THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY

HERTHA BERLIN Hertha have made some interesting signings. The first is former player Kevin-Prince Boateng, with Hertha’s board hoping that the highly travelled 34-year-old attacker will be able to bring plenty of experience and guidance for the younger players. In addition, they’ve also secured Marco Richter from Augsburg. The 23-year-old first announced himself to the world by scoring seven goals in an Augsburg youth match back in 2016. Die Alte Dame were another side who had their shares of ups and downs but fortunately managed to steer clear of the relegation play-o s – will they do slightly better this time around?

LAST SEASON FINISH: 14TH HOFFENHEIM The fact that Ho enheim managed to hang on to Andrej Kramaric despite finishing in the bottom half of the table is an achievement in itself, especially considering the Croatian is the all-time top scoring player from his country in Bundesliga history. It truly was a season of highs and lows for Ho enheim, who ended Bayern’s 32-game unbeaten streak in the league, but at the same time had their issues in successfully balancing competing in both the Bundesliga and the Europa League. However, they did gain back some ground at the tail end of the season, going seven games unbeaten. In addition, they’ve made some key signings, namely defender David Raum, who was part of Germany’s European under-21 winning side. Not only can he defend, but he can certainly get involved in the attack, chipping in with 15 goals for Furth and contributing to their promotion to the 2. Bundesliga.

LAST SEASON FINISH: 11TH KOLN Last season, Koln barely escaped the drop. After losing to Mainz, who were also in contention for relegation, they had to take on Holstein Kiel, who famously beat Bayern in the DFB-Pokal en route to featuring in the semis for the first time in their history. A 5-2 aggregate win was enough for them to retain their spot, but new coach Ste en Baumgart will naturally know that his team may not be so fortunate this time around. In terms of transfers, they’ve brought in a quartet of players on frees to cover all positions from goalkeeper to forward, so clearly they’re aiming to be as far from the drop zone as possible.

LAST SEASON FINISH: 16TH

RIGHT, BOTTOM: Sasa Kalajdzic is looking for a break out season

MAINZ Mainz were another side who performed poorly last season and were spared a potentially unpleasant relegation battle by defeating fellow relegation candidates Koln. But now, Bo Svensson, who orchestrated their renaissance, will have a full season in charge. Svensson’s work was truly outstanding. When he took over, Mainz had earned just six points and looked certain for the drop. However, they ended up picking up a whopping 32 points, including beating reigning champions Bayern, to pull o one of the greatest escapes we’ve seen in German football. With that kind of momentum, there are some expectations to see a better version of Mainz during the 202122 season. RB LEIPZIG RB Leipzig made a huge statement of intent with the acquisition of Andre Silva from Frankfurt earlier this year. The Portuguese international was the second-most prolific scorer in the Bundesliga last season behind only Robert Lewandowski, and having lost Timo Werner to Chelsea a couple of campaigns ago, Die Roten Bullen will hope they’ve struck gold with their newest purchase, who cost them €23m. However, they’ve been dealt a big blow in defence with the big-money sales of Dayot Upamecano and Ibrahima Konate, with the French duo moving on to Bayern and Liverpool respectively. The Bulls have attempted to shore things up by bringing in Mohamed Simakan and Benjamin Henrichs from Strasbourg and Monaco, but could selling their star defensive duo come back to haunt them? STUTTGART Stuttgart were certainly one of the more impressive sides last season. Although they lost 2-0 on their final matchday, Pellegrino Matarazzo’s squad still finished in a highly respectable ninth place. They’ll naturally be aiming higher than mid-table this time around, and will hope that players like SerbianAustrian striker Sasa Kalajdzic could have a real breakout season to mean that perhaps a European football spot won’t be an unrealistic goal.

LAST SEASON FINISH: 9TH

ABOVE, LEFT: Kevin-Prince Boateng has returned to hometown club Hertha Berlin

ABOVE, MIDDLE: Leipzig's Andre Silva celebrates scoring the 4-0 lead from the penalty spot during the German Bundesliga soccer match between RB Leipzig and VfB Stuttgart

UNION BERLIN Are Union Berlin set to be the new RB Leipzig? What they don’t have in funds, they certainly do have in heart and talent. It’s pretty amazing to note that they only made their top-flight debut during the 2019-20 campaign, and ended up finishing in seventh last season to secure a firstever appearance in the Europa Conference League. Their over-dependence on Max Kruse, however, is a major concern. When he was out injured, they picked up just seven points from eight matches, causing them to slide down the table, so they’ll obviously want to avoid leaning on just one player again. WOLFSBURG New season, new manager, with veteran midfielder Mark van Bommel being the latest to take the reins at the Volkswagen Arena. Along with Frankfurt, Wolfsburg were among the most in-form sides during the second half of the 2020-21 Bundesliga season and as a result have earned themselves a spot in the Champions League. In terms of interesting acquisitions, they’ve brought in the Nmecha brothers for a combined total of €8m. Curiously, both brothers, previously on the books at Manchester City, play their international football for di erent countries – Lukas for Germany and Felix for England. Meanwhile, Dutch striker Wout Weghorst will again lead the line as they try to get out of their group in the Champions League, while going for another top-four finish in the league.

LAST SEASON FINISH: 7TH

LAST SEASON FINISH: 4TH

DID YOU KNOW?

SpVgg Greuther Fürth failed to win 18 consecutive Bundesliga matches at home, the longest run without a win on home soil by any side in the competition's history. With Jesse Marsch and Pellegrino Matarazzo, it is the first time two American coaches will face o in the Bundesliga.

At the age of 16 years, 8 months, 28 days, Youssoufa Moukoko is the youngest player to appear in a Supercup game since the competition was reinstated in 2010.

Thomas Müller and Robert Lewandowski have played 11 Supercups– a record since the competition was reinstated in 2010.

Jesse Marsch

Winning 12-0 vs Bremer SV is Bayern´s second highest winning margin in all competitions since getting promoted to the Bundesliga in 1965 – in 1997 they defeated DJK Waldberg in the DFB-Pokal 16-1.

ABOVE, LEFT: Mark van Bommel is the new coach at Wolfsburg

ABOVE, RIGHT: Are Union Berlin set to be the new RB Leipzig?

TOP BUNDESLIGA PICKS

While many may list a bunch of youngsters, Michelle Osei Bonsu takes a look at players to watch at various stages in their respective careers. That includes veterans, players approaching their peak and a few hungry young stars.

KEVIN-PRINCE BOATENG HERTHA BERLIN Talk about coming full circle. The Germanborn attacker, who featured at the 2014 World Cup not for Germany, but his father’s native Ghana, has now returned to Hertha Berlin 16 years after making his debut in August 2005. Boateng has had quite a nomadic existence, playing for big clubs including Barcelona, Milan, Borussia Dortmund and Tottenham Hotspur, as well as numerous other outfits in Germany, Italy, and even Turkey. It will be interesting to see if he can have any impact for his hometown club as he approaches the latter stages of his career.

PATRIK SCHICK - BAYER LEVERKUSEN The Czech international really struggled in his debut season at Leverkusen, with just nine strikes in 29 games. However, with a solid performance for his country at this summer’s Euro 2020 where he scored five goals and won the Silver Boot, fans will hope that this just may mark a turning point for him and Leverkusen.

JAMAL MUSIALA - BAYERN MUNICH Last season saw the Stuttgart-born youngster break several records for club and country as he became the youngest player for Bayern in the Champions League, and was rewarded for his excellent showings with a call-up to the German national side at Euro 2020. After becoming the youngest player to feature for Germany at a major tournament, don’t be surprised to see him receiving more game time under new coach Julian Nagelsmann – as the former Ho enheim boss was a wunderkind himself of sorts.

GIOVANNI REYNA BORUSSIA DORTMUND The son of not one, but two football players, it’s no surprise that Gio Reyna has chosen to follow the same path. More importantly, he’s also following in the footsteps of fellow American Christian Pulisic, who swapped the USA for Borussia Dortmund and hasn’t looked back since. Reyna has also broken the numerous records set by Pulisic with Dortmund, and after a stellar campaign last time out, the question is whether this season will be even better for the promising talent.

ERLING HAALAND BORUSSIA DORTMUND One can’t make a list of players to look out for without mentioning the Norwegian, who burst onto the scene in 2019. Detractors initially were looking to write him o as a one-hit wonder, but he’s done more than prove them wrong, winning an army of fans in the process. After endless speculation about whether he’ll stay at Dortmund or leave Signal Iduna Park, the powerful striker appears to have decided to stay in Germany for at least another year. His 27 league goals were only bettered by Andre Silva and, of course, record-setter Robert Lewandowski, but one shouldn’t count against him possibly ending Lewandowski’s reign as the Bundesliga’s top scorer.