Dortmund beat Bayern twice in a row to take the Bundesliga title and the German DFB Cup, while Bayern completed their misery a week later by failing to beat Chelsea in the Champions League final on May 19.

But Löw is discounting that and says experience outside Germany is what counts.

“The Dortmund players are very, very strong nationally. They are coming up. But they are not as internationally tested as the Bavarians,” he said in an interview on Sunday, before leaving on Monday for the team’s training camp in Gdansk.

Germany’s first game in the European Championship is against Portugal next Saturday, and Löw plans to only start those with international experience.

“[The European Championships] have a different level,” he said. “With all due respect, we are not playing against Hoffenheim, Nuremberg etc. We are playing against the top 10 in the world – against Spain, the current World and European champions. That’s the highest level.”

Löw’s national squad includes four players from Dortmund, but eight from Bayern Munich, by far the largest representation of any Bundesliga team.

Not everyone is so happy with the Bayern players. Midfield legend Lothar Matthäus criticized the team in an interview on Tuesday with sports website eurosport.yahoo.de..

“The Bayern team is composed of too many players who are out for themselves, as opposed to Dortmund players who play more like a team,” Matthäus said.

DPA/The Local/mw