2. Competiveness
As I mentioned earlier, the Premier League plaudits constantly argue that the league is unpredictable and that anyone can beat anyone. But is that true? Since its inception in 1992 there have been only five winners. Manchester United have won 12 of the 20 titles. Blackburn won in 95 after being bankrolled by Jack Walker and City were victorious after spending millions of middle-eastern money. Arsenal and Chelsea are the two teams who have provided a sustained threat; with each winning three times. In the Bundesliga since 1992 there have been six winners, which isnt much of a difference. Bayern have won ten of the twenty, Dortmund five, Werder Bremen two, while FC Kaiserslautern, Stuttgart and Wolfsburg have each won once. In the last ten years alone there have been five different winners. There is more of a focus on developing young talent over spending heavy money. Chelsea, Manchester City and Blackburn all effectively spent their way to the league but Dortmunds consecutive Bundesliga titles have been a result of their successful youth policy. The German FA introduced a rule that teams must have an academy if they want to acquire a licence for playing in the top two divisions. It may be argued that the German clubs have been less successful in Europe. They have provided two Champions League winners in the last twenty years two less than England although they also been runners-up numerous times. Bayern lost to Manchester United in 99, Real Madrid in 00, Inter Milan in 10 and Chelsea this summer at the Allianz. There are different teams among the top four almost every year. For example, Wolfsburg were 5th in 07, won the Bundesliga in 08 and then finished 09 in 8th. In the last ten years eleven teams have finished in the top four compared to only eight in the Premier League.