- Wolff-Christoph Fuss will comment on the opening game of the Bundesliga between FC Bayern Munich and Borussia Mönchengladbach on Friday (August 13) on Sat.1 (8:30 p.m.).
- In the interview, the commentator speaks about Bayern, the championship fight, the clubs threatened with relegation and the problems of traditional clubs.
Hello Mr. Fuss, the new Bundesliga season is imminent. Do you expect FC Bayern Munich to win the 10th championship in a row?
Wolff-Christoph Fuss: In theory, I would say: Bayern have the most expensive coach and the best squad. What should happen there? But since we all don’t know whether the two components will work well together, I have a hard time making a prognosis.
At least I have the hope that Leipzig and Dortmund will still ensure an exciting title fight after the 25th or 26th matchday. But if you are realistic, Bayern will be champions again.
FC Bayern Munich reportedly paid a transfer fee of around 20 million euros for Julian Nagelsmann. He also got a five-year contract. Is a 34 year old coach who has not yet won a title worth the investment?
In principle, I find it difficult to judge whether a coach is worth 20 million euros or a player is even worth 100 million euros. That ultimately determines the market. Nagelsmann was the top candidate for Bayern. And that was the price.
He is one of the best German coaches who now works for the largest and most successful German club. Now he has to prove that he can win titles. Bayern have signed Nagelsmann because he is supposed to build something up in the long term and to involve his own offspring more closely. It takes time.
In order to place his trust in him, a five-year contract was agreed. That sends a signal.
Fuss comments on the opening game of the Bundesliga
You are commenting on the Bundesliga opening game of Bayern Munich at Borussia Mönchengladbach on Sat.1. Will Gladbach stand up to Bayern?
I expect an even game. Also because Borussia Mönchengladbach has developed into a little feared opponent of Bayern in recent years. Now they are still playing in front of around 20,000 fans, all of them from Gladbach. That is also a factor.
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In general, I think that Bayern Munich’s first opponents can calculate their chances because the team has to find each other first.
Of course, Gladbach also has a new coach in Adi Hütter. But the team remained largely unchanged.
According to Marco Reus, Borussia Dortmund has the squad to become champions. Do you trust BVB to do this?
I think that Borussia Dortmund stayed below their potential last season. It was not until the end of the season that they ran on all cylinders. If you keep all your horsepower on the pitch, you are a contender for the title.
RB Leipzig, VfL Wolfsburg, Bayer Leverkusen, Eintracht Frankfurt – who else could possibly intervene in the championship fight?
For me, Dortmund and RB Leipzig are the logical competitors of FC Bayern. Of course, teams like Wolfsburg and Leverkusen can jump in at the top. That was also the case last season. Over the entire season, however, they are not consistently so productive that they can become champions.
In general, at Eintracht Frankfurt, I’m curious to see how things will continue. They lost their coach in Adi Hütter, and in Fredi Bobic they also lost their sports director. Now it will show how stable the created structures are, even with new staff.
Foot to relegation battle: “Half the league is trembling”
Let’s take a look at the lower region of the table. Last year, FC Schalke 04 and SV Werder Bremen, two large traditional clubs, were relegated. Who has to tremble this year?
I think half the league is shaking. My tip is that eight to ten teams will have to deal with the relegation battle for a very long time.
This of course includes the promoted VfL Bochum and SpVgg Greuther Fürth, but also the teams that fought against relegation last season.
1. FC Köln, which only saved itself through relegation last season, will look downwards for the time being. FC Augsburg and Arminia Bielefeld as well. Even Union Berlin wants to reach 40 points in the first step. This traditionally also applies to the people of Freiburg. 1. FSV Mainz 05 – even if the Rheinhessen should have stabilized after their famous ride in the second half of the season.
I am also very curious to see how things will continue after the many changes at Hertha BSC. Is the gaze finally directed upwards or downwards again? That cannot yet be reliably predicted.
The Bundesliga has always produced the same champions since 2012 and is increasingly losing well-known traditional clubs such as Schalke, Bremen, HSV or 1. FC Nürnberg to the 2nd Bundesliga. Does this threaten the Bundesliga with a loss of attractiveness?
The fact that many large clubs have been relegated to the 2nd division or even the 3rd division certainly does not increase the attractiveness of the Bundesliga. It must therefore develop new, attractive focuses.
Usually the championship fight is the most interesting, especially for the international market. It remains to be seen what Dortmund and Leipzig can achieve over a full season. Regardless of this, however, the fight for international places and against relegation is extremely exciting.
Traditional clubs keep getting into trouble
Where do you see the reason that the above-mentioned traditional clubs have got into financial and sporting difficulties, while supposedly smaller clubs such as 1. FSV Mainz 05, FC Augsburg and now Union Berlin have established themselves in the Bundesliga?
I believe that expectations in the environment of many large traditional clubs are a problem. Secretly everyone hopes that they will play internationally. However, the majority of them do not have the economic prerequisites to place themselves seriously at the top.
Therefore, these clubs sometimes make crazy transfers without paying attention to the squad structure. Schalke is an example. Because actually last season there wasn’t a squad that you had to relegate with. Nevertheless, the club was nowhere near enough for the premier league.
I think it would be important for these clubs to isolate themselves from external expectations and to link the sporting opportunities very closely with the financial circumstances. Mainz demonstrated this in the second half of last season, installed a few identity creators and developed a corresponding team behind them.
Or Borussia Mönchengladbach: Up until ten years ago they fought against relegation and were right in the middle of the elevator business. Under the direction of sports director Max Eberl, however, they managed to define a game philosophy. In this way, this association has been able to develop and grow step by step over the years.
About the expert: Wolff-Christoph Fuss (born 1976) is one of the most famous sports commentators in Germany. Among other things, he will comment on the Bundesliga opening match between FC Bayern Munich and Borussia Mönchengladbach on SAT.1 and will also continue to work for the pay-TV provider Sky. The father of two has already written two books with “These crazy 90 minutes” and “Geisterball”.
Alexander Zverev paid a visit to FC Bayern on the sidelines of a team presentation in the stadium.
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