Bundesliga clubs in Europe: Perspective please!

It's hardly been the sensational success story for Bundesliga teams in Europe over the past fortnight. Bayern were sluggish, Dortmund were defensively dormant, Schalke never stood a chance and Gladbach failed to beat a similar side from Spain. In fact, only Leverkusen - nobody saw that coming - and Wolfsburg - who continue to look very comfortable at the Europa League level - came out on top.

All this talk of the league of world champions and well, up against foreign opposition, things haven't quite gone to plan. Borussia Dortmund were perhaps the better side against Juventus but they still can't shrug off those defensive blues. It's all well and good having club hero Marco Reus sign a new contract and scoring goals, but it matters little if your defense is that porous.

Bayern just looked a little surprised that they weren't leading by three or four at the break. Pep Guardiola can talk all he wants about respect and the quality of the opposition in the Champions League. He knows he should be winning these games with this team.

What to say about Schalke? Well, their youngsters certainly stepped up… Seriously though, they were playing the defending champions and no one wants to draw them. The same could be for Gladbach in the Europa League - a competition that German teams take seriously from the start while the rest of Europe only really seems to care about from the quarterfinals onwards. Lucien Favre's side could have done without drawing the defending champions Sevilla, but their continued lack of composure in key moments is hampering them from breaking through their ceiling.

So that leaves the two torch bearers, Leverkusen and Wolfsburg. Roger Schmidt's men put in a season best performance against their Spanish superiors and deserved to win. I know, it's hard to believe that the side who let Augsburg goalkeeper Marwin Hitz score an equalizer the weekend before would then perform so completely. While most believe that the second leg could end nastily for Roger Schmidt's side, they probably deserve the benefit of the doubt and why shouldn't we give it to them? After all, they were the only German side to have won in the Champions League knockouts.

Wolfsburg strolled past Sporting and were handed a last 16 draw against Inter Milan, one that leaves the Bundesliga side primed to show just how far they've come. Quite frankly, out of all the German sides in Europe this season, Wolfsburg have the best chance of lifting a trophy. Bayern are haunted by phenomenal expectation. It's hard to really talk about Bayern being contenders until they surpass their expectation, which ultimately means making the final. Wolfsburg, on the other hand, have little or no expectation after a season or two of failed potential. Now though, they look to have awoken hungry from that slumber.

So where are Germany's representatives in Europe? Well, they are actually doing pretty well. Let's keep things in perspective. Apart from Bayern, everyone else is exceeding expectations by making it this far. In the Europa League, Gladbach went out to the sound of applause - Germany's recognition that just because you're in a competition longer than most doesn't mean you should win it - and Wolfsburg are seen as favorites to topple their Italian opponents. Even Mario Gomez scored a lovely goal for Fiorentina. That should be enough good news for anyone.