Goal drought

Cheap tickets, standing in the stadium with a beer and being treated like an ordinary fan: as the BBC announced the results of their #PriceofFootball study on Wednesday of this week, the Bundesliga was once again held up as the benchmark. In addition to the famed German matchday experience, those who experience the league on pay TV also have access to one of the most enthralling ways to follow a league: the Samstag Konferenz, which covers all Saturday matches simultaneously.

Those distinctive shouts of "TOR, TOR, TOR!" when a goal is scored, from commentators spread the length and breadth of the country, are etched alongside some of German football's most entertaining moments.

But this season, it seems, those in the commentary box have spent most of their time twiddling their thumbs, as defensive football makes a crunching return to the German top-flight.

Stats don’t lie

The current numbers, as provided by German sports magazine "kicker," clearly show that less goals are being scored this season, in comparison to previous ones. So far 2014/2015 is the lowest-scoring season in the last ten years, with just 164 goals netted in 63 matches. After the first seven matchdays, eight games have also ended without a goal being scored. Last season the first 0-0 draw came in the ninth weekend of Bundesliga action, after some 60 matches.

And, in comparison with the other top leagues in Europe, the Bundesliga is lagging behind on goals too. The English Premier League has seen 196 goals in 70 matches with each game averaging 2.8 goals, while Spain's top division ranks just behind with 2.73 goals per game. Germany’s per game average sits at 2.6.

There could be several explanations for the new trend, of course. Some might argue that it’s a case of World Cup hangover, with Germany’s top playmakers and strikers struggling generally with fitness and motivation. Also, some of the new transfers to the Bundesliga are clearly taking time to find their rhythm. But the other argument could be simple: some clubs have learned from their mistakes in previous years and are now just defending better.

Gisdol locks the backdoor

Look at Hoffenheim for instance. The team from Germany’s south west had a skittish approach to defending last season. They chased goal-scoring opportunities as if it was a guaranteed passage to points, seemingly content with the leaks coming at the other end of the pitch. But, with only ninth place last season to show for all of their attacking efforts there was a need for a tactical rethink.

Markus Gisdol, the club's head coach, has fixed the defensive woes from the past, as he looks to guide Hoffenheim towards Europe. They have conceded six goals so far this season, which is a marked improvement on last season's figure of 18 at the same stage.

The club has also spent money on getting more defensive help. Highly-rated goalkeeper Oliver Baumann was bought from Freiburg for more than four million euros ($5.12 million), and the four-man backline was reinforced by Emir Bickacic's arrival from Eintracht Braunschweig and battle-hardened midfielder Pirmin Schwegler coming from Frankfurt.

Those additions have inspired a steady upturn in Hoffenheim's defensive performances. The team’s 4-3-3 formation, meanwhile, still offers the flexibility to include the likes of Kevin Volland and Roberto Firmino together up front.

Every point counts

But Hoffenheim's stinginess in defense is being matched by one of the newly-promoted teams from the second division, too. Cologne spent most of their summer break strengthening their attack - Simon Zoller came from Kaiserslautern and Yuya Osako from 1860 Munich - but their head coach Peter Stöger has also installed a steely discipline to defend among all his players.

Stöger's favored formation is a variation of 4-4-2, but with energetic and industrious front-man Osako tasked with bridging defense and attack to give company to the lone striker Anthony Ujah.

When they lose possession, the Billy Goats revert to two compacted banks of four players, compressing the space available for the opposition to operate in. Stöger has watched his side suffocate the tempo of several league matches this season and grind out three of the eight goalless draws with only six goals conceded.

In comparison, by the seventh weekend of last season, Nuremberg and Eintracht Braunschweig, the two clubs eventually relegated, had conceded 30 goals between them. Hamburg and Freiburg also picked up the ball out of their own net scores of times in the early weeks of the 2013-14 campaign.

This season, HSV are another side seeing a huge improvement at the back. Josef Zinnbauer's charges have conceded 11 less goals in the first seven weeks when compared to last season. Kasper Hjulmand’s Mainz also have a better defensive record than under Thomas Tuchel. Gladbach and Augsburg have also improved.

So, the "goals win games" tactic looks to have gone out of fashion in Germany for the moment, it seems. Instead, pragmatism and battening down the hatches is winning. But, that's not necessarily good for the entertainment value of the Bundesliga.