The top XI

The front line

This season saw Bayern Munich win all the silverware available in Germany with a formation that most often consisted of a lone center forward and two wingers. And who are we at Deutsche Welle to disagree with Louis van Gaal?

So our first pick up front is Arjen Robben. He immediately made an impact when he was substituted in at half-time in round 4, scoring a pair of goals. Week 10, when he more or less recovered fully from injury was when Bayern recovered from their weak start and went on a roll that earned them yet another title.

Our second inclusion is Werder Bremen's Mesut Oezil, who was the consensus choice for the MVP of the first half of the season. He tailed off somewhat in 2010, but still ended up with 17 assists - tops in the Bundesliga. That stat gave him the nod over teammate Marko Marin, who garnered praise from Matt.

And our unanimous choice at the point of the spear is Wolfsburg's Edin Dzeko. 22 goals and 10 assists speak volumes on a team that wasn't on form for much of the season. He picked up Bundesliga's golden boot and is on the shopping list of practically every big club in Europe. "A natural goal-getter," as Paul put it - which, when you think about it, is precisely what a striker should be.

The men in the middle

In offensive midfield, the choice was between Bayern's Thomas Mueller and Leverkusen's Toni Kroos. They're pretty similar actually. Both are twenty years of age, boast comparable stats (13 goals/11 assists and 9 goals/12 assists respectively) and are now German nationals.

But Toni Kroos got the nod for putting up his numbers with a worse team. The duel between these two for playing time should be interesting in both the German national team and in Munich, where Kroos is headed next season.

Jefferson, being a fan of hara-kiri attacking football, wanted to include Mueller as well, but reason prevailed, as both Paul and Matt argued that a 4-3-3 usually requires two defensive midfielders.

And the choice there was a no-brainer: Bayern's Bastian Schweinsteiger and Mark van Bommel. This tag team simultaneously disrupted opponents' attacks, often with studs up, and provided the all-important opening pass on the majority of Bayern's strikes.

"Basti van Schweinbommel" left a lot of foes holding both their heads and their shins.

The back line

At the back, Bayern's Philipp Lahm attracted everyone's votes. Although this was hardly his best season statistically, he's simply one of the most skilled players in the world at his position. And as Matt pointed out, "he added team leadership to on-field excellence," daring to speak up about Bayern's problems when others were afraid to.

The list of potential candidates for central defense was long and included Leverkusen's Sami Hyypia, Schalke's Marcelo Bordon and Bremen's Per Mertesacker. But in the end, we decided that our guys should not just defend but do some scoring, too.

So the choice fell to Bayern's Daniel van Buyten and Naldo of Bremen, who had twelve goals between them. By way of comparison, that was more than the top two strikers at Bochum. And unlike their counterparts up front at Bochum, the goals these two popped in often came when it mattered most.

Completing our back four is Rafinha from Schalke. He was not only an integral part of the defense that, together with Bayern, conceded the fewest goals in the league. The hard-partying Brazilian managed to get through the season with only a couple of minor scandals.

Last but certainly not least: although Matt made a passionate case for Hamburg's Frank Rost in goal, Jefferson and Paul overruled him in favor of Schalke's Manuel Neuer. The 24-year-old still makes the odd mistake, but no one in the league is better at spectacular saves or long balls to trigger attacks.

The head coaches

Wait a second, you'll be thinking. Doesn't a team only have one head coach? Well, there's nothing that says you can't a tandem, and if ever there were a season, when two men deserved the honor, it was this one.

The first is Louis van Gaal. In Matt's words, the Dutchman "survived the club's traditional trial-by-boardroom-whispering-campaign and won in swashbuckling style." He also changed the way Bayern played, making it into "a team neutrals found slightly harder to dislike."

But Paul also made a convincing case for Schalke's Felix Magath "because he couldn't ask the club to go out and buy him a 30 million player like Robben." Coaching Schalke is never a walk in the park, but doing it on a budget, successfully, deserves serious respect.

So rather than debate the merits of apples and oranges, we'll just take both of them. Plus, it would be so much fun listening to them argue about tactics and personnel.

Magath and van Gaal were the two coaches who set the tone in the league this season, and our top XI clearly reflects that fact. It will be intriguing to see if the same is true next season, or whether some upstarts arise to once again shake up the familiar patterns in German soccer.

The top XI was selected by Paul Chapman, Matt Hermann and Jefferson Chase.

Author: Jefferson Chase
Editor: Matt Hermann