Bayern Munich Continues Dominance Over Bundesliga By Winning 8th Title In A Row

The same procedure as every year. Bayern Munich have won their eighth Bundesliga title in a row and their 30th German championship overall. On Tuesday, the Rekordmeister beat Werder Bremen 1-0 despite being down a man for the last ten minutes—Canadian Alphonso Davies was sent off with a second yellow card in the 79th minute.

For Bayern, it marks the latest record in the long history of the club. No team in Germany has ever won eight titles in a row, and the financial dominance of the club means Bayern’s dominance will likely continue. The Rekordmeister has an overall Transfermarkt market value of $832.23 million. In that regard, Bayern has a big advantage over Borussia Dortmund ($644.85m) and RB Leipzig ($574.83m), who will likely finish second and third in the standings. 

The gap between Bayern and the rest of the league is even more significant—last-placed Paderborn has an overall market value of just $29.18 million. Nonetheless, Bayern’s titles in 2019 and 2020 were hard work. In fact, as much as Bayern were dominant since the COVID-19 pandemic, one has to remember that overall the Rekordmeister has been a shadow of the juggernaut it once was in German football.

“We are very happy that we are German champions again,” forward Robert Lewandowski said. “It was not an easy season. We fought for this title for a long time. Our quality made the difference in the end.”

Last season, for example, Borussia Dortmund had a nine-point league over Bayern. At the winter break, RB Leipzig was four points ahead of Bayern. At that stage, current coach Hansi Flick had just come in to replace Niko Kovac. Kovac oversaw a tumultuous time at Bayern. In 2019, the Berlin-native won the title mostly because of Dortmund’s inability to bring a significant lead across the finish line. 

Then at the start of the 2019/20 season, Kovac experienced the very highs and lows of his Bayern tenure. A 7-2 victory over Tottenham in London was historic and highlighted that Bayern’s biggest problems this year were domestic and not international. There was just one month between the result in London and the 5-1 defeat against Eintracht Frankfurt that would lead to Kovac leaving the club. 

Kovac was replaced by Hansi Flick. The former assistant to national team coach Joachim Löw has since produced miracles in Munich. Bayern have been transformed into a machine and under Flick have lost only against Gladbach (2-1) and Leverkusen (2-1)—both games took place before the winter break. Since then Bayern has dropped points only once, in a 0-0 draw against RB Leipzig. 

In the Champions League Bayern has won every single game under Flick. The head coach, originally signed as an interim, underlined his value when Chelsea was brushed aside in an easy 3-0 victory in London. The Champions League will now be Bayern’s next task, presumably, the tournament will resume in August and the German Rekordmeister will be among the favorites to win the title.

“This team has the chance to win the treble,” Bayern President Herbert Heiner said after the game on Tuesday. “A little bit of luck is always part of it, but the individual quality and what Hansi Flick has done to the team in the past six months is great.”

Perhaps the biggest obstacle for Bayern to be crowned European champions? Time, the Bundesliga was the first league to return from the COVID-19 break and will be the first to finish. Keeping the team match fit over the next month or so will, therefore, be a big challenge.

“We took the first step, we achieved our first big goal by winning the Bundesliga title,” Flick said. “Our next big goal is the DFB Pokal. And of course, there’s the Champions League too. It will be difficult, and we have to be fit when the time comes.”

Manuel Veth is the editor-in-chief of the Futbolgrad Network and the Area Manager USA at Transfermarkt. He has also been published in the Guardian, Newsweek, Howler, Pro Soccer USA, and several other outlets. Follow him on Twitter: @ManuelVeth