The Bundesliga at the Euros
By: Jan | May 22nd, 2008Will make its’ presence felt in numbers – whether it’ll be on the bench or on the pitch. A total of 65 players from the Bundesliga have been included in the preliminary Euro squads of the participating countries. A cool 21 more than the Premier League with 44, followed by La Liga with 43 and Serie A with 38. The players spread out over 15 countries (out of 16), which is again the most of any league followed by the Premier League with 13.
Given that these all aren’t final numbers, there’s still a chance that plenty of Bundesliga based players will be sent home following May 28th. So, in danger of losing the bragging rights, I rather post those numbers now, as did the official Bundesliga website. The other clear advantage is the possibility of bragging again with updated numbers, once the final squad lists are out.
The widespread presence of players could translate to a widespread presence of transfer rumours, which the Bundesliga Offside will happily chronicle during the tournament. Or whatever comes my way, like this viral with Franck Ribery and Luca Toni duking it out.
via: FANartisch
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Tags: 1. Bundesliga, Austria, Euro 2008, Facts and Figures, FC Bayern Munich, France, Franck Ribery, International, Luca Toni, SwitzerlandSubscribe
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Speaking of bragging rights, I guess the media here will not even notice how many in the Euros play in the Bundesliga if even on the deadline of 28 May, the Bundesliga representation is still tops. I just seem to have this feeling. Still come around the time of kick-off, I can at least say I have the bragging rights in my family that I at least know of someone (outside the German national team) who plays in the Bundesliga in a national team.
My guilty pleasure is following the Premier League (hang on, I actually grew up with that) League and I guess Spain (the Liverpool Spanish contingent) and Portugal (because of Cristiano Ronaldo) will be among those nations in the spotlight come during the Euros. I wonder if Croatia will be in the spotlight (given it’s them kicking England out of the qualifiers) as well. I know there is like one playing in the Premier League (Portsmouth’s Nico Krancjar) at the moment and another soon after the Euros. Though the one who kicked England out plays for Borussia Dortmund (Mladen Petric).
But to be serious, I can bet on my entire life savings that the Bundesliga will make its way here after the Euros are over and done with and…it will not happen. And I can lose all my savings as a result. I am not being optimistic. No secret the Premier League is popular here but then I have a feeling given the Bundesliga is not being considered ‘glamourious’ enough (given the ‘glamorious’ leagues, Serie A and Primera Liga are also on here where the former is actually on free-to-air and the latter on pay-TV). I remembered someone actually do write to the papers once that the goal rate in the Bundesliga for the 2006/07 season is like the highest among the major European leagues (it has happened again for the concluded season as well, I read). The reader was giving his reactions on the Scottish, French and Dutch leagues to be switched from an initial separate package to the sports package on the pay-TV given those three leagues are shown on two channels on a different package initially and my family didn’t subscribe to that…we have the sports package actually.
Because of that and more (also on the fact that if Singapore is too small to be noticed in the beginning, I can accept given I am just one of the four million-something Singaporeans), I just have the feeling at times there is a conspiracy as to why we don’t have it here. When even our neighbours up north in Malaysia and down south in Indonesia (where Bayern is at currently) do have the coverage, apart from major European leagues. Which is why sometimes reading like what the official Bundesliga website has compiled irritate me a little for some reason. Will the media here take notice? I really wonder.
Okay. So I was a little surprised when one of papers here reported (a short one) about Ottmar Hitzfeld and Oliver Kahn leaving the Bundesliga after the final match against Hertha. The last Bundesliga mention was when it reported about Hitzfeld pleased to leave behind a legacy for his successor Juergen Klinsmann after Bayern mathematically clinched the title. Unless there is really something interesting or heartwarming (like Ivan Klasnic returning after his kidney transplant) or if it concern Bayern, I don’t expect any mention at all.
To think of it now, I should have asked our former family maid (from Indonesia) on how she know of Michael Ballack. Hours before the opening ceremony of the World Cup in Munich two years ago, I was watching one of those miscellaneous programmes relating to the World Cup when she simply mentioned the Germany captain’s name. I was surprised. Maybe it confirmed to me on Indonesia having Bundesliga coverage.
Another of those rants by someone who follow the Bundesliga…but the fact still remain that it’s not on the TV in the beginning.
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Singapore
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“Though the one who kicked England out plays for Borussia Dortmund (Mladen Petric).”
Not to forget Hamburg’s Ivica Olic.;-)
Well, you need to resort to internet streams for the time being it seems. Though, the Bundesliga has expanded its’ reach quite a bit after the World Cup and maybe you’re in for a surprise next season. The season after next season could be another good date, as a new TV deal will kick in then and the DFL will then take care of international marketing themselves – they sold the rights to bwin for the current three year contract.
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And I read that the DFL (I am not sure is it them) are in China for a football marketing forum or something like that.
Last year in December (it was around the Christmas week), I was on a trip with my family to China to meet our relatives for the first time (and all the more poignant for me given it’s tracing my Chinese roots) and though the Bundesliga was on winter break at that time, I remembered coming across a TV programme on one of the channels (the state network has a channel just for sports and I was watching that) which caught my eye at the hotel we were staying. The programme on the hotel TV was showing a compilation of some of the best goals in European leagues so far and some of the Bundesliga goals were featured. Whatever I read about the Bundesliga’s popularity in China is true.
In for a surprise? I am not going to raise any hopes even though I know Bayern are also at this part of the world at the moment. The last time they were here in the 70s (I only know about in the papers like last year or the year before when there was a feature on the history of our national stadium), I wasn’t even born yet.
Yeah, the internet streams are now my best bet for the moment.
Posted from
Singapore
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