With this weeks 4-0 drubbing of England u21s by the German u21s, Die Mannschaft completed a hat-trick of youth level European Championships (winning the u17, u19, and u21 tournaments). Such success indicates that the future of the Bundesliga is bright, and that while the Serie A begins a period of decline, the Premier League is used as a scapegoat for the failures of the English national team, and La Liga devolves into a 2 horse race, the Bundesliga is poised to regain its place amongst the top 3 leagues in Europe.

It is difficult to overlook the fact that in this past Euro Under 21 Championship, held in Sweden,   the German youth outplayed Spain’s young stars, out-‘Italianed’ the Italian team, and obliterated a promising England team. To be sure, the German team did not always appear dominant, as they had to work through difficult periods in the games against Finland, England (during the group stage), and Italy, however these difficult periods provided an excellent opportunity for this next generation of German national team players to gain experience doing what many pundits claim the German team does best: finding a way to win.  In nearly every area of the park the German team showed a level of maturity greater than that of their opponents – a maturity that only comes from playing in first-team matches in a top flight league. A quick look manager Horst Hrubesch’s squad from the Match day 1 squad against Spain shows that every member of the starting XI had racked up ample first team action during the last Bundesliga campaign. Such thorough top-flight first team experience was hard to come by in teams like Italy, Spain, and England- all stemming from the fact that the Bundesliga is a league in which promising youth players are given excellent opportunities to prove themselves.

Of course, this recent domination of youth competitions by Germany would have been impossible without the complete revamp of the German youth structure after the debacles of the 1998 World Cup and 2000 European Championships. The combination of training centers run by the 36 1.Bundesliga and 2.Bundesliga clubs and the DFB organized Stützpunkte, regional training centers, have helped cultivate and develop a sizable amount of young talent within Germany.  While many of the names now breaking through at youth levels for Germany may not have typical German surnames, one cannot doubt their loyalty and desire to wear the famous White-on-black kits, nor their ability to play the German way.

With the core of the current German squad aging, Senior National boss Joachim Loew will undoubtedly be looking to add fresh faces to the senior set up following next summer’s world cup in South Africa. The championship winning squad of this past week is where you’ll find the future of the German squad moving towards Euro 2012 and beyond.

While Rene Adler, Germany’s current number 1 between the posts has both youth and ability, Schalke’s Manuel Neuer is certain to contest for the starting spot. A goalkeeper with Champions League experience, Neuer showed a level of maturity and composure that his counterparts lacked. Nowhere was this disparity in experience and maturity more apparent than in the final against England. While England goalkeeper Scott Loach made several critical errors, and looked uncomfortable all night, Neuer was the model of composure between the posts. Admittedly, Loach was the backup goalkeeper for the England squad, but the mere fact that starting keeper Joe Hart missed the final due to a silly, avoidable booking only adds to the argument of immaturity.

In defense, Germany looked stellar all tournament. The German defense pulled shutouts in 4 of their 5 games in Sweden, allowing only 1 goal off a set piece in the group match against England. The fulcrum of this impregnable defense was young Schalke centerback Benedikt Howedes. Howedes got quite a bit of playing time during this past campaign due to rampant injury problems at the Veltins Arena. One of the few symbols of youth in speed in an aging Schalke defense, Howedes is now a prime candidate to replace the aging and inconsistent Christoph Metzelder as a partner for Per Mertesacker in the central defense of the senior squad.  Along with his partner Jerome Boateng of Hamburg, (though himself used to playing more on the outside at the Nordbank-Arena) proved a team capable innenverteidiger.

On the flanks of the defense Hoffenheim’s Andreas Beck and Werder Bremen’s Sebastian Boenisch (note to the English commentators from Sky sports, his name is pronounced ‘Bo-nish’ not ‘Boz-nitch’) dealt with the threats from the likes of Theo Walcott, James Milner, and Sebastian Giovinco, as well as tormented opposition defenses with their effective forward runs. Nowhere was this trend more on display than with Beck’s wonder goal against Italy in the Semi-final . This pair gained their experience and effectiveness from successful domestic campaigns at their respective clubs. Hoffenheim’s rise to competitiveness at the top of the table undoubtedly gave Beck the confidence to deal with the likes of Theo Walcott. Meanwhile, Sebastian Boenisch certainly found both the confidence and maturity to hold his own in the final from the fact that it was his third cup final in a little over a month, having previously appeared in both the finals of the UEFA Cup and DFB Pokal for club side Werder Bremen.

Although the confident and capable nature of the goalkeeper and defense certainly proved the foundation for German success, the cutting edge was found in the Midfield. For all intents and purposes, Horst Hrubesch was effectively playing with 5 midfielders. Anchoring the midfield was Stuttgart player, and Germany under 21 captain Sami Khedira. Khedira did an excellent job of absorbing the attacks of the opposition as well as initiating attacks from the critical role linking defense and midfield. On the right flank, Gonzalo Castro of Bayer Leverkusen showed the timing and pace to cut through opposition defenses with this slashing runs, netting goals in both games against England. The star of the German midfield in this tournament, however was Mesut Ozil.

Schalke fans should certainly be proud of the performances put in by Manuel Neuer and Benedikt Howedes, they should be absolutely infuriated with their club for letting a talent the likes of Mesut Ozil go to rival Werder Bremen. The young attacking midfielder came into his own this past season, albeit in the shadow of talismanic number 10 Diego.  Many were rightfully critical of Ozil when he seemed to fold under the pressure of playing without Diego during the UEFA Cup final against Shaktar Donestk, however the young number 11 from Werder Bremen has done much to put such criticisms to rest since then, scoring the winning goal in the cup final against Leverkusen (ironically, off an excellent pass from Diego), as well as being the creative spark in the German midfield during this past tournament.  By his own admission, Ozil prefers to set up his teammates rather than score himself, but the somewhat fortuitous goal against England in the final shows that Ozil is developing in this regard, as he seems to be learning the age old truth that “you gotta shoot to score.” Ozil will have a chance to prove himself capable of performing consistently at the highest level this next season for Werder Bremen with the departure of Diego to Juventus. Fans of Die Mannschaft will undoubtedly be eager to see if he continues to progress.

The position of striker is perhaps one place where this German team needs to improve. Ashkan Dejagah of Wolfsburg, was played out of position as a striker by manager Horst Hrubesch. While MSV Duisburg front man Sandro Wagner scored two excellent goals against England in the final, it remains to be seen whether or not he is senior team material. With the likes of Miroslav Klose aging, Lukas Poldolski’s career stagnating, and Mario Gomez still unable to find top form with the national team, the German team is still looking for a cadre of strikers for the next generation. There is certainly hope to be had in Patrick Helmes, who is himself still young. If Helmes can find his feet at the national team level, and Lukas Podolski and Mario Gomez can begin firing on all cylinders, the German national team will be well set for strikers for several years to come, and the current drought of youth team strikers can be surmounted.

It remains to be seen if any of the stars of the German Under 21 victory in Sweden 2009 will break into Loew’s team for South Africa 2010, it is certain that Germany will not want for quality players heading into Euro 2012 and World Cup 2014. With the likes of Metzelder, Friedrich, Frings, Ballack, and Klose all entering the final acts of their national team careers, it is a safe bet to say that the talents of Howedes, Beck, Khedira, Ozil, Marin, and Kroos will be there to fill their places. The future is bright for the German National team. A future made all the brighter by the fact that the Bundesliga provides an environment and opportunity for young, talented players to ply their trade in a top flight league that is highly competitive in regards to title-challengers.  As other leagues in Europe face identity crises or a lack of competitive youth, the Bundesliga continues to bring in larger profits by the year both on and off the field.

Derek Rae of ESPN was kind enough to speak to me at length about Germany and German football. If you have access to ESPN/ESPN International, you may be accustomed to Rae’s commentary for the Champions League, La Liga or even Eredivisie; therefore, you might find that an interview of a football announcer who doesn’t announce Bundesliga games a bit odd. However, Derek Rae is fluent in German and is a self-described German-file.

It started for Derek with the 1974 World Cup held in West Germany, where he fell in love with football. For him that tournament was very German in a cultural sense and he found himself gripped by the country as well as the games. It was this tournament that he described as forcing his schooling choice when it came to secondary language between French and German. But rather than learning the core and forgetting, as happens with many English speakers, he turned it into fluency that would help form a lasting connection with the country. While his first visit to Germany was at age 12 to the port city of Hamburg, he spent considerably more time in Germany as part of student exchange programs from ages 16 to 18 on the East/West German border in Hesse. The town was Wildeck-Hönebach and from the back yard of the house in which he resided he could see Communist Germany.

Just to prove his “street-cred”, the congenial Scotsman named, after his beloved Aberdeen, the Regionaliga Sud club KSV Hessen Kassel as his club during his heady days in Germany. It’s a club he obviously still holds great affinity for. He won’t name any Bundesliga club as a favorite, but having surprised himself in recounting that through his days he had been to almost every major stadium, he unabashedly named Westfalenstadion (or Signal Iduna) as not only the best, but as the Cathedral of German football. And he pointed out that football mad supporters in the Ruhr region, with their distinct sense of humor, were some of his favorites.

We spoke as he returned from ESPN’s studios in Bristol, Ct. where he is covering the Confederations Cup. International football was the starting thread as the area we live in is abuzz about the US victory over Spain. The discussion turned to Michael Bradley of Borussia Mönchengladbach. I asked him what had happened to the large number of Americans that had once made their home in the German system. He recounted the days when you could find an American at the odd Regionaliga match. Germany has had one of the loosest foreign player policies of the major leagues for some time. Back in the days when the MLS was just starting and the US wasn’t quite established as a top 20 side, there were few options for Americans in Europe. Germany was the biggest and best opportunity at that time. But culturally he admitted that it’s a difficult transition to make for many young players with the long winters (a point I found funny coming from a fellow New Englander) and new language. These days, the entry for Americans into Scotland and England is much easier as the Home Office has relaxed rules for footballers, so naturally American players are heading there, when possible, due to obvious cultural similarities. Meanwhile the emergence of the EPL as a global brand makes it doubly attractive for American footballers.

We weren’t done with Gladbach, as we discussed how Germany could start to make inroads in European competitions. Remembering the golden era of his Aberdeen side*, he reminded me of how the dominant teams of Europe in the 70’s and 80’s were German. While we remember England’s 7 out of 8 European Cups during that era, its easy to forget that Germany won four (Bayern and Hamburg), while three times they were the runners up to English sides. Meanwhile, other than Tottenham, England made little headway outside of the main tournament during that era. Gladbach won two UEFA Cups and Frankfurt and Bayer also won one, while three other finals were lost by German sides. And in the Cup Winners Cup, Magdeburg and Hamburg both won while Jena, Lokomotiv Leipzig, Köln and Fortuna Dusseldorf all lost finals.

*as a reminder to newer fans, Aberdeen had to defeat both Bayern Munich and Real Madrid to lift the Cup Winner’s Cup in 1983.

While appreciative of the growing popularity of all the leagues, he did lament on the lack of perspective of some new fans and supporters. He used a line that just blew me away, “I am always disappointed when supporters think the league started when they discovered it.” He sent a fantastic message to all new fans that EVERY team has a history to tell. Sometimes it’s timeless like Barcelona, sometimes it’s old and grand like Mönchengladbach and sometimes its a brief spark like Nottingham Forest.

But when I asked about what it would take to regain some of that form for German sides, Rae was of the opinion that there was nothing they could, nor should do. While a team could spend exorbitant amounts of money for European glory, Dortmund’s dark days stand as a stark reminder that such a scenario can backfire in a league that can’t compete culturally with La Liga and Series A for the best South American talent. He felt the reemergence of the Bundesliga in Europe would be an organic process that may have well started this year with Werder Bremen. And the new found strength of Eastern Europe at the international level could help the league that is best at scouting and cultivating its talent.

Finally we turned to the season past and season to come. While he couldn’t discount Wolfsburg’s improbable run, he felt that Hoffenheim’s ability to make us believe they could do the impossible for so long was a richer story in the long run. As for the most surprising player, he quickly pointed out Zvjezdan Misimovi?. He couldn’t emphasize more the amazing difference one player had made to a side, turning a solid team into champions; whereas a year earlier he had been part of relegation. Rae has obvious respect for Felix Magath and paraphrased the manager’s assessment that sometimes the pieces just fit. In Misimovi?’s case the fit was other-worldly.

As for next year, Ribery is a very interesting situation to him. He could understand Bayern cashing in while they can for the French playmaker, especially while the money is “silly”; however, he didn’t feel that he was replaceable. Players like Ribery rarely are. So while he feels that Bayern will contend for the title, much will ride on how the club conducts itself around the Ribery sell. But Ribery wasn’t the only concern for him, when it came to Bayern. He feels that Van Gaal, while a great coach, is a polarizing figure and could backfire on Bayern, so he doesn’t think Bayern are odds on favorites. He feels that Schalke along with one other will be there to contend with Bayern. He was interested in how Wolfsburg would come along next year, but he didn’t seem overly optimistic with their chances. And finally when I asked about Marin’s move to Bremen, he said that while Diego leaves a huge hole to fill, that Marin has the character to step up to the challenge. It just may take more than a year.

I want to thank my good friend Eddie Emmanuel, a Lazio supporter, for helping connect an Aberdeen and Spurs supporter to talk about German football. It’s a grand old sport with a rich tapestry.

I used the stats feature at ESPN Soccernet to calcluate the clubs with the best attendances. Out of the top 20 attendances in Europe, Germany had 9 clubs. This post is to equip you with a tool to help promote our great league. Because, while we are in a slump in the Champions League and don’t make all the news with £80 million transfers, we have the most competitive league, the funnest league and the best attended league in the world. And we’ll get a team back to the final of the UCL.

There are so many glorious clubs in Europe, yet half of the teams in the Bundesliga (from grand to average) inhabit the best attendance list. Bayern, Dortmund, Schalke, HSV, Hertha, Koln, Stuttgart and Frankfurt beat out the likes of Liverpool, Chelsea, Valencia, Atletico Madrid, Juventus, Roma, PSV, Ajax, Galatasary and Porto.

Spain, England and Italy will make claims to being the greatest league in Europe. And if you base it solely on recent Champions League performances, they have some validity. However, since 2000 Valencia, Juventus, Liverpool and Chelsea have all made the Champions League finals from these leagues. Yet none of these storied teams couldn’t outdraw Eintracht Frankfurt last year. That’s right: Eintracht Frankfurt!

And while I do recognize that stadium issues prohibit some clubs from doing better, the fact that they can’t get their act together to build a stadium just shows that Germany is the best run league out there. In the time it took Liverpool to create fancy sketches, Hoffenheim built a stadium.

Below is a table of the top 20 clubs, attendance-wise. I’ve noted the position in their league in relation to attendance (note that only England could get a third team in the list) as well as the clubs final position. Note that while other countries figures seem closely related to how well a club is doing (kudos to Newcastle United fans), Germany had 3 teams in this list that were in the bottom half of the table. So the next time somebody disparages our grand league or tries to tell you that there is only one big team in Germany, trot out these numbers.

One of the Bundesliga’s funner 4-4-2’s.

GOALKEEPER
Rene Adler
Near Elder (if word about his back is true)

DEFENDERS
Paul Stalteri
Ultra Pilates (perhaps, but what about Ultra defending?)

Michael Gravgaard
Alarm! Vice! Haggard! (Jol! Agrees! Some!)

Daniel Van Buyten
Banal, Even, Untidy (it’s almost kind, even)

Dino Drpic
Drip In Cod (and on the field at that - eek!)

MIDFIELDERS
Carlos Eduardo
Sour Cad Ordeal (Indeed!)

Kevin Prince-Boateng
A Bicker Venting Peon (Nice!)

Patrick Ebert
Car Biter Kept (had they kept him longer, they may have won the title)

Orlando Engelaar
General Anal Odor (well that’s one way to put his playing style)

FORWARDS
Mario Gomez
I Go Raze, Mom! (yes you do bonito)

Lukas Podolski
Paid Solo Skulk (EERIE!)

This is a fun exercise, but please shame me with better!

Which player(s) surprised you the most this season? 

a) Misimovic. We knew he could play football, but not that well, nor that consistently. He became, alongside  Diego, the best central midfielder in the Bundesliga. Quite a step-up.
 
b) Grafite. Looked a little slow and ponderous in front of goal last season. Different story this time around. (probably only half the player without Misimovic and Dzeko)

c) Trochowski. In the Misimovic-mould of nearly-men in recent years, now a good reason to leave Schweinsteiger on the bench at the World Cup. 

Who was the most important player to his team?

Maybe Mario Gomez. He really carried the side, especially in the second half of the season, with his goals. 

We seem to becoming a league based on streaks: Stuttgart 2007; Hoffenheim - Hertha - Wolfsburg this year. Which was more impressive: Stuttgart’s run two years ago, Hoffenheim’s start this year or Wolfsburg’s finish?

I’d say Hoffenheim’s and Wolfsburg’s runs were equally impressive on the face of it, but then Wolfsburg had a semi-decent first half, too, and timed theirs much better. I think winning 14 out of 17 games in 2009 is unbelievably good.

All three promotion sides survived. Of the 3, who looks most likely to suffer a sophomore slump?

Michael Frontzeck has already taken two teams down, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he got Gladbach relegated as well. Köln’s chances will depend on who they can get as manager. Hoffe will be okay.

We lost our last East German team. What do you think East German football needs to do to make itself competitive?

Actually, Union Berlin are going strong and things are happening at Leipzig. I don’t think anything in particular needs to change. You just need a few good men with good ideas and little bit of money.

It seems that Magath has some concerns with Schalke: aged backline and a unbalanced squad. How long do you think it will take for Magath to get Schalke contending?

That really is one of the most interesting questions for next season. Rumors are that Schalke have very little money to spend, so he won’t be able to transform the team instantly over two seasons the way he did with VfL. He will surely get them fitter. But can this squad actually play decent football? I’m not sure.

It’s a question I asked the last time we talked. With Wolfsburg retaining the “gaffer” system and Schalke now being the second club to employ it, is there any chance of more teams adopting the style? Or do you see Armin Veh folding under the pressure of both jobs only to see Wolfsburg return to the Sports Director method sooner rather than later?

I remember talking to you about that a year ago. I must admit I’m very surprised that the Bundesliga has gone down that route. Of course, success breeds copycats and Magath at Wolfsburg is getting copied. Managers have become more confident to ask for wider powers. It seems like it will be the trend for the next few years, as even Bayern are giving van Gaal more power than Klinsmann ever had. But you are right, these things can be cyclical. The first club who fires their manager and finds itself with 20 players they don’t want will think very carefully about the whole system again. 

Why is Hertha’s Lucien Favre making noise about leaving?  It would seem that Hertha’s upside is still considerably large.

He was flattered by the attention from Bayern and HSV and used it politically. His threat to walk was really a clever ultimatum: he forced Hertha to choose between him and Dieter Hoeness. Hoeness was fired two days ago. 

Do you know why Christophe Daum suddenly left?

Money. And the chance to win titles and play internationally. In his own mind, Daum is on a par with Mourinho et al, so helping Köln to another mid-table finish had limited appeal for him. 

Last year, we saw the emergence of some new young managers in Jurgen Klöpp and Bruno Labbadia. Both were fairly successful in their first campaign at the top level.  Why then do you think so many managerial changes so far involve a merry-go-round approach rather than trying to find new blood like Dortmund and Bayer 04 did last year?

Klopp was fairly established before Borussia went for him but it’s true: the Bundesliga seems to have become quite risk-averse. Better the devil you know - it’s a consequence of the Klinsmann debacle, probably. 

With the team that Bayern seems to be building this summer: Van Gaal, Prajnic, Gomez, Olic, Boumjohann, as well as Sneijder, Tymochuck and Pandev likely; It feels like a team, regardless of Ribery’s impending departure, that on-paper are good enough to win Europe.  Do you think that we could see our first German team making a serious run at the UCL since 2002?

Hmm, I don’t know. Gomez for Toni doesn’t really change that much. I like Olic as a defensive forward (copyright Jonathan Wilson). Tymoschuk should have been bought four years ago. Baumjohann won’t feature much. Prajnic and Braafheid will be interesting although it’s never easy to evaluate the true strength of Eredivisie stars. I don’t think Pandev is really in the mix at all. Now, if they could somehow keep Ribery, they might really have a chance. But that’s highly unlikely. And Van Gaal is the first real big ego-manager at Bayern. That poses just as many risks as opportunities. I think this could go either way. Remember what happened when they put together the “White Ballet” in 2002/03 with Ballack, Ze Roberto, etc? Out in the groups stages. 

Will they end up with Adler, Neuer or other?

The word on the street is that Adler’s back isn’t quite up to it.  Neuer might yet happen. Schalke need money to pacify Magath. 

Aside from Ribery and Diego, which player seems most destined for foriegn shores this summer?

Dzeko to Milan is more than a rumour. Barnetta wants out and might be able to find a middle-class EPL team. Petric is keen to make more money, possibly in Spain.

The following year, German teams were responsible for the first final of the competition to feature two clubs from the same nation. Borussia Mönchengladbach reached the final again, playing against Eintracht Frankfurt. The first game of the final, played at Mönchengladbach, the home team won 3 - 2. The second game, at Frankfurt, was won 1 - 0 by the home team. This resulted in an even aggregate, with a victory for Eintracht Frankfurt, on away goals. Hamburg reached the finals in 1982, squaring up against IFK Göteborg of Sweden. The German team lost both games, being defeated 1 - 0 at home in the first game, and 3 - 0 in the second game. It was not until 1986 that another German team would reach the final, with Köln being unsuccessful against Real Madrid. Despite winning the second (home) match 2 - 0, they had lost the first one 5 - 1, and so lost on aggregate.

Three more German teams reached the finals during the `dual final` era - Bayer Leverkusen in 1988, VfB Stuttgart in 1989, Borussia Dortmund in 1994, Bayern Munich in 1996 and Schalke 04, in 1997. Of these, the German side was victorious in 1988, 1996 and 1997, marking a very successful period for German second tier European football. Starting with the 1998 season, the format of the final has changed to just have one game, played at a `neutral` stadium. In this time, German teams have been less successful than previously, having reached the final only twice: Borussia Dortmund in 2002 (losing to Feyenoord), and Werder Bremen in 2009 (beaten 2 - 1 by Shakhtar Donetsk after extra time). If you`re thinking of betting on European football, then having an idea of the history of teams in relevant tournaments can be a good way of assessing how good UEFA cup odds actually are.

Christophe Daum pulled off the biggest surprise of the early silly season, by quitting Cologne to return to Turkey via Fenerbahce. I would love to hear Jan’s input on this, but my take is that it could be a sucker punch for the Billy Goats as they face the sophomore curse. Daum had a somewhat iconic air at Colgne. He had helped built a solid team that needed some tweaks to reestablish the club as a permanent fixture in the top flight. Will the players, that he helped bring in, stay around for a new manager? They have a lot of talent that could be picked off with young guns Pezonni, Geromel, and Brosinksi. And the news caught favored son Lukas Podolski by surprise, and an already unhappy Podolski is going to make life tough for any new manager. Currently Slomka and Skibbe are being bandied about as possible replacements.

Ze Roberto has left Bayern after they wouldn’t give him a two-year contract. He seems to think he’s going to Manchester City. I seem to think he’s going to the MLS.

Bayern’s attempts to bring in a keeper are hitting a major road block. Manuel Neuer has said no. Being a Schalke man to the bone, that wasn’t a shock. And Bayer 04 may have set too high a price on Rene Adler for the Bavarians.

Demba Ba is making noises about leaving Hoffenheim and seems hell bent on replacing Mario Gomez at Stuttgart.

Robert Lewandowski of Lech Pozna? could be on his way to Dortmund. Does he bolster the squad or replace wantaway Alexandre Frei?

Wolfsburg made their first signing of the season with Dane Thomas Kahlenberg from Auxerre. There are suggestions that they may be after Luca Toni to be the next signing.

Werder seems to be employing a “if you can’t beat them” philosophy. They have already signed Marcelo Moreno of Shaktar on a loan to buy deal. Meanwhile they seem to be seeking two other players from the UEFA Champs in Darijo Srna and Jadson

A fifth place finish in 2007/08 under the stewardship of Felix Magath promised much, but moving from European qualification to champions in one year is a big step for a club that had never before lifted the national title.

The size of this accomplishment can be put into context by looking at the recent winners in England, Spain and Germany. Only four clubs have won the Premier League title since its inception in 1992. There have been five Serie A and La Liga winners in the same period.

Of the ‘one-off’ winners in those countries, Blackburn Rovers, Lazio, Roma, Atlético Madrid and Deportivo de la Coruña, only Blackburn were real surprise packages.

Rovers are often remembered for ‘buying’ the title in 1994/95, assembling a squad of big money signings thanks to a wealthy benefactor, with the team breaking up soon afterwards. It is often forgotten that although they did suffer relegation in 1999, they were runners-up the year before they lifted the title.

An English club winning the Premier League title for the first time, a few years after enjoying promotion, is impossible to imagine – any club other than United, Liverpool, Chelsea or Arsenal finishing in the top four would be considered a major surprise.

To say that there is a more significant role of money in English football compared to Germany is flippant. Bayern Munich are not short of cash and have been as hard to topple as United. The vast millions now available to Manchester City will not transform them into title-challengers.
Before Wolfsburg there had been, as in Italy and Spain, five German champions since 1992. This proves it is not a weak league that is easy to prosper in, although newly promoted Hoffenheim’s stunning start perhaps suggests otherwise.

Whether the Wolves become one-off champions or serial contenders remains to be seen, so don’t be too quick using your next football bet to back them in the long-term, but their achievement should be recognised as the historical one that it is.

Rodrigo Lombello is the COO of our favorite network in America GolTV. I sat down for an interview with the congenial Palmeiras supporter to talk about GolTV’s recent renewal of their Bundesliga package for the next three year.

(his answers are in Bold)

Is the new rights package, the same offered by DFL Sports Enterprise?

Yes, it is. It includes every game (306 matches) live as well as the preview show Goal! And the weekly highlight show Hallo Bundesliga. The main difference in the package for GolTV is that in addition to the US and Canadian rights, we have exclusive rights to show the Bundesliga in Latin American for the next three years.

The Bundesliga is restructuring the schedule next year. There will be a Friday night match, five 3:30 Saturday matches, a new 6:30 Saturday match, a 3:30 Sunday match and a new 5:30 PM Sunday match. (these times are all CET, which is 6 hours ahead of EST). How will that affect scheduling?

Currently our plans are to continue to show 2 to 3 games each weekend, live and tape-delayed. The new Saturday late match looks to be a marquee game each week.

Marquee game?

Yes, the league is going to try to make that game a big match.

Typically on Saturday, we get our games tape-delayed, is there any chance this later game could provide more live coverage.

Yes, we have had to use tape delay because Germany is six hours ahead of the East Coast, but 9 hours ahead of the West Coast, which has key markets like Los Angeles. Since we use a single feed for the entire country, we have shown games tape delayed so that the west coast won’t get their games at 6:30 in the morning. With this new game, the match will be at 9:30 AM for the West Coast and it is our hope that we can accommodate more live matches next year.

Well the new times must help, since the old structure had typically 6 to 8 games at the same time, which tied your hands in programming.

Yes, but we are looking into other avenues to provide more programming in the coming years either through partnering with other channels or taking advantage of on-line distribution. Since we own every game, we are working hard to find new means of connecting the fans to the games.

And the Friday game? Can you tell me more about that?

Well the Friday game has a few issues. First it’s at 2:30 EST when everyone is at work. In addition, it rarely involves the more well-known clubs, who are usually involved in mid-week European games. Anytime it involves Bayern, we show that game live and tape-delayed.

Is Bayern the only team that draws substantial numbers?

Not at all. While they do provide the best numbers, Schalke, Hamburg and Werder Bremen have had consistently strong audiences. The Bundesliga is the second biggest league for us, after La Liga; however, I think it’s better to view the games from a team perspective rather than a league perspective. The bigger clubs, whether from Spain, Brasil or Germany have a brand, and that brand carries weight when it comes to an audience.

Does using the DVR with your matches hurt your numbers?

No, we get a Live rating followed by Live+3 days, Live+7 days and Live+10 days. These latter option will pick up any taped viewers. However if you watch it live and tape it, it will show up on the Live rating.

Can we expect the promotion/relegation matches to be shown?

We have the rights to the games. Depending on programming priorities and the time of the matches, we are hopefully going to be able to show it.

And will you continue to show German National games?

That is a separate deal, not incorporated under the DFL package, but we do expect to continue showing German National games for the foreseeable future, especially World Cup Qualifiers.

Finally, two years ago you had a great promotion that sent two lucky viewers to German to watch two live matches. Can we expect anything like that in the future?

Currently we are running the Soccer Cam promotion w with a grand prize of a trip to the Emirates Cup this summer. After that is done, we are going to run another Bundesliga promotion.

Can I bribe you to win that?

(laughs) No.

Armin Veh was announced as Wolfsburg’s new manager after their title celebrations. The ex-Stuttgart manager will now try and replicate his 2008 Champions League form. It should be easier with the imminent loss of Dzeko and Misimovic.

Mario Gomez became the most expensive player in Bundesliga history, swapping Stuttgart red for Bayern red. Bayern paid €30 million for the striker. Or exactly €30 million more than they paid for either Klose or Olic. Stuttgart chairman is Erwin Staudt has been bombarded by calls from certain clubs in Bremen and Hamburg who want to know all about this thing called a transfer fee.

Diego shocked the football community by signing for Juventus. The Turin club paid Werder Bremen (yes this does wipe out that last joke) a hefty €24.5 million for the Brazilian playmaker. Seeing the Series A antics between Torino and Genoa this past weekend sealed the deal for the volatile #10, who loves handbags as much as football.

Martin Jol, having secured his customary 5th place finish, has decided to move to Ajax. The Netherlands’ only affable manager has decided that he doesn’t like being loved and will take on a job where he will be hated by sometime tomorrow.

Christian Eichner, the best left-back nobody knows, is set to move from Karlsruhe to Hoffenheim, proving once against that Ralf Rangnick has his act together.