Douglas Costa scores on his Bundesliga début for Bayern Munich

The season kicks off Friday in Munich, when Bayern hosts Hamburger SV, a team that barely escaped relegation in a playoff and that got eliminated from the German Cup by fourth-tier Jena last weekend.

In recent weeks, Bayern Munich won in the Audio Cup against Real Madrid and Milan. The club is eyeing to secure the 26th league crown in the club’s history.

Marcel Heller also found the net twice, including a spectacular 70-metre solo run for his first goal, as promoted Darmstadt 98 marked their return to the top flight after 33 years with a 2-2 draw at home to Hanover 96.

Ingolstadt include Australia striker Matthew Leckie, who scored seven goals to help them win the second division title last season.

Captain Wayne Rooney has struggled in the opening two games of the Premier League season but the club don’t really have many other options up front.

“To gain as much money as we can from England”, a view expressed by FSV Mainz 05 general manager Christian Heidel.

“I am looking forward to this challenge in my life”. Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images A fixture for the U.S., Fabian Johnson (r.) has chance to make waves not only in Bundesliga for Borussia Monchengladbach, but in the Champions League as well.

“I’ve made that very clear to my team”.

Bayern Munich got their Bundesliga campaign off to a bright start with a 5-0 thumping of Hamburg at the Allianz Arena. A more realistic choice seems to be a coach like Swiss-born Lucien Favre (Borussia Moenchengladbach).

Heynckes was not only respected but also loved – by both players and fans – whereas Guardiola surely is respected, too, but he is hardly the father figure that his predecessor was. The team, still led by the man who helped them to last season’s dramatic escape, Bruno Labbadia, has lost experienced midfielders Valon Behrami and Rafael van der Vaart, with their biggest signing being completing a permanent deal for Lewis Holtby, who spent last season there on loan.

Brazilian Costa terrorised the Hamburg defence down the left wing with his speed while Chile worldwide Arturo Vidal, who joined from Juventus in the close season, coolly orchestrated the attacks from midfield.

The floodgates did not open then, though, and Benatia was fortunate just a few minutes later not to pick up a second yellow card, which would have complicated matters for the record German champions. “Similarly this applies to Andre Breitenreiter and Schalke”.