Bayern Munich's Title Defense Reflects Frauen Bundesliga Power Shift – Forbes

Having had their title party delayed at Bayer Leverkusen last season, Bayern Munich ensured no such thing happened again with a slender win this time around to mathematically seal their spot at the top of the Frauen Bundesliga standings with a couple of games to spare. With that, they became the division’s first back-to-back champions of the 2020s.

While the 2023/24 season has been a real disappointment for their men’s team whose record-breaking 11-season Bundesliga winning streak came to an end courtesy of Bayer Leverkusen, the women’s side could well just be beginning a period of dominance of their own. They have never won three consecutive titles in the past, but they will surely be the favorites again next season with the way things appear to be shaping up.

The Frauen Bundesliga has seen a couple of power shifts in recent years. Frankfurt were the dominant side after the turn of the century as they won four of the first five titles, but then faced stiff competition from Turbine Potsdam. Their duopoly was broken by the rise of Wolfsburg soon followed by Bayern, who have finished first and second one way or another in every season over the last decade. Now, though, the disparity between them might be increasing as Bayern continue to succeed while Wolfsburg seem to be lagging behind.

On-Pitch Excellence

Of course, any football team’s success is built on the quality of their performances on the pitch. Bayern’s record of 17 wins, three draws and no defeats in 20 league games so far this season speaks for itself, but their underlying numbers also highlight their excellence. They have the best Expected Goal Difference (xGD) in the league this season at an average of 1.68 per 90, with by far the best defensive numbers and just the second-best attacking production.

Head coach Alexander Straus has built a reputation for himself as a master tactician since joining the club in the summer of 2022. While he sticks to the same overarching approach across all matches, he constantly makes match-to-match and in-game tweaks to his set-ups and systems to get the best out of his players and exploit the opposition’s weaknesses as much as possible. When everything falls in place, Bayern seem absolutely unstoppable in Germany as they did in their four-goal win at Wolfsburg earlier this year.

Later this week, Bayern will take on the Wolves in the DFB Pokal final where they will not only have the chance to complete a league-cup double but also seek to continue their perfect head-to-head record against their direct rivals this season.

Indeed, it is worth noting that while Bayern have continued to excel, Wolfsburg have created a good deal of problems for themselves on the pitch too. Their defending–particularly in transition after losing the ball–has left a lot to be desired and quite often made matches far more difficult for themselves. They have only kept eight clean sheets in the league, which is miles off Bayern’s 14.

Off-Pitch Dominance

Perhaps the worst time of the season for Wolfsburg was not their 0-4 loss to Bayern which knocked their title chances out of their hands, but the announcement of Lena Oberdorf’s transfer to none other than Bayern Munich.

The 22-year-old defensive midfielder is one of Germany’s most exciting young talents right now, having established herself as a key figure in the heart of midfield for both her club and national team. Losing such an important player with such a bright future would be a big blow to any side, but losing her to a direct rival must be absolutely devastating for Wolfsburg.

This was the epitome of Bayern’s continued policy of prioritising recruitment from within the Frauen Bundesliga. Of course, their international scouting is quite good too and they have recently made some interesting signings from leagues around the world, but their most important players have consistently come from domestic rivals.

Six of their top nine players in terms of minutes played in the league this season were brought in from Frauen Bundesliga clubs, namely young fullback Giulia Gwinn (from Freiburg), lead striker Lea Schüller (from Essen), defender Katharina Naschenweng (from Hoffenheim last summer), midfielder Sarah Zadrazil (from Turbine Potsdam), forward Klara Bühl (also from Freiburg) and German international Linda Dallmann (from Essen).

As was the case with their men’s team over the last decade, Bayern Munich’s superiority in terms of resources and consequently player quality have placed them firmly at the top of the food chain in German football. Wolfsburg do not seem to have the means to keep up with them, so Die Roten will be favorites to continue reclaiming the Meisterschale in seasons to come. The real challenge for them will now be in Europe, where the UEFA Women’s Champions League has proved elusive so far.