Saturday, September 29, 2012

SPANISH PRIMERA DIVISION CONTENDERS RATING SCALE


 






THE CONTENDERS:

 

This work is primarily aimed at predicting the likely teams to have a top 5 finish in the Spanish La Liga. Further to this, a prediction of the eventual winner of the 2012/13 La Liga Season will also be achieved.  These likely teams to have a top 5 teams are referred to as the contenders. In having a realistic chance of arriving at them, we will employ the use of what I call, The Contenders Rating Scale (CRS)

 

What is the CRS? The Contenders Rating Scale (CRS) primarily entails the manner through which the selection of the teams that are more likely to compete for the La Liga trophy and top 5 league table placement is made. 

 

This selection process will guide the purpose of this work which is to arrive at a projection on the more favoured clubs that I hypothesize will win the league or at least have a top notch finish that will lead to the qualification of the coveted UEFA Champions League spot. 

  *Related works -

THE 2012/13 SPANISH PRIMERA DIVISIÓN CONTENDERS

 THE 2012/2013 ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE CONTENDERS RATING SCALE

THE FRENCH LIGUE 1 CONTENDERS RATING SCALE

 THE ITALIAN SERIE A CONTENDERS RATING SCALE

THE GERMAN BUNDESLIGA CONTENDERS RATING SCALE

 
No doubt the 2011/2012 season like previous seasons left an indelible mark in the hearts of football lovers of the Spanish Primera division, especially the fans and Real Madrid family in general. This was because the 2011/12 season was the first time in 4 years that Real Madrid clinched the league title, having being second best to Barcelona from the 2008/09 – 2010/11.

HOW CONTENDERS RATING SCALE (CRS) WORKS:

 

The CRS will entail the following steps;

 

1. The top 5 teams in each of the last 5 years (seasons) “2007/2008, 2008/2009, 2009/2010, 2010/2011 and the 2011/2012” will be considered for selection into the contenders.

 

2.  In analyzing the last 5 years thereby paying attention to the top 5 teams in these years, a 5 mark (point) scale will be used to credit the teams based on their final league table placement in each of these years as stated in step 1.

 

3. Having rated these teams, the overall total mark scale will be obtained by summing up the yearly mark scale of these clubs based on the number of times they had a top 5 finish. However, the final league placement in each of these years would be the major determinant at arriving at the overall mark scale. 

 

Also, the position of these teams in the contenders table will be the final determinant. Thus, with the marks summed up and the contenders table considered, the 5 teams with the highest marks will make up what I call the contenders

 

The order through which these teams will be credited are as follows;

 

The 1st placed teams will have 5 marks (mks).

 

The 2nd placed team will have 4 mks.

 

The 3rd placed team will have 3 mks.

 

The 4the placed team will have 2 mks.

The 5th placed team will have 1 mk.

 

An illustration of the Contenders Rating Scale is shown below;

 

 TABLE 1:     2007/2008 SPANISH PRIMERA DIVISIÓN (YEAR 1)

 

 

 TABLE 2:      2008/2009 SPANISH PRIMERA DIVISIÓN (YEAR 1)

 



 TABLE 3:      2009/2010 SPANISH PRIMERA DIVISIÓN (YEAR 1)

 

 

 TABLE 4:      2010/2011 SPANISH PRIMERA DIVISIÓN (YEAR 4)

 

 

 TABLE 5:      2011/2012 SPANISH PRIMERA DIVISIÓN (YEAR 5)

 

 

Based on the Contenders Rating Scale as shown in the 5 tables above, it is noticed that 8 clubs were featured at one time or the other.

 

These teams are; Barcelona, Real Madrid, Valencia, Villarreal, Sevilla, Atletico Madrid, Malaga and Mallorca. 

 

The total marks obtained by these teams are stated as follows in the contenders table below;

 

 

THE CONTENDERS TABLE

 

 

 

The table above comprises 8 teams. These teams in the last 5 years (seasons), at one season or the other had a top 5 finish in the Spanish La Liga.

 

All marks obtained with regards to the 5 marks rating scale are stated in each of these years with the summation of marks obtained in all 5 years achieved in the column, Total Marks.

 

Of all 8 teams, the 2 domineering teams in the league, Barcelona and Real Madrid are tied with 22 marks with Real Madrid in first and Barcelona in second place. This is due to Real Madrid being the La Liga defending champions.  Next on the list are Valencia, Villarreal and Sevilla in third, fourth and fifth place respectively.

 

However, it is pivotal to point out that due to the relegation of Villarreal to the Spanish Segunda division, they will automatically be replaced by Atletico Madrid. 

 

That said, the teams to be analyzed are Real Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Sevilla and Atletico Madrid.

 

This is just the beginning. I enjoin you (readers) to fasten your seatbelts for the sequel to this work that will have all teams (Contenders) individually analyzed putting in mind the transfers they made.


References:

“2007/08 Spanish Primera División Table / Table” ESPN 29 Sep. 2012 <http://soccernet.espn.go.com/tables/_/league/esp.1/season/2007/spanish-primera-division?cc=3888>



“2008/09 Spanish Primera División Table / Table” ESPN 29 Sep. 2012   <http://soccernet.espn.go.com/tables/_/league/esp.1/season/2008/spanish-primera-division?cc=3888>


“2009/10 Spanish Primera División Table / Table” ESPN 29 Sep. 2012   

“2010/11 Spanish Primera División Table / Table” ESPN 29 Sep. 2012   <http://soccernet.espn.go.com/tables/_/league/esp.1/season/2010/spanish-primera-division?cc=3888>


“2011/12 Spanish Primera División Table / Table” ESPN 29 Sep. 2012  

Friday, September 28, 2012

THE 2012/2013 FOOTBALL SEASON: THE GERMAN BUNDESLIGA CONTENDERS


                                                                                                  




The German Bundesliga Contenders is an analysis of the first tier football league in Germany. 

 

The basis for this analysis is to have a prediction of the teams that could make up the top 5 at the end of the season and most importantly, the team to win the 2012/13 Bundesliga shield may be achieved. The current campaign (2012/2013) which kicked off on Friday, 24 August, 2012 has so far lived up to expectation with the 5 Contenders in view, so far getting placed in the top 8 spot of the 18 teams league table. With 29 matches left to play, the bundesliga is a league to get spellbound on. 

 

The Contenders in view are defending champions Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich, Schalke 04, Bayer Leverkusen, Werder Bremen. These contenders were derived through what I called “the Contenders Rating Scale.” Please click below to understand the Contenders Rating Scale

 

*Related works -         

THE GERMAN BUNDESLIGA CONTENDERS RATING SCALE

THE 2012/2013 ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE CONTENDERS

THE 2012/13 SPANISH PRIMERA DIVISIÓN CONTENDERS

THE 2012/2013 FRENCH LIGUE 1 CONTENDERS

 

In recapitulating what the Contenders Rating Scale (CRS) is, it is the approach employed in having a postulation and analysis of the German Bundesliga season, having put into consideration the teams that had a top 5 finish in the last five years or season. 

 

This article will discuss all teams in view. The transfers made by them will also be mentioned with the star entry and exit players briefly examined. 

Borussia Dortmund will be our first point of call.
 
    

Borussia Dortmund  



Borussia Dortmund clinching the 2011/12 Bundesliga title got the season being their second consecutive title clinching year. According to Wikipedia.com, so far Borussia Dortmund has won the Bundesliga 8 times. 

But that achieved, will the 2012/13 season be a third consecutive Bundesliga clinching year? 

The end of this work will get that rightly answered. So far in the ongoing 2012/13 season, Borussia Dortmund has garnered 8 points in 5 matches which has got them placed in 6th place. With this, they are 5 places and 7 points behind winning streak team, Bayern Munich.

If one is to use the slow start of Borussia Dortmund’s performance as a basis to ruling them out of making the 2012/13 season a third straight victorious year, such basis of conclusion will be a misleading disguise. 

 

This time last year, after 5 matches in the 2011/2012 Bundesliga year, Borussia Dortmund was placed in 11th place with 7 points while Bayern Munich had 12 points after the same number of matches. But this slow start was not a deterrent to Borussia Dortmund winning the league which indeed was a big blow to highflying Bayern Munich and many followers of the German first tier football league.

 

So will the 2012/13 season end in the same vein as the 2011/12? The final league table placement will get that answered.

*Facts
i.          Borussia Dortmund has won the German Bundesliga eight (8) times.

ii.         In the last 5 seasons (2007/08 - 2011/12), Borussia Dortmund has had a top 5 finish three (3) times.

2012/2013 BORUSSIA DORTMUND TRANSFER LIST

IN (CLUB PURCHASED OR “LOANED” FROM):

Marco Reus (Borussia Mönchengladbach)

Leonardo Bittencourt (Energie Cottbus)

Oliver Kirch (1. FC Kaiserslautern)

 Julian Schieber (VfB Stuttgart)


OUT (CLUB SOLD OR “LOANED” TO)

 Shinji Kagawa (Manchester United)

Lasse Sobiech (SpVgg Greuther Fürth, “Loan”)

Lucas Barrios (Guangzhou Evergrande)

Florian Kringe (FC St. Pauli)

Antonio da Silva (MSV Duisburg)

Julian Koch (MSV Duisburg, “Loan”)

Terrence Boyd (Rapid Vienna)

Daniel Ginczek (FC St. Pauli, “Loan”)

Dimitar Rangelov (FC Luzern)

Johannes Focher (SK Sturm Graz)


Entry and Exit Transfer Pick:

      Marco REUS 


A native of Germany and born in Dortmund, Marco Reus, is a striker with great versatility. Having spent his senior career in Borussia Dortmund before leaving for Rot Weiss, he has grown to be a player of significance and no doubt bringing much more contribution to the game of football. No wonder Borussia Dortmnd were left with no choice but to swoop on the 23 years old, thereby reenacting the relationship both parties once had.

Sequel to playing for Rot Weiss, Reus signed for Bundesliga club, Borussia Monchengladbach in the 2009/10 season where he sojourned for three years. Though still young, the highlight of his football career so far was the 2011/12 season which happened to be his last with Monchengladbach. In this season, he scored 18 goals in 33 league matches. A significant improvement compared to the 8 and 10 goals he scored in the 2009/10 and 2010/11 seasons respectively. 

Now at Borussia Dortmund, his contribution will be immense and will get him being perhaps the right replacement for Shinji Kagawa who now stars for Manchester United.  .
      

      Shinji KAGAWA

Japan international, Shinji Kagawa spent two seasons with the Bundesliga champions, Borussia Dortmund. In his 2 years with the club (2010/11 – 2011/12), he scored 21 goals in 49 matches with most of these goals and appearances coming in the 2011/12 in which he bagged 13 goals in 18 matches.

No doubt his massive contribution and high rating comprising a good eye for mind-blowing passes, offensive approach to the game and eye for goal, his exit will be felt by Borussia Dortmund but I opine that with the acquisition of Marco Reus, Kagawa’s exit will not be a big blow to Borussia Dortmund’s title defence and top notch table finish.



 Bayern Munich  



Bayern Munich is undoubtedly the most successful club in German football. With 22 Bundesliga triumphs, they have had themselves an affiliation with the German title like no other team in the history of the German football league. Second to Bayern Munich in the German football success standing based on number of shields or Bundesliga titles won is 1.FC Nuremberg which has won it 9 times and third is Borussia Dortmund which has won it 8 times as earlier pointed out during the discussion of Borussia Dortmund.  

Though too early, Bayern Munich having a 5 match winning streak with 15 points and a 15 Goal difference has got itself in a pole position to clinch their first shield in 3 years. The last time Bayern Munich won the league was the 2009/10 campaign season. 

But having a flashback to the 2011/12 season which saw a sudden dent in performance by Bayern Munich and remarkable twist by Borussia Dortmund as earlier mentioned in the analysis of Dortmund has got giving the League to Bayern Munich at this stage based on this early winning streak, a head on to the wall disappointment.

*Facts
i.          Bayern Munich has won the German Bundesliga twenty two (22) times.
ii.         In the last 5 seasons (2007/08 - 2011/12), Bayern Munich has had a top 5 finish 5 times.

2012/2013 BAYERN MUNICH TRANSFER LIST…

IN (CLUB PURCHASED OR “LOANED” FROM):

Javi Martinez (Athletic Bilbao)

Mario Mandzukic (VfL Wolfsburg)

Dante (Borussia Mönchengladbach)

Xherdan Shaqiri (FC Basel)

Tom Starke (1899 Hoffenheim)

Claudio Pizarro (SV Werder Bremen)

Mitchell Weiser (1. FC Köln)

OUT (CLUB SOLD OR “LOANED” TO)

Ivica Olic (VfL Wolfsburg)

Jörg Butt (retired)

Daniel Pranjic (Sporting CP)

Breno (released)

Takashi Usami (Gamba Osaka)

Rouven Sattelmaier (released)

Nils Petersen (SV Werder Bremen “Loan”)

Entry and Exit Transfer Pick:

      Javi MARTINEZ

Martinez is a Spanish football that was signed from Athletic Bilbao. He spent 6 years with the Spanish club, thus from 2006/07 to 2011/12 season and had a very significant appearance in all seasons. According to Bundesliga.com, “Javi Martinez's transfer to FC Bayern Munich from Athletic Bilbao set a new Bundesliga record”. Spending so much on Martinez has got him a player with a remarkable expected impact on Bayern Munich and possibly a heart to them winning the 2012/13 Bundesliga. With the acquisition of such a remarkable talent, Bayern Munich is on course for having a fight for the 2012/13 campaign, like they had in previous seasons.

With the FIFA World Cup 2010 and 2012 UEFA European Football Championship among his accomplishment, adding the 2012/13 Bundesliga to his achievement will surely be a target by the Spaniard as it will be perhaps the only way he will rightly prove to Bayern Munich that purchasing him at a level that has got him being the most expensive player in the 50 years history of the German Bundesliga was not a waste but a move well executed.
     
Ivica OLIC

Ovic spent 3 years (2009/10 – 2011/12 seasons) with Bayern Munich sequel to having 3 years (2006/07 – 2008/09 seasons) with Hamburger SV. According to Wikipedia.com, he had 29, 6 and 20 appearances in his 3 years at Bayern Munich from the 2009/10 to the 2011/12 season, scoring 11, 0 and 2 goals respectively.
 

                           Werder Bremen   

  

Werder Bremen has won the Bundesliga 4 times and last won it in the 2003/04 season.  So far after 5 matches played in the current campaign, the Bremen club is placed in 7th place with 7 points. Their performance in the last 5 years has been marred by inconsistency as evident in the football club making it to the top 5 only two times.

However, Werder Bremen making it to the 2012/13 Contenders list, courtesy the Contenders Rating Scale is a plus to them having a chance of having a top 5 finish in the current campaign and possibly winning the German Bundesliga for the fifth time.  

*Facts
i.          Werder Bremen has won the German Bundesliga times.

ii.         In the last 5 seasons (2007/08 - 2011/12), Werder Bremen has had a top 5 finish 2 times.

2012/2013 WERDER BREMEN LIST…

IN (CLUB PURCHASED OR “LOANED” FROM):

Eljero Elia (Juventus)

Nils Petersen (FC Bayern Munich, “Loan”)

Raphael Wolf (SV Kapfenberg)

Assani Lukimya (Fortuna Düsseldorf)

Richard Strebinger (Hertha BSC Berlin)

Theodor Gebre Selassie (FC Slovan Liberec)

Kevin de Bruyne (Chelsea “Loan”)

Martin Kobylanski (Energie Cottbus)


OUT (CLUB SOLD OR “LOANED” TO)

Claudio Pizarro (FC Bayern Munich)

Marko Marin (Chelsea)

Tim Wiese (1899 Hoffenheim)

Mikael Silvestre (released)

Markus Rosenberg (West Bromwich Albion)

Lennart Thy (FC St. Pauli)

Naldo (VfL Wolfsburg)

Sandro Wagner (Hertha BSC Berlin)

Denni Avdic (Zwolle/Netherlands, on loan)


Entry and Exit Transfer Pick:

   Eljero ELIA

Eljero is a native of Netherland with a German Bundesliga experience spanning two (2) years. These two seasons were from the 2009/10 – 2010/11 seasons in the colours of Hamburg in which he had 52 appearances and scored 7 goals. He is a winger.

However, the 2011/12 eventual Italian Serie A winners, Juventus signed him for the aforesaid season in which he was expected to spend 4 years with the old ladies as Juventus are at times fondly called. But sadly, these four years was not to be and cut short by Elia whom handed in a transfer request to the club in June 2012. Obviously such request was due to his very limited chances in the Serie A where he made only 4 appearances. 

But now back in Germany in the colours of Werder Bremen, Elia will no doubt be instrumental in getting Werder Bremen a much better season than they had in the previous campaign.


    Claudio PIZARRO

Claudi Pizarro is one player in the bundesliga that has made a remarkable appearance with 2 teams at 2 different times. These teams are Werder Breman and Bayern Munich.  First of all, he spent from the 1999/2000 – 2000/2001 seasons with Werder Bremen before being poached by Bayern Munich in the 2001/2002 season. Sequel to his debut season, he spent an added 5 years with the most successful team in Germany. This ended in the 2006/07 season before he left for Chelsea in the 2007/08 seasons where he only starred 21 times and bagged two goals.

Such a disappointing year must have been the basis to his return to Germany to have his second stint with Werder Bremen, a club that during his first stint with them, he scored 29 goals in 57 league matches. Following his second adventure with Werder Bremen, he got 60 goals in 106 matches. According to Wikipedia.com, these goals breakdown are 17, 16, 9 and 18 in the 2008/09, 200910, 2010/11 and 2011/12 seasons respectively.

No questioning one thing, Claudio Pizarro now a Bayern Munich player, also for the second time is down to one thing, Bayern Munich perceiving he has the right mindset and ingredient, thus experience that will grant them the 2012/13 Bundesliga season.

Will the league come to Bayern Munich this time around? Time will tell and you will have my take towards the ending of this work.
However, his exit will be missed by Werder Bremen but won’t deter them from having a better season than they did in the 2011/12 season.



Schalke 04  



Schalke 04 has won the German Bundesliga 7 times. Noteworthy, the early years of the German Bundesliga, precisely between the 1934 and 1942 football years were the success years in the history of Schalke 04. This time period had the club winning the German Bundesliga 6 times. But this control of the league was ended sequel to the 1958 football year when the club clinched their 7th Bundesliga title. 

But since 1958, Schalke have failed to win the German first tier football league. But since the 2000/2001 season, they have been inches close to winning the league, recording a second place finish on 4 occasions, the last time being the 2009/10 season when they were second to Bayern Munich.

These stated, the 2012/13 football year is another year Schalke 04, just like the other Contenders analyzed so far will give a season long fight to see how close they will be at clinching their first trophy with schalke not clinching the league in donkey years as compared to the others.

Moreover, what more can one expect from Schalke 04 when they have Klaas Jan Huntelaar, nicknamed the Hunter for I guess his abilities to hunt for goals when others don’t get their hunting right. Scoring 29 goals in 32 league matches is no joke and a feat that I opine he will continue from where he stopped in the 2011/12 Bundesliga campaign.

In 6 matches played so far, Schalke 04 are placed in 4th place with 11 Points. (Please note that as at when this work was published, only Schalke among the Contenders in view had played 6 matches with the others all playing 5 matches.)

*Facts                                            

i.          Schalke 04 have won the German Bundesliga 7 times.

ii.         In the last 5 seasons (2007/08 - 2011/12), Shalke 04 have had a top 5 finish twice 3 times.

2012/2013 Shalke 04 TRANSFER LIST…

IN (CLUB PURCHASED OR “LOANED” FROM):

Chinedu Obasi (1899 Hoffenheim)

Roman Neustädter (Borussia Mönchengladbach)

Tranquillo Barnetta (Bayer 04 Leverkusen)

Ibrahim Afellay (Barcelona, on “Loan”)

OUT (CLUB SOLD OR “LOANED” TO)

Raul (Al Sadd)

Hans Sarpei (released)

Levan Kenia (Zenit St. Petersburg)

Carlos Zambrano (FC St. Pauli)

Mathias Schober (retired)

Jan Moravek (FC Augsburg)

Mario Gavranovic (FC Zürich)

Peer Kluge (Hertha BSC Berlin)

Tim Hoogland (VfB Stuttgart, “Loan”)

Andreas Wiegel (Erzgebirge Aue)

Alexander Baumjohann (1. FC Kaiserslautern)

Edu (SpVgg Greuther Fürth  Loan”)

Entry and Exit Transfer Pick:

 Ibrahim AFELLAY

Ibrahim Afellay is a player on loan from Barcelona, a club that is unquestionably the best club in Europe in recent years. Affellay prior to playing for Barcelona, played for Dutch club, PSV. While at PSV, he spent 8 years. 

However, with his time in the last two years at Barcelona marked by very limited appearances, a loan to Schalke 04 is a move that will perhaps get him the chances needed to grow at a better pace and compete more equitably in the Barcelona squad by the time is loan to Schalke 04 is over.

With the skillfulness and pace of Afellay, Schalke 04 has the right pace at being a solid contender for the 2012/13 German Bundesliga.


 Raul


The once upon a time Santiago bernabea hitman was the club’s all-time top goal scorer with 323 goals in 741 appearances. A feat he achieved within 15 years. 

Prior to the 2010/11 season, Raul moved to Schalke 04, having had a successful career at Real Madrid and though according to Wikipedia, “after a slow start to his season, Raúl regained his form and helped his team win the DFB-Pokal and the DFL-Supercup by scoring goals at crucial junctures.” To this end, he scored 28 goals in 66 appearances during his 2 year stay at Schalke 04.

With the exit of Raul to Qatari side Al Sadd in 2012 summer transfer window, irrespective of his short spell with the club, Schalke 04 will no doubt miss his impact.
  

Bayer Leverkusen   


With no league title, Bayern Leverkusen still made the Contenders Rating Scale and perhaps the surprise inclusion. But, it is paramount to stress that the Contenders Rating Scale looks out for consistency in performance and not just the number of titles won. 

Though in the 2010/11 season they were so close to winning the league, thus finishing second behind eventual winners, Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen could just be a surprise for the title this time. 

Similarly, the 1996/97, 1998/99, 1999/2000 and 2001/02 season had Bayer as they are also called, finish the league as second best. 

*Facts

i.          Bayer Leverkusen has not won the German Bundesliga 18 times.

ii.         In the last 5 seasons (2007/08 - 2011/12), Bayer Leverkusen has had a top 5 finish 3 times.

2012/2013 BAYERN LEVEKUSEN TRANSFER LIST…

IN (CLUB PURCHASED OR “LOANED” FROM):


unior Fernandes (Universidad de Chile)

Phillipp Wollscheid (1. FC Nuremberg)

Hajime Hosogai (FC Augsburg, “Loan return”)

Carlinhos (Sao Paolo “Loan”)

Daniel Carvajal Ramos (Real Madrid)

Michael Rensing (1. FC Köln)

OUT (CLUB SOLD OR “LOANED” TO)

Michael Ballack (destination unknown)

Rene Adler (Hamburger SV)

Eren Derdiyok (1899 Hoffenheim)

Thanos Petsos (SpVgg Greuther Fürth)

Tranquillo Barnetta (FC Schalke 04)

Danny da Costa (FC Ingolstadt 04, loan)

Nicolai Jörgensen (1. FC Kaiserslautern, loan)

 Michael Ortega (VfL Bochum, loan)

Fabian Giefer (Fortuna Düsseldorf)

Samed Yesil (Liverpool/England)

Lewis Hatch (Accrington Stanley)

Joe Rafferty (Rochdale)

Connor Wearing (Shrewsbury)

Entry and Exit Transfer Pick:

Daniel CARVAJAL

 

At just 20 years old, Daniel Carvajal acquisition is what I call an acquisition for the future.

Little known Carvajal is a player with no questioning, a bright future. This primarily accounts for Rea Madrid, having sold him to Bayer Leverkusen, adding a buy-back clause in the region of €6.5 million if they want the youngster back after one season, €7 million after two seasons and approximately €8.5 million after his third season.

Such buy back clause only shows that Real Madrid, still have a keen interest in the lad and will closely follow and monitor his games and days in the colours of Bayer Leverkusen.

According to Wikipedia, Carvajal made his Bundesliga debut on 1 September 2012 in a 2–0 victory against SC Freiburg. He was named to the First Bundesliga Team of the Week.

One thing is sure, Carvajal is a player of outstanding potentials to the game of football, luckily in the colours of Bayer Leverkusen. He is surely a player to focus on.

Michael BALLACK


Michael Ballack is a player with lots of achievement. Though a midfielder, Ballack had the ability to score goals, a feat that got him having a very remarkable career in football.  At 36 years old, Ballack hanging his boots will be a surprise as he still has a lot to offer the game, the same class as Paul Scholes of Manchester United.

Ballack at the start of his career spent 9 years in the Bundesliga before moving to English Premier League side, Chelsea. Prior to his Chelsea move, he played for 1. FC Kaiserslautern, Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich. With his 2006–07 season with Chelsea ending with the climax of the 2009–10, Bayer Leverkusen had their arms opened to grant him a second stint with them.

Though he rejuvenated his romance with Bayer Leverkusen at the start of the 2010/11 season on, he only had a sojourn stay, not extending his contract beyond the 2011/12 football season.

The experience of Ballack extends beyond boundaries and his absence from the game will be a miss by not just Bayer Leverkusen nor the German Bundesliga but the football world.  

Ballack is a well decorated footballer. Among his numerous trophies and triumphs during his remarkable football career include; 4 Bundesliga titles to his credit, 3 DFB-Pokal, 3 English League cup titles, 1 English premier league

2012 GERMAN BUNDESLIGA FINAL LEAGUE TABLE PLACEMENT 

Having analyzed the 2012/13 German Bundesliga campaign, my projection with regards to the placement of all Contenders in view is shown in the table below.

Team(s)

Position

Bayern Munich

1st

Borussia Dortmund

2nd

Schalke 04

3rd

Werder Bremen

4th

Stuttgart

5th
















As observed in the table above, Bayern Munich is expected to finish the current German Bundesliga season on a fly with a top place finish. On the other hand, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Schalke 04, Werder Bremen and Stuttgart will finish in 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th place respectively. 

These predicted, please take note that out of the 5 Contenders (teams) used in the German Bundesliga analysis and forecast, 3 are certain to make the top 5 spot. Unlike the earlier analyzed leagues where I had a bet on 4 teams making the top 5 table placement, the German Bundesliga could take a very scintillating twist. So with 3 teams sure of having a top 5 finish, 2 may be replaced by teams not in the list of Contenders as put forward in this work.
However, please take note that the league table may not be in the order above but I am sure that these teams are the right contenders. What this means is that the CRS give room for inconsistency in team performance.

Don’t you think it is time you analyzed the Bundesliga table using the Contenders Rating Scale too? Good luck to your favourite team,

 

*Related works -         

THE GERMAN BUNDESLIGA CONTENDERS RATING SCALE

THE 2012/2013 ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE CONTENDERS

THE 2012/13 SPANISH PRIMERA DIVISIÓN CONTENDERS

THE 2012/2013 FRENCH LIGUE 1 CONTENDERS

 

References:
“5. Gameday 1.Bundesliga Table, League Results Season 2011/12” Fussball 27 Sep. 2012. <fussball.wettpoint.com/en/archives/tables/gamesdays-2011/1-bundesliga-germany-5-2011-12.html>

“Claudio Pizarro” Wikipedia 22 Sep. 2012. < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claudio_Pizarro>

“Daniel Carvajal”  Wikipedia 27 Sep. 2012  <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Carvajal>

“Eljero Elia” ESPNFC 20 Sep. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eljero_Elia>


“Ibrahim Afellay” Wikipedia 22 Sep. 2012. < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibrahim_Afellay>

“Ivica Olic” Wikipedia 2 Sep. 2012. < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivica_Oli%C4%87>

“Javi Martinez” Wikipedia 27 Sep. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Javi_Martinez>

“List of German football champions” Wikipedia 27 Sep. 2012


“Marco Reus” Wikipedia 27 Sep. 2012 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marco_Reus>

“Michael Ballack” Wikipedia 27 Sep. 2012  <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Ballack>

“Raúl (footballer)” Wikipedia 22 Sep. 2012.


“Shinji Kagawa” Wikipedia 27 Sep. 2012 < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinji_Kagawa>