Germany - VBL 1. Bundesliga 2025/26

    Quote from Matthias

    It's a bit depressing that German league has kinda become a training camp for Americans in order to become good enough to get a contract in one of their leagues ;( At least agencies know that the coaches in the US leagues aren't capable of making players better :whistle:

    I hope she'll stay a few more years in Europe though.

    outside of the obvious in Stuttgart/Schwerin/Dresden.... hasn't that been the case for awhile?


    Get unknown Americans on the cheap, develop/expose them to the Bundesliga, and they go sign with either Schwerin/Stuttgart/Dresden or move on to like Italy/Turkey lol

    Quote from fire_erik_sullivan

    outside of the obvious in Stuttgart/Schwerin/Dresden.... hasn't that been the case for awhile?


    Get unknown Americans on the cheap, develop/expose them to the Bundesliga, and they go sign with either Schwerin/Stuttgart/Dresden or move on to like Italy/Turkey lol

    Yeah but them going to the US leagues still feels different than going to a big team in Europe :| I guess I'm still getting used to their existence :lol:

    Without a doubt, Rene Sain's absence is a huge loss for VC Wiesbaden. She's not just a libero, after all. But I think it's good that Wiesbaden is focusing on developing their own young talent and therefore on a German player, rather than making some emergency transfer.

    Quote from Gymnicus

    Without a doubt, Rene Sain's absence is a huge loss for VC Wiesbaden. She's not just a libero, after all. But I think it's good that Wiesbaden is focusing on developing their own young talent and therefore on a German player, rather than making some emergency transfer.

    I think they have no other choice, at this point it would be very hard to find a decent libero, or even one they could afford :whistle:

    Apparently Rote Raben Vilsbiburg are considering to return to Bundesliga next season after two seasons in 2nd league Pro where they have lost only one match so far this season with a roster that's at least not worse, possibly even better than Borken/Hamburg/Flacht. Their management is supposed to make a decision at the end of January.

    Borken also confirmed to stay in Bundesliga for next season and they aim at taking a next step with higher budget and better structures.

    I had recently heard through the grapevine that Vilsbiburg still wasn't planning on promotion because they didn't have the necessary budget (to meet their own expectations).


    Moreover, I unfortunately fear that if Vilsbiburg were to be promoted, they would again rely heavily on foreign players. They already do that in the 2nd Bundesliga Pro. To be quite honest, I'd much rather watch teams like Hamburg/Broken/Flacht rely primarily on German talent than watch Vilsbiburg from the 2022/23 and 2023/24 seasons, which were almost entirely mercenary squads.

    Quote from Gymnicus

    I had recently heard through the grapevine that Vilsbiburg still wasn't planning on promotion because they didn't have the necessary budget (to meet their own expectations).


    Moreover, I unfortunately fear that if Vilsbiburg were to be promoted, they would again rely heavily on foreign players. They already do that in the 2nd Bundesliga Pro. To be quite honest, I'd much rather watch teams like Hamburg/Broken/Flacht rely primarily on German talent than watch Vilsbiburg from the 2022/23 and 2023/24 seasons, which were almost entirely mercenary squads.

    I would agree if they actually did rely on German talent, but the only real talent among those teams for me is Marika Loker and IMO she'd be much better off playing for a stronger team where she can turn from a talent into a really good player.

    Your point is certainly valid. But we have to take responsibility for the current situation. The VBL and the clubs have been chasing the absurd dream of becoming a top-three league for years. Since Germany doesn't have the necessary talent, most clubs relied almost exclusively on foreign professionals, leaving German players with no chance in many age groups. This resulted in many good players from those age groups no longer being active. The second division wasn't a viable option for many, so they opted for a work career. You can't expect the three newly promoted teams to field German players of Bundesliga caliber.


    This was already the case with VC Neuwied. But I'd like to remind you that Amelie Strothoff, Lydia Stemmler, Laura Broekstra, Laura Berger and Sina Stöckmann played there – players who are currently playing in the Bundesliga or who were part of the extended Universiade squad. Would these players have found a place by other Bundesliga teams at that time, or might they have ended their careers? These are certainly speculations, but nevertheless, for me, Neuwied is because of these players not a negative example, but rather a model with room for improvement.


    Even if the current promoted teams might not have the same level as VC Neuwied back then, they can still achieve something similar. You mentioned Mareike Loker. She is, of course, a player who could follow a comparable path.

    At the end it is all about money. To improve considerably in German players, this takes a common effort by league, federation and clubs of at least one decade. If you can increase budget, you will always rely mostly on foreigners because of lack of sufficiently many domestic players for now. If the league had progressed the financial upwards tendency they could have indeed reached place three in Europe, but dominated by foreigners.

    Schwerin payed toll to their arrogance in Hamburg by losing a set in the European Cups conforming CU Arena against newbie ETV Hamburg. Too late noticing in third set the real threat, they lost it, despite Hamburg is known as only promoted team so far being capable of winning sets against established teams.

    Personal communication with persons from Flacht team here in region Stuttgart: they also plan to strengthen their team considerably for next season. They are willing to establish themselves in the league. For Hamburg this desire is rather obvious, the latter team has the biggest potential to get much more sponsor money, because Hamburg is by far the richest location (also economically) in the league, overshadowing even Stuttgart, not to mention Dresden and Schwerin or any other team.

    Quote from StefanS

    Schwerin payed toll to their arrogance in Hamburg by losing a set in the European Cups conforming CU Arena against newbie ETV Hamburg. Too late noticing in third set the real threat, they lost it, despite Hamburg is known as only promoted team so far being capable of winning sets against established teams.

    I think Felix Koslowski's idea of giving the B team playing time and finally some playing experience is very sensible. When else should this be done if not in games like these against underdogs? And it also makes sense to lose a set, because that gives them more playing practice. And especially against a team led by Kathleen Weiß, such a B team can gain immense experience.