There is no agreement between FC Bayern Munich and newly promoted Schalke 04 about the possible introduction of championship playoffs in the Bundesliga. While Schalke’s supervisory board chairman Axel Hefer advocated for it before the direct clash on Saturday (6.30 p.m./Sky), Bayern President Herbert Hainer rejected the idea in a joint interview conducted by “Bild”.
“I believe that Bayern should also have a great interest in thinking about the game mode,” said Hefer. “So that they play the Champions League every year, but on the other hand there is a little more excitement in the league.” The Munich team has won the cup every season since 2013, interrupted only by Bayer Leverkusen’s triumph in 2024. Schalke has been waiting for the title since 1958, when there was still a final round for the championship.
Hainer: “I want to become champion every year!”
“If I were in your situation, I would not find it desirable to become champion every year – enthusiasm comes when you achieve something that you are not yet sure of,” argued Hefer (49). When it comes to the playoffs, we have “a fundamentally different view.” The 72-year-old Hainer replied: “You are right, we have a contradiction: I want to become champion every year!”
The Bayern president doesn’t believe in knockout duels. “Whoever is at the top after 34 match days should become German champions,” he said. This is the most honest way. He cited the Bayern basketball team’s past season as an argument against playoffs: “We were by far first after the regular season, but then lost in the last playoff game against Alba Berlin because our team was simply broken after 83 games of the season.”