Hans-Joachim Watzke is not only the managing director of BVB, but also the head of the supervisory board of the DFL. And in this role he has now spoken.
DFL supervisory board chairman Hans-Joachim Watzke has reacted to the malice of Liverpool legend Dean Saunders. He said that Bayern’s newcomer Sadio Mané would have an easy life in the Bundesliga “in third gear” and “with a cigar in the armchair”. Watzke told the “Bild am Sonntag”: “There are always some arrogant idiots like in this case.”
The 63-year-old continued: “As a board member of Europe’s club association ECA, I know that German football still has a good reputation.” Nevertheless, Watzke also knows what is necessary in view of the financially stronger competition from abroad: “The Bundesliga must bring in stars like Mané and Götze, but also create stars of its own.”
Above all, the league should finally create an exciting fight at the top after ten Bayern championships in a row. Watzke raises hopes there too. “What I can promise is that some clubs will do everything for an exciting title race,” said the 63-year-old: “Borussia Dortmund is one of them, as are Leipzig and Leverkusen.”
50+1 is out of the question
However, the clubs must continue to fight Bayern in compliance with the 50+1 rule. Despite the ongoing debate about the abolition of the investor limit, Watzke guaranteed the preservation of the regulation, which was demanded above all by the fan groups.
“The greatest nonsense is to claim that you can’t be successful with 50+1,” said the Vice President of the German Football Association (DFB): “It’s no longer necessary to discuss 50+1 because there will be no change in Germany under my responsibility as head of the DFL supervisory board in the next few years. That’s one hundred percent certain.”