Key talking points from Borussia Dortmund’s draw against Eintracht Frankfurt

The Bundesliga is more competitive than recent seasons

While this may not exactly be something we might have learned just from the Frankfurt game, the game on Saturday surely highlighted that teams in the Bundesliga are much more serious threats to each other than in years past.

There is a simple truth that all Dortmund fans can agree on. Most of us sincerely want nothing more than for Dortmund to trounce every opponent they face and storm their way to the Bundesliga title this year. The fact that there’s more close games against teams like Leipzig and Frankfurt is a sign that the league is growing in strength and competition for the top spots, however,  and this is a  very good thing for Dortmund, too.

Taking Frankfurt for example, the club is on the rise again after having faced relegation in the recent past. The club itself has a colorful history, having won the German championship in 1959, multiple DFB cups, a European cup in 1960 and the UEFA Cup in 1980. The club’s most recent DFB cup win under Niko Kovač hinted at what could be a resurgence, and their performances this season have underlined their desire to challenge for top four and beyond.

Now you may be wondering why this is a good thing for a team like Dortmund, who are on the cusp of winning their first title since 2012? The answer to this question is the same that has often been offered for why Bayern needs more competition in the league, and that is the stronger the competition, the better they will have to be to compete and win silverware.

Back in September, when Bayern were stripped of their perch atop the Bundesliga by Lucien Favre’s side, Benjamin Scott of Bayern Strikes highlighted that a lack of competition in the Bundesliga has hindered Bayern in the latter stages of the Champions League. By not having stiffer competition at home, Bayern was never tested in the same way they were in international competitions on the domestic front. But now, with the advent of a Dortmund side capable of challenging, and the rise of teams like Frankfurt, Leipzig, Bayer and other teams capable of taking points off of the German champions, the title is suddenly up for grabs, which leads for the teams in the league to push each other harder, which in turn forces them to up the tempo and quality of performances for sustained periods of time.

In a league where the teams constantly test each other, there is mutual growth, albeit a ton of stress, especially if you’re trying to win your first title in so long. Despite all of this, I certainly feel that its due to this competition that Dortmund has also been able to shift into yet another gear; To push their game to a level the next level. Recent history underlines this, with both Bayern and Dortmund reaching the Champions League final in 2013. Now, while that specific year Bayern rampaged their way to the Bundesliga title in record breaking style, the two previous years had seen them play second fiddle to Dortmund domestically.

I believe that this competition and rivalry helped them achieve glory in European competition, and while this may not have been the only factor, it surely played a role in Bayern stepping their game up and producing the performances necessary to re assert dominance.

While I don’t necessarily see this as a platform to light up and improve Borussia Dortmund’s international performances, the strengthening of opposition will force Dortmund to strengthen even more, which will mean continuous improvements to the squad that will allow them to keep competing. With more and more teams aiming for European spots, the board will have no choice but to build on the success the team has already achieved.

With the Bundesliga strengthening, Dortmund fans can look forward to the club rising to meet the occasion. Dortmund’s recent internal discussions to permanently stop any sale of their star players to Bayern Munich, and instead sell players to other leagues if they refuse to renew well before their contract expires is a testament to this. The club is trying to shed its reputation as an academy for the Bavarian giants, and this is certainly a step in the right direction. Acquisitions like Axel Witsel are testaments to the club’s ability to attract big names, and links to the likes of Thorgan Hazard suggest Dortmund is willing to spend money to bring in the personnel necessary to not only challenge, but to stave off the other would be competitors in the process.

Hence, we can certainly take this uptick in competition in the Bundesliga as a whole as exciting times for Dortmund and German football as a whole, which, after so many years of Bavarian dominance, I welcome wholeheartedly.