Well here we are once more, in the final throes of the German football league season and Bayern Munich are on course to win the title once again. This goes beyond any vague feeling of déjà vu given that this will be the Bavarians' eighth Bundesliga title in a row. This is a nailed on event that is stamped into the minds of football fans across the world. Indeed, it is always a case of when and not if with regards to the Bavarians winning the title.
Admittedly, this season has been somewhat of a closer run thing as Dortmund’s young squad valiantly chased Bayern down but ultimately came up short after a
crushing 1-0 loss to Hansie Flick’s charges at the Signal Iduna Park.
In fact, the
odds on the German Bundesliga title after that loss left Bayern at an incredible 1/200 to win the league despite only having a seven-point gap lead over Dortmund. They really do know a sure thing when they see one in Germany and it seems inevitable that the Bavarians will now romp home to their eighth title in as many years. Far from an inspiring state of affairs if the truth be told and the knock-on effect will hurt the league.
Indeed, in many ways, it has been a bit of a shame that the BVB have rolled over as easily as they have done so, especially when you consider the hype around the team before the resumption of the Bundesliga in mid-May. A
thumping 4-0 win over Schalke at home on the opening weekend left everyone with the impression that we were in for a nail-biting title race.
In their defence, the
German Bundesliga tips do still suggest that Jadon Sancho & co. will chase Bayern right to the finish line but at 66/1 to win the league, you feel that Dortmund's chances went the moment Joshua Kimmich decided to lob Roman Burki from outside the box during Der Klassiker.
Naturally, the best team must always win the league but you can’t help but wonder what a closely fought title race would have done for the popularity of the Bundesliga. The eyes of the world were indeed on the Bundesliga as it was one of the only active leagues in Europe, and a few upsets would have done interest in the Bundesliga the world of good.
Instead, the Bavarian juggernaut rolled on and left no one in its way. At the same time, neutral viewers from around the world switched off and decided to quietly wait for the resumption of the Premier League instead. We had all read this book before and the ending left a huge amount to be desired.
Sadly, at this moment in time, the Bundesliga is missing that competitive edge that is needed to grow the league. How the German Football Association goes about making the league fairer and more competitive without directly discriminating against their biggest club remains to be seen, but you feel something has to be done before the Bundesliga begins to mirror the Scottish Premiership.