The German Bundesliga season so far

The 2011/12 German Bundesliga season is still very young. Only 5 rounds have been played, but there have already been a number of major surprises and upsets besides things one would expect. Bayern Munich lead the table along with Werder Bremen, while Bundesliga founding member Hamburger SV is at the bottom with only a point to their name.

That Bayern Munich head the table isn't that big a surprise, then the record champions have invested heavily in new players to correct last seasons weaknesses. It seems to be working under new coach Jupp Heynckes though the club lost their first match unluckily 0-1 against Borussia Mönchengladbach. Thereafter the Bavarians have been on a winning streak - 1-0 in Wolfsburg, 5-0 against Hamburger SV, 3-0 in Kaiserlautern und then the highlight so far, a 7-0 trashing of SC Freiburg at the Allianz Arena. 16 goals, none against in those four matches. An impressive figure so early in the season and Bayern Munich can still get even better, then superstar Arjen Robben has often been missing due to injuries.

Also positive to note is that teams like Werder Bremen, Borussia Mönchengladbach and FC Schalke 04 have been able to find themselves in the upper third of the table after spending most of last season in and around the relegation zone. Gladbach actually needed the playoffs against Bochum to stay in the Bundesliga top tier.

Defending champions Borussia Dortmund started their campaign with an impressive 3-1 defeat of Hamburger SV, but soon it became clear that HSV isn't going to be the yardstick for this season. Thereafter Dortmund has had a mixed season which culminated in a 1-2 home defeat against promoted Hertha BSC Berlin. The club from the capital meanwhile has been doing fine so far with a mid-table place, but FC Augsburg, who also gained promotion, have been struggling, have no wins so far, only two points to their name and are in 16th place.

Clubs like FSV Mainz 05 and SC Freiburg have been struggling compared to last season. Both teams have lost a number of influential players, while Freiburg also has a new coach in Marcus Sorg.

The big disappointment of this Bundesliga season so far has been Hamburger SV. Under young coach Michael Oenning and the new Director of Sports Frank Arnesen the club has to rebuild their squad as the management had to cut down on the clubs budget. Stars like Ruud van Nistelrooy, Ze Roberto, Frank Rost, Joris Mathijsen and Piotr Trochowski had to leave the club, while the club signed talented youngsters, five of them from Arnesen's former employers FC Chelsea.

The players who have caught the eye of the public so far are those from Bayern Munich, but especially striker Mario Gomez has been the player of the last few weeks. The Bayern striker has scored eight goals in the last three games and if he continues to score at this rate then Gerd Müllers record of 40 goals from the 1971/72 season could be in danger. Last season Super Mario scored 28 goals, now he continues where he left off.

After only five rounds of matches one thing is clear. The 2011/12 champions will either be Bayern Munich or they will have to be better then them. Their investments and the return of Jupp Heynckes has been working excellently so far. The reds are not only playing good football, but are also amongst goals and standing perfectly in defence. But teams like Werder Bremen, Bayer 04 Leverkusen, Borussia Dortmund and others will try to make it difficult for Bayern Munich. One can really look forward to the remainder of the Bundesliga season.