Now, with a significantly heavier weight on the bandwagon, the Bundesdliga is being put forward as the best league in the world, with the best fans, the best teams and the best value for money.
The Bundesliga is now a glistening example to the rest of world football, apparantly. And all after two games. Whilst it's likely that the two German giants will collide at Wembley on the 25th May, it remains very unlikely that German football will 'take over the world'.
Myth 1: Tickets are cheaper
German clubs pride themselves on being at one with their fans. Standing areas encourage more noise which in turn promotes a vociferous atmosphere on matchday. Standing tickets are also incredibly cheap:
Standing ticket: €15.30/ £12.90 Standing season ticket: €187/ £157.61
Standing ticket: €12/ £10.11 Standing season ticket €104/ £87.66
Whilst this is all fine and dandy for the boastful Bavarians and Bundeslanders, not everyone wants to stand. They also make fine work of hiding their seated pricing rates which, in some cases, provide less value for money than the Premiership. (Bare in mind that a Bundesliga season ticket includes 17 home games, whereas a Premiership season ticket includes 18 home games):
Most expensive matchday ticket £58 Most expensive season ticket £745
Most expensive matchday ticket £52 Most expensive season ticket £950 Most expensive matchday ticket £42 Most expensive season ticket £712 Most expensive matchday ticket £59 Most expensive season ticket £561
These stats show that German and English football clubs charge fairly similar prices for seated tickets. Whether the Germans possess a profound lack of respect for the reasons why standing areas could be a controversial move in English football (Hillsborough disaster) or they just simply enjoy mocking us, it's unclear, but in terms of value for money, they're no heroes.
Myth 2: Stable Ownership
In the build up to Borussia Dortmund's Champions League group match with Manchester City, owner Hans-Joachim Watzke slammed the number of foreign owners in the Premier League. He preached the romanticism in German football, insisting 'Germans want to have a sense of belonging'. Well that's all well and good, Hans, but borrowing €2 million from your fiercest rivals just to cover wage costs isn't exactly romantic, is it?
Just 10 months prior to these comments, reports emerged confirming Bayern Munich had given Dortmund a loan less than a decade ago. In 2003, Dortmund were on the verge of financial collapse, even after winning the Bundesliga and the Champions League in the mid 1990's.
Although standing tickets allow fans to watch their club on the cheap, they're obviously having a detrimental effect on the running of German clubs. Would fans rather pay more for tickets or watch their club collapse entirely? You decide, Hans.
Bayern have also confirmed loans to 1860 Munich and St Pauli in recent years.
Myth 3: Fierce Competition
The only competition you'll find in the Bundesliga is the competition between Dortmund and Bayern. And let's face it, Bayern are pretty much paying for Dortmund to compete.
Myth 2: Stable Ownership
In the build up to Borussia Dortmund's Champions League group match with Manchester City, owner Hans-Joachim Watzke slammed the number of foreign owners in the Premier League. He preached the romanticism in German football, insisting 'Germans want to have a sense of belonging'. Well that's all well and good, Hans, but borrowing €2 million from your fiercest rivals just to cover wage costs isn't exactly romantic, is it?
Just 10 months prior to these comments, reports emerged confirming Bayern Munich had given Dortmund a loan less than a decade ago. In 2003, Dortmund were on the verge of financial collapse, even after winning the Bundesliga and the Champions League in the mid 1990's.
Although standing tickets allow fans to watch their club on the cheap, they're obviously having a detrimental effect on the running of German clubs. Would fans rather pay more for tickets or watch their club collapse entirely? You decide, Hans.
Bayern have also confirmed loans to 1860 Munich and St Pauli in recent years.
Myth 3: Fierce Competition
The only competition you'll find in the Bundesliga is the competition between Dortmund and Bayern. And let's face it, Bayern are pretty much paying for Dortmund to compete.
When 38 points separate 1st and 4th, competition isn't really the word that you'd associate with the Bundesliga. Although the Premier League doesn't provide a great example of competitive football this year, leagues such as Serie A, La Liga and even Ligue 1 (where only one team has undergone huge investment) display much tighter point gaps.
Myth 4: Friendly Atmosphere
Last November, the Independent published an article regarding growing violence in German football. Police reports in Germany confirmed that the 2011/2012 season had the highest number of criminal proceedings in 12 years and the problem was getting out of hand.
This included almost double the amount of injured fans and a more than 20% increase in police work hours from the previous season. A total of 8,143 criminal proceedings against individuals were launched last season compared to 5,818 in 2010/2011.
Whilst German officials are attempting to encourage young fans to come to games with cheap standing tickets, growing violence is preventing them.
On the surface, the Bundesliga may look like a developing haven ready to influence the European footballing world. Cheap standing tickets, owners that are also fans and high attendances make German football a glimmering prospect for the future, however, growing violence, bankruptcy and the utter dominance and control of Bayern Munich show that the league has some way to go.
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