Bundesliga playoffs at the expense of FC Bayern?

Oliver Kahn finds it “exciting”

Created: 02/10/2022 11:32 am

By: Christoph Klaucke

Bayern boss Oliver Kahn can imagine playoffs in the Bundesliga.

© Imago

A fight over possible playoffs has broken out in the Bundesliga.

Oliver Kahn is open to a rule change - although a new mode could be to the detriment of FC Bayern.

Munich – In the night from Sunday to Monday German time, all eyes are on the Super Bowl.

The mega event in the USA is one of the largest sporting events in the world.

The two best teams in the NFL meet in a final, before they had to survive several rounds in knockout mode - the so-called playoffs.

A mode that could also be interesting for Germany and the Bundesliga*?

Oliver Kahn, CEO of the industry leader FC Bayern Munich, is open to possible championship playoffs.

And that, although it could harm Bayern at first glance.

FC Bayern: Oliver Kahn wants to think about Bundesliga playoffs

“I find it exciting to think about new models like playoffs for the Bundesliga.

A new format will also take effect in the Champions League from 2024, which we have high hopes for,” Oliver Kahn told

.

"A format in the Bundesliga with semi-finals and finals would mean excitement for the fans.

So it makes sense to play through such an idea.

We at FC Bayern are always open to new ideas," said the 52-year-old.

Kahn's considerations are quite surprising.

After all, FC Bayern itself has always referred to the Bundesliga as “the fairest competition” in the past.

Bayern are currently inexorably moving towards their tenth championship in a row.

With the introduction of playoffs, the dominance would probably no longer be so overwhelming - this was shown not least in the last two years with the Munich team's early exit from the DFB Cup.

On the other hand, a new mode could make the Bundesliga more attractive, which would result in more media and marketing revenues.

Even the boredom programmed by many critics would have been blown away in one fell swoop.

“I find it exciting to think about new models like playoffs for the Bundesliga.

Oliver Kahn

Playoffs: Change of rules in the Bundesliga?

BVB boss agrees with DFL boss

The new DFL boss Donata Hopfen presented play-offs as a possible innovation in a

interview last weekend, based on the model of several professional leagues in North America .

From their point of view, there are “no bans on thinking” and “no sacred cows”, and if play-offs would help the league in terms of competition, “then we’ll talk about play-offs.

But we mustn't forget that Bayern have done a super job in recent years."

The declining income of the recent past has also led to more willingness to change at Munich's top privilege Borussia Dortmund.

"It's well known that I've never been a fan of the playoffs.

But there must be no ban on thinking, taking into account the overall situation with a view to the game modes," said BVB managing director and DFL supervisory board chairman Hans-Joachim Watzke, almost word for word with hops.

Playoffs in the Bundesliga: club bosses fight back

Headwind comes from other clubs in the Bundesliga.

"A completely wrong approach," said Bayer Leverkusen's managing director Rudi Völler and is in line with representatives of clubs such as Arminia Bielefeld, VfL Bochum, SpVgg Greuther Fürth, Union Berlin and Hertha BSC.

The idea of ​​play-offs, said Berlin's sports director Fredi Bobic, "has always not been pursued for understandable reasons."

Any changes are only possible in the future anyway, at the earliest from the 2025/26 season.

"As is well known, there are different ideas in various places in the league with a view to the game mode, but these are currently far from a decision and certainly a long way from being implemented," said the DFL in

.

Playoffs would be a culture break in the Bundesliga.

Ex-DFL boss Christian Seifert

Bundesliga playoffs would be a "culture break" - fans also have to be heard

Such a far-reaching decision must be preceded by an intensive and structured dialogue with the clubs and the responsible league bodies, weighing up all the arguments.

The DFL will carefully prepare this open-ended discussion process and lead it together with the clubs in the coming months.

She did not explicitly mention the fans.

“Playoffs would be a culture break in the Bundesliga.

That would have to be supported by the masses, by clubs and fans," said Hopfen's predecessor Christian Seifert in

2020 .

No playoff game, but at least one regular season game of the NFL is to be played this year in the Allianz Arena, FC Bayern's home ground.

Then Oliver Kahn and other representatives of the league could exchange ideas with the makers of the largest sports league in the world.

Incidentally, you can follow the Super Bowl next Monday night (0.30 a.m.) in the live ticker on tz.de.