Football in Germany (aka soccer)

I just wanted to ask how you all found the Bundesleauge. I mean in comparison to the leauges in your home countries and on the European football stage. Do you find it better/more competitive than the Priemere Leauge or leagues in Ireland, S. Africa, etc. What is better or worse about it? You can forget about the leauges in N America and Australia since they dont even come close to comparing (MLS is about the Oberleauge level here).

I take it no one here comes from a country where football is popular? Or is it that no one watches german football?

Well, what's to compare? I'm from Canada, which you (rightly so) don't want a comparison with. Anyone else from a country with a big league who watches the game has a team that they already cheer for from their home league, so German football might be interesting, but it's never as interesting as watching your own team play.

Well I meant it in the way that what is good or bad about it in comparison to the home leauge in general. Not in comparison to specific teams.

For example, you could say that the leauge is not that competitive compared to the Priemeire Leauge or that the fans dont get into the game as much as in the spanish leauge or that the play is slower than the leauge from your country or that there are not enough international players...just wondering about comparisons and thoughts...not arguements like is Werder Bremen better than Aston Villa

Funny how all the examples you list show everywhere else being better than here.

i still live in england, but go over to munich to have a beer and watch bayern play a couple of times a year. the premiership in england is dominated by the big 3 clubs aresenal man u chelsea. the rest of the teams you could say might have a good season and end 4th 5th down to about 8th. the money from sky tv is starting with bottom place you get £70,000 then £140000 and £70,000 extra for every place higher.im not sure how the bundesliga money goes, but its the same the big clubs bayern, stuttgart,bremen all do well or well enough. the rest fight it out to maybe get a place in the uefa cup or if they are lucky a champions league spot. as for the actual football the english game i would its still faster and more harder to actually be a player in. i would rather watch any german league game than a game from italy its so slow and boring to watch. fifthteen passes sideways one forward then 1 back.

my next trip to munich is next weekend to see bayern play
beer and football you never can get enough

What I find weird here is that there is no equivalent to a Grand Final at the end of the season. At or near the end of the season, the winner is the team with the most points, which means that the last matches can be pointless, as they were this year when the championship was already decided. I don't know how it is in Britain, but I find it much more interesting when there is a final at the end of the season, as with the Superbowl or the Aussie Rules Grand Final.

@bludger That system has pros and cons. The pros are obvious. Some cons are that:

it's never been done that way (I believe that Switzerland has such a system but can't think of any others in Europe offhand) and tradition is tradition (although in England/Wales there are playoffs for promotion places from the lower divisions)

it can mean that a team that has led the league from start to finish can lose in the Grand Final and the whole season is bolloxed (see the English Rugby Premiership).

Basically there are two competitions: the league and the cup. In Germany the cup is very much of secondary importance, whilst in England it ranks up there with the league. Whatever the value judgement, the league is the league and the cup is the cup. No point turning the league into another cup, when the cup provides a one-off climax to the season anyway.

Well with the money in germany it isnt exactly like it is in the UK. I dont know how it works wtih the contracts, but since all matches are played simutaniously on Premiere it seems that the contracts dont go exclusively to the large clubs. I am not sure of this though. The goal is to in the Champions Leauge because that is what brings in the high TV sponsership deals.

Bayern München is the richest team and can afford all the good players, but as last season showed, this doesnt necessarily mean success. Money is ruining football, but that is another discussion.

I think the English, Spanish, and Italian leauges are on a higher level than the German though.

THe thing about points. In my opinion, that is a better way to play, even if it is anti-climatic. The thing with a Super Bowl or final game doesnt take into account the teams performance. For example I could win every match during the regular season, but have one bad day during the playoffs and not be the champion. Using the point system is a more realistic way to do it becaue the team who was consistantly better becomes the champion. The teams that perform badly are also demoted into the lower leauge, so this theoretically gives any team a chance to make it to the top leauge. It is not where the teams are fixed and only the rich teams are allowed to play in the leauge.

The german cup is a good thing, although it doenst mean much more than bragging rights. It allows teams from the 1. 2. and 3. division to play against each other, so that they all have a chance. The matches are always held in the stadium from the lower division team as well so that it can bring revenues to them. Then the winner of the final match is given a place in the UEFA cup. So in this way, the poorer 2. division teams can play on the European stage.

I'll never understand this.