After the big debate about FIFA’s Team of the year, and how it was a disgrace that there were only La Liga players and that the Premier League should definitely have featured some of their own, many people started to draw up Premier League elevens or world elevens that could challenge FIFA’s choice.
Fair enough, I do believe there should be both Premier League and La Liga players in that team, but no one seems to have spared a thought for the Bundesliga. The Bundesliga is possibly one of the most up and coming leagues in modern-day football, and in terms of stadia, fans and match day experience, the top German division can certainly challenge the Spanish and English top leagues.
The question about the Bundesliga has always been the quality of football and players, but I don’t think this is a problem anymore. There is a definite case for a couple of the best Bundesliga players being in the FIFA team of the year, and I believe a Bundesliga eleven would certainly be able to challenge any La Liga or Premiership eleven you could pick.
Over the past few years, the quality of German football has improved from just an organised defense and hard-working team that grounded out 1-0 or 2-1 victories to a league that feature seriously impressive football.
Indeed, this is typified by the German national team’s performance at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, where a young team containing the likes of Sami Khedira, Mesut Ozil, and Thomas Muller played attractive football and were one of the most exciting squads in the tournament. The quality of the national team has received international acclaim, with players who impress in the German set up, such as Mesut Ozil, gaining moves to high-class teams such as Real Madrid.
The improved quality of the national team has been reflected in the improved quality of the national league. Dominated primarily by Bayern Munich and Borrusia Dortmund, the Bundesliga possesses several top quality sides and many, many top quality players.
Indeed, over the last three years, Bayern have been in the Champions League final more times than Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Chelsea, and other top sides. Earlier this year, Germany’s other big team, Borrusia Dortmund, finished on top of a Champions League group that contained Real Madrid, Man City, and Ajax, proving that it is not only Bayern Munich that can call themselves a truly world-class German team.
In recent years, many top players have left Germany for the ‘grander’ leagues, with the likes of Sami Khedira, Nuri Sahin, Mesut Ozil, and Lukas Podolski moving to either La Liga or Premiership teams.
I question why La Liga and the Premiership are held in such higher regard than the Bundesliga. I watch a fair chunk of Bundesliga football on ESPN and know that the standard of play is highly impressive.
Admittedly, there are no teams in Germany that rival the likes of Barcelona, but over the whole league, there is a wealth of good quality football on show. Indeed, I believe if you look at some of the teams in the bottom half of each of the respective tables and compared them against each other, the Bundesliga would far outstrip La Liga in terms of quality and could give the Premier League a run for it’s money.
Written by RematchoftheDay