World Cup winners, Euro-U19 champions, Nico Rosberg leading the Formula One World Championship, Martin Kaymer's successful US Open campaign. It's fair to say that Germany have had a highly enjoyable summer on the sporting front. But after 104 days, since Bayern Munich lifted their 24th German title, all eyes are now fixed on the opening weekend of the new Bundesliga campaign, and just like the previous 51, it's set to thrill, excite, cause controversy and ultimately entertain in equal measure.
Matchday One: Fixtures
Bayern Munich - Wolfsburg (Friday)
Hannover - Schalke (Saturday)
Hertha Berlin - Werder Bremen (Saturday)
Koln - Hamburg (Saturday)
Hoffenheim - Augsburg (Saturday)
Frankfurt - Freiburg (Saturday)
Dortmund - Leverkusen (Saturday)
Paderborn - Mainz (Saturday)
Monchengladbach - Stuttgart (Sunday)
Bayern Munich - Wolfsburg (Friday)
The traditional curtain raiser: the champions at home on the first Friday night of the campaign. Yet there is a sense of a black cloud lingering over Bavaria like a bad smell. Defeat in the Supercup, injuries for Javi Martinez (he won't be seen until the new year), Thiago and Bastian Schweinsteiger, World champions (and Arjen Robben) not yet 100% match-fit, divided opinion on Pep Guardiola's new tactics (in particular three at the back). Robert Lewandowski has been a big plus for Bayern however, despite being an extremely forlorn figure in his first return to the Westfalenstadion in that Supercup defeat to Dortmund. All eyes are on the champions to answer questions, which puts less pressure on Wolfsburg, who head to the Allianz Arena with a quiet sense of optimism that they can take something home. Their summer dealings (yes they did sign Nicklas Bendtner) have been brought in to make them take the next step: a return to the Champions League. Dieter Hecking's men are expected to be in a four-way battle with Leverkusen, Schalke, themselves and Gladbach to challenge for 3rd and 4th (with the big two that next level ahead). Impress at the champions, and they could well be tipped to do so.
Prediction: This is a tough opener for Bayern to respond to their critics, and although Wolfsburg will put up a stern test, Bayern should just have about enough. Bayern Munich 2-1 Wolfsburg.
Hannover - Schalke (Saturday)
Hannover finished in a respectable 10th place last season, but were only kept out of a relegation scrap because of their home form. The majority of their points will again likely to come at the HDI-Arena (29 of their 42 points in 2013/14 were in front of their own supporters). Their transfer dealings haven't exactly been eye-catching, suggesting another mid-table campaign is in store. The talented Hiroshi Kiyotake has arrived from relegated Nuremberg, but he needs to find consistency if he is to have the same impact as Szabolcs Huszti, who left for China. Diouf, Ya Konan and the on-loan Rudnevs have all gone, which entails Hannover may find it difficult to hit the back of the net on a regular basis. With a difficult opening three Matchdays against Hannover (a), Bayern (h) and Gladbach (a), three games in which they didn't take a single point from last campaign, the pressure is already on for Schalke and in particular Jens Keller, especially after their miserable exit from the Pokal by 3.Liga's Dynamo Dresden. Expectations are again 3rd place and getting out of the group stages of the Champions League. Look out for Max Meyer, who may well not only be one of the stars of the Bundesliga this season, but also in Europe.
Prediction: A trip to Lower Saxony is never an easy one. A draw is probably the best bet if you fancy a flutter. Hannover 1-1 Schalke.
Hertha Berlin - Werder Bremen (Saturday)
12 months ago, Hertha returned to the Bundesliga with the 6-1 hammering of Frankfurt at the Olympiastadion, the venue for this season's Champions League final. The side from the capital have been Germany's yo-yo club in recent times, being relegated one season from the Bundesliga, only to bounce-back with promotion from 2.Bundesliga the following campaign. Hertha are keen to shake off this tag, implying this is a season of consolidation, rather than it being a campaign of second-season syndrome. Losing Adrian Ramos and Pierre-Michel Lasogga to Dortmund and Hamburg respectively will however be a big blow. Bremen only secured their Bundesliga safety very late on last season, as their meteoric decline from double winners just over a decade ago to at times being a laughing stock continued. But despite the loss of the influential Aaron Hunt to Wolfsburg, the Northerners should be stronger this time around, albeit still in and around those sides in mid-table, but shouldn't be worried about relegation. The signing of Bryan Ruiz, who was part of Costa Rica's surprising and outstanding run to the World Cup quarter-finals, may well signal Robin Dutt's intentions to help begin the long process of getting Bremen back amongst Germany's best.
Prediction: Hertha began with a bang on their return to the Bundesliga a year ago. Don't expect that this time around. Bremen to start the season with an excellent win. Hertha Berlin 0-2 Werder Bremen.
Koln - Hamburg (Saturday)
The colourful and charismatic Austrian Peter Stoger has guided Koln back amongst Germany's elite following a couple of seasons away. And the 2.Bundesliga champions, like their manager, should provide plenty of entertainment over the next ten months. They've added well this summer: Kevin Vogt coming from Augsburg and the highly-rated young centre-back Tomas Kalas from Chelsea; a coup to many. However, it's Koln's striking department which is on the lips of supporters. Yuya Osako and Simon Zoller come in alongside Patrick Helmes and Anthony Ujah, all four finding the back of the net regularly in the second division. There will be questions marks as to whether they can do so at the next level, but all four are capable, and that should be enough to keep them up. Hamburg may well have survived following their relegation play-off exploits against Furth, but staying up because of away goals showed just how disappointing their 2013/14 campaign was. Their one main positive, the talented Hakan Calhanoglu, has gone to Leverkusen, although the other, Pierre-Michel Lasogga, has made his loan move into a permanent one. The signing of Mainz's Nicolai Muller was also excelent, and if he can stay fit AND find his form, Rafa Van der Vaart will be key.
Prediction: The RheinEnergieStadion will be bouncing on Saturday afternoon with the return of Bundesliga football. Hamburg will halt the celebrations, but not fully. Koln 2-2 Hamburg.
Hoffenheim - Augsburg (Saturday)
From Phantom-Tors, mascot Hoffi the Moose losing his head (literally) and an unconscious cameraman, Hoffenheim enjoyed its many gems of entertainment both on and off the pitch last season. But those in the boardroom in Sinsheim want to be serious now. On paper, Hoffenheim look to be best of the rest outside the top-six, especially with Roberto Firmino (who has still somehow not been picked for the Brazilian national team) and Kevin Volland (who was to many, a bit of a surprise exclusion from Germany's triumphmant World Cup squad) amongst their ranks. With Adam Szalai arriving from Schalke and Anthony Modeste (should he stay) also expected to fire in the goals, 7th place should be Hoffenheim's (provided they can stop the glut of goals going in at the other end). Saturday's opening opponents Augsburg were undoubtedly the surprise package in 2013/14. Markus Weinzierl did a monumental job to get the Bavarians on the brink of Europa League football. With the departure of starman Andre Hahn, Weinzierl and co. will face a much more difficult task this time around, although they should have enough in their arsenal to survive.
Prediction: Augsburg will provide fight and heart as always, yet Hoffenheim, with Firmino and Volland in tow, will have too much here. Hoffenheim 3-1 Augsburg.
Frankfurt - Freiburg (Saturday)
Both these sides suffered as a result of their Europa League exploits last season, and despite not having continental football this time around, both are again expected to be in the bottom-half and being in the relegation dog-fight heading into the last weeks of the season. Frankfurt have resolved their problems in front of goal with the arrivals of Haris Seferovic, Nelson Valdez (reunited with Thomas Schaaf) and Lucas Piazon on loan from Chelsea, and with the experience of Makoto Hasebe and Timothy Chandler (both of whom come from Nuremberg), Frankfurt are building a solid foundation and balance within their starting eleven. Whether they have the squad to again surprise and challenge for European positions, just like they did a couple of campaigns ago, remains in question. Working on one of the lowest budgets in the Bundesliga means Freiburg are always one of the favourites to go down at the dawn of a new season. Yet the club from the Black Forest continue to plug away and somehow manage to find a way to stay amongst Germany's best. Making Admir Mehmedi's loan move from Dynamo Kiev into a permanent one is fantastic business, although all the pressure is on him to get the majority of the goals. The loss of Matthias Ginter is also a massive blow.
Prediction: Being on home soil, with three new strikers amongst their ranks, it should be a much better opening day for Frankfurt from this time a year ago. Frankfurt 2-0 Freiburg.
Dortmund - Leverkusen (Saturday)
They may well have lost the world-class Robert Lewandowski to title-rivals Bayern, but there is a feeling amongst many that Dortmund will be a lot closer to the Bavarians than in the past two seasons, especially as the pressure is on Pep Guardiola and Bayern to eradicate that humilating dethroning by Real Madrid in the Champions League. With Bayern's eye potentially off the ball when it comes to the league, Dortmund could well nip in, provided they don't have another luckless injury crisis (Kirch [for eight weeks] and Ji [for four weeks] are already out because of thigh problems). They have arguably the best four centre-backs, in terms of a squad, in European football, Ciro Immobile and Adrian Ramos should get plenty of goals, pre-season has shown Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang should have outstanding second seasons in Germany and of course BVB have Marco Reus. Like Dortmund, Leverkusen will be again competing on three fronts, and although they don't have as an experienced squad compared to their counterparts, they, at this moment in time, look to be favourites to complete the Bundesliga podium come the season's end. Hakan Calhanoglu, Josip Drmic, Kyriakos Papadopoulos (provided he can stay healthy), Julian Brandt, Levin Oztunali. It's a team full of talented, young stars. Alongside Stefan Kiessling and Heung-Min Son, a promising season lies await.
Prediction: Leverkusen may well have taken the points when the two sides met at the Westfalenstadion last season, but Dortmund should take the points this time around. Dortmund 3-1 Leverkusen.
Paderborn - Mainz (Sunday)
Paderborn's first ever season in Germany's top-flight. Almost everybody expects it to be brief, yet Andre Breitenreiter's men will do everything in their power to prove everybody wrong. They are entering a new unknown, although they themselves are the unknown to the rest of the Bundesliga, and that may well prove to be their advantage. Breitenreiter has a young squad at his disposal. Elias Kachunga, Stefan Kutschke and on-loan Marvin Ducksch will be battling for a place upfront, whilst fellow new-boys Lukas Rupp and Marvin Bakalorz are fresh new options in midfield. Their first ever Bundesliga opponents Mainz could not have got off to a worse start (and that's before the league campaign has even begun). Dumped out of both the Europa League and DFB-Pokal, losing their gifted manager Thomas Tuchel (who appears to be starting a Pep Guardiola-style sabbatical) and seeing key players Nicolai Muller and Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting leave for pastures new means the 05'ers are now surprise contenders for the job. However, with the focus now already solely on the league campaign, those early exits could prove to be a blessing in disguise. They still have extremely good quality, Shinji Okazaki, Johannes Geis and Loris Karius for example, but their can be no excuses from already under-fire new boss Kasper Hjulmand.
Prediction: Paderborn's first ever Bundesliga match will provide some success. Mainz desparately need to get off to a good start. Paderborn 1-1 Mainz.
Monchengladbach - Stuttgart (Sunday)
Gladbach headed into the second-half of last season sat in a fantastic 3rd position, ahead of Dortmund. Yet their season, and their Champions League hopes, faded away, as they had to settle for 6th place and Europa League football. Ifs, buts and maybes then. However, Lucien Favre has added some truly outstanding quality to cope with the excursions of Thursday-Sunday football every other week (provided they get through the play-off round of the Europa League; Stuttgart and Mainz have both failed to reach the group stages in the last two seasons). Yann Sommer is an excellent replacement for Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Andre Hahn was the breakout star of 2013/14, whilst Fabian Johnson, who had an outstanding World Cup with the USA, should also be a regular first-team starter. Add to that Ibrahima Traore and on-loan Thorgan Hazard, and Gladbach will again be challenging for Champions League football. Stuttgart, along with Bremen and Hamburg in recent times, have been dubbed one of the Bundesliga's "fallen giants." Inconsitent form and results has led the club to reinstate Armin Veh as manager, the man who guided them to the title in 2006/07. Veh himself had difficult spells at both Wolfsburg (who were then champions) and Hamburg, before guiding Frankfurt back into the promise land and into the Europa League.
Prediction: Gladbach face a long trip to Sarajevo in the Europa League, although that shouldn't affect them here. Monchengladbach 3-0 Stuttgart.