German football: not as healthy as it seems

I don’t think anybody quite saw that coming. The two Spanish giants weren’t just swept aside by their German counterparts, they were absolutely terrorised and humiliated.

Borussia Dortmund may have almost let Real Madrid back in their tie, but there was no disputing who was the deserving winner. Bayern Munich, meanwhile, simply offered Barcelona no mercy, following up a 4-0 home win with an even more impressive 3-0 rout in the Nou Camp.

So, a first all-German Champions League Final it is. After an all-English final (2008), an all-Italian final (2003) and an all-Spanish final (2000), you could argue that German club football has finally caught up and is now, at the very least, on a par with the other big leagues. That seems to be where most of the praise is going.

Or, perhaps more realistically, you could argue that the Bundesliga is merely enjoying a day in the sun, before once again being left behind. It’s surprising enough, even to Germans themselves, to see two Bundesliga sides facing off in club football’s biggest fixture, with newspapers proclaiming the ‘wahnsinnig’ – ridiculous – achievement of football in their country.

It’s such an honour that even Berlin, a city not represented in the final, is looking to beam the match live along its enormous main road, Straße des 17. Juni, where national celebrations usually take place.

However, it strikes me as more of a one-off than a sign of things to come. Dortmund’s first-leg hiding of Real Madrid came against the backdrop of the stunning news that their star player, Mario Götze, is off to Bayern in the summer.

Meanwhile, rumours remain rife that four-goal hero Robert Lewandowski, who played like a man utterly possessed, is set to follow him. This demonstrates the true dynamic in German football.

Bayern Munich are the big dogs of the Bundesliga: they have the money, the history and the clout to sign almost any German footballer of their choosing, or even any who have made their name in Germany.

They use this power to their advantage, poaching the best young talent from their rivals almost as soon as they begin to emerge on the big stage. Manuel Neuer (from Schalke), Mario Gomez (Stuttgart), Mario Mandzukic (Wolfsburg), Dante (Borussia Mönchengladbach) and now Götze have all been reaped through this practice. That’s certainly one way of eliminating your competition.

The reaction in Germany to Götze’s defection has been one of outrage with Bayern’s transfer policy rather than condemnation of the player himself. The owners of Mainz and Eintracht Frankfurt, amongst others, spoke out in direct criticism of Bayern last week, while public opinion is increasingly shifting against the Bavarian giants often referred to as FC Hollywood.

Much like Arsenal, Borussia Dortmund are the side who have worked their way to the top with an astute manager, a shrewd transfer policy and attractive football, only to see their stars move on when bigger names with bigger chequebooks come calling. Much like Arsenal, Dortmund will then have to look on bitterly as their sons go on to achieve greater success with their rivals. Robin Van Persie, anyone? Or any of the ex-Arsenal contingent now at Manchester City?

The fact is that the other clubs simply don’t have the resources to keep their top players in the long term. As remarkable as Dortmund’s achievements have been, they have been done with a young, previously unproven squad expertly assembled by Jürgen Klopp.

But now they’ve made it, the copious offers from elsewhere are just too tempting – Dortmund’s revenue is little more than half of Bayern’s, and doesn’t compare to any other major European club either.

Bayern, meanwhile, seem to be recruiting for the sake of it. They don’t need Mario Götze, they don’t need Robert Lewandowski and they certainly don’t need a new manager. Jupp Heynckes has overseen this team breaking goals and points records in this year’s domestic league, now standing on the cusp of an unprecedented treble, having produced the best football in Europe, not only this season, but arguably last season as well.

But Heynckes has been ruthlessly cast aside to make way for Pep Guardiola. The Spaniard himself, seen as the world’s leading proponent of stylish football, is yet another pull factor to draw the big names to southern Germany. Expect his arrival to exacerbate the problems even further.

While Manchester United do dominate in England, the likes of Chelsea and Manchester City have had many millions pumped into them to keep United on their toes. In Germany, however, the 50+1 ownership rule ensures that billionaire investment is near-impossible.

As commendable as that is, it plays quite nicely into Bayern’s hands, placing more importance on revenue for generating finance, whilst the other clubs continue having to rely on cheap investments and youth academies.

Klopp has done a magnificent job under these terms at Signal Iduna Park, but surely even he will eventually grow tired of having to push treacle uphill year after year. Once he inevitably decides to leave, he certainly won’t have a shortage of offers! But where would that leave Dortmund?

So, while German football certainly looks great at the moment, don’t expect its dominance to last. Sure, Bayern will remain at the top – they’ll continue to effectively monopolise the Bundesliga and be there or thereabouts in the Champions League for the foreseeable future, but that’s about it.

Sadly, Borussia Dortmund, like the rest of the Bundesliga, just won’t be able to keep up for good. And, looking at how they’ve won the hearts of most of Europe, that’s a crying shame.