If Dortmund Played In The Premier League…Updated
This post was originally inspired by one of those tweets that lustily hinted that the tweeter/Gooner would gladly swap Klopp for Wenger and thereby turn Arsenal into Dortmund overnight.
Yes, if only we could sack our beloved manager and replace him with the tactical genius behind this tactics board, that the media and twitter fawnwd over, when the photo was circulated a few months ago. Finally, we had the BvB masterplan!
But alas it had a secret code of player names that no one has yet cracked. Not even the Enigma machine could tell us who Klopp was referring to when he writes the code word “Lewandowski.” And those mystical arrows that seem to urge his players to “run around a bit.”
Brilliant. Fucking brilliant!
In hindsight, I think we went a bit over the top at the time.
Look, I like Klopp and Dortmund as much as the next man, but you’re all starting to get on my tits. And so I bring you…
IF DORTMUND PLAYED IN THE PREMIER LEAGUE
If Dortmund played in the Premier League…they would have to recruit and develop local talent ie English talent (the very definition of an oxymoron.) Instead, today they shop in the German, Turkish, Polish and Eastern European pools ie their satellite countries, for super-cheap talents.
Today, the big majority of Dortmund’s talent does NOT come through their own Academy. They nick most of it from everyone else’s Academy.
Their great talent development is the result of a National initiative that each club is required to contribute to by the central football association. And so they can thank the fact that their National organization “works” with the clubs and thereby forces the Schalke’s of their league to develop talent for Dortmund and Bayern to steal. National coaching resources dwarf those in the UK. And the attitude of their youths to training and acquiring technical skills is renowned throughout Europe and matched only in Spain, perhaps.
For comparison purposes, ponder if you will that England can’t find 11 quality footballers between the ages of 17 and 35 to field a competitive International XI. There is absolutely nothing Dortmund could do to develop that talent in England because they never created the raw material, the national coaching or the system from which they benefit in the BL. They just milked it.
No, instead they would join us in the chase for the next Gareth Barry or Andy Carroll or Stewart Downing or James Milner. (All England Internationals, may I remind you. Stewart Downing has 35 caps. Let that sink in for a moment. James Milner has 38 caps. How many would they get in the current German NT?)
If Dortmund played in the Premier League, any talent they did acquire or develop would be snaffled up by United, City and Chelsea every year so that their 2 best budding stars would be nabbed just before they reached their peak.
If Dortmund played in the Premier League, they would have to pay their young talents a British Premium instead of enjoying the German discount. You can just go ahead and double their wages. Now.
If Dortmund played in the Premier League, they would at best be the 4th most attractive destination for talent reaching its peak, rather than one of the top two destinations in the Bundesliga.
If Dortmund played in the Premier League, their remaining squad, ravaged by the annual cherry-picking of United, CFC and City, would have to attempt to climb over those 3 teams who are intent on, and capable of, spending whatever it takes to top the league each year against each other. Now, to be fair, 1 of the 3 mega clubs might have an off year every few years. Maybe even 2 of them could have an off year in the same season, say, every 6 or 7 years or so. But Dortmund would have to get its timing spot on to have an “on year” in the exact year that all 3 mega rich clubs who were stripping them of their top players each year had a triple “off year.” It would be an eclipse made, not of 2 planets, but 3. Quite rare. I hope they happen to look up at the sky at just the right moment. “Ooops. Sorry it’s disappeared. See you in another 10 years time.” PS: Better not lose any players in the summer leading into that “Eclipse” season.
With only 1 mega club in their league last season, they got beaten by 25 points. But that was still fine as their CL place wasn’t remotely challenged by the rest.
If Dortmund played in the Premier League, they would have to avoid falling out of the Top 4 every and ANY year, despite the disruption of having any breakout talent stolen each summer, or they would fall another 35m behind the 3 mega clubs, while the following year they would have only the same resources as Spurs, Everton and Liverpool, who they then would have to fight for that 4th spot while recruiting from the exact same talent(less) pool while paying exorbitant British Player Premiums.
Talking of talent, it’s a national thing, not a Dortmund thing. Consider a couple of “facts:” From the Guardian…
As England fans grasp for indicators of how their team will perform at the World Cup, Digger can reveal statistics that will lead only to pessimism.
Three years ago an official report concluded that coaching is the “golden thread” leading to international success, but new Uefa data shows that there are only:
2,769 – England – coaches holding Uefa’s B, A and Pro badges, its top qualifications.
17,588 – France
23,995 – Spain
29,420 – Italy
34,970 – Germany
Between them those four nations have provided eight of the 12 finalists at all the World Cups and European Championships since 1998. England, meanwhile, have not appeared in a tournament final in 44 years.
There are 2.25 million players in England and only one Uefa-qualified coach for every 812 people playing the game. Spain, the World Cup favourites, have 408,134 players, giving a ratio of 1:17. In Italy, the world champions, the ratio is 1:48, in France it is 1:96, Germany 1:150 and even Greece, the Euro 2004 winners, have only 180,000 registered players for their 1,100 coaches, a ratio of 1:135.
1:812 England
1:150 Germany
1:135 Greece
1:96 France
1:48 Italy
1:17 Spain
If Dortmund played in the Premier League, they would remember fondly their days in the Bundesliga: A simpler life, fishing in a protected lake, teeming with fat fish, where only one bigger boat could ever give them a run for their money.
Dortmund is currently in great shape, with an excellent team and coach, doing a superb job. They have made hay while the sun shines. Last year they have parlayed their domestic advantages into an excellent Champions League run. Yes, they robbed Malaga. Poor down-trodden Malaga. And yes, they got mangled in the final and seemed to have no answer against that other team who were from…the Bundesliga. (Hhmmm, interesting, that.) And these 2 teams usurped the places of those other 2 dominant teams from that other protected league which is full of abundant and cheap talent which is allied to a National drive and matching culture to develop a winning National team ie Spain.
I think I am seeing a pattern here. A relatively easy run in the home league; protection of resources; cheap abundant local talent; a “National” system and culture that supports you.
But… Dortmund IS currently in great shape, with an excellent team and coach, doing a superb job. They should inspire other clubs, like Arsenal, as to what is possible if you can acquire AND maintain your talent long enough to produce the finished article.
You see, Dortmund’s great success has been to make the most of every advantage their National League has provided them. They’ve done it very well. And good luck to them!
Yes, good luck to you, Dortmund. You are the good guys. Fight the good fight. We see ourselves in you. And we envy you.
So yay…Go Dortmund!
PS: We have faced Dortmund 4 times in the last 3 years: P4 W2 D1 L1. It is true to say they have gotten a lot stronger in recently, I must admit. But so have we. It is true to say they had a couple of players injured for this year’s 2 matches. We had more than a couple injured.
And for those who believe the myth that BvB play a squad of Dortmund-born players, and do it all through development, I give you this chart that I borrowed:
PPPPPS: Our youth side has done well against their’s in recent times. This is not really a measure of anything at the full First Team/Squad level but… Just sayin’.
In defense of Dortmund, this same team did manage to beat Real Madrid – another bigger ship in the run for CL, they’re not big fish in a small bundesliga pond.
Also, there is nothing stopping a big club like ours to extend out scouting network and get the very same german/turkish/polish players for as cheap while still offering them english premium instead of discount german.
Our own matches in the CL versus Schalke is proof that they are not pushovers and maybe the Bundesliga has depth too, but obviously not on the same level as the premier league.
And I do remember you wrote a blog about using the Dortmund model and applying it here. It was the first one of your posts I’d read. And I agreed with you. I’m not the one to jizz in my pants at the idea of replacing Klopp for Wenger right now, But I do think of him and Guardiola as idea candidates whenever the professor steps down.
“Also, there is nothing stopping a big club like ours to extend out scouting network and get the very same german/turkish/polish players for as cheap” Your forgetting, all else equal players would prefer to stay in their home country’s league. And I want to say, scouting networks have an advantage in their home countries. I can’t see Bayern or Barca uncovering a Chamberlain or a Zaha before Utd, Us, Liverpool have had a good look at him.
of course scouting networks and clubs have home advantage! But the EPL is getting smarter every season. Look at the signings of swansea – laudrup is getting quality spaniards into the setup. Look at newcastle last season and the one before – they signed a slew of french talent and again at (relative to EPL) cheap prices. The fact that almost all major leagues other than the EPL continuously manage to get talent from brazil and argentina speaks a lot about the extent and capabilities of scouting networks. Theres another example thats closer to home – when we’d signed Jose Antonio Reyes, both him and Cristiano Ronaldo were considered hot prospects and were scouted by Arsenal. Wenger signed one of the two….
And I think even though most players would like to play in their home league, we still offer them other advantages like playing in a more competitive league and offering them better wages. So its quite possible to convince a few.
I agree scouting networks could be improved, Asia is still there for the taking Africa is still there for the taking etcetera. However, teams will always have a scouting advantage in their home networks especially in countries like Germany where the league is seen as largely responsible for creating good German players for the National team. We have said advantage over countries like France Portugal and the South America’s not so much with the Bundesliga and La Liga. ( As much as the La Liga is a two horse race it has quality teams).
Funny I almost adopted Dortmund as my second club( still considering it). Klopp seemed to be a master at building a world beater with limited resources. And Dortmund seemed prime to start winning after building a team the “right way” where as we failed.Although, one could argue the Bundesliga is less competitive as we have to deal with United and two oil clubs whilst they are only outmuscled financially by the equivalent of one united(as in Bayern, both clubs get their financial power through strong brands instead of oil money).
But now the team is looking more and more like Arsenal. Sold Kagawa last summer, though they did brilliant to bring in Reus, Goetze is gone and Lewandoski is on his way. Meanwhile, Bayern might as well be given the Bundesliga title for next season, they blew Dortmund out of the water winning the league by almost thirty points then took one of their best players the following summer.
Sad reality money talks and tears apart teams like Arsenal and Dortmund. Klopp is a brilliant manager in his own right, but it is preemptive to say he is able to do more than Wenger with the same financial restrictions persay.
I’m really getting tired of this growing legend about the club and it’s financial status, that how well we are doing considering the circumstances, that only Wenger could do what he did, the way the club survived is unique and admirable etc. Wrong, wrong and wrong.
There are many clubs in the same situation and doing the same, only more honestly. Take Valencia, where the irresponsible financial behavior of the board threw them in a massive depth, spiraling into ridiculous results on the pitch until the 2 Basques, Llorente and Emery took over and patched things up. Only that they did not sell the future every season to the supporters, it was admitted “guys, we’re in the shit right now, don’t expect big things, it will be better later”. You can say, that the break-up with Emery blew them out of the CL, as soon Llorente followed out on the same door, and ironically Unai was already coaching Sevilla, when at the last game of the season he made sure The Bats won’t reach the same hights without him.
Whereas in London Gazidis comes out every summer saying, we are well and capable of buying whoever we want, we just chose not to do it.
BVB is the benchmark of recovery, regardless of how much easier they had it. In less then 10 years they went through a league title, got almost bankrupted and dissolved, and came back to be the other dominant force in the country. Fantastic! That’s the only word it can be described with. You can see rise and fall, progress over there. While Arsenal is the same slumber for the 8th year doing there best to stay politically correct in their statements. It feels like rooting for a party and not a football club anymore.
Stop putting the club on a pedestal just because we don’t know what else is going on in the world of football, what situation other clubs are in and how they deal with it. Look around, we are not alone with this financial mess, and we are far from dealing with it in the best way possible.
True Lonk; I worry that we keep making excuses for Uncle Wenger. I’m not saying that he hasn’t done a brilliant job in the past and even recently but I’m beginning to view our support of AW like parents accepting a PASS from an Honours student just because he moved from Harvard to a lesser known Uni or because the brilliant Chinese students moved into his class.
Or even the reason that you cannot start a business because you have no capital. This hasn’t stopped others from creating conglomerates out of nothing; likewise Arsenal. Although Judas left for Man-U, what would it have cost us to pay him at least 140k from his 75k a week, he’s worth it. And what stopped us from just adding Mata to the mix? An extra £7m? Carzola is fantastic and OG good but, it would have cost us less to get Mata and up RvP’s pay than get LP,OG and Carzola; not that I regret their purchase anyway.
Why did it take us so long to free our deadwood? And while it isn’t right to dump all the gross on AW’s table, why hasn’t the Board pushed forward for something better? I hear the reason some Gunners miss Dein’s because he could convince AW to spend a little more a quality player.
And about Klopp, we all know that he’s a bit of a better tactician than AW. Last season, we hardly ever had a plan B, we flogged the same formation every match day, we were predictable and we depended on one player to give than extra magic before we could pull a win (think lil Mozart and Carzola), remember the game against Sunderland?
I had a discussion with @Lil Von Dutch the other day, we’re beginning to forget what winning feels like, if not the EPL, what of all the FA Cups and League Cups? When you’re happy to pull in 4th every season you soon become like Everton or Spuds – A not bad but not great team – and when will it hit us in the face?
It’s much like Nigeria is today, grateful to get by on two meals a day and no electricity or water and a poor economy but forgetting that countries like China, Brazil and India are getting closer to super power-dom by using the great manpower they have and making really wise decisions. Nigeria mind you is more endowed with natural resources than they know what to do with and the excuse of most of the populace is that at least the country is not at war or at least we can eat twice a day only very few accept that something is fundamentally wrong.
140k and RVP would have stayed your living in a pipe dream , what makes you think Mata was about money Chelsea eventually got him for 2-3 mill more if I’m correct. And it was the board that didn’t up the bid despite Wenger desperately wanting him. After all he is on 60k which is wages we can afford. I think Mata went to chelsea because it was a better prospect and his decision was allegedly influenced by Torres( Spanish connection).
You went a bit off there :).
I’m not on the opinion that Klopp should replace Wenger, at least not yet. I’m not even on the opinion that Wenger should go, he deserves a fair chance with a big coffer, after what he did for the club, but if he’s putting that money in his pillow and continue on sleeping…
The only thing that bothers me is this ever growing mysticism and worship about what he’s doing with the tight budget and a financially restrained club. It’s like he’s using magic or curing lepers or something. Love him and support him because he’s our manager, but don’t make him a god when he’s not alone with the task, and he’s not the one doing the best job at it. Presumed inferior clubs are pulling transfer after transfer, not even bad ones. Napoli scooped up Higuain in a week even with the 48 hour delay the player asked for and we were scratching around for a month or so with that business. Juve got Llorente for FREE! How the hell is that striker not good enough for us?
This squad needs strengthening not just by quality but by sheer numbers as well, but we keep hearing this mantra “we are looking for the right players”, like if somewhere out there on the plains of the Taiga there is one little Tatar kid who’s gonna turn our fortune around single handedly. If you are hungry, you eat. Period. You are not pushing a dish of pees away because you want rice, and you rather stay hungry for one more day. Just deal with what’s on the table.
Let me correct you first. Valencia won a Copa Del Rey even with the shitty Koeman management, when they finished well mid table. And under Emery they were just as consistently “aso ran”-s like us. Last time they won the league was the same year we did.
Dortmund won 2 titles in back to back years, and one double. Gave BM a run for their money in the CL final, and last week won the German Super Cup or how the call it.
Consistency is one thing, but the we are consistent in mediocrity. Sure, the other clubs fluctuate more, but forgive me again: that feels more like football, then the calculated bean pushing at Arsenal. The sport is a big business now, but at our house it’s just business. The board hides behind the uncompromising commitment of Wenger to pretty footbal, which in itself is a good thing and we can be proud of him. But in the same time the club in reality feels like an Aston Martin with a VW Beetle engine inside of it.
I stand corrected on Dortmund, two Bundesliga titles not one. As to the minor trophies ( FA ,Carling) I personally do not care for them, but to be fair Wenger has to be held accountable for failing to get them the past 8 years when Liverpool, Swansea, and other lesser clubs have managed so.So Kudos to Dortmund for that in a depressing season. That being said I still maintain my point, though Klopp has done brilliantly the past few years he is being given a lot more credit than he deserves if one thinks he would be an upgrade over Wenger. There seems to be this belief that if we had such a manager we would be trading titles with Manchester and stealing champions league titles from Barcelona. Even with Klopp the last 8 years would largely be the same IMO. If in the next 3,4,5 years he is able to properly contend for the Bundesliga and champions league then we can start calling him a coaching God. Don’t get me wrong I rate Klopp very highly and would love him as a long term replacement for Wenger.
On Valencia kudos to them, they won a Copa Del Rey. Between the last time we both won our leagues how many champions league spots have they gotten. A copa del rey trophy and a inconsistent champions league participating isn’t enough to call what they did a sucess in comparison to us.
Forgive me, how many trophies did Valencia win in the past few years. When were they last La Liga champions, Have they won a champions league recently, Do they manage to finish top four as consistant as us. I still haven’t found a club that has managed to consistently challenged for trophies under similar restrictions as arsenal. Let me be clear, I’m not saying it was impossible for us to win trophies we could have grabbed a league title or two in the past 8 years and won a few FA cups and carling cups. I am saying those that are saying look at Dortmund , Jorgen Klopp is able to do what Wenger failed compete without proper funds. Dortmund got one league title and almost a champions league but look like they are about to be Arsenal pt. 2 in an arguable easier league with cheaper talent availble.
Looking more like Arsenal? Arsenal are a better team. (note the full stop) playing in the EPL would really test their depth, which they dont have. if Lewandowski goes this season where would dortmund be then? Would they make top four in the EPL? We did it without RVP…
Depends what you mean by putting the Germans into the PL. The point of this blog I think is pretty clear. The PL is fucked because of the trophy-buying, suggar-daddy titty-sucking clubs being able to bully and solve every problem they have by throwing cash at it. There is no initiative like in the Bundesliga to improve their youth systems, the money-centric setup of the entire league stifles any real and fair competition. If Dortmund were to come to the PL, they’d have to learn to live in such a harsh environment or find a sugar-daddy. But if the Germans were to come to the PL in the sense that the entire setup of the PL becomes more like the Bundesliga, that would be wonderful.
sorry, meant to reply to the comment below
I don’t deny the truth of most, if not all, of your points but I’m a bit tired of this continual dissing of those of us who’ve come to admire and enjoy BVB. It always happens when a club outside the PL becomes popular to a lot of neutrals or casual football fans. How dare we enjoy a club other than the one we support-how dare we admire and praise a club outside the PL that is NOT Barca/RM/Bayern/Milan/the usual suspects. We’re dismissed as “hipsters” and our simple respect and enjoyment of a club that has barged into the tiny “in group” of clubs in Europe is trashed.
Of course the suggestion that Klopp could just take over AFC smoothly and bring us to automatic glory is nonsense. I tend to read viewpoints like that and shake my head, roll my eyes & move onto the next tweet or post — thinking it’s just some 12 yr old kid (tho maybe in a 35 yr old body) who doesn’t deserve much attention.
I have to say, tho, I do object to the notion that the good, smart people working at BVB & in German football generally are somehow lesser beings incapable of figuring out how to deal with the tough obstacles in the PL. It’s a PL-centric supremacist attitude. The Germans are pretty smart, flexible, creative and sophisticated. You never know. Put them in the PL and they might surprise you–and not be as flummoxed, inept or as paralyzed at facing the PL’s many obstacles as you might think.
Hi Sandra, Great points and I always listen intently when you talk about that foreign footie.
I wish we were good at talking about other teams and managers without pulling in our own issues, which is really what kicked off this blog.
BvB/Klopp are doing an excellent job. Full stop.
And I agree, they would do very well if dropped into the EPL, in the first year or 2. But after a few years, they would get EPL’d, for good and bad. If they could keep their culture intact, and if they could maintain the same talent pipeline, then they could indeed thrive in the EPL. But they would still have to beat out Utd, CFC, City and AFC EVERY year for that CL spot. Might they miss out on CL qualification for a year or 2 and then get set backwards and become more “Spurs-like.” And then struggle to attract that talent (which really doesnt exist in the UK anyway.) And have to compete on a like-for-like basis with 3-4 mega clubs for whatever talent is in or comes in to the UK and then have to pay what seems to them today ludicrous fees and wages for unproven talent.
But to be fair, whatever their circumstances, BvB have been superb and made the most of it over the last 2-3 years. No ifs, ands or buts. They are the good guys. And something to be emulated where possible.
Good blog mate. I can’t help but think “if Dortmund played in England they’d be Arsenal”.
Hah…with a tactical diagram like that……if Klopp was in England, he’d probably be Arry.
Most teams write there lineup like that.
What to expect from your usual premface
pls go
You must have missed all of the twitter fawning over this incredible find – Dortmund’s tactics board. Once again you seem to be trying to argue with me by supporting my point. Very strange. Not sure you understood me at all, at all.
What a horrible article.
First off, Dortmund are the 2nd best team in the world behind Bayern.
Let us clear some of the obvious misconceptions in your horrible post.
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(If Dortmund played in the Premier League…they would have to recruit and develop local talent ie English talent (the very definition of an oxymoron.) Instead they shop in the German, Turkish, Polish and Eastern European pools ie their satellite countries, for super-cheap talents.
{Today, the big majority of Dortmund’s talent does NOT come through their own Academy}. They nick most of it from everyone else’s Academy)
What?
I don’t even know where to start, first off half of Dortmund’s team from 12/13 is from the youth team. Dortmund nicked other players from other youth academies because they didn’t have the money to upgrade there youth facilities back in 2005-2008/9 (coming from near bankruptcy had to balance the sheets), so they looked at cheaper alternatives and bought the likes of Subotic, Hummels, Bender, Piszceck, Santana for either free or relatively low fees to help rebuild the team.
Now they are developing talent from there youth teams since they have a positive and balanced sheet, you’ll see nicking from other youth teams will start to decrease.
And tell me what is stopping English teams from pouncing and developing Eastern European talents. I’m quite sure Arsenal do the same with France.
pls go
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(If Dortmund played in the Premier League, any talent they did acquire or develop would be snaffled up by United, City and Chelsea every year so that their 2 best budding stars would be nabbed just before they made a decisive contribution)
Lol, no they wouldn’t, you don’t understand football and mental management do you? A player wants to grow as a much as possible in a team then move. For example: Gotze, Sahin and Kagawa all said they grew as much as they could in Dortmund and wanted a next step. Players won’t move if they know they wont start. Especially young players. And Dortmund have a balanced sheet so its not like they need to sell anyone.
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(If Dortmund played in the Premier League, they would at best be the 4th most attractive destination for talent, rather than one of the top two destinations in the Bundesliga.
If Dortmund played in the Premier League, their remaining squad, ravaged by the annual cherry-picking of United, CFC and City, would then have to try to climb over the top of the 3 teams who are intent on and capable of spending whatever it takes to top the league each year against each other. 1 of the 3 mega clubs might have an off year every few years. Maybe even 2 of them would have an off year in the same season every 6 or 7 years. But Dortmund would have to time having an “on year” in the exact year that all 3 mega rich clubs who were stripping them of their top players each year had a triple “off year.” An eclipse made, not of 2 planets, but 3. Quite rare. I hope they happen to look up at the sky at just the right moment. “Ooops. Sorry it’s disappeared. See you in another 10 years time.” PS: Better not lose any players over the summer of that season.)
Once again horrible misconception premface, why would they be 4th most attractive for talent? Talents go to teams where they can develop not go to a team that gives a hefty paycheck and not develop.
Once again, Dortmund don’t need to accept any offers from City, Chelsea, United since they have a balanced sheet. It’s up to the players and players would only move if they know they developed as much as they can in the team or want a new challenge. If Dortmund refuse to sell then there would be no talks.
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(With only 1 mega club in their league last season, they got beaten by 25 points.
If Dortmund played in the Premier League, they would have to avoid falling out of the Top 4 every ANY year despite the disruption of having any breakout talent stolen each summer, or they would fall another 35m behind the 3 mega clubs while the following year, they would have only the same resources as Spurs, Everton and Liverpool, who they then would have to fight for that 4th spot while recruiting from the exact same talent(less) pool while paying exorbitant British Player Premiums.)
You clearly don’t watch German football do you?
You know why BVB finished 25 points behind? Because they don’t have nearly as much depth as Bayern do. There bench is thin while Bayern have a stacked bench so they can rest players. Dortmund do need to rest players due to there very hardworking playing style, what happens when you play a team that isnt as good as the first team? You’ll do worse than the first team and you’ll be less consistent and lose games you should have won.
BTW, if Dortmund were competing in the EPL they would finish 1st or 2nd.
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(Dortmund is currently in great shape, with an excellent team and coach, doing a superb job. They have made hay while the sun shines. They have parlayed their domestic advantages into an excellent Champions League run this year. Yes, they robbed Malaga. Poor down-trodden Malaga. And yes, they got mangled in the final and seemed to have no answer against that other team who were from…the Bundesliga (hmmm) and these 2 teams usurped the places of those other 2 teams from that other protected league which is full of abundant and cheap talent which is allied to a National drive and matching culture to develop a winning National team.)
Mangled in the final? They played great in the final without there best player and only last in the last few minutes. Mangle? I know mangle is United 8-2 Arsenal, Milan 4-0 Arsenal.
You know EPL would be alot better off with the German model there would be less douchebags like you lol. I’m not even an Arsenal fan nor BVB fan but this was such a horrible article. With so many misconceptions from your average Premface.
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(PPS: Last, but not least, we should remember that we beat Dortmund in the CL 2-1 at the Ems in the previous season, and we were within 2 minutes of beating them away at their gaff before that fucker levelled it with that flukey fucking shot that he could never repeat in a 1,000 matches. Just sayin’.
And WE beat Bayern last season. Dortmund didn’t. Just sayin’.)
Facepalm, you do realize that Dortmund didn’t have Reus, Gundogan was settling into Dortmund, Gotze was injured…RIGHT? And there was a change in tactics from last CL to this CL right, Dortmund didn’t run as much and played much more ruthless unlike last season if Klopp said it himself. Lol so you beat Bayern = Arsenal>Dortmund..
honestly
pls go
What a shit article do everyone a favor and stop writing.
And I don’t care about Arsenal, but I did notice you took a dig at Dortmund which was disgusting due to the amount of misconceptions in this post.
BTW most coaches write there lineups like that on paper, it’s what they say to the players that count.
If Dortmund were in the BPL they would either finish 1st or 2nd, and would play the best football in the league.
Arsenal could have become like Dortmund but instead you sold your player due to having stadium debts and players WANTING TO LEAVE since you guys couldn’t even win the carling cup? FA cup?
0/10 on the article clearly misinformed.
Strangely enough, you disgree with my points and then set about proving them correct. I’m not sure you really understood any of the points I was really making, mate.
Dortmund are a super team, with a super coach. They have done very well with their “natural advantages.” Seems like you like to believe the myth that they are under-privileged. They’re not. They are the 2nd best team in a league with no Predator Oligarchs (ie they’re lucky fuckers who are protected by a National initiative and ownership model.) Half their team is NOT from the Academy, far less in fact. I checked before I blogged. BvB are better connected to scout in all the places I mentioned for reasons that only the willfully blind could miss, though you still made my points for me eg just as you spotted that Wenger is better connected to scout in France, no longer an advantage to brag about.
I watched the Bundesliga highlights last night and for many of the games, the standard of ball play was comparable to the Championship. I am well aware that highlights are only selective and not a true representation but they are surely an indication.
Fabulous article, thank you for that. The ratio of home grown players this calender year throughout the leagues is very interesting. Surprised that the Italian league seems to be the poorest overall?
And premier league too……We are lead to believe that Southampton are the team of homegrowns……
very nice