German Football news

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German football Bundesliga clubs are set to spend a record amount on new players ahead of the 2007-2008 season, a survey by Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa shows.

The 18 top-flight clubs have already spent 135. 18 million euros (184. 13 million dollars) on new players this summer.

With the transfer window open until the end of August, they now look set to beat the record of 147 million euros spent ahead of the 2001-2002 season.

The biggest spenders are Bayern Munich who have invested 69. 2 million euros in player transfers, well clear of Bayer Leverkusen (13. 1 million euros) and VfL Wolfsburg (12. 15 million euros).

Bayern's biggest investment has been 25 million euros on the France international Franck Ribery.

Another 15 million euros has gone on Miroslav Klose (from Werder Bremen), with 11 million euros each spent on Luca Toni (Fiorentina) and Marcell Jansen (Borussia Moenchengladbach).

Leverkusen's most expensive buy meanwhile has been last season's top Bundesliga scorer Theofanis Gekas from VfL Bochum for the relatively modest sum of 4 million euros.

Neither champions VfB Stuttgart nor runners-up Schalke 04 have so far invested heavily in the transfer market.

Schalke have spent 5. 7 million euros, 3 million of which has gone on 19-year-old Swiss international midfielder Ivan Rakitic from FC Basel. Stuttgart's only spending has been a sum of 2. 3 million euros for Nuremberg goalkeeper Raphael Schaefer.

Third-placed Werder Bremen have so far not joined the big spenders, but are expected to strengthen the side now that they have lost striker Klose to Bayern.

Sports director Klaus Allofs has some 35 million euros from the Klose sale and last season's Champions League earnings but says he is waiting for the "overheated" transfer market to cool down.

Bremen are interested in a replacement for Klose and have also targeted the Brazilian midfielder Carlos Alberto from Fluminense for a reported 7. 5 million euros.

Two clubs - Hertha Berlin and Eintracht Frankfurt - have not spent at all on the transfer market, although new players have arrived on free transfers.

The Bundesliga so far welcomes 124 new players, compared to 158 before the previous season when a total of 116. 75 million euros was spent.

German Bundesliga set to break transfer record ahead of new season

[Oliver_Kahn]

We needed this, the Bundesliga needs to step up and challenge the other leagues in terms of spending..

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As usual, every year, before the new season begins, coaches of every team tip the next Bundesliga champion. 16 out of 18 coaches, including the coach of current champs Stuttgart, tipped FC Bayern München to be crowned Bundesliga 2007/08 champions.

Michael Skibbe, coach of Leverkusen, was only one of the two coaches that didn't tip Bayern for champ. Skibbe tips Werder for champions.

Dieter Hecking, coach of Hannover, is the other coach who didn't tip the reds for the crown. Hecking tips Schalke for champs.

Just translated it quick from German, from this source:
WELT ONLINE - Nur Skibbe und Hecking tippen nicht auf Bayern - Nachrichten Sport

I think an extended news article will hit the net soon.

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Arena is to sublicense its Bundesliga football TV broadcasting rights to pay-TV provider Premiere AG and may dissolve its own Bundesliga editorial and production staff and discontinue its football channel, the Financial Times Deutschland reported, citing sources in the industry.

The report said that this could be a major component in a draft, which Arena and Premiere have presented to the German Cartel Office, and would mean that Arena soon would no longer produce or distribute German Football matches.

Both companies and the German Football League (DFL) -- which distributes the football marketing rights -- declined to comment on the report.

If the suggestion were to be accepted, it would mean that Unitymedia -- the parent company of Arena -- has failed in its attempt to create a competing pay-TV Football channel to rival Premiere.

In 2005, Arena won the rights to live broadcasting of German Football matches from Premiere in a spectacular bidding war. Arena now pays the DFL 240 mln eur per year for the rights to distribute all first and second league games.

Arena and Premiere later came to an agreement under which Premiere swapped 16.7 pct of its stock to Arena for non-exclusive satellite marketing rights for the games.

The German Cartel Office then raised concerns about the deal and stopped the two companies from transferring the rights until it had prepared its decision.

Yesterday, the Cartel Office said it no longer had concerns about the deal following a new proposal from Premiere, however it did not say what this new proposal was.

Arena to sublicense Bundesliga rights to Premiere, cancel its channel - report - Forbes.com

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All 18 Bundesliga clubs are preparing for a tough season. We take a look at the the latest pre-season friendly results, which featured plenty of goals.

With just one month to go before the 2007/2008 Bundesliga season kick-off, teams are searching for form and fine-tuning their styles of play.

Ribéry bags three goals

FC Bayern fans are itching to see their new-look team mix it up in the Bundesliga, and Coach ottmar Hitzfeld's team is gelling well at the moment! FCB enjoyed a goal-packed 13:0 win over the fanclub "The 13 Höslwanger".

11,500 fans turned up to watch the game, and it was the perfect opportunity to see new signings get on the score sheet. Zé Roberto netted a goal, and French international Franck Ribéry bagged a perect hat-trick.

Miroslav Klose, Sandro Wagner and Mats Hummels all notched up a brace, while Luca Toni, Jose Ernesto Sosa and Stephan Fürstner also got on the scoreboard for the record German champions.

Werder win big

Champions league hopefuls Werder Bremen also enjoyed a "goalfest", racking up a 9:0 result against an "Ostfriesen XI".

Marcus Rosenberg and Frank Baumann scored twice for Bremen, and Tim Borowski, Kevin Schindler, Daniel Jensen, Leon Andreasen and amateur Frank Löring also scored.

Costa debuts for Wolfsburg

Portuguese international Ricardo Costa enjoyed a great start to his career with VfL Wolfsburg. He played a full 90 minutes, as the "Wolves beat the "Lions" of TSV 1860 München 5:1 in a friendly played out in Feffernitz, Austria.

Head Coach Felix Magath tried out 21 players in the match, taking the opportunity to try out several tactical formations. Daniel Baier, Sergiu Radu, Isaac Boakye and Edin Dzeko netted for Wolfsburg, while Antonio di Salvo scored 1860's consolation goal.

Gekas red-hot for Leverkusen

Bayer Leverlusen sparkled in a friendly , just one day before their training camp in Switzerland. Leverkusen thrashed amateurs Sportfrende Helrath 16:0. "Man of the Match" was Theofanis Gekas. The Greek international, who was the Bundesliga's top scorer last season (20 goals for VfL Bochum), scored four times.

Simon Rolfes and veteran Sergej Barbarez scored a hat-trick each, Manuel Friedrich and Michal Papadopoulos netted twice, while Sascha Dum and Carsten Ramelow were also on target.

Another win for KSC

Newly-promoted Karlsruher SC made it three friendly wins in a row following a 9:0 victory over amateurs TSV Schöllbronn.
Die Treffer am Sonntag erzielten Edmond Kapllani and Michael Mutzel bagged hat-tricks, with more goals scored from Sanibal Orarovac (2) and Sebastian Freis.

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Staff at the German pay-TV broadcaster Arena are threatening to take legal action if the German competition authority gives the green light to Premiere to take over the live transmission of German Bundesliga football. Employees at the company, which only secured the rights a year ago, claim the move would spell a return to the quasi-monopoly previously enjoyed by Premiere.

Under an agreement between Premiere and Arena’s parent company Unity Media, the Munich-based operator would sublicense the Bundesliga rights from Arena for an estimated €200 million. A decision from the authority is expected within the next few weeks.

Separately, Premiere has announced that the free-TV window for its Champions League coverage will move to Sat.1 from the start of the new season. Champions TV moves from dedicated sports channel DSF and will be screened each Wednesday when the competition is in progress.

Broadband TV News » Blog Archive » Arena staff threaten action over Premiere Bundesliga move

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Dr. Reinhard Rauball (Borussia Dortmund) will be sole candidate at the general assembly of the League Association on August 6-7th in Berlin.

Wolfgang Holzhäuser (Bayer Leverkusen) and Peter Peters (Schalke 04) both apply for the position of vice-president. Harald Strutz (1.FSV Mainz 05) is available for the position of second vice-president (to be newly created) who will also be the chairman of the licensing committee. After the period for proposed candidacies expired, the League Association (on Wednesday) informed its members about the list of candidates for the elections of the managing committee and the board of directors.

The president, as well as his two deputies, will be elected by a common vote of all delegates of all 36 clubs and capital companies who are members of the League Association. The president and the first vice-president will together also form the head of the board of directors of the DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga GmbH. The elections of the other four members of the managing committee, as well as the other four members of the board of directors, however, will for a big part be conducted in separate votes by the Bundesliga and the 2.Bundesliga. Multiple nominations are possible. However, a personal identity of managing committee and board of directors that goes beyond the double affiliation of president and vice-president is impossible.

There are two further positions within the managing committee reserved for the Bundesliga for which Heribert Bruchhagen (Eintracht Frankfurt), Manfred Müller (Werder Bremen), and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (FC Bayern München) will be available. Heribert Bruchhagen, Roland Kentsch (Arminia Bielefeld), Manfred Müller, Ulrich Ruf (VfB Stuttgart) and Ingo Schiller have agreed to take one of the other positions of the board of directors reserved for the Bundesliga.

Michael Meier (1.FC Köln) and Andreas Rettig (FC Augsburg) will run for office for the two seats in the managing committee reserved for the 2.Bundesliga. Heinrich Breit (SC Freiburg) and Kurt Gaugler (former sporting director of Wacker Burghausen) run office for the other seat on the board of directors given to the 2. Bundesliga.

Furthermore, two members of the board of directors will be elected jointly by the Bundesliga and the 2.Bundesliga. The candidates for these positions are Heinrich Breit, Heribert Bruchhagen, Kurt Gaugler, Roland Kentsch, Ulrich Ruf and Ingo Schiller.

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There's an old German saying that goes: Drum prüfe, wer sich ewig bindet, ob sich nicht doch was Bessres findet. That basically means: Look before you leap, there might be something better out there.

Typically, a parent says this to a son or daughter shortly before a wedding ceremony. Is the person really right for you...for the rest of your life? Are you sure there isn't someone better?

Long-term contracts are seldom

In professional football, life long "partnerships" between players and clubs are the exception.It is seldom that players are at a club for more than two years. Most hope that at the end of their stay they will be offered a higher salary somewhere else.

Flirting with other clubs, domestic or foreign, has become a rule of the game. And the flirt here is the player's agent.

Loyalty is rewarded

Club players like Uwe Seeler or Karl-Heinz Körbel come from another time. "Our Uwe" Hamburger SV's man from 1946 to 1972, fended off the temptation of lucrative offers from Italy and elsewhere.

Frankfurt eternal "Charly" Körbel held true to his oath for 19 years and 602 Bundesliga matches.

The reward in these cases is not pecuniary. Both Seeler and Körbel are still legend amongst fans, not only in Hamburg or Frankfurt, but in the whole country.

Nikolov as Körbel's successor?

There are some exceptions, however, who continue to prove the rule in today's professional play. What's clear if you look at the statistics is that the loyal player tends to be the goalie.

Christian Fiedler, for example, who has been with Hertha BSC since 1990 and is the oldest pro in Berliner. At the age of 15, "Fiedel" moved from Lichtenrader BC to the "Old Lady" and since then he has stood between the posts as a youth, amateur and professional player.

Goal keeper Oka Nikolov may be he man in Frankfurt who steps into the shoes of Körbel. The German passport carrying Macedonian national team player has protected goal in Frankfurt since 1991. Back then, Nikolov moved over from rivals SV Darmstadt 98.

The "eternal titan"

The most prominent and longest serving figure amonst Bundesliga goalies is, of course, Oliver Kahn. In 1994, Kahn transferred from Karlsruher SC to FC Bayern and immediately became the number one man in the Bavarian goal. And he will keep his status as the titanic goalie, the "Torwart Titan", in what for now is his last season in 2007-08.

Another exceptionally loyal player who hasn't played for anyone but his current club is Schalke's Manuel Neuer. Already at the tender age of five Neuer was cheering on his Royal Blue idols.

Last season, Neuer fulfilled a life long dream by replacing the long-time starting goalie Frank Rost in the 10th match of the season. And since then, he hasn't so much as hinted at relinquishing his job of protecting Schalke's goal.

[Oliver_Kahn]

bundesliga.de presents a supposedly extinct species of football players - street footballers - in a new series. This week: Berkant Göktan.


Street footballers are no myth. Even if there's a fairly well-known prejudice that they've died out. There's no doubt that the free spaces in large cities where kids can acquire football skills are not as easy to find as they once were. And while the free-time activities for kids have broadened, football hasn't lost its appeal for youth.

It's about creativity

As long as there are backyards, garage driveways and playgrounds, there will always be kids who want to do nothing more than kick the ball around.

Street football doesn't need any fancy pitches or expensive equipment. You can play it anywhere and anyone can join in. It's all about creativity and the one whose tricks fool the most opponents is the "hero of the day".

There are a number of representatives of street football playing in the two top German flights. Our series will introduce a few of them.

[Oliver_Kahn]

The DFL (German Football League) Ltd. and its partner arena have clarified the final details over the sub-licensing of Bundesliga rights.


With the interests of the football fan in mind, and at the express wish of arena, the DFL will not stand in the way of an agreement between arena and Premiere.

The League regrets that the original proposal, which would have guaranteed the continuation of arena as an independent television service provider, has not been approved by the Federal Cartel Office.

[Oliver_Kahn]

bundesliga.de takes a look at matches that will never be forgotten, and there are quite a lot of them after 44 years of Bundesliga action.


Goals galore, incredible comebacks, curiousities and the birth of a lot of stars - 44 years of Bundesliga have handed the fans many moments to remember.

In a new series bundesliga.de takes a look at the most memorable matches of the past ten years.


Borussia Mönchengladbach - Bayer Leverkusen
on October 30, 1998

Karlsruher SC - Hansa Rostock
on November 20, 2006

FC Schalke 04 - Bayer Leverkusen
on February 11, 2006

[Oliver_Kahn]

There are 243 foreign players from 57 nations currently playing in the Bundesliga. bundesliga.de check out eight of them.


It´s mainly Brazilians who conquered the German top flight in recent years. 27 ´Samba-kickers´ kick and stroke the leather in the Bundesliga. Croatia (15) and the Czech Republic (13) are the runner-ups.

bundesliga.de analyzes the performances of eight Brazilians who are under contract at VfB Suttgart, Schalke 04, Werder Bremen and Bayern München respectively.

VfB Stuttgart

Gledson

The tough and ball-winning central defender joined Stuttgart from promoted to the Bundesliga club Hansa Rostock. The 27-year old played full 90 minutes in 31 matches for Hansa last season. 6´3´´ Gledson scored four goals for the team from the Baltic coast, all of them all headers. His brilliance in the air did also show in defence: Gledson cleared 197 balls with his head. It was Gledson´s excellent defensive record (he won 70% of his tackles) that convinced the German champions to lure the player to the south. However, he will not be guaranteed a place in the first team as he was at Rostock. There is massive competition from first team regulars Fernando Meira and Mathieu Delpierre and in Serdar Terci VfB-coach Armin Veh has another trump up his sleeves.

Cacau

Whenever Armin Veh called on Jeronimo Maria Barreto Claudemir da Silva in the championship winning season the Brazilian was there. Thanks to Cacau the Swabians kept scoring goals galore even after losing Mario Gomez through injury. Of 98 shots from Cacau 43 were on target, 13 times he hit the back of the net and four times he provided the assist. Cacau is also an excellent passer of the ball: 78% of his 723 passes found their addressee. And the 5´9´´ offensive midfielder is also very good tackler who doesn´t shy away from getting his boot in ( 76 fouls in 32 matches - quite a record for a striker).

Schalke 04

Marcelo Bordon

The experienced player is someone coach Mirko Slomka banks on, his value for the squad is shown by his position as team captain. Last year the 31-year old played 31 matches, he scored three goals (all with his head). Significant for the 6´2´´ centre-back is his fair way of playing: he won 67% of his 215 tackles (only 35 fouls).

Rafinha

The agile winger scored two goals and delivered three assists in the 2006/07 season. Of his 1,205 passes a stunning 77% found their target. His efficiency on the wing is shown by 108 crosses. The 5´6´´ right-back is a keen dribbler, but sometimes the curly-haired blonde tries to run his head against the wall which is why only 29% of his solo attempts were successful. On the other one can´t deny his will to win the ball back as is shown by 62 hard tackles.

Werder Bremen

Diego

There has been said a lot about Bremen´s nous of finding the right players on the transfer market, for which Diego is a prime example. The technically brilliant player played 33 matches (and only missed 31 minutes in those). 57 % of his goal shots were on target, 13 ended in the back of the net, the most memorable of those being his 65 yards cracker against Alemannia Aachen. 133 times Deigo tried the one-on-one last season, and in 48% of those the completely dazzled his opponent.


Naldo

The man whose foot is a cannon. When Nado shoots on goal from distance the ball produces a vapour trail and even the earthworms take cover. Six of his 18 efforts were on target. And the centre-back is also an exceptionally good passer: of his 1,429 (!) passes a cracking 87% found the right man. Of his 17 offensive attacks 76% were successful. Naldo won 71% of his 291 tackles. As his fellow countryman Diego, Naldo is one of the absolute top players in the Bundesliga.

Bayern München

Lucio

At the end of the first leg of last season the former World Cup winner sustained an ankle injury (in the match against Bremen) and this injury seemed to hinder him for the whole second half of the season. Lucio can be much better. For the first time in his Bundesliga career the notoriously offensive live-wire didn´t score a single goal all season. Lucio is known for his solo attacks, last season he tried 32, of which 59% were successful. He also won 59% of his 268 tackles.

Ze Roberto

He´s a wizard with the ball, charismatic but very unlucky in front of goal. Which shouldn´t be that much of a problem since Bayern have now signed some high-quality strikers who will be responsible for scoring goals. Ze Roberto ´s job will be to win the ball in midfield, change the direction of play and then feed aforementioned strikers as quickly and elegantly as possible. In his last season for Bayern (2005/06) 73% of Ze Roberto´s 130 dribbles were successful. And in the matches of the Premiere League Cup he already showed that, in the coming season, he wants to defy the rules of mathematics by finishing 130% of his one-on-ones successfully.

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Nice one, good read, interesting stats.