How long can Germany get away with having three players who are so skilful, so effective, so sheer all round bloody entertaining playing week in, week out in the Bundesliga?
I suspect the answer to that is not very much longer, so we should enjoy watching Diego, Franck Ribery and Rafael van der Vaart tearing up Europe’s most entertaining major league while we still can.
I was away when our peerless trio of attacking midfielders were (inevitably) named first, second and third in the Bundesliga’s poll of professionals for best player over the first half of the season.
It prompted a headline from The Offside – “Foreign Lilliputians taking over Germany … still” which may have been a bit heightist but remains a pretty good indication of just how influential the three pint-sized playmakers* have been.
Werder Bremen’s Brazilian Diego and Hamburg’s Dutchman Van der Vaart are carrying their teams from midfield, creating most of the chances while weighing in with goals (10 apiece making them the joint-top scorers with Bayern’s Luca Toni).
Ribery has scored a more modest five for Bayern but without his sublime talents the Bavarians would not be sitting three points clear (see Bayern Lounge for a look at how effective he’s been this season).
On Sunday, Ribery was out with a hamstring injury when Bayern played Werder in the top-of-the-table clash at the Allianz Arena. While Bayern by no means played badly, they were short of that dash of inspiration the Frenchman has given them since his 25 million euros move from Olympic Marseille and they had to settle for a 1-1 draw (inevitably, it was Diego who scored for Werder).
Bayern should be able to keep Ribery for at least a year or two more but the signs are not encouraging for fans of Werder and Hamburg.
Spain’s El Mundo Deportivo reported on Tuesday that Barcelona are now eyeing Diego as a replacement for Deco and even though Werder are determined to hold on to him for one more year, you get the feeling that if Barca don’t get him Juventus or someone else will.
The same goes for Van der Vaart. Hamburg got a real bargain when they signed him in 2005 from Ajax Amsterdam, with many clubs unwilling to take a gamble because of his injury problems. He has been far from injury free in his two-and-a-half seasons in Germany but his form has remained so good that signing him no longer looks risky.
It’d be nice to think that Germany could compete with Spain, Italy and England and keep all its top players, but I’m sure that’s just naive. Brighter lights, better boot contracts and Golden Ball awards all beckon from Europe’s top three leagues and when that happens few players seem able to resist.
Kevin Fylan, Berlin
* They’ve got me at it now.
PHOTO: Diego scores for Werder Bremen against Oliver Kahn during the game against Bayern, February 10, 2008. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach
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11 comments so far
Interesting that Barcelona seem to be after Diego,; Real Madrid were linked with him after the two teams met in the Champions League group stages earlier in the season. I thought, however that he had signed a new contract with Bremen; perhaps that just ups the asking price? He may be a good long-term replacement for Guti, but he’d have to fight for his place with the likes of Sneijder Robben and Robinho.
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- Posted by GonzaloThe Bundesliga’s Three Musketeers: catch them while you can - Reuters Soccer Blog
A look into Ribery, Diego and van der Vaart playing in the Bunedesliga
- Posted by footballfilter.comHi Gonzalo. Werder have been very firm with interested clubs, saying he’s not going anywhere, but it’s interesting that they said the other day (about Juve), “Even for 25 million euros we wouldn’t sell him.” That sounds to me like setting the bar.
- Posted by Kevin FylanI’d like to see him stay at Werder but I think he could be a good signing for Real. He’s more consistent than Guti anyway. As for Barca, I fear he might get devoured…
The Bundesliga just has to rethink their marketing strategies to attract more fans from overseas to make their clubs look attractive to sponsors or investors. Regaining the champions league heydays of Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich would help a lot too.
We live in a globalised world now, if you fail to catch up with the act, you’re likely to suffer.
- Posted by Five TimesIt certainly is a problem, Five Times. I always tell mates from England and Spain that the Bundesliga is great to watch — more goals than the other leagues, great attacking players, loads of excitement and good players (like the three above) but no one believes me…
- Posted by Kevin FylanIt has a really bad image problem. If they could keep the likes of Diego and Van der Vaart for a few more seasons, and build a marketing strategy around them, it would certainly be a start.
There is definitely more money to be made in the global market for the Bundesliga and every few months the league officials announce a new record number of countries who show live matches. But the majority of the income is still generated in every league’s home market.
In terms of matchday and sponsorship revenue the Bundesliga generates around €900m. That’s second to the EPLs massive 1.2bn. But that’s the penalty the Bundesliga has to pay for low ticket prices. Spain comes next with €750m, while Italy and France are trailing far behind. Ligue 1 generates less than half than the Bundesliga in that area.
But in terms of TV money the Bundesliga is clearly trailing the other major European leagues. There is only one pay TV station in Germany, which struggles to attract a high subscription base for many reasons. One is the fact, that Premiere (the pay TV service) faced a competition of around thirty free to air TV stations, when they entered the market. In England there were only five when Rupert Murdoch started the EPL money game. Going from there Premiere always struggled, mix in the bankruptcy of a media tycoon and high free TV saturation of Bundesliga football and you end up with something like a €420m a year TV deal…
But at the end of the day, in terms of total turnover the Bundesliga is actually right up there with Spain and Italy. The Bundesliga is lacking an elite circle of clubs, something like the Big Four in England. This would go a long way to put the club’s in a stronger position to buy and keep players. Spain probably has an advantage when it comes to taxes and thus wage budgets, while Serie A is just a complete financial mystery to me.
- Posted by JanI agree with a lot of what you are saying. It is disappointing that players will leave a league, such as the German one, where they may be playing better football but not promoting their careers as much as they may elsewhere. But looking at it from a footballers point of view, would you really turn down a move to Real Madrid?
I don’t think it is always about the lifestyle and money, though I’m sure that could play a big part in anyone’s decision. What about the prospect of playing with some of the best players in the world and the chance of winning the Champions League?
I’ve heard a lot about Diego (though I’ll admit I only knew about him because I used to buy him on Championship Manager) and he does seem like a really exciting player. But not many people know about him… I just think that a big move would really see players like him progress further, though of course it can have its disadvantages too. Chances are at a big club they might end up as part of a squad rotation system and end up missing out on matches every other week, when they could be playing a full 90 minutes for a smaller side.
- Posted by Betfair BloggerThat’s a great survey of the financial state of affairs in Germany, Jan. I suspect the next TV rights deal is going to be a lot more ruthless. I’d bet the early evening highlights programme (sacrosanct until now) is going to be pushed way back into the night, and surely at some point they’re going to have a go at forcing through pay per view.
- Posted by Kevin Fylan[…] The Athos, Portos and Aramis of the Bundesliga. Who’ll be D’Artagnan then? (Reuters Soccer Blog) […]
- Posted by Weekly Dose 13.2.08 - Miscellaneous - The Offside - German Football League BlogI saw Diego play for Santos just before he and Robinho left. It didn’t take a genius to spot that he would become something special. His balance was exceptional and speed of thought was lightning fast. If he lacks anything it is absolute pace, but he makes up for that in those other areas. He reminded me of Kenny Dalglish a little when he was younger, able to float between attack and midfield, yet always be a direct threat to the goal.
His destination could well be Barcelona. Certainly he has all the attributes needed to take over from Deco, which is some compliment!
- Posted by nextsoccerstar.comI’d never seen him before he came to Germany and I was just blown away by his first couple of games for Werder. As you say, the balance and speed of thought and reaction of the guy is incredible.
- Posted by Kevin FylanI think he could do a good job for Barcelona, but only if he’s allowed a bit more freedom than they give Deco, who sometimes seems to be the guy snapping at heels in midfield, rather than the creative midfielder we know he can be. I’m not sure there’s really space for him in the team unless one or two players leave.