Bundesliga bosses

When Felix Magath rolled up at Wolfsburg before last season, more than a few eyebrows were raised.

The sometimes abrasive former Bayern Munich, who coached the Bavarian giants to a double “double” of league and Cup successes in his brief tenure, had offers from a number of top flight clubs after being sacked in February 2007, but chose a struggling, mediocre team which had flirted with relegation for the previous two seasons.

The rest is history. Wolfsburg picked up their first league crown in May after Magath had spent wisely and cannily in the transfer market and cast the Wolves in his disciplined image. Wolfsburg, hardly a fashionable unit and usually mid- to lower table fodder for the big guns, were champions, hardly put a foot wrong last season as the side Felix built swept the league.

Maybe the 56-year-old Magath didn't really believe that his new charges could win the league and he was as surprised as everyone else. Why else would he have agreed to leave the club before the season was even over, with his name penciled in as the new coach of Schalke 04 for the 2009/10 season, before Wolfsburg had shown what they were really capable of?

But sign for Schalke he did. One wonders if a man of fewer scruples would have reneged on the agreement in the light of Wolfsburg's impressive season and stayed on to defend the title? Felix Magath may be a lot of things but he is not a deal breaker and as such will lead perennial Bundesliga bridesmaids Schalke this season and not the reigning champions of Wolfsburg.

The Royal Blues spent most of last season in disarray and Magath's first job has to be to build some team spirit and plug gaps in their defense before their first league game against newly-promoted Nuremburg on Saturday.

After building a championship winning side out of Wolfsburg, expectations are high – even by Schalke's standards. A club which regularly promises much and more often than not delivers little (or at best waits until the final minute to choke and break the hearts of its fans), Schalke is desperate for success and Magath comes with a record which suggests he could be the man to turn around their eternally disappointing fortunes.

Armin Veh: Following in Felix's footsteps

While Magath attempts to awaken not so much a sleeping giant as a comatose one, Armin Veh takes over at Wolfsburg with an equally challenging mission laid at his door.

With the Wolves defending their first crown and with Champions League soccer coming to the home of Volkswagen this season, the former Stuttgart coach has a high set of standards to maintain. Not only that but the fans have come to expect an attacking style of play rarely seen in Wolfsburg.

Veh comes to Wolfsburg with championship credentials after leading Stuttgart to the 2007 title. But his team buckled during their defense the following season, sinking to the lower reaches of the league before rallying to a sixth-placed finish. Veh was sacked in November 2008 when Stuttgart's results suggested another season of mediocrity beckoned.

Veh's first game in charge is against his former club in the season's opening game.

The new Wolfsburg manager can count himself lucky that he has managed to keep hold of key strikers Edwin Dzeko and Brazilian Grafite despite interest from some of Europe's top clubs this summer.

Between them, the pair netted 54 league goals, but it remains to be seen if the team can repeat their surprise success or handle the step up to the Champions League where they will make their debut.

"The team is very motivated. My initial impressions from the first training camp have absolutely been confirmed," Veh said, whose attacking options have been further boosted by the arrival of Nigerian striker Obafemi Martins from Newcastle. "We are looking forward to the season and showing what we can do."

Direct Dutchman talking tough in Bayern

Challenging both of these men is another manager taking the reins of a new club. Bayern Munich, who sacked ex-Germany coach Juergen Klinsmann in April, saw out last season under the considered eye caretaker coach Jupp Heynckes. But it will be Dutchman Louis Van Gaal who takes on the highest-profile job in German league soccer this season.

The former Barcelona, Ajax and Holland coach arrives in Germany after leading unfancied AZ Alkmaar to the Dutch title last season. He may have to dig into his experience at the bigger clubs on his CV to cope with the expectation which comes with managing Bayern, where domestic honors are demanded and Champions League success is expected.

The 57-year-old Van Gaal has inherited an embarrassment of riches in attack with Bayern's squad containing Germany strikers Mario Gomez and Miroslav Klose, as well as Italian World Cup winner Luca Toni and Croatia's Ivica Olic.

Promising youngster Thomas Mueller makes it five forwards pushing for two places in Van Gaal's starting line-up and the straight-taking coach is expected to stamp his mark on the side.

Bayern captain Mark van Bommel said the players are responding to his direct approach.

"He clearly tells us what he wants to see. He's a straight talker; he corrects you and urges you on."

Raised voices on the practice ground from time to time are not a problem, says Van Bommel.

"It's criticism to help you improve. It's well-intentioned, to stop it happening again."

The Dutchman's first league game in charge is against last season's dark horses Hoffenheim who led the league on their debut Bundesliga season at Christmas before falling off the pace.

nda/dpa/AFP

Editor: Sonia Phalnikar