The whole of Dortmund was prepared to let the dams burst and finally celebrate the return of the championship trophy to the metropolis in the Ruhr area. But everything turned out differently. Borussia Dortmund messed up the lead in the table against 1. FSV Mainz 05 (2-2) on the last match day, while FC Bayern fought their way to a win against 1. FC Köln and extended their dominance with their eleventh championship in a row. A difficult moment for BVB Managing Director Hans-Joachim Watzke, but it could happen again.
“There was such a deep pain, worse than after Wembley in 2013,” Watzke told “Bild am Sonntag” about his mental life after BVB’s championship match ball was awarded.
In London in 2013, the black and yellow and FC Bayern met in the final of the Champions League, Borussia lost narrowly. At the time, however, it was clear “that Bayern is the favourite. Last week, on the other hand, after eleven years of abstinence, we already had a hand on the bowl, we were millimeters from the goal – then…”, explains Watzke.
When the Munich team scored 2-1 against Cologne shortly before the end of their encounter, it felt as if “someone rammed a knife into his heart,” the BVB boss continued.
Watzke doesn’t want to know anything about a BVB trauma
However, the 63-year-old does not want to talk about a “trauma”. You just have to keep working and then you will eventually reach your goals.
According to Watzke, the fact that Dortmund’s efforts have so far remained uncrowned is clearly due to the superiority of the competitor from Munich. “We have very different requirements. Borussia Dortmund has to overperform – in modern German – Bayern have to underperform – and if both deliver normally, Bayern will be champions for the twelfth time. Whether people like to hear that or not, that’s a fact!”
Speaking of FC Bayern: FCB honorary president Uli Hoeneß called Watzke when he was still in the stadium after the championship had been won. A gesture that Watzke found “appreciative”.
Incidentally, Watzke draws courage from the year 2023, in which BVB scored nine points more than the record champions. “You don’t get 46 points in 19 games if you can’t do anything. I think our team is capable of winning titles. They already have. This second half of the season was no coincidence!