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The Bundesliga, or a Rollercoaster Ride? | 
I am not quite sure how much of an audience an article about the German Bundesliga can get, but I will still give it a shot. After all, if there is one league that has continued to offer an air-tight title race throughout the year, it has to be the German first division. With two games to go, as many as four teams have a realistic chance of being crowned champions. I don’t think any other mainstream European league can beat that!
With fourth-placed Stuttgart only two points behind leaders Wolfsburg, I will review the odds of each of the four teams. Even if you are not into the German title race at all, the information in this article is guaranteed to pertain to YOUR club as well! So without further adieu, I would like to start with the current leaders, VfL Wolfsburg.
(1) VfL Wolfsburg – 63 points: The German Wolves are certainly an interesting outfit under former Bayern coach Felix Magath. While an outsider might feel that they are sneakily chipping the title away from giants like Bayern and UEFA Cup finalists Werder Bremen, those who have followed the Bundesliga this year will tell you how untrue that theory is. In my opinion, this Wolfsburg side redefines the word “entertainment”. The squad has an uncanny ability to knock in goals and if they are trailing, the Wolves are not the kind that will give up easily. Therefore, I believe that Wolfsburg is on top based on merit and have a great chance to outclass their competition on the way to glory.
So how does anything I have said about Wolfsburg affect your club? Well, I have been saying all season that someone needs to pick up Bosnian striker Edin Dzeko. With 22 goals just in the Bundesliga, he seems to be simply unstoppable. One of my close friends is Bosnian and he cannot stop raving about Dzeko’s contribution in Bosnia’s revived World Cup qualification campaign. If your club is stacked with strikers and you can do without Dzeko, then you need to start worrying about defending against him and his teammates when they most likely start in the UEFA Champions League group stages next year!
(2) Bayern Munich – 63 points: Bayern are merely trailing Wolfsburg on goal difference, but the Bavarians have suffered a lot this season. From a humiliating 5-1 defeat at the hands of Barcelona in the Champions League quarterfinals to the sacking of charismatic head coach Jurgen Klinsmann, Bayern have endured quite a lot. While winning the title would seem worth all the trouble, I am not sure how Bayern will fare next season. Some say they will bounce back like wounded tigers, but on paper, they will most likely get weaker as they will lose the very talented Lukas Podolski and, not to mention, the inevitable loss of talismanic play-maker Franck Ribery is also poised to hurt incalculably. Newly signed manager Louis van Gaal will have his hands full to revitalise this squad over the summer. For YOUR club, to reiterate, it will be great to convince Ribery to leave Bayern as that would jeopardize Bayern’s chances of making a major impact in the Champions League.
(3) Hertha Berlin – 62 points: The capital club was the first team to knock debutants Hoffenheim off the top spot when Bundesliga action resumed following the winter break. At that point, Hamburger SV seemed to be their closest competition, but Martin Jol’s men slipped up in the title race as they focused on a UEFA Cup campaign that also ended in misery just recently. Somewhere along the way, I lost track of how Hertha dropped out of not only the first spot, but out of the top two altogether! Oh, perhaps it was the inconsistency! On-loan Liverpool striker Andriy Voronin has been superb, but I don’t think Hertha can reclaim the top spot. If they do, however, then I believe they will strengthen further over the summer and in that case, YOUR club needs to be wary of squaring off against Hertha in next season’s UEFA Champions League group stages.
(4) VfB Stuttgart – 61 points: In a surprising turn of events, the Stuttgart management is writing off the team’s chances of winning the title this season. Such a sentiment is rather bizarre because if I were the head coach of a fourth placed team that was only two points behind the leaders, I would take the initiative and fire up my players to step it up in the final two games. Who knows, maybe Stuttgart is playing mind games with its rivals! Two seasons ago, Stuttgart stunned Schalke, Werder Bremen, and Bayern by winning the title on the last day of the season. Mario Gomez was the catalyst then, and seeing how he leads the scoring charts in Germany right now, I won’t be surprised if he does it again. YOUR club (especially if you are Manchester City) should continue to chase Mario Gomez as this hitman certainly deserves to be playing at a higher level. If Stuttgart manage to hold on to Gomez, I would be shocked – because even if they somehow win the title, I just can’t see them having a good run in next season’s UEFA Champions League.
Well, that rounds up my take on the four top contenders for the Bundesliga crown as well as my opinion on why YOUR club needs to stay focused on monitoring the talent in this league. Roque Santa Cruz was fourth-choice striker at Bayern and ever since moving to Blackburn, he has impressed beyond belief in the Barclays Premier League. Now, just imagine what mainstream Bundesliga stars such as Franck Ribery, Mario Gomez, and Edin Dzeko are capable of doing at the highest level! While you simulate this, I hope I have justified my belief in what the German Bundesliga has to offer.
Is the Bundesliga worthwhile or just some Germans having a kick about? Have your say in the comments section below!
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Just wondering if they can continue their winning ways post-Magath. After all this was Magath’s team. I imagine the likes of Grafite and Dzeko could be tempted to leave. A big plus is Josue inking a new contract and no club seemed to be interested in Misimovic who I think was excellent….
Hey, thanks for the comment. Congrats! Wolfsburg just won their first Bundesliga title thanks to an unbeaten record at home….the likes of Grafite and Edin Dzeko were unstoppable, and with the help of their teammates, they made life very tough for their opponents. Nevertheless, Bayern can be pleased with the second place and an automatic Champions League spot while Stuttgart and Mario Gomez will have to settle for third place.
Nice article. It’s final day action today and I am rooting for the Wolves!