Steffen Baumgart thinks Bayern Munich can be challenged in the Bundesliga this season

In a recent interview with Abendzeitung, FC Köln manager Steffen Baumgart talked about his squad’s upcoming tilt with Bayern Munich.

Baumgart, who is a complete character, knows that the talk of Bayern Munich being weaker this season is just that...talk. Still, Baumgart thinks Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig have enough quality to make a strong challenge for the league title.

“Of course, the quality of FC Bayern is unbroken. But if you look at the overall situation, they had a lot of stress recently and the preparation was not exactly easy now either. I still believe that Dortmund can become champions — even if FC Bayern are undoubtedly the best team we have in the Bundesliga,” Baumgart said. “It’s never boring to look at Bayern. They have this incredible quality and this greed for success. But the question of champions depends a bit on the clubs that actually have the opportunity to keep up with Bayern. I don’t think Dortmund or Leipzig necessarily have a worse squad.”

Baumgart could be right, the Bundesliga — in general and not just the top-end teams — looks stronger. The first-year skipper of the Billy Goats would like to see his squad eventually get to that level.

“That must be our goal, we’re not going to Munich to go on a nice trip. As athletes, we always want to achieve the highest possible, i.e. a victory. It is also clear that something like this can only succeed if a lot of things go well for us in this game,” Baumgart said. “You saw that Bayern are very hungry again. But we want to develop a team here in Cologne and that includes — even in Munich, where it’s brutally difficult — to play your own game. Mentality and willingness to run have to be right — and then I hope for a good result.”