ESPN kicks off second season of Bundesliga coverage

ESPN+ will kick off its second season of Bundesliga coverage in the U.S. on Friday, August 13, with presentation of Borussia Mönchengladbach vs. reigning 2020-2021 league champions FC Bayern München, live from Borussia-Park in Mönchengladbach at 2:30 p.m. ET, in English and Spanish exclusively on ESPN+. Live coverage of the match will kick off at 2 p.m. ET on ESPN+ with a 30-minute ESPN FC pregame show.

Throughout the season, ESPN+ will stream more than 300 Bundesliga matches in English and Spanish. ABC, ESPN and ESPN Deportes will also televise select matches during the season as part of a multi-year agreement that makes ESPN+ the exclusive English- and Spanish-language home for all Bundesliga and select Bundesliga 2 matches in the U.S.

In the first two weekends of Bundesliga action – Friday, Aug. 13 through Sunday, Aug. 22 – ESPN+ will livestream all 18 of the league’s matches. ABC will broadcast Bayer 04 Leverkusen vs. Borussia Mönchengladbach, live from BayArena in Leverkusen, on Saturday, Aug. 21, beginning at 12:30 p.m. The broadcast marks the second straight season a Bundesliga match will air on ABC. ESPN Deportes will carry the Spanish-language telecast of the match.

Bundesliga – Match Week 1 and 2 on ESPN+, ESPN Deportes and ABC

In addition to the season-opening game, ESPN+ will stream 17 matches in weeks one and two including select matches in Spanish (see schedule at bottom of this article).

ESPN FC: Borussia Mönchengladbach vs. FC Bayern München Pregame Special (ESPN+, Friday at 2 p.m.)

Kay Murray, analysts Jürgen Klinsmann, Shaka Hislop and reporter Archie Rhind-Tutt (on site) will kick off ESPN+’s live coverage of Borussia Mönchengladbach vs. FC Bayern München season-opener on Friday at 2 p.m. with a special, 30-minute ESPN FC pregame show. The ESPN FC crew will also host the halftime and postgame show of the Bundesliga 2021-22 curtain raiser.

Throughout the season, ESPN FC will serve as the daily show of record for the most up-to-date news, highlights and analysis about the Bundesliga in the United States. The daily news and information show features host Dan Thomas alongside a rotating cast of analysts such as Klinsmann (Germany), Craig Burley (Scotland), Alejandro Moreno (Venezuela), Kasey Keller (USA), Shaka Hislop (Trinidad and Tobago), and contributors Derek Rae and Rhind-Tutt reporting from Germany.

Available exclusively on ESPN+, ESPN FC will also provide surround programming – pregame, halftime and postgame segments – on select match days.

Select ESPN Bundesliga Commentators

Derek Rae returns as the lead play-by-play voice for Bundesliga on ESPN+, ABC and ESPN networks. One of the most recognized voices in football commentary and a fluent German speaker, Rae will continue in his role as one of the main voices on Bundesliga world feed telecasts, calling matches from stadiums in Germany that will stream on ESPN+. Also, he contributes as a Bundesliga insider on ESPN FC, and as a weekly columnist on ESPN.com/soccer

Mark Donaldson, ESPN’s soccer play-by-play commentator for top international leagues and competitions – Serie A, UEFA EUROs and more – joins the team as a recurring Bundesliga voice.

Jürgen Klinsmann, former manager of the Germany and U.S. Men’s National teams and 1990 FIFA World Cup champion returns as a recurring studio analyst for Bundesliga on ESPN+ and ESPN networks

Kasey Keller, former U.S. Men’s National Team and Borussia Mönchengladbach goalkeeper, returns for the season as match ad studio analyst.

Kay Murray recently signed an extension, serves as lead host for ESPN FC Live pregame show. A two-time co-host of FIFA Ballon d’Or (2011 and 2012), football’s most prestigious awards ceremony, Murray joined ESPN International in February 2020.

German football journalist Archie Rhind-Tutt returns as ESPN television reporter covering Bundesliga matches from site, primarily for ESPN FC.

Lutz Pfannenstiel is a former German professional goalkeeper and the current Sporting Director for the new MLS franchise, St. Louis City SC.

Many of ESPN’s recognized soccer analysts will also contribute to coverage of Bundesliga, including ESPN FC host Dan Thomas; lead soccer analyst Taylor Twellman, who began his professional career in 2000 with 1860 Munich; Craig Burley, former Scottish National Team and Chelsea FC midfielder; and former Venezuelan National Team forward and three-time MLS Cup champion Alejandro Moreno.

ESPN Deportes

In addition to live telecasts of select matches, ESPN’s 24-hour Spanish-language sports network will provide news and information coverage of Bundesliga’s 59th season across SportsCenter, Jorge Ramos y Su Banda and Ahora o Nunca. The network’s European soccer show Fuera de Juego will serve as the company’s Spanish-language show of record for the league.

Bundesliga TV schedule

All times Eastern USA