Pizarro: "Bundesliga clubs missed a chance to end Bayern dominance"

Former Bayern Munich striker Claudio Pizarro thinks the rest of the Bundesliga have missed an opportunity to capitalise on the champions' troubles this season and end their dominance.

Bayern have endured a difficult campaign under Niko Kovac, with their pre-Christmas form raising serious doubts about their new coach.

Despite Bayern's improvement on the pitch, Kovac's future remains uncertain, with CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge last month failing to guarantee the Croatian will remain in charge for 2019-20.

His comments came after Bayern hammered Borussia Dortmund 5-0, with Lucien Favre's men previously looking unstoppable in the first half of the season.

But dropped points from three of their past five games saw Dortmund relinquish their position at the summit as Bayern pounced, with Pizarro – the scorer of Werder Bremen's equaliser against Favre's side last Saturday – adamant the chasing pack have spurned a chance to stop Germany's most successful club winning a seventh successive title.

 

May 9, 2019

"I think this year was a good chance for other teams to beat Bayern," Pizarro told Omnisport.

"But this isn't the first season where they've struggled and are still champions at the end. Their quality is always high and they have many great players.

"They also have good players on the bench. I think that's why at the end they always have enough to win.

"There are two games left, but they have a four-point cushion, so they should be able to win the championship. But these are two tough games. I hope they win the title."

Pizarro's goal against Dortmund means his old club will be crowned champions with a win at RB Leipzig on Saturday, and the 40-year-old received numerous messages of thanks from Bayern players and fans.

"I have never gotten more messages from Munich than after the goal against Dortmund," he said.

"My goal was very important for them. Many players [sent messages], but I don't want to say any names. Players and many friends, and fans of Bayern."