体坛英语新闻：News Analysis: Bundesliga v.s. Premier League

BERLIN, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- When the German champions Bayern Munich opens the new 2015/2016 season with the curtain raiser against Hamburg SV this Friday evening, fundamental thoughts are going through the minds of the Bundesliga clubs.

One is the anxiety about the league's competitiveness and the fear of being overwhelmed by the English Premier League. The other decisive question in fans' minds is: What will happen in the Pep Guardiola and Bayern Munich saga?

Some Bundesliga clubs fear being left behind after England's top league signed a gigantic TV deal worth up to seven billion euros for three years. In comparison, the Bundesliga earns around 2.5 billion euros in four years.

"We have to be very careful the Premier League does not start a sell-out in the Bundesliga," said Bayern Munich's CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.

Klaus Allofs, the general manager of the 2015 German Cup winners and league runners-up VfL Wolfsburg said: "The Bundesliga has to make sure it increases its income. Otherwise we will be forced to sell our best players."

Already 68 per cent of the Premier League players come from abroad. The figure for the Bundesliga is 48 per cent. English clubs invested 755 million euros before the start of the new season and received 474 million euros from selling players. Bundesliga clubs spent 294 million euros and sold players for 268 million.

While Rummenigge and Allofs - along with other German top clubs like Bayer Leverkusen, Borussia Moenchengladbach, Borussia Dortmund and Schalke 04 - are venting their concerns, other German managers see a chance for the German Bundesliga.

"To gain as much money as we can from England," a view expressed by FSV Mainz 05 general manager Christian Heidel.

But even general managers of smaller clubs like Bruno Huebner of Eintracht Frankfurt see in the English Premier League, "a powerful financial threat" that will challenge the Bundesliga.

Huebner and others are urging the Bundesliga to sharpen its image as a league where young talents have a real chance to make it into professional football.

After Bastian Schweinsteiger left Bayern Munich for Manchester United, Wolfsburg is complaining about offers Manchester City is assumingly making for its striker Kevin de Bruyne, who of course also on Bayern Munich's list.

The Bavarian club seems to be the only German club so far that has the power to follow English clubs. Lesser clubs are dumbfounded that a comparatively small English club like Stoke City is able to pay around ten million euros for former Mainz striker Shinji Okazaki or 25 million for FC Augsburg defender Baba as Chelsea is obviously willing to do.

Wolfsburg's general manager Allofs is upset about the behavior and speaks about Man City luring Bruyne with fantastic and unrealistic offers.

For former German national keeper Oliver Kahn things are clear: "The Premier League will be the most attractive league if you look at football as a global sport, due to its financial clout. Fans around the world prefer a league with superstars."

While Bayern Munich could set a new German record by winning the German title the fourth time in succession, fans are talking about the future of 44-year old Spanish coach Pep Guardiola who is expected to leave the Bundesliga and Bayern at the end of the season for the Premier League.

Former Dortmund coach Juergen Klopp is, according to rumors, a candidate to follow Guardiola as Bayern coach. A more realistic choice seems to be a coach like Swiss-born Lucien Favre (Borussia Moenchengladbach).

Until now Guardiola - after some differences of opinion with Bayern's bosses like Rummenigge and Matthias Sammer - refused to speak about his future and has said it will happen in a few months.

But the adventure of Guardiola in Germany could soon be over if the Spaniard does not succeed in the Champions League. Meaning: Guardiola has to close the gap to Spanish giants like FC Barcelona and Real Madrid.

In the last duels Bayern had no realistic chance of beating them. Now Bayern's new signings Douglas Costa (30 million) and Arturo Vidal (37 million) seem to be Guardiola's last chance to turn around things.

Besides Guardiola other new coaches are attracting the fans' attention in the Bundesliga. For example, Thomas Tuchel, who is regarded as one of the most inspiring German coaches, has taken over from Jurgen Klopp in Dortmund and is planning to return Dortmund to the international fold.

Andre Breitenreiter is starting his big personal adventure, as the former coach of relegated SC Paderborn has taken charge at FC Schalke 04, the club which is desperate to grab a Champions League position at the end of the season.

Former German international Dirk Schuster faces his first Bundesliga season as a coach after guiding Darmstadt 98 from the third division to Germany's top league within two years.

And Dieter Hecking of Wolfsburg has to face the challenge of two major competitions - in addition to wanting to be competing for the league title; the club will be looking to prove themselves in the Champions League too.