Borussia Dortmund Bottled The League. This Is Devastating For The Bayernsliga, Sorry, Bundesliga

Borussia Dortmund threw away their chance to win the Bundesliga for the first time in 11 years. They also threw away their chance to end Bayern Munich’s decade long stranglehold of Germany’s top flight. Because Borussia Dortmund failed to beat Mainz at home, Bayern Munich will win the Bundesliga for the 11th successive time.

The fact that Bayern had already won 10 straight titles coming into the season was bad enough for German soccer. But Bayern winning for an 11th straight time, even with one of their worst seasons of the last decade, is cataclysmic for the Bundesliga’s reputation.

It is unlikely that Bayern will be as poor next season. And if they can win despite how subpar they have been this season, it is unlikely any team will stop Bayern in 2023-24. Bayern has much more money than any other team in Germany, and can consequently buy better players than their domestic competition. In fact, they frequently buy their rivals’ best players. Robert Lewandowski going from Dortmund to Bayern is one of many examples.

With this being the reality, there is a legitimate chance that Bayern could win the Bundesliga many years into the future. 15 straight Bundesliga titles is completely on the table for Bayern. In fact, Bayern could legitimately have a chance to win 20 titles in a row if nothing changes, and they don’t have an extremely subpar season.

It is getting to the point that the Bundesliga doesn’t really feel like a league in its most real sense. Actually, it has been at this point for a while. A league is supposed to be a competition where there is legitimate chance for different teams to win. Bayern and the rest of the Bundesliga go into the season with completely different objectives. They don’t go in to compete with each other.

Other clubs just want to stay in the Bundesliga, make the Champions League, or make a profit. They don’t even really try to build a team that can win the Bundesliga. Bayern goes in with the mindset that winning the league isn’t even worth celebrating. It’s all about winning the Champions League for them.

This makes the Bundesliga not really a league to be competed for, but a tool for different clubs with different goals. This has a detrimental effect on the TV deals and quality of player that the league attracts. The lack of competition makes it less likely that top players will come to the league. People outside of Germany are less likely to watch it.

It all seems to be a self reinforcing cycle. Many of Bayern’s supposed rivals for the title seem happy with this situation. They’re perfectly willing to not even compete for the title most of the time. This scenario also hurts Bayern, in a similar way it hurts PSG.

But Bayern and PSG are so accustomed to winning their respective leagues, that doing so isn’t something to really be celebrated. Moments after clinching the title, Bayern fired their CEO, Oliver Kahn, and sporting director, Hasan Salihamidžić. This is telling.

That means that their entire season is defined by a couple Champions League knockout stage games. They rarely are forced to keep their competitive sharpness in their own leagues. One bad Champions League leg and their season is effectively over.

Maybe German soccer is ok with this dynamic. Their teams are majority fan owned. Attendance is sky high. But the fact that the Bundesliga is ubiquitously seen as Bayern, and then everyone else, is a problem. They are often derisively referred to as the Bayernsliga.

Bayern Munich could legitimately win 15 straight Bundesliga titles. At that point, the league might enter a crisis. It could be seen as a joke (even more than it already is), and drastic steps would need to be taken. And it would put Bayern players in an incredibly tough position. It would either be not win the league, or win it and hurt their league and by extension, their credibility.

Fan experience and love for their clubs will make fans continue to flock to Bundesliga games. But at some point, the competitive, sporting element needs to be given priority. I personally do not know how other teams will be able to start challenging Bayer Munich. But for the good of the league and German soccer overall, they better figure out a way to.