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The 26th game week of Bundesliga began last night with Schalke securing a one-goal victory away from home against Mainz. However, this victory from a side ranked second in the points table is barely worth any headlines when it comes to the Bundesliga title race.
With Bayern Munich leading the pack by 20 points before the start of this week's action, the title is virtually decided. The Bavarians need a maximum of three wins from their remaining nine games to secure a record sixth consecutive Bundesliga title. However, such a scenario is a rather common occurrence in Germany's premier competition these days.
Bayern have absolutely dominated the league since their treble-winning season of 2012-13 and don't look like stopping anytime soon. While Borussia Dortmund have been touted as the best competition that the current league leaders can have, in truth, they are far behind Die Roten in terms of quality.
While there is much competition for the top four slots, the title is done and dusted. As Bayern Munich aim to continue their unimpeded title quest against Hamburger SV, let us now look at the reasons why the Bundesliga lacks competition.
#5 Bayern Munich's dominance
Let's address the elephant in the room first. If there's anyone responsible for Bayern's complete supremacy in Germany, it is the Bavarians themselves. Quality players, squad depth, top-notch managers; Bayern have it all.
With consistent performances in the Bundesliga over the last few years, Bayern have, on most occasions, steamrolled to the title. While Bayern themselves boast of a dearth of world-class players, their success in the recent years has sparked a desire in many talents from rival clubs to play for the German giants.
Bayern's talisman, Robert Lewandowski was signed on a free transfer from Dortmund in 2014 and has gone on to score plentiful of goals for Die Roten. Leon Goretzka is all set to join the Bavarians in the summer and is arguably the best talent on Schalke's roster currently.
In addition to Bayern's notorious habit of scalping away the best talents from their rivals, they have been doing a good job at grooming homegrown talent, having recently invested €70 million on their new academy. Joshua Kimmich is the best example of that, with Marco Freidl being another academy product who made his debut for the senior side this year.
#4 Too much reliance on young players
If you see Bayern's squad, you will find a host of experienced players leading the line followed by youngsters who are learning under the aforementioned veterans' tutelage. If you look at the other top Bundesliga sides though, this is not the case.
A lot of responsibilities lie on the young shoulders of the 19-year-old Christian Pulisic when it comes to Borrusia Dortmund. Julian Weigl is their preferred holding midfielder while their attack now boasts of Maximilian Philipp and Michy Batshuayi. All these players, however talented they might be, are still in their learning curve.
Things are not different if you see elsewhere. Leon Goretzka is at the heart of Schalke's midfield, Julian Brandt and Leon Bailey are Leverkusen's most important players, Sebastien Haller is Frankfurt's talisman, whereas Timo Werner is Leipzig's target man.
All the aforementioned players are in their early 20s. While there is no doubting that these young starlets can change the game single-handedly on their day, these are footballers who are still coming of age and can hit rough patches every now and then. Relying on them to deliver trophies without having proper support from veterans is not the right way to go.
#3 Inconsistent performances by teams
Despite having a rather poor start to the campaign and a managerial change in between, Bayern Munich are runaway leaders in the Bundesliga. While much can be attributed to the Bavarians' form under Jupp Heynckes this season, their cause has been helped largely by the inconsistent performances of the rival clubs.
Having initially led Bayern by five points, Dortmund went on to have a torrid run, accumulating only three points in their next eight games and had to part ways with Peter Bosz. They are currently third in the league.
Last season saw the surprise uproar of Hoffenheim under young manager Julian Nagelsmann. While Die Kraichgauer started off well this season, beating the likes of Bayern Munich, Leipzig and Schalke, they now see themselves reeling in the seventh spot. The same goes for RB Leipzig who are just a spot above at sixth.
Such has been the plight of the Bundesliga that in the last four seasons, there has been no instance of all the top four clubs at the end of one season managing to end in the top four at the end of the next season. In fact, only Bayern have successfully managed to finish in the top four consecutively for the last five years.
#2 Selling nature of clubs
Bundesliga clubs have had a track record of selling their best talent across Europe. Dortmund have been guilty of doing this the most number of times in recent years. They sold Ousmane Dembele and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to Barcelona and Arsenal respectively this season. Furthermore, they have also sold Ilkay Gundogan to Manchester City and defensive giant Mats Hummels to arch-rivals Bayern Munich.
Looking at the other top clubs, Schalke sold Leroy Sane to Manchester City last year while shipping centre-back Benedikt Howedes to Juventus this year on loan. Leverkusen have sold key players Omer Toprak and Javier Hernandez to Dortmund and West Ham United respectively. Leipzig sold youngster Oliver Burke to West Brom while Naby Keita is all set to move to Liverpool next season.
Selling top players unsettles the balance of the team. Instead of developing the tactics around players that are vital to the team, these sides are left searching for replacements who may or may not fill the void left by the departing players. This coupled with the fact that the new recruits take time to adapt to the system at play means that these teams will be unable to hit top gear right away.
If you compare this strategy with that of Bayern, you'll find that the record-champions are still built around the same core players who helped them lift the treble in 2013.
#1 The 50+1 rule
When it comes to football, fans have a major role to play. The case is more so in the Bundesliga thanks to the 50+1 rule. As per this rule, all Bundesliga clubs are required to meet the minimum threshold of 51 percent ownership by the club members. Private investors cumulatively are not allowed to hold a stake of more than 49 percent in any club.
The 50+1 rule has been in place since 1998, before which no private investment was allowed. This rule has done much good to the league. It has kept player wages and ticket prices in check. It has helped preserve the fan culture in the Bundesliga. But the biggest harm that it has done is that it has limited the financial prowess of the Bundesliga clubs.
The 50+1 rule means lack of huge money inflow through external investors. Bundesliga sides are thereby always short on money when it comes to the transfer market. As a result, they fail to bid big and capture targets in a time of mega money moves.
Bundesliga sides are thus unable to attract the biggest talents in Europe and are left to make do with cheaper substitutes or homegrown talent. This limits the strength of the clubs and lowers the kind of competition they can offer. This is reflective on the European stage as well because Bayern Munich are the only German side still competing in the Champions League.
