Kovač says Dortmund can't challenge Bayern next year

you can call it realism all you want but this is exactly the sort of mentality that becomes contagious inside a club because players hear it, fans hear it, the media hear it, and suddenly the whole atmosphere is built around why they cannot do something instead of why they should try to do it and i do not care how many structural problems you point to or how many transfer windows you blame because at some stage somebody in charge has to set a different tone and say we are going after it and if Bayern are better then fine we will find out on the pitch but coming out before the season even starts and basically saying nah mate not happening is such a weak message and if that is how he wants to lead then he is asking for everyone to treat them like a mid table club with a fancy badge
 
Proper captain obvious stuff this, everyone knows Bayern are the benchmark but you still dont go and tell the fans to pack it in before the race even starts, feels like he has accidentally turned a quote into a pre season funeral
 
I get why people are annoyed, but I also think some of the outrage is performative. Dortmund have spent years being sold as the team that might challenge Bayern, and then the same old problems show up again. If the squad is not there, pretending otherwise is pointless tbh
 
There is a difference between acknowledging the gap and publicly shrinking your own ceiling. Dortmund can be realistic without sounding defeated, and managers usually help their clubs more by setting a target than by narrating the limits.
 
The officials always end up in these conversations somehow because once a club starts sounding like it is not even aiming high anymore every marginal decision gets magnified and the whole thing turns into a complaint fest and Dortmund already live in that world where every little thing becomes a drama and every bad call becomes proof that the system is against them and then a manager comes out and basically says we are not challenging Bayern and you just know the refereeing discourse is going to get dragged into it too because people will say they were never going to get the benefit of the doubt anyway and honestly if you want to compete you cannot act like the game is already rigged before it begins
 
From a tactical perspective, the quote makes sense if he believes the squad still needs major work. The issue is that public messaging matters, and a team that wants to close the gap needs a stronger collective belief than this suggests.
 
i actually feel a bit sick reading this because it just sounds like another season of expectations being lowered before a ball is kicked and i know people will say it is sensible but as a fan you want at least some hope and some fight and this just feels flat and miserable
 
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