The Germans: coming to Wembley, and coming for the Premier League? The hammering that the English national team took in the 2010 World Cup adds to the impression that the German system is working more effectively than our own. England's supposedly "world class" stars were left looking pedestrian by more dynamic, more powerful and more technically accomplished opponents like Bastian Schweinsteiger, Mesut Özil and Thomas Muller. The likes of Andres Iniesta and Xavi this week found themselves sharing some sympathy with Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard and company. Since the nadir of the 2000 European Championships, German football has reinvigorated itself. That tournament saw Kevin Keegan's England defeat Germany 1-0 thanks to an Alan Shearer goal, but the spectacle of 4-4-2, big lads up front - Carsten Jancker started for the Germans - and plenty of shouting about "passion" looked desperately old fashioned in a tournament illuminated by skilful sides like Portugal and Zidane's France. Whichever of England and Germany had won in Charleroi, it was painfully obvious that both nations had been left behind by nippier, smarter, more skilful players and nations. The journalist Neil Rowlands memorably described the much-hyped England v Germany game as "like two bald men fighting over a comb." Since then, one of those two nations has come on in leaps and bounds. The other features a club who paid £35 million for Andy Carroll. Germany has made it mandatory for all clubs in the top two divisions to have youth academies since 2002 and has spent some £600m on youth development. Seven of Dortmund's young side on Wednesday night are German; when they beat Manchester City earlier in the season, ten of the line-up were domestic players. Off the pitch, the Bundesliga is not so in thrall to the cheque books of rich foreign owners. The German league's rules ensure that 50 per cent plus one of the shares must be owned by the fans, and it seems likely that Financial Fair Play will not cause nearly so many problems in Germany as it could here. Dortmund made a pre-tax profit of £31.5m for 2011-12 (Manchester City, for example, lost £97m that same period). It is interesting to note that you can get a season ticket at Dortmund's magnificent stadium for roughly the same price as a cappuccino at the Emirates So the German league has high attendances, cheap tickets, good atmosphere and a lot of talented, dynamic young domestic players playing a direct and exciting brand of football. The English league is never going to produce players like Xavi and Iniesta, or teams like Barcelona, but surely the Bundesliga is a realistic role model? Before we get too carried away with the wonder of all things German, it should be noted that the Bundesliga is by no reasonable measure competitive as a sporting contest. Like England and Spain, only a couple of clubs begin any season with realistic chances of winning. And nor does the fan ownership prevent the best players congregating in one place. Bayern Munich are 20 points clear of second placed Dortmund and are in the process of buying their best players. Money still talks but, as Spain and England have found out recently, it increasingly seems to be speaking German.