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Another Bundesliga title this season and Bayern Munich will make it an impressive 10 in a row. To find out the last time the Bavarians missed out, we have to go back to the Borussia Dortmund side of 2011-12.
That season, Die Schwarzgelben were in full control, finishing eight points clear at the top. They broke the record for the highest Bundesliga points total with 81 as they beat Bayern home and away. To rub salt into the wounds of their Der Klassiker rivals, Dortmund won the DFB Pokal in a 5-2 thrashing, clinching a league and cup double.
Since then, many players from Dortmund's roster have gone on to become household names in the world of football. Meanwhile, others have found themselves in obscure leagues far away from the spotlight of the Bundesliga.
Let's take a look at where the members of that highly talented squad have ended up.
Manager: Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool
Dortmund's title-winning manager needs no introduction. Klopp has gone on to become one of the most respected coaches in the world since taking over from Brenden Rogers at Liverpool. He won the UEFA Champions League, ended Liverpool's '30 years of hurt' in England and created one of the most dominant sides in Premier League history.
GK: Roman Weidenfeller, Retired
The German goalkeeper was one of the most experienced members of the side during the double-winning season at the age of 31. It's no surprise that the German has now hung up his gloves.
Weidenfeller announced his retirement at 37 with 349 Bundesliga appearances to his name at Dortmund after an astonishing 16 year spell at the club.
RB: Łukasz Piszczek, LKS Goczałkowice-Zdrój
With 11 years with the club, Piszczek is another player who gave his best years to the German outfit. Leaving in 2021, the right-back has since signed for his boyhood team, LKS Goczałkowice-Zdrój, who play in the fourth tier of Polish football.
CB: Mats Hummels, Borussia Dortmund
The German centre-back's solid performances at the heart of the Dortmund defense were key to the club's success during this time. The 32-year old was tempted away by Bayern Munich in 2016—a recurring theme with the most talented Dortmund players of this period.
Hummels won three Bundesliga titles in three seasons in Munich before returning to the Westfalenstadion in the 2019-20 season for a fee of €30.5 million.
CB: Neven Subotic, Free agent
Something of a journeyman since leaving the club in 2018, the Serbian has played in France for Saint-Étienne and in Turkey for Denizlispor, as well featuring in Germany with Union Berlin.
His most recent employment was with Austrian side SC Rheindorf Altach, who he played for ten times after signing midway through the 2020-21 season. He left at the end of the campaign and has been a free agent since.
LB: Marcel Schmeltzer, Borussia Dortmund
The only player to have stayed with the club since the 2011-12 season, Schmeltzer is undoubtably a Dortmund icon. However, his playing time has been limited in recent years, as injuries have the aging fullback.
With his contract expiring at the end of the season, it seems doubtful fans will get to see him play at the Westfalenstadion again. If he has already played his last game for Dortmund, it would be a disappointing end for a player who has given so much for the club.
CM: İlkay Gündoğan, Manchester City
At 21, Gündoğan was one of the youngest players in Dortmund's title-winning team. He was at the Westfalenstadion for five seasons before being targeted as the first signing of Manchester City's Guardiola era.
The German midfielder was key to City's title triumph last season, finding the net 13 times in the Premier League and ending the year as the club's top scorer.
CM: Sebastian Kehl, Retired
Dortmund's club captain during the double-winning season, Kehl is another player who saw out their career with the club. The defensive midfielder made 274 Bundesliga appearances across 13 seasons before calling time on his career at the end of the 2014-15 campaign.
RW: Jakub Błaszczykowski, Wisła Kraków
The Polish winger was one of the most exciting cogs in the Dortmund machine. After leaving in 2016 he remained in Germany with Wolfsburg before returning to his boyhood club Wisła Kraków in 2019. He is currently the Polish club's captain as well as one of its part-owners.
LW: Kevin Großkreutz, Retired
Großkreutz made 176 Bundesliga appearances in his six-year spell at the club. The Dortmund-born winger announced his retirement at the beginning of this season at the age of 33. Before that he played for KFC Uerdingen in the Regionalliga West, Germany's fourth division.
CAM: Shinji Kagawa, PAOK
The talented playmaker's performances earned him a transfer to Manchester United in 2012, making him the first Japanese player to join the Red Devils. But two years later, having failed to hold down a spot in the first team, he was transferred back to Dortmund.
Since then the 32-year old had a loan spell with Turkish club Beşiktaş as well as a transfer to Spanish side Zaragoza. He currently plays for PAOK in the Greek Super League.
ST: Robert Lewandowski, Bayern Munich
Due to an injury to first-choice striker Lucas Barrios, Lewandowski was elevated to the starting eleven in the 2011-12 season. The Poland international ended the year with 22 goals and 14 assists. His strong goal-scoring form continued, causing Bayern Munich to come calling at the start of the 2014-15 season.
Since then he has gone on to establish himself as one of the game's greatest ever strikers. The 33-year old has broken numerous records, including the most Bundesliga goals in a season, scoring over 300 goals for Bayern Munich in the process.
Sub: Sven Bender, TSV Brannenburg
Bender was mainly used as an understudy to Kehl in the defensive midfield position during the 2011-2012 campaign, but he made that position his own in the years that followed.
He later moved to Bayer Leverkusen, where he played for four years before announcing his retirement at the end of the 2020-21 season. However, since then Sven and twin brother Lars have made appearances for their local amateur side, TSV Brannenburg, low down in the German divisions.
Sub: Ivan Perišić, Inter Milan
The Croatian midfielder was brought in for the title-winning season and contributed with seven goals in the Bundesliga. He later moved to Wolfsburg before arriving at Inter Milan in 2015. Perišić was a key man in Antonio Conte's side as the italian club ended their ten-year wait for the Scudetto last season.
Sub: Mario Götze, PSV
Mario Götze was only 19-years-old during the 2011-12 campaign. Like several other key Dortmund players, he was tempted away to Bayern Munich and is also well remembered for scoring Germany's winning goal in the 2014 World Cup.
Since then, however, his career has stagnated. An unspectacular return to Dortmund in 2016 was followed by a switch to Dutch club PSV last year.
