Ottmar Hitzfeld backs Bayern Munich to win Bundesliga title
Ottmar Hitzfield has backed Bayern Munich to pip Borussia Dortmund for the Bundesliga title this season, despite their recent form.
Bundesliga fans are finally witnessing an exciting title race after years of dominance from Bayern Munich. Borussia Dortmund currently boast a nine-point lead over the Bavarians, who are languishing outside the top four as they have dropped points in the German top flight as often as they have not.
Bayern have a chance to make it seven Bundesliga titles in a row if can somehow turn their season around and beat Dortmund in the title race. In an interview with Goal, Ottmar Hitzfeld backed his former club to overcome their current slump and eventually win the Bundesliga.
"“Now Dortmund are in front again because they have played really well. The question will be how they deal with setbacks.“I still believe that Bayern will be champions in the end. The season is long and Bayern should never be written off.”"
Hitzfield also urged Bayern’s players to stand up in this tough moment and deliver the goods individually. The club’s senior players have been under-performing this season. The likes of Thomas Muller, Mats Hummels, Jerome Boateng and Franck Ribery have all struggled this season. Niko Kovac will be hoping that these veteran players gain some momentum ahead of a hectic fixture schedule to close out the first half of the season.
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Hitzfeld also insisted that Niko Kovac is the right manager for Bayern. He believes the Croatian has the perfect qualities to bring success at a club like Bayern. Like many others, he believes Bayern need to rejuvenate their squad in order to compete with Europe’s best clubs. The Bavarians’ reported overhaul next summer will do just that.
Kovac won his first trophy at Bayern in a convincing manner by defeating his former side, Eintracht Frankfurt, 5-0 in the DFL Supercup. Bayern also made a fine start to their Bundesliga campaign under Kovac.
However, he has been under immense scrutiny in the past few months due to his team’s poor form. The defending champions have now lost three games and drawn three more. They have been far from convincing in their six wins as well.
Kovac has not been helped by constant injuries to his key players. He will receive a major boost at the end of November as Kingsley Coman makes his return after a four-month layoff. Prior to today’s draw with Dusseldorf, Kovac had the complete support from the board as Uli Hoeness has backed him to get the team back on track soon. However, today’s result might have the Bayern board rethinking their decision to back the Croatian for so long.
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Bayern suffered a painful defeat against Borussia Dortmund in their final game before the international break and would have hoped for much more today. The defending Champions cannot afford to drop more points if they want to have any chance to repeat for a seventh consecutive time. Today’s result, however, will not inspire confidence in the Bayern faithful that their team has what it takes to challenge for the Bundesliga title. Hitzfeld himself might even change his mind now.