On Saturday (27 May) it will be decided whether Borussia Dortmund or Bayern Munich will become German football champions. Why the 34th matchday will also be a duel between Wüst and Söder.
Düsseldorf/Munich – At the weekend, the whole of Germany will be looking to North Rhine-Westphalia. In the long-distance duel on Saturday (27 May), the decision will be made: Who will be at the top of the podium at the end of the 60th Bundesliga season – the record champions Bayern Munich (FCB) or Borussia Dortmund (BVB)? The Munich team travel to the away game against 1. FC Köln, BVB welcomes 1. FSV Mainz 05 in front of their home crowd. For a long time, it hasn't been as exciting on the last matchday as it was in the 2022/23 season. Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst (CDU) and Markus Söder (CSU) are also cheering – even if they are not watching the championship decision together in a Cologne football pub.
Bundesliga title race: Bayern or BVB? Söder: "Dortmunders are actually almost too stupid"
Just a few months ago, many had already written off the Borussians from the title fight. After an unsuccessful start to the season, BVB were in a disappointing sixth place after Matchday 15. At this point, the Munich team had already built up a 9-point lead over their rivals – and had only suffered one defeat. The Black and Yellows lost only one more game in the further course of the season, FCB blundered four times. As a result, it is now open again who will be celebrated by the home fans with the championship trophy at the end.
After BVB's curious draw against VfB Stuttgart on Matchday 28, Bavarian Prime Minister Söder was still convinced that Bayern already had their eleventh league title in a row in their pocket: "I'm very optimistic that we'll be German champions. The people of Dortmund help you," said the CSU politician. "Dortmund are actually almost too stupid to become German champions". Actually, Söder is a fan of 1st FC Nuremberg, but the Bavarian father wants a successful FCB.
Bundesliga championship: Wüst keeps his fingers crossed for BVB – and hopes that 1.
Hendrik Wüst is also actually a fan of another football club: 1. And of all people, they can take away the title hopes of the Munich team at the weekend. Should the team from Cologne be able to wrest even one point from the huge favourites from Munich, then the 2022/2023 German champions will be Borussia Dortmund. Hendrik Wüst would like that: "In case of doubt, another NRW club, 1. FC Köln, can also provide support in the game against Bayern. North Rhine-Westphalia is particularly close together on this football weekend."
The CDU politician is enthusiastic about BVB's performances under coach Edin Terzić: "What some people thought was impossible a few weeks ago can actually become reality on Saturday: the bowl comes back into the pot," said the Münsterlander. "Edin Terzić and his team have had to cope with many setbacks this season, but they have believed in themselves, worked hard and fought their way back again and again," said the NRW Prime Minister.
German championship: Söder denies BVB's cleverness – Wüst, on the other hand, sees it completely differently
"BVB have shown the necessary will, character and true cleverness, especially in the second half of the season, to be able to crown this spectacular season on their own," said Wüst – the very cleverness that his counterpart from southern Germany had previously denied the Borussians. Wüst himself will travel to Signal Iduna Park in Dortmund for the season finale and keep his fingers crossed for the team from the Ruhr area: "Because they deserve it - and so that the next champion finally comes from North Rhine-Westphalia again. It's about time." Hendrik Wüst is hoping for the BVB championship celebration in 2023!
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The title race in the Bundesliga will also be a duel between Prime Minister Wüst and Söder. (Archive images/IDZRNRW montage) © Matthias Balk Meister/dpa, Sven Simon Söder/Imago, Rolf Vennenbernd Wüst/dpa, Martin Hoffmann/Imago & BVB
Wüst against Söder: head-to-head race also for the favor of the population
But competition between Hendrik Wüst and Markus Söder is not only in football. Also in the favor of the Germans, it is a neck-and-neck race between the Union and counterparts, as a recent Insa survey showed. The NRW head of government is becoming increasingly popular. A few days ago, the North Rhine-Westphalian CDU leader was even voted politician of the year. And this despite the fact that there is a lot to do in his home country.
After a refugee summit that was disappointing for many, the decisions taken by the federal government, represented by Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and the heads of the federal states were criticized from several sides. Hendrik Wüst traveled to the Chancellery in Berlin with clear demands – but he was able to wrest little from the Federal Government.
And the points on which the top politicians were able to agree caused plenty of headwind: several human rights organizations were outraged by the planned tightening of the right to asylum. In the aftermath, the SPD parliamentary group from North Rhine-Westphalia also made clear demands on the Wüst II cabinet. The opposition party also saw misconduct in NRW's refugee policy. (mg, with dpa)