German Bundesliga season gets underway tonight

The 51st season of the German Bundesliga is set to kick-off tonight when record-breaking triple winners FC Bayern Munich host Borussia Mönchengladbach at the sellout Allianz Arena infront of 71,000 spectators.Now the new season is upon us and the hype surrounding the arrival of Spanish coach Pep Guardiola at FC Bayern Munich has been at unknown levels even for a club like FC Bayern. As they say, the best coach has joined the best club in the best league.

And Bayern Munich have also been active in the transfer market, signing Germans brightest young talent in Mario Götze and his Spanish counterpart in Thiago Alcantara to add to an already strong squad.

But it isn’t just about Pep Guardiola and Bayern Munich as UEFA Champions League finalists Borussia Dortmund have also spent 50 million Euros on new players. FC Schalke 04 and Bayer 04 Leverkusen will want to once more qualify for the lucrative UEFA Champions League, while numerous clubs will be fighting it out to get into the UEFA Europa League.

At the other end of the table, Eintracht Braunschweig and Hertha BSC Berlin are the new entrants of the premier division. While for Hertha, the aim will be to end their up-and-down trend of recent seasons, Braunschweig return to the top tier after 28 long years, which saw them disappear into amateur football.

One should not forget that Braunschweig, who were the club who first wore a sponsors name – ‘Jägermeister’ – on their chest, are ex-Bundesliga champion and had signed Paul Breitner on his return to Germany from Real Madrid. A lot of tradition steeped at Braunschweig, but can they sustain themselves in a tough modern-day Bundesliga world?

Loads of questions which will be answered in the coming months and in May next year.

I am looking forward to another great season of Bundesliga football.