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“Kaiser” picks Dortmund to win Bundesliga

Comment: 0 February 7th, 2012 by: admin

FRANZ Beckenbauer once flashed his brilliance for Bayern Munich but his heart is now with Borussia Dortmund.

The German football legend on Monday said Dortmund are now the favourites to retain the Bundesliga crown since Bayern have been groping for form lately.

Dortmund’s latest success came via a 2-0 blanking of Nuremberg as they have now ruled all three of their league fixtures since January.

In contrast, Bayern have just tallied four points from a possible nine in their last three outings, their latest tussle seeing them rally to force a draw at Hamburg paving the way for Dortmund’s climb to the top of the table with 43 points, two up on Bayern and Schalke 04. Bayern Monchengladbach are fourth with 40.

The 66-year-old Beckenbauer said he felt Bayern now lack confidence they showed during autumn and
“lack the ease of the first half of the season.”

While Dortmund boss Jurgen Klopp earlier stated that the Bavarian club will win the title in May, Beckenbauer, an ex-Bayern president and who both captained and coached Germany to World Cup wins, thought otherwise.

Beckenbauer, who now writes a column for German tabloid Bild, told Klopp: “Listen, forget this overmodesty and hide-and-seek games with the motto `only Bayern will be German champions.’”

He added: “Klopp, you are the current champions and you are now the league leaders. You are the favourites for the title.

Beckenbauer, nicknamed Der Kaiser (The Emperor), also added that the absence young playmaker Mario Goetze, now out for two months due to groin injury, may even worked wonders for Dortmund.

“Dortmund are playing with confidence and despite the absence of Goetze that gives the young team even more confidence,” he said.

On Saturday, Dortmund will host Bayer Leverkusen, while Bayern host Kaiserslautern.

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