BVB rose from the ashes of financial difficulty during the mid-2000’s to win back-to-back Bundesliga titles in 2011 and 2012 before reaching the final of the Champions League last season.
But having lost Mario Gotze to Bayern over the summer and slipped to fourth in the league table – 12 points behind Pep Guardiola’s side - amid a devastating injury crisis, Dortmund face a battle to resurrect their season after the international break.
Watzke told derwesten.de: “We are very ambitious but we have 80, €100 million less salary than other big clubs in Europe, including Bayern Munich.
“Nevertheless, it is the desire of the people that we beat Bayern. We have written this fairytale and reached a certain level that if we don’t reach will be considered a failure.”
Coach Jurgen Klopp has played a pivotal role in the club’s resurgence since his appointment in 2008 and Watzke says continuity is one of the key reasons for BVB’s success and is a template that will be followed for years to come.
“Continuity always helps. If you like to change your management every two or three years, you get dips in performance.
“The other thing is confidence. We can thrash out the most absurd ideas and have no fear of trying different things because we have a budget half of that of Bayern.
“Our model has simply evolved. It was a rational decision to bring in Jurgen Klopp and embark on a new football style. Our relationship is not something you can copy, we’re not too far apart in age and that helps.”
Injuries to Lukasz Piszczek, Mats Hummels, Neven Subotic, Marcel Schmelzer and Ilkay Gundogan have robbed Dortmund of five of their first choice 11 in the first of the season and prompted Klopp to label the situation the most difficult of his career.
And with 2014 on the horizon, Watzke has admitted his simply hopes for a clean bill of health in the new year.
“I wish that we never see such an injury situation again. If the team is predominantly fit, we will play a very good second half of the season because I am very sure we will keep working hard to move forward.
And of course I hope that we can get through the two cup rounds. Then I would be very happy.”
