Bayern’s dominance ‘not good for German football’

SINGAPORE — Former Borussia Dortmund star Lars Ricken believes Bayern Munich are possibly the best German club side in nearly four decades, but their dominance is blighting the German Bundesliga.

At a coaching clinic with the players of the Home United Youth Football Academy (HYFA) at Mattar Road yesterday, Ricken — better known for scoring the only goal in the second-leg of the 1997 Champions League semi-final against Manchester United — described Bayern’s practice of buying the best players from rival German clubs as hurting competition in the Bundesliga.

“(Bayern) have been the strongest team in Germany since the 1970s. They have a marvellous squad, maybe even the best squad a German team (has) ever had,” said Ricken, 38, who now Dortmund’s youth team coordinator. “It is very hard for other teams to catch up. (Bayern) have so much money (that they can) transfer the best players from the other clubs, such as (Polish forward Robert) Lewandowski and (Germany international Mario) Gotze from Dortmund, and it’s sad.”

Forbes has listed Bayern as the world’s fourth-most-valuable club at US$1.85 billion (S$2.39 billion), behind Real Madrid, Barcelona and Manchester United. Dortmund, ranked 11th, are Germany’s second-richest club, at US$599 million.

With 11 matches into the league season, Bayern remain unbeaten and lead with 27 points, while Dortmund are 15th with 10 points. Reports have suggested that Dortmund midfielder Marco Reus could follow Lewandowski and Gotze to the Allianz Arena.

“Bayern Munich doesn’t think only about the Bundesliga, but (also) about winning the Champions League,” said former Germany international Ricken, who spent his entire playing career at Dortmund, from 1993 to 2009.

Both clubs are also seeking a foothold in the lucrative Asia-Pacific market.

Yesterday’s clinic, which was organised by Dortmund, their kit sponsors Puma and the HYFA, and which featured 30 players from the HYFA’s Centre of Excellence youth teams and its community partner the Darul Ihsan Orphanage, is part of the German club’s plans to create a fan base here.

Benedikt Scholz, Dortmund’s head of business development and international relations, added: “We could bring the team. We are thinking of doing that next year, but the trickiest part is the schedule.”