Super Mourinho wrote:
I don't know about this to be honest. If Dortmund can't keep their team together then we are back to Bayern being the only really tough representative of Germany next year. Long term I think Germany will surely have an impact but even with this final I still think calls of Germany's turn are still premature. More likely to see the national team continue to get good results if not win.
A lot has been written about this Dortmund side being taken apart by the vultures this summer in the last few weeks. While it is true that Götze and Lewandowski are big losses, people tend to forget that Dortmund will have over €100m to spend this summer, just considering the CL and transfer revenues that is. The recent strength of the Bundesliga is all about the combination of top class talent in abundance
and top class coaches getting the best out of them. With so many quality players coming through the ranks and being available for relatively modest sums, it'll be easier for the likes of Dortmund, Schalke or even Leverkusen to replace their key players once they leave for greener pastures. That strength comes from within and is here to stay.
The key for Dortmund is keeping Klopp. Lewandowski was a nobody before he came to Dortmund, Gündogan a talented player, but nowhere near the world beater he is now when he was playing for Nürnberg. Compare him to Ekici, for instance. Ekici who was rated just as highly as Gündogan was back then played for the same Nürnberg team, is now a real failure in Bremen, as much as it pains me to say this as a Werder fan. The difference is Klopp and his ability to get the best out of his players. As long as Klopp remains in charge in Dortmund, they will have a very competitive team. And if they continue to play the CL and advance to the later stages, their financial situation will continue to improve. They made a huge leap in this regard already and are in the Deloitte top 10 list, not even counting the huge CL revenues this season. And the more money they have at their proposal, the easier it'll be for them to hold on to their players.
Another thing is that other clubs like Schalke have just as much potential. They shot themselves in the foot this season, as they have done so often, but they have quite a number of genuine quality players who simply need direction. If Schalke sign the right manager this summer, they'll be a true force.
I don't believe the "Bayern will dominate the Bundesliga at will" mantra one bit btw. Of course they'll remain the team to beat, as always, but it remains to be seen how Pep will do in Munich (how to improve something that is very close to perfection, especially if they really pull off winning the treble?). And I firmly believe that the rest of the league will catch up and work on an effective antidote, that's simply the nature of the Bundesliga. One could say that Bayern themselves 'stole' key elements of that Dortmund side ('Gegenpressing') that dominated them in the league for more than two years.
Thought it was only Otto of the Germans(and occasionally Kroos) who was for the firing of Low. Glad to see you come around.
Before Euro 2012 I repeatedly wrote that we now have the players to win a major title and that nothing but a title counts from now on. Löw failed to deliver for a number of reasons. After this season
latest, there are no excuses left.
I disagreed with otto's sweeping generalisations of "feminised Germans" and other, mostly not football-related nonsense. And I still believe (and actually feel vindicated by recent results) that only by taking the initiative instead of parking the bus the Spanish dominance could be truly broken. The problem are Löw's tactical limitations that prevent Germany from having the same rock solid defensive stability as Bayern or Dortmund that is a necessity for positive, attacking football to be successful. For years, I've been going on about those tactical limitations.
When I wrote that it is "our turn" I didn't just mean club football btw. Those players have now experienced that they not only can compete with the best Spain (or Italy for that matter) has to offer, they can beat (or rather annihilate) them. That is a huge psychological boost that can't be underestimated. And if Bayern win the final, they'll be even stronger than ever in this regard knowing how crushing that very unlucky defeat against Chelsea was last season.
The only stumbling block left is Löw himself. I'm rather pessimistic that he'll be able to learn from others and improve as a manager. Fortunately, he'll leave after 2014 WC latest anyway.
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