Who is calling the shots as the Bundesliga makes a U-Turn
According to the UEFA ranking of the best European leagues, the German Bundesliga is ranked 4th and doesn’t really enjoy a lot publicity compared to the English Premiership, Spanish Primera and Italy’s Serie A. Unlike the popular leagues in Europe which have 20 teams in their top flight leagues, the Bundesliga has 18 teams.
Currently in the Bundesliga, Bayern Leverkusen is occupying the top slot after last weekend matches marked the end of the first half of the season. A keen look at the top five teams one cannot fail to notice that the league is very competitive, actually no other league in Europe currently, has the first five teams very close like this. When the league resumes play on 15th January next year, it will be interesting to see which team among Shalke 04, Bayern Munich, Hamburger SV, Borussia Dortmund and Werder Bremen will dislodge Bayern Leverkusen at the top. Remember the first three qualify for the champions league.
The league leaders, Bayern Leverkusen has not tasted any defeat yet, football pundits are wondering will this be the season when they break the jinx of falling apart on the last days? It’s almost had to believe that Bayern Leverkusen has never won the Bundesliga title after producing world-class players like Ballack, Ze Roberto and Lucio. If one ever doubts that there is bad luck in football, just look at the treble horror that befell Bayern Leverkusen in 2002.
Wolfsburg, who are the Bundesliga defending champions were knocked out of the champions league and are occupying position 8. Stuttgart who managed to make it to the first round knock out phase is one team above relegation zone. If they are to qualify for the champions league next season they will have to do it the hard way by winning the title. Easier said than done, they face FC Barcelona at the first round knock out phase.
The intriguing success of the Bundesliga this season will definitely make the German national team a strong contender in the 2010 world cup. The teams that will right them off will be doing so, at their own peril. Most people often think that, the less popular a league is, the more dangerous its national team turns out to be an international level. A good example is the Brazilian league, how many people can mention any 5 teams in 5 seconds?