. ‘Will Bayern win the Bundesliga?’ is no longer the question. ‘Will Bayern go the season the unbeaten?’ or ‘Will Bayern win the league by March?’ are more difficult queries to answer. With their financial power and obsession with signing up the best players from other German clubs, it looks like there is no end in sight for their domination.
The likes of Wolfsburg and Dortmund will claim that they have squads in place capable of competing with Bayern. However, the league table doesn’t lie and it looks like this year’s German title race is already coming to a conclusion. Having a German ‘Super Club’ has helped the national team and improved the country’s showing in Europe, but it has ultimately made the Bundesliga a more boring competition.
