Bundesliga To Lead The Way Once More

Still the place for excitement packed matches of ebb and flow, locally produced talent, a fan first culture and stadia full-house signs, the Bundesliga becomes even more special in a World Cup season, with players’ appetites suitably whetted by the prospect of taking part in the greatest show on earth.

- Nick Bidwell

As illustrated by Germany’s recent international successes – a virtual reserve team winning the Confederations Cup and the under-21s claiming the European title – the country’s strength in depth is extraordinary. And mindful that National mannschaft boss Joachim Low has a fondness for wild-card picks, a good 40 to 50 home-based pros will be harbouring hopes of a seat on the plane to Russia next summer.

On and off the pitch, this season looks set to be awash with innovation and fresh thinking. The first major European league to commission an electronic eye to right apparent wrongs, the Bundesliga system will be used in four areas: irregularities in a goal decision (foul, handball, offside), penalty awards, red-card calls and mistaken identity. At any contentious moment, up to 17 different camera perspectives will be available and the authorities expect the review process to take between 10 and 40 seconds.

“Our intention is not for the video assistant to become the ultimate authority in these matters,” explains Hellmut Krug, Germany’s refereeing supremo. “The main official on the field continues to have the last word. It’s his choice to take or leave the advice of the video assistant.

“The referee also has the option, in exceptional circumstances, of revisiting an incident in the video-review area on the halfway line. It’s up to him whether he does that or not.

“The video assistant should intervene as little as possible – only in the case of clear errors in well-defined passages of play. We don’t want to alter the character of the game. Last season, we spotted 104 decision-making mistakes. We hope to reduce that figure by three quarters. We’ll be going a long way to making football fairer.”