So, a new season. Who dares to make predictions after last season? A couple of days ago I read the annual kicker Sonderheft for the last season. Bayern were obviously the total favourites. Dortmund were expected to mount a credible challenge (they were lucky to finish third), Leverkusen were thought to have a strong season (at one point they feared possible relegation). Schalke and Gladbach were thought to be in the mix for CL places (dire midfield), Wolfsburg was regarded as having the potential to do very well (saved by a relegation play-off). After a season of overachievement, nobody expected Mainz to finish 5th again, but nobody had them down as relegation candidates, which they turned out to be.
Franchise Leipzig was thought to be good enough to get Europa League qualification (runners-up). Hoffenheim were traded as relegation candidates (fourth, their best placing yet), as were Freiburg (seventh). Köln was expected to reside in mid-table safety, bothering neither relegation nor European places (finished fifth; their highest finish since 1992).
Werder and Frankfurt were the enigmas; the kind of sides that might do anything short of qualifying for the Champions' League. Both were gloriously unpredictable: Werder started like they were going for 17th, ended up a couple of games short of qualifying for Europe; Frankfurt started very well, ended as one of the worst teams of the second half of the season.
The only teams that did what was expected of them were Bayern, Hertha, Darmstadt, Ingolstadt and Augsburg.
The question now is how Leipzig, Hoffenheim and Köln (and Freiburg, if they go through the qualifications) will handle Europe and Bundesliga, and for Köln whether they'll be able to compensate for the departure of 25-goal Antony Modeste. And what if Dortmund lose Aubameyang?
We can presume that most of last season's big failures will recover, so the top half of the table will be very keenly contested.
Franchise Leipzig was thought to be good enough to get Europa League qualification (runners-up). Hoffenheim were traded as relegation candidates (fourth, their best placing yet), as were Freiburg (seventh). Köln was expected to reside in mid-table safety, bothering neither relegation nor European places (finished fifth; their highest finish since 1992).
Werder and Frankfurt were the enigmas; the kind of sides that might do anything short of qualifying for the Champions' League. Both were gloriously unpredictable: Werder started like they were going for 17th, ended up a couple of games short of qualifying for Europe; Frankfurt started very well, ended as one of the worst teams of the second half of the season.
The only teams that did what was expected of them were Bayern, Hertha, Darmstadt, Ingolstadt and Augsburg.
The question now is how Leipzig, Hoffenheim and Köln (and Freiburg, if they go through the qualifications) will handle Europe and Bundesliga, and for Köln whether they'll be able to compensate for the departure of 25-goal Antony Modeste. And what if Dortmund lose Aubameyang?
We can presume that most of last season's big failures will recover, so the top half of the table will be very keenly contested.
Comment