November 27 – In an interview with German sports channel SPORT1, Bundesliga chief Christian Seifert covered a range of issues from winning championships to value of media rights. Follow the link to watch the video. Interview by Martin Quast, text by Martin Volkmar
About the German performance in the Champions League:
“A title win in the Champions League is always a great thing… Just the fact that the league year after year proves that its clubs can compete by having good club business economics, and with a high proportion of German players from the German market – is the best proof of performance in the league “.
On the future dominance of the Bundesliga in Europe:
“This is honestly not a question that really concerns me. To dominate Europe is so often about how many times you have won the Champions League. But this is only a title and the win is only for one team. There can also be a winning team from a league that is perhaps structurally positioned quite different from the Bundesliga. The UEFA five-year rating is a better measure of the true strength of a league in a European context. This is a fluid measure deciding how many teams will play in Europe, and there are six clubs from the Bundesliga this season. By a hair, it would have been seven. So almost half of the Bundesliga plays in Europe. In this respect, the Five-Year Evaluation is a better measure of how a league is actually represented in the European context.. It (the Bundesliga) is among the top three in Europe. It is important, and this is something people sometimes choose to ignore, it has risen to second place in the five-year evaluation, but the distance to 4th place is a long one.”
Viewing the two football years 2013 and 2014:
“I think for the German football the past two years have been outstanding. 2013, a German-German Champions League final, where the English were even kind enough to play the host. And in 2014 the world title. Overall, this was the best original and the best platform you could want as a football nation. “
The impact of the World Cup title on the Bundesliga:
“German football has very much become the focus of world public attention. That makes us very happy. The Bundesliga has benefited so far in that fortunately 14 of the 23 players who were in Rio in the squad, still play in the Bundesliga. In the short term, a world championship title brings relatively little to the Bundesliga because we have long-term television contracts, at home and abroad. In the medium term, the combination of a Champions League final in 2013 and a high proportion of German players and the 2014 World Cup, certainly makes a very good argument for overseas interest in the Bundesliga to increase. “
On the value of the Bundesliga:
“What we can say is the Bundesliga certainly comes across more resonant than before, both domestically and abroad, if we consider the pure value our media contracts as a yardstick. The value of our media contracts today, both nationally and internationally, is higher than ever, and they will increase in the coming years. In this respect, the Bundesliga currently more valuable than ever. But I am also convinced that it will be even more valuable. “
On the crisis of Borussia Dortmund:
“I do wonder about it a lot. I believe that Borussia Dortmund has earned in recent years, both in Germany and in Europe a lot of support. For Borussia Dortmund, the Bundesliga, the German football as a whole, I hope, of course, that the club (…) will recover as quickly as possible to deliver the performance that he expects of himself. “
On the alleged lack of competitiveness in the Bundesliga:
“The debate is now over the past two years. I personally never really think that it was logical. Because I think that the championship race, is the single most important sporting decision. It is just only one of the very many sporting decisions. We have seen this last season. I felt for the nine months of the season I had to talk for eight months about why the league is so boring and yet it ended with the highest average attendance in 52 years, Bundesliga and all the relevant TV formats have gained market share. It is, in fact, so that almost everyone can beat anyone. At present it seems to be a bit more difficult to beat Bayern. That will probably change again at some point. But what we are seeing is that the Bundesliga is actually the most unpredictable even by international standards. It just seems that settle in Europe some top clubs ever and we will have to deal with it in Germany, as we manage the one hand, to have such top clubs which also can then win the Champions League – what we as fans of German football all want. And on the other side varied possible matches in the championship experience. “
On concern for the traditional clubs:
“The Bundesliga is an institution that has had support and guidance for 50 years. Many clubs mean very much to the people in the cities and regions where they live. So I can understand the concern that in this league (the Bundesliga) there can be large and landslide changes. But we must not confuse cause with effect. There are quite traditional clubs who have performed extremely well in recent years. Therefore, I believe, this is not a discussion about traditional clubs, but a discussion about clubs failing to meet their goals. “
On the international marketing of the Bundesliga:
“We have to be careful in the league that we do not lose at the point the connection (in Germany). Of course, the pure football is in the foreground of the Bundesliga. If they (clubs) do not succeed (in the league), it is also very difficult to present themselves to the outside. But they do not need a Champions League to win to show their work abroad. This summer, the US had about 30 games of foreign teams. Of these, 23 games were by English teams from ten different clubs. And when Crystal Palace and Swansea are of the opinion to be able to play in the US, because there is a certain fan base that they can communicate with, then I can think of a lot of German clubs, which are at least as attractive.”