The Rise of the Bundesliga

They say that the Titans ruled the Earth before they were overthrown by the Olympians. They were thought to be invincible with unequaled strength, but ultimately they had to give in to those who turned out to be superior to them. Probably a strange parallel to draw with football, but it would hardly be exaggeration to say that for us fans, the game is nothing short of a religion.

After years of dominance by the English Premier League and more recently, the La Liga, the Bundesliga has finally emerged from the shadows, and it has not been a quiet entry. Anyone following the game closely would have observed that the Germans have been taking the world stage by storm, most recently in the Champions’ League this year, where we witnessed two top Bundesliga teams, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, battle it out for the trophy.

Over the 180 hours of football played in the two semifinals, the Germans scored eight goals while the Spaniards could only manage one, with Bayern demolishing Barcelona 4-0, with an aggregate of 7-0 over the two legs, and Dortmund unceremoniously routing Real Madrid 4-1. The two Spanish teams being considered two of the best clubs in the world at the moment. Is this the start of a new era of dominance for the Germans?

Due to the Bundesliga mandate that all clubs run a youth academy, today German clubs have some of the best in the world. With these training centres brimming with talented youngsters, it is no wonder than the country produces a fresh crop of exciting new players almost every season. The current German team has several exceptional players, most of whom have come through the ranks of these youth academies, such as Mario Götze and Marco Reus from the Borussia Dortmund Youth Academy, captain Philipp Lahm, vice-captain Bastian Schweinsteiger, Thomas Müller and Holger Badstuber – all from the Bayern Munich youth system, while goalie Manuel Neuer graduated from Schalke 04, and Tony Kroos from Hansa Rostock.

According to a survey from Compare the Leagues, the Bundesliga is more eventful than both the EPL and the La Liga, with an average of 2.91 goals being scored per game, with a much lower percentage of goalless draws. Also, the sheer competitiveness of the league is what sets it apart from the others; the absence of a Big Four as in the EPL or the Big Two like the La Liga, means that the title is up for grabs by any team in the league. Borussia Mönchengladbach bounced back in one year from being on the verge of relegation to sealing their Champions League spot, which was a remarkable feat by any standards. Hannover finished the 2010-11 season with their best ever league finish, grabbing the last Champions League spot along the way. Last season, the Bundesliga had more sides in the last 16 of the Champions League than the Premier League for the first time since 1999. Surely this marks the start of a new trend?

The Bundesliga has always embraced a different style of play than other top flight European leagues. Today, German football on the whole is based on attack and aggressive play, and they are tactically more adventurous than others. They have come a long way since the days of mechanical ball-passing back and forth, and have developed a much faster-paced playing style. They are capable of imposing themselves on the opposing team and relentlessly pushing them further back down the field, juggernaut-style, and at the same time are able to play flexibly in a number of different formations.

The Bundesliga also boasts one of the highest average attendances of any football league in the world, with approximately 45,000 spectators at every match, nearly double the crowd that the La Liga draws in.

From the financial point of view, the German clubs have the benefit of sound management, as a result of which they avoid being heavily in debt, unlike clubs in other high profile leagues. This is largely due to the 50+1 rule, which discourages ownership by a single entity, since a minimum of 51% of the stock must be held by club members. Top clubs like Chelsea, Manchester City, Arsenal, Manchester United, Juventus, Marseille, Valencia and Malaga have all been debt-ridden in recent years, but this phenomenon is relatively less common in Germany. Also,English fans would be envious of the Germans, who can watch world class teams play at a much cheaper rate than they do.

In short, there is no better place to be a football fan today than in Germany, and many will argue that the Bundesliga is already the best league in Europe. That remains to be seen, but this is exactly what the Germans need going into the 2014 World Cup, all guns blazing. The War of the Titans has only just begun.