Borussia Dortmund vs. Bayern Munich: What the Bundesliga powerhouses can learn from each other
Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund have picked up right where they left off before the coronavirus-enforced break, continuing their winning streaks to leave them first and second in the Bundesliga.
In any season in recent years, meetings between the two have tended to be title-deciders, and Tuesday night’s Klassiker at the Westfalenstadion will be no different. With Dortmund four points behind, it’s a must-win if they are to prevent the Bavarians racking up an eighth consecutive championship.
By almost any measure, the two German giants are far ahead of their domestic competition. They have shared the Bundesliga title between them for the past decade and only three other clubs have won the league this century.
Indeed, both have long since shifted their focus from Germany to the wider world, striving for sporting success and commercial growth beyond Germany’s borders. With the Bundesliga the only major European football league back in action, millions across the globe will tune in on Tuesday.
But they still have work to do football-wise and financially if they are to permanently bridge the gap to Europe’s elite – particularly the super-rich clubs from England’s Premier League. And here, despite the differences between the two, Bayern and Dortmund can still learn from each other.
Where Borussia Dortmund can learn from Bayern Munich
A winning mentality
Marco Reus might not like to hear it but Thomas Müller embodies it.
“We want to bring the title where it belongs,” he said following Bayern’s 5-2 win over Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday: “Munich.”
Thomas Müller is the embodiment of Bayern’s winning mentality
It’s easy to be confident when you’ve won seven championships in a row, but the self-evidence with which Müller spoke those words was symbolic of the mentality in Munich, where a single dropped point is a crisis, where a trophy not won is a failure and where teams often seem beaten in the tunnel.
That’s certainly been the case on Dortmund’s last five visits to the Allianz Arena since 2015, which have ended in 5-1, 4-1, 6-0, 5-0 and 4-0 defeats . Games in Dortmund are often a much tighter affair, with the home team backed by an 83,000-crowd but they won’t be there on Tuesday.
Neither will captain Reus, but other players recruited at least in part for their experience could return. Coach Lucien Favre said Mats Hummels was “99%” likely to play, while German international Emre Can is set to start. Up front, meanwhile, no-one is questioning Erling Haaland’s mentality.
“We should win this game,” said sporting director Michael Zorc. “And we can win.”
That’s more like it.
Irresistible pressure
Borussia Dortmund have demonstrated their ability to blow teams away on the counterattack on many an occasion, with the pace of Jadon Sancho and Thorgan Hazard turning defense to attack in the blink of an eye. On Saturday in Wolfsburg, it was wingbacks Achraf Hakimi and Raphael Guerreiro who did the damage.
It’s an approach which is particularly effective against teams who like to play football themselves. Indeed, last season, no other team won more points against top six sides than Dortmund. It’s against the “smaller” teams that Dortmund have struggled, especially in the first half of this season when they drew against Freiburg, Paderborn and Bremen and lost to Union Berlin.
Bayern Munich, especially since Hansi Flick took over, aren’t reliant on space opening up in behind; they’ve collectively moved up the pitch, pressing and passing the opposition relentlessly and mercilessly into submission. With 20 assists in all competitions, Thomas Müller pulls the strings and is back to his very best.
In Julian Brandt, Dortmund have a similarly creative genius when pure pace isn’t enough.
Creative genius: Borussia Dortmund’s Julian Brandt
Financial independence
Borussia Dortmund have come a long way from their almost-insolvency in 2005 when, contrary to popular belief, Bayern Munich didn’t bail them out but did loan them €2 million ($2.2 million) to tie them over for a few weeks.
The episode nevertheless demonstrated the financial gulf between the two clubs, as did the Bavarians’ acquisitions of Robert Lewandowski (2014) and Mario Götze (2013), which marked a low point in relations.
All in all, it’s taken 15 years for CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke to rebuild Dortmund to a point where they are no longer financially obliged to sell their best players to Bayern. Now, the strategy is to sell them abroad, with Jadon Sancho expected to be the next to join a list which already features Ousmane Dembele, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Christian Pulisic.
With revenue of €377.1 million ($367.35m), Dortmund were 12th in the most recent Deloitte Money League. But they still have a long way to go to match fourth-place Bayern on €660.1 million.
-
Football Money League: the richest football clubs on the planet
Barcelona – 840.8 million euros
The Catalans top the Money League for the very first time and are the first football club ever to generate an annual revenue of more than €800 million. Barca have increased their revenue by more than €150m compared to 2019 after bringing merchandizing and licensing activities in-house. The club’s biggest asset remains Lionel Messi. The Argentinian superstar is not for sale.
-
Football Money League: the richest football clubs on the planet
Real Madrid – 757.3 million euros
Barcelona’s archrivals Real Madrid have dropped to second place after a year of mixed results on the pitch. The 13-times European champions increased their revenue by only 0.99 percent from last year (€750.9m) but that could change again in 2020. The club from the Spanish capital are after the signatures of big names such as Paul Pogba and Kylian Mbappé to usher in a new Galacticos era.
-
Football Money League: the richest football clubs on the planet
Manchester United – 711.5 million euros
Two years ago, the Red Devils topped the Deloitte ranking but now Manchester United are back down to third, just as in 2019. The 20-times English champions increased their revenue by almost 50 million euros this year but, with on-pitch struggles again leaving Champions League qualification in doubt, they are in danger of being superceded by local rivals Manchester City in next year’s Money League.
-
Football Money League: the richest football clubs on the planet
Bayern Munich – 660.1 million euros
New Bayern president Herbert Hainer (left) has inherited a healthy club from Uli Hoeness (right). The Bavarian giants increased their revenue by €31m this year, but an extended deal with automobile partner and 8.33% shareholder Audi is reported to be worth a further €50m a year until 2029. Despite earning less TV money than English or Spanish clubs, Bayern held on to fourth place in the ranking.
-
Football Money League: the richest football clubs on the planet
Paris St. Germain – 635.9 million euros
For the past eight years, the French club have been financed by the Qatari state investment group QSI. The Qataris have pumped hundreds of millions into the club in order to sign top players like Neymar and hire quality coaches such as Thomas Tuchel, formerly of Borussia Dortmund. The club’s main goal has been to lift the Champions League trophy but money hasn’t proven to be enough so far.
-
Football Money League: the richest football clubs on the planet
Manchester City – 610.6 million euros
Another club bankrolled by a Gulf state and which dreams of winning the Champions League, Manchester City have been owned by the Abu Dhabi United Group since 2008, changing the fortunes of a club which spent decades in their red neighbor’s shadow. Since the takeover, City have won the Premier League four times and in 2016 they hired coach Pep Guardiola with Champions League success in mind.
-
Football Money League: the richest football clubs on the planet
Liverpool – 604.7 million euros
But where Man City have so far failed, Liverpool have succeeded. The Reds won a sixth Champions League / European Cup in 2019 under German coach Jürgen Klopp, but it’s been 30 years since they were last crowned English champions. This season, that dream is closer than ever, and lifting the Premier League trophy should translate into more revenue for the Merseyside club in 2020.
-
Football Money League: the richest football clubs on the planet
Tottenham Hotspur – 521.1 million euros
Spurs owe their improved place in the ranking mainly to their brand new stadium, opened in April 2019. Increased matchday earnings at the “New White Hart Lane” hav contributed to a 21% rise in total revenue, enabling last season’s Champions League finalists to leapfrog local North London rivals Arsenal into eighth place – a record high for the club currently managed by Jose Mourinho.
-
Football Money League: the richest football clubs on the planet
Juventus – 459.7 million euros
Italian record champions Juventus moved back into the top 10 with Deloitte claiming that the arrival of Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo “increased Juventus’ commercial appeal”. The 34-year-old joined Juventus from Real Madrid for more than €100 million in July 2018. other signings such as Matthijs de Ligt also boosted Juventus’ brand visibility and commercial revenue.
Where Bayern Munich can learn from Borussia Dortmund
Youth system
As strange as it may sound, it’s not all one-way traffic and there are areas where those in charge on the Säbener Strasse still cast envious glances northwards to the Ruhrgebiet. One of them is youth policy.
Partly through financial necessity, Borussia Dortmund have long since turned their attention to the discovery and development of top young talents in emerging markets. Dembele, Aubameyang and Pulisic have already gone, Sancho and Haaland will likely follow in the coming years, and Dortmund are already planning for the next generation with the promise of game time and match practise.
Youssoufa Moukoko is still only 15 but the German-Cameroonian striker has scored an incredible 34 goals in 20 games for Dortmund’s under-19s this season. And 16-year-old center back Nnamdi Collins has also signed a new deal with the Black and Yellows, despite interest from England, to keep him in Dortmund until 2023.
And Bayern have taken notice. The Bavarians might have a financial advantage over the rest of the Bundesliga, but even they know they can’t always compete internationally.
Bayern Munich opened their campus to develop youth players in 2017
In August 2017, Bayern opened their new €70 million “Campus” with the aim of bringing the first generation of home-grown talent since the Bastian Schweinsteiger and Philipp Lahm generation. They’re following Dortmund’s lead abroad, too, sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic having identified Canadian teenager Alphonso Davies, who has excelled on the Bayern left this season.
Fan culture
Borussia Dortmund’s famous Südtribüne will be less “Yellow Wall” and more black hole on Tuesday night, but it remains a key element of the club’s global appeal, as do the 24,000 supporters who usually stand on it.
The relationship between club and hardcore support isn’t always perfect in Dortmund, but there is nevertheless an acknowledgement that both parties need each other. Affordable standing tickets costing €219 ensure that BVB remains socially inclusive in one of western Germany’s poorest regions, while the ultras’ spectacular choreographies often find their way into the club’s marketing.
Bayern Munich’s hardcore support is no less creative or loyal, but they face a tougher battle to make themselves heard at the commercialized events which are Bayern home games. The ultras are a thorn in the club’s side with their public criticism of Bayern’s corporate links to Qatar, while they also enraged the club hierarchy with their criticism of Hoffenheim owner Dietmar Hopp – protests which were well-received in Dortmund.