In all, 65 professionals earning their bread in Germany have been included in the preliminary squads for the tournament in Austria and Switzerland (7 to 29 June). 22 of those are German, with 43 coming from the other competing nations.

Those figures put the Bundesliga well ahead of the other top European leagues - England, Spain and Italy. 44 players, at most, will represent the Premier League, the Primera Division will have a maximum of 43 players at the finals and Serie A 38 at best.

2. Bundesliga players in the mix

"Good news, I'm glad to hear it", German national coach Joachim Löw said on Wednesday from the squad's training camp in Majorca. 37 of the 405 players currently nominated overall will, however, not make the cut when UEFA is officially notified of the final squads next Wednesday.

The 65 current Bundesliga representatives are spread amongst 16 clubs, among them the three sides promoted from the 2. Bundesliga in the season just ended. Borussia Mönchengladbach have two representatives, Hoffenheim and Köln one each.

Bayern top the list

Unsurprisingly, newly-crowned champions Bayern München lead the way, with nine players seemingly headed for EURO 2008.

Werder Bremen are not far behind them on eight - the same number as Real Madrid, FC Barcelona and Arsenal. League president Dr. Reinhard Rauball said, "This speaks for the quality of the Bundesliga."

French champions Olympique Lyon are the best-represented single club, with eleven possibles at the moment - one more than Greek side Panathinaikos.

15-nation spread

Germany aside, of course, the countries with the most nominees playing in the Bundesliga are the Czech Republic and Croatia. They each have six German-based players in their preliminary squads. Greece coach Otto Rehhagel has included four Bundesliga players in the defending champions' squad.

Of the 16 nations taking part in the finals, Spain alone will be without a German league representative. The English Premier League will provide players for 13 countries, the closest challenger to the Bundesliga in that respect.

Home-based talent

When it comes to a reliance on home-based talent, Germany is also setting the standard. Coach Joachim Löw has included 22 Bundesliga players in his squad. Only Russia, with Guus Hiddink at the helm, can match that figure. At the other end of the scale, the Czechs and Croats have each named only three domestic players in their pools.

Preliminary EURO 2008 squad representatives per league

Germany (65 players), England (44), Spain (43), Italy (38), Russia (33), France (28), Greece and Austria (23 each), Turkey (19), Romania and the Netherlands (14 each), Portugal (13), Poland, Switzerland and Sweden (7 each), Belgium and Scotland (4 each), Czech Republic, Ukraine, Denmark and Croatia (3 each), Norway (2), Serbia and Bulgaria (1 each).

10 best-represented clubs

Olympique Lyon/France (11), Panathinaikos Athens/Greece (10), Bayern München/Germany (9), Werder Bremen/Germany (8), Real Madrid/Spain (8), FC Barcelona/Spain (8), FC Arsenal/England (8), Galatasaray Istanbul/Turkey (8), FC Chelsea/England (7), Rapid Vienna/Austria (7)