Clubs debate affects as Bundesliga opens up rosters to foreigners

Adjust font size:

Some small clubs are complaining, while larger ones welcome a rule change for German clubs that eliminates the limits put on the number of foreigners that can take the field.

In a rule passed last December, the German Football League (DFL) did away with the four non-EU player limit in exchange for rules that will help promote local player development programs.

Two of Germany’s bigger clubs, Bayern Munich and Werder Bremen, had called for the elimination of the rule in the past. They claim it weakened German clubs’ chances when they played in European competitions. “A German player has to be of good quality, not fulfill a quota,” Bayern manager Uli Hoenes said. “We cannot keep the portion of Germans up with artificial rules, otherwise we make ourselves weaker internationally.”

Eintracht Frankfurt manager Heribert Bruchhagen disagreed. He said the new rule would hurt small clubs like his. He claimed only the big, rich clubs would benefit while small clubs would be forced to train young players because they can’t afford to buy expensive foreigners. “The gap between the big and small clubs is only going to get wider, and the German players' position is not strengthened,” he said. “This rule is bad for German soccer.”

The rule led to an infamous loss for Stuttgart in a Champions League game with English club Leeds United during the 2002/03 season. Stuttgart won the game 3-0, but because Stuttgart substituted a fifth foreign player, the result was reversed and Leeds was awarded the victory.

The new Local Player Rule forces each club to have at least four locally trained players on its roster. The players do not have to be German nationality however, the new rule also stipulates that 12 members of each club’s roster must be German.

Monchengladbach's youth trainer Max Eberl said fits well with developing German talent. "It fits with our philosophy and is also a sign of appreciation for the clubs with good youth programs," Borussia Monchengladbach youth trainer and former German Bundesliga star Giovanni Elber said. He added that Gladbach plan to fill about a third of the team with players from their development program.

“We do not fear any serious changes to the proportion of foreigners in the Bundesliga,” DFL spokesperson Christian Pfennig said.