After last-day heartbreak, Dortmund gear up to challenge Bayern once again

DUSSELDORF, Germany (AP) — Borussia Dortmund has had the summer to brood on how it blew its chance to dethrone Bayern Munich. Now Dortmund must do it all again — this time without star player Jude Bellingham.

Drawing 2-2 with Mainz on the final day of last season, coupled with a late Bayern win over Koln, handed the Bundesliga championship to Bayern and silenced the crowd of 81,000.

After 11 Bayern titles in a row, the Bundesliga arguably needs a strong Dortmund more than it needs a strong Bayern, especially in terms of marketing the league to foreign audiences as competitive.

Dortmund chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke, who also has a senior role with the league, agrees the club carries a responsibility not just to its fans, but to the competition as a whole.

“We know our responsibility but it’s also important to tell everybody that it’s not so easy (to challenge Bayern),” he said in a recent call with reporters, emphasizing that Bayern can afford to spend much more on players t

Full Story »