"It's great to see, we can all be proud of the Bundesliga. We have set an example in Europe." Those words from Bayern Munich sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic seemed impossible just a year ago.
Although his club won the UEFA Champions League in 2020, the days of Bayern and Dortmund squaring up in a European final as they did in 2013 appeared to be over, after a poor showing in 2020-21. In recent years, only French clubs have had a worse record of collective appearances in the latter stages of European competitions among the top five leagues in the world.
And while it is too early to venture a prediction as to whether the entry of four German teams into the last 16 of the Champions League will actually mark a turning point for the Bundesliga, it is great to see that financial sanity and consistent work can still bring success in an era that seems dominated by money.
The Bundesliga should be proud for sticking to their 50+1 values and not following the trend of spending stupid amounts of money in a bid to be successful in the short term. Look at Barcelona: the club is in a financial mess with debts reported to be in excess of €1.3 billion. Their shining new signings, including Robert Lewandowski, had fans brimming with excitement, but at what cost? Barcelona's financial irresponsibility defies sound business sense, but these decisions are indicative of where modern football is today. The transfer spectacle is just as, if not more, important than success on the pitch.
Frankfurt's miracle
But Barcelona, together with other European heavyweights like Juventus and Atletico Madrid are out of the Champions League after the group stage. Eintracht Frankfurt represent a stark point of contrast to those sides. At the start of the season, the verdict on the club from outside was near-unanimous: they're not quite good enough to keep up with the top European teams.
And the first showings of the campaign seemed to prove many critics right. 1-6 against Bayern, 0-3 at home against Sporting — Frankfurt progressing to the Champions League knockouts seemed about as likely as Bayern being relegated from the Bundesliga.
Of course, Frankfurt could never compete with the budget of state-owned clubs like Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain. But the lack of financial resources encourages creativity when it comes to transfers. The additional income resulting from the Champions League qualification this year was put to optimal use: for the signing of a reinvigorated Mario Götze and Randal Kolo Muani, who now form one of the best attacking duos in the Bundesliga with Jasper Lindstrom.
Smart management paired with the incomparable power of the Eintracht supporters makes you think that no club would like to be drawn against Frankfurt in the round of 16 — not even Man City or PSG. And what do those three clubs have in common?
Right, despite the billions poured into the English and the French champions over the last decade, they have failed to gain the ultimate success, winning the Champions League. If anything, the French league is more boring than it has ever been and the Premier League, just like last year, seems to be a two-horse-race at the most. Money can't buy everything after all.
Bayern as dominant as ever
Bayern Munich has been even more ruthlessly efficient in the Champions League this season, despite being drawn into the group of death alongside Barcelona and Inter — teams with three European titles between them since 2010. The Bavarians won every game in the group stage.
Yet in the Bundesliga, Bayern are still only second behind Union Berlin and have Freiburg and Dortmund within three points. It's early days and bucks an established trend but still, the question could be asked: If the Bundesliga is the farmer's league, what does that make the Champions League?
It sounds like a broken record to say that Borussia Dortmund needs more consistency in their game. Yet, at their best, they had Manchester City on the brink of defeat in both games. Despite the big financial gap between both clubs and Dortmund continuing to lose their best players year after year, they can still compete with the club that stole Erling Haaland before the season. Shouldn't Manchester City, with all the money they have spent, be completely dominant against a "farmer's league" team?
And let's not forget RB Leipzig, who, in the process of progressing to the knockout stage, beat Real Madrid and finished just a point behind the defending champions. Though it must be said that their adherence to 50+1 is limited at best.
But the Bundesliga is back. In fact, it was never gone. It just needed some time to compete with the overwhelming financial power elsewhere. Now, the reward for staying calm in the most tumultuous times of European football is starting to pay off on the pitch.
And to witness all that happening (mostly) under the 50+1 rule, puts a smile on the face of every football romantic.
Edited by: Matt Pearson