The defending Bundesliga champions’ director of sport has played down his club’s criticism while stating that fierce rivals Schalke have got better this year
Borussia Dortmund general manager Hans-Joachim Watzke has echoed his frustration at remarks directed towards his side, and stressed that even though Schalke are ahead of them in the Bundesliga, his team is better. He added that
Bayern Munich are not the only major players in Europe.
Just a month ago Bayern supremo Uli Hoeness suggested that the BVB are just a regional thing, which infuriated Watzke who feels that the Allianz Arena outfit are not the only top club in the Bundesliga.
"Bavaria is not the national all-illuminating global player, and we in this country are no regional brand. That's nonsense," he stated.
Watzke and Hoeness admire each other but the Borussians sporting director never backs down in response to Bayern counterpart’s criticism. They both show respect despite, a number of disagreements over things.
"When Uli Hoeness and I cross swords, it has nothing to do with a lack of appreciation," he continued.
The manager stated that Der FCB chief is harsh to his side because of two trophy-less campaigns in the Bavarian giants’ camp. Die Roten have not dealt with their failure to win silverware in the last two years and are unhappy with
Dortmund’s recent dominance in domestic league and cup.
"The real reason that Hoeness sometimes has to use such words against us probably lies in the lack of titles in the last two seasons for his club. They are hurting over there in Bavaria apparently for what happened in the past two years. I can understand,"
he mused.
Die Borussen have not yet discovered their top form this term and trail FC Hollywood by nine points. They are currently fourth in the rankings behind their local competitors Schalke.
However, Watzke remains positive and predicts that the DFB-Pokal cup winners are favourites for the weekend encounter. He further added that Schalke have an excellent side and have recruited exceptional young talent. He also revealed
that Dortmund do not fear their rivals and there are still 27 more games to play.
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