‘It killed us’: why Watzke is rueing BVB’s season | OneFootball

After a strong Bundesliga season, BVB boss Watzke draws a mixed conclusion. He describes one match in particular as the decisive blemish.

Borussia Dortmund are having a strong Bundesliga season – and yet still clearly remain in the shadow of FC Bayern Munich. For BVB president Hans-Joachim Watzke, the picture of the campaign is therefore mixed: a lot of positives, but also one decisive setback.

With 61 points after 27 matchdays, BVB are as consistent as they have been in a long time. “In the Bundesliga, it’s been really good,” Watzke emphasized in an interview with Sky, pointing to the development of recent years: “I believe we haven’t picked up this many points since 2016 or so.” In many seasons, such a tally would even have been enough for the top spot.

But this season, even that is not enough. The gap to FC Bayern stands at a full nine points – and the Munich side seem to be marching relentlessly toward the title. For the BVB boss, it is clear what that comes down to: “The only problem is that Bayern always decide whether you can become German champions or not.”

At the same time, the Dortmund chief is impressed by the rival’s current form. “For me, Bayern are currently the best team in Europe,” said Watzke, singling out in particular their dominant display against Atalanta Bergamo in the Champions League: “I rarely felt so happy about a Bayern Munich win, because it was so clear and emphatic.”

Watzke still rues BVB’s exit against Atalanta Bergamo

While the Munich side are still competing on all three fronts and will face Real Madrid in the quarter-finals of Europe’s premier competition, BVB’s international journey had already come to an early end. For Watzke, that is precisely the decisive blemish on the season. “The season has a blemish, there’s no point beating around the bush,” the 66-year-old made clear.

Photo: IMAGO

The exit against Atalanta hurts in particular – also because of how the match unfolded. After a 2:0 win in the first leg, an unexpected collapse followed in Italy. “We had a bad day. And that killed us in Bergamo,” Watzke said of the 1:4 defeat in the second leg. The disappointment still runs deep, because for a long time it looked as though they would go through: “You had the feeling that we were going to take it in extra time.”

In addition to the Champions League exit, Dortmund also suffered a setback in the DFB-Pokal after being knocked out by Bayer Leverkusen. In the end, all that remains for BVB is the league – and even there, a strong season will probably not be enough to finish on top.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.