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It's not exactly clear what those criticizing Bayern want Hoeneß and the Board to apologize for regarding the club's transfer policy over the last year or so, but boy are they angry.
It seems everyone is trying to read between the lines on these string of moves by players from Dortmund to Bayern, and many are blaming the Bavarians for wanting to get a world-class player for free in this instance.
The televised apology for this transfer market behavior could begin with the same line used by both Gob Bluth and Uli Hoeneß; "I've made a huge mistake/Ich habe einen großen Fehler gemacht."
Or it could take a page out of the Richard Nixon playbook and go with the "Mistakes, yes. But for personal gain never."
And then it would proceed down an arrogant and winding path of reading off reasons why Mario Götze and Robert Lewandowski would rather be at Bayern than Dortmund or Manchester United or Real Madrid. Since most reading this won't find them arrogant but instead like a pat on the back or a warm blanket in a drafty house, I'll list them since they are, after all, important in the decisions the players made:
- Bayern are probably the most financially stable club in the world, with no single investor capable of seriously hampering FCB by withdrawing their moneys and/or financial support. Which they have by the bucketload, and which allows for massive (but smart) investments in improving the team as needed for nearly any price.
- Bayern is the best team on the pitch in the world and has been for over a year, and is positioned to remain in the top two or three teams worldwide for the foreseeable future.
- There is a genuine sense of family at the club, with the unit serving to improve as a whole for the benefit of the whole. The young players look up to the veterans and they all love the management while respecting the manager's authority. Bayern's structure in this sense is second-to-none in the upper tiers of professional football's modern age.
- Every bit of Bayern's vast resources are engineered to tailor the professional athletes' physical and mental needs; only the best medical personnel and facilities will be found at the Säbener Straße. And the Allianz Arena is one of the world's iconic stadiums which also happens to be state-of-the-art in terms of design and function.
- Lastly, Hoeneß would have to apologize for Borussia Dortmund. Because just like your grandfather always said, after all it takes two to agree upon contractual terms and conditions.
What Dortmund fans are feeling is their love for the club not being reciprocated by the players they have cheered on for years from the couch, computer, pub, or Westfalenstadion. They're also feeling angry that those drawing up the contracts didn't do a better job protecting the players from their true desires and goals going to other teams so easily. Or possibly for not cashing out with Lewandowski while that was possible.
Be nice, they're going through a breakup. It's not that they were rejected so much, just cast aside because they are emotionally and financially volatile with their better years likely behind them for now. Things could turn around, but if you're going to be loved just as much by someone else with plenty of money and with an even keel mentally, who you actually like better, you'd bail too.
Right now is the stage of blaming others angrily, but it won't last forever. BVB will learn from their mistakes and eventually emerge stronger because of them, just as they already have once this millennium.
Until then, we still have to see them go through bargaining and depression before accepting mistakes were made, unrealistic expectations were held, and hope was maintained that true love exists unconditionally amongst every single person who plays sports for a living. There is no love without the conditions in football when you could play anywhere in the world and out-earn the GDP of Malta doing it.
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This is the second instalment in our "Echte Explanation" series in which we try to explain Borussia Dortmund's actions. Part I, "Echte Annoying: A Loather's Guide to Borussia Dortmund" is here.
