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 -
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
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 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.
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 -
References:
“List of German football champions” Wikipedia 27 Sep. 2012
“Raúl (footballer)” Wikipedia 22 Sep. 2012.
