German football update

[DangerousSausage]

Shall we have a look at what's going on elsewhere?

There's been a lot of coverage of the Bundesliga title race, but most of it has focussed on Harry Kane. Kane's transfer to Bayern has actually been a success, with him scoring over 30 goals in his debut season there. Unfortunately for him and Bayern, they're faced with a seemingly unstoppable title rival in the form of a Bayer Leverkusen side that is still unbeaten and, with seven games to go, already has more points than Bayern won in the whole of last season. Where Bayern often rely on the individual talent of the likes of Kane and Musiala, Xavi Alonso has turned Leverkusen into a well-drilled unit that is now just three wins from their first title. Elsewhere, Stuttgart have had a fantastic season under Sebastian Hoeness and may run Bayern close for second.

One curiosity about this season is that Bundesliga 2 has recorded higher average gates than the Bundesliga on several weekends. This is due to the fact that the Bundesliga has several clubs that rarely fill their grounds (Wolfsburg, Hoffenheim, RB Leipzig) and others with a ground capacity of under 20,000 (Darmstadt, Heidenheim), while the second tier hosts a number of fallen giants that draw crowds of around 50,000 (Hertha, Schalke, Hamburg). With Kiel pushing for promotion and Cologne flirting with the drop, this trend may continue into next season.

There's been plenty of anger and shouting off the pitch as well - the plans of the DFL (German Football League), the body that runs the Bundesliga, to get an investor on board to sell the league's international TV rights in return for a cut of the income sparked widespread protests, with matches being stopped due to tennis balls or remote-controlled cars on the pitch. And most recently there was a bout of confected outrage over the national team's kit, with angry insecure men all over the internet feeling threatened by the colour pink. At least things are looking up for the national team - thanks in part to Julian Nagelsmann's revolutionary tactic of picking players who are in form for their clubs, Germany have scored a couple of impressive wins against France and the Netherlands and are suddenly looking in promising shape.

[Robbie]

I used to follow German Football in the 70s and 80s when they had great East German teams like Dynamo Dresden & Dynamo Berlin. I don't think those teams exist today or do they in another name?

I have heard of a Hertha Berlin, is that the same team?

There was big talk of Kane going over to Germany to get trophies and play in Europe. Pleased that he has scored 30, that says he's still sharp enough to play for England.

There's talk of him coming back to Spurs but that's just the rumour mill in overdrive I think.

Another big team from yesteryear is Cologne but I heard they went down the league pyramid. I remember Hamburg and Kevin Keegan too.

Do the fans of smaller clubs in Germany have an issue with FFP rules that seem to favour the bigger clubs here and must have an impact over there too?

I think it's good that a team other than Bayern Munich are set to win the title.

[DangerousSausage]

All the teams you mention are still around @Robbie 

Dynamo Dresden never made much of an impact at the very top level, in the last few years they've been jumping between the second and third divisions and have just slipped out of the promotion places in the third division. They're a big club, averaging north of 25,000 at their matches, and take big followings away too. Think Sheffield Wednesday. Dresden is a big city that could easily support a top-flight club if they get their house in order.

Dynamo Berlin (known here as BFC Dynamo) are also still around, but never had much in the way of support as they were the Stasi's favoured club in East Germany. This brought them league titles and European Cup runs back in the day, but now they're stuck in the regional fourth division and play to paltry crowds. Hertha are a different club based in the former West Germany; they played in the Champions League in the recent past but got relegated last season and aren't pulling up any trees this time. They play at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin - they rarely fill it, but are still the capital's best-supported club.

I've been to Cologne's ground before, brilliant experience. Lukas Podolski played for them. They're in the Bundesliga but are struggling right now. This season they sacked their "animated" manager Steffen Baumgart, who then joined Hamburg, a former Bundesliga stalwart that got relegated a few seasons back and keep finding new and amusing ways to not get promoted. Here he is when forced to watch them at home when he was in quarantine.

The finances of football are a bit different due to the rule that club members must have a majority of voting rights in their clubs (with a couple of exceptions), so instead of owners you've got investors and very big sponsors. In the lower leagues, clubs need to apply to the German FA for a licence every season - the FA look at the projected crowds and sponsorship income as well as the planned budget, and can accept it or demand improvements. If no licence is granted, the club is ejected from the league. In the third division, this has led to a situation where none of the teams that finished in the relegation zone were actually relegated - they all got a reprieve as other clubs were expelled instead!

[Robbie]

Thanks for the well detailed info @DangerousSausage 

I'm fascinated by the German football finances.

Do you think that the financial rules for the German leagues are good rules and do they prevent league clubs going out of business?

Do the fans get a bigger say in the running of clubs over there too?

Could the German financial model work here for our lower leagues?

[DangerousSausage]

Yes and no @Robbie. The licensing system is designed to stop clubs going bust mid-season and threatening the integrity of the competition. Yet in recent years we've still had a couple of clubs go into administration (which means automatic relegation) despite all the safeguards.

In the lower divisions, clubs are just as unsustainable as they are in England. Very few clubs can break even on gate receipts and TV money of €800k in the third division, so they're dependent on a benefactor or a major sponsor to write off the losses. One example among many is Saarbrücken's main sponsor, the locally based Victor's hotel chain, which pumps more than €2 million into the club every season. In theory, club members have a controlling interest and could kick them out if they wanted. In practice, they know that would be the end of professional football in Saarbrücken if they did. On top of that, the German FA imposes silly and expensive ground requirements on third division clubs such as under-soil heating.

Clubs are answerable to their members and hold annual general meetings and the like, so there is more transparency and fans' voices can be heard. But ultimately, he who pays the piper calls the tune.

I think a licensing system was being considered in England, and the more club owners are held to account the better. But in both countries, if you want to compete at a professional level, you'd better have someone in the background who's paying for it.