Skysports.com assesses the 18 Bundesliga clubs ahead of the start of the new season on Friday.
Skysports.com's German correspondent, Thomas Zocher, assesses the 18 Bundesliga clubs ahead of the start of the new season on Friday
Bayern Munich enjoyed a season to remember in 2009/10 as Louis van Gaal guided the club to the Bundesliga title, success in the German Cup and an appearance in the UEFA Champions League final.
Van Gaal's team won the league by five points in what was a fascinating and evenly-fought campaign and now there are several teams hoping to overthrow the defending champions.
Runners-up Schalke, Werder Bremen, a Michael Ballack-inspired Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund are all contenders to lift the top-flight silverware and will be quietly confident of achieving their aim.
Steve McClaren's Wolfsburg are also a club to keep an eye on after the former England manager moved to Germany this summer having guided FC Twente to the Dutch league title.
At the bottom of the Bundesliga, it will be interesting to see how last season's second division champions, Kaiserslautern, fare on their return to the big time, while St Pauli will also be eager to avoid immediate relegation following their promotion.
Nurnberg will be candidates for the drop after they escaped sinking down a division by winning a relegation play-off against Bundesliga 2's third-placed team, Augsburg.
Bayer Leverkusen
Manager: Jupp Heynckes
Stadium: BayArena
Star man: Michael Ballack (midfielder)
League finish in 2009/10: Fourth
Overview: It was not until week 25 of last season when a Sami Hyypia-driven Bayer Leverkusen were defeated for the first time. That defeat at Nurnberg, and too many draws, caused them to fail in what was a surprise title bid under veteran manager Jupp Heynckes. The Bosman signature of Michael Ballack, who returns to the club after eight years with Bayern Munich and Chelsea, is seen as a prominent boost to merge on-pitch forces. If Ballack links well with Hyypia to produce a back-up for a young, attack-minded squad, Leverkusen should be considered a club with enough to mount a realistic title bid.
Bayern Munich
Manager: Louis van Gaal
Stadium: Allianz Arena
Star man: Arjen Robben (winger)
League finish in 2009/10: Bundesliga champions
Overview: Four months into his Bayern job, Louis van Gaal looked doomed. But nine months later the Dutchman has reinforced his legendary status after leading Bayern to a fresh Bundesliga title, the UEFA Champions League final and the German Cup. Lacking a prominent summer signature, the return of Germany international Toni Kroos from a loan spell at Leverkusen indicates Van Gaal has his focus on improving the existing squad rather than spending the club's money on fresh faces. Despite a shortage of quality cover at full-back and an ageing goalkeeper in Hans-Jorg Butt, their frontline of Arjen Robben, who is injured for the start of the season, Franck Ribery, Thomas Muller, Mario Gomez and Ivica Olic is the best in the league. Although Van Gaal has indicated that he may want to decrease the number of attacking players in his squad, Bayern are favourites to retain the league title.
Borussia Dortmund
Manager: Jurgen Klopp
Stadium: Signal-Iduna-Park
Star man: Lucas Barrios (striker)
League finish in 2009/10: Fifth
Overview: Jurgen Klopp was a sparkling manager when with Mainz and in the last two years at Borussia Dortmund he has shown he has all the skills to repeat that magic. Finishing just outside the European positions in his first season, his second campaign at Signal-Iduna-Park saw an attack-minded Dortmund finish fifth. Dortmund will be hoping to see newly-acquired striker Robert Lewandowski form a great partnership with Paraguayan hit-man Lucas Barrios in attack, while they will also want defenders Mats Hummels and Neven Subotic to excel. Dortmund have firm hopes on Lewandowski's power and spent the majority of their transfer budget on the former Lech Poznan forward.
Borussia Monchengladbach
Manager: Michael Frontzeck
Stadium: Stadion im Borussia-Park
Star man: Dante (defender)
League finish in 2009/10: 12th
Overview: Two years into a new Bundesliga chapter, the club staved off all relegation fears last season and they are now keen to make progress. The club have been able to keep all of their regular first-team players, with popular defender Dante and manager Michael Frontzeck signing contract extensions. It was the first time in a rough seven years that a manager of the club agreed a new deal to indicate that Monchengladbach are on the up.
Cologne
Manager: Zvonimir Soldo
Stadium: RheinEnergieStadion
Star man: Lukas Podolski (forward)
League finish in 2009/10: 13th
Overview: Two years after returning to the top flight and 12 months after re-signing fan favourite Lukas Podolski, the standards of Cologne for the new season are set to be moderate. General manager Michael Meier recently claimed the club aim to end up ahead of arch-rivals Monchengladbach at the end of the season after failing to achieve that target last season. Cologne have spent a lot less money in the transfer market this summer, with former Liverpool and Fulham teenager Christopher Buchtmann one of a few acquisitions. Hopes will be high that Podolski repeats his displays from the World Cup at club level.
Eintracht Frankfurt
Manager: Michael Skibbe
Stadium: Commerzbank Arena
Star man: Ioannis Amanatidis (forward)
League finish in 2009/10: 10th
Overview: Executive chairman Heribert Bruchhagen seemed to gamble on the position of manager when replacing Friedhelm Funkel with Michael Skibbe at the start of last season. However, the decision paid off and Skibbe has voiced his ambitions, stating that he needs to see further progress before signing a new contract. The permanent acquisition of Halil Altintop and the signature of Theofanis Gekas will coincide with the recovery of former captain Ioannis Amanatidis after a year of injuries. Frankfurt's start to the season will decide Skibbe's future, with the ambitious manager unlikely to commit his future if another mid-table Bundesliga finish is the height of the club's ability.
Freiburg
Manager: Robin Dutt
Stadium: Badenova-Stadion
Star man: Omer Toprak (defender)
League finish in 2009/10: 14th
Overview: In the end, the club achieved safety in their first season back in the Bundesliga, although they struggled for home wins in 2009/10. Life could be easier for manager Robin Dutt. The Bosman departure of recent top-scorer Mohamadou Idrissou, who is now with Monchengladbach, has been a severe setback. It leaves Senegalese forward Papis Demba Cisse as the only goalscoring striker in a side with limited financial power.
Hamburg
Manager: Armin Veh
Stadium: Imtech Arena
Star man: Mladen Petric (striker)
League finish in 2009/10: Seventh
Overview: Armin Veh has become the fifth manager in charge of Ruud van Nistelrooy's Hamburg within five years, highlighting the big trouble behind the scenes. Veh will hope that his reign is for a number of years unlike the recent short-term stays of Bruno Labbadia or Martin Jol. In losing Jerome Boateng to Manchester City, Hamburg have sold another player to the Premier League billionaires. But the bonus for Hamburg is that Boateng was not as important a player as Vincent Kompany was when he moved to England. Unlike his predecessors, Veh inherits a relatively unchanged first team, featuring strikers such as Van Nistelrooy and Mladen Petric. That is a good enough reason to consider them for a top-five finish.
Hannover
Manager: Mirko Slomka
Stadium: AWD Arena
Star man: Christian Schulz (midfielder/defender)
League finish in 2009/10: 15th
Overview: A tragic season, overshadowed by the suicide of Germany goalkeeper Robert Enke in November, was partially rescued by a positive conclusion as the club remained in the top flight. With a couple of changes to the team, former Schalke manager Mirko Slomka is counting on ex-Middlesbrough defender Emanuel Pogatetz to give a shaky defence more stability. Fighting to keep top-flight status has not been a lucrative lifestyle for Hannover and they could again struggle due to the limited finances that are on offer.
Hoffenheim
Manager: Ralf Rangnick
Stadium: Rhein-Neckar-Arena
Star man: Carlos Eduardo Marques (midfielder)
League finish in 2009/10: 11th
Overview: Four years ago this was a no-name club from a south German village in the third tier sponsored by an ambitious patron. Eighteen months ago the club were on top of the Bundesliga after an extraordinary start to life in the top division. But with investor Dietmar Hopp keen on bringing the club back down to balanced spending, Hoffenheim have since opted for several changes in management and administration. Newly-appointed general manager Ernst Tanner will be hoping to see fruit from the plan of trusting the club's Academy over the spending sprees around South America of recent summers. The aim for manager Ralf Rangnick will be to ensure Hoffenheim become a trusted face in the league and not a freak success story.
Kaiserslautern
Manager: Marco Kurz
Stadium: Fritz-Walter-Stadion
Star man: Tobias Sippel (goalkeeper)
League finish in 2009/10: Promoted (Bundesliga 2 champions)
Overview: Four years in the Bundesliga 2 were cost-intensive for the proud club from the south west of Germany. Manager Marco Kurz eventually achieved promotion back to the top division with a squad full of loan players. A negative element of that policy for Kurz is that the best players have now returned to their parent clubs ahead of what will be a difficult season in the Bundesliga. Kaiserslautern are not in an ideal financial situation and the club had only been able to dream about re-signing former top scorer Miroslav Klose earlier in the summer. That did not materialise and now they are relying on the loan acquisitions of gifted general manager Stefan Kuntz. Germany Under 21 international goalkeeper Tobias Sippel and his defence were the safest in Bundesliga 2 last season and Kaiserslautern will once again depend on their rearguard to keep them away from relegation.
Mainz
Manager: Thomas Tuchel
Stadium: Bruchwegstadion (from 2011 it will be the newly-built Coface Arena)
Star man: Andre Schurrle (forward)
League finish in 2009/10: Ninth
Overview: The youngest manager in the league, Thomas Tuchel, carved a big reputation when leading the promoted side to ninth last season. But Bundesliga history has told that Second Season Syndrome proves difficult for clubs and Mainz look likely to be fighting against relegation. Mainz will be hoping that newly-signed Sami Allgui and Adam Szalai, a permanent arrival from Real Madrid after his loan at Bruchwegstadion, are able to fill the void left by the sale of Aristide Bance. The clean-sheet qualities of former Barnsley goalkeeper Heinz Muller and the attacking instincts of 19-year-old Andre Schurrle, who netted five goals last season and could soon become a German international, are also a strong point.
Nurnberg
Manager: Dieter Hecking
Stadium: Easy-Credit-Stadion
Star man: Albert Bunjaku (striker)
League finish in 2009/10: 16th (won Bundesliga play-off to avoid relegation)
Overview: It was a tough task for Dieter Hecking to keep Nurnberg in the Bundesliga last season as the majority of his first team were loan signings. The fact that Hecking managed to avoid the drop with a makeshift side may encourage Nurnberg's hierarchy to repeat the transfer policy and therefore increase the difficulty of this season. Defender Breno, Andreas Ottl, Maxim Chupo-Moting, Havard Nordtveit and others have gone, and the club's financial situation has also led to the sale of skilled full-back Dennis Diekmeier to Hamburg. With veteran midfielder Timmy Simons the major acquisition of the summer, Bundesliga life looks tough and another fight against relegation is expected.
Schalke
Manager: Felix Magath
Stadium: Veltins Arena
Star man: Manuel Neuer (goalkeeper)
League finish in 2009/10: Second
Overview: For Felix Magath, this is the second season of a four-year idea at Schalke and the second-place finish of the last campaign, coupled with the Bundesliga title he won at Wolfsburg in 2008/09, strike him as a pure magician. But Schalke do not play a fluid game and under Magath they produce hard-headed results. Promised big money to spend this summer, Magath has been eager to splash the cash as on paper the current squad looks significantly weaker following the departures of top-scorer Kevin Kuranyi, key defender Marcelo Bordon and skipper Heiko Westermann to Hamburg. But the prospect of the UEFA Champions League and the money saved on wages overall is likely to see Magath favour his usual wheeler-dealer fashion. The signing of Real Madrid legend Raul is an example of the star names that Schalke are seeking.
St Pauli
Manager: Holger Stanislawski
Stadium: Millerntor Stadion
Star man: Gerald Asamoah (forward)
League finish in 2009/10: promoted (Bundesliga 2 runners-up)
Overview: Inspirational manager Holger Stanislawski needs to produce even more wisdom to keep his side in the top flight after a free-scoring campaign in the second tier and an unexpected promotion. The club have gained an image of buccaneers and they hold an increased fan base as a result, while their old-fashioned Millerntor Stadion is also under reconstruction. Stanislawski has hired former Germany international Gerald Asamoah, who is expected to miss the start of the season through injury, and ex-Fulham man Moritz Volz to a squad that lacks Bundesliga experience. Three years ago Hamburg's city rivals were in the German third division, while their last top-tier spell ended in straight relegation in 2001/02.
Stuttgart
Manager: Christian Gross
Stadium: Mercedes-Benz Arena
Star man: Cacau (striker)
League finish in 2009/10: Sixth
Overview: Success under Markus Babbel appeared unlikely last season and halfway through the campaign there were deep relegation fears. The club opted to appoint former Spurs manager Christian Gross as Babbel's replacement in December to spark a phenomenal second half of the season, ending up in a position for the Europa League. With Gross' successful regime going on, fans are hoping for more. But the sale of key midfielder Sami Khedira to Real Madrid is a significant loss, while unhappy general manager Horst Heldt quit for Schalke before pre-season to leave the club without a general manager at a crucial point in time.
Werder Bremen
Manager: Thomas Schaaf
Stadium: Weserstadion
Star man: Claudio Pizarro (striker)
League finish in 2009/10: Third
Overview: A modern-day Bundesliga title-chasing side, who will depend on the scoring appetite of Chelsea misfit Claudio Pizarro after selling World Cup star Mesut Ozil to Real Madrid. With manager Thomas Schaaf edging closer to hero status, having been in charge of team affairs since May 1999, the club are looking to kick on. But they do have a weakness at full-back, which was viewed as a factor behind some inconsistent results last season. If Bremen can find some stability, they will be in contention for the title at the end of the season.
Wolfsburg
Manager: Steve McClaren
Stadium: Volkswagen Arena
Star man: Edin Dzeko (striker)
League position in 2009/10: Eighth
Overview: One year after the club were Bundesliga champions they find themselves in the middle of a period of transition. With new managing director Dieter Hoeness, as much as new boss Steve McClaren, the Volkswagen Arena side are hoping to bounce straight back to the top. Therefore they have been one of the biggest spenders this summer, although they are still afraid of losing star strikers Edin Dzeko and Grafite. Wolfsburg would not have been champions in 2009 without Grafite and last season they would have had an even more disastrous campaign if Dzeko had not been scoring so frequently. Their squad is one of the most expensive in the league to add pressure on former England manager McClaren following his arrival from Dutch champions FC Twente.
