5 key observations from part one of the 2016/2017 Bundesliga season

Can ANYONE stop Bayern from making it an unprecedented fifth straight Bundesliga titles this May? (Photo: Eurosport)

With a six week hiatus, the Bundesliga arguably takes the longest break out of any of Europe’s “Big 5” leagues. As such, German football fans are left without football featuring their favorite stars and teams for well over a month. Hopefully, those supporters fancy a Premier League outfit, as the English top tier never stops, but in any case, there were plenty of talking points in the Bundesliga to consider as we count down the last 72 hours of 2016.

Let’s take a look at five of them.

Age really ain’t nothing but a number…especially if you’re Julian Naglesmann

Last season, Julian Naglesmann made history as the youngest ever manager to take charge of a top-flight team in the Bundesliga. No one expected much of the then 28-year-old, who managed to steer Hoffenheim to a 15th-placed finish, thus avoiding the dreaded relegation play-offs. Now in his first full season at the club, Naglesmann has managed to achieve what no other manager has achieved in not just the Bundesliga, but pretty much across all of Europe’s major leagues as well. Hoffenheim, to date, are still the only unbeaten side in the Bundesliga. And along with Real Madrid, they are the only team yet to lose a match across Europe’s “Big 5”.

The problem is, they have more draws (10) than wins (6). That means they have dropped a whopping 20 points, but still manage to sit in fifth spot. Hoffenheim, of course, have no ambitions to win the Bundesliga title, and in fact, qualifying for European football would be an impressive achievement in itself. It will be interesting to see how long this unbeaten run can last in 2017.

RB Leipzig may be younger than its players, but it certainly isn’t afraid of the big stage

Founded in 2009, RB Leipzig were in the fifth division just seven years ago. The objective was to break into the Bundesliga in eight years. They did it in seven. And Die Bullen have not just managed to survive in the top flight. They have thrived. For 13 rounds, they were actually on top of the Bundesliga. Despite losing to Bayern Munich recently, they are still a serious threat to the established Bundesliga order – especially since they have no European football to bother themselves with.

It’s likely that the so-called “upstarts” will be featuring in Europe next term. Unlike Leicester, though, should they win it, there won’t be as much enthusiasm around Germany or around the world. But Leipzig surely won’t care one bit, and their fans – yes, they do have supporters – will hope they can get back on track in 2017.

Can Pierre Emerick Aubameyang become the first African to win the top scorer prize in decades?

Currently, Dortmund’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang leads the way with 16 goals. The last time an African clinched the top goal-scorer prize in the Bundesliga was back during the 1993/1994 term, when Ghanaian international Anthony Yeboah won it whilst playing with Eintracht Frankfurt. Yeboah also won it in the 1992/1993 campaign as well. Since then, it’s been dominated by Europeans, with a smattering of Brazilians breaking in during the 2001/2002, 2002/2002, 2003/2004, and 2008/2009 terms. Grafite, who was playing for Wolfsburg, was the last non-European to get his hands on the prize.

Will they or will they break into the top four? That’s the question for Dortmund…

Borussia Dortmund really are an unknown quantity so far. Thomas Tuchel’s men certainly have quite a bit of talent on their roster. They finally beat Bayern in Der Klassiker earlier this year. But there still appears to be something missing. Consistency still continues to elude die Schwarzgelben and that’s costing them dearly. Out of their past five games, they have won one, drawn three, and lost one. They sit in sixth spot in the Bundesliga table, a whopping 12 away from die Roten. For all intents and purposes, they already look like they’re out of the title race, but are they already out of the running for a top four?

Not necessarily. Fortunately, they are just three behind Hertha Berlin, who have had a surprisingly good campaign so far. If Dortmund can have a much more consistent 2017, they certainly should have no problems securing at least a top four spot, although, they should really be aiming for a top three berth and automatic qualification for the Champions League with the kind of squad they have.

Even when they’re playing badly…Bayern are still in a league of their own

Just like Juventus over in Italy’s Serie A, Bayern Munich are the undisputed kings of the Bundesliga. The Bianconeri are on course to make it an unprecedented sixth straight Scudetto this May. The same can be said of die Roten in the Bundesliga. No team had ever won four Bundesliga titles. That is, until the Bavarians did so last year. Sure, they were trailing surprise leaders Leipzig for some time, but the general feeling was that die Bullen would collapse at some point.

And collapse they did. Not surprisingly, it was at the Allianz Arena against the reigning champs. Can anyone prevent the Bavarian titans from making it a fifth on the trot?

The answer, as of now, is a resounding no. At least, based on what we have seen as of the past few years. Bayern may not run away with the league title like they did in past seasons, but right now, they are still very much in a league of their own and it will take a lot of work for anyone to knock them off their very comfortable title perch.