German Bundesliga 2024/2025

[Kramerica Industries]

With most teams back into pre-season training and the start of the season only about a month away, seems like as good a time as any to open the 2024-'25 Bundesliga season thread.

DFB-Pokal games begin the weekend of Aug 16-18, and the DFL Super-Cup is at 20:30 CET on Aug 17 between Leverkusen and Stuttgart. The Bundesliga season itself begins at the same time on Aug 23 in Mönchengladbach with Gladbach playing host to Leverkusen in the Eröffnungsspiel.

Good places to stay up to date all season on the goings-on in Germany include:

Bundesliga | official website

The official Bundesliga website. The latest news, info and stats for clubs in 2024-2025 can be found here

www.bundesliga.com

Sports | German football and major international sports news – DW

Stay up to date on German football, Formula One and international sports news. In-depth reporting, analysis and exclusive interviews with Bundesliga stars.

www.dw.com

Bundesliga News in English

News about German football, Results, Transfers and Fantasy predictions

bulinews.com

https://www.bavarianfootballworks.com/

(Bayern and also German national team commentary)

...@Il Drago feel free to add to this list in the comments.

Also, with Köln suffering relegation last season, this means the Zweite Bundesliga now features:

Köln, Schalke, Hertha Berlin, HSV - this is first ever Bundesliga season where Hamburg is solely represented by the brown shirts St. Pauli - Düsseldorf, Hannover, FCK, and Nürnberg (among other teams)

Almost half the division comprised of historic German clubs. Strange world we live in.

 

[Il Drago]

For whatever reason tag didn't work but i saw the thread so no harm done.

Thank you for making the effort and start a Bundesliga thread early.

Good website suggestions. For anyone who's interested there's also this website:

Home - Get German Football News

According to Sport1, Omar Marmoush will join Eintracht Frankfurt in the summer on a free transfer once his contract at Wolfsburg expires. Marmoush has …

www.getfootballnewsgermany.com

Too early for any meaningful talk about next season as pre season has barely started but there have been some signs.

Bayern have already been very active in the transfer marker. They have signed Ito, Olise, Palhinha, they're linked with Tah, Xavi Simons, they're linked with another wonderkid from Rennes but they also have to sort out many situations inside the club. De Ligt, Goretzka, Kimmich, Gnabry, Mane, Alphonso Davies, Sane. A busy summer for Max Eberl. And of course there's the unknown of Vincent Kompany. Bayern took a gamble with the coach and it remains to be seen if it pays off.

Speaking of coaching gambles, there's another one in Dortmund. Terzic left after CL final and he was replaced by his assistant and former Dortmund player, Nuri Sahin. Mislintat also returned to Westphalia. My friend @Materazzi_23 probably has only bad things to remember from his short stint at Ajax but they're fond of him in Dortmund from his previous stint as chief scout. They're expected to have a busy summer though so far they haven't done much. They signed Anton from Stuttgart and they were set to sign Guirassy but they discovered a recent injury in his knee that could keep him sidelined for a while and now transfer is in doubt. Hummels and Reus, the last links on the pitch with Klopp era, are gone, Maatsen went to Aston Villa, Sancho returned to Man Utd (for now). They have many things to do if they want to be competitive again and so far they're only linked with Pascal Groß and a bunch of youngsters.

Quiet summer so far for Bundesliga champions Leverkusen and that's a good thing. Xabi Alonso stayed, most of the players have expressed the desire to stay and apart from Stanisic who returned to Bayern only Tah and Frimpong could be on the move. They have also signed Aleix Garcia from Girona and a promising cb from Rennes. They also wanted Anton but he chose Dortmund. It has always been a challenge for Bundesliga champions not named Bayern to keep their core but so far Leverkusen are doing well.

Unfortunately, it's the opposite for Stuttgart. They have already lost their two starting cbs, Undav has returned to Brighton, Guirassy future is up in the air, Führich could also leave. They have made some smart signings with Demirovic being the biggest name but it remains to be seen if they can stay competitive.

As for the Zweite Liga clubs, sadly most of them are just big names. They have been poorly managed for a very long time. Only Schalke were relevant till recently but they made terrible sporting decisions and they're piling in debt now.

 

[Materazzi_23]

Thanks for reminding me! I do got only bad memories of him because he only got bad players for high fees. I really don't understand how a big club like Dortmund would try it again with him after such a disasterous spell at Ajax.

Because of him, Ajax got into financial problems, which meant they had to borrow money to pay salaries. Many mediocre players were brought in or players who did not suit Ajax (Mikautadze) were brought in for a lot of money and had to be sold for less. And then of course there were the accusations of self-enrichment, so for me it was an incomprehensibly risky choice. Has his reputation not been damaged by his time in Amsterdam? Can't imagine there aren't better choices in Germany than this clown.

 

[Corrode]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1815052808040677641

Dortmund created a meme today.

 

[IM21]

they on drugs, just like Atalanta

https://twitter.com/x/status/1815772754450268440

 

[Il Drago]

they on drugs, just like Atalanta

https://twitter.com/x/status/1815772754450268440

The irony that a Guardiola fan is talking about doping

 

[wera]

A person losing hair in his twenties isn't anything new. If doping would really help in having better hair, a lot of men would be doping right now

 

[Kramerica Industries]

I should've mentioned today is the Zweite Liga's Eröffnungsspiel with fallen giants Köln and Hamburg. Halftime with the hamburgers up 2-0.

 

[Meysam]

they on drugs, just like Atalanta

https://twitter.com/x/status/1815772754450268440

As someone who had been on steroids, this could be right.
The form of the body having those muscles and losing it overnight beside losing the hair could be because of steroids side effects.

 

[Il Drago]

I should've mentioned today is the Zweite Liga's Eröffnungsspiel with fallen giants Köln and Hamburg. Halftime with the hamburgers up 2-0.

HSV always start the season strongly but somehow they always miss the promotion train in second round. They have become joke of the city.

 

[Il Drago]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1821577120742539292

@Kramerica Industries do you remember our discussion about him earlier in the summer?

 

[Kramerica Industries]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1821577120742539292

@Kramerica Industries do you remember our discussion about him earlier in the summer?

What about specifically? What I remember saying is that - at least on the basis of last season - he could be a potential CCB target if he made it to the summer of 2025 out of contract. That was before the talk about Tah being set on Bayern emerged. Whether there's a real "deadline" here or not is a different matter for me, I'm not convinced that if Bayern come up with an offer that Leverkusen finds acceptable in the next few days that they wouldn't be reasonable to a deal (I do wonder who Leverkusen's thinking of as their post-Tah CCB, but they should've already figured out something there). He quite likely wants the Bayern move now because his stock is high enough for it; who knows whether Bayern will still be interested come next summer. (Or us, for that matter.)

 

[Il Drago]

What about specifically? What I remember saying is that - at least on the basis of last season - he could be a potential CCB target if he made it to the summer of 2025 out of contract. That was before the talk about Tah being set on Bayern emerged. Whether there's a real "deadline" here or not is a different matter for me, I'm not convinced that if Bayern come up with an offer that Leverkusen finds acceptable in the next few days that they wouldn't be reasonable to a deal (I do wonder who Leverkusen's thinking of as their post-Tah CCB, but they should've already figured out something there). He quite likely wants the Bayern move now because his stock is high enough for it; who knows whether Bayern will still be interested come next summer. (Or us, for that matter.)

Just an update on his situation

 

[Il Drago]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1821805705638338834

FC Hollywood

 

[Bergpavian]

Today is the Supercup game between Leverkusen and Stuttgart ... And the ultras of both team boycott it because it's cup weekend:

Leverkusen and Stuttgart fans plan to boycott German Super Cup final

 

[Il Drago]

Goretzka out of Bayern squad. They're doing everything they can to force him out as he doesn't want to leave.

 

[Il Drago]

The trend of Leverkusen scoring late goals continues...

 

[Il Drago]

So Leverkusen are starting the new season with the way they finished previous one. Scoring late goals and lifting trophies. First trophy of the season after beating Stuttgart 4-3 in penalties (2-2 regular time) in SuperCup despite playing with 10 men since 37th minute.

 

[Bergpavian]

It was a good game and great atmosphere.

It's funny that their ultras said this game has no worth and prefered games against 3rd league teams in the cup ...

 

[Il Drago]

Bundesliga is finally starting tonight with champions Leverkusen traveling to Borussia Park to face Gladbach.

There's a detailed season preview on Bundesliga site (including predicted lineups) for anyone who's interested.

2024/25 Bundesliga: What can we expect from each team?

Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund have new coaches, but can they catch up with Xabi Alonso's Leverkusen? Will VfB Stuttgart and RB Leipzig sparkle again? Who will stay up? We run the rule over all 18 Bundesliga clubs ahead of the new season.

www.bundesliga.com

As for what can we expect from this season? I am not so sure.

Leverkusen have kept their coach and most of their core (only lost Stanisic and Hlozek) so that's a good start. Aleix Garcia is a good signing and there are high expectations for the young French left footed cb they signed from Rennes. But it remains to be seen if they can keep up with the much more competitive CL (compared to Europa) and they are consistent enough to fight for the title again. A second title in a row for a club not named Bayern would be the first since Klopp's Dortmund so it's definitely a challenge for Alonso and his players.

After the amazing last season for Stuttgart now expectations wll be higher for Sebastian Hoeneß and his players and i don't know if they can have another impressive season. Many changes in terms of squad. Defensive duo of Ito and Anton is gone. Guirassy, last season revelation, is gone. On the other hand, they kept Undav which was very important, Demirovic is a good signing and so is cb Chabot from Koln. But it's a mystery if they can keep up with CL and Bundesliga or suffer the fate of other clubs that were unprepared to play in 3 tournaments.

New era at Bayern. New coach, new management but not quite the squad revolution they would have liked in Bavaria. The issues with Kimmich and Alphonso Davies contracts are still unsettled, unwanted Goretzka and Gnabry refuse to leave and they failed to secure their top defensive target, Jonathan Tah, from Leverkusen but also Xavi Simons and Doue (that rejection really damaged Bayern pride). Still they made many signings. Palhinha is finally the great #6 they were looking in Munich for a while, Oliseh has great potential and could be season revelation and Ito brings versatily and cover for perhaps an unsettled Alphonso Davies. Kimmich is expected to return to midfield. They're taking a risk in defense after selling De Ligt. They are also taking a risk with Neuer imo. Manuel had been a world class GK for a long time but age is catching up to him (as it does with everyone). He still has world class saves during games but lately he commits errors more often than he was used to. But the real risk is their new coach, Kompany. No one knows if he has what it takes to return Bayern to a title. But Bayern are Bayern and they always have to be considered favorites for the title.

Not much different summer for Bayern rivals, Dortmund. New era in Westfalia. Reus is gone, Hummels is gone. Maatsen, Sancho and Fullkrug who were crucial in their CL run are also gone. Terzic (with so many highs and lows) is gone. A similar gamble with Bayern on the coach with unproven and former Dortmund player, Nuri Sahin. Many changes in personel but also not enough. Beier is a great signing and i expect him to be a revelation, Couto is finally a quality rb they haven't had since Hakimi, Guirassy could be a great signing if he stays fit, Pascal Groß is an underrated signing but still many gaps in the squad, especially at lb and the wing. Also question marks about the quality of their squad depth. Anything more than a top 4 finish would be a pleasant surprise from them.

Leipzig. Many expect them to fight for the title but i am not so optimistic. Not because they lost Olmo who, unlike his performances with Spain, never lived up to the high expectations they had for him in Leipzig. But i am not convinced Marco Rose is capable of a title challenge. Many highs during the season but he has always failed to give consistency to his sides throughout a season. I don't expect anything more than another top 4 finish. I am excited to see their new signing from Brugge, Nusa, who has arrived with lots of hype and how Sesko develops. It could be a make or break season for him if he wants to reach high levels in his career.

At the bottom Hoffenheim are a real mess internally and i could see them ending up in a relegation battle along with new entries Kiel and St. Pauli.

Hopefully it's gonna be another interesting season in FIF's most underrated league.