The+German+Bundesliga



**__Overview: __ ** The Bundesliga is the football (soccer) league of Germany. They are not the German national team and do not compete in major events such as the olympics. No single team in the Bundesliga was involved in the olympics like the 1972 Munich Olympics , but individual players from the Bundesliga teams make up the German National team.

  __**History:**__ Football (soccer) is one of the most popular sports   in the world, and is very popular in the European countries like Germany. Before the Bundesliga was formed, the German teams were organized by region. This proved to be a problem because some of the smaller regions did not even have strong enough teams to be a challenge to the bigger regions. The Bundesliga was formed during the 20th century  in 1963, after WWII  and the Cold War, in part to try and increase the competitive nature of the German teams, <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">but most importantly to join the East German league and the West German league. During the Cold War Germany was divided and so was their soccer league. The eastern half of Germany had their own league called the 'Oberliga', and their two best teams were located in Dresden and Berlin. The western half of Germany also had their own league and was structured much like the Bundesliga is today except for not every reigon has to have a team. Some smaller regions may send their good players to a region nearby. O riginally when the Bundesliga was formed, there were only 16 teams, but two years later in 1965 two mo re teams were allowed into the league.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">**<span style="font-size: 140%; color: rgb(252, 44, 44); font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">__Impact of the Bundesliga:__ ** Not only did the Bundesliga impact all of German football and the German people, but it also impacted International soccer for no German team had won the Euro cup before the <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">Bundesliga was formed. In 1966, only three years after the Bundesliga was formed, The <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">Borussia Dortmund team won, and only a year after that the <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">Bayern München Team also won the cup. the Bundesliga impacted the people because before while there had been soccer teams they had never been as organized, and therefore were harder to follow, and the players were more   amateur than they are today (they were far from professional), therefore the people were less likely to pay attention to the teams   <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">When this league came along fans became more devout and it became a much bigger form of entertainment during the hard times of the cold war. Today the Bundesliga is engraved into the German people 's lives. There is a fixed time, 3:30, every Saturday in which there is a Bundesliga game, and millions of German fans go to the stadium, listen to the broadcast on the radio, or watch the game of their favorite team.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">**<span style="font-size: 120%; color: rgb(250, 46, 46); font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">__ Teams: __ **    There are 18 (men's) teams in the Bundesliga:          <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive"> <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; text-align: center">Hansa Rostok     <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">     Hamburger SV               <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">     Werder Bremen <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">                <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">     Hertha BSC Berlin               <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">     VfL Wolfsburg             <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">     Hannover 96           <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">     DSC Arminia Bielefeld           <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">     FC Energie Cottbus           <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">     BV Borussia Dortmond            <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">    FC Schalke 04            <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">     VfL Bochum             <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">     MSV Duisburg             <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">     Bayer 04 Leverkusen             <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">     Eintrachct Frankfurt             <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">     FC Nuremburg             <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">     Karlsruher SC            <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">     VfB Stuttgart          <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">       <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; text-align: center">Bayern München <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">To see the teams of the Budesliga for the 2007/2008 season and where they are in Germany click here: http://www.tankedup-imaging.com/css_dev/bundesliga.html <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive"> <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">Some of the most famous teams of the Bundesliga are <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">Bayern  <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">München, Hamburger SV, Hertha Berlin, and Hannover 96. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive"> <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">In the 2007/2008 season the top three teams were Bayern  München (<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">[|http://www.fcbayern.t-com.de/en/news/news/index.php?fcb_sid=a4dcf5fc6817d1a68e8349168bde27a7)], <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">Werder Bremen ( <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">[|http://www.werder.de/english/news/news.php)] <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">, and FC Schalke ( <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">[|http://www.schalke04.de/home_english.html).] <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive"> Bayern  <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">München has dominated the Bundesliga since their first Bundesliga cup win in 1966, they have won seven out of the past ten Bundesliga Cups including the most recent one in 2008.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">**<span style="font-size: 140%; color: rgb(253, 43, 43); font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">__Famous Players:__ ** The most famous players from the different Bundesliga teams today are probably those who make up the German National team. Here is their roster: (only those from a Bundesliga team are listed, for the full roster go here <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">[|http://www.dfb.de/index.php?id=137)]

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">**name (click to see more information about each player), Bundesliga team, position**
 * 1) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">[|Rene Adler] <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">, Bayer Leverkusen, goalie
 * 2) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">[|Robert Enke] <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">, Hannover 96, goalie
 * 3) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">[|Arne Friedrich] <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">, Hertha BSC Berlin, defense
 * 4) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">[|Clemens Fritz] <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">, Werder Bremen, defense
 * 5) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">[|Marcell Jansen] <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">, FC Bayern München, defense
 * 6) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">[|Philipp Lahm] <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">, FC Bayern München, defense
 * 7) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">[|Per Mertesacker] <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">, Werder Bremen, defense
 * 8) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">[|Heiko Westermann] <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">, FC Schalke 04, defense
 * 9) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">[|Tim Borowski] <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">, Werder Bremen, midfield
 * 10) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">[|Torsten Frings] <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">, Werder Bremen, midfield
 * 11) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">[|Thomas Hitzlsperger] <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">, VfB Stuttgart, midfield
 * 12) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">[|Jermaine Jones] <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">, FC Schalke 04, midfield
 * 13) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">[|Simon Rolfes] <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">, Bayer 04 Leverkusen, midfield
 * 14) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">[|Bastian Schweinsteiger] <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">, FC Bayern München, midfield
 * 15) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">[|Piotr Trochowski] <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">, Hamburger SV, midfield
 * 16) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">[|Mario Gomez] <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">, VfB Stuttgart, offense
 * 17) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">[|Patrick Helmes] <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">, FC Köln, offense
 * 18) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">[|Miroslav Klose] <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">, FC Bayern München, offense
 * 19) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">[|Kevin Kuranyi] <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">, FC Schalke 04, offense
 * 20) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">[|Lukas Podolski] <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">, FC Bayern München, offense

media type="youtube" key="YILAQOeZgSU&hl=en" height="355" width="425"



__**<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">Sources: **__ <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">[|http://www.the-shot.com/bundesliga-faq/history-faq/index.html</span]> <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">[|http://www.dfb.de/index.php?id=320001</span]> <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">[|http://www.bundesliga.de/en/liga/news/2007/index.php?f=91721.php</span]> <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">[|http://www.travelnotes.org/Football/European/cwcup_finals.htm</span]> <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">[|http://www.dw-world.de/image/0,,588121_1,00.jpg</span]> <span style="color: rgb(0, 128, 0)"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">forums.electronicarts.co.uk <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">[|www.soccer.com] <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">[|http://www.dfb.de/index.php?id=137</span]> <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">[|http://de.fifa.com/mm/photo/worldfootball/clubfootball/2007-09-20t170252z_01_lev10_rtridsp_3_soccer-uefa_21768_sq_medium.jpg</span]> <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">[|http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://ivannigro.com/tn_fwc033.jpg&imgrefurl=http://ivannigro.com/football_worldcup_2006.htm&h=200&w=194&sz=14&hl=en&start=50&um=1&tbnid=uhz7AHgeaslSyM:&tbnh=104&tbnw=101&prev=/images%3Fq%3DArne%2BFriedrich%26start%3D42%26ndsp%3D21%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN</span]> <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">[|http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.die-kirsche.com/upload/National11-WM-Countdown/Trochowski.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.die-kirsche.com/front_content.php%3Fidcat%3D69%26idart%3D6261&h=300&w=235&sz=28&hl=en&start=18&um=1&tbnid=tFbAPIv5hLV6JM:&tbnh=116&tbnw=91&prev=/images%3Fq%3DPiotr%2BTrochowski%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG</span]> <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">[|http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://p3.focus.de/img/gen/Q/s/HBQs8aTz_Pxgen_r_467xA.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.focus.de/sport/fussball/em2008/tschechien-spiel_did_17447.html&h=311&w=467&sz=24&hl=en&start=66&um=1&tbnid=VA48e6HzDVzF2M:&tbnh=85&tbnw=128&prev=/images%3Fq%3DClemens%2BFritz%26start%3D63%26ndsp%3D21%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN</span]> <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">[|http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.football-wallpapers.com/wallpapers3/klose_3_1280x1024.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.football-wallpapers.com/miroslav-klose-wallpaper-3/&h=1024&w=1280&sz=213&hl=en&start=3&um=1&tbnid=ejTMxuSLaog58M:&tbnh=120&tbnw=150&prev=/images%3Fq%3DMiroslav%2BKlose%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN</span]> <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">[|http://youtube.com/watch?v=YILAQOeZgSU&feature=related</span]> Back to Festivals & Sports