5 reasons Borussia Dortmund will forever be in Bayern Munich’s shadow

Usurping the king can be a tricky task. All the stars must align, you must best them in combat and then have the resources to back yourself once you ascend to the throne.

That’s what many thought may happen when Borussia Dortmund won back-to-back league titles in 2011 and 2012, but they never imagined the storm that would come afterwards. Bayern Munich bit back hard, winning every Bundesliga crown since and have repeatedly put back their would-be foes.

Even in the modern game, it’s difficult to match the big boys, so here’s five reasons why Dortmund will be forever in Munich’s large, large shadow.

#5 The History

A lot of football fans are determined not to talk about history but unfortunately for Dortmund, Bayern’s eclipses them with ease. 27 Bundesliga titles to the Yellow’s eight, 18 DFB Pokal wins to four and five Champions League trophies to their one.

If you’re not great at maths, that’s a huge deficit for BVB to make up.

So that’s all in the past? Let’s talk about the here and now then. Munich have amassed nine major trophies over the past five years, compared to Dortmund’s one, which should be evidence enough because now it looks like picking on Peter Bosz’s side.

Admittedly, that haul is tough for anyone in Europe to compete with, which is why the gap is impossible to overcome.

#4 The Selling to them

Robert Lewandowski

You can never build a stable mansion when the foundations keep giving way. That’s exactly what has happened with Dortmund, just when they seemed like they were creating something, Munich were there to pull the rug from underneath them.

The first was Mario Gotze, who they poached by activating a release clause in his contract. It didn’t quite go to plan for the young German at the Allianz Arena but it was the first sign that the Yellow Wall could be brought down.

Next and potentially the biggest, Robert Lewandowski joined on a free transfer after his contract ran out. Rather than get the money a year prior, Dortmund stood firm but missed out what could have been used to replenish their squad.

A final blow came just over a year ago when Mats Hummels returned to Bavaria. Too often have Dortmund’s best players made the journey to the “bigger” team in Germany.

#3 The Pull

The previous point is accentuated by this one, that seemingly no German player can resist the allure of playing for Bayern Munich.

It’s not surprising, especially when you start listing off the names that have pulled on that red shirt in the past:

Franz Beckenbauer, Gerd Muller, Uli Hoeness, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Lothar Matthaus, Stefan Effenberg, Oliver Kahn, Miroslav Klose, Philipp Lahm, Manuel Neuer.

It’s a who’s who of Deutschland’s history that’s too difficult to ignore. When so much talent passes through that door along so many different generations of footballers, it’s almost like the greats of German football can’t have a stop at Bayern not on their CV.

#2 The City

This one is the most contentious, given that Dortmund is a lovely city with a lot of history. However, it’s not quite got the clout both on a national and international level as the Bavarian capital.

For starters, it’s the third biggest city in Germany behind Hamburg and the capital Berlin, while also being the 12th biggest city in the EU. It’s history with medial times, the Olympics in the 1970s and much more just give it a bit of an edge.

Added benefits like the widely renowned attraction Oktoberfest and a major international airport, it’s difficult to oppose.

Players love living in vibrant cities where there is plenty to do with all their wealth and simply put, Munich offers more of those to the modern high-earner than Dortmund can.

#1 The Money

Oh yeah, this old chestnut. In the game of football, you either have a ton of money to splash around everywhere or you die.

Bayern Munich are officially the most supported club in Germany, an international brand which generated the third-biggest revenue of any club in the world during the 2013-14 season. It’s pretty hard to compete with that.

While the rules for ownership in the Bundesliga restrict them slightly, it also holds back their rivals in competing with their swelled budget. It means they attract the biggest stars, like James Rodriguez from Real Madrid this summer.

In the end, this is probably the biggest and most difficult hurdle that Dortmund simply can’t overcome. When you’re already established as that global machine that even non-sports fans recognise, it will be almost impossible to top them financially.