Hoeness: Bayern Munich are the underdogs in Der Klassiker
Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness says his team are the underdogs in Saturday’s huge clash against Borussia Dortmund.
The biggest game of the Bundesliga season will take place this weekend, when Borussia Dortmund host Bayern Munich on Saturday. The match is traditionally a tightly contested affair, though Bayern have had the upper hand on their rivals for the past few years. Dortmund’s last win over Bayern came in the 2016-17 season when they knocked the Bavarians out of the DFB Pokal.
Borussia Dortmund have been one of the most impressive teams in Europe this season, though. Lucien Favre has made them an exciting team to watch, and they remain unbeaten in the Bundesliga. Speaking after Bayern’s 2-0 win yesterday (via Goal), Uli Hoeness admitted that his Bayern are the underdogs against Dortmund for the first time in a long time. Hoeness insisted that Bayern will have to work very hard to get a positive result on Saturday.
"“You can’t go to Dortmund and say that you want to secure three points. Dortmund have had a very good season so far, no doubt about it.“We do not go to Dortmund as favorites, but as underdogs – for the first time in a long time. We have to make sure we play a good game there and then we’ll see what happens.”"
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Dortmund have a four-point lead over Bayern in the Bundesliga. This game will have a big say in the title race. Bayern Munich bounced back against AEK Athens after a disappointing draw against Freiburg last weekend, so they head into this match with a little momentum.
Dortmund, meanwhile, suffered their first competitive defeat of the season against Atletico Madrid on Tuesday. The Bavarians have been better in their away games this season than their games at Allianz Arena, so that is a good omen for Saturday.
Hoeness also gave his vote of confidence for Niko Kovac on Wednesday. Bayern, according to him, are under transition right now, and Kovac needs time to get things right. Hoeness is skeptical about Kovac’s rotation policy, but he previously backed Kovac to turn things around when the team was approaching crisis mode last month.
In this lengthy interview, Hoeness also apologized to Juan Bernat for his rude remarks against the Spaniard. Bernat was heavily criticized for his performances at Bayern last season in a weird press-conference by the Bayern hierarchy just after the last international break. The Spaniard responded to these comments in a dignified manner, and Hoeness finally issued an apology.
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Bayern Munich are unbeaten in their past six games across all competitions. The performances have not been convincing, but Kovac’s players have churned out results to ease pressure on their new manager. Bayern still remain a stronger side on paper compared to Dortmund, but the hosts have the momentum with them. A win in this game would be massive for Kovac, and could act as a springboard to propel him to further success in Bavaria.