Bayern's pursuit of the best young German talent could ruin the Bundesliga

The current season has been a revelation as far as Bayern Munich is concerned. The ghosts of the past two seasons, that have seen Borussia Dortmund make a telling statement that German football is not all about Bavaria and the city of Munich, are truly buried as Jupp Heynckes’ men not only reclaimed the ‘salad bowl’ in record time, but are in the German Cup final and one step away from a third Champions League final appearance in four years. FC Hollywood are on the verge of making history with a treble winning prospect on the horizon. We may go on talking about how well German football has come up over the years with people predicting the end of the Spanish reign, both at the club and international levels, and even with a full leg still to play for against Barcelona and Real Madrid respectively, both Bayern and Borussia Dortmund know the coming season could be a lot different for them, for contrasting reasons.

This could be a familiar scene for many years to come

Even though it is a bit too early to speak of an all-German final at Wembley next month, it is by no means a celebration of German renaissance but an eerie feeling about the future of German domestic football or the Bundesliga. Bayern are already a settled and talented side which could do without the appointment of Pep Guardiola, yet the Bavarians have splashed the cash by appointing a man who, after a year long sabbatical from the game, would hardly be troubled by the make up of a side which is already on the verge of German domestic football history. Guardiola is inheriting an already well-drilled, battle hardened side which, for many years to come, could monopolize the Bundesliga, with all due respect to the likes of Borussia Dortmund, Werder Bremen, Wolfsburg, Stuttgart who, for the past decade, have atleast made the German league very unpredictable and a joy to watch. But not anymore!

Poaching Germany’s best talent from under the noses of their closest rivals without even giving Dortmund the chance to talk to Mario Gotze is not only arrogance personified but setting a trend that could only point to one fact alone, that Bayern will reap the benefits of the best German players developed and nurtured at small clubs with the help of money and glamour that only Uli Hoeness and his Bavarian army can provide. With Mario Gotze set to be the most expensive German player ever after Bayern met his release clause of 37 million euros, the club from the Allianz Arena could provide as much as nine or ten first team players when the German national team gets to play international fixtures. So it could be said Bayern Munich are Germany but the reverse is not true at all. After a few barren years, Bayern have started to rely on their financial power to bring in the best in Europe and Germany, while others just fall prey to an organisation that is draped in German folklore, and the goodwill always seems to do the tricks as far as young German players are concerned.

The past decade had been the most encouraging and interesting with the likes of BVB, Wolfsburg, Werder Bremen and Stuttgart all winning the Bundesliga, yet the next decade could be all about one team and its monopoly on the German league. Very much a Scottish trend on the horizon, isn’t it? The Germans are known for their great sense of nationalism and patriotism and who would know that better than Bayern, yet, look at the timing of the announcement of Gotze’s summer transfer. On the eve of Dortmund’s biggest game in a century against Real Madrid – a Champions League semi-final at the majestic Signal Iduna Park – Bayern announce the inevitable that Dortmund fans feared most. It not only antagonized the security of a player who understandably felt the wrath of the passionate fans of Dortmund but jeopardized a fellow German side’s chances against Europe’s best. Thanks to Jurgen Klopp’s tactical acumen, in addition to a passionate home support of the Dortmund faithful and not to mention the performance of one Robert Lewandowski, Real Madrid were annihilated 4-1. May be it was divine justice but isn’t Bayern trying to puncture the competition of the vibrant Bundesliga for the sake of their own success? It would be better for German football if the Polish goal machine Lewandowski signs for United rather than Bayern, to atleast give other teams just a semblance of chance to compete with the Bavarians. A fitting answer would be a Borussia-Bayern final and Jurgen Klopp coming out triumphant, proving once again that money just can’t buy success.

Klopp’s dedication for Dortmund makes him a future Germany national team manager

One feels sorry for a great managerial brain as Jurgen Klopp. He single handedly masterminded Borussia’s success over the past few years and turned players such as Lewandowski, Gotze, Ilkay Gundogan, Jakub Blasczykowski and so many others into world beaters. Even a passionate and positive man like Klopp has resigned his club’s fate to the ultra-capitalistic professionalism of Bayern and their ability to lure young footballers into working with one of the best coach in the world. Regret and sadness were both traceable when the former Mainz boss was asked about Gotze’s untimely transfer,

“It could have been timed better,” Klopp told a press conference. “I was told last night at 10pm that it had come out. I’ve known about it since a day after the Málaga game. Now I can say that time heals everything. It’s going to take a while, this news is not good for us. The timing of it is not ideal. Anybody can make their own minds up as to why it’s come out now, but it is out.”

It is not difficult to assume who Klopp blames for the debacle. Yet Bayern will always be celebrated as the most successful club in German history but for me those clubs, including Dortmund, that feed Bayern with all the home grown talents, are the real writers of the great German success story.