Borussia Dortmund’s advance to the semi-finals of the Champions League even makes the Bundesliga dream of six starting places in the coming premier class season. As is well known, if Germany maintains second place in the UEFA annual rankings, the Bundesliga will receive a fifth starting place – Dortmund, who are currently fighting for fourth place with RB Leipzig, could also benefit from this in the league. But if BVB should win the Henkelpott Trophy for the first time since 1997 and only finish fifth in the championship – then if the Bundesliga really wins five starting places, even the sixth place in the table would qualify for the Champions League because Dortmund would be the defending champion. UEFA confirmed this on Wednesday.
If this constellation actually occurs, Eintracht Frankfurt, FC Augsburg or SC Freiburg could currently benefit from it. In sixth place, Eintracht is currently three points ahead of their two pursuers with the same points. However: If Dortmund wins the premier class and finishes the league in second, third or fourth place, then the starting place would go back to UEFA. Only BVB’s combination of Champions League victory and fifth place could make the Bundesliga’s sixth-place team happy.
As part of a comprehensive reform, the Champions League will be increased from 32 to 36 teams in the coming season, which is why the two top nations in the UEFA points ranking will each receive an additional starting place. Germany is currently in second place behind Italy and just ahead of England. Every European Cup result in the current competitions could be decisive for fifth place in the Champions League.