Video evidence: Petit, Farfan and Engelaar head to the Bundesliga

The Bundesliga has seen a wealth of foreign talent transferred in over the summer, yet unlike last summer Bayern Munich have stayed domestic in their transfer dealings.

1. Petit (Cologne)

At 31, Petit is by no means a spring chicken. However the experienced holding midfielder, signed from his beloved Benfica, is seen as an integral figure for the newly promoted Cologne who need some clichéd steal in front of the defence to give them a fighting chance of staying in Germany’s top flight.

The move made sense for Petit too, who found himself phased out at the Stadium of Light last season, only making 17 appearances and contributing one goal. At Cologne Petit stands head-and-shoulders above his teammates in terms of his CV, and this should afford him more opportunities to try and score free-kicks and take on the challenge of being a leader of the team.

Video evidence of Petit can be seen here.

2. Jefferson Farfan (Schalke)

Jefferson Farfan is one of those strikers who seems destined to end his career in disappointment by failing to live up to his potential.

Without doubt, Farfan is an out-and-out proven goal-scorer, who banged home 28 goals in 77 games for Alianza Lima, followed by an outstanding ratio of almost 2:1 at PSV Eindhoven, scoring 57 goals in 118 games. Internationally Farfan has also cut the mustard, scoring 12 goals in 36 games.

But his reputation off the pitch hangs like a dark shadow over the Peruvian’s head, after notoriously receiving an 18 months suspension from representing his country after allegedly being caught drinking alcohol and “partying” in a luxury hotel suit after Peru’s 1-1 draw against Brazil in 2010 World Cup qualifying match (source here). His playful reputation was then tinged with a dose of mischief at the start of the year, when Farfan publicly announced he was happy to remain a PSV player and he strongly denied jumping ship to another club, even though up until that point no-one had been linked with the forward.

Just a few months later Farfan has got his move Schalke, and provided the Germans can keep his mind focused on football, they may have got a gem who can once again make them title contenders.

Video evidence of Farfan can be seen here.

3. Orlando Engelaar (Schalke)

Ahead of Euro 2008, Engelaar was the player who nobody had seen but everyone was talking about after being picked out in all those “ones-to-watch” lists previewing the tournament. Captaining FC Twente, Engelaar played in his familiar holding central midfield role for the Dutch, having some decent performances as the Oranje wave built momentum until the Russians put them to bed in the quarters.

At 28, Engelaar should be hitting the prime of his career, and this is clearly the intention by moving to one of Germany’s big clubs. However he will have to battle to keep his place in the starting line up, with the excellent Christian Pander and the popular Jermaine Jones vying for positions in the centre of the midfield.

Together with Farfan, Schalke, who finished third last season and second the year before that, have a realistic chance of pushing Bayern all the way this season.

Video evidence of Engelaar can be seen here.