Such was the level of public euphoria and togetherness that many regarded it as the greatest occasion of public unity since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the formation of unified Germany. For a day less than a full month, Germany itself lived and died with the exploits of Juergen Klinsmann and his band of merry men. The outpouring of national emotion was immense for a country for whom national pride itself and identification with the flag remains a sketchy ideal. The World Cup may have, forever, changed the nation of Germany. However, all that is now almost a distant memory.

For the 'real' football fans, the festival starts today. Die Bundesliga has returned.

As much as most of the adulating public would like to carry the summer euphoria into the new season, there remain more than a few doubts as to what this year will bring. And rightfully so.

The primary reason is simple. Most of the beer guzzling and partying fans that we saw on TV this summer were not your 'real' fans. By real, we mean, that they would not necessarily turn up under adverse weather conditions to watch a relegation scrap or even an obscure mid table tie, say Hannover against Wolfsburg. So the image of the football loving fan engraved in your mind is at least partly flawed.

Secondly, and more importantly, as inviting and enticing as the brilliant sunshine and the state of the art stadiums of Germany may have seemed this summer, most of the foreign stars and the most famous home grown one failed to get the message. They left and that has leaves the league in quite a limbo.

Make no mistake, the Bundesliga made some big name signings, but to be honest they were big names only by Bundesliga standards. The much lauded youngster, Vincent Kompany moved to Hamburg. Swiss hero Alexander Frei switched from Rennes to Dortmund and Brazilian starlet Diego also swapped the sun of Portugal for the river of Weser and Werder Bremen. Good players, all of them, but none are really in the top bracket for any league. Mind you though, they may yet turn out to be magnificent bargain buys. More of that later.

The losses though far outweigh the gains. Tomas Rosicky and Jan Koller, both Czech and both contracted to Dortmund switched allegiances. While the giant striker was lured to the tax haven of Monaco, the slight playmaker Rosicky moved to chilly London where he will link up with Arsene Wenger and the Gunners in the superb Emirates Stadium. Johan Micoud, long a favourite of the Bremen faithful and one of the last of the breed of silky playmakers, left for Bordeaux, where he aims to finish. Dmitar Berbatov also moved to the Premiership. The Leverkusen star, one of the most technically gifted players the Bundesliga could boast of and a natural goalscorer has already caught the eye at Tottenham Hotspur. Ze Roberto, the skillful midfielder and star performer for Brazil ended his long stay at Bayern. Although he has yet to find a club, there will be no shortage of suitors for the versatile midfielder. And last but not least, Michael Ballack also went in search for a new challenge; the midfielder completing a free transfer to Chelsea after two consecutive league and cup doubles with Bayern Munich. He said he was seeking a new challenge but atleast half the Bayern faithful will tell you otherwise.

But enough of the negatives. Why is the Bundesliga worth watching?

For one, statistic wise, it is still the most entertaining of the big leagues in Europe.

Last season, the Germans eclipsed all the other leagues in terms of goal per game. The average 2.81, although down from the season before was still quite a bit more than the next in line, which is (hold your horses) the Serie A with 2.61 goals per 90 minutes. (How the world has changed!). The Ligue 1 was the biggest culprit with a 2.13 average while Spain and England squared off near each other with the former 2.46 to the latter's 2.48.

And that is not all. The Bundesliga was also the best supported league in Europe last season with an average of 39,000 fans watching ever game.

The matches are entertaining, the quality and competitiveness within the league is very high (although Bayern are still a bit way above the rest the gap is closing rapidly). If you can sacrifice a bit of individuality and class, and forgive the odd glaring error here and there, then there is nothing more entertaining than the Bundesliga.

So with booming attendances and high goals per game there is not much more that a league could want.

The real question that rears itself is how well the Bundesliga will accommodate without a truly world class name.

In light of the recent spate of signing from Italian clubs (none to Germany), Kicker magazine somewhat ironically said, "The world-class players don't move to the Bundesliga. But maybe they are already here?"

By which they were pointing out the players who under Juergen Klinmann's tutelage had become atleast national if not international stars. Step forward Young Player of the World Cup, Lukas Podolski, Golden Boot winner Miroslav Klose, Bastian Schweinsteiger and the man Pele considered the find of the tournament: Phillip Lahm.

Only Michael Ballack has deserted Germany and he did so before the World Cup. But nine of the 11 players who took Germany to the semifinals of the World Cup on home soil just a few weeks ago will be lining up for Bundesliga clubs when the 2006-2007 season kicks off.

Which brings us to our next topic of discussion. The teams.

And as commonly misconceived, it is not all about Bayern Munich. Defending champions they may be, but defending their crown could prove to be one better than Bayern can manage this season. The reason is simple. You don't lose two world class players

and not buy replacements and still get away with it. Make no mistake though. The usually prudent Bayern spent 20 million Euros this season but it went to acquire a striker and a defender, Lukas Podolski and Belgian giant Daniel Van Buyten the men in question. However Ze and Ballack were both midfielders and having failed to acquire anyone else, Bayern will now look internally for replacements. A young squad, although energetic could find that inconsistency gets in their way. And ofcourse, there is the Ballack factor.

The German population are divided in half on the midfielder. He is a conundrum. There is the (lesser) half who thinks that Ballack is a fantastic player and that they will sorely miss him in Munich. Of course, the other half of the German population thinks that Ballack is vastly overrated and supports coach Felix Magath's assertion that Bayern's game 'will be more flexible and perhaps even more attractive' without him. We can only wait and see. On the evidence of the one meeting against a top side this term though, the result was quite the opposite of what Felix predicted. Bayern were thumped 2-0 by a Bremen side who could well be the team to beat this term.

The signings of Diego and Pierre Wome and just recently of defender Per Mertesacker, further enhanced the burgeoning reputation of the Bremen side. Desperately unlucky to lose to Juventus in the Champions League this season, Bremen have also managed to hold on to star German trio, Tim Borowoski, Torsten Frings and Miroslav Klose. The only question is whether Diego can step into Micoud's considerable boots and dictate play like the Frenchman. If he can, then the hugely attractive and attacking Werder Bremen could well be in for domestic glory come season's end.

Hamburg too will be hot on Bayern's heels. A team which boasts of Rafael van der Vaart and highly rated defender, Vincent Kompany alongside the mercurial talents of U21 German, Piotr Trochowoski and Mehdi Mahdavikia could well cause a major upset and claim the shield. They did the double over Bayern last season. Who is to say they can't do the same this time around?

Other challengers include the Ruhr valley clubs of Schalke 04 and Dortmund, the latter reinforced with Alexander Frei and Paraguayan star Nelson Valdez. Look out too for Leverkusen and youngster Stefan Kiessling, of whom great things are expected. Wolfsburg and Moenchelgladbach are expected to provide the usual upsets but look too skinny to make a long lasting impact.

These are mixed times for German football. And for the players who captured the imagination of the world not a few weeks ago, it is up to them to prove themselves all over again. The day to day battle starts here.

It remains to be seen who is up for it.