Bundesliga : We Have Winner

Well after four months and alot of schadenfreude I think its safe to call a winner. I've definitely grown to enjoy the Bundesliga and cultivated my hate for Bayern Munich. I think its also nice that my dislike of Schalke has really matured right before they face Manchester United in the Champions League.

Borussia Dortmund : WIN! I'm a little conflicted because they may win the Bundesliga. I would hate to pick a team just because they won the league, but thankfully I'm drawn to more than that. They had an "insurmountable" lead at one point, but its shrunk to 5 points with 5 games to go. They only play one team in the top half of the table (Nurnberg, 6th) and get a game against relegation bound Borussia Monchengladbach. The team behind them (Bayer Leverkusen) has a tough game against Bayern Munich, so Dortmund should have the title in hand.

Is there a Japanese equivalent of schadenfreude?

I also have a small man crush on Shinji Kagawa, so I'm going to spend the summer very worried. I read that Liverpool's sponsor (Standard Chartered) wants them to buy an Asian player to boost marketing in Asia, very similar to what Manchester United has experienced with Park Ji-Sung. If Liverpool buy Kagawa, I'm going to be seriously upset.

Bayer Leverkusen : ELIMINATED. Pretty close 2nd. As the season has gone on I've grown to like Arturo Vidal. Prior to the season I had never heard of him, but he has put together a very solid season for Leverkusen with 9 goals and 8 assists (leads the team in both stats currently). I've also grown to like Renato Augusto, who is also having a good season for Leverkusen. Both guys are 23, so I'm sure they will be tormenting me for some time.

Eintracht Frankfurt : ELIMINATED. Very middle of the road team that has mainly provided me with some comedy. Their top scorer is Theofanis Gekas, a 30 year old Greek international, who has scored 16 goals for Frankfurt. The next highest scorer? Four players are tied at 2 goals. Frankfurt have scored a total of 29 goals, worst in the league, and Mr. Gekas has over half of them.

Kaisersluatern : ELIMINATED. Despite the prodding of my friend, I just didn't connect with these guys.

Werder Bremen : ELIMINATED. These guys were the heavy favorites to start the season, and all they managed to do was suck. Per Mertesacker missed alot of games with a serious facial injury, and then spent the rest of the season insisting that he wasn't going to be sold to Arsenal. They seemed really burned out when they were in the Champions League and did little to nothing to impress me. Their kits also make my eyes bleed.

VfL Wolfsburg : ELIMINATED. Currently in the relegation zone. Their top goalscorer (Edin Dzeko) hasn't been on the team in nearly four months. Their high profile coach has been fired. Unless the town of Wolfsburg bursts into flames I doubt things can get much worse.