The 2010-11 Bundesliga Season provided plenty of surprises, headlines and thrills.
Unbelievable, Unusual, Unreal- These three words are the only ways in which this Bundesliga season can be described. This season has been even more dramatic than the 2006-07 episode which saw VfB Stuttgart crowned champions.
Yes, we all knew Borussia Dortmund would be champions in December. However, looking at the bigger picture, it is still quiet unusual to imagine that Dortmund is the side currently holding the Ugly Salad Bowl. Dortmund wouldn’t even have been part of the Bundesliga had events that transpired six years ago turned out slightly differently. Dortmund was almost bankrupt; yet they managed to change their policies and put together a brilliant side in just six years.
Frankfurt’s relegation was another strange story. Whilst most believed that Stuttgart would survive despite having only twelve points at the half-way point, few believed that Gladbach would even have a chance to do so. Yet, with three wins and one draw in the last four games, including defeats of Dortmund and Hanover, they managed to grab the relegation play-off berth. Frankfurt, with 26 points at the half-way point and dreaming of a Europa League berth completely lost the plot in 2011 and won just one match.
However, Frankfurt’s Georgios Tzavelas perhaps scored the goal of the season when he struck from 73 yards past a dumbstruck Manuel Neuer. Frankfurt hired the motivator Christoph Daum who could do little to help them survive. Daum stepped down after the end of the final match-day.
The aforementioned Hanover might have been a relegation favourite at the beginning of the season. Instead they finished fourth and grabbed a Europa League berth alongside another surprise package of the league, Mainz. Thomas Tuchel’s side entertained throughout the season and will be remembered fondly.
Kaiserslautern finished seventh in the table. Who finished below them? - Well, Hamburg, Werder, Stuttgart, 2009 champions Wolfsburg and Schalke did. Each and everyone of these teams were expected to finish in the top eight- but hey, we are talking about the Bundesliga and nothing is exactly unexpected. The funny thing is that very few would have been surprised had Werder, Stuttgart, Wolfsburg or Schalke gotten relegated. And by the way, Schalke made it to the Champions League semi-finals and the German Cup final.
Kaiserslautern was looking as good as gone in the new year. They earned seven very good wins and managed to propel themselves to new heights. They have been champions in the past; however, nobody expected them to finish in the top ten. Christian Tiffert finished the season as the league’s assists leader alongside Franck Ribery with 17.
Turning back to Dortmund, one has to take a look at their injuries. Sebastian Kehl’s injury must have had Juergen Klopp extremely worried. However, his youngsters made Kehl’s injury feel like nothing but a side-note. The back four will go down as one of the best in the Bundesliga’s history. No defence performed better in the league than the quartet of Marcel Schmelzer, Mats Hummels, Neven Subotic and Lukasz Piszczek
The German Press at the beginning of the season was trying to find a way to tell Shinji Kagawa apart from Atsuto Uchida. By now, they know very well who Kagawa is and who Uchida is. Uchida had a very good season for Dortmund’s Ruhr rivals Schalke. Kagawa stole all the headlines in the first half of the season; his most memorable match saw him score twice in the Ruhr derby against Uchida’s Schalke.
Mario Goetze had to step in more regularly after Kagawa’s injury and he took the league by storm. The 18 year old has been one of the most outstanding players of this season and is undoubtedly the most astounding youngster in the league. A mention should go to Julian Draxler, the 17 year old who scored in Schalke’s victory over St.Pauli. Draxler’s teacher wasn’t too happy to see Draxler playing football matches at night and made an official complaint about it.
When a police officer and a press officer is part of your team, you are bound to make some headlines. St.Pauli entertained massively throughout the season and was actually looking like a safe bet to survive. They however lost their last eight matches and were relegated with one match to spare as a result. The 1-8 score-line was the biggest of this season; it occurred in the Millerntor when Pauli lost to Bayern.
In fact, the two least surprising things in the league concerned Bayern and Leverkusen. Leverkusen finished second and stayed true to their nature. Leverkusen has always been second and that is a fact that will not change soon. Bayern had their usual slump following a major international tournament and duly finished third.
Now, the Bundesliga shuts down for two months allowing the fans some time to get their breath back. Of-course, everyone will wake up again in August in anticipation of another Bundesliga season filled with plenty of drama and, as the Germans put it, more of the ‘unglaublich.’
Yes, we all knew Borussia Dortmund would be champions in December. However, looking at the bigger picture, it is still quiet unusual to imagine that Dortmund is the side currently holding the Ugly Salad Bowl. Dortmund wouldn’t even have been part of the Bundesliga had events that transpired six years ago turned out slightly differently. Dortmund was almost bankrupt; yet they managed to change their policies and put together a brilliant side in just six years.
Frankfurt’s relegation was another strange story. Whilst most believed that Stuttgart would survive despite having only twelve points at the half-way point, few believed that Gladbach would even have a chance to do so. Yet, with three wins and one draw in the last four games, including defeats of Dortmund and Hanover, they managed to grab the relegation play-off berth. Frankfurt, with 26 points at the half-way point and dreaming of a Europa League berth completely lost the plot in 2011 and won just one match.
However, Frankfurt’s Georgios Tzavelas perhaps scored the goal of the season when he struck from 73 yards past a dumbstruck Manuel Neuer. Frankfurt hired the motivator Christoph Daum who could do little to help them survive. Daum stepped down after the end of the final match-day.
The aforementioned Hanover might have been a relegation favourite at the beginning of the season. Instead they finished fourth and grabbed a Europa League berth alongside another surprise package of the league, Mainz. Thomas Tuchel’s side entertained throughout the season and will be remembered fondly.
Kaiserslautern finished seventh in the table. Who finished below them? - Well, Hamburg, Werder, Stuttgart, 2009 champions Wolfsburg and Schalke did. Each and everyone of these teams were expected to finish in the top eight- but hey, we are talking about the Bundesliga and nothing is exactly unexpected. The funny thing is that very few would have been surprised had Werder, Stuttgart, Wolfsburg or Schalke gotten relegated. And by the way, Schalke made it to the Champions League semi-finals and the German Cup final.
Kaiserslautern was looking as good as gone in the new year. They earned seven very good wins and managed to propel themselves to new heights. They have been champions in the past; however, nobody expected them to finish in the top ten. Christian Tiffert finished the season as the league’s assists leader alongside Franck Ribery with 17.
Turning back to Dortmund, one has to take a look at their injuries. Sebastian Kehl’s injury must have had Juergen Klopp extremely worried. However, his youngsters made Kehl’s injury feel like nothing but a side-note. The back four will go down as one of the best in the Bundesliga’s history. No defence performed better in the league than the quartet of Marcel Schmelzer, Mats Hummels, Neven Subotic and Lukasz Piszczek
The German Press at the beginning of the season was trying to find a way to tell Shinji Kagawa apart from Atsuto Uchida. By now, they know very well who Kagawa is and who Uchida is. Uchida had a very good season for Dortmund’s Ruhr rivals Schalke. Kagawa stole all the headlines in the first half of the season; his most memorable match saw him score twice in the Ruhr derby against Uchida’s Schalke.
Mario Goetze had to step in more regularly after Kagawa’s injury and he took the league by storm. The 18 year old has been one of the most outstanding players of this season and is undoubtedly the most astounding youngster in the league. A mention should go to Julian Draxler, the 17 year old who scored in Schalke’s victory over St.Pauli. Draxler’s teacher wasn’t too happy to see Draxler playing football matches at night and made an official complaint about it.
When a police officer and a press officer is part of your team, you are bound to make some headlines. St.Pauli entertained massively throughout the season and was actually looking like a safe bet to survive. They however lost their last eight matches and were relegated with one match to spare as a result. The 1-8 score-line was the biggest of this season; it occurred in the Millerntor when Pauli lost to Bayern.
In fact, the two least surprising things in the league concerned Bayern and Leverkusen. Leverkusen finished second and stayed true to their nature. Leverkusen has always been second and that is a fact that will not change soon. Bayern had their usual slump following a major international tournament and duly finished third.
Now, the Bundesliga shuts down for two months allowing the fans some time to get their breath back. Of-course, everyone will wake up again in August in anticipation of another Bundesliga season filled with plenty of drama and, as the Germans put it, more of the ‘unglaublich.’
