© EuroFootball.com
On Friday, the long-awaited new 2005/06 season of the Bundesliga championship begins. EuroFootball.com presents an overview of the summer transfers of German clubs.
The strongest team from the previous Bundesliga season was not very active in the transfer market this summer and added four new footballers. The Munich team exchanged Germany's national team defender T.Frings for V.Ismael, and after the end of the loan agreement with the "Stuttgart" team, the young P.Lahmas returned to the "Bayern" club. These players should replace R.Kovac and S.Kuffour who left to play in Italy in the defense. The reigning Bundesliga champions bid farewell to veterans T.Linke and A.Zickler. The club maintained the core of the team and, as usual, will be one of the main contenders to win the championship title.
Came in: Ali Karimi; Phillip Lahm; Valerien Ismael, Andreas Ottl. Left: Vahid Hashemian, Robert Kovac, Thomas Linke, Torsten Frings, Alexander Zickler, Samuel Kuffour, Tobias Rau, Michael Lerchl.
During the offseason, the "Mainz" team, like many other mid-table clubs, did not acquire any impressive players. However, the club hopes to perform well and at least not be relegated to a lower division.
Came in: Petr Ruman, Otto Addo, Milorad Pekovic, Tom Geißler, Jonas Sela. Left: Hanno Balitsch, Robert Nikolic, Marco Walker, Sven Hoffmeister, Jürgen Kramny, Michael Falkenmayer, Christoph Teinert, Claudius Weber.
Almost the entire last season, this club fiercely fought for the first position and is determined to do the same this year. One of the team's leaders, Ailton, left, but the club brought in K.Kuraniy to replace him, strengthened with a few other players like F.Ernst, and helped the "Schalke" club win the German league cup. In the final, the Gelsenkirchen players defeated the "Stuttgart" team. Experts predict that this year, "Schalke" will once again be Bayern's main competitor in the battle for the top spot.
Came in: Fabian Ernst, Zlatan Bajramovic, Kevin Kuranyi, Manuel Neuer, Niko Bungert, Soren Larsen, Simon Cziommer. Left: Mike Hanke, Sergio Pinto, Michael Delura, Fabian Lamotte, Volkan Ünlü, Kai Hesse, Sven Kmetsch, Niels Oude Kamphuis, Sven Vermant, Christian Petereit, Ailton.
During the summer, it was not a very successful offseason for the "Bayer" club. Several important and experienced players - R.Ponte, D.Bierofka, D.Placente, Franca - left the team, while equivalent replacements were not found, so it is expected that "Neverkusen" will probably not compete for the highest positions.
Came in: Tranquillo Barnetta, Simon Rolfes, Josip Tadic, Athirson, Ahmed Madouni, Emanuel Centurion, Timo Röttger. Left: Robson Ponte, Daniel Bierofka, Jermaine Jones, Emanuel Pogatetz, Sezer Öztürk, Diego Placente, Franca
During the summer, the "Duisburg" club did not manage to significantly strengthen its squad. It is predicted that "Duisburg" will be one of the league's underdogs and will have to fight to stay in the top league.
Came in: Tobias Willi, Kai Michalke, Mike Rietpietsch, Markus Hausweiler, Uwe Möhrle, Andre Poggenborg, Razundara Tjikuzu, Marino Biliskov, Klemen Lavric. Left: Pavel Drsek, Dietmar Hirsch, Holger Wehlage, Serjao, Miroslaw Spizak, Marco Manske, Sebastian Michalsky, Ante Sicenica, Rob Maas, Benjamin Kruse.
This is probably the most rejuvenated Bundesliga team. After barely avoiding bankruptcy last season, the club called up several very young footballers from the reserve team. "Borussia" also added forward D.Buckley. Several important players - N.Jensenas, Ewerthonas, A.Madouni - left the club, so it is expected that the Dortmund team will once again be a mid-table team this season.
Came in: Phillip Degen, Delron Buckley, Ebi Smolarek, Bernd Meyer, Dennis Gentenaar, Nuri Sahin, Uwe Hünemeier, Marc Heitmeier. Left: Ewerthon, Guy Demel, Otto Addo, Guillaume Warmuz, Andre Bergdölmo, Evanilson, Sunday Oliseh, Malte Metzelder, Thiago, Juan Ramon Fernandez, Ahmed Madouni, Niclas Jensen
"Kaiserslautern" did not undergo any significant changes in the club. The club leaders managed to retain the core team members, so it is expected that "Kaiserslautern" will be a serious competitor for all clubs and will fight for a place in the top ten.
Came in: Ervin Skela, Alex Bellinghausen, Torsten Reuter, Damm, Daniel, Marcello Pletsch. Left: Stefan Malz, Tim Wiese, Dimitrios Grammozis, Bill Tschato, Hany Ramzy, Selim Teber, Patrick Wittich, Mika Nurmela, Jürgen Gjasula.
After a fairly successful first season in the top league, the club underwent many changes. The team bid farewell to as many as 14 footballers - D. Buckley, defender Patrick Owomoyela, and others. The club managed to attract T. Rau from the "Bayern" team, signed an African player S.Zuma, but these were perhaps the only significant acquisitions for the club. It is predicted that the Bielefield team will be one of the league's underperformers this season.
Came in: Tobias Rau, Bernd Korzynietz, Sibusiso Zuma, David Kobylik, Christian Schwegler, Nebojsa Krupnikovic, Heiko Westermann, Pascal Formann, Heine Backhaus. Left: Delron Buckley, Patrick Owomoyela, Matthias Langkamp, Ervin Skela, Benjamin Lense, Bernd Rauw, Claudiu Raducanu, Ronny Kockel, Thomasz Wisio, Klodian Duro, Henning Grieneisen, Finn Holsing, Phillip Heithölter, Daniel Bogusz.
Another Bundesliga newcomer. Although the club added a few players during the summer, experts say that with this lineup, it will be extremely difficult for the club to stay in the top league.
Came in: Benjamin Huggel, Marko Rehmer, Jermaine Jones, Christoph Preuß, Francisco Copado, Christoph Spycher, Dominik Stroh-Engel, Mounir Chaftar, Ioannis Amanatidis. Left: Torben Hoffmann, Markus Beierle, Jens Keller, Mehmet Dragusha.
During the summer break, the Mönchengladbach team managed to attract experienced defender T. Helveg, signed defender K. Bogelund from "PSV." It is believed that the new players should strengthen the team and help them fight for a mid-table position.
Came in: Enrico Gaede, José Antonio dos Santos, Enrico Gaede, Kasper Bögelund, Niels Oude Kamphuis, Thomas Helveg. Left: Bernd Korzynietz, Nico van Kerckhoven, Markus Hausweiler, Daniel Felgenhauer, Igor Demo, Craig Moore, Steffen Korell, Max Eberl, Enrico Gaede, Joris van Houdt, Marcelo Pletsch.
Last season's third-place winners did not hesitate this summer and added several new players - T.Frings returned to the team, striker M.Zidane was signed for 3 million euros, defender P.Owomoyela was acquired for 2 million from the "Arminia" club. The team also saw departures, as G.Nery, F.Ernst, L.Magninas, K.Lisztes, V.Ismael left the squad. However, according to experts, the "Werder" club could be one of Bayern's main competitors.
Came in: Jelle van Damme, Tim Wiese, Jurica Vranjes, Patrick Owomoyela, Leon Andreasen, Francis Banecki, Torsten Frings, Mohamed Zidan, Kasper Jensen, Pekka Lagerblom, Naldo. Left: Gustavo Nery, Paul Stalteri, Fabian Ernst, Ludovic Magnin, Alexander Walke, Krisztian Lisztes, Valerien Ismael, Pascal Borel.
After a year's break, the "Koln" club has returned to the top German football league and hopes not to be relegated to the second Bundesliga this time. The team was strengthened with young defender M.Matip, former "Bochum" striker P.Madsen, and Hungarian forward I.Szabics from "Stuttgart." However, these are not the players with whom the "Koln" club could compete for higher positions. Despite having better chances than the other two Bundesliga newcomers, the "Koln" team will have to fight hard to stay in the league.
Came in: Imre Szabics, Dimitrios Grammozis, Marvin Matip, Patrick Helmes, Björn Schlicke, Peter Madsen, Anthony Lurling, Alpay. Left: Giovanni Federico, Michael Niedrig, Timo Achenbach, Thomas Bröker, Marius Ebbers, Vassilios Tsiartas, Bilica, Alexander Voigt.
The club, which had a very turbulent season last year, had a fairly successful summer. The club sold striker M.Petrov for 10 million euros, the most expensive player ever sold by the club. With the proceeds, the team acquired several decent players - striker M.Hanke, defender M.Langkamp, and Belgian P.Van der Heyden. However, it is predicted that the "Wolfsburg" club, which no longer has one of its leaders T.Brdaričius, will continue to be a mid-table team in the Bundesliga.
Came in: Peter van der Heyden, Matthias Langkamp, Cedrick Makiadi, Mike Hanke, Levan Tskitishvili. Left: Thomas Brdaric, Tomislav Maric, Roy Präger, Marino Biliskov, Thomas Rytter, Martin Petrov.
This summer, the "Hamburger" club unexpectedly managed to attract Dutch talent R.Van Der Vaart. The city's club paid more than 5 million euros for the midfielder from the "Ajax" team. The club also signed defender T.Atouba from "Tottenham." The determined "Hamburger" club is predicted to finish in the top ten.
Came in: Guy Demel, Rafael van der Vaart, Daniel Ziebig, Markus Karl, Timothee Atouba. Left: Jean Carlos Donde, Almami Moreira, Björn Schlicke, Martin Pieckenhagen, Bernardo Romeo, Leonhard Haas, Alexander Meier, Vyacheslav Hleb, Christian Ledesma
During the offseason, the club said goodbye to two very experienced forwards - F.Bobičius and G.Reina. They should be replaced by E.Cairo and S.Okoronkwo. Goalkeeper K.Stuhr Ellegaard also joined the team, but overall, it was a relatively quiet summer for the Berlin team. Experts predict a place in the top five for the "Hertha" club.
Came in: Ellery Cairo, Solomon Ndubisi Okoronkwo, Kevin Stuhr-Ellegaard, Aleksandar Mladenov. Left: Marko Rehmer, Fredi Bobic, Giuseppe Reina, Ilhan Mansiz, Dennis Cagara.
The club, which had a tragic end to last season, lost two of its leaders during the summer transfers - K.Kuranyi was sold to the "Schalke" club for 7 million euros, while defender A.Hlebas joined the ranks of the English Vice-Champions, the "Arsenal" club, for 15 million euros, and P.Lahmas returned to "Bayern." The "Stuttgart" team quickly found replacements for the departing players and acquired defender L.Magnin, midfielders J.Gronkjaer, D.Bierofka, T.Hitzlsperger, and striker J.D.Tomasson.
Came in: Jon Dahl Tomasson, Thomas Hitzlsperger, Ludovic Magnin, Daniel Bierofka, Jesper Gronkjaer, Tobias Rathgeb. Left: Alex Hleb, Imre Szabics, Jurica Vranjes, Phillip Lahm, Ivan Stojanov, Kevin Kuranyi, Diego Benaglio, Hakan Yakin.
With a not very large budget, the team was not very active during the transfer window. Perhaps the only significant buy was defender J. Polak. The "Nürnberg" team probably will be one of the championship's underdogs and will have to fight to remain in the league.
Came in: Jan Polak, Ivan Saenko, Benjamin Lense, Horacio Javier Pinola, Jawhar Mnari, Adel Chedli. Left: Dirk Langerbein, Pekka Lagerblom, Lawrence Aidoo, Leandro Silva, Tommy Svindal Larsen, Marcel Ketelaer, Tomasz Hajto.
During the offseason, the "Hannover" club underwent many changes. As many as 13 players left the team, but the club quickly found replacements for them. The team was bolstered by striker T.Brdaričius, unconfirmed at Bayern V.Hashemian, and others. Experts still expect stable play from the "Hannover" club and promise them a place in the middle of the table.
Came in: Thomas Brdaric, Vahid Hashemian, Hanno Balitsch, Michael Delura, Ricardo Sousa, Mohammad Idrissou, Chavdar Yankov. Left: Julian de Guzman, Nebojsa Krupnikovic, Leandro, Tranquillo Barnetta, Dame Diouf, Danijel Stefulj, Jiri Kaufmann, Thomas Schneider, Vladimir But, Roman Wallner, Denis Wolf, Veljko Paunovic, Gürman Agac.
