The new Bundesliga season kicks-off with a mouth-watering clash between champions Stuttgart and runners up Schalke. Matchday 1 awaits…
The Bundesliga begins afresh this weekend as Stuttgart look to defend their title. All the talk however is of Bayern Munich and whether anyone can prevent them winning their 21st league title.
The fixture generator could not have come up with a more tantalising game as the season gets underway on Friday evening.
Stuttgart play host to
Schalke. Last seasons champions take on the team who were champions elect for much of the season. Armin Veh’s side won the corresponding fixture last season 3-0 with two goals from Sami Khedira. Two weeks before the end of the season, Schalke stood top of the table, only to be dramatically usurped by Stuttgart. The ‘Knappen’ will be looking to gain revenge by beating the reigning champions in the opening clash and send out a message that they are title contenders this season.
Bayern Munich welcome newly promoted
Hansa Rostock to the Allianz Arena as they look to set a winning tone for the rest of the season. The Bavarians have already picked up the League Cup and will look to put on a good show as Frank Ribéry is poised to make his Bundesliga debut along with Jose Ernesto Sosa. Brazilian Zé Roberto will make a welcome return to the Allianz Arena, but Luca Toni looks set to miss out through injury.
The game may prove a real baptism as Rostock return to the top-flight after a two year absence. Hansa have pretty much kept last year’s squad, losing only defender Gledson and keeper Schober. 35 year old Stefan Beinlich will need to use all his experience if the new boys are to get anything out of the game.
Werder Bremen face a tricky away trip to
Bochum, who face life without Bundesliga top-scorer Theofanis Gekas. But then Werder have to face up to life without Miroslav Klose. Werder were the best attacking side in the Bundesliga last season scoring 76 goals and were also the best side away from home picking up 32 points. Torsten Frings remains combative in midfield following a brief dalliance with Juventus, while Werder have signed mercurial attacking midfielder Carlos Alberto to take their Brazilian contingent to three.
Thomas Schaaf’s side thrashed Bochum 6-0 in the corresponding fixture last season so will be confident of a win. The loss of Zvjezdan Misimovic is a big blow for Bochum’s midfield.
Bayer Leverkusen will be looking to break into the top four this season and qualify for the Champions League. A home tie against
Energie Cottbus kicks-off their season and the fans at the Bay-Arena will want to see a winning start. Their defence has been completely revamped with the signings of Castro, Sinkiewicz, Manuel Friedrich, and the highly promising Vidal.
With a midfield mixing experience (Ramelow, Schneider) and youth (Kießling, Barnetta) and Gekas scoring goals, Leverkusen should pose a problem for the East German side. How big a blow the loss of McKenna, Munteanu, and Radu is for Cottbus will be quickly revealed this season. The new signings made will have to settle in fast if the ‘Lausitzer’ are to avoid second season syndrome and slip down the table into a relegation fight.
Hamburg make the short trip south to face
Hannover at the AWD Arena. The club made a miraculous recovery last season after propping up the table at the end of January. Huub Stevens took over from Thomas Doll and HSV qualified for Europe through the Intertoto Cup. Mohamed Zidan has arrived from relegated Mainz and joins a talented squad which has Rafael van der Vaart as its star attraction. Hannover trainer Dieter Hecking has the same squad as last season with the additions of forwards Benny Lauth and Mike Hanke.
Perennial under-achievers
Eintracht Frankfurt take on another big club who have failed to satisfy their fans in recent years.
Hertha Berlin are the visitors to the Commerzbank Arena as Friedhelm Funkel sets out to bring Frankfurt out of the doldrums. They have failed to finish in the top half of the table in the last 10 seasons. They have lost midfielder Jermaine Jones, but have brought in Junichi Inamoto and Mehdi Mahdavikia.
Hertha now have Lucien Favre at the helm and he will want to improve on last year’s 10th place. The loss of Kevin Boateng is a real blow, but they still have the dangerous Pantelic upfront.
Wolfsburg host
Bielefeld in Felix Magath’s return to Bundesliga management. The former Bayern coach will want to prove his doubters wrong and achieve success at the Volkswagen Arena. He has signed two highly effective Rumanians from Cottbus in Munteanu and Radu, and has splashed-out on a host of youngsters to boost his squad. Wolfsburg finished only one place away from the drop zone last season, which is not acceptable for a club with their ambitions.
Bielefeld have lost defensive pillar Heiko Westermann, but see Croatian Andre Mijatovic as his ready made replacement. A respectable 12th place was achieved last season and they will be happy with a similar ending this year.
On Sunday last season’s second division champions
Karlsruher face a tough away trip to the Easy-Credit Stadion to take on Cup winners
Nürnberg. KSC have lost last year’s 19 goal top scorer Federico to Dortmund, but still have Albanian Edmond Kapllani who should pose a threat. Back in the top flight for the first time since 1996/97, Karlsruher will want to get off to a good start.
‘Der Klub’ excelled last season finishing 6th and going on to beat Stuttgart in the Cup final. Hans Meyer has brought Greek striker Angelos Charisteas back to the Bundesliga and will hope for an immediate return of goals.
The final game of week 1 sees
Borussia Dortmund host promoted
Duisburg. The Signal-Iduna Park will be packed to the rafters as the BVB faithful welcome in the new season. Trainer Thomas Doll has improved his squad with the additions of Petric, Federico, and Blaszczykowski and will be looking for a European place this season.
New boys Duisburg may be seen as candidates for an immediate return to the second division, but Rudi Bommer will be hoping to pick up enough points to ensure survival. If Ailton can make a scoring return to the Bundesliga, then that goal may be achieved. Duisburg has a radically different squad this season having made ten new signings in the summer.
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