Bundesliga News

The Bundesliga will return earlier this January – here's why

By Rune Gjerulff   @runegjerulff

Have you wondered why the Bundesliga winter break is shorter than the previous years? Here's the explanation.
FC Köln's Leonardo Bittencourt on the training pitch.
FC Köln's Leonardo Bittencourt on the training pitch.
This year, the second half of the Bundesliga will kick off on January 12 which is earlier than in the previous seasons. But why? The German League Association states that there are several reasons.


First of all, the 2017-18 season started later due to the FIFA Confederations Cup. Another reason is that the season will end earlier this year so teams that have qualified for the World Cup can begin their preparations for the tournament in Russia in time.

Finally, to make life easier for the travelling fans, the German League Association has decided that there must only be two Bundesliga rounds with midweek matches.

However, several of the Bundesliga clubs have made it clear that they are not exactly delighted with the shorter winter break. As Augsburg general manager Stefan Reuter told Süddeutsche Zeitung:

"You can definitely not prepare as well as you could if you had a longer break."

Eight Bundesliga teams have decided to prepare for the second half of the season in Germany, and hence they don't have to worry about spending time on travelling abroad. Below, you can see in which countries the teams are staying at the moment.



Where the Bundesliga teams are preparing for the second half of the season:

Germany:
Hertha BSC
RB Leipzig
TSG 1899 Hoffenheim
1. FSV Mainz 05
FC Köln
Borussia Mönchengladbach
Bayer 04 Leverkusen
Hannover 96
VfL Wolfsburg

Spain:
FC Schalke 04
SV Werder Bremen
Borussia Dortmund
Hamburger SV
Eintracht Frankfurt
VfB Stuttgart
SC Freiburg
FC Augsburg

Qatar:
FC Bayern München


Bundesliga News

Fantasy Football

Tactics Talk

Editor's picks

Profiles

Turn back time