Borussia Dortmund has reached the promise land of the UEFA Champions League by promoting youth development whereas Malaga has taken the approach common in today’s world. One is profiting while the other is financially dying away.
Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser al-Thani took over Spanish side Malaga in 2010, looking to turn them into another Spanish powerhouse. This powerhouse was meant to compete with Real Madrid and Barcelona. The side finished fourth last season, seeing them qualify for the qualifying rounds of the Champions League.
However, the Sheikh and the Qatar Royal Family has lost their interest in football as so often is the case. The past year was one of continuous struggles for the Spaniards. Wages were not paid on time leading to complaints from the likes of Santi Cazorla and Ruud Van Nistelrooy. A dispute over payment to Osasuna for the purchase of Nacho Monreal led to the imposition of a transfer ban in January.
In summer 2012, Malaga did not spend a single penny. Instead, they sold Cazorla to Arsenal. Joris Mathijsen and Salomon Rondon also left the club for greener pastures. Another departure was Fernando Hierro; tired of being unable to ever communicate with the Qatari owners, he left his post of sporting director in May.
During the same time, Marco Reus was packing his bags to return to his hometown. In January 2012, when Malaga was going through a transfer ban, Dortmund was involved in a transfer battle against a team which partly contributed to bailing them out of financial woes less than ten years ago, Bayern München. Reus, for a fee of 17.5 million Euros, chose Dortmund.
BVB became the team they are today because of sound financial management. After they were bailed out, they refrained from purchasing expensive players. Their recruits were cheap ones such as Robert Lewandowski, Shinji Kagawa and Mats Hummels. Dortmund, season by season, developed under Jürgen Klopp. Their team was a young vibrant one. The players bonded well under a wonderful coach.
Dortmund in February reported a pre-tax profit of 17.5 million euros for the first half of the 2012-13 fiscal year. Their turnover was 124.1 million. However the club’s CEO, Hans Joachim Watzke, said that their legacy will not change. This means that from time to time, there will be some big signings but BVB will stick to the youth policy.
Malaga of course will not be returning to next season’s competition as UEFA has banned them due to their problems while Dortmund is set to return as they are almost guaranteed to finish second in the Bundesliga or at least in the top three. These clubs are living the dream currently but in different ways.
Off the pitch, Dortmund has already won the battle. The question now is: who will win the battle on the pitch?
However, the Sheikh and the Qatar Royal Family has lost their interest in football as so often is the case. The past year was one of continuous struggles for the Spaniards. Wages were not paid on time leading to complaints from the likes of Santi Cazorla and Ruud Van Nistelrooy. A dispute over payment to Osasuna for the purchase of Nacho Monreal led to the imposition of a transfer ban in January.
In summer 2012, Malaga did not spend a single penny. Instead, they sold Cazorla to Arsenal. Joris Mathijsen and Salomon Rondon also left the club for greener pastures. Another departure was Fernando Hierro; tired of being unable to ever communicate with the Qatari owners, he left his post of sporting director in May.
During the same time, Marco Reus was packing his bags to return to his hometown. In January 2012, when Malaga was going through a transfer ban, Dortmund was involved in a transfer battle against a team which partly contributed to bailing them out of financial woes less than ten years ago, Bayern München. Reus, for a fee of 17.5 million Euros, chose Dortmund.
BVB became the team they are today because of sound financial management. After they were bailed out, they refrained from purchasing expensive players. Their recruits were cheap ones such as Robert Lewandowski, Shinji Kagawa and Mats Hummels. Dortmund, season by season, developed under Jürgen Klopp. Their team was a young vibrant one. The players bonded well under a wonderful coach.
Dortmund in February reported a pre-tax profit of 17.5 million euros for the first half of the 2012-13 fiscal year. Their turnover was 124.1 million. However the club’s CEO, Hans Joachim Watzke, said that their legacy will not change. This means that from time to time, there will be some big signings but BVB will stick to the youth policy.
Malaga of course will not be returning to next season’s competition as UEFA has banned them due to their problems while Dortmund is set to return as they are almost guaranteed to finish second in the Bundesliga or at least in the top three. These clubs are living the dream currently but in different ways.
Off the pitch, Dortmund has already won the battle. The question now is: who will win the battle on the pitch?
