Determined Bayern splash the cash

For the first time in eleven years, FC Bayern München will begin the Bundesliga season without the prospect of a UEFA Champions League campaign having finished fourth in 2006/07. To win back their crown from VfB Stuttgart, they have adopted a whole new approach.

Big spending
It had become normal for Bavaria's serial achievers to cream off the best talent from their domestic rivals rather than to pay huge sums for international stars. This summer though, Bayern have looked further afield: laying out a combined €70m on Luca Toni, Franck Ribéry, José Ernesto Sosa, Marcell Jansen, Jan Schlaudraff and Miroslav Klose; and bringing in Hamit Altıntop and Zé Roberto on free transfers.

'Radical change'
Bayern sporting director Uli Hoeness said: "We always said that we wanted to sign some big names to strengthen the squad after our difficult year and now we have broken some of the rules we have followed over the last 20 years." Club president Franz Beckenbauer added: "One can only congratulate the board on managing to sign all the players that they wanted." The players left behind from last term – Owen Hargreaves and Roy Makaay are not among them – have some adapting to do, as Mark van Bommel explained: "I have never experienced such a radical change. This is really unusual for a big club like Bayern."

Bremen challenge
With Bayern drawing on their vast reserves, the money spent by the rest of the Bundesliga pales in comparison. Next in line are the team that beat Bayern to third place in 2006/07, Werder Bremen. Their outlay of €17.6m has helped to acquire Brazilian defender Carlos Alberto and forward Boubacar Sanogo while making Hugo Almeida's presence permanent. But with Bayern having captured Klose, Ottmar Hitzfeld's side will not be worried by Werder's spending – particularly after they defeated the northerners 4-1 in the pre-season League Cup before beating FC Schalke 04 in the final.

Champions under threat
Schalke, of course, had come agonisingly close in May to ending their wait for a German title that stretches back to the pre-Bundesliga days of 1958. Their transfer activity has been more modest, with fees paid only for Ivan Rakitić and Heiko Westermann, although they have hung on to their key players save for Lincoln and Hamit Altıntop. Stuttgart, meanwhile, have a hard task if they are to repeat their surprise success. Goalkeeper Timo Hildebrand has departed for Valencia CF to be replaced by 1. FC Nürnberg's Raphael Schäfer, and with Jon Dahl Tomasson also off to Villarreal CF, Ewerthon and Ciprian Marica have arrived.

Dark horses
VfL Wolfsburg and Bayer 04 Leverkusen have outspent all but Bayern and Bremen, yet they have a long way to go to challenge for the championship. Although Wolfsburg have Felix Magath in charge, they barely avoided relegation last term; Leverkusen have recruited last season's Bundesliga top scorer, Theofanis Gekas, from VfL Bochum 1848 but their young squad may need time to gel.