The best league in the world kicks off next weekend, and the great news for Aussies is that we can watch the whole thing live on TV.
Alarm bells should be ringing in London over Optus’ apparent inability to adequately broadcast the English Premier League, with the ongoing avalanche of complaints on social media surely damaging reputations.
But Australian fans frustrated by the Premier League’s poor picture quality, intermittent drop-outs and 60-second transmission delay needn’t worry. A league with bigger crowds, better grounds and arguably better players gets under way this week.
The 54th season of the German Bundesliga kicks off this Saturday morning (AEST), with champions Bayern München hosting last season’s miracle survivors Werder Bremen in a match broadcast live on BeIN Sports at 4.30am.
And before anyone suggests the Bundesliga is a one-horse race, it’s worth pointing out that Bremen – along with Borussia Dortmund, VfB Stuttgart and VfL Wolfsburg – are one of four other clubs to have won the Bundesliga since the turn of the century.
Germany even had a Leicester City long before the Foxes stunned the football world, after Kaiserslautern lifted the Bundesliga trophy in 1998 just a year after being crowned second division champions.
Bayern, of course, have dominated recent campaigns, winning the last four Bundesliga titles in a row – the past three of which came under the relentless attacking auspices of Pep Guardiola.
Guardiola is obviously now at Manchester City, where he’ll be hoping to have considerably more luck than his erstwhile counterpart Jürgen Klopp is currently having trying to instil his gegenpressing system at Liverpool.
Klopp led Borussia Dortmund to barnstorming back-to-back titles in 2010-11 and 2011-12, and with his protégé Thomas Tuchel now in charge of the club which boasts Europe’s highest average attendances, Dortmund will look to mount a significant title challenge this time around.
They start with a fascinating first-up clash at home to Tuchel’s former club FSV Mainz in front of one of Europe’s most passionate crowds, with the game once again broadcast live on BeIN Sports at 11.30pm on Saturday night.
It’s hard to describe just how much louder atmospheres are in Germany compared to the staid stadia of England, so your best bet is simply to tune in and experience it for yourself.
It’s not like the noisy crowds are confined to the Bundesliga either.
Those lucky enough to tune in last Saturday night would have witnessed the tradition-laden Dynamo Dresden – now in the second division – come from 2-0 down to defeat nouveau riche local rivals Leipzig on penalties in front of almost 30,000 fans at a sold-out DDV-Stadion in the first round of the German Cup.
Sell-outs in the early rounds of the Cup are common, not least because the German FA lets the lower-ranked team host the tie.
Only one thing has held the Bundesliga back from becoming the most popular league in the world – the English language.
If it weren’t for English becoming the lingua franca across the globe, many more fans would have cottoned on to the fact that the Bundesliga is hands-down the most entertaining league in world football.
That said, over the past couple of seasons German clubs and the Bundesliga itself have ramped up their English-language coverage, so much so that it’s now possible to follow everything in English on social media.
Of course, it wasn’t all plain sailing for German football this weekend, with a young German side losing on penalties to host nation Brazil in a gripping Olympics final at the Maracana.
The pressure on Neymar to win gold for his country was immense, so it was fitting to see the Brazilian skipper smash home the deciding penalty on the back of his stupendous first half free-kick.
The Germans will carry on, as they always do, and attention now turns to the Bundesliga.
By almost any measure it’s the most watchable league in the world – and best of all, you can now watch the whole season unfold live on Australian TV.
Troy
Guest
I watched a few Bundesliga matches this week, and with the commentary in English, it's just as much fun as the Premier League. (The commentary is probably fun in German as well; I just wouldn't understand it.) Being able to watch the Bundesliga, La Liga, Ligue 1, and Serie A instead of the EPL is a pretty good deal I think.
Euromob Forever
Guest
Just beautiful to have the Euro Leagues back in action. Anybody saw Real Madrid and Barcelona last weekend? Awesome goals, pin point accurate crosses, amazing ball control and Messi looks more powerful than ever.
Nemesis
Guest
I'd consider myself a committed fan of Premier League and I'm delighted with the product provided by Optus compared to what I got with Foxtel. The quality of the video is as good as anything I've had with Foxtel set-top boxes. Plus the amount of content: news, magazine shows, highlights is so far ahead of what Foxtel provided for the past 20 years, it's not even close. No doubt some people have poor internet connections and poor hardware and this will cause issues with the Optus broadcast. Just like some people have poor TV antennas and old TVs and this causes issues with TV broadcasts.
HardcorePrawn
Roar Guru
Probably true, but I'm not sure that's a helpful comparison. Put Eibar, Leganés, or Sporting Gijón in a competitive match against the big boys of the Premier League and they'll likely get a hammering too. Every league has their under-performing or less glamorous teams, even the Bundesliga and Serie A (how many people will be tuning in when Darmstadt take on Freiburg, or when Crotone face Pescara). That these teams would likely struggle against a better funded squad from another league is pretty much a given.
Mark
Guest
There really is no rebuttal to that because you have got to the basic truth of the matter. Optus has paid for the rights and, so long as it meets obligations it agreed with the Premier League, it can broadcast them as well or badly as it likes, and Australian EPL fans will just have to suck it up. In that case, however, Optus deserves all the criticism it is getting. It says a lot about what the EPL thinks of Australian fans as well.
Mark
Guest
I should have said as well, there has been nothing stopping Optus all these years laying out cable or fibre to provide a superior broadband service to Australian customers. A local Telco did just that in the ACT. Telstra has no more obligation to do it than Optus does. Optus wouldn't do it for the same reasons Telstra wouldn't. Why spend all the money building the infrastructure when you have to give access to it away to your competitors at barely above the cost of running it? For Optus, it was much easier to continue to live off Telstra's infrastructure.
Mark
Guest
"Where’s the evidence of the “one minute delay”?" You're kidding, right? How can we take you seriously when you're denying an issue that even Optus has openly acknowledged? Flick between your Optus coverage and the SBS live match. SBS is a minute ahead of the play on Optus.
Mark
Guest
Agree. Put Bournemouth, Watford, Sunderland etc in a competitive game at the Bernabeu or Camp Nou and Real/Barca would probably pile on the goals like they do against the lower sides in Spain.
Mark
Guest
Valencia are in for a long year. They have cut the wage bill to balance the books since they won't be playing in the Champions League. Mustafi will be next out. Given the enthusiasm when Maty signed there, it's disappointing how things have developed there. But the situation isn't unsalvageable for Maty, and their current situation may give him an opportunity to put a string of games together.
Paul Nicholls
Roar Guru
I actually think Bundesliga is great and the atmosphere and up-tempo pace of the game makes it really good to watch BUT... Bayern are going to win. So as much as it is entertaining it is not a competitive league - so I'll just stick to watching highlights. Since the bad old days of Man Utd domination, the Premier League is much more competitive these days - it's a pity it has been relegated to a lousy internet stream to compete against cat videos
AZ_RBB
Guest
I haven't seen the highlights but going by the talk on social media the views are pretty mixed on Maty Ryan. Some fans are seeing it as proof that they need to throw serious money at Diego Alves others are saying that Maty is good enough. I think that's 8 league games now for Maty without a win.
mattq
Guest
I'd pass unless he signed for an A-League team. You know it is possibly to love football without being a Euro-fanboy mate
Mike Tuckerman
Expert
Good for you. Many others have complained. Are you going to talk about the Bundesliga, or are you just here to spruik Optus?
Mike Tuckerman
Expert
The issue - and I can't believe I have to explain a concept a small child would understand - is that Optus bought the broadcast rights on the understanding it would provide superior coverage to Foxtel. At the moment, for reasons which include pixellated coverage, long drop-outs which require some fans to reset their Fetch TV boxes, a transmission delay that precludes fans from posting on social media and a multitude of other problems, it is obvious that the Optus broadcast is vastly inferior to what Australian fans previously enjoyed. How do I know this? Because hundreds of fans continue to post on Twitter, Facebook, the Whirlpool forums and elsewhere about these ongoing problems, not to mention the fact I've spoken directly to several people who qualified for free Optus coverage who say their service doesn't work properly. These are all problems Optus must resolve. No one else holds the rights. And it laughably ironic for you to accuse anyone else of focusing selectively on Optus' problems. I couldn't care less who broadcasts the English Premier League, but if you think a service that has generated countless complaints, attracted widespread mainstream media coverage for its faults and which appears technologically incapable of providing the service it is accepting money to provide, then you live in a bizarro world.
Mark
Guest
Well the guide says Dortmund vs Mainz and Frankfurt vs Schalke on live at 11:30. Cardiff vs Reading on at the same time. After those games is Lazio vs Juve, Eibar vs Valencia (hopefully Mat Ryan gets another go, they lost 4-2 to Las Palmas this morning) and Newcastle vs Brighton. After those is Nice vs Lille, Real vs Celta and Napoli vs AC Milan. 'Late' game is Leganes vs Atletico. Pretty good night of football I'd say. Other Bundesliga games also being replayed on Sunday.
Smell the fear
Guest
I thought you had given up on this site? Good to have you and your good ideas still here
Dan Wighton
Roar Guru
The squad looks great but it seems to lack a leader at the moment. Would have been great if Hummels had stuck around, but they're definitely building for the future.
Dan Wighton
Roar Guru
There are great derbies in and around the Ruhrpott for sure, but the last-round finishes of the early 00s in the Bundesliga haven't been seen for a few years. Leverkusen could surprise a few people this year, and having a three way race for the title would be great for the Bundesliga internationally. Domestically, Bayern could win the next 10 titles and the stadiums would still be sold out, such is the fan connection. But for international exposure, the thing needs to be more competitive.
Dan Wighton
Roar Guru
They'll miss Mkhitaryan for sure, although he only really had one great season in black and yellow. Some of the young guys - along with older heads like Gotze and Schurrle - will be great. Bayern could have some difficulties adjusting to their new coach's style of play so I'd say the race is open. But for a couple of late losses last year when the Bundesliga was already decided, Dortmund had the third best record in Europe. If they can keep that form going...then hey!
Cousin Claudio
Roar Guru
Who is the best? That's always an interesting conversation. Especially when you consider what people might understand what you mean by "best". All good for me, but its great to see people on the football tab giving their opinions about this wonderful global game and the legacy it has left in the world. Some many wonderful memories all round the world just too good to ever forget. "A dilly ding a dilly dong." .