The new Bundesliga season begins in a week’s time, and the big question remains what it’s been for most of this decade- is anybody capable of stopping the Bayern Munich juggernaut?
The Bavarian giants won their 26th Bundesliga title in 2016/17, thus becoming the first German side to win five domestic titles in a row. While the rest of the spots for the Champions League and Europa League were tightly contested, Bayern won the title at a canter- they finished a good 15 points ahead of surprise packages Leipzig, who managed to get an automatic spot in the Champions League in their first season after promotion. Traditional rivals Dortmund had to settle for third. Unfancied Hoffenheim finished 4th and they will have a playoff against Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool to decide whether there will be four German sides in the group stages of the Champions League this season or just the three.
Only five points separated 2nd place Leipzig from 4th placed Dortmund, and the gap between 5th place FC Koln and 10th place Schalke was just six points.
There will be some major kit changes in the Bundesliga for 2018/19, with Schalke leaving Adidas for Umbro, Borussia Monchengladbach parting ways with Kappa and joining hands with Puma and Koln expected to ink a deal with Uhlsport, but here is a look at the clubs and their kit makers for 17/18.
The new entrants for the 2017/18 season are Stuttgart and Hannover, with Darmstadt and Ingolstadt dropping down after the 16/17 season. Wolfsburg also stayed in the top flight after winning their promotion-relegation playoff against Eintracht Braunschweig. The league will become the first major one in Europe to use VAR technology this season.
Club Name | Kit partner 17/18 | Kit partner in 16/17 |
---|---|---|
Augsburg | Nike | Nike |
Hertha Berlin | Nike | Nike |
Werder Bremen | Nike | Nike |
Borussia Dortmund | Puma | Puma |
Eintracht Frankfurt | Nike | Nike |
Freiburg | Hummel | Hummel |
Hamburg | Adidas | Adidas |
Hannover 96 | Jako | Jako |
Hoffenheim | Lotto | Lotto |
Leipzig | Nike | Nike |
Bayer Leverkusen | Jako | Jako |
FC Koln | Erima | Erima |
Mainz | Lotto | Lotto |
Borussia Monchengladbach | Kappa | Kappa |
Bayern | Adidas | Adidas |
Schalke | Adidas | Adidas |
Stuttgart | Puma | Puma |
Wolfsburg | Nike | Nike |
As you can see, it’s pretty much status quo in the Bundesliga for 2017/18. Most of the principal shirt sponsors also remain the same- the only major change is at Eintracht Frankfurt, where job search engine Indeed.com replace Krombacher Brauerei.
Should we then expect Bayern to make it six in a row? The Bavarians have had a shaky pre-season- losing to Arsenal, AC Milan and Inter in the Champions Cup and finishing last in the Audi Cup, ending up on the wrong side of 3-0 and 2-0 scorelines against Liverpool and Napoli respectively. But everyone expects Carlo Ancelotti’s side to regain their swagger once the regular season begins- they’re 1/7 in Bundesliga betting at bet365 to defend their title, despite losing stalwarts like Philipp Lahm and Xabi Alonso to retirement.
The Bundesliga will also allow teams to individually sell sleeve sponsorships from 2017/18 (previously the slot was centrally sold by the DFL, with logistics firm Hermes being the sponsor for 2016/17). The Premier League has also allowed teams to sell sponsorship slots on the sleeve beginning 2017/18.
Hoffenheim were the first to ink such a deal after signing a two year contract with direct selling group ProWin.
Here are some top flight Bundesliga clubs and their new sleeve sponsors. Not all clubs have a sleeve sponsor, but here are the ones who have inked deals as on date.
Club | Sleeve Sponsor |
---|---|
Borussia Dortmund | Opel |
TSG 1899 Hoffenheim | ProWin |
Werder Bremen | H-Hotels |
Eintracht Frankfurt | Deutsche Borse Group |
Hannover 96 | HDI |
Hertha Berlin | TedI |
Borussia Monchengladbach | H-Hotels |
RB Leipzig | CG Gruppe |
VFB Stuttgart | GAZI |
Schalke | AllyouneedFresh |