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Women's Bundesliga: The key points ahead of 2021‐22 season
After Bayern Munich broke Wolfsburg's long run of dominance, the top two look set to slug it out again, though new threats are emerging. Elsewhere, a new TV deal looks key; but are there enough female coaches?
Tight at the top
You have to go back to 2014 to find the last time the top two was not made up of Bayern Munich and Wolfsburg. And after the Bavarians denied the She‐Wolves a fifth straight title by a two point margin last season, it's difficult to see the title going anywhere else in the coming campaign.
Both sides have added real quality in the summer break, with an eye on the Champions League as well as the Bundesliga battle. Forward Sofia Jakobsson and defender Saki Kumagi join Bayern from Real Madrid and Lyon respectively and have both racked up more than 100 caps for their countries, Sweden and Japan. Wolfsburg, stung by losing their run of titles, have snapped up experienced
German international (and recently qualified doctor) Turid Knaak to bolster their attack as well as Dutch midfielder Jill Roord, who signs from Arsenal after a spell at Bayern earlier in her career.
Last season, a 4‐1 home win for Bayern in November ultimately separated the sides at the end of the season and this term is likely to be similarly tight. The weekends of November 11 (in Munich) and April 1 (in Wolfsburg) already look must‐ watch.
Catching the eye ahead of Euros
And this season, it will be easier to watch the league, in Germany at least. A new TV deal, signed in conjunction with the German Football Association (DFB), will make up to 132 games available on pay TV channel Magenta over the next two seasons.
Visibility has become an issue in the German game in recent years and it is hoped this new deal will help, with one game a week also to be shown on the men's Bundesliga highlights show of public broadcaster ARD.
However, there is little talk of any concrete international broadcast option and Eintracht
Frankfurt coach Niko Arnautis recently admitted "we are catching up with nations like England" in this respect. With the postponed Euros set to follow the domestic season in England, there is a possibility German football could yet fall further behind.
Emerging threats to big two
Though Bayern and Wolfsburg were well clear of the pack last year, there were a few signs of new talent, and new teams, emerging. Hoffenheim in particular impressed and were rewarded with a Champions League spot. So far, the club have managed to hold on to the top scorer in the Bundesliga last year, Nicole Billa, and, given the finances at the club, could look to challenge the duopoly in the long term. "Of course I had to decline offers. I have a very good environment in Hoffenheim, where I feel very comfortable. We achieved our goal, but I wanted to continue down the path with the team," Billa said at the launch of the league this week.
The name underneath Billa was that of Eintracht Frankfurt's
Laura Freigang, who has burst on to the club and international scene over the last two seasons, averaging 0.79 goals per game in both campaigns. Her strike rate for Germany is even better, with seven goals from seven caps so far. After joining forces with the men's club and rebranding from FFC Frankfurt last season, Eintracht are another side who may have the resources to take the next step.
Dugouts still dominated by men
For all the progress made in the women's game in recent years, one of the areas where change has been particularly slow in Germany is in the gender imbalance in coaching. For the second season running, Ger
many's top flight will start the season with only one female head coach, Anne Pochert of newly‐promoted Carl Zeiss Jena.
That equates to just 7.14% of coaches being female, a figure that puts Germany far behind England's WSL (56.25%.) the international game (40.74%), the Primera Division in Spain (22.22%) and the French top flight (16.67%). Barring a short interim spell from Horst Hrubesch in 2018, the German national team have had a female in charge since 1996. But it's getting tough to see where and how the next top female coach will gain sufficient experience.