Last on our end-of season review we have the Bundesliga! Germany has seen one side dominate the league for the last few years. We check up on what went on this season.
Bayern Munich
It will be of no surprise to anyone that Bayern Munich won the title once again this year, this being their 7th in a row and their 8th in the past 10 years. They have thoroughly dominated the German league in the past decade and one need only look at their team to understand why they have been so dominant with stars such as Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery in the squad.
This year was by no means a walk in the park for Bayern though. They were pushed to the limit by Borussia Dortmund, with the championship decided only on the last day of the season. Bayern had an incredible second half of the season, amassing 42 points out of 17 games to leapfrog Dortmund and thus overturning the deficit which was 9 points at one point in time. The Bayern machine clicked into gear just at the right time and with the stuttering of Dortmund, Bayern won the title with a 5-1 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt when only a draw was sufficient on the final day of the season.
Their dominance will be tested again next season, with the confirmed departures of Ribery and Robben coupled with the potential departures of stars James Rodriguez and Jerome Boateng.
Borussia Dortmund
Lucien Favre and Dortmund would be right to feel disappointed. They were leading their title rivals Bayern by 9 points at one point of the season and 7 points on February 2nd, a lead that no one had dropped ever before. Results did not go as planned though and they wound up losing that lead and the title by 2 points. However, the team and fans can take a lot of heart from the season as they were not meant to be title challengers but rather a team in transition.
To say that Dortmund overachieved this season would be unfair, especially with their usual status of being title challengers with a knack of producing amazing talent. It was their manager himself, however, who had stated that this team would be needing time. Therefore, even though they could have won the title, this season was more than what they expected.
With stars such as the highly rated Jadon Sancho and top scorers Paco Alcacer and captain Marco Reus, this team is definitely one to watch for the seasons to come.
RB Leipzig
The Red Bulls finished at a comfortable 3rd, 10 points behind second place and 8 ahead of fourth. With such a young squad, it is incredible that they managed to secure Champions League qualification with this only being its 9th year in existence. With the average age of the squad only 24, hopes are extremely high for this team in the years to come.
As with any young team though (just ask Ajax), the vultures are circling to pick apart this team and acquire their incredible talent. Much has already been said about their star striker Timo Werner and his possible destination this summer. Werner had 16 goals and 7 assists this season, edging teammate Yussuf Poulsen who bagged 15 goals and 3 assists.
Bayer Leverkusen
Rounding up the 4 Champions League spots is Bayer Leverkusen. The once mighty team has been absent from Europe’s premier competition for the past 2 seasons with them dropping out of the Europa League in the Round of 32 this season.
Leverkusen have seen better days, with them having nearly won the league on a number of occasions over a decade ago but since the days of Michael Ballack, they have never been the same. One bright spot these days has got to be the young Kai Havertz. The 20 year old has exploded onto the scene and has become one of the hottest properties in Europe.
Amongst the many records he has broken, he holds the record for being the highest scoring teenager in a single Bundesliga season when he scored his 17th goal on the last day. Let’s hope he gets to develop a bit more before the money comes calling.
Borussia Mönchengladbach
Making it into the Europa League is Borussia Mönchengladbach, edging past Wolfsburg on goal difference as they had both finished on 55 points. Borussia played a huge role in maintaining a nervy end to the season, being part of 3 teams that were vying for the coveted 4th spot. They did not help themselves by winning only one of the last 5 games in the league, drawing 1 and losing 3 to allow Bayer to eventually take it.
Fans will be happy though, with the team finishing 9th in the past 2 seasons although a Champions League spot was very much on the cards.
VfL Wolfsburg
Wolfsburg finished sixth with 55 points, behind Borussia on goal difference and earned themselves a spot for next season’s Europa League. Like Borussia, they were in with a shout to earn the 4th spot but were unable to keep up and had to settle for 6th despite a strong finish, winning 3 out their last 5 games in the league.
Relegated Teams
VfB Stuttgart, Hannover 96 and Numberg were relegated from the Bundesliga and will ply their trade in the Bundesliga 2 next season. In 16th place was VfB Stuttgart (a team that actually won the Bundesliga in the 2006/2007 season) who had a terrible season to finish with 28 points, winning only 7 games all season and losing 20. They were followed by Hannover with 21 points and lastly Nurnberg, who finished with a mere 19 points, winning only 3 games and losing 21.
