German football : German Bundesliga 2008/2009 season preview

Bayern Munich again on top

Bayern Munich have secured the 2007/08 German title two games before the end of the season. Werder Bremen clinched second place and the UEFA Champions League with a 1-0 win against Bayer Leverkusen on the Bundesliga's final day. Werder's victory means third-placed Schalke must qualify for the top European contest this campaign, with Leverkusen falling from fourth place to seventh to miss all European competitions.

Hamburger, 7-0 winners at home to Karlsruher on the final day of the 200/08 season, and Wolfsburg, who beat Borussia Dortmund 4-2, qualify for the UEFA Cup after finishing fourth and fifth. Hertha Berlin have also qualified for the UEFA Cup in the Bundesliga's fair play rankings. Nurnberg were relegated after losing 2-0 to Schalke. The club joined Duisburg and Hansa Rostock in the German second division.

• Champions and German Cup winners: Bayern Munich (Champions League)
• Runners-up: Werder Bremen (Champions League)
• Third place: Schalke (Champions League 3rd qualifying round)
• Fourth place: Hamburger (UEFA Cup)
• Fifth place: Wolfsburg (UEFA Cup)
• Sixth place: Stuttgart (Intertoto Cup)
• German Cup finalists: Borussia Dortmund (UEFA Cup)
• Fair play spot: Hertha (UEFA Cup)
• Relegated: Nurnberg, Hansa Rostock, Duisburg
• Promoted: Koln, Borussia Monchengladbach, Hoffenheim.

Hoffenheim completed a remarkable rise from the regional amateur leagues to the Bundesliga when they secured promotion last term. The team have been backed by billionaire Dietmar Hopp, the co-founder of SAP AG - the world's third largest software company, since the start of the 1990s when they were just another amateur club. They planned a 30,000-seat stadium in Sinsheim, a town of 36,000, to replace an arena with just 1,620 seats. Hoffenheim join two traditional powers returning to the Bundesliga, Borussia Monchengladbach and Koln.

The table shows the overall number of titles since 1992 for each club in German 1. Bundesliga and their league standings in the last five seasons.

Klinsmann replaces Hitzfeld

The Bundesliga coaches unanimously picked the Bayern Munich to defend their title in the 2008/09 Bundesliga campaign. But his summer, the big spenders are not Bayern. Midfielder Tim Borowski arrived on a free transfer from Werder Bremen, while goalkeeper Hans-Jorg Butt has signed a two-year contract after leaving Benfica, also as a free agent. Bayern have been looking for a new goalkeeper since Oliver Kahn's retirement at the end of last season. On a brighter note, France winger Franck Ribery remains in Munich. The France winger has become only the second foreign player to be named Footballer of the Year in Germany after claiming the prize ahead of Michael Ballack and teammate Luca Toni.

This page is introduction to the 2008/2009 German Bundesliga season. Latest news, statistics, results and predictions you can find on our main Euro Football > Germany page.

Ribery made a big impression after joining Bayern from Marseille last year, playing a major role at the German champions. However, he is not expected to be fit until early or mid-September after dislocating his ankle at EURO 2008. Ottmar Hitzfeld, now in charge of Switzerland's national team, was voted Coach of the Year. Hitzfeld revealed at the start of the year he would be leaving Bayern once his contract expired at the end of the 2007/08 season, and the Munich giants have appointed former national team boss Juergen Klinsmann as their new coach. Klinsmann electrified Germany when he led the host nation to a third-place finish at the World Cup at home in 2006, but he has never coached a club.

The table displays complete German 1. Bundesliga standings for season 2007/2008.

More coaching changes

Bruno Labbadia has left second division Greuther Furth to become the new coach of Bayer Leverkusen. The 42-year-old replaces Michael Skibbe, who was fired after the club dropped to seventh place on the last day of the 2007/08 Bundesliga season and failed to qualify for the UEFA Cup. Labbadia has agreed a two-year contract with Leverkusen after leading Greuther Furth to sixth place in the second division last term.

Thomas Doll has resigned as coach of Borussia Dortmund after the team finished a disappointing 13th in the Bundesliga last term, Dortmund's worst league campaign in 20 years. Doll also led the club into the German Cup final, where they were beaten by Bayern Munich. However, Dortmund qualified for the UEFA Cup next season because Bayern will be playing in the UEFA Champions League. Jurgen Klopp, who stood down as Mainz boss in May, was named as Doll's replacement.

Martin Jol takes over as Hamburger coach this season after he has signed a two-year contract. The 52-year-old will succeed Huub Stevens when the fellow Dutchman leaves at the end of last campaign. Stevens is returning home to be closer to his ailing wife and will next coach PSV Eindhoven. Jol was sacked as coach of Tottenham in October after the English side won just one of their opening 10 matches in the Premier League and slipped to third from bottom.

Schalke have named former Twente coach Fred Rutten as the replacement for Mirko Slomka, who was sacked after losing the support of the club officials. Slomka was fired after the team were eliminated from the UEFA Champions League by Barcelona and humiliated by Bundesliga rivals Werder Bremen 5-1. However, Slomka led Schalke to the 2005/06 UEFA Cup semi-finals and the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals for the first time, only to lose 1-0 in both legs of their tie against Barcelona in March and April.

Bayern tipped for another title

Werder Bremen and Schalke remain Bayern's top challengers for the Bundesliga title. Werder were second last term, 10 points behind the leaders, and Schalke finished 12 points back. Wolfsburg were fifth last season but the club have spent a league high on new players, led by Italy World Cup defenders Cristian Zaccardo and Andrea Barzagli. It's the second straight season that automobile maker Volkswagen, which owns Wolfsburg, has plowed large sums of money into the club in hopes of building a top team.

The preseason odds for the outright winner of the 2008/09 German football league.

German Cup (DFB-Pokal) finals in last five years

2004   Werder Bremen - Aachen   3:2
2005   Bayern Munich - Schalke   2:1
2006   Bayern Munich - Eintracht Frankfurt   1:0
2007   Nurnberg - Stuttgart   3:2
2008   Bayern Munich - Borussia Dortmund   3:1   (after extra time)