Dear readers,

during the build-up to Saturday's classic Bundesliga duel between Bayern München and Werder Bremen, the hosts will certainly be pondering their 5-2 defeat in this fixture last season. That was a bitter pill for Bayern to swallow at the time and they will without doubt be seeking redress.

I was impressed with their performance on the opening matchday. You could already see in the friendlies that the team has a clear structure and line to it. Coach Louis van Gaal puts a lot of emphasis on tactics, and it shows, right throughout the game. Even with Franck Ribery, Luca Toni and Miroslav Klose out, Bayern's class was clear for all to see at Hoffenheim. I think they're heading for the top this season.

I don't however see it as being a one-horse race. The curtain-raiser between Wolfsburg and Stuttgart demonstrated that Bayern have two very strong rivals there. Hoffenheim and Schalke are two other sides that will be up among the leaders as well.

Nevertheless, my money is in Bayern to come out on top of the pile. I'd like to see Bremen finish third. I was surprised they kicked off with a defeat against Frankfurt, as they had made a very solid impression in their pre-season preparations.

My favourite memories of Bayern versus Bremen are from the closing stages of the 2003-04 season, when I was still at Werder. We won the all-deciding game 3-1 in Munich on the way to taking the title. That was without doubt an emotional highlight.


Yours,

Valerien Ismael


Following two very successful years at Werder Bremen, Valerian Ismael moved to Bayern München and promptly picked up another league title. The defender then suffered a broken calf and shinbone which practically kept him out of action for two years. He never fully regained his former condition, even in the wake of a move to Hannover 96, and hung up his boots in September 2008. Now 34, Ismael is currently completing a management internship at Hannover with a view to working as a sporting director.

The action is under way in earnest once again, with the fans turning out in force for the start of another Bundesliga season. And little wonder, with a host of first-class newcomers adding even more spice to Germany's top flight.

Nearly every club has seen a rise in season ticket purchases compared to 2008-09, with some even having to suspend sales altogether due to the overwhelming demand. The top teams on the Bundesliga stage are meanwhile exhibiting increasing confidence in their ability to attract big-name signings from abroad.

Bayern München, as usual, have been leading the way on that front. In Ukrainian international Anatoliy Timoshchuk, a UEFA Cup-winner with Zenit St. Petersburg in 2008, they have secured the services of one of Europe's best defensive midfielders. Versatile left-sided Croatian Danijel Pranjic and full back Edson Braafheid, both plucked out of the Dutch Eredivisie, would also be welcome additions to the squad of many a leading European club, while the front line has been freshened up, to put it mildly, by the arrival of Ivica Olic from Hamburger SV and Mario Gomez from VfB Stuttgart. In addition, Bayern of course have a new coach of world repute at the helm in the shape of Louis van Gaal. The 58-year-old Dutchman has been tasked with getting some serious silverware into the Munich club's trophy cabinet by the end of the current season.

The other teams most hopeful of having a say in the title race have not been sleeping on the job either. Champions VfL Wolfsburg also have a new man leading training in Armin Veh and have added two notable names to their playing staff in Nigerian striker Obafemi Martins, signed from English Premier League outfit Newcastle United, and French-born Algerian international Karim Ziani - the man who stepped into Franck Ribery's boots when the latter left Olympique Marseille for FC Bayern.

VfB Stuttgart meanwhile made a late pre-season double swoop for Russian striker Pavel Pogrebnyak and their own former playmaker Aliaksander Hleb, more of whom below. Borussia Dortmund have added bite to their attack with the capture of Lucas Barrios, while Hamburger SV have added the experience of David Rozehnal and Ze Roberto, and the promise of Sweden's U21 European Championship top scorer Marcus Berg and Eljero Elia of the Netherlands to their ranks.

Elia was certainly not short of alternative offers, with London trio Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur all anxious to sign the young striker. "Ajax Amsterdam also got in touch again late on, but I'd already made my mind up. I only wanted to join Hamburg. HSV are a great club. I was at the stadium for the game against Bayern in January and watched the team play, and enjoyed the fantastic atmosphere", Elias explained.

A newcomer at 1899 Hoffenheim told a similar tale: Argentinian teen talent Franco Zuccolini was the subject of considerable interest for a number of top clubs and could have chosen to ply his trade in one of the other leading European leagues as easily as his fellow Hoffenheim new boy, Maicosuel. "The quality at 1899 is extremely high and the training centre and stadium are sensational. I can hardly wait to make my first appearance in the Bundesliga", Zuccolini enthused.

The signing of a German international was the main focus of interest at Werder Bremen. Marko Marin will link up with another of the country's best young midfielders, Mesut Özil, in a joint effort to cover for the absence of playmaker Diego, now at Juventus. Marin's former club Borussia Mönchengladbach found an experienced replacement for him in Venezuela skipper Juan Fernando Arango while another young Argentinian striker, Raul Bobadilla, will be chasing the goals for the Foals this season.

The signing that generated the most headlines however was Lukas Podolski's move back to his beloved 1. FC Köln after three years at FC Bayern. Even the arrival of seasoned Portuguese star Maniche was news of minor import for Billy Goats fans by comparison with the return of their prodigal son.

Amidst all this transfer activity, one major club has been notably, and unusually, parsimonious thus far. Schalke 04 have brought in a string of big-name, big-money players in recent years, but their stand-out investment for 2009-10 has been a new coach: champ-maker Felix Magath, enticed away from VfL Wolfsburg to apply his Midas touch to the Gelsenkirchen outfit's own long-standing title aspirations.

There are a few heavyweight Bundesliga encounters on the cards in the weeks to come. The first of them is this weekend, with the visit of DFB Cup holders Werder Bremen to Bayern München. Neither side managed a victory on matchday 1 and both will be out to remedy that on Saturday. Elsewhere, Schalke 04 host VfL Bochum in the first Ruhr district derby of the new season, while Lukas Podolski makes his home debut for 1. FC Köln against champions Wolfsburg.

Matchday 3 kicks off with an intriguing encounter between 1899 Hoffenheim and Schalke 04, with home coach Ralf Rangnick up against one of his former clubs. Northern rivals Wolfsburg and Hamburger SV also lock horns in this round of action, while traditional rivals Köln and Eintracht Frankfurt meet for the 75th time in the Bundesliga.

The following weekend sees a meeting of two of the south's biggest sides as VfB Stuttgart entertain newly-promoted 1. FC Nürnberg. The big one on matchday 4 however is without doubt the clash of last season's top two, as FC Bayern face off against the team who beat them to the title, Wolfsburg.

A new coach, the same outcome: Armin Veh's VfL Wolfsburg took up on the opening day of the campaign where they left off last season, in winning form, securing a 2-0 victory over Veh's former club VfB Stuttgart - one of their anticipated title rivals this time around as well. Playmaker Zvjezdan Misimovic and 2008-09 Bundesliga top scorer Grafite bagged the goals for the Wolves.

Bayern München came away from a difficult opener at Hoffenheim with a 1-1 draw, while Felix Magath, who guided Wolfsburg to the title last season, got off to a winning start with Schalke as they edged a 2-1 success at Bundesliga returnees 1. FC Nürnberg.

The biggest surprises came elsewhere: Bayer Leverkusen had to settle for a 2-2 draw at another of the promoted sides, Mainz 05, for whom Thomas Tuchel was making his senior coaching debut. And Werder Bremen went down 3-2 at home to Michael Skibbe's new-look Eintracht Frankfurt.

In the mid-nineties the "magic triangle" of playmaker Krassimir Balakov and forward duo Fredi Bobic and Giovane Elber ran the show at VfB Stuttgart. In 2002 Felix Magath's "young guns" exploded onto the Bundesliga scene and 2006 marked the start of the Mario Gomez era. Exceptional talents have led from the front in recent years at Stuttgart and, with Gomez now on the books at Bayern München, the team from the south west have brought in two new stars to carry on that tradition. Or, to be more precise, one new and one not-so-new, but both from the Russian end of the European spectrum.

Belarusian playmaker Aliaksandr Hleb pulled the strings in midfield for four years at Stuttgart, first under Magath then Matthias Sammer, before joining Arsenal in 2005. After one subsequent unsatisfactory season at Barcelona, he has opted for a return to his old Bundesliga stomping ground.

Pavel Pogrebnyak is no stranger either to a number of top Bundesliga defenders. The 25-year-old striker was joint top scorer with Luca Toni in the 2007-08 UEFA Cup on ten goals, four of which were bagged in encounters with Nürnberg, Leverkusen and FC Bayern along the way to Zenit St. Petersburg's eventual final triumph. Pogrebnyak also featured in the Zenit side that knocked his new employers Stuttgart out of the same competition last season.

The Russian international forward had in fact long been on VfB coach Markus Babbel's wish-list. "He's a real bulldozer, a very dynamic player", was Babbel's summary of his new signing, a view corroborated by sporting director Horst Heldt: "He's just the type we were looking for, a battering-ram in the Mario Gomez mould." Pogrebnyak himself asserted confidently that, "I'm not here to replace Gomez one-for-one. I have my own strengths."

Nobody in the environs of the Merceds-Benz Arena needs much convincing as to the ability of Aliaksandr Hleb. The creative midfielder was actually earmarked for a move to Inter Milan as a "side order" in the star exchange that saw Samuel Eto'o move to the San Siro with Zlatan Ibrahimovic heading in the other direction, to Barcelona. Instead, Hleb was drawn back to the familiar surroundings of Baden-Württemberg. "Alex Hleb is a midfielder we can really make use of. He'll speed up our game", Inter Milan coach Jose Mourinho had said in anticipation of the six-time Belarusian Player of the Year's imminent arrival - prematurely as it turned out. "It's really nice to be back here again, this is where I feel at home, in Stuttgart and at VfB. I have a lot of friends here and want to achieve something in this great environment. I started my career at VfB and there's a lot of nostalgia attached to this transfer", Hleb said, explaining his decision to give Serie A a miss. Good news for Stuttgart - and for the Bundesliga!

Two more new faces on show at Bayern's first pre-season training session were defender Edson Braafheid and left-sided all-rounder Danijel Pranjic. Both players were signed at the specific request of "General" van Gaal, and he knows each of them well from the Dutch Eredivisie. 2006 U-21 European Champion Braafheid clearly impressed van Gaal with his performances helping Twente Enschede to runners-up spot in the league last season. Pranjic, who arrives from Heerenveen, is equally at home in defence or attack down the left hand side. "I'll be giving my all to repay the confidence van Gaal has shown in me", the Croatian international said of his move to the Bundesliga.

The name is Arioli - Lucas Ramón Barrios Arioli. Lucas Barrios for short or, as he is also known, "la pantera" - the panther. He may not be a household name among the European football fraternity as yet, but that could well be about to change. The 24-year-old Argentinian striker was after all the world's most prolific striker at top-flight club level last season, notching 37 goals in 38 games for Chile's Colo-Colo. Now he aims to make his mark in the Bundesliga after signing on at Borussia Dortmund as the replacement for Alexander Frei, the Swiss international having moved to FC Basel.

BVB coach Jürgen Klopp is delighted to have acquired Barrios in the face of some decent-quality opposition. "We edged out one or two notable clubs in the negotiations. He's robust, has a commanding presence at a metre 89 tall, he gets stuck in and he's a great finisher", enthused "Kloppo" at the official unveiling of his new front man.

AS Nancy of France and Spain's Espanyol were just two of the sides vying to sign Barrios, with another Spanish outfit, FC Getafe and two of Dortmund's Bundesliga rivals, Hertha BSC and Werder Bremen, also expressing more than a passing interest in the Argentinian goal-getter. Barrios himself was effusive about the deal, saying, "The Bundesliga is a gift I could never have imagined getting. But I've earned it through hard work. The reward is to be playing now in a top league for a popular club, in front of 80,000 fans."

As to his specific aims, he explained shortly after, "I certainly won't be targetting any particular number of goals. My first and foremost concern is not my own goal tally anyway, but to help and work for the team. That's the top priority. My motto is Work, Work, Work. Everything else follows from that."

Hard work is a quality that most definitely does not go unnoticed among fans in the Ruhr district. In special cases, it is not only appreciated, but truly honoured as well, as was the case with Barrios' predecessor in the number 18 shirt at Dortmund, Lars Ricken. "La pantera” is familiar with the name: "He fired Dortmund to victory in the Champions League. I remember now."

Lukas Podolski's return from Bayern München to the club where he made his name, 1. FC Köln, was a done deal long before the end of last season. Billy Goats fans can now look forward to the prospect of the 24-year-old German international forming a potentially explosive partnership up front with skipper Milivoje Novakovic.

Podolski has long been a cult hero for the Köln faithful and indeed for many more followers of the game in general in Germany. Here we take a fresh look at the player who says he "can't particularly relate" to the "Prince Poldi" tag bestowed upon him.

Lukas Podolski had to postpone his Bundesliga comeback-debut for 1. FC Köln after feeling a twinge in the thigh during final training for the game at Dortmund. "After consulting with the medical department, we've withdrawn him from the squad", coach Zvonimir Soldo said. Club doctor Peter Schäferhoff explained that, "There's just too great a risk that it might develop into a troublesome injury."

Bayern München will have to do without skipper Mark van Bommel for the next three to four weeks. The holding midfielder fractured the big toe of his right foot and damaged a tendon in the 1-1 draw at 1899 Hoffenheim on matchday 1, leaving him in need of an operation.

VfB Stuttgart will be minus the services of new German international Christian Träsch for at least a month after the full back fractured his left wrist during the season-opening 2-0 defeat at VfL Wolfsburg. Träsch underwent an operation following extensive tests in Stuttgart. "It's a real blow, because he was in very good form", coach Markus Babbel remarked on the club website. Träsch, 21, made his debut for Germany in the 7-2 victory over the United Arab Emirates on June 2nd.

SC Freiburg's Ömer Toprak, who was badly burned in a go-karting accident in early June, has been let out of hospital and is set to start on a course of rehabilitation. The 20-year-old defender joined his team-mates in the dugout for the newly-promoted side's season opener against Hamburger SV. The club says it is still too early to judge when Toprak will be able to resume training again.

After a season blighted by injury in 2008-09, Eintracht Frankfurt's Ioannis Amanatidis is hoping for better fortune both for himself and his team this time around. The omens from the first league game of the season are at any rate good. Frankfurt won 3-2 at Werder Bremen, and the Greek international forward scored twice.


Ioannis Amanatidis, congratulations on your opening-day victory. How did you bring it about?

Ioannis Amanatidis: We were simply that decisive bit better in Bremen. But we shouldn't overestimate the importance of it, because if we can't build on that performance against Nürnberg on Saturday, the opening win against Werder won't count for anything.

The team made a very self-assured impression. Is that a sign of the good work being put in under Michael Skibbe?

Amanatidis: You can see that we've improved. The coach and the team are doing everything right at the moment. But I'd warn against any premature euphoria. We've only played one game in the league and need to keep improving.

You scored twice yourself. Could you have reckoned with getting off to such an ideal start?

Amanatidis: You can never reckon with scoring two goals in one half in a game. I'm glad to have been able to contribute to the win with two goals of course. But I'd have been happy with that result if I hadn't scored as well.

How well are the team already performing as a unit under Skibbe?

Amanatidis: As I said, we've improved in a number of ways already and our teamwork is of course one aspect of that. It was evident at Bremen that we'd been working on the accuracy of our passing in pre-season training. That was functioning pretty well. But we had a few slip-ups as well. There's a lot of work still ahead, we can't be resting on the laurels of a 3-2 win.

Unfortunately you had to come off with an injury.How are you doing now, and will you miss any games?

Amanatidis: I'm with the Greek national side in Poland at the moment and am doing a bit better already. It's a contusion above the right kneecap. If the injury continues to heal at the same rate, I hope to be able to play against Nürnberg on Saturday.

Skibbe has promised the fans a more attractive brand of football. Is that kind of statement of intent an additional motivating force for a striker?

Amanatidis: My team-mates and I are always motivated, and try to do the best we can in every game.

You played just seven games last season due to injury. How difficult is it in that situation to remain positive and lend support to the team?

Amanatidis: It's very difficult to have to follow the action from the terraces when the team loses and you're watching helpless from the sidelines. But it's not difficult to keep lending your support off the pitch.

What are your personal aims for this season?

Amanatidis: I'd like to stay clear of injury and play, and score, as much as possible.

And what targets have Eintracht set for the season?

Amanatidis: We're looking to finish inside the top ten and carry on where we left off in 2007-08, when we ended up ninth.

Frankfurt's next opponents, Nürnberg, excelled above all defensively last season. How will Eintracht have to play to maintain that good start?

Amanatidis: We have to convince our great fans from the off that we're determined to win our first home game. But we need to remain on our guard, and make sure the "Club" doesn't ambush us.