Quote:
Originally Posted by troutman
How come Frankfurt and Koln are never competitive? Those are big, wealthy markets.
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I think a lot of it has to do with the restrictions in place in the Bundesliga. With the exceptions of Leverkusen, Wolfsburg, Hoffenheim and Red Bull Leipzig in 2.Bundesliga, all teams must operate under the 50+1 rule. This means that teams must be majority owned by German club members and discourages clubs from being owned by a single person or company. Not to mention the restrictions on using debt for acquisitions. Because of this teams are required to rely on a good youth program and astute buys. Köln especially has suffered because of this. This is the reason why teams from smaller city's like Bremen and Stuttgart have been able to be successful in the past.
Having to be responsible with money and developing youth is something the premier league could learn from.