The new Bundesliga season is to begin this weekend, with German soccer riding the crest of a wave following the national team’s triumph at the FIFA World Cup in Brazil last month.
That thoroughly deserved victory, given to Joachim Loew’s side by Mario Goetze’s extra-time strike in the final against Argentina, saw a unified Germany crowned as world champions for the first time, but at club level, the Bundesliga has been leading the way for some time.
It averaged 3.16 goals per game last season, considerably more than any of its major European counterparts, while average gates were more than 42,000, making the German top flight the best attended league anywhere.
“In my opinion, the Bundesliga’s the most attractive league in the world,” Borussia Moenchengladbach coach Lucien Favre told the league’s Web site. “The hype in Germany is amazing.”
Nevertheless, the biggest problem facing the Bundesliga, as ever, is how to counter the dominance of Bayern Munich, who have romped to the title and added the DFB Pokal in each of the past two campaigns.
They have seen Toni Kroos and Mario Mandzukic depart and lost Javi Martinez to a serious knee injury in last week’s SuperCup defeat to Borussia Dortmund, but the Bavarians remain favorites.
Yet the rest can draw some hope from the very fact this is a Bundesliga season immediately following a World Cup and that has not tended to help Bayern in the recent past.
After Germany hosted the 2006 World Cup, VfB Stuttgart went on to win the Bundesliga, while in 2010-2011 Borussia Dortmund pipped Bayern to the title. In 2008-2009, after Germany reached the Euro 2008 final, it was VfL Wolfsburg who were champions.
Six members of Pep Guardiola’s squad played in the World Cup final, including Goetze, while Dante and Arjen Robben were also involved until the latter stages in Brazil.
That is why Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge wanted the start of the new season delayed to give the players longer to prepare, but that request was unsurprisingly turned down by the club’s rivals.
“We have to face the fact that the first half of the season will be difficult,” Guardiola said. “We are at least one month behind schedule.”
Guardiola has added to his squad with compatriots Juan Bernat from Valencia and Pepe Reina, who will provide competition in goal for Manuel Neuer, but the marquee signing was Robert Lewandowski, a prolific goalscorer for Dortmund.
Dortmund have moved to replace the Pole by signing Italy striker Ciro Immobile and Colombia’s Adrian Ramos.
Stability is key at the Signal Iduna Park, where coach Jurgen Klopp, who led Dortmund to back-to-back titles in 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 and a Champions League final defeat to Bayern in 2012-2013, is entering his seventh season in charge.
“We want to establish ourselves further at the top of the league and qualify directly for the Champions League,” Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc said.
Schalke 04, Bayer 04 Leverkusen and VfL Wolfsburg will again be hoping to contend for UEFA Champions League qualification at least.
Schalke have kept Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Julian Draxler, while Sidney Sam has joined from Leverkusen, while few teams can boast a midfield as strong as Wolfsburg, with Kevin de Bruyne, Luiz Gustavo and France’s Josuha Guilavogui.
Bayer have signed Swiss striker Josip Drmic from Nuremberg and have a new coach in Roger Schmidt, back in his native country after winning the Austrian title with Red Bull Salzburg.
Hamburg SV will be hoping for a stable campaign after almost being relegated for the first time in their history last season.
There are new coaches at FSV Mainz 05, Eintracht Frankfurt and VfB Stuttgart, who have reappointed Armin Veh, the architect of their 2006-2007 title win, while Cologne are back among the elite and SC Paderborn 07 are in the Bundesliga for the first time.
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