Speaking German has never been a prerequisite to play in the Bundesliga, whose multi-national clubs have opened their arms to multi-lingual talent — even before the 1995 Bosman Ruling forbade EU countries from imposing limits on the number of EU players in a team.

But Energie Cottbus has taken that love of foreigners to new heights with players from 14 different countries — count ‘em, 14! — speaking 14 different languages in their line-up for the upcoming season. Mein Gott!

With players from countries ranging from A (Albania) to Z (Zypern, the German word for Cyprus) the small club with one of the smallest budgets in the Bundesliga have signed players from an astonishing array of nations. The reason: prices for foreigners tend to be lower than for Germans and the growing number of EU countries.

Cottbus already made German history in 2001 when they fielded 11 foreigners for the first time in a Bundesliga match in a 0-0 home draw with VfL Wolfsburg. The Cottbus players in that match came from eight different countries.

This year, the club in the small town near the Polish border have players from Brazil, Bulgaria, Cameroon, China, Croatia, Denmark, France, Hungary, Germany, Macedonia, Poland, Romania as well as Albania (Ervin Skela) and Cyprus (Efstathios Aloneftis).

Most of the foreigners speak at least some English, according to coach Petrik Sanders. But not all speak German yet, and 10 of them are taking classes in the not-so-easy-to learn language of Goethe and Schiller after training sessions.

Viel Glueck!

Erik Kirschbaum, Berlin

A year after the World Cup that had Germans on their feet and in each others’ arms in an uncharacteristic outpouring of emotions (which incidentally led to a notable rise in the birth rate nine months later), the country is going through a severe case of soccer withdrawal.

The 12-week gap between the end of the last Bundesliga season on May 19 and the start of the new season on August 10 seems excruciatingly long this year — the first summer in Germany without footy since 2003.

Euro 2004, the Confederations Cup and the World Cup all gave German soccer fans plenty of action the last three Junes to watch, talk and read about.

Soccer’s appeal in Germany was spread far beyond the traditional fan base thanks to the buzz around coach Juergen Klinsmann, who led Germany to third place in both the 2005 Confederations Cup and last year’s World Cup with a refreshing emphasis on attack.

The memories are pleasant but they seem to be causing acute distress.

Some newspapers with no soccer to write about have resorted to publishing daily summaries of what was going on “a year ago today” during the World Cup. Crowds of up to 10,000 have turned out to watch training sessions at middle-of-the-table Bundesliga clubs. Other fans have sought to satisfy their needs by watching night-time broadcasts of the Copa America.

Otherwise, with well over a month remaining until “der Ball rollt wieder” (the ball rolls again), Germans will have to pursue alternative entertainment. Perhaps there will be another blip higher in the birth rate next March…

Erik Kirschbaum, Berlin

Bayern Munich have ripped up their transfer rule book after finishing a distant and discouraging fourth in the Bundesliga last season and have now thrown open their wallets to buy some top European talent. For Germany, it has been an unprecedented show of financial muscle, and one that must have been designed in part to appease their frustrated fans.

For years, Bayern have been able to dominate the Bundesliga and even win the Champions League by signing the best players, German or otherwise, who perform well for their nearest Bundesliga rivals, and only occasionally going after a bigger fish abroad.

After it all went wrong last season, when Bayern were regularly humiliated by sides fighting relegation, Uli Hoeness vowed a house-cleaning. The pugnacious Bayern manager has done just that. He’s also given up his preference for foreigners who speak German by signing France midfielder Franck Ribery and Italy striker Luca Toni.

In 2003, Bayern spent months haggling over the transfer fee for Roy Makaay with Deportivo Coruna before finally agreeing to a then-record 18 million euros, just as the transfer window was about to close.

This year they’ve spent 60 million in transfer fees and it’s only early June! The 26 million fee for Ribery could rise to 30 million euros and smashes all Bundesliga records. In fact, Bayern have spent far more than rest of 17 Bundesliga teams combined.

Hoeness may well prove to look like a genius. But if the revamped Bayern strategy fails to deliver results and titles — and there will be a lot of unhappy internationals sitting on the Bayern bench — he could be in for an uncomfortable season.

Erik Kirschbaum is a Reuters correspondent based in Berlin

A German season of refreshing unpredictability got the climax it deserved in Nuremberg’s 3-2 victory over VfB Stuttgart in the Cup final on Saturday. It was fitting that it came at Berlin’s Olympiastadion, a venue that was overdue a great game.

This was the first time I’d been to the Olympic Stadium since the World Cup final, a disappointingly tense game that was spoiled by the sending-off of Zidane for a “header” few in the crowd could see. The red card and Italy’s subsequent victory on penalties left a lot of people grumbling and was an unsatisfying conclusion to a great tournament.

The atmosphere could hardly have been more different in the same venue on Saturday when Nuremberg upset champions Stuttgart after extra-time in a rousing final. Even Stuttgart fans seemed to be smiling as they headed for the gates, grateful for a great show.

Cynics may argue Nuremberg were foolish for not sitting on their 2-1 second-half lead against a team reduced to 10 men, for not switching to destructive defensive tactics and killing the game off. They paid a price when Stuttgart got a late equaliser that sent the match into extra time.

Nuremberg had kept pushing forward as if they were behind — electrifying the 74,220 spectators in the stadium and 10 million viewers watching on TV, even though some journalists did complain as they were forced to throw away their prepared stories after Stuttgart scored.

Congratulations to Nuremberg — not necessarily for winning the German Cup but for giving everyone their money’s worth. It’s a shame that doesn’t happen more often in these showpiece finals.

Erik Kirschbaum is a Reuters correspondent based in Berlin

What is it about sports reporting and the urge to call title races so early? It happened again in Germany this season, as VfB Stuttgart were crowned champions at the weekend, two months after the media said they were definitively out of the running.

“Stuttgart drop out of championship race,” was the headline in Kicker — in mid-March! — after Stuttgart lost 1-0 to Schalke 04. But after eight successive victories at the end of the season, Stuttgart were left having the last laugh.

It baffles me why anyone writing about the Bundesliga would want to declare the race over so early — for declaring winners prematurely makes the final stretch seem dull, which it most often isn’t. History has repeatedly shown that races tighten and the leader in February is not necessarily the winner in May.

You’d think they would learn from their mistakes. But I can remember so many past seasons in which clubs like Schalke, Bayer Leverkusen and others were crowned champions a long way before the finish line. Ignominious predictions, all of them.

We’ve seen it happen in Spain this season, too. Months ago Real Madrid were absolutely discarded as title challengers, yet here they are with three matches to go at the top of the table.

Just count the number of times you hear the phrase “title decider” about a much-hyped match when there are still weeks or even months to go before the season’s end. They almost never decide anything.

Erik Kirschbaum is a Reuters correspondent based in Berlin

This was a great weekend for many German fans living above the ‘white sausage equator’, the notional line that separates Bavaria from the rest of the country.

Bayern Munich’s 2-0 defeat by VfB Stuttgart on Saturday means they are five points away from the Champions League places with four games left to play. Their title hopes are all but gone, and barring a series of surprises they will be consigned to the UEFA Cup next season.

Bayern president Franz Beckenbauer has derided the UEFA Cup as the “Losers’ Cup” and captain Oliver Kahn has said he has no desire to play in that tournament in what will likely be the final year of his career.

It’s a development that warms the hearts of the Bayern-haters around Germany, who are even united with a common song “Zieht den Bayern die Lederhosen aus” (Pull the leather trousers off Bayern) that they sing whenever the 20-time champions come to town.

Bayern have won six of the last eight Bundesliga titles and seven of the last 10. They’re seen by their detractors as being too rich, too selfish and with a nefarious habit of poaching the best players from the rest of the league to weaken their rivals.

Bayern have had disappointing seasons before, of course, but they may find it more difficult in regaining the upper hand this time, even if the club are prepared to spend a lot of cash. Attracting world class players to the Bundesliga is not easy at the best of times and if they cannot offer Champions League football next season it’s going to be even harder.

Erik Kirschbaum is a Reuters correspondent based in Berlin