Play-offs to determine the championship will not remain an option for German football in the foreseeable future. “With play-offs you don’t solve anything for the moment – but that’s my personal opinion -” said Hans-Joachim Watzke, chairman of the supervisory board of the German Football League (DFL), on Tuesday in a media round.
“But if you approach something like that – and the DFL Executive Committee hasn’t talked about it for a second – then from my personal point of view you would have to discuss it very hard: After 34 match days, the European Cup participants would have to be decided,” said Watzke.
“Then the first would have to play fourth, second against third, a week later the final. But in my view that would be the ultima ratio at best if Bayern won the championship for another five years. Then you could discuss it at some point,” emphasized Watzke. He personally doesn’t see that for the moment, but refuses “no discussion”.
Watzke also spoke about the squad change at BVB, where he continues to act as managing director in addition to his DFL work. This is “more than 50 percent complete”, but he still sees an acute need for action in at least one position. “On the nine, that’s very clear. We have to find a solution there,” said Watzke.
The club is in the process of “exploring alternatives, we have two or three very good ideas”. Whether an up-and-coming talent or an experienced striker: “The top priority is that he scores goals,” said Watzke. The previous BVB striker Erling Haaland will switch to Manchester City.
BVB: Watzke announced DFB block at Flick
With the previous summer transfers, BVB also had a new block formation in the national team in mind. “We had the feeling that we wanted to have more German national players again. I had already announced that to national coach Hansi Flick,” said Watzke.
But it’s more about “building a new hierarchy. If it’s German national players, it’s a little easier because they might recognize the need a little more and don’t have to assimilate first.”
BVB has signed national players Nico Schlotterbeck (SC Freiburg), Karim Adeyemi (RB Salzburg) and Niklas Süle (Bayern Munich). “It was the time for an upheaval, new friction, new stimuli,” emphasized Watzke. But he warned against “talking us into euphoria again. We have to give everyone time: Half of the team is new, we have Edin Terzic as the new coach – that won’t happen overnight”.
