Bundesliga Preview

The 2006 World Cup was a tremendous advert for Germany's friendliness and organisational skills, but it hasn't changed the downward trajectory of its domestic league which now struggles to attract top players. Ruud Van Nistelrooy's preference for Real Madrid over Bayern Munich is a good illustration. The defending Bundesliga Champions - double winners for consecutive seasons, and title holders in five of the last seven campaigns - were frustrated by their inability to land a big name player in the off-season to replace their talismanic captain, Michael Ballack, who has joined English Premiership Champions, Chelsea. Nevertheless, the Bavarians still start as hot favourites with www.PinnacleSports.com to repeat the hat-trick of titles achieved from 1999-2001, priced at 1.63.With no natural successor to the leadership and goal threat of the national captain, or the experienced outgoing Brazilian defensive midfielder Ze Roberto, Felix Magath is looking to Bastian Schweinsteiger and new signing, Lukas Podolski - voted "Best Young Player of the World Cup" - to fill the void after successful World Cup campaigns. One of the likeliest candidates to capitalise on a transitional season for Bayern, are Werder Bremen, the last club other than Munich to win the Bundesliga title (in 2004) a double winning season for the side. Coach, Thomas Schaaf, proved that was no fluke with top-three finishes in the two subsequent seasons. During his five years in charge Schaaf has made a huge impact, helped in that time by the streamlining of the club's business structure. Bremen have one of the League's youngest squads, with goals provided by Golden Boot winning Miroslav Klose, supplied from midfield by international compatriots Tim Borowski and Torsten Frings. Bremen's 2-0 League Cup win over Bayern Munich on August 5th underlined their title credentials. So long as WB endure the loss of influential French midfield playmaker, Johan Micoud, the quote of 5.14 to lift the Bundesliga trophy could be excellent value.Bremen's victory at Hamburg on the final day of last season demoted their Northern rivals to a third place finish, and there should be little between the clubs again this term. With an early Champions League qualifier Thomas Doll's side should be well primed for the start of the season. Last term's UEFA Intertoto campaign (beginning a month before the German league) inspired a terrific start to the season - SV lost just once in 27 games in all competition. Hamburg were the only club to do the double over Bayern Munich and, but for a dip in form as the season wore on, could have challenged for the title itself. With a little more staying-power that is a possibility this time around. They are priced at 8.08 to win the league.At the same odds are Schalke 04. They haven't won the German title since 1958, but have twice finished runners-up in the last six seasons, on both occasions behind Bayern Munich, and since 2001 have never finished outside the top seven. There has been a changing of the guard at last season's UEFA Cup semi-finalists with youth replacing experience. Head coach, Mirko Slomka, is out to improve Schalke's goal scoring record, as last season no team in the top six scored fewer goals than Schalke. He has brought in Turkish striker, Halil Altinttop, who last season scored 20 times for Kaiserslautern, to link up with his twin brother Hamit, who plays in midfield.