Excessive investments have made it difficult to unseat recurring champions.
Finance has nullified competitive domestic football. The establishment of distinguishable monetary levels is not a new phenomenon, though, There have always been affluent and less affluent teams in the top divisions across Europe – and the world, for that matter.
That financial gap is getting larger. Excessive investments–oligarch money, generally–mean that leagues are dominated by a select few teams.
Since its inception, only six teams have lifted the Premier League trophy–a league that is perceived as competitive. In its 87 seasons, only nine teams have lifted the highest honor in Spanish football. The number is 13 in Serie A. And in the Scottish Premiership, 11 teams have been crowned champions in 121 seasons.
Dominance is underscored by recent outcomes. For example, Celtic are currently on course to secure the Scottish Premiership for a ninth straight season. Juventus are on a quest to win their eighth in a row, and PSG are in line to claim their sixth title in seven years.
The Bundesliga has the longest continuous history (founded in 1903), and it also boasts the most competitive top-tier league with an impressive 29 different winners. However, like most of the other top divisions in recent years, one team has had a stranglehold on the division.
Bayern Munich, which have been crowned champions 14 of the last 20 seasons, are currently aiming for a seventh straight victory.
Fans react differentially to competitive dominance. They like dominance, but only to a certain point, hoping for competition and variability to return. In the Bundesliga, ‘hope’ has come in the form of a young group of upstarts who don the yellow and gold kit of Borussia Dortmund.
Borussia Dortmund are not the finished article–far from it, actually–as demonstrated by being dismantled by Tottenham in the first leg of the Champions League Last 16. But in the league, they have been mesmeric–producing big wins against Bayern and Schalke, late drama against Augsburg and Bayer Leverkusen, and crushing victories over Hannover and Nurnberg.
The media circus has embraced Dortmund. They are the underdogs in a league where Bayern Munich has dominated. Periods of dominance always end eventually, and Bayern are currently in a rebuilding phase. However, they keep winning, largely because of limited competition in the Bundesliga.
Dortmund, also rebuilding, was not expected to launch a serious challenge this season. The league was then Bayern Munich’s to lose. And that, football fans, is a big reason for the infatuation with this Dortmund team. They are overperforming and punching well above their weight.
When Dortmund experienced success against Bayern about a decade ago under Jurgen Klopp, a pillar of success was the club’s placed in youth. Nearly 25 times Jurgen Klopp started a team whose average age was under 23 years and six months. And that team won its first league title in ten years.
Lucien Favre’s look of concern (photo, DW)
Today, that philosophy is also an earmark of Lucien Favre’s approach. Only once thus far has his team had an average age of 23 years and six months. Nine Dortmund players 23 years old or younger have participated in at least ten league games.
Much of the media’s attention has focused on Jadon Sancho–and for a good reason. This man as nine goals and 11 assists on a team that’s coursing with talented, young players.
That youth profile stands in stark contrast to what’s happening elsewhere in Germany and across Europe. Here are the statistics for teams with players 23 years of age or younger who’ve made at least ten appearances this season:
Bayern Munich 4
Barcelona 3
Manchester City 1
Manchester United 5
Real Madrid 4
PSG 7
Juventus 1
Marco Reus’ injury has hurt the team (photo, India)
But after enjoying an excellent start to the season, Dortmund have recently taken a turn for the worst.
Firstly, their talismanic leader Marco Reus was injured.
Secondly, a torrid February has crippled the team. A 4-3 loss to Werder Bremen on penalties eliminated the team from the German domestic cup. Then a 3-0 away defeat to Tottenham, coupled with poor results in the league against Hoffenheim and Nurnberg, have left Dortmund on the precipice of failure.
They now face the prospects of finishing the season empty-handed.
But it was last Friday’s loss–a defeat to Augsburg Dortmund–that may have been the most serious blow. The advantage the team had built up over Bayern Munich during the first half of the season is now gone.
For sure, with ten games to play the season is far from finished. Having said that, no more slip-ups can occur if Borussia Dortmund wish to end Munich’s dominance.
The next two months will prove to be crucial, particularly during a trip to play Munich at Allianz Arena on April 6.
I hope Dortmund can complete what they have started so brilliantly. Can they finally stop Bayern Munich’s impressive run of dominance? It might be the last chance for Dortmund or any team, for that matter. That’s because Munich is expected to spend and strengthen the squad over the summer.
It’s money, again, and the financial gap that comes with it.
It’s going to be end of mine day, but before end I am reading this wonderful post to improve my knowledge.