The Bundesliga will resume today after the early break because of the World cup held in Qatar last year. It is time for football fans to partake in their favorite pastime-supporting his or her team.
A cursory look at the league table might be fodder for critics of the Bundesliga: Bayern’s dominance. However, Bayern could face stiff competition for the Meisterschale. It is too early to write off other teams.
Freiburg has played entertaining football with a compact defense in the first half of this season. The team has all the astute coaching of Christian Streich at their disposal. Will they qualify for the Champions league? Time will tell. But do not feign surprise, if they make Bayern work extra hard for the title.
Leipzig and Frankfurt are top contenders for a Champions league spot. Interestingly, the elephant in the room is-can both teams maintain their form? Because they will face an uphill task.
Dortmund fans have every reason to believe in the team with the return of Sebastien Haller from illness. Haller is a poacher and lethal upfront. However, Dortmund’s management needs to prove that they are still hungry for silverware and are not only content with making profits from transfers.
There is this romanticized view that money score goals. At least in Berlin, Union Berlin has proven that you can move mountains on a lean budget compared to their archrivals, Hertha Berlin. If Union Berlin, qualify for an international spot, that would be ideal. Hertha Berlin must contend with avoiding relegation. Sandro Schwarz has a tough mission.
Niko Kovac has stabilized Wolfsburg. They were slowly peaking before the break. The jury is still out on how the management will perform after Jörg Schmadtke.
Yann Sommer will head to Bayern. It would not surprise me if Gladbach has an adequate replacement already. They’ve never lacked a keeper. Unfortunately, prominent in their cocktail of problems is consistency.
Competition beckons in the lower rungs of the league table
Xabi Alonso’s task of forming a cohesive team is plagued with injuries in Leverkusen. The team needs to pickup points fast, if they don’t want to struggle on the lower rungs of the league table.
Stuttgart, Schalke, Augsburg and Bochum all have one thing in common- lack of goal poachers. Interestingly, the battle for relegation will be interesting.
I hope the second half will produce surprises!
