Bundesliga Preview: 2009-2010 Season

VfL Wolfsburg: Watch and learn! FC Bayern Munchen are back! While BVB and Gladbach gradually try to turn back the years, Bayern have woken up.

Wolfsburg for the first time in their history will be taking part in Europe's elite club competition, the Champions League. Last season, they were knocked out in the early stages of the UEFA Cup and in the quarter finals of the DFB Pokal (German Cup).

PSG and Werder proved to be too much for the Wolves. They were thrashed heavily by both opponents.

They have added depth to their squad though with the likes of Obafemi Martins, Thomas Kahlenburg and Karim Ziani. The club have also managed to hold onto Edin Dzeko, Grafitem and Zvejdan Misimovic.

Stats 2008-09: VfL Wolfsburg

Position in the Bundesliga: 1

DFB Pokal: Quarter finalists (lost 5-2 to Werder)

UEFA Cup: Round of 32 (eliminated by PSG, 5-1)

Best Players: Edin Dzeko, Zvejdan Misimovic and Grafite.

Stuttgart may have lost Mario Gomez. They surprisingly already have lined up quite an able replacement in Pavel Pogrebynak. They have also brought in Aliaksandr Hleb on loan from Barcelona. They seem well positioned to do well in three competitions.

Stats 2008-09: VfB Stuttgart

Position in the Bundesliga: 3

DFB Pokal: Round of 16 (beaten 5-1 by Bayern)

UEFA Cup: Round of 32 (eliminated by Zenit, 4-2)

Best Players: Sami Khedira, Serdar Tasci and Thomas Hitzlsperger.

Dieter Hoeness left Hertha Berlin after 13 years of service. Hertha under Lucien Favre have lost Marko Pantelic, Josip Simunic and Andriy Voronin. The future looks bleak for Hertha. They do not have the depth in their squad to take part in three competitions. However, Artur Wichniarek might be able to make a difference this time, in his second spell with Berlin

Stats 2008-2009: Hertha Berlin Sporting Club

Position in the Bundesliga: 4

DFB Pokal: Round of 32 (lost after extra time, 2-1 to Dortmund)

UEFA Cup: Group Stage Exit

Best Players: None. Hertha is all about being a team.

Hamburg were in the running for three trophies in the last few weeks only to lose out all three at the end. Under Bruno Labbadia, they have already claimed the T-Home Cup. To add salt to Hamburg's wounds, it was their biggest rivals Werder who virtually ended their run in all competitions.

Stats 2008-09: Hamburger SV

Position in the Bundesliga: 5

DFB Pokal: Semi-finalists (beaten by Werder, 4-2 on penalties)

UEFA Cup: Semi finalists (eliminated on the away goals rule, 3-3 against Werder)

Best Players: Piotr Trochowski, Ze Roberto, Marcell Jansen, David Jarolim

Borussia Dortmund would love a return to European competition. They may not be the same side as 1997, but they are gradually turning back the years. Coach Jurgen Klopp has brought in Lucas Barrois and Dimitar Rangelov. They however missed out on European Competition and it remains to be seen how they will cope without Alex Frei.

Stats 2008-09 Borussia Dortmund

Position in the Bundesliga:6

DFB Pokal: Round of 16 (eliminated by Werder, 2-1)

Best Players: Tamas Hajnal, Jakub Blaszczykowski, Mats Hummels.

Hoff, Hoff, Hoff, Hoffenheim! From mouth-watering matches to Vedad Ibisevic they have everything! They have managed to hold onto their stars including Demba Ba. They narrowly missed out on Europe in their first season in the top flight and could make it this season.

Stats 2008-09: TSG 1899 Hoffenheim

Position in the Bundesliga:7

DFB Pokal: Round of 32 (eliminated by SC Freiburg, 3-1)

Best Players: Vedad Ibisevic, Sejad Salihovic, Andreas Beck

Schalke, now under Felix Magath, might just be filled with a new desire to win. They seemed to lack desire last season. With Fred Rutten and Orlando Engelaar gone, Schalke fans can hope this season, or maybe we might see the same Schalke again.

Stats 2008-09: FC Schalke 04

Position in the Bundesliga:8

DFB Pokal: Quarter finalists (eliminated by Mainz 05, 1-0)

UEFA Cup: Group Stage Exit

Best Players: Manuel Neuer, Jermaine Jones and Benedikt Howedes

Bayer Leverkusen's players have a lot of medals; unfortunately, their trophy cabinet is still pretty empty. They have already lost Patrick Helmes to injury. Yet, their can be renewed hope for silverware especially as the team is now under the experienced Jupp Heynckes. This could be Bayer's breakthrough season, who knows?

Stats 2008-09: TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen

Position in the Bundesliga: 9

DFB Pokal: Finalists (lost 1-0 to Werder)

Best Players: Simon Rolfes, Patrick Helmes, Renato Augusto, Gonzalo Castro

Diego has left Werder Bremen but Marko Marin has arrived. Marcelo Moreno arrived from Shaktar on loan and will add more attacking options. Claudio Pizarro has returned to Chelsea. A lot of Werder's season will depend on Mesut Ozil's form.

Due to Frank Baumann's retirement, Torsten Frings will take over as captain. Tim Borowski has returned to the club from Bayern. Werder already have the Super Cup to their name this season. They beat Wolfsburg 2-1. They will be looking to do better in the Bundesliga and return to the Champions League.

Stats 2008-2009: SV Werder Bremen

Position in the Bundesliga:10

DFB Pokal: Winners

UEFA Cup: Finalists (lost to Shakhtar , 2-1 after extra time)

Best Players: Ozil, Frings, Borowski, Sebastian Boenisch.

The prodigal son, "Prinz Poldi" Lukas Podolski has returned to Koln. Maniche has signed as well. The squad is experienced and is slowly improving. They will be looking to get into the top 10 of the Bundesliga this season.

Stats 2008-2009: 1.FC Koln

Position in the Bundesliga:11

DFB Pokal: Round of 32 (eliminated by Mainz, 3-1)

Best Players: Milivoje Novakovic, Pedro Geromel, Petit.

Dieter Hecking has the backing of the Hannover board. However it remains to be seen how the worst defence of the Bundesliga in the 2008-09 season performs this season. They will be grateful to have Robert Enke still playing for them. Karim Haggui has been signed from Bayer.

Stats 2008-2009: Hanover 96

Position in the Bundesliga:12

DFB Pokal: Round of 32 (eliminated by Schalke, 2-0)

Best Players: Enke, Arnold Bruggink, Hanno Balitsch, Jan Schlaudraff.

I personally find Frankfurt quite uninteresting. Michael Skibbe has taken over at the club. The squad has been bolstered by the arrivals of Maik Franz from relegated Karlsruhe, Ralf Fahrmann from Schalke, Pirmin Schwegler from Bayer and Selim Teber from Hoffenheim. They already have good players like Caio, Martin Fenin, Nikos Liberopoulos and Amantidis.

Stats 2008-2009: Eintracht Frankfurt

Position in the Bundesliga:13

DFB Pokal: Round of 32 (beaten 2-1 by Hansa Rostock after extra time)

Best Players: Fenin, Liberopoulos, Amantidis

VfL Bochum are relegation battlers almost every season. This season they may not be able to save themselves from the drop.

Stats 2008-2009: VfL Bochum

Position in the Bundesliga:14

DFB Pokal: Round of 32 (eliminated by Hamburg, 2-0)

Best Players: Diego Klimowicz, Paul Frier, Vahid Hashemian, Joel Epalle, Stanislav Sestak.

The 1970s seem a million years away for Gladbach. They flirted with relegation the entire 2008-09 season and on the final matchday, saved themselves with a 1-1 draw against Schalke. They have signed the likes of Juan Arango, Roman Neustadter and Raul Bobadilla in order to replace Marko Marin, Alex Baumjohann and Tomas Galasek. Any team who beats Hamburg 4-1 and Werder 3-2 definitely cannot be considered poor.

Stats 2008-2009: Borussia Monchengladbach

Position in the Bundesliga:15

DFB Pokal: Round of 32 (eliminated by Cottbus, 3-0)

Best Players: Michael Bradley, Rob Friend, Logan Baily, Filip Daems.

FC Nuremberg are back after two seasons away. Two seasons ago, they were playing in Europe and were considered to be the best defence in the Bundesliga. Now, they are back to stave off relegation.

Stats 2008-2009: 1.FC Nuremberg

Position in the 2.Bundesliga- 3 (beat Cottbus in the play-offs)

DFB Pokal: Round of 32 (eliminated by Bayern, 2-0)

Best Players: Marek Mintal, Angelos Charisteas, Javier Pinola.

The DFB Cup semifinalists, Mainz 05 who beat Schalke enroute are back after two seasons away as well. They have bolstered their squad with bringing in Eugen Polanski on loan from Getafe as well as Andreas Ivanschitz from Panathinaikos but they have lost Neustadter to Gladbach.

Stats 2008-2009: Mainz 05

Position in the 2 Bundesliga: 2

DFB Pokal: Semifinalists (lost 4-1 to Bayer after extra time)

Best Players: Aristide Bance

SC Freiburg, the second division champions return to the top flight after a four-year period. I personally do not think that they will be able to avoid the drop.

Stats 2008-2009: SC Freiburg

Position in the 2 Bundesliga:1

DFB Pokal: Round of 16 (eliminated by Mainz, 3-1)

Finally, Bayern will definitely be taking the Bundesliga seriously this season. They have bolstered their squad with the likes of Mario Gomez, Daniel Pranjic, Edson Brafheid, Alex Baumjohann and Anatoliy Tymoschuk.

Stats 2008-2009: FC Bayern Munchen

Position in the Bundesliga: 2

DFB Pokal: Quarter finalists (eliminated by Bayer, 4-2)

UEFA Champions League: Quarter finalists (eliminated by Barcelona, 5-1)

Best Players: Philipp Lahm, Hamit Altintop, Franck Ribery, Miroslav Klose.

I think Hamburg will win the Bundesliga this season. Bayern will come second while Wolfsburg, Werder and Dortmund will complete the top five. The season kicks off on the seventh of August. I reckon Stuttgart will beat Wolfsburg 4-1 in the opening day fixture, but then again, it’s more out of hope than expectation!