When thinking of Germany, the first things that comes to mindare organisation, cla s and an air of calm. Well then, if you haveyet tocome acro s their unique brand of football you are in for a shock as the Bundesliga is about the most unpredictable league in Europe, mixed with a hugely fanatical fanbase necking pints like there isno tomorrow and a club a sociated with skulls and cro sbones! Sounds like pure madne s2010-11begins after the national team promised so much at the World Cup but bowed out to eventual winners Spain. However, the youthful side returned to a positive pre s as they did not suffer humiliation, far from it, being hailed as the next generation of German legends. This is because starlets such as Thomas Mller, Toni Kroos and Mesut zil lit up an otherwise dreary tournament in South Africa. It will be key to see how Young Player
Carson Soucy Women Jersey of the Tournament, Mller, and Kroos progre ses this season in a Bayern side capable of greatne s.But the biggest news in Germanyfollowing the World Cup was the departure of zil,undoubtedly the star of the tournament, to Jos Mourinhos new look Real Madrid for 15million. Sami Khedira followed suit and two of Germanys stars had left the country. Not a good start but not something to
Mason Appleton Men Jersey worry about as someone going the opposite way from those two was Ral, who joined Schalkehaving left Real and his sparkling career there behind, and German hero, Michael Ballack, returned after his release from Chelsea, to Leverkusen.Ral and zil went opposite ways with the latter hoping to follow the formers footstepsBut now onto Bayern. Unstoppable last year in Germany and Europe asLouis vanGaals sidemade the final of the Champions League, only to fall to Inter Milan at the last hurdle. They finished above the challenge of Schalke by 5 points in the league and hammered Werder Bremen 4-0in the DFB-Pokal Final (German Cup). 5 playersmade the team of the season (Toni Kroos played for Bayer Leverkusen but was on loan from Bayern) and scored 72 goals in the proce s, the highest of any team. With an array of talent including the likes of Arjen Robben (clubs top scorer last season), Mller who scored 13 last season and has started this one well,demonstrating unbelievable tekkers with a cla sy goal this week against Roma, Franck Ribry, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Miroslav Klose, their roster is competitive with the very best in Europe. However, with some, the results of the World Cup could affect them. In England we have seen Fernando Torres and Wayne Rooney reduced to shadows of themselves following poor displays. The (hilarious)failure of France early on and Holland going so far butremaining unsucce sful, losingthe Final, could have implications upon Ribry and Robbens mental states. And how will Kroos and Mller (below)deal with their newly found limelight as much will be cast onto their shoulders this year. This is in a Bayern side who do not nece sarily struggle for goals, but struggle for goalscoring strikers. Only Gmez and Olic reached double figures up front last season, 10 and 11 respectively,and as for Polands favourite forward, Klose, he only achieved a measly and disappointing3 league goals.Even though Bayern remain strong favourites, we need to consider the chasing pack. Schalke with their newly acquired strikeforce of Ral and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar will try and push them close for the title after succumbing to second place last year. 13 new facesentered Gelsenkirchen during pre-season, Christoph Metzelder included, but could duly suffer if they
Vince Dunn Men Jersey do not gelhastily enough, Felix Magath will have to monitor this closely. Losing 18 goal striker Kevin Kurnyi to the Ru sian League didnt help matters as Magath will have the added pre sure of a European
Riley Sheahan Jersey campaign to deal with, perhaps distracting their focus somewhat.VFL Wolfsburg won the title in the 08-09 season, the first in their history, and willlook to add another to their prized a set. Ex-England bo s, Steve McClaren took over during the summer having won the Dutch League with FC Twente, to become the first Englishman to manage in the Bundesliga. Luckily, his players fare better than hisawful Dutchaccent, last seasons top scorer, Edin Dzeko among the ranks. With fellow striker Grafite alongside him for support, McClaren then pulled off an awesome transfer in the form of Diego, who signed from Juventus. They demonstated their attacking superiority having stormed to a 3-0 lead against Mnchengladbach alreadythis campaign but highlighted some key defensive frailties by ultimatelylosing 4-3.The race for the championship doesnt stop there as Leverkusen, Hamburg, Werder Bremenand Stuttgart can all challenge if they maintain a rich vain of form throughout. But with European competition getting in the way, it is often seen in Germany that league form suffers a decline as Stuttgart, Schalke and Wolfsburg sit rock bottom of the league at the moment.Teams of such calibre should be nowhere near thatvicinity andwill no doubthaul themselves out of trouble in no time. The same cannot be said for the likes of Nuremberg, Hannover 96, FC Cologne or newly promoted St.Pauli, who all face a battle at the bottom. While Nuremberg escaped the deadly wrath of relegation by winning the play-off, St.Pauli come up with relative confidence. The eccentric club have a crazy historyincluding their fans whoare self-proclaimed to beanti-racist, anti-fascist and anti-sexist but still have a skull and cro sbones as their official emblem. Who knows what will happen at the derby between them and Hamburg this season?!It gets crazier. Fans are allowed beer cards, which allow them to exce sively down the beverage during matches, inevitably adding to the already extreme support shown by German fans in their standing only sections. They aresuitably rewarded on the pitch with sparkling displays and performances from the Worlds best, and while sadly ground renovations in some stadiums prevent full houses this season, and the looniest of them all, Jens Lehmann has hung up his boots, a rollercoaster ride of a season, uncharacteristic of German culture relentle sly
Haydn Fleury Women Jersey unfolds once again for us all to enjoy and marvel upon.
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