The Bundesliga

The Bundesliga 2010/2011 was really interesting in many ways. In other words, it was the year of the underdogs and a catastrophic year for the top clubs of the Bundesliga. Mainz 05 and Hannover 96 were the clubs that rendered all the experts speechless. At the beginning, all the experts expected these teams in the lower part of the table. However, these teams represented a tough competition for the other teams. Hannover almost took Bayern Muenchen the Champions League place away, which would have certainly been a desaster for the spoiled players of Bayern Muenchen. Schalke 04, Werder Bremen and the VFB Stuttgart played an really bad season, which was mainly marked by the poor defence and the incosistent performances.

In general, the Bundesliga can be really satisfied with Schalke 04, because thez played an excellent season in the Champions League and contributed to the additional 4th place in the Champions League. Italy is now only forth in the five-years evaluation and Germany took over its 3rd place. In the season 2012/2013, the Bundesliga can send an additional team to the Champions League. This is a great thing for the Bundesliga and also substantiates the fact that money isn not everything. The Italian teams have much more money available and did not manage to keep its place. This is also one of the things, that makes the Bundesliga attractive and interesting to the people. The salary of an average player in the Primera Divison or in the Premier League is much higher compared to the Bundesliga. Most of the Premier League clubs are on the edge of getting bankrupt, because their expenses are much higher than the incomes of the club. The Bundesliga has more realistic salary patterns and the clubs do not risk so much. That is whz, I see the Bundesliga as a league of great future and that it has the potential to be the best one in the world.   

Schalke 04 \ Was this a good season

Manuel Neuer got a lot to do this season. Throughout the whole season, Schalke had to face problems in the defense. The defense was the worst one, I have ever seen. Last year, they had with Rafinha,Bordon and Westermann three excellent defenders. Felix Magath then decided to sell all the players that caused problems to the financial situation of the team. Manuel Neuer, who decided to change the club, saved Schalke many times with amazing saves. In the Champions League, Schalke showed that it is capable of beating top club such as Olympique Lyon, Inter Mailand or Valencia. This also substantiated the fact the money does not score goals. Also in the German Cup, Schalke could qualify for the final that will be taking place next week against Duisburg in Berlin. Schalke played a season that was the best one in economic aspects, even though they ended up as 14th in the Bundesliga. The Champions League half-final, in which they got knocked out by ManU, brought a lot of money to the club. Unfortunately, this money cannot be completely invested for new players and has to be used to pay back the credits. Schalke has about 180 million Euro of debt and is forced to get more order into the financial situation in order to prevent the club from getting bankrupt. 

Soccer has become more popular throughout the years. The World Cup 2010 in South Africa showed that soccer can bring all kind of people together and is therefore an enrichment . In other words, soccer can have beneficial effects in terms of social aspects. Soccer is much more than just a sport. I want to refer to the fact that people learn and acquire different skills. One of the skills, that is is necessary in order to succeed is the team spirit. Team spirtit is crucial for a team to succeed. All the team players are to collaborate with each other in order tp accomplish great things. It is not about the individual qualities that a team can win a cup, but it is rather due to the support that everybody gives to his teammate. In the World Cup 2010, we had some good examples as to how the absence of teamspirit can have devastating consequences on the team. A very good example that sprang out mind is France. Throughout the last years, France was always classified in the category of the potential World Cup Winners. This due to the numerous great indivualists such as Ribery, Benzema and various other ones. These players proved to be capable of playing great matches and to be the decisive factors in a team. However, as you know ,things turned out different and France got knocked out in the group phase, which was a terrible experience for the French. After the knock-out, people analyzed the situation and came to the result that the French team did not possess this teamspirit.