The Bundesliga's big season in Europe

There's a reason Bayern Munich tend to carry the flag the longest for Germany in Europe. The way they breezed past Inter Milan in their opening game of the new Champions League season was a reminder why they belong to that elite level of clubs on the continent.

Leroy Sané exemplified Bayern's night, scoring one of the goals of the season from one of the passes of the season. Julian Nagelsmann won't be happy about a handful of lapses in concentration, but this was a big statement from Germany's biggest club.

The hope is it won't be the only one made by a Bundesliga team in Europe this season. German football proudly has eight of its 18 teams competing in European competition this season, but the question is can Germany do more than just be proud of that fact?

Matthias Sammer argued in "kicker" this week, it's time for Germany's pride about having the most teams in Europe to mean something.

"We mustn't look to England and moan about all the money there," Sammer told the magazine. It's time for teams other than Bayern Munich, such as Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig or Bayer Leverkusen to "push for the quarter or semifinals" and for the "winning mentality that has always set us apart to be sent around Europe."

Thanks to Frankfurt's heroic run in the Europa League last season, it's no longer just Bayern Munich who can be attributed with that winning mentality, but with more teams in Europe than in the last 14 years, can this season really be about more than just Bayern?

Is there more than Bayern?

Before Frankfurt, the issue for Bundesliga clubs in Europe was, for too long, everyone other than Bayern was a disappointment.

Borussia Dortmund, who went out in the group stages last season, want to return to their regular knockout-stage spot. The quarterfinals would be a welcome statement of their own especially in what is likely Jude Bellingham's last season at the club. Whether they can do so without Haaland and under the guidance of Edin Terzic are the decisive questions.

RB Leipzig, who made the Europa League semifinals last season, have joined Leverkusen in being the worst kind of unpredictable.

Sacking Domenico Tedesco after an admittedly poor showing against Shakhtar was a huge surprise, and with Marco Rose set to step in the way the club wants to play continues to swing back and forth. As for Leverkusen, little says more about where they are than conceding (and losing) to Brugge because Lukas Hradecky fell into the goal whilst making a save. Even a deep Europa League run could be tricky for these two clubs.

With Frankfurt being the first German side not called Bayern Munich to win a European trophy since 1997, it feels unfair to expect any more of the club this time around, especially with them playing in the Champions League. A somewhat weary performance in their opening game defeat to Sporting was perhaps the sign of a side with nothing left to give after last season's heroics.

Historic chance

With Europe's elite competition an increasingly closed shop, Germany's likeliest chance of a statement season in Europe could well be from Freiburg, Union Berlin or Cologne. The first two will be up against it in the Europa League but have been at their best as underdogs and so have the chance to surprise again. Cologne will be grateful for the chance to play in Europe and might just surprise everyone in the Conference League. A fairytale run to the semifinals is certainly not out of the question.

It has been 25 years since Borussia Dortmund and Schalke won the Champions League and the UEFA Cup in the same season, and it has been nearly a decade since the all-German Champions League final between Bayern and Dortmund. A lot has changed in German football since then, but in Europe a lot has stayed the same.

If, this season, Bayern are not the only name still in the headlines come late February, early March then the Bundesliga can be proud that their representatives didn't just make up the numbers.