SSV Jeddeloh II, a fourth-tier Regionalliga club, beat 1. FC Heidenheim 5-2 in the DFB-Pokal first round — one of the great cup shocks in recent German football. Heidenheim's coach Frank Schmidt was suspended and watched from the stands as his team missed a penalty and conceded five. Elsewhere in the Pokal: Frankfurt 11-0 St. Tönis, comfortable wins for Stuttgart, Leverkusen, Hoffenheim, and Leipzig. Bayern and Dortmund don't play their first-round ties until September 1-2.

Premier League kicked off — Tottenham spent close to £300M this summer and got beaten 3-0 by Brentford on De Zerbi's opening day. Panic spending meets a brand new spine with zero time to gel.

La Liga also underway — Real Madrid and Barcelona both had delayed starts due to World Cup recovery. Mourinho's actual Real Madrid return: a grinding 2-1 win at Espanyol, substitute Carlos Espí scoring in the 90th. Flick's Barcelona debut: a statement 5-0 win over Elche, Raphinha and Fermín López both scoring twice. Two completely different coaching philosophies on display in the same weekend.

One week out from Bundesliga kickoff. Bayern vs Stuttgart at the Allianz next Friday. Full state-of-play check on the title race, the European race, and the relegation battle heading into matchday one.

Two weeks until Bundesliga kickoff — Bayern vs VfB Stuttgart at the Allianz on Friday August 28. Full season preview.

Musiala scare: fainted from heat exhaustion during Bayern's friendly against Leipzig (30°C+ in Munich, dizziness and circulatory problems). Bayern also lost Laimer and Kim in the same match — three first-teamers down before the Supercup.

Schalke 0-3 Real Madrid at the Veltins-Arena — Mbappé, Huijsen, Espí. Reality check for the newly promoted side, though it shouldn't scare anyone off their season.

Full title race: Bayern still favorites (double last season, goals record, Kompany to 2029). Dortmund challenge but Kovač's contract is a live question and they lost Adeyemi to Barcelona. Leipzig's Demichelis is the wildcard after Leipzig fired a coach who finished 3rd. Leverkusen have their third coach in a year — from a title two years ago to genuine uncertainty now.

European race: Hoffenheim took a real hit losing Touré to Newcastle for ~€50M but stay in the mix. Frankfurt lost Nathaniel Brown to Bayern with no equivalent incoming. Stuttgart consolidate after their Pokal final run.

Relegation: Elversberg and Paderborn are the drop picks. Köln and Hamburg fight for the playoff spot — genuinely a coin flip. Schalke, with their fanbase and finances, land comfortably mid-table at 13th, not scrapping for survival.

Full 18-club prediction table. Klopp names his first Germany squad in September. Musiala's health is the story to watch.

Next Friday: Franz Beckenbauer Supercup — Dortmund vs Bayern.

Seven big managerial changes this summer. Andrea Pirlo just added to the list — Italy appointed him Friday after Guardiola and Ancelotti both said no. Plus Jürgen Klopp at Germany, Zinedine Zidane at France, José Mourinho back at Real Madrid, Rúben Amorim at AC Milan, Massimiliano Allegri at Napoli, Enzo Maresca at Man City. Half of them national team jobs. All three of Europe's biggest football nations — Germany, France, Italy — have new coaches going into September.

Transfer window is chaos. Real Madrid signed Bernardo Silva on a free — hijacked from Barcelona — plus Konaté free from Liverpool, Cucurella €55M from Chelsea, Dumfries €20M from Inter. Mourinho building defensively. Bayern spent €110M on Nathaniel Brown (€55M from Frankfurt) and Ismael Saibari (€55M from PSV). Barcelona signed Anthony Gordon for €80M from Newcastle - and Karim Adeyemi for €29M from Dortmund. The Adeyemi transfer has Germany asking why: inconsistent Bundesliga output, disciplinary problems, missed CL final chances. Barcelona's bet: Hansi Flick can revive him.

Tottenham spent €267M after finishing 17th — Tonali at €100M leads the panic buying. Newcastle are being pillaged. Bayern strengthens, Bundesliga weakens. Same story as always.

Still in play: Julián Álvarez to Barcelona (Arsenal also bidding), Michael Olise to Real Madrid, Rodri chase, Bruno Fernandes to Galatasaray.

NBA: LeBron signed with Philadelphia. Two-year, $8M deal — 90% pay cut from his $53M last season. Sixers starting five: Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, Jaylen Brown, LeBron, Embiid. Most stacked team he's ever joined.

Charles Barkley on Stephen A. Smith: "The number one knock on LeBron for older guys like myself has always been, 'Yo, man, you always stacking your team.'" Coach's-eye on whether Barkley is right — LeBron's teams: Miami (Wade+Bosh+Allen+Battier), Cleveland (Irving+Love), LA (AD+Doncic+Reaves), now Philly with four All-Stars. Is he strategic or is he not a builder? Both, and neither.

Next episode: season preview. Premier League Aug 15. Bundesliga Aug 21.