Five things to know as the Bundesliga season kicks off this week:
ONE-HORSE OR TWO HORSES?
Few expect any side but defending champion Bayern Munich to be celebrating the title again next year. Former Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola has been charged with improving the side that swept to the title in record-breaking fashion before adding the Champions League and German Cup trophies. His side has also been bolstered by Borussia Dortmund's best player - Mario Goetze - and Thiago Alcantara from Barcelona. But Dortmund has reinvested the 37 million euros ($49 million) it received for Goetze (and a little more) on highly-rated Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, while so far denying Robert Lewandowski's desired move to Bayern. Germany coach Joachim Loew says Bayern and Dortmund are on a different level to the others. The question is whether Bayern is yet another level above Dortmund.
50+1 RULE
Overseas ownership of German clubs has been avoided so far thanks to the so-called ''50+1'' rule. It states that clubs in the country's top two divisions must keep a majority of their own shares among members. Clubs can transfer a majority of their voting shares to an outside investor - but only after 20 years' involvement. There are exceptions to the rule for teams backed by companies before it came into place - Wolfsburg is owned by Volkswagen and Bayer Leverkusen by the company that gives its name to the club. Hoffenheim has also been bankrolled by software billionaire Dietmar Hopp.
NEW FACES
Guardiola is facing his first Bundesliga game in charge when Bayern hosts Borussia Moenchengladbach for the league's opening game. Werder Bremen is facing its first season without Thomas Schaaf as coach, with former Freiburg and Leverkusen coach Robin Dutt now in charge. And Eintracht Braunschweig coach Torsten Lieberknecht has not coached in the Bundesliga before. Braunschweig is back in the top division after 28 years. Hertha Berlin is the other promoted side, and will be hoping to avoid a repeat of its fate the last time it was promoted - relegation.
SURPRISE PACKAGES
Freiburg and Eintracht Frankfurt arguably overachieved last season, both reaching the Europa League qualification places. Frankfurt, which was back in the Bundesliga after promotion, has reinforced its side in the offseason, but Freiburg has lost important players and will have to contend with the added burden of European football. Wolfsburg, Hamburger SV, Borussia Moenchengladbach and Stuttgart will all hope to improve on disappointing seasons.
EFFICIENCY TABLE
Freiburg would be defending Bundesliga champion if the title was awarded on the cost per point earned, according to an alternative table published by Die Welt newspaper on Thursday. Freiburg, which had a player budget of 16 million euros ($21 million), finished fifth with 51 points last season, meaning each point cost 320,000 euros ($430,000). Mainz was runner-up, with each point costing 400,000 euros ($535,000), while Eintracht Frankfurt was third on 490,000 euros ($655,000). Bayern Munich finished second from bottom despite a record-breaking season. With a player budget of 125 million euros ($167 million), Bayern's 91 points cost 1.37 million euros ($1.83 million) each. Only Wolfsburg's points were more expensive, costing an average 2.09 million euros ($2.8 million).
