Explained: What Bayern Munich's decade of dominance means for Bundesliga

Bayern Munich beat main rivals Borussia Dortmund 3-1 to win the German league, the Bundesliga, for a record 31st time. Dortmund are the next most-successful club in Germany with five league titles. To highlight the gulf in difference between the German clubs, this was Bayern’s 10th consecutive Bundesliga title. In fact, the Bavarians have won more Bundesliga titles than the rest combined! To put things into context, five clubs have won the English Premier League in the last 10 years, three each have lifted the Spanish LaLiga and French Ligue 1 crowns, while Italy’s Serie A has enjoyed two close seasons after years of Juventus success. Dortmund finished just two points behind in 2018/19, but Bayern have ended at least 10 points clear in each of their other eight title-winning campaigns. On the weekend, goals from Serge Gnabry, Robert Lewandowski and Jamal Musiala sent Bayern an unassailable 12 points clear of Dortmund with three games remaining. The last team to win the Bundesliga were Dortmund, who won in consecutive seasons (2010-11 and 2011-12). But Bayern have had the number of Dortmund in recent times - winning eight consecutive league games while not losing at home since 2014. Bayern’s tenth straight German championship is a record among Europe’s top five leagues (England, Spain, Italy, France and Germany), eclipsing the nine Italian Serie A titles in a row by Juventus from 2012-20. Bayern Munich’s dominance doesn’t bode well for the Bundesliga or even for the club itself. How Bayern hurt the Bundesliga?

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RB Leipzig finished second in the Bundesliga last season. Then, the Bavarian club hired manager Julian Nagelsmann and signed captain Marcel Sabitzer and defender Dayot Upamecano from that same team. The script isn’t new. Bayern previously coaxed striker Lewandowski, Mats Hummels and Mario Götze from Dortmund. “This is what Bayern Munich does so successfully,” says former Bayern great Jürgen Klinsmann, who himself joined as a player from Tottenham in 1995 and took over as coach in 2008. He says it is “almost impossible to say no” to Bayern. “That’s something that they earned over the last 20 or 30 years, that kind of sentiment, that kind of a privilege. That’s why it is so difficult for the other clubs to catch up with them,” Klinsmann said. “We wish that we have a bit more drama up there.” Beyond the players, managers have also been pivotal in Bayern’s success. Jupp Heynckes, Pep Guardiola, Carlo Ancelotti, Niko Kovac, Hansi Flick and current boss Julian Nagelsmann are the big-name coaches who have kept Bayern on top. How does it affect the Bundesliga? [caption id=“attachment_10611791” align=“alignnone” width=“640”]  Bayern Munich beat Borussia Dortmund to take an unassailable 12 point lead in the German league. AP[/caption] At a time when TV revenues dominate sporting teams’ earnings, especially in football, the one-sided nature of Bundesliga makes it a difficult sell. On top of that, Bayern’s dominance means they get the bigger slice of the pie every year. Germany’s distribution system divides the pool into an equal share first, followed by performance, young talent, interest, and finally on the basis international TV rights. In terms of overall revenue, Spain’s LaLiga has cut the gap with Bundesliga in the last seven years. The German league was ahead of Spanish league by 300-plus million euros in 2014-15. That deficit was reduced to under 100 million euros by 2019/20. And by 2020/21 season, LaLiga took a 200 million lead which has doubled this season. (Source) While the COVID-19 pandemic plunged most German clubs into financial crises, with fans barred from stadiums, Bayern’s commercial might saw them post a profit of 1.8 million euros after tax in 2020/21. Beyond the financial reasons, Bayern’s dominance has an effect on the transfer market. With league losing money, it hurts Bayern, too, who then don’t have the might to compete with Premier League clubs for the best young talents. The best players from Bayer Leverkusen, Dortmund, Borussia Mönchengladbach etc. are snapped up by teams in England even before Bayern get a whiff of them. Bayern’s dominance hurts Bayern too Even former Bayern players agree — the team needs a worthy rival to make the German league exciting again. “It’s not good, no question. It’s also not so good for Bayern that that they are champions again so early,” former Bayern captain Philipp Lahm said. “It can happen that they win it again, but it has to be closer, that the Bundesliga remains exciting to the last and is not always decided four games before the end.” “Football is first and foremost emotion. If you’re top again by 12 points three games before the end, it’s missing,” former Bayern chief executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said. “There’s a lack of tension at the top.” One reason many believe Paris Saint-Germain, another dominant club in a seemingly “one-side league”, are unable to take their success to Europe is the absence of “tests” in the league. Same could also apply to Bayern Munich who have thrashed teams in Champions League group stages and knockouts but not been able to lift the silverware as frequently. In the last 10 years, Bayern won the Champions League twice (in 2013 and 2020), reached the semi-finals in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018; quarter-finals in 2017, 2021 and 2022 with worst finish being the Round of 16 in 2019. For all their dominance at home that allows plenty of time to rest players, the returns haven’t necessarily come in Europe’s elite competition. How do you make Bundesliga competitive? Klinsmann said it was going to be “very, very difficult” to make the league more competitive. “Over the last 30, 40 years, Bayern just has this winning culture. They have this kind of extra push when it really matters to step it up and make sure that nobody gets close to them,” said Klinsmann, who referred to Bayern’s financial ability to snap up opponents’ best players. One suggestion is for an end-of-season play-offs as a possible solution. “The league would of course be more attractive if it had more competition at the top,” Donata Hopfen, the new CEO of the German Football League (DFL) said earlier this year. “If play-offs help us, then we’ll talk about play-offs.” However, the idea of introducing play-offs has had a mixed response. “I find it exciting to think about new models like play-offs for the Bundesliga,” Bayern Munich CEO Oliver Kahn told Kicker earlier this year. “Semi-finals and finals would mean excitement for the fans.” Yet Bayer Leverkusen’s managing director Rudi Voeller says introducing play-offs would be “completely the wrong approach”, while Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke is “not a fan”. Borussia Moenchengladbach coach Adi Huetter has first-hand experience of play-offs, having coached Red Bull Salzburg in Austria. “I don’t know if it’s fair, whether after 34 rounds, first plays against fourth, who is maybe 15 points behind, but still has the chance to become champion.” (with inputs from AP/AFP) Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News ,  India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.