“There are a lot of reasons to be happy about Germany right now. Comparatively, things are really great there. More importantly, they have an excellent soccer team. As James Tyler wrote at The Classical, they’re a really good soccer team because they’ve decided to stop being German.” Run of Play
“Stuttgart comfortably defeated near-ish neighbours Freiburg in the Bundesliga’s Baden-Württemberg derby by four goals to one, with Martin Harnik bagging his tenth and 11th goals of the season. Although question marks over the Swabian outfit’s ability to defend set-pieces remain, with Stuttgart having conceded a needless goal from a corner in the first half, thereby allowing Freiburg to temporarily enjoy a spell on top, Bruno Labbadia’s side simply had far too much attacking quality for the visiting defence here, whose inexperience was plain for all to see. Added to that, Christian Streich’s side showed at the Mercedes-Benz Arena this afternoon that they are severely lacking in quality and invention in the final-third, although the coach may point to last weekend’s 0-0 draw against Bayern Munich, which might conceivably have taken a lot out of his young side both mentally and physically.” Defensive Midfielder
“You wonder what Marcelo Bielsa must think of it all. In 2011 the two most successful club sides in the world have been Barcelona and Universidad de Chile. Both play hard pressing, attacking football, often going with three at the back. In other words, they both play Bielsista football – which raises the question of why the man himself is leading Athletic Bilbao to upper mid-table in Spain rather than managing one of the continent’s giants.” World Soccer – Jonathan Wilson (YouTube)
“Despite a couple of below par performances in the new year, this season still holds a lot of promise for Bayern Munich. They currently sit in second place in the Bundesliga just two points behind reigning champions Borussia Dortmund, have reached the semi finals of the DFB-Pokal (German Cup) and comfortably won their Champions League group.” Swiss Ramble
“FC Bayern Munich has been following Xherdan Shaqiri’s progress keenly since September 2010, when the Swiss winger’s raw ability was noticed in two Champions League meetings with FC Basel at the age of 18. ‘If Bayern was to call, I wouldn’t have to think too long,’ Shaqiri said at the time, in response to Swiss media speculation that the Germans were interested to secure his services. Bayern kept tabs on the player and asked Basel keep the lines of communication open.” SI
“England are without a manager, and the FA are known to favour an English candidate for the job. Harry Redknapp is the overwhelming favourite, but the problem with favouring an English candidate is that there are so few English managers working in the Premier League. How does this situation compare to other major footballing countries in Europe?” ZonaL Marking
“Polish striker Artur Sobiech came off the bench to salvage an 89th minute equalizer for Hannover away at Mainz. It was no less than the visitors deserved after an even, positive and entertaining game between two of the sides bidding to qualify for next season’s Europa League. Mainz had taken an early lead through Mohamed Zidan, and had at least half-a-dozen chances to put the game to bed before the 21-year-old Hannover substitute struck. Although Mainz coach Thomas Tuchel will no doubt leave the Coface Arena tonight lamenting the fact that his side were seconds away from a win that would have put them level on points with tenth-placed Hoffenheim, deep down he’ll be pleased at his side’s performance, and realise that a share of the spoils was a more accurate reflection of the game.” Defensive Midfielder
“What is the most you have ever paid for a ticket for football? An official one, mind, not one from a tout. £50? Certainly not if you follow your team away from home and have been to the Emirates, Stamford Bridge, White Hart Lane or even in the nPower Championship at Upton Park recently where £50 will get you entry and not even a sniff of a bottle of Emirates water or pie and mash in East London. What about for a cup final? The FA think fans will bend over backwards to be shafted for these tickets but rarely do they go into three figures.” The Ball is Round
“There are no Bundesliga statistics for distances covered by coaches on the sideline, but Holger Stanislawski would surely be well ahead of his peers in that particular discipline. The 42-year-old boss of TSG Hoffenheim 1899, a caffeine addict who confesses to drinking several pots (not cups) of the black stuff every day, often seems to cover more ground than one or two of his players.” SI
“Augsburg remain rooted in the relegation zone after failing to overcome an alarmingly poor Hoffenheim side. Although the hosts played some good stuff to get their noses in front for about 20 minutes at the start of the second-half, they were lucky to go in with the score at 1-1 at the break after putting in a 45-minute performance that lacked concentration, creativity, movement and fight. Augsburg deservedly took the lead shortly after the 30-minute mark, before a mistake allowed Hoffenheim to grab an equalizer just under ten minutes later. After then falling behind early in the second half, Augsburg again grew into a position of command, but could only manage one more goal, albeit an equalizer.” Defensive Midfielder
“Qualifying for next season’s Champions League remains a tall order for both Werder Bremen and Bayer Leverkusen after they shared the spoils this afternoon following an evenly-contested match. Claudio Pizarro’s goal midway through the first-half didn’t quite come against the run of play, but Robin Dutt’s Leverkusen had been by far the better side in the game’s opening quarter. A half-time substitution and formational change revitalized Leverkusen, putting them back in the driving seat, and the visitors deservedly grabbed an early equalizer from a corner after a Tim Wiese mistake. Erin Derdiyok and Lars Bender looked particularly dangerous for the visitors thereafter, but neither side could grab a winner, despite having a plethora of chances in the closing stages. The result keeps the sides in fifth and sixth places respectively, and five points behind the side currently sitting ‘last’ in the top-four, Borussia Mönchengladbach (who are yet to play this weekend).” Defensive Midfielder
“No wonder Franz Beckenbauer felt as if he was “watching a repeat”. The first Bundesliga match day of 2012 was to the opening round of the season what the average Hollywood sequel is to the original: plot, leading characters and ending were basically all the same, with simply a few more bangs and needlessly bloody, gory action scenes thrown in for good measure.” Guardian
Fishing boats and coaster in heavy weather – Ludolf Bakhuizen
“There is a clear lack of equilibrium in the demand and supply of natural deep playmaking midfielders, the rapid progression of the 4-2-3-1 over the previous decade has seen a huge rise in the stock of a breed of midfielders who were thought to be dying. Indeed, it was one of the finest midfield orchestrators, Pep Guardiola, who in 2004, while managing Qatar FC, lamented about how his older role was not deemed unwanted in an age of revolving around the use of specific defensive midfielders and attacking midfielders: ‘The emphasis, as far as central midfielders are concerned, is all on defensive work'” The False 9 – Part 1, Part 2
Borussia Dortmund celebrate
“As the major continental leagues resume following the winter break – Serie A and La Liga returned to action over the weekend, with Ligue 1 and the Bundesliga set to follow suit in the next fortnight – Pitchside Europe looks at ten issues that will help determine the balance of power across Europe in the 12 months ahead.” Eurosport
“They have given notice of their talent already in 2011, but this coming year could be a big one for some of the world’s top young stars. With Euro 2012 on the horizon and some of the 2014 World Cup qualifiers having already begun, there will be plenty of Under-21 players looking to make the step up, while the prospect of a lucrative transfer may be a driving force for some of those who impress most in the New Year.” ESPN
“A week ago, we drew attention to the mysterious falling out between Hertha Berlin’s coach Markus Babbel and the club’s general manager, Michael Preetz, and said the two might soon part ways. However, nobody could’ve expected that the matter would come to a head only a few days later and that Babbel would be fired less than 24 hours after his team snatched a point away at Hoffenheim.” ESPN
“Manchester United are out of the Champions League after a 2-1 defeat away in Switzerland. Hieko Vogel was without his veteran central midfielder Benjamin Huggel because of a calf strain, so played Cabral instead. Sir Alex Ferguson played Wayne Rooney upfront, supported by Park Ji-Sung, with Ryan Giggs and Phil Jones in the midfield. United dominated possession and created more goalscoring chances – but Basel’s tactics were clever, and although they rode their luck on occasion, weren’t entirely flattered by the victory.” Zonal Marking
“As ever, with thedraw for the European Championship, the first thought is how many exciting ties there are in prospect in the group stage. Holland vs. Germany, Spain vs. Italy, France vs. England, Portugal’s games against the Dutch and the Germans … this is how tournament soccer ought to be; big games at every turn. The World Cup, ludicrously bloated as it now is, doesn’t offer that sense of immediacy, of giants clashing from the off, and the fear must be that as the euros expand to 24 teams from 2016, it too will be diminished by the grind of small sides packing their half and seeking to frustrate opponents.” SI – Jonathan Wilson
“2nd v 1st going into the game, but this draw allowed Bayern Munich to return to the top. Lucien Favre was without Marco Rues, so Raul Bobadilla played alongside Mike Hanke. At the back, Martin Stranzl returned from injury and was in for Roel Brouwers. Jurgen Klopp is still missing Sven Bender after he got injured against Arsenal, so Ilkay Gundogan played instead – otherwise, the side was as expected. This wasn’t a particularly tactical match – the sides played their usual systems, there were no major switches in formation, and the first substitute entered the pitch in the 77th minute.” Zonal Marking
“Faton Toski grabbed two goals and three assists as Bochum gave Aue a harsh lesson in the virtues of taking your chances. Despite the hosts bossing the ball in the opening 45 minutes of this Sunday afternoon 2. Bundesliga clash between two mid-table sides, Aue actually had more chances, but were profligate and up against Bochum’s impressive goalkeeper, Andreas Luthe. But, at the other end, Toski and Christoph Kramer helped tear Aue open, with Marcel Maltritz, Mirkan Aydın and Toski himself scoring the goals that gave coach Andreas Bergmann’s side a 3-0 lead at the break. The hosts added two more goals to their tally shortly after the restart, with Toski unplayable and Aue seemingly having thrown in the towel, before Aydın grabbed his second and Bochum’s sixth to cap a memorable day.” Defensive Midfielder
“Two of the Bundesliga’s best strikers made their mark as Hannover and Freiburg played out a 1-1 draw that keeps the latter in the relegation zone. For nearly 70 minutes, it had looked as though the class of Mohammed Abdellaoue was going to settle a not particularly memorable tie in the visitors’ favour. They were the better team in the first half, and took the lead through an own goal after great work by the Norwegian international.” Defensive Midfielder
“A few months, even a few weeks, ago, it would have been silly to assume that the game between the two Borussias – Dortmund and Mönchengladbach – on the coming Saturday would pair the league leaders with the runners-up. Too difficult was Dortmund’s start to this season, too narrowly did Gladbach avoid relegation in the last season for anyone to predict this match would be anything special.” ESPN
Franck Ribéry
“Twelve Champions League thoughts from Round 5 of the Group Stage…” SI
“Hamburg hauled themselves out of the relegation zone for the first time this season by winning their first home match in eight months. They beat former St Pauli hero Holger Stanislawski’s Hoffenheim side 2-0, although if the visitors had been a bit more clinical in front of goal, the outcome of this match – which saw two 4-4-2 systems cancel one another out for large spells – might have been quite different. However, Hamburg were good value for their win, and remain unbeaten under new coach Thorsten Fink.” Defensive Midfielder
Eintracht Frankfurt 4-3 Alemannia Aachen
“Friedhelm Funkel endured a miserable return to Eintracht Frankfurt as his Aachen side lost an incredible topsy-turvy game at the Commerzbank-Arena. The 57-year-old must take a big portion of the blame too, because, anachronistically, he decided to start the match in a 3-5-2 system: which, coupled with a Boy Waterman blunder, saw Aachen 2-0 down and totally outclassed in the first half. Despite changing to a 4-4-2 diamond shape after the break and netting three late goals (for which Funkel deserves some credit, even if his team were still too flat until the final 12 minutes), Aachen still managed to lose after Karim Matmour’s 89th minute header.” Defensive Midfielder
“Germany played two games this week – 3-3 draw away in Ukraine, followed by a convincing 3-0 win over Holland. The games were completely different – in nature, in scoreline and in purpose. The friendly with Holland was treated as a ‘proper’ game, against a side who are both traditional rivals, and a serious competitor. The Ukraine game was used to test some ideas out, with Jogi Loew using a brand new formation.” Zonal Marking (Video)
“One third into the new season, it’s a good time to look at who’s who, who dunnit and who didn’t. Here’s this fall’s list of Bundesliga movers and shakers.” SI
“Following the Autumn of Nations in 1989, many of the football leagues in Central and Eastern Europe went through revolutions of their own. The main leagues of Czechoslovakia split to form two new leagues in the newly independent Czech Republic and Slovakia. The Soviet Supreme League was disbanded and new championships were formed in the former Soviet Republics. The likes of Dynamo Kiev, Dinamo Minsk, Dinamo Tbilisi and Neftchi Baku were no longer faced with long trips to Moscow or St Petersburg and the perceived bias in favour of the Russian teams. Instead they were founder members of new competitions in Ukraine, Belarus, Georgia and Azerbaijan respectively. Whilst Hungary, Poland and initially Yugoslavia remained sovereign states, even their leagues were hugely affected by the collapse of communism, with many teams no longer able to rely on the State for their budget, recruitment and influence.” In Bed With Maradoma
“Borussia Dortmund capitalised on yet another mistake-ridden defensive performance by Wolfsburg to move up to second place in the Bundesliga. Felix Magath started the match with an extremely defensive line-up in a bid to crowd out Dortmund’s midfield-based passing game, and despite these tactics working perfectly in the opening ten minutes of the match, a mistake at the back allowed Dortmund to score, forcing Wolfsburg to come out and play, thereby leaving themselves open to the magic of Shinji Kagawa and Mario Götze – both of whom gave attacking-midfield masterclasses. The 5-1 defeat leaves Wolfsburg in 14th place with the second-worst goal difference in the Bundesliga, and you can’t help but feel that if it was anyone but title-winning coach Felix Magath at the helm, the board’s trigger finger would be getting twitchy.” Defensive Midfielder
“Michael Sternkopf became the latest in an ever growing list of soccer personalities to go public with a very private matter this Tuesday. Not long ago, the 41-year-old general manager of Kickers Offenbach would probably have done anything in his powers to keep his secret out of the limelight. But German soccer’s attitude has changed to the point that the former Bayern Munich midfielder felt able to talk to the biggest tabloid Bild openly about his condition: he has checked into a clinic for treatment of burnout syndrome. ‘I’m not able to do my job at the moment,’ he told the newspaper.” SI
“Things are going well for SG Dynamo Dresden at the moment, a club rich in history as a former giant of East Germany. Back in the 2. Bundesliga this season for the first time in five years, a positive atmosphere at ‘Dünamö’ is growing rapidly, as they seek to put recent troubles behind them. Dresden, the ‘Florence of the Elbe’ is one of Germany’s most politically and culturally important, and most beautiful, cities. Saxon neighbour Leipzig has always been seen as the more modern city compared with Dresden’s classical and traditional atmosphere, a city better-known for its Baroque architecture, as an important centre of art and music in the 19th and early 20th centuries, and as the proud centre of the old Kingdom of Saxony.” In Bed With Maradona
“Fürth beat Energie Cottbus 2-0 and shot back to the top of the 2. Bundesliga table thanks to a performance that was built on a solid defence and deadly attack. The Bavarians were just too good for their East German hosts, who struggled for inspiration and urgency. Although the visitors were under the kosh for about 20 minutes straight during the second half, Cottbus barely created a single chance in that period, let alone during the whole match. Fürth could easily have scored several more goals at the Stadion der Freundschaft this afternoon, and nobody in green put a foot wrong all game: defensive midfielder Edgar Prib was in particularly fine form, and my man of the match. Surely there can be nobody out there now who doubts the title-winning credentials of Mike Büskens’ side?” Defensive Midfielder
“It was a historic win of sorts — Bayer Leverkusen had not won any of its last seven games against Spanish teams in Europe — and remarkable in the most enigmatic of ways. After the 2-1 win over Valencia on Wednesday night, players and officials weren’t quite sure whether they should revel in a rather sensational second-half comeback or be shocked about the opening 40 minutes, when the whole team had ‘disappeared into an abyss of horror,’ as Süddeutsche Zeitung wrote. Michael Ballack, a 35-year-old veteran who has been around the block a few times, declared that non-performance before the break ‘probably the worst I’ve been involved in as a footballer’.” SI
“A seldom-heralded midfielder for Germania Wiesbaden and Viktoria Dortmund, Cramer served as an officer in a parachute division during World War Two and later coached several minor club sides in his native North Rhine-Westphalia region before his appointment as a talent scout and coach for the DFB in 1948, where he worked under the tutelage of Sepp Herberger, the future architect of ‘The Miracle of Bern’.” World Soccer
Dettmar Cramer
“Dettmar Cramer (born 4 April 1925 in Dortmund) is a German former football player and coach who led Bayern Munich to the 1975 and 1976 European Cups. Cramer is commonly considered to be the father of modern football in Japan and is a member of the Order of the Sacred Treasure, 3rd Class. He also briefly coached the United States men’s national soccer team.” Wikipedia
“These two sides seemed to settle for a draw in the final stages – they remain in the top two positions in Group A, the toughest in the competition. Walter Mazzarri went with his first choice XI with one caveat – Juan Zuniga played instead of Andrea Doessena as the left wing-back, although he is seeing a lot of playing time this season anyway. Jupp Heynckes’ selection was also his most-used players this season with a single exception – Jerome Boateng played instead of Rafinha. This was a peculiar match – a very interesting tactical battle in the first half with the two goals both owing much to the formations and positioning of the sides, and then (in tactical terms) a completely dead battle in the second.” Zonal Marking
“There could have been plenty of talking points in Germany following the Bundesliga’s ninth round of games at the weekend. Bayern Munich’s continuing, and almost ridiculous, dominance, for instance, or the sudden insurgence of the cellar dwellers, as the bottom three teams all won away from home. Instead, almost everyone – from coaches to pundits like Franz Beckenbauer to the viewers of Werder Bremen announcer Arnd Zeigler’s cult call-in show on regional television – were debating one particular aspect of the rulebook.” ESPN
“Hamburg remain bottom of the table despite beating fellow strugglers Freiburg in a mistake-laden game at a sunny Badenova-stadion. Interim coach Frank Arnesen needed to guide the north German side to a two-goal margin victory to haul themselves out of 18th spot, but the win at least moves the club level on points with Freiburg and Augsburg. However, if the home side hadn’t been so wasteful in front of goal in the second half, they would have won this game comfortably. Despite producing a wonderfully disciplined first half performance, Hamburg’s defence fell to pieces in the second half, and were ultimately bailed out by their deadly attackers. HSV have now won two of their last three games, and incoming coach Thorsten Fink will have seen enough from this performance to suggest that his new team are too good to go down.” Defensive Midfielder
“By Tuesday evening we’ll know the 12 of the 16 nations which will participate at Euro 2012. Poland and Ukraine will be there as hosts of the tournament, while England, Germany, Italy, Netherlands and Spain can already book their flights. The eight group winners qualify automatically along with the best runner-up. As three groups only have five teams, the groups with six teams will have the record of the team finishing bottom of the group ignored to calculate the best runner-up. We take a group-by-group look at who can still qualify, and how they can get to the finals. Head to head record comes before goal difference in this qualifying campaign.” ESPN
“It has been, by any standards, a quiet twenty-first birthday. The reunified German nation celebrated its coming of age on Monday, not with wild revelry, but with a mature, modestly demure acknowledgement of this remarkable achievement. Of course, Germany has been young before its time. Alcohol consumption began not this week, nor surreptitiously in mid-teens, but with uncharacteristic abandon upon its very birth, in the wreckage of the Berlin wall in the remarkable autumn of 1990. Germany has been financially responsible for itself for a long time; and for some years has held the keys to the Eurozone door. It is a protective parent, privately admonishing a young, careless Greece, whilst agreeing to bail it out of its worst excesses.” In Bed With Maradona
“Connected by the local overland regional train, the S-Bahn, Germany’s industrial heartland is home to Bundesliga champions Borussia Dortmund and German Cup holders Schalke in the top flight, along with Duisburg and Bochum in the second tier. All four enjoy a healthy fan base, with Dortmund and Schalke pulling in some of the highest attendances in Europe, while even modest Rot-Weiss Essen, who reached the German Cup Final as recently as 1994, attract relatively good crowds to their Regionalliga West games in the country’s fourth division.” World Soccer
“St Pauli moved level on points with 2. Bundesliga league-leaders Eintracht Frankfurt and Greuther Fürth after punishing Energie Cottbus’ mistake-laden defence. The home side cannot stop shipping goals this season, but the worst part was that against St Pauli, they barely created enough chances to compensate for their numerous lapses in concentration at the back. Full credit to the visitors, though, who put in a disciplined performance on and off the ball, capping it by showing their top-flight credentials in front of goal.” Defensive Midfielder
Manuel Neuer
“It must be a peculiar feeling for Iker Casillas to feel like an old crony. Here is the player who for the best part of a decade was one of football’s great exceptions. In a position so specialist, so scrutinised, that experience and proven ability to handle the pressure is preferred, the boy from Madrid was an anomaly. There was, in every sense, very little he could not handle even in his teens.” Guardian
“For this particular match, there was no bus running for my fan club. This represents obvious disadvantages, foremost being the chance to travel as a group and catch up with friends. The one advantage however of no bus, is that suddenly I was faced with a mere 3 and half hours travel to Hamburg, as opposed to approximately 6! So as I wandered drunkenly out of a night club at 4:30am, I looked at my watch and realised that not needing to get to the usual pickup point, I could go home and catch two hours kip before travelling. Nice!” FCUM A.D.
“Substitute Giampaolo Pazzini ensured Italy became the second team after Germany to qualify for next summer’s Euro 2012 finals as his late goal handed them a 1-0 win over Slovenia in Florence. The Slovenians had put up a brave fight before Pazzini, a 61st-minute replacement for Antonio Cassano, pounced five minutes from time to give his side an unassailable lead at the top of Group C. Serbia took full advantage to move into second place with a 3-1 stroll over the Faroe Islands in Belgrade with goals from Milan Jovanovic, Zoran Tosic and Zdravko Kuzmanovic, while Estonia are still in with a shout after ending Northern Ireland’s hopes with an impressive 4-1 win in Tallinn….” ESPN
Charles le Brun, Alexander and Porus
“Wayne Rooney hit a brace as England took a significant stride towards Euro 2012 with an impressive 3-0 hammering of Bulgaria in Sofia. A decade after that memorable 5-1 win over Germany in Munich, Fabio Capello’s men could not quite come up with a repeat performance. Nevertheless, their hosts had no answer to a three-goal first-half salvo – with defender Gary Cahill opening the scoring – that means four points from their final two games will book England a ticket to next summer’s Finals in Poland and Ukraine.” ESPN
Chris Smalling shows why England is no longer a country for old men
“Looking on the bright side, as Wayne Rooney is prone to doing these days, England have won every away game since the World Cup. The striker’s optimism may overlook some questionable performances at home and a World Cup that was more dire than anything that had gone before, but thanks to England’s success on the road – and Wales doing them a favour against Montenegro on Friday – the route to Euro 2012 qualification now seems straightforward.” Guardian
Scotland 2-2 Czech Republic
“Scotland’s Euro 2012 qualifying hopes are all but over after a controversial last-minute penalty gave Czech Republic a draw in their Group I qualifier at Hampden. Kenny Miller put the home side ahead a minute from the break from a pass by skipper Darren Fletcher but that was levelled in the 78th minute by midfielder Jaroslav Plasil.” ESPN
Ireland 0 – 0 Slovakia
“Hollywood newcomer Robbie Keane fluffed his lines as he passed up a glorious opportunity to keep the Republic of Ireland firmly in the race for the Euro 2012 finals. The 31-year-old LA Galaxy striker, who missed a penalty in the reverse fixture in October, headed wide from just five yards with 16 minutes of a distinctly uncomfortable contest against Slovakia remaining to let slip a victory his side never really deserved.” ESPN
Albania 1 – 2 France
“France had to cling on in Tirana as three points against Albania moved Laurent Blanc’s team closer to an automatic place at Euro 2012. Early goals from Karim Benzema and Yann M’Vila looked to have put Les Bleus in complete control inside the first quarter of the match, but Albania rocked the visitors with a reply from Erjon Bogdani in the opening minute of the second half. The hosts had chances to net an equaliser but France stayed ahead.” ESPN
“They say loyalty is a thing of the past in football. For example, VfL Wolfsburg have had five coaches in the past two seasons and are back with Felix Magath in charge for his first full season with the club since leaving just over two years ago. Everyone’s favourite short-term coach Armin Veh has coached six clubs in ten years and now finds himself in Bundesliga 2 with Eintracht Frankfurt. On the other hand, SV Werder Bremen are one club that can proudly claim to have stuck by a number of coaches in their recent history.” In Bed With Maradona
“With four rounds of Eredivisie matches gone, and last season’s top three teams neatly topping the table already, it’s time to fill in one of the pre-season promises. At the end of last season a weighted top scorer metric was introduced, a metric that computes the amount of points each goal is expected to add to the team’s total, rather than simply valuing each goal equally.” 11 tegen 11
“Hannover returned to the top of the Bundesliga table after drawing 1-1 with Hertha Berlin, but the Lower Saxony side will feel aggrieved that they dropped two points after referee Robert Hartmann ruled out a late winner. Negative Hertha deserved to go in at the interval 1-0 down, although Hannover lacked the creative spark that would have seen them put more goals past their lacklustre opponents in the opening 45 minutes. The visitors changed systems three times during a rejuvenated second half performance, and despite still not looking overly convincing, they did start to create chances thanks to a more positive mentality against a home side who tired after Thursday night’s 2-1 win over Sevilla in the Europa League.” Defensive Midfielder
“Robin Dutt finally won his first game as Bayer Leverkusen manager as the home side scored a late winner in what had been an even and entertaining game. These two attack-minded sides dominated one another in separate spells throughout the 90 minutes, with both goalkeepers on top form to keep the game scoreless. But a moment of brilliant athleticism by Simon Rolfes in the 86th minute saw the Bremen defence caught off-guard and a deserved point cruelly snatched from their grasp.” Defensive Midfielder
“Germany claimed an impressive 3-2 scalp of Brazil in Wednesday night’s international friendly in Stuttgart. The impressive Bastian Schweinsteiger opened the scoring from the penalty spot for Germany before Mario Gotze doubled their lead, capping off a fine attacking move. Robinho reduced the deficit on 72 minutes, slotting home a spot-kick, but Andre Schurrle restored Germany’s two-goal advantage as he lashed into the top corner before Neymar scored a curled consolation.” ESPN
“A Benjamin Lauth-inspired 1860 Munich ruthlessly destroyed one of the 2. Bundesliga favourites for promotion, aided by the early sending off of Cottbus defender Konstantin Engel. But the hosts had looked ropey and were 1-0 down even before their right-back saw a straight red for hauling down the superb Lauth, and were always going to struggle to contain the likes of Lauth and intelligent livewire Kevin Volland anyway.” Defensive Midfielder
Augsburg 2-2 Freiburg
“Quality met commitment in this opening round Bundesliga tie between two of the division’s minnows, as Augsburg twice fought back through their new hero Sascha Mölders to earn a point from the kind of game they know that they could not afford to lose if they are to have any chance of staying up this season. After a chance-free first half which saw Papiss Cissé offer nothing, the Senegalese showed one moment of quality early into the second half to open the game up.” Defensive Midfielder
“‘We are ourselves’ — that’s what Jürgen Klinsmann wanted to teach the players of Bayern Munich. He wanted them to ‘open up’; he wanted to get to know them, to ‘look inside’ them, to meet their emotional needs. It was a philosophy of liberation — of helping players to get beyond the Wanderer in a Sea of Foginhibitions of consciousness, back to some easy inner self. The Inner Game of Football. Zen. From Songs of Experience back to Songs of Innocence.” Run of Play
“The test of any great league isn’t the size of its TV deals or the cost of it’s latest transfer, but the quality of its exports and its ability to mould a player in to the type of world beater that can perform on any stage. Rupert Murdoch, Qatari oil dealers, and fraudulent Italian presidents will come and go, but the ability of a league to continue or produce a landscape of development will stand the test of time.” The Oval Log
“Leipzig known as the Heldenstadt, the city of heroes. A place where citizens made a significant contribution to the fall of the Iron Curtain and the reunification of Germany. This was the 1989 ‘peaceful revolution’, when visitors to Monday evening prayers at the Nikolaikirche demonstrated against the communist regime and defied the orders of the regime. Since reunification, the city, largely spared from Allied bombing campaign which decimated nearby Dresden, has enjoyed something of a renaissance – taking back its cultural and musical significance in the Bundesrepublik.” In Bed With Maradona
“Newly-promoted Eintracht Braunschweig fired a warning shot to the rest of the league as they tactically outwitted 2. Bundesliga stalwarts 1860 Munich with a potent display. A vociferous home crowd couldn’t prevent the visitors from jumping into the driving seat early on, bossing the ball, winning a corner, and having three blocked efforts on goal. With Collin Benjamin throwing himself into a mopping up job with relish, the former HSV man helped maintain 1860s pacy start, and ruined Braunschweig’s attempts to position their midfield bank of four as near to the lone striker Dominick Kumbela as possible.” Defensive Midfielder
“While the Bundesliga may not necessarily be known for the tactical nous of Seria A it has become increasingly more aware of modern trends and more and more coaches are putting an emphasis on the tactical aspect of the game. This season saw several bold moves being made by coaches throughout the league. Whether it was deviating from the norm or taking a risk in their approach, there were several tactical talking points or trends of interest. Here are some of the more noteworthy tactical observations of the 2010/11 Bundesliga Season.” Bundesliga Fanatic
“The post-Bosman age of contractual freedom has made it much harder for the smaller European teams to hold onto their best players. In the case of German champions Borussia Dortmund, however, the fact that it succeeded with the youngest ever side now rather than, say, 20, years ago, actually works in its favor. In those days, every half-decent Germany player was snapped up instantly by Serie A clubs and Jürgen Klopp’s side would have been dismantled in the time it takes to drink an espresso. But the Bundesliga’s newfound prosperity has stopped the migration across the Alps in recent years. The crème of young German talent will only move to a handful of European super-clubs now, and for that reason alone it is unlikely that Borussia’s brave young squad will suffer too much hemorrhage.” SI
“Otto March—an architect—had a vision. He had a dream that one day he will leave a ‘gift’ to the world that will be remembered till the times to come. In old times dating as back to late 1860’s, horse-races were popular sport in Germany. It used to be the common interest of wealthy people. The current location of Olympiastadion served as venue for many of horse-races and Union-Klub were the organizers of such riches for the high-class society. The wealthy people of Berlin flew over here to enjoy the spectacles.” Football Stryder
“The last time Markus Babbel participated in the 1. Bundesliga he was in charge of VfB Stuttgart after a short stint there as a player following retirement. In November 2008 he replaced the outgoing Armin Veh. Veh had a poor first half of the season and left his side stranded in 11th place, closer to relegation than the top half they were accustomed to. Babbel came in and guided Stuttgart to a 3rd place finish and qualification for the Champions League after a quite remarkable Hinrunde. In fact, Stuttgart finished that season just 5 points behind champions Wolfsburg. It was a turnaround few expected.” Bundesliga Fanatic
“Bochum are just 180 minutes away from promotion to the Bundesliga after an accomplished performance against Duisburg. This round 34 tie in 2. Bundesliga involved two sides with all still to play for. Bochum, two points ahead of 4th-placed Greuther Fürth, knew that a win here would earn them a place in the Bundesliga two-legged play-off against the top division’s third-worst side, Borussia Mönchengladbach.” Defensive Midfielder
“Through the years many football managers have been known to put the fear of God into their players, but there has been only one who has terrified them by killing off God completely. I’m talking of course about the great European coach of the mid-1800s, Friedrich Nietzsche. The ‘God is dead’ story is the stuff of legend but first let us take a look at the, sadly neglected, early career of arguably the first great European manager.” Fisted Away
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