The Bundesliga is allegedly considering introducing end-of-season play-offs to address years of title race predictability. Bayern Munich has dominated the German top flight, winning nine titles in a row, and they look certain to retain their title this season.
Bayern leads the table by nine points with 13 games remaining and is on track to win a record-extending tenth straight title in May. However, their time at the top has done little to pique the league’s interest – and even Bayern agrees.
End of Season Play-Offs
The German Football League (DFL) is considering end-of-season play-offs to counteract the Bundesliga’s dreary monotony. The DFL’s new CEO Donata Hopfen told BILD: ‘There are no taboos for me. If play-offs will help us, then we’ll talk about play-offs.’
Most Bundesliga clubs, notably Bayer Leverkusen, Eintracht Frankfurt, and Union Berlin, are said to be opposed to the proposal, although there is one notable exception. Bayern Munich CEO Oliver Kahn has endorsed the concept, telling Kicker magazine that the German club is always open to new ideas.
He said: “I find it exciting to think about new models such as play-offs for the Bundesliga. A format in the Bundesliga with semi-finals and finals would mean excitement for the fans. So, it makes sense to play through such an idea. We at FC Bayern are always open to new ideas.”
Plans are Ridiculous
Former Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness, on the other hand, condemned the concept as ‘crazy,’ insisting it was an attack on the cub. Other club executives have spoken out in varying degrees against the proposal, claiming that play-offs are unjust.
Hoeness told Servus TV: “That’s his opinion – it’s not mine. I find that ridiculous. In the Bundesliga, whoever is the best after 34 matchdays and who has gone through thick and thin with his team should win the championship. That’s just a law against Bayern Munich! That has nothing to do with tension.’
He also added: “The new managing director of the DFL (Hopfen) thinks day and night about how to break the dominance of FC Bayern. And that’s when they came up with this idea. There are no play-offs in any major league in the world, not in England, not in Spain, not in Italy, not in France.”
Read: Bayern Munich defeated 4-2 by Bochum in a record-breaking first-half display
