Speaking of the Bundesliga, the first division of the German European league, the Japanese players currently playing there and soccer fans are probably very familiar with it. The Bundesliga is counted among the world’s top leagues and is considered a very high-level league, so why are Japanese players able to succeed there? We are exploring the reasons why.
What is Bundesliga?
The Bundesliga is a German professional soccer league founded in 1963. Germany is known for having much stricter restrictions than other soccer leagues. In order to belong to the Bundesliga, there is a rule that states that a team cannot participate in the league unless it meets the requirements of obtaining the Bundesliga license from the German Football Federation, which is said to be the strictest in Europe. As a result, debts are not allowed and you cannot belong to a professional league unless you manage your business in a sound manner. Therefore, we cannot make reckless investments like we do in England.
Tournament format
The Bundesliga season is held from August to May. Club teams will play two round-robin games and the team with the most points will be the winner. The winning club will receive a trophy, and the winning club, runners-up club, and third-place club will qualify for the UEFA Champions League. Additionally, the bottom two clubs in the final standings of the season will be automatically relegated to the second division. The club in 16th place in the final standings will play off against the club in 3rd place in the second division.
What is DFB Pokal?
In addition to regular league matches, Germany also hosts the DFB Pokal. This is a cup competition and the winning club will qualify for the UEFA Europa League. Each round will be a knockout tournament, and if the match is not decided after 90 minutes, there will be 15 minutes of extra time in each half, and if the match is not decided in the overtime, it will be a penalty shootout. Amateur clubs are also eligible to participate.
What is DFL Super Cup?
The DFL Super Cup is a German Super Cup match. Before the start of the season, the league champion and DFB Pokal champion will battle it out. The club with the most wins in the competition is Bayern, which boasts an overwhelming number of wins. We are sometimes introduced as a special feature in breaking news overseas. However, there is not much demand for sports information, and there are few official interviews, and teams from the first division such as Freiburg, Stuttgart, Borussia MG, and Bochum often appear, but the impression is that they are rather dull. This is a tournament that is rarely uploaded or posted on social media.
German powerhouse club
Bayern is the only strong club in the Bundesliga. This is because in the Bundesliga, leading players are always snatched away by Bayern, and a situation has been created in which only Bayern is always strengthened. The current situation in the Bundesliga is that it is all about which team will stop Bayern. However, Bayern always wins the championship, and the league is not showing any good signs. We have seen this in the European Cup as well.
can’t win the champions league
Looking at how they compete in the UEFA Champions League, Bayern is the only team that can compete properly against other leagues. Since Bayern is the only team that is getting stronger, teams other than Bayern are unable to maintain their strength, making it difficult for them to win on the European stage. The Bundesliga is doing well in the Europa League, but they are struggling in the Champions League, where the top teams play.
Bayern also lose players
Bayern, an all-star team in the Bundesliga, also frequently loses players to Real Madrid and Barcelona. Even with Bayern, they have no domestic opponents, so from a player’s perspective, they don’t have much of a chance. Therefore, being in a top league tends to create a negative chain reaction.
There are also talented mid-sized clubs.
There are also some strong mid-tier teams in the Bundesliga. Mid-tier teams such as Hannover, Schalke, Cologne, and Frankfurt are quite strong and have the ability to win in the EL. In the past, there are teams that have won EL championships and achieved results, so they are highly rated. Players can aim to step up by challenging themselves in this league. They are currently in 4th place in the UEFA rankings. There are many skilled players and they are often featured in the news.
Why are there so many Japanese players in the Bundesliga?
Getting back to the main topic, don’t you think there are a lot of Japanese players who are active in the Bundesliga? Why are there so many Japanese players in the Bundesliga? We have looked into this. Many Japanese players have been transferred to the Bundesliga and are playing today, including notable and talented players who are important Olympic candidates, Daichi Kamada, Hiroki Ito, Ko Itakura, Takuma Asano, Genki Haraguchi, Wataru Endo, Masaya Okugawa, and Ritsu Doan. Fans are also thrilled that they sometimes belong to teams such as Bayern Munich. Legends from the Netherlands and La Liga are also active.
Influence of Germans in the J League
The J League originally had top-level German players playing in it. Specifically, Littbarski, who played for Jeff Ichihara, and Buchwald, who played for the Urawa Reds, are typical examples of this. In one sense, Germans who were familiar with Japan supported him when he moved to Europe. For example, when Urawa was coached by Buchwald, there was Makoto Hasebe. Buchwald must have been a big factor in Hasebe’s decision to transfer to Wolfsburg, even though there were no Japanese in Germany at the time.
Can be resold
This is a matter of money, but there was a time when Bundesliga clubs bought Japanese players at low prices, thinking that if they could perform even a little, they could sell them to the Premier League or La Liga for a high price during the World Cup. Since the 2010s, when it became clear that Japanese players would be a force to be reckoned with, there have been many clubs actively buying them, even if they were unknown. Club management is also a business, so there is a side to it that wants to make money by buying and selling Japanese players.
The J League level and the Bundesliga level are similar.
A German club official said that if the J1 League level was compared to the Bundesliga, it would be equivalent to the second division. German scouts believed that if he had the same level of tactics, technique, and speed as he did in the J1 League, he would be able to perform well in the Bundesliga as well. In fact, many of the Japanese players who played in the Bundesliga played a core role in the J.League. The Bundesliga is ranked 4th in Europe’s UEFA rankings, and although it is inferior to Spain’s La Liga, England’s Premier League, and Italy’s Serie A, it is the perfect league to step up to.
Impact of foreign quota
There is also an impact on the number of foreigners. In the case of the Premier League, visa issues are very big, and there are many cases where players cannot transfer in the first place unless they have experience with the national team, but in the Bundestag there are no such troublesome restrictions. Therefore, the fact is that the Bundesliga is very convenient for Japanese people who are transferring as foreigners. Nowadays, if I am at the level of the Japanese national team that is participating in international matches, I am quite capable of playing at that level, so I am able to participate and even score goals. .
There are fluctuations in strength except for Bayern.
As explained above, Bayern is the top team in the Bundesliga. With Bayern buying up all the promising players, other clubs are always at risk of losing their key players. Since there is always a risk of fluctuations in strength (decreased strength), there is one aspect of the team that is eyeing Japanese players who can be acquired at low prices. They are calculating that by acquiring Japanese players, they can fill in the gaps even if existing players drop out.
Influence of Shinji Kagawa
Shinji Kagawa, who was the hot topic of being invited to the Bundestag by Mislintat, hit the jackpot with Dortmund. It can be said that Kagawa was the biggest reason why German clubs were able to actively acquire Japanese players. Before Kagawa, players such as Hasebe and Okudera had played in Germany. However, there is no doubt that Kagawa’s impact back then had a huge impact on the world soccer market. Due to this success, German clubs became more active in acquiring Japanese players.
Let’s watch Bundesliga
The Bundesliga is one of the top leagues in the world. Therefore, there are many services that broadcast the Bundesliga, so even if you are a beginner, please enjoy this season’s live broadcasts and commentary nationwide. There are an increasing number of distribution services that subscribe to the Bundesliga, so get an account.
| Channel | Plan | Soccer Contents | URL |
| DAZN | 3750 | national team major europe leagues J league | DAZN |
| Hulu | ¥1026 | french league dutch league | Hulu |
| WOWOW | 2530 | UEFA Champions League UEFA Europa League | WOWOW |
| ABEMA TV | ¥960 | national team World Cup Premier League scottish league | ABEMA |
| スカパー | ¥429 + ¥2480 | national team emperor’s cup soccer Bundesliga laliga | スカパー！ |
| J SPORTS | 1100 | fifa world youth | J SPORTS |
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