Average but beautiful

German football clubs are not among the richest, they don't rake in gigantic television fees, and their transfers are among the most frugal in Europe. So, they're pretty average in that respect - what could be more boring? But Germany's top league is on a roll - here's why:

For the love of the game

Watching the football with friends and family is about sharing the excitement and emotions that come with it. Since the World Cup in Germany in 2006, soccer has shed its slightly dirty image - gone are the days when mostly shady characters crowded the terraces.

For quite some time now, Saturday afternoons in the stadium have been more about a day out with the family. More and more women, mothers and kids flock to the big stadiums to watch their favorite club play.

And the atmosphere is increasingly dominated not by fans throwing flares and smoke bombs, but mostly by carefully choreographed cheering of the organized fan clubs.

And that seems to have attracted more people - almost 44,000 Bundesliga tickets were sold during the last season, which is more than the average stadium capacity. English premiership clubs sold 7,000 fewer tickets, Spain's Primera Division sold 16,000 fewer tickets last season.

Sound finances

Germany's top clubs are, overall, well-managed and financially sound. Bayern Munich's former president, Uli Hoeness, once said that Bayern only ever deal with the investment side of their bank, never the loan department. And that attitude seems to have spilled over to other clubs - despite the fact that Hoeness is currently serving time for irregularities in his private and business accounts.

Of the 36 clubs in Germany's top two soccer divisions, two thirds finished the 2013-14 season with a profit, which is significantly above last year's figure, according to consultants Ernst & Young.

There is a general trend towards a more professional approach to football management, with clubs looking for new sources of income and alternatives to bank loans, such as long-term investors.

Borussia Dortmund is a case in point. The recent capital increase of Germany's only listed club meant that it secured long-term investment from a sports equipment maker, an insurer and a conglomerate. A large part of that money is going towards paying off Dortmund's debt.

In England, Spain and Italy, however, similar steps seem to be unpopular - there, the clubs are desperate to court oligarchs for investment.

Grassroots funding

The Bundesliga, and the national side for that matter, have also reaped the rewards for its investment in young footballing talent. There have been hardly any major transfers ahead of the season. Italy's Ciro Immobile, who left Juventus Turin for Dortmund for the princely sum of 20 million euros, remains the most expensive investment.

Compare that to Barcelona, who have spent 120 million euros for new players. Real Madrid coughed up 80 million euros for Colombia's James Rodriguez. So, these two clubs alone have spent 200 million euros for new players - as much as all the German top clubs combined. For English and Spanish clubs, that'd be just a bit of petty cash really.

Looking at revenues from television rights for the five biggest leagues in Europe, Germany is in last place, with a meager 540 million euros. English premiership clubs rake in an impressive 2.2 billion euros for the right to show their league matches.

But money doesn't equal success in this case. While the leagues in those countries engage in sometimes outlandish financial adventures, German clubs don't need those experiments to woo the masses.

Hence, we in Germany should be proud to be average in this case. Here's to the beautiful game!