Lift Off in Europe!

The English football season kicked off last weekend in blockbuster fashion and the continental European season kicked off on a cracking note with Tuesday's thrilling UEFA Super Cup between Barcelona and Sevilla in Tbilisi.

The Bundesliga kicks off this weekend with hopes that someone will rise to properly challenge Pep Guardiola's imperious Bayern Munich side. There is a bit of hope with long-time stalwart, Bastian Schweinsteiger now at Manchester United - although it has to be said that the pig hunter was seeking new adventures approaching the autumn of his career.

It'll be interesting to see how Borussia Dortmund perform in the post-Jurgen Klopp era. They had an appalling first half to the campaign but recovered to finished in the Europa League spots, but well below their best from the last 5 seasons. Much as the Westfalenstadion would like to think they are amongst Europe's elite, they still seem to lose a lot of their best players to the more "sexy" names in football - questions persist over star pivot, Marco Reus' future.

The other big story in Germany is Wolfsburg's Kevin de Bruyne. The Volkswagen owned club are struggling to hold onto their former Chelsea star with Man City as usual interested. de Bruyne was key to Wolfsburg's rise to 2nd place last season and with Champions League football this season, the team in green will be hoping that playing in Europe's premier competition will keep the Belgian in central Germany for one more season at least.

Down the table, Darmstadt (near Frankfurt) and Ingolstadt (halfway point on the ICE high speed line between Munich and Nuremberg, famous for being Audi's HQ) will be tussling to stay up in their first seasons in Germany's top flight.

They will be in a struggle that could very well involve once mighty Hamburger SV. The Red Shorts have had an awful last two seasons and one feels this season could be another long one as little has changed in management and in player personnel. It could very well be a case of them playing for a playoff spot where they would take on the easy fodder of the 3rd place team from the second division.

The French season kicked off last weekend with Paris St-Germain winning in week 1 for the first time in a long time, and Marcelo Bielsa resigning just minutes after Marseille's home defeat to Caen - another season of disappointment beckons for France's most supported club from the deep south. It looks like once again, the Qatari-backed capital club are the team to beat with the rest having to catch up.

Spain's La Liga and Italy's Serie A kick off next weekend. While Serie A's absence from the Champions League final ended last season, the strength of Italian football is still not what it was - a sign of the times being Xherdan Shaqiri leaving the San Siro for the Potteries, something that would not have been considered possible 5 years ago when Inter were European champions, let alone in the glorious 1990s. Juventus have also lost a few key players, inc. Arturo Vidal to Bayern Munich and Paul Pogba is still wanted by many clubs.

The situation is a little bit better in Spain if you're Barca, Real or Atletico. The title will probably be between Barca or Real with Barca favourites ahead of Real who will need to adapt quickly to Rafa Benitez's style. Benitez's selection of the popular Carlo Ancelotti was very controversial and it remains to be seen if Ronaldo, Bale, et al. will take kindly to the former Liverpool manager.

Down the table, Eibar will be hoping to stay up on merit after given a late reprieve after Elche were demoted for financial irregularities. Real Betis will be looking upwards and onwards after their last season in the top flight ended in abject failure, while Sporting Gijon and Las Palmas will be hoping to stay in La Liga this time around.

For Las Palmas, it will be the Canary Islands' first time in the top flight in 14 years and the holiday island would probably want to hope it doesn't just end in one season.

So another long season of football beckons with the European Championships at the end of the summer. Bring it on!