League Overview

The German Fussball Bundesliga actually comprises the top two divisions of German football- 1. Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga. However, the 1. Bundesliga has come to be known simply as the Bundesliga. “Die Bundesliga” was founded in 1962, and began in 1963. It runs from early August to late May, in line with most other major European leagues, but has a long winter break of about 6 weeks.

18 teams from around Germany play in this league, although this number was originally 16. The rules for the continued admission of clubs to the league are very strict. Teams require a license to play, which can only be obtained by meeting certain organisational requirements and being in good financial standing.

The teams currently in the league are: DSC Arminia Bielefeld, Bayer 04 Leverkusen, FC Bayern München, VfL Bochum, Borussia Dortmund, MSV Duisburg, Eintracht Frankfurt, Energie Cottbus, Hamburger SV, Hannover 96, Hertha BSC Berlin, FC Hansa Rostock, Karlsruher SC, 1. FC Nürnberg, FC Schalke 04, VfB Stuttgart, Werder Bremen, VfL Wolfsburg.

League Ranking

UEFA League ranking: 5th

History

The German Bundesliga was in fact the first face of professional football in Germany. Prior to its formation in 1963, German football was only ever played at an amateur level. The governing body for German football, the Deutscher Fussball Bund (DFB), had been founded in the 1900 with 86 member clubs in Liepzig, but they had not instituted any kind of professional setup. Football was played across a large number of often disjointed and disconnected regional leagues. The winners of these regional leagues would then compete in a series of playoff matches to decide the eventual champions of Germany. The first recognised national champions were VfB Leipzig. They beat DFC Prague 7-2, on May 31st 1903 in Hamburg.

There were obvious political and structural complications with trying to institute a concrete structure for a league system, but it became a pressing concern in the 1950s when the international team had started to suffer. Professional leagues in other countries were starting to show superiority, and Germany’s best players were also being lured away to them. The last straw broke in the 1962 World Cup, when West Germany lost 1-0 to Yugoslavia in the quarter-final. It was a poor performance, and later that summer, in Dortmund, DFB president Hermann Neuberger announced the creation of a new professional league. It would be modelled on the English professional setup, and featured 16 teams. The existing amateur leagues would continue to exist (and still do), but the various Regionalligen are now more organised and sit below the Bundesliga levels in the German Football League system.

46 teams applied for admission to the Bundesliga from the regional Oberligen, and eventually 16 teams were selected based on their success, history, economic health and representation of the various regions of Germany. Sometime later, the first ever German professional games kicked off on August 24, 1963.

East Germany had maintained a separate 14 team league through this period, the DDR-Liga, which had operated under the Soviet system. However after reunification in 1990, the league ran for one last season, with clubs then being absorbed into the various levels of German football. They top two clubs from East Germany, Hansa Rostock and Dynamo Dresden both joined the Bundesliga. Futher structure will be added to the system from 2008/09 onwards, with a 3. Bundesliga being added to the Bundesliga levels, and the regional leagues morphing into 3 separate divisions.

League Format

The German Football Bundesliga is decided by a conventional double round robin system. Each team plays the other twice, home and away, for a total of 34 games in the season. The title is based strictly on league play, and there are no playoffs of any kind. The team with the most points at the end of the season is the German Football League champion. The bottom 3 teams are automatically relegated, and replaced by the top 3 teams in the 2. Bundesliga.

If teams are tied for any of these spots, then the following factors are taken into account as deciders (in order): goal difference, goals scored, head-to-head results, head-to-head goal difference. If all of these are equal, then the two teams play a tie-breaker on a neutral ground, but this have never happened in the history of the Bundesliga.

The Bundesliga currently has three UEFA Champions League spots (two automatic), and three UEFA Cup spots. Match squads have 7 substitutes (where a standard 3 can be use). Match squads are currently limited to 5 non-EU players, although clubs are not restricted in the amount of non-EU players they can have at the club.

League Trophies

The German Bundesliga boasts the highest average attendance of any league in Europe. This is partly due to the fantastic enthusiasm shown by German fans, but also due to the tickets being moderately priced, especially in comparison to the Premier League. The Bundesliga is also one of the few remaining top leagues in Europe that allows clubs to have “terraces” or standing areas in the ground.

The Bundesliga boasts some historic grounds, as well as someone fantastic modern ones. Additionally, the hosting of the 2006 World Cup in Germany saw many stadia being built, as well as many older ones being refurbished and upgraded.

Bayern Munich have their Allianz-Arena, a magnificent, futuristic looking stadium which has become a landmark in football. The exterior shell of the stadium is composed entirely of lighting panels, and so the colours of the stadium can be changed. Previously, they played in Munich’s historic old Olympic Stadium. Dortmund have the legendary Westfalenstadion (Signal Iduna Park). This ground has a combined seating and standing capacity of over 80,000 and is known to be one of the most intimidating in Europe.

Dortmund’s local rivals Schalke play in the impressive Arena auf Schalke, which replaced their old Parkstadion. The Arena auf Schalke, known for sponsorship reasons as the Veltins Arena, is another seating and standing combined stadium, with a capacity of just over 60,000. It is another ground famous for its heated atmosphere, something which Schalke fans have become famous for over the years.

Recognition and Awards

Giants Bayern Munich are by far the most powerful and victorious Bundesliga team. In the 44 years of the Bundesliga, they have captured 19 titles from 1969 to 2003. Unlike certain other teams (Dortmund, Hamburg) that have had “golden eras” but done little else otherwise, Bayern have consistently managed to win titles over the entire history of the Bundesliga.

Most League Goals of All Time

Most League Appearances

League Management

DFB – http://www.dfb.de

Sponsors

Deutsche Telekom/T-Com - http://www.t-mobile.com

Media Coverage

Premiere – Bundesliga and 2. Bundesaliga matches (pay-per-view)

ARD (free-to-air) – Bundesliga – season opener, post-winter break opener

GOL TV – Bundesliga – in North America

Setanta Sports – Bundesliga – in Australia

Important Links

http://www.bundesliga.de

References