MY ACCOUNT
The dominance of Bayern Munich is not just down to financial muscle, but more the lack of consistency from their Bundesliga competition.
That is according to former Bayern midfielder Toni Kroos, who played 130 times for the Bundesliga giants before swapping Bavaria for Real Madrid in 2014.
Bayern became the first team across Europe’s top five leagues to win their respective top flight on 10 successive occasions after a 3-1 victory over Klassiker rivals Borussia Dortmund last Saturday.
Julian Nagelsmann’s side had previously shared the record of nine with Juventus, who won Serie A each year from 2012 to 2020, before cruising to their record-setting triumph with three games to spare.
Many cited Bayern’s financial power as an issue in the German top flight, such as being able to prise Robert Lewandowski from Dortmund in 2014.
Indeed, Lewandowski helped power Bayern to the title with 33 Bundesliga goals so far this term, netting once every 81 minutes on average.
However, Kroos does not believe that it is just the disparity in transfer activity that has aided Bayern’s dominance, but also the lack of constant pressure from title contenders Dortmund and RB Leipzig.
“The competition has to be more constant. Teams like Dortmund or Leipzig are quite capable of keeping up in certain phases,” said Kroos in the Simply Mal Luppen podcast.
“But they are not as consistent. It’s not just about money.”
While Kroos was quick to question the competition provided by Dortmund and Leipzig, the 32-year-old could take nothing away from another fantastic season for Nagelsmann’s men.
“It’s an exceptional performance, especially mentally,” said the midfielder. “It’s no surprise that they are the best team in Germany in terms of quality.
“But wanting to do it year after year and giving the championship title meaning is something special.”
Thomas Muller was also integral to the success of Bayern once again, with his 17 assists in 30 top-flight games this season unmatched by any player in Europe’s top five leagues.
The evergreen Muller also surpassed former team-mate David Alaba (10 titles) as the Bundesliga’s most decorated player of all time, having been ever-present in the 10-in-a-row feat alongside the title win in 2010 (11).
Kroos believes his former colleague Muller relishes the prospect of protecting Bayern’s dominance every campaign.
“You can also say at some point, after the eighth, ninth, tenth time: ‘Well, then not for a year.’,” Kroos added.
“But I have the feeling that he has a lot of fun defending the thing year after year.”
