The first reaction from reading this title I imagine would be “oh hell no, you did not just say that”, and my imaginary response to that imaginary reaction would be “I did”. This might confuse you and make you wonder why would a Bayern fan want them to lose the title and support Dortmund, but bear with me here, by the end of my train of thought you’re gonna think that I’m a little right.

For the past 7 years, Bayern has slowly but steadily been establishing their place as one of the best teams in the world. This was done through careful management of finances, promotion of youths, and wise transfer policies, something that many clubs envy. But if we look carefully, not everything happened because of Bayern’s careful plans. It all started with that lucky trip to the finals in 2010 (let’s face it none of us fans expected Bayern to be there, let alone the rest of the world). That was the moment when our appetites began to grow, and after not having been a serious contender for almost 10 years, we the fans were just as excited as the board and the players. However, it was the two following years that had the biggest impact on Bayern’s establishment as a top team in the world.

The year 2011 marked a year when we witnessed something that is rarely seen (no, not Haley’s comet): Bayern ended up trophy-less for the first time in years. The Bundesliga winner? Borussia Dortmund. Yes, the nemesis. This instigated the revolution that would end up with Bayern winning the treble. We bought players like Neuer, Boateng, Rafinha, and promoted Alaba as the permanent starting LB. the result was an almost perfect campaign, with brilliant football, thrashings of the opposition and breaking records, but (there’s always a “but”) we got the losers treble by ending second in every competition. And the domestic double was won by? Yup, BVB. The hated ones.

Let us stop a little and check what BVB did in these two seasons. Their wins weren’t flukes. They might not have done well in Europe those two seasons, however, they were building a team worthy of Champions League contention, and this was proven when they demolished Bayern in the cup final, a Bayern team that was, supposedly, built to dominate in Europe that year. And it was this precise moment that instigated Bayern’s resurgence as a world class team.

Bayern and its board couldn’t handle a team being better than them in Germany. And it so happened that this team had so much quality, that to surpass it we needed to be a lot better, and a lot better meant becoming world class. It meant not being satisfied with the domestic double anymore, even though this was a byproduct. We needed to be better than BVB, and seeing as BVB was becoming as good as, or better than Real Madrid (as we witnessed in 2013), we became the best club in the world.

Now, supporting Dortmund. When I say this I don’t mean get a yellow scarf, their jersey, and go to the stadium support, but we need a 2011-2012 Dortmund in the Bundesliga. We need a team that will push us to grow, that will challenge us. We need some team, any team, to be that Dortmund for us. It was that Dortmund that pushed us to buy the likes of Javi, a player that made our midfield impenetrable; they pushed us to buy Mandzukic, a player that by the end of the season had become our most feared attacker even though he was supposed to be a backup; it pushed us to buy Dante, who despite his flaws was a crucial player for our defense; and it pushed us to buy Shaq, the little warrior (even though sometimes he would forget his brain at home).

In order for Bayern to remain world class, at least a second team in the Bundesliga needs to be world class. A strong league means a strong Bayern. We need to be challenged, we need to be defied. We need a Dortmund.

Author: Wavy