DISQUS

Bryan in SF · 1 year ago

I loved this article for so many reasons.

At kicker.de a few years back they averaged out goals-per-game and the Bundesliga came out way above the Premiership (France's Ligue 1 was top). Also, thanks for mentioning the CHEAPER PRICES at the stadium. A game at the new Emirates in London will cost 60 pounds at its cheapest and with much luck. A game at Hertha in Berlin starts at 7 euros.

Another big difference for stadium atmosphere is the "Stehblock" or standing section. They're illegal in the UK, because of high-profile violence years back. But in Germany you still have them and they cause an amazing vibe (though they're gone in Munich, Frankfurt, Duisburg, and a few other new stadia).

DoublePivot · 1 year ago

Thanks so much for the feedback. I was unaware that Munich didn't have a standing section, but now that you mention it; I don't remember seeing any. I'm astonished that Frankfurt wouldn't have any. Although isn't that a banking center. Maybe they don't have them because tellers stand all day :)

I used this for goals http://soccer-europe.com/Statistics/Goals/GPGEu.... Ligue 1 is always on bottom in it.

Mark · 1 year ago

I also enjoyed the post, perhaps because it reminds me of Uli-Hesse Lichtenberger over at Soccernet.com (who I'm quite fond of). Although I really don't need the incentive or justification to follow the Bundesliga, I like how he manages to dissect and present both the tactical and cultural bases of the league (and how favorably it tends to compare to, say, the EPL) Confirmation bias! Anyway, being compared to Herr Lichtenberger is high praise in my book, DP. Carry on.

Jan · 1 year ago

"though they're gone in Munich, Frankfurt, Duisburg, and a few other new stadia"

Those stadiums all have standing sections.

DoublePivot · 1 year ago

By the way, Jan was very helpful in putting together this piece as he helped me to better understand club structures and finances. His e-mail was so thorough and comprehensive that I should have just posted it it :)

steven downs · 1 year ago

Very well said, now if we can get stars to stay in the Bundesliga, that would be great.

DoublePivot · 1 year ago

It was a good year though. Who did the Bundesliga lose? VDV to Real Madrid was about the only significant one. City took Kompany but that was only because of the Olympics and we can't call him a start. Gomez and Diego will most likely leave next year, and that will be disappointing, but the attrition is minimal. After all, there are only about a dozen teams is the other big 3 that can poach our stars so there is only so much attrition we are bound to face. So things aren't too bad.

diana · 1 year ago

Mark, I'm also a fan of Uli's columns as well. Always looking forward to what he has come up with. Rafael Honigstein's columns in the Guardian as well.

'Very well said, now if we can get stars to stay in the Bundesliga, that would be great.'
That is the thing. Now as much as they have been linked to other leagues like in England or Italy (one example is Werder Bremen's Diego who used to be linked to quite a number of clubs before), the problem is that will they stay in the Bundesliga for the long term.

DP, I come from Singapore myself and I suggest you send this list to the newspapers here. I know it can't be helped given over where I am, we were once a British colony and so the EPL has always all along dominate the football coverage here. Many do follow that here. In a way, historical ties with our former colonial master. I will be the first to admit - I actually grew up with the EPL as well.

Pick the newspapers (okay, there are only three here which does have the sports section in their paper) at almost any time of the week here and when you read the sports section, chances are the EPL dominate the coverage when it comes to football news. I don't forsee in the future, the coverage will change in the papers even if there's Bundesliga on the pay-TV here. Even when it comes to the recent Champions League group draw for example, it's being viewed from the English angle (back then the reactions to the draw was seen from purely the Premier League angle with a focus on the opponents the Premier League clubs are facing). For someone like me who does watch the two leagues (EPL, Bundesliga), nothing much I can do on what the papers here are covering. The next best thing on Bundesliga coverage in the newspapers here...showing the TV times.

The newspapers here didn't really care that the Bundesliga provided the most players at Euro 2008. No mention except okay, there was once I read an article in the midst of the tournament on the Bayern Munich players who took part. That was more or less about it. The Internet is still my most biggest source of information if I want to know of the Bundesliga happenings. That is how I had 'survived' before the Bundesliga arrived on the pay-TV here for the 2008/09 season and I am lucky my family subscribed to pay-TV and so I can watch the matches.

Unless the Bundesliga clubs consistently peform well in European competitions and more specifically the Champions League, the level of awareness of the Bundesliga is probably not going to be there in my country. We are a football-crazy country, but there are times I wondered is it only mainly at the EPL level. Bayern is probably one of the more recognised football clubs here (maybe partly in view of its Champions League appearances) outside of the EPL, that is about it.

At the end of the day, it's the media coverage and people's general perceptions of the other leagues. People here will probably say a footballer they know playing in the EPL but the Bundesliga? I have my doubts. So while back then I was happy that there's going to be the Bundesliga here, I was slightly amused at how the pay-TV provider managed to get the broadcast rights.

DoublePivot · 1 year ago

In fact, you won't find any coverage in papers here in the States. ESPN, the US version, might give one goal a week, although they have reluctantly given respect to the UCL because they own the rights. However even then, you will find the announcers are snarky about it.

While we do get good coverage with Gol TV, that's about all we get when it comes to the Bundesliga. Mostly everything here is about either the EPL or the Mexican Legaue (which to be fair is the 5th most popular sports league in the US)

Lynn · 1 year ago

Diana, we need to write to the New Paper about how big Bundesliga is slowly becoming in Europe, and that Bundesliga matches must be shown live on TV--they can open up a new channel if need be xD. It's not like EPL is the only exciting league in the world. I watch EPL, Ligue 1, Bundesliga and the odd Primera Liga matches and I can vouch that Bundesliga is no less exciting than EPL (well, most of the times xD).

diana · 1 year ago

'Diana, we need to write to the New Paper about how big Bundesliga is slowly becoming in Europe'
Good idea, Lynn. But we need to gather evidence why is this so. And we need the paper's address. How about writing to The Straits Times as well? I do read that paper as well. Not sure about writing to TODAY though. But at least they do have reports on the German national team during the international week. I got a plesant surprise when last week, there's a preview to the Liechtenstein match. Klose's hat-trick against Finland was reported in that same paper just on Thursday.

'It's not like EPL is the only exciting league in the world.'
The other football fan in the family, my father is going to 'murder' me if I tell him that. LOL! But, I do respect his choices and he does the same with mine. It's the same even when it comes to outside of football.

Anyhow, I still remembered he told one of my older cousins at a relative's wedding dinner that I followed the Bundesliga (he actually said the German league back then but, whatever). I was sitting in between my father and cousin at that time and I just kept quiet, given the cousin he was speaking to is actually one of my favourite cousins whom I had never seen in a long time. :)

I'm already thankful the Football Channel is showing matches, even if it's on delayed telecast. Or maybe I am easy to please. I spent the two seasons after the 2006 World Cup catching up on Bundesliga news online. It's already an improvement for me. I'm watching the Rhur derby at the moment actually.

Just imagine, this would not have been possible a few years ago. So imagine how did I felt when I once flipped through Telescope's August edition in late July and it mentioned about the Bundesliga. The fact that the new season began on my birthday (August 15), makes it all the more nicer for someone who had not dared to imagine a few years ago that the Bundesliga will be shown on the TV here. Patience is a virture, indeed.

ls7 · 1 year ago

Great article. I've really gotten into the Bundesliga the last couple of seasons and have been enjoying it more than a lot of the EPL matches for some of the reasons you outline above.

Chris · 1 year ago

Great article, and I especially liked the comment about fan power. The EPL is very much like most American sports, in that they are pricing the common man/average Joe out of the stadia, and that has always been the sport's biggest fanbase. That the Bundesliga still has standing sections (and still sell beer) is what keeps the generations of fans coming back, and brings new ones in (like myself--I wasn't a huge Bundesliga fan until I attended a match between Hamburg and Dortmund in Hamburg. An AWESOME experience, in every sense.)

Musab · 1 year ago

Great article, loved the point you made about young talents being found and developed about youth players.

L'astro · 1 year ago

pinche bundesliga, es bn aburrida, solo BM y WB pueden dar batalla en UCL, ya se ha visto
la EPL, tiene minimo 6 equipos q pueden ganar la UCL
el Calcio, tiene 4 equipos para ganar la UCL
LFP 4 equipos para ganar la UCL
y asi se dicen ser la mejor liga jajajajajajaja
por favor, dediquense a hacer autos (q los hacen muy bn) y no a jugar futbol

DoublePivot · 1 year ago

As I am not comparing this to La Liga, I don't see your argument. Perhaps you expected that my Spanish would be non-existent. Wrong! Y

our racism is noted and not appreciated. Feel free to provide a counter-argument. Specifically to the EPL, which you say has 6 teams fighting for four slots, when it has only the big four as I pointed out. But if you are going to make racist remarks then I will just erase your drivel.

And obviously if you only care about UCL, then I can't win the argument. However you have taken no time to consider (perhaps even read) the other things I pointed out, then what is the point of posting this spam?

Juliet · 12 months ago

Thanks for this article. The next time someone looks at me cross-eyed and asks, "Why on earth do you watch *German* soccer?" I can point them to this excellent argument.