For months, fans were left hungry for the beautiful game – even just a tiny slice. But due to the coronavirus pandemic, they had to make do with some classic reruns and ghosts of matches past. 

So when the Bundesliga kicked off again on May 16, football fans around the world – even those who weren’t on friendly terms with the German league – turned on their screens to watch the Revier Derby between Borussia Dortmund and Schalke 04 and table-topping Bayern Munich beat FC Union Berlin. 

True, some leagues never stopped – Belarus and Nicaragua continued to play, while leagues in South Korea and the Faroe Islands resumed before the Bundesliga. But the Bundesliga was the first major European league to restart after the pandemic pause, and all the world’s eyes were on it. 

The Bundesliga already had its supporters – football fans who cheer every goal scored by that evergreen player Robert Lewandowski or RB Leipzig’s star Timo Werner, amateur pundits who would tell you that Bayern’s 19-year-old Alphonso Davies will soon become a household name, and those who are thrilled by the wildly talented Erling Braut Haaland, who keeps putting it in the back of the net for Borussia Dortmund. 

But apart from the regular Bundesliga fans, other football fans – eager to watch some live football – are following the German league and admiring its array of world-class talent and exciting new players. This means that the Bundesliga has managed to attract new followers – in fact, in May, for the first time ever, on Google Trends there was a higher search interest in the Bundesliga than in the English Premier League. 

And that sparks the old rivalry. Traditionally, the rivalry between English and German football is decades-old, fuelled by some great matches like the European Cup final of 1975 between Bayern Munich and Leeds United, Borussia Dortmund’s triumph over Juventus in the Champions League final of 1997 and Manchester United’s 2-1 victory over Bayern Munich in the 1999 final . Even on the national team stage, there have been gigantic clashes – the famous World Cup final of 1966 at Wembley Stadium and the 1990 World Cup semi-final clash when Germany ousted England after the penalty shoot-out. 

And yet, despite the classic rivalry, even English fans are watching the Bundesliga – at least until the Premier League resumes on June 17. But who knows – maybe the new Bundesliga fans will continue watching, even next season. In fact, even gaming sites like betting.co.uk are offering more content and betting tips on the Bundesliga – a sure sign that the German league has boosted its popularity. 

England striker Gary Lineker once famously said: “Football is a simple game – 22 men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans always win.” This time around, it’s the entire German league that might be the winner. 

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