Let's go Deutsch, as well as Dutch

During the Socceroos verse Netherlands clash at the SFS back in October, Simon Hill commented that it was a case of ‘Master verse Apprentice’.

While the Dutch system has quite obviously been adopted by Football Federation Australia, and now a forthcoming A-League franchise off their own bat, I’m of the opinion there are even better mentors we should be seeking to learn from.

And, it’s the Oranje’s most fervent foes, the Deutsch, who I believe may prove a good source of influence.

As three time World Cup Champions and runners up, and with the exact same achievements in European Championships, “Die Mannschaft’s” record speaks for itself.

What’s more, Germany’s league – the Bundesliga – is one of the most underrated in Europe.

We often hear of the big three in reference to the Premier League, La Liga and Seria A, but it is Germany who attracts the biggest average season crowds over this lot.

How do they do it? They make tickets cheap as buggery.

I was fortunate enough to attend a Bundesliga match in late 2007 between BVB Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich – a massive clash.

My ticket, standing with ‘The Unity’ in the Signal Iduna Park “Südkurve”, was a meagre 15 Euros (about AUD$25). This is relatively the same price as entry to an A-League game, but compare watching the likes of Frank Ribery, Miroslav Klose and Luca Toni to players of A-League quality (no disrespect intended), and there’s no argument which represents the greater value.

Don’t ask me how they do it, but the German system is also one that keeps class players coming off the production line, while their scouting structure is also sound with excellent, previously unknown foreigners from Africa, South America and Eastern Europe frequently making names for themselves in the league.

And, with a culture that supports the concept of integrating football into people’s daily lives via classic matches on free TV on weeknights, don’t we at least owe it to ourselves to explore how other nations beside the Dutch have made the game prosper on all levels?