Welcome back to another season of action from the Bundesliga, the highest attended soccer league in the world. Bayern Munich comes off a sixth title but who will be the challengers to the reigning champions IS what we will break down today.
TITLE CHALLENGERS
Bayern is Bayern. They always finish in the top spot and now they must do it without Jupp Heynckes. Niko Kovac comes from Eintracht Frankfurt where they beat Bayern in the Pokal final. He was far from the club’s first choice as manager but he has relevant Bundesliga experience.
On the pitch, few moves have been made but there’s this collective intake of breath. The anticipated exits of Frank Ribery and Aren Robben has had this club in a precarious position of whether they want to go with the future or continue to milk their draining talent of what’s left. With a moody Robert Lewandowski added in, this club is destined to never be out of contention for the title, but this is not a vintage side and all they seem to care about is how they finish in the Champions League.
First of the challengers is Borussia Dortmund, heralded as the second biggest club in Germany. After the shenanigans of last season, BVB has signed their man in Lucian Favre. While at Monchengladbach, he brough back from death one of the more traditional teams into the relevancy. With this respected coach has come a few signings as well.
Abdou Dialo was unheralded, but he is twice the player that Sokratis Papastathopoulos currently is. Thomas Delaney, Marius Wolf, and Axel Witsel are great midfield additions and when you consider the dead wood that’s moved out; this is a fresh and hungry team. So with changes comes expectations and honestly BVB hasn’t looked this good since the Jurgen Klopp double side of 2011-2012. Expect big things.
Bayer Leverkusen has been known as “Neverkusen” for a reason, they’ve always been runners-up. Under Heiko Herrlich, they surprised many by finishing in fifth. With little to no changes to this very young side, all things point to another step forward this season.
Aside from the upgrade of a exiting keeper, everyone is back. Two big signings are Paulinho from Brazil, and heavily talented Mitchell Weiser. With additional depth with more class, Leverkusen is deep enough for a strong title challenge and a run into the Europa League.
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE CHALLENGERS
RB Leipzig found last season that balancing Europe and the Bundesliga is a tall ask. They’ve found their long term guy in Julian Naglesmann, but he doesn’t start until the next season. In comes sporting director Ralf Rangnick. He brings from New York Red Bulls Jessie Marsch as an assistant and a wealth of experience. Multiple signings will give this team the depth that they need to compete on two fronts. Expect a resurgent season from Leipzig in 2018-19.
Schalke last season struck a chord with Domenico Tedesco, but that was only playing in the Bundesliga. Now, there is a Champions League campaign and all the things that come with it at a big club. Not many reinforcements in comparison to those lost. This will test the acumen of the manager and the collective strength of the squad.
EUROPEAN CHASERS
Hoffenheim qualified again for the Champions League, but the new structure means they are automatically in the group phase. Julian Naglemann has already agreed to move to Leipzig where he will have greater resources at his command, but he will still strive to finish high this season. Signings of Joshua Brenet, Vincenzo Grifo, and Leonardo Bittencourt are both signs of planning for today and for the future.
If only Stuttgart played with Tayfun Korkut as manager all last season. Under his watch, the team turned their season around and if not for Frankfurt winning the Pokal they’d have finished in Europe. While his return of 2.2 points per match would’ve only been good enough for 2nd last season, the drop off will be noticed and yet this is a young side that has stayed together and should progress this season.
Werder Bremen, former champions, has found its man again to lead them forward. Florian Kohfeldt has been in a coaching capacity with Bremen since 2006 and was called to be caretaker in the early part of last season before getting the job outright. Additions of American Josh Sergeant, Davy Klassen from Everton, Martin Harnik from Hannover, and Yuya Osako from Koln have made this a club with options.
MIDTABLE NO TROUBLE
Borussia Monchengladbach, while being a traditional team, has aspirations beyond their resources. Most comes down to a coach who is as dull as soup. Dieter Hecking has a good initial run, but he burns out. It has happened everywhere he has been. The squad, while not big, has good talent; but years of being poached for their best has left this team constantly in rebuild mode.
Hertha Berlin will see if non-participation in Europe will be a blessing, but as things lie with Pal Dardai this is a midtable finish if ever there was one. Loan signing Marko Grujic could be an interesting addition, but little has changed in the capital to think this is a challenging team.
FC Augsburg is the definition of a mid-table team. There is not the resources to keep their best from moving to bigger clubs in the Bundesliga, but enough class to not trouble the club. Perhaps Julian Shiebert can resurrect his career and Andre Hahn will do so as well and they contend for Europe as an outside pick.
RELEGATION WORRIES
Eintracht Frankfurt won the Pokal 3-1 over Bayern Munich and goes directly into the Europa League, but at what price? Much of the roster has been turned over and gone is the manager whose magic ended a 30-year trophy drought. Adi Hutter has come from Swiss champions Young Boys of Bern, but preseason has been poor as has been the recruitment. Long season indeed for the Eagles ahead.
FSV Mainz is the team that never dies. They occasionally have good seasons, but they are then burned and escape relegation. Currently this squad has added more than lost, but will all this recruited second division talent work in the Bundesliga?
FC Nurnberg, one of the great German teams has returned to the Bundesliga and yet, if they had kept players they could be easily a mid-table side. While the club was constantly just missing on promotion for a couple seasons, other Bundesliga clubs noticed that the quality that they had would translate to the top division. Should this not be their season they would be set for an immediate return.
RELEGATION THREE+ONE
Wolfsburg was the last team in the 2008-09 season to win the Bundesliga title not called Bayern Munich or Borussia Dortmund. Two seasons ago, they took Real Madrid to the wall in the quarterfinals of the Champions League. Now, they’ve finished 16th in the league and only survived two years running via the relegation playoff. While no serious reinforcements has come in, some could help the club finish just a little higher than the last two seasons.
SC Freiburg is a Bundesliga club who is a yo-yo. Stay up for one or up to four seasons then go down. They’ve been saving cash to help build their new stadium and while they stay with a ethnically and philosophically sound coach, the players are just not there. Christian Streich has been around so long that doesn’t matter if they go down they will merely return like a weed in the group.
Hannover 96 is a good club but there are troubles brewing. Chairman Martin Kind, hearing aid magnate, has claimed that the 50+1 rule requires two decades of constant investment. Obligation complete, but the sheer obstacle of making this happen is conflicting directly with the fans and without the fans behind the team, this could be one of the biggest explosions that a European club has ever seen.
Fortuna Dusseldorf is back and one of the more iconic names out there. Fact is that despite American Alfredo Morales joining the side, this was a total shock based on the talent at their disposal last season. No significant upgrading has been done, so the odds are not in their favor.
PREDICTIONS
CHAMPIONS: DORTMUND
Champions League: Dortmund, Munich, Leipzig, Leverkusen
Europa League (Pokal if won by a top 7 side): Schalke, Stuttgart, Bremen
Relegation: Freiburg, Hannover, Dusseldorf
