Bild's Bundesliga Preview
The 2014/15 Bundesliga season is soon to be underway, and at Bild, we just can't wait. It will surely be an interesting season, as we wait to see how the top international stars will cope with the pressure of being World Champions, whether Dortmund will bounce back from their disappointing last two campaigns, how Paderborn will fare in their first ever top flight year, and of course, if FC Bayern München will be able to retain their title.
FC Bayern München
Bayern will be looking for their 3rd successive title this year, and with their domination in the last two seasons, it will be difficult to top them. With their first loss last year coming once the title was already secured, Pep Guardiola will know his team can do a job, but they certainly lost focus towards the end of the year. However, the sheer numbers of World Cup winners and the additions of Robert Lewandowski, Xabi Alonso and Mehdi Benatia mean Die Bayern are, as usual, title favourites. But how does famous München and Germany keeper Oliver Kahn think the club will do?
"I played with FC Bayern for many years and led Germany to the 2002 World Cup final during my career. Despite my decades of experience I don't think I ever played in any team as Bayern now have. It is a side that has only been getting better for the last few years and I think the introduction of new youngsters such as Gianluca Gaudino and Pierre-Emile Højbjerg can only help the team on its way to more success."
Borussia Dortmund
How will Borussia Dortmund cope with Bayern's second successive triumph? Another year in the runners up spot is all Dortmund will be hoping for after a disastrously unlucky season saw most of their squad ruled out with injuries. Despite the loss of Robert Lewandowski to Bayern, they have bought well, and are giving young players a chance, so perhaps Klopp's men will be able to top the table once again. We asked the man who won the club's only Champions League trophy back in 1997 with a delightful goal against Juventus - Lars Ricken.
"In the years since their two title wins Dortmund have suffered setback after setback. They've had a catalogue of injuries, lost two key players to Bayern München, lost the Champions League final in the last minute and had to fight to even gain a place in the competition last year. They've got some great new signings but it can only help so much and another fight for second is all they can hope for."
Schalke 04
Last year was another decent outing from Die Königsblauen but ultimately not enough to displace rivals Dortmund as the kings of the Ruhr. With a decent squad at their disposal and Roberto Di Matteo coming in to replace Jens Keller, there are no obvious weaknesses in the squad and they will expect another year of Champions League football next season. How does Schalke midfielder for 16 years Olaf Thon rate their chances?
"I'm going to stick my neck out on the line and say that this year might be the one where Schalke reclaim the title. Of course, Bayern will be difficult to defeat, but Dortmund have suffered from many problems and this is why Schalke can catch them this year."
Bayer 04 Leverkusen
Bayer Leverkusen just about managed to secure Champions League football on the final day, one point ahead of VfL Wolfsburg, but it was not deemed good enough for Die Werkself, who fired boss Sami Hyypiä in favour of former Salzburg man Roger Schmidt. There is also two new signings in Josip Drmic, who came close to the Golden Boot last year, and Hakan Çalhanoğlu of Hamburg. Ulf Kirsten, the former Leverkusen striker, thinks that this might be their year...
"Leverkusen clearly have high hopes for the new season, as 4th place was not deemed good enough for Sami Hyypiä. Roger Schmidt is an interesting choice for the new boss, but he is somewhat of an unknown quantity for the majority of fans, which means no one can tell whether it was the right choice or not quite yet."
VfL Wolfsburg
They may have been just a point away from their goal but the season will be considered a failure for VfL Wolfsburg as they failed to secure a Champions League place, but manager Dieter Hecking will be looking to take his side that one step further this season. Roy Präger, with 154 Wolfsburg appearances, gives his thoughts.
"Wolfsburg last year would have been very disappointed to have missed out on the Champions League, and by just one point too. I think that it may hurt them more than they anticipated, and I doubt that their new signings, Nicklas Bendtner, Aaron Hunt and Sebastian Jung are going to take them into Europe's elite. It will be a difficult year."
Borussia Mönchengladbach
Borussia Mönchengladbach's glory days may be a long time ago now but their recent performances under Lucien Favre have been slightly reminiscent of the good old days for the club. Gladbach finished 6th last year, meaning they will be in this years Europa League competition. Berti Vogts was asked his opinion on the challenge ahead.
"Gladbach have been steadily improving down the last few years, which is something the club can be proud of, and the results are here now, and 6th is by no means a bad finish. The departures of ter Stegen and Arango have been remedied by the signings of Hazard, Johnson, Hahn and Sommer, so the future is once again bright for Die Föhlenelf."
FSV Mainz 05
Mainz made it all the way into 7th place last year, a fantastic finish for Die Nullfunfers who were another relegation side not so long ago. This term will be a lot harder at the Coface Arena though, as Nicolai Müller and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting have departed. Some solid loan deals though may restrict the damage for this season, though the most difficult thing to cope with will be the resignation of miracle worker Thomas Tuchel. Former Mainz and Ukraine striker Andriy Voronin gave his opinion to Bild.
"Mainz has undergone a complete revolution under Thomas Tuchel and his resignation means the end of an era for the club. The new man in will be Kasper Hjulmand, formerly of FC Nordsjӕlland in Denmark. He's never managed in Germany before and this will be a difficult challenge for him in one of the World's best leagues."
FC Augsburg
An overachieving season for FC Augsburg, who came close to European football for the first time, has had its disadvantages, as key men André Hahn, Kevin Vogt and Matthias Ostrzolek have all been lured elsewhere. However, Markus Weinzierl has stayed put, and optimism is high at the SGL Arena. Michael Thurk, who helped Augsburg reach the Bundesliga, told Bild what to expect next year.
"Augsburg will now have to suffer from the problems of such a good season last year and the narrow margins between 7th and 8th place. Paul Verhaegh and Marwin Hitz mean that the goal will still be adequately protected, whilst new boys Nikola Durdic, Tim Matavz and Caiuby are likely to hit the net a few times themselves, which overall means that Der FCA don't have a lot to worry about."
TSG Hoffenheim
Hoffenheim have a reputation that is certainly deserved of being one of the most attacking teams outside of South America. Markus Gisdol likes his team to score, and the average Hoffenheim game last year produced 4 goals. But this does place a question mark over their defending, and there was no one better than Ralf Rangnick, who brought zonal marking to Germany and took Hoffenheim into the top flight for the first time, to talk to about that.
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"The story of Hoffenheim is certainly an interesting one and their style of play under Gisdol adds a beautiful new chapter to it. Roberto Firmino, Kevin Volland, Sebastian Rudy, Sejad Salihovic, Tarik Elyounoussi and others offer creative attacking outlets, but this year the focus is firmly on defence which has been shored up by the arrival of Oliver Baumann from Freiburg and Ermin Bicakcic, who impressed for Braunschweig last year. This doesn't mean they want to halt the attack though, as they have signed Ádám Szalai and Pirmin Schwegler to add an extra spark to the front line too."
Hannover 96
When Mirko Slomka left Hannover to join Hamburger SV in December, few could have foreseen quite how things would pan out. Hannover eventually finished in 10th, a respectable finish for a side not exactly packed with talent. Joselu and Hiroshi Kiyotake are the big names brought in by Tayfun Korkut, but they have lost Mame Diouf, Didier Ya Konan, Artjoms Rudnevs, Szabolcs Huszti, Sebastian Pocognoli and club legend Steven Cherundolo. Our man was ex Hannover 96 man Arnold Bruggink.
"This year will be hard for Korkut because the fans and the board expect 10th again. With the changes to the squad over the summer this simply doesn't seem possible and unless the fans face the truth Korkut may be out of a job come November if the club gets off the line slowly. Kiyotake and Joselu should help fight the tide a little, though."
Hertha BSC
Newly promoted Hertha managed 11th place last year under Dutch boss Jos Luhukay. It seemed for much of the season that they would place a lot higher, but they dropped to the bottom half and have lost centre forward Ádrian Ramos to Dortmund. They have at least replaced him adequately with Salomon Kalou and Julian Schieber amongst the new arrivals. Former Berlin and Croatia defender Josip Simunic has high hopes for the new season.
"Hertha had a very solid run last year that took them up to the top half for a while, and while they finished 11th it was still a great year. I think the new signings will help improve the side dramatically - there is a Champions League winner in Salomon Kalou, an ex Dortmund forward in Julian Schieber, Jens Hegeler, Johnny Heitinga, Marvin Plattenhardt, Roy Beerens and Valentin Stocker. If those players can't take Hertha into Europe then I don't know who will. "
SV Werder Bremen
In recent years under Thomas Schaaf, Werder Bremen have been one of the major challengers to Bayern München. However, since 3rd place in 2010/11, Bremen have managed only one top half finish. New boss Viktor Skrypnyk will be looking to stay away from relegation trouble. Otto Rehhagel, who managed Bremen back in the 1980's and 1990's, tells us how he feels about Die Werderaner's chances in the upcoming season.
"Bremen need to get back on the right track and fast. They have clearly lost their way recently, and it is no surprise the manager Robin Dutt has been forced out. There is a disappointing lack of any real transfer activity, with Izet Hajrovic , Álex Gálvez and Fin Bartels the only new men in so far."
Eintracht Frankfurt
Eintracht Frankfurt will be enjoying another year in the Bundesliga despite losing Armin Veh to his former club VfB Stuttgart. They have been busy over the summer too - Lucas Piazon on loan, Timo Hildebrand for free, Makoto Hasebe and Timothy Chandler from 1.FC Nürnberg, Aleksandr Ignjovski, Nelson Haedo Valdez and Haris Seferovic the new faces. Here's the opinion of Bernd Hölzenbein.
"Frankfurt look like they have a good side lined up for next season. Thomas Schaaf will be the manager, and with him he has brought in some stellar signings. Schaaf may be able to take Eintracht to the next level."
SC Freiburg
SC Freiburg spent much of last season sitting just outside the relegation zone, so it was a pleasant surprise for the fans when they eventually ended up 10 points ahead of 17th place. They finished merely a goal behind Eintracht Frankfurt, but according to record Freiburg goalscorer and current
Bundestrainer Joachim Löw, this season they'll do even better.
"Freiburg's transfers over the summer show their intent to finish higher next year, and they will, I'm sure. They will have Roman Bürki, an excellent goalkeeper, Sascha Riether, Dani Schahin, and Marc Oliver Kempf, alongside some others. They have lost some bright young talents but already they have moved well to replace them."
VfB Stuttgart
Another disappointing season for VfB Stuttgart began with the sacking of Bruno Labbadia who had led the side since 2010. His replacement, Thomas Schneider, did little to turn round the sides fortunes, as they conceded late goals in almost every game and finished narrowly outside the drop zone. Former coach Armin Veh has returned for another spell at the club, and former Stuttgart midfielder Krasimir Balakov tells us what to expect of the side next year.
"Stuttgart have had a very tough time in recent years and there is no hiding that. Armin Veh is back for another go at the manager's job, but otherwise there isn't really a whole lot of change, and I can only see another relegation battle."
Hamburger SV
Hamburg is a club in crisis. The 2013/14 season brought the club its lowest ever finish in the entire history of Hamburger SV, and two managers, Thorsten Fink and Mirko Slomka, were laid off. Currently without a manager, Josef Zinnbauer has been appointed on an interim basis. Kevin Keegan, who played at the Volksparkstadion for 3 years, got in touch with Bild.
"Hamburg have some top quality players in the squad, so 16th place was a dreadful result. Zinnbauer is the interim boss, but they need someone fast if they are to have a good season; they need to be well prepared. I can't stress enough how important it is that they get someone, so Zinnbauer is likely to be promoted to the full time job."
1.FC Köln
Köln are back in the big time, where they belong, with coach Peter Stöger to thank. They topped the second tier, with 19 wins, and shipping only 20 goals in the process. Defence will be the focus again this year as they'll look to keep tight to stay in the division. The first ever 1 million DM player, Roger van Gool, tells us all about his former club.
"Köln are back! It is a nice achievement for the club who should always be in the first division. They've made a few signings, in Kevin Vogt, Tomas Kalas, Mërgim Mavraj, Yuya Osako and some others, but they should settle soon. Comfortably avoiding relegation, I think."
SC Paderborn
Last but not least, Bundesliga new boys Paderborn. They'll be hard to beat, with determined supporters and a hungry squad, but André Breitenreiter's side plays good football and will attack with venom. Re-signed after a loan deal is Elias Kachunga, as is Marvin Bakalorz. Other signings include Moritz Stoppelkamp and Stefan Kutschke. What did Paderborn legend Markus Krösche, who retired at the end of the season, think of their success?
"Last season was a great one for me and the club. SCP are hitting new heights that have never been seen before, and for me, I retired with an amazing season behind me. I think SCP can stay up this year. Kachunga was superb last year and he will fortunately be back, and I think Moritz Stoppelkamp is a fantastic signing. So yes, it will be hard, but Paderborn certainly can stay up."