For years, the Bundesliga has been considered one of the best ‘playgrounds’ for top talent from home and abroad. At Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen or RB Leipzig, for example, there are players who are considered to be the hot irons of today and tomorrow on the international transfer market.
However, the German House of Lords is not completely addicted to the ‘youth craze’. It also shows that exceptional young players are now quite an expensive investment that not every club can afford. Many Bundesliga clubs, in addition to home grown players, tend to attract affordable players with more experience. There are large differences in the age structure of the Bundesliga clubs, which the sports researchers at the Center International d’Etude du Sport (CIES) have now investigated. After the first five match days of the new season, the difference between the oldest and the youngest team was more than four years.
The youngest Bundesliga club on average
18. VfL Bochum, 28.68 years
17. Union Berlin, 28.59
16. 1. FC Cologne, 27.51
15. Bayern Munich, 26.83
14. FC Augsburg, 26,79
13. Arminia Bielefeld, 26.67
12. VfL Wolfsburg, 26.56
11. Borussia M’gladbach, 26.54
10. Hertha BSC, 26,33
9. Eintracht Frankfurt, 26.29
8. TSG Hoffenheim, 26,23
7. Greuther Fürth, 26.21
6. SC Freiburg, 26.19
5. FSV Mainz 05, 26,06
4. Borussia Dortmund, 25.65
3. RB Leipzig, 25,32
2. VfB Stuttgart, 24.94
1. Bayer Leverkusen, 24.64
Bavaria shows: it’s worth taking a second look
However, a mere look at the average age of a team is only partially meaningful. Sometimes an older professional is enough to make the cut soar. FC Bayern provides the best example. Thanks to the regulars Manuel Neuer (35 years old), Robert Lewandowski (33) and Thomas Müller (32), the Munich team is one of the older Bundesliga teams. In Alphonso Davies and Jamal Musiala, two kickers under the age of 21 played a major role in the record champions’ good start to the season. In terms of the number of minutes played for players in the U21 division, FC Bayern even came in second ahead of Borussia Dortmund. At the top is Bayer Leverkusen, where Florian Wirtz symbolizes the current development (fussball.news reported).
The teams with the largest game shares for players under 21
= 15. VfL Wolfsburg 0 percent of all game minutes for professionals aged 20 or under
= 15. Eintracht Frankfurt 0%
= 15. Union Berlin 0%
15. FC Augsburg 0%
14. SpVgg Greuther Fürth 1.2%
13th SC Freiburg, 2.6%
12. Arminia Bielefeld, 2.8%
11. FSV Mainz 05, 5,4%
10. Hertha BSC, 5,8%
9. FC Cologne, 6.4%
8. VfL Bochum, 7.2%
7. TSG Hoffenheim, 9,3%
6. Borussia M’gladbach, 11.7%
5. VfB Stuttgart, 11.8%
4. RB Leipzig, 13,2%
3. Borussia Dortmund, 13.3%
2. Bayern Munich, 13.7%
1. Bayer Leverkusen, 23.5%
(All information via CIES)
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