Preview: So the concluded 2008/09 Bundesliga season is considered to be one of the most exciting in recent times...on the title race side of things, that is. But while yours truly attempts to find out why, this current season has more than just that. As usual, the good, the bad and the ugly had happened this season in the German top-flight. Though yours truly have to accept the Bundesliga is not one of the major leagues in European football, on-the-field action are also equalled with off-the-field drama as well. In the first part of a four-part series on the Bundesliga season that was, general matters which caught my attention especially since what had happened after the winter break.
Don't ask. Few weeks ago or something when I was happening to be watching ESPN Sportscenter Asia (we have the Asian feed of ESPN here, through the pay-TV), I was being given a rude awakening. While I can accept the fact that Premier League (which I grew up on) and La Liga highlights will often dominate Sportscenter Asia (it is also one of the sources I get for my Spanish football updates), I was being given a slap in the face when it was presenting how the major clubs in the major European leagues are doing and the points they had collected this season. In the eyes of Sportscenter Asia, the major leagues are the Premier League (England), La Liga (Spain) and the Serie A (Italy). Bundesliga? No.
For long even when I was growing up with my father being the original football fan in the family, I had always thought that the Bundesliga is also one of the major leagues in Europe too. I was being led to believe that was the case actually. No. For all the talk that the quality of the Bundesliga is getting better over the years, it never really reached here. German football gave us the likes of Franz Beckbenbauer, Sepp Maier, Gerd Mueller, Bernd Schuster, Oliver Kahn, Lothar Matthaeus, Juergen Klinsmann (in his playing days, that is)...but, why? While I can accept English football will still rule the roost no matter what here in my country in view of our British colonial legacy and I did grew up with that, I thought there should be some sort of acknowledgement what German football had provided to the world of football. Though the stereotypes may still be there, for those who do not follow German football closely.
But I am not using this entry to give a rant, given it is always pointless anyway. But then I suppose what Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger used to say is true - "Everyone thinks they have the prettiest wife at home." Everyone likes to believe the football league they follow is the best in the world (especially if we talk about the European leagues). I had read about past Bundesliga title races which went down to the wire. I do not claim to be an expert in German football considering I only start to follow after the 2006 World Cup in Germany, but before the 2008/09 Bundesliga season came to a close, my German football sources acted as if they had taken their cue from Britain's Sky Sports and saying that the title race is the most closest in recent years. Had this been really Sky Sports after all, it will be hype machine overdrive. While neutrals will be glad to see any club apart from Bayern Munich be at the top of the Bundesliga standings at the end of the season with Wolfsburg this time and they are off playing Champions League football for the first time next season, what does it say about the league as a whole? Is it really that competitive after all? How do you measure competitiveness?
I still remembered about German national team coach Joachim Loew's supposedly attack on the state of the league which did ruffled some feathers. So while during the annual meeting with the coaches in the league and the national team with everyone saying that they had a constructive dialogue, it threw up questions as to how competitve is the Bundesliga really this season for me since. Bayern Munich this season was supposed to usher in a new era with Juergen Klinsmann as coach. But instead next season, veteran Dutchman Louis van Gaal will be the new man in charge. For me, I can only think of Bayern's inconsistency under Klinsmann set the tone for why the Bundesliga title race was touted in my German football sources as one of the most exciting ever in recent years. I can use the 2007/08 season when Ottmar Hitzfeld was the coach at Bayern as an example. In that season, Bayern only lost like maybe two matches. They were the league champions with a few matches to go. People were saying that there was no real title race. But what happened when Klinsmann became Hitzfeld's successor? Matches which Bayern should be able to win it, they blew it.
I can use Wolfsburg's 5-1 thrashing over Bayern Munich as an example. Wolfsburg were hosting Bayern, which the latter was due to play in the Champions League quarter-final first-leg away in Barcelona. The worst dress rehersal before up against the eventual European champions. That scoreline eventually became the turning point in Juergen Klinsmann's fate at the club (but also at the same time, making people taking Wolfsburg as a serious title candidate), but to add insult to injury from the Bayern's perspective on the same day at the Volkswagen Arena...this. It was scored by the eventual top goal-scorer of the league in Grafite. The Brazilian's goal was even hailed as 'Goal of the Year' in the German media too. But then, there is another goal which I do like (and it came matchdays after Wolfsburg's win over Bayern). It was amazing Karlsruhe's Sebastian Lampkamp who was saying after his side's unexpected win over Bayer Leverkusen that he was only thinking about clearing the ball off the line. Because his attempt resulted in this. That actually ended Karlsruhe's winless streak which had been going on like forever. What is clear though from the Bayer Leverkusen's perspective at that time, sporting director Rudi Voeller was not a happy man after the match (given that came in the wake of Leverkusen through to the DFB-Pokal final).
Speaking of goals, while I do not have the avaliable statistics in front of me, this season had seen quite a number of goals flying around in the Bundesliga. Of course one can argue European champions Barcelona scored an awful lot of goals both in Spain and in Europe but with the 2008/09 Bundesliga season as a whole, it was somehow like a throwback to the Premier League of the 90s. And now this begs the question: Is the state of defending of Bundesliga really that bad this season, or is it strikers do know how to score from various positions (except with their hand, of course)? I do like watching goals being scored but, I also like at least decent defending. I have to say first, I am not promoting cantennacio though. Still, my memorable matches this season do see goals being flying around. With three matches actually involving the Bundesliga newboys Hoffenheim. While their Bundesliga campaign since the second-half of the season resumed was not what they had hoped for like in the first-half, they had conjured up three memorable matches for me. Two came from the first-half of the season, while one came in the second-half of the season.
I usually do not watch the Friday action in the Bundesliga, due to the time difference which always mean that it is early Saturday morning when it is showed here live. But one early morning in December last year, I went against the norm. Apart from me watching the opening match of the season, it was only the second time I watched a Bundesliga match from start to finish. The Bayern Munich-Hoffenheim clash had been dubbed as the 'game of games' and thank goodness, it lived up to its hype. Bayern won 2-1 at almost the last kick of the match but though the match was deemed physical at times (at least to me), the quality is there. Hoffenheim had showed that even though this is only their first season in the top-flight, they are able to take on opponents like those about on the same level as Bayern Munich too. Three months before, Hoffenheim had already conjured up in what was possibly the most craziest match of this season. It was also eventually the most highest-scoring match for this season in the Bundesliga: Werder Bremen 5 - Hoffenheim 4. Just imagine: When Werder thought they were having a three goal lead (this was when it was 4-1 to them), Hoffenheim eventually fought back and managed to equalise...only for Werder to score, again! Needless to say, Hoffenheim coach Ralf Rangnick took that result real seriously.
The 3-3 draw against my club VfB Stuttgart (the final match involving Hoffenheim which was memorable to me this season) might had been exciting especially it was a derby (with Ralf Rangnick back to the club where he once served as a coach for the junior side and later for the seniors) with Rangnick himself saying about it was worth value for money for the fans who came to watch...that came in the shadow of something which would eventually shook the league like almost never before. Few hours before kick-off at the Mercedes-Benz Arena, it was announced on the DFB (German FA) website that two Hoffenheim players were late for their doping tests after a match away at Borussia Moenchengladbach (that match ended in a 1-1 draw). All sorts of accusations were being thrown around in the wake of that...and how German football actually regulate doping controls came into light. Never mind Hoffenheim and my club VfB Stuttgart come from the same state of Baden-Wuerttembrg. I did had a soft spot for Hoffenheim, for the way how they play their football and that they do not spend for the sake of spending. Considering Hoffenheim patron Dietmar Hopp makes his millions through computer software and he is one of the co-founders of software giant SAP, but what makes him stand out is that he used to play for Hoffenheim in his youth. But for a moment in the midst of that doping scandal, I thought to myself - 'The Cinderella had left the building'. Hoffenheim in my eyes had lost its sense of innocence. They were the Cinderella team in the first-half of the season, and why they were being implicated in a doping scandal? But then eventually, it was found out through the authorities that it was not the players' fault, it was the club itself.
It took me a while before I remembered how Hoffenheim used to take my breath away with their brand of football. Because it used to be only Arsenal being associated with one-touch football. But then again, Hoffenheim coach Ralf Rangnick is friends with Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger. Well, Hoffenheim may not be even playing in the UEFA Europa League next season (in fact, many were tipping them to be playing in Europe next season) but, as long as they maintain the way how they storm the league in the first-half of the season, everything will be fine in their second season. But then there is the case of the 'second season syndrome' which Karlsruhe eventually suffered.
On the issue of relegation, apart from Karlsruhe which went down (even before they were officially relegated, they exited the Bundesliga in style on the final matchday when they thrashed Hertha Berlin 4-0 at home), Arminia Bielefeld is another. But before their status next season was confirmed on the final matchday of the season, the match before the final day was a sign of probable things to come...a 6-0 away thrashing which Borussia Dortmund handed them. Bielefeld's destiny was in their own hands on the final matchday when they hosted Hannover but, even a 2-2 draw did not saved them from being relegated due to events from elsewhere beyond their control. But for one club, they lived to see for another day in the league...only to be officially confirmed of their status for next season when the play-off came about. Energie Cottbus. Without a shadow of a doubt, they are always the pundits' favourite for the drop. But with the re-introduction of the play-offs which is being re-introduced after almost two decades of absence, they went into the play-off after they beat Bayer Leverkusen 3-0 at home. After the 5-0 aggregate against Nuremberg (it is the 16th-placed team in the Bundesliga against the third-best team from the second division), Cottbus were officially relegated (it was 3-0 to Nuremberg in the first-leg, 2-0 in the second). It is a pity (though it is nice to see Nuremberg back up again just after a season in the second division), because Energie Cottbus was the only club from the East Germany playing in the top-flight until their relegation was confirmed.
While it is a case of 'till we meet again' for the relegated sides, apart from Nuremberg back in the top-flight...there are also two other returnees in Freiburg and Mainz. For Mainz especially, they had showed that there is life after their popular coach Juergen Klopp who is currently the coach at Borussia Dortmund. In fact, it was after he failed to lead them back up (because Mainz got relegated at the end of the 2006/07 season), he joined Dortmund before the start of the 2008/09 season. Klopp's successor Jorn Andersen had managed to do well. In fact, it was Klopp who recommended the Norwegian for the job.
While it is always nice to see familar clubs back in the top-flight, there was some sort of debate this season as to whether the Bundesliga should fall in line like their counterparts in Spain, England for example. From 18 to 20 clubs. It drew mixed opinions from the German footballing community. It was feared that if the increase does go ahead (it didn't, after a consultation from the league itself), this meant of a possibility of a fixture overload. Considering already the winter break will be reduced for the next season in view of the 2010 World Cup and the thought of 20 clubs in the Bundesliga? People like Bayern Munich general manager Uli Hoeness (who will always have a say in just about everything there is in the league, one got to love him or hate him for his outspokeness) and Bayer Leverkusen sporting director Rudi Voeller actually both shuddered at the thought. Speaking of the Bayern general manager...
...something which he once raised in an interview three months ago really caused some eyebrows raised! What Bayern Munich general manager Uli Hoeness was suggesting might be a nice idea (especially for those who are well-aware of the situation when it comes to TV money in England, Italy, Spain, Germany) but, did he raised it in the wrong time? He was saying, "I mean that for an additional two euros per month the man in the street would be able to watch the entire first and second Bundesliga programme free. A two euro monthly charge would allow public service broadcasters ARD and ZDF to show every game live. Everyone, and I repeat, everyone could watch every match live, and/or at a time of their choosing, and/or potentially free on demand. More people in Germany are passionate about football than anything else. Not everyone wants to watch soap operas, folk music, romantic drama, arts programming, or even politics. But everyone still has to pay a €17.98 monthly licence fee." While it is always nice to watch league football on free-to-air television (currently it is on the Premiere network on pay-TV...or wait, it will be called Sky next season with the highlights of the matches on German public television's ARD's Sportschau, or Sports Review), what is the world currently experiencing at the moment? The economic downturn.
While that caused a shockwave in the German footballing community apart from the doping scandal involving Hoffenheim, Uli Hoeness had actually being on a collision course over with the German national team during the course of the Bundesliga season. In my fourth paragraph, I talked about national team coach Joachim Loew's supposedly attack on the state of the league. It almost went out of hand between Hoeness and Loew ahead of the German national team's back-to-back World Cup qualifiers against Liechtenstein and Wales. When the Bayern general manager's displeasure was raised ahead of the Liechtenstein match, Loew was reportedly to be visibly annoyed and at one time, he was at a loss for words. What made Hoeness annoyed was that Loew compared the Bundesliga with the Premier League and Spain's La Liga. It was the national team coach's supposedly lecture on how football is being played in England and Spain which ruffled Hoeness.
Speaking of collision courses, even the talk of moral values was raised this season when it comes to the amazing Bundesliga coaching carousel. Cologne was the last Bundesliga club to find itself a new coach before next season. But before that, there was Borussia Moenchengladbach, VfB Stuttgart, Schalke, Wolfsburg, Bayern Munich, Arminia Bielefeld, Eintracht Frankfurt, Hamburg, Energie Cottbus and Bayer Leverkusen. Of those clubs I mentioned, Bielefeld and Cottbus had since being relegated. While Cottbus had already gotten themselves a coach, Bielefeld has not though. You have coaches leaving their club either out of their own accord, or being given the sack due to a poor run of results. While such scenarios might had gotten the Premier League audiences saying that this is not a big deal given there is always quite a turnover of managers for each season, it actually raised alarm bells especially among some of the German footballing bigwigs because the coaching carousel became much more intensive in the immediate days when the off-season began. Of a sudden, the term 'exit clause' is a sensitive term in view of Christoph Daum activating it from his contract at Cologne. It is still unknown as to where is his next destination because it was reported that he got a lucrative offer beyond Germany (Turkish giants Fenerbache had been mentioned, and Daum had coached there before and is still well-liked in Turkey).
But if the Juergen Klinnsmann experience has anything to tell us this season in the Bundesliga, hiring novice coaches is definitely a gamble. Or it is best not to hire a novice at all. While the arrival of Louis van Gaal might be signalling that Bayern Munich is heading back to basics with what general manager Uli Hoeness famously said on the day Juergen Klinsmann got the boot as wanting a 'football teacher' in view of the Dutchman's record from his time at Ajax, Barcelona and his previous post at AZ Alkmaar (he led them to the title in 28 years, and the side under his successor Ronald Koeman will be playing Champions League football next season), still...it is going to be interesting days ahead in the Bundesliga next season.
Because already before Louis van Gaal landed his 'dream job', the chase for the man who actually has a season left on his contract at AZ Alkmaar...read like a soap opera. The German press were delighted with the fact that the Dutchman had never once made no secret of the fact that he had always wanted to work at a club like Bayern. The Dutch press were from initially bemused (in view of van Gaal's relations with the media) to being convinced that club president Dirk Scheringa should let him go. For a moment it looked like actually Bayern might not even got their coach but a meeting with their counterparts in Holland gave the green light for van Gaal to make his way to Germany...officially on 1 July.
