“Dortmund Shape and Philosophy contradiction. Dortmund started off with a dynamic shape – a 4-1-4-1 defensively and a 3-defender shape in attacking transition and initial build-up. Raphael Guerrero, Dortmund’s left-back cum central midfielder, was seen constantly switching between left-back and midfield positions during attacking and defensive transition.” Outside of the Boot
“Junusovic with the free-kick, in to Pizarro, on to Ujah and Djilodobji, it’s in, it’s in! Never had the Weserstadion erupted to the sound of the Proclaimers’ 500 Miles quite like that last day victory over Eintracht Frankfurt. They had done it; Viktor Skrypnyk’s side had dragged themselves out of the relegation abyss in the most dramatic of fashions. After the jubilance of survival in that manner passes, the realisation that changes need to be made normally follows: Werder were no exception.” Outside of the Boot
“It’s one game. Never get too bold about season long team qualities on one game. But it’s the first game. The first actual games we’ve seen in months means there’s a lot to learn. We can at least start to sniff some stylistic choices from a few teams, see some potential problems for others, and can confirm that Andre Schürrle might lead Europe in both shots and key passes. Again this is week one so we are going with light impressions, no firm conclusions, but here are some things that caught my eye.” Stats Bomb
“There are a few on Bayer’s squad who warrant close attention: 1. Kevin Volland, because he’s the team’s most expensive ever signing, 2. Jonathan Tah, because he’s going to be the future of the CB position in Germany, or 3. Benny Henrichs, because the youngster seems to have the talent to play almost anywhere on the pitch and has only impressed during his time with the first team. That said, if you watched the Olympics you know that there’s really one player set to steal the spotlight this season, and that is Julian Brandt. If the Games were any indication, he has added a new dimension to his game to go with his speed and technical ability.” Bundesliga Fanatic
“There were real grounds for concern when the final of the men’s Olympic football tournament went to penalties. How often do the Germans lose a shootout? Winning the gold medal was much more important for Brazil – they were in front of their own fans in the Maracana stadium, this was the only title they had never won and their game badly needed a boost.” The World Game – Tim Vickery
“With the new top-flight seasons set to kick off in Italy and Spain this weekend–and Germany one week later–and the Premier League just underway, there are lots of predictions to be made and questions to be answered. Will the competitive imbalance in France, Germany and Italy continue to be a problem? Will we see a surprise winner in any league? Will there be an outsider who cracks the Champions League elite? And just who will Jose Mourinho fall out with next? With all of those questions–and more!–in mind, we take a look at the European club landscape in the over/under prism to provide as much clarity as possible entering a nine-month quest for trophies and championships…” SI
“Now that the Bundesliga season is finally upon us, we can look back on all that happened in this summer’s international tournaments and transfer window to see what teams and players look ready for the grind that is the Bundesliga season. From new look teams to players donning new shirts, the upcoming season is important for a lot of the teams that spent money this summer. But besides the teams, there are plenty of players who need to step up this term for a variety of reasons. Either their club future or international future might be on the line, and since this is the case, a lot of players, especially the five listed, have a critical season upcoming.” Bundesliga Fanatic
“The conclusion of the European football season, a time for fans to sit back and reflect on the season just passed for their club. To assess and debate whether or not it was a good, bad or merely average season. The owners and board members of clubs will also spend the summer months doing exactly the same thing, however, the one crucial difference is they must make a decision whether to continue with the incumbent manager or whether to make a change. For those that choose the latter option and make a change, there is no such thing as a summer break, negotiations and interviews remain ongoing until a suitable replacement has been found. Criteria is weighed up such as past success at clubs, experience, past performances at clubs counter-balanced alongside the financial situation said individuals inherited and whether or not a new inexperienced manager could add a breath of fresh air to a football club.” Outside of the Boot
“As Stefan Reinartz’s career as a tidy holding midfielder in the Bundesliga began to stall due to various injuries, his curiosity about the machinations of the game only grew bigger. … Reinartz and Hegeler decided to look at passing; more specifically, they searched for a way to assign a numerical value to effective passing.” ESPN
“Euro 2016 at last had its great game, not quite an all-time classic perhaps, not Seville ’82 certainly, but a minor epic of passion and controversy played out on a balmy evening in front of a febrile crowd in the most striking of French stadiums. It ended with France having beaten Germany in a competitive game for the first time since 1958, two Antoine Griezmann goals taking the host through to Sunday’s final against Portugal after a 2-0 victory over the reigning World Cup champions.” SI – Jonathan Wilson
“Joachim Low, in order to tackle Antonio Conte’s almost unbeatable 3-5-2 formation, decided to change his preferred 4-2-3-1 formation to 3-5-2. Germany took the lead through Mesut Ozil and Italy equalized through Leonardo Bonucci’s penalty. In the penalty shootout after the extra-time, 7 kicks failed to end up in the back of the net. Finally, it was Germany that managed to sneak through to the semi-finals of Euro 2016 just like Jonas Hector’s shot slipped under Gianluigi Buffon in the ultimate and decisive kick of the match. Here’s my tactical analysis of the game.” Outside of the Boot
“Germany’s dominant display against a resilient Northern Ireland team suggested that the signs were indeed present that they would be able to mount a challenge for the European championship. While this victory by a single goal was enough and certainly efficient by German standards, they will need more goals as they face sterner tests. It is promising that there is a strong core and continuity from their World Cup success, that will provide invaluable experience to help them progress in the tournament.” Outside of the Boot
“After all the doubts facing Germany, if a 3-0 rout of Slovakia in the Euro 2016 round of 16 didn’t answer them all–Slovakia was too insipid for that–it at least offered a comprehensive victory and a statement that the Germany that won the World Cup is beginning to re-emerge. Germany started fast, got an early lead and, after that, it was simply a matter of how many goals it would score. As a contest, the game was over as soon as Jerome Boateng volleyed in after eight minutes. Mario Gomez added a second just before halftime and Julian Draxler hooked in a third. It was so easy there was even the opportunity for Lukas Podolski to be brought on for a sentimental 20 minutes at the end.” SI – Jonathan Wilson
“The dramatic end to the group stage couldn’t disguise the fact that, for the most part, this has been a slightly disappointing opening to the tournament, yielding just 1.92 goals per game and precious few games of real quality. No side won all three group games, while many of the less-fancied sides troubled their supposed betters. The suggestion is that this is a very open tournament, although there remains the possibility that one of the top sides will suddenly click into gear and surge through to success on July 10. The knockout bracket has yielded an unbalanced final 16, with powers France, Germany, Spain, Italy and England on one half, while Belgium and Portugal benefited from underperforming in the group stage by being given a more favorable rout to navigate on the road to the Stade de France.” SI – Jonathan Wilson
“Fears that lowly ranked sides like Albania and Northern Ireland might dilute the quality of the competition have not materialised. Cynics might say the overall quality was so low that nobody noticed anyway, but the fact is that some of the more fancied teams – the likes of the Czech Republic, Austria, Turkey, Ukraine and Rumania – couldn’t make it past these minnows. The extended format has brought plenty of colour and amazing stories like Iceland’s success to the tournament, and have helped more than make up for the lack of excitement felt elsewhere. But UEFA also got very lucky. Groups E and F were clearly at an advantage, knowing just how many points were needed to advance ahead of other third-placed teams.” red bulletin
“The group stages of Euro 2016 have provided goals and controversies, outrageous skill and dreadful mistakes. With no team able to win every game, but only one side losing all three matches, the tournament has proved more competitive than anyone could have expected. After 36 matches, the action is only just hotting up, but having played three times each, we now have a decent idea about what shape the teams are in.” Daily Mail
“In one of the most anticipated group games of Euro 2016, Germany faced Poland in what would surely decide who finished top of Group C. The Poles have one of their strongest teams of all time, while Germany continue to impress following their 2014 World Cup win. At the Stade de France, two teams with many tactical possibilities battled for superiority.” Outside of the Boot
“The group stage of Euro 2016 is well underway: From Wednesday until Saturday, all 24 teams will complete their second of three games of group play. And the minute those games are over, many serious fans will start to do math – in their heads, on cocktail napkins or even on spreadsheets – to determine what their teams must do to ensure a place in the knockout stage of the competition. It can be complicated, particularly in this expanded 24-team tournament, where four third-place teams will advance, but we’re here to help you sort through it all. This page provides a big-picture overview in real time, and as soon as teams have completed their first two games – as the teams in Group A and Group B have – we’ll publish a detailed page just for those teams, showing you all the ways they can make the Round of 16.” NY Times
“The good news, perhaps, for a Germany team whose defense was suspect throughout qualifying, is that it kept its second straight clean sheet of the tournament. The bad news is that it did so in the first half by an approach that lacked much in the way of attacking threat and in the second by riding its luck and through the excellence of Jerome Boateng in a 0-0 draw with Poland. Poland probably had the better of the game, certainly had enough chances in that second half to win, but will probably be content enough with a draw that all but guarantees it a place in the last 16 of Euro 2016.” SI – Jonathan Wilsona
“Just as the Champions League format has allowed an elite group of clubs to dominate in recent years, the coaching landscape, too, is overshadowed by the personalities of a revered few who are hired at a huge expense with the guarantee of trophies. The perfect example of that is in the Premier League, where all the attention is going to be on Manchester’s clubs City and United when next season kicks off, despite their recent fourth and fifth respective finishes in the league. City will have Pep Guardiola in charge, while United looks set to have Jose Mourinho. It’s a personal rivalry that dominated Spanish football when the pair locked horns during two controversy-laden years at Barcelona and Real Madrid, respectively.” SI (Video)
“Berlin’s Olympiastadion played as the venue for what turned out to be an incredibly intense finale to the DFB-Pokal Cup and also Pep Guardiola’s reign as Bayern Munich manager. It was an evening of goodbyes as Mats Hummels also bid farewell to the club where he shot to stardom, playing 219 times before agreeing to return to Bavaria where the 27-year old began his career. However, it was the Catalan Coach that got the fairytale ending as 74,322 packed the capital’s stadium from west and south to see the Bundesliga champions complete the double in a captivating penalty shootout against old foes Borussia Dortmund, Brazilian Douglas Costa converting the winning kick.” Outside of the Boot
““Why do all good things come to an end?” That is the question, as noted contemporary thinker Nelly Furtado pondered but they do and we have arrived to the end of the 2015/16 season in which the final matchday of the Bundesliga brought us 29 goals and a lot of weird results. Bayern lifting the trophy http://imgur.com/gallery/juue6K7 and Robert Lewandowski breaking the 30 goal mark was almost a foregone conclusion , but ‘dogs were whistling a new tune, barking at the new moon’ as Hannover’s inexperienced defense made Mario Götze look like Neymar. A hearty congrats to Mario who scored 66% of his season total today! Let us hope that BVB will not be tricked into resigning him, after picking up Dembele and getting a 2-2 draw against Cologne, which picked up two goals on just six shots.” Bundesliga Fanatic
“For three years now, this website has continued to focus on the younger generation of footballers, often over-looked by mainstream media. For three years we’ve also published a Talent Radar Team of the Season across Europe’s top six leagues, having monitored these players in our Team of the Week and Player Rankings feature” Outside of the Boot
“With the Monday Night Massacre in Bremen, the Bundesliga has reached the month of May, but is still without a champion, as a diet Bayern side were held to a draw at home by Gladbach. That and a late Eden Hazard goal created a strange situation in which Leicester City’s dream season somehow culminated in a championship before the fait accompli Meisterschaft of FCB. Take that EPL snobs!” Bundesliga Fanatic
“If you have never heard of SV Sandhausen, don’t worry you are not alone. The club from the South-West of Germany might be the most boring and forgettable one in the whole country. Nobody outside of that region knows where this small town of 15.000 even is. However the SVS is currently the 30th best football club in Germany. Which is a pretty great position for a club as bland as Sandhausen. MS Word 98, anyone? Please look at that logo!” Bundesliga Fanatic
“When Diego Simeone was appointed manager of Atlético Madrid in December 2011, he faced an awkward conversation with his son. Taking over in Madrid meant he would be spending less time with his family in Argentina. His son’s concerns, though, were rather different. ‘You’re taking on Messi and Ronaldo?’ the nine-year-old said and laughed at the implausibility of such an undertaking. Simeone has come out on top against Lionel Messi twice in his four and a half years in Madrid but he has chosen his moments well, twice leading Atlético to success over Barcelona in the Champions League quarter-finals. Tuesday’s victory was an archetypal snuffing out, a transcendent example of how to prevent an opponent’s stars from shining. Simeone took on the Messi problem and solved it.” Guardian – Jonathan Wilson
“Manchester City, Real Madrid and Bayern München all returned to domestic action with a bang on Saturday, scoring 11 goals between them and conceding only one.” UEFA
“The Champions League semifinal draw kept apart the two teams from Madrid and also denied Pep Guardiola the opportunity to face his club for next season, Manchester City–at least until a potential final. When the names were drawn out in Nyon, Switzerland on Friday, it was Manchester City vs. Real Madrid and Bayern Munich vs. Atletico Madrid. Both semifinals will be fascinating, but on the basis of the quarterfinals, you could argue that the two weakest teams still left face each other, as do the two strongest teams.” SI
“Football supporters are tribal creatures at heart, and remarkable as it may seem there were a few who professed not to enjoy Liverpool’s stupendous comeback against Borussia Dortmund on Thursday, the latest and arguably greatest drama yet in the long-running series of sublime-going-on-surreal European nights at Anfield. Messages appeared on social networks almost straight away, quite possibly from people with Manchester postcodes or Goodison Park season tickets, complaining that the way the media were (over)reacting anyone would think Liverpool had won the Champions League.” Guardian
“There were decisive moments in the title race in England and Germany, as respective leaders Leicester City and Bayern Munich came closer to the finishing line, though a shock result in Spain has opened the door to the pack chasing defending champion Barcelona. A new coach with a familiar name enjoyed a successful start at Lazio, while in France, a new hat trick hero has given national team boss Didier Deschamps a selection dilemma leading into Euro 2016. Here is what caught our eye this week from Around Europe.” SI (Video)
“Let’s be honest, the lion’s share of Bundesliga’s European glory and UEFA coefficient points during the last half decade have been won by one club: FC Bayern München. Die Roten reached five (!) CL semifinals in the last six seasons and after getting past Juventus in dramatic fashion they look like a sure shot to make the semis again this year. Bayern will play Benfica Lisbon and let’s be real, they will go through if nothing crazy happens. Nobody can expect Bayern’s run of excellence to continue forever, so what can the Bundesliga do in Europe when Bayern slows down?” Bundesliga Fanatic
“In the minutes after the final whistle, you could observe 1. FC Köln’s Dominique Heintz having a proper go at Hoffenheim coach Julian Nagelsmann. What happened? In the 90th minute, the Billy Goats lost the ball whilst going forward due to a clear cut foul on Lukas Klünter. Instead of blowing his whistle referee, Deniz Aytekin allowed the game to commence. Die Hoffe’s Andrej Kramaric desperately tried to get to the goal, and after getting past 4 men on an incredible run, he managed to fire off a shot which forced Timo Horn to give a rebound.” Bundesliga Fanatic
“After what seemed like an eternity of an international break, where we learned that Germany can look average defensively versus a speedy counterattacking England team and can dominate Italy’s C squad, the Bundesliga is thankfully returning. Let’s give a shout out to Leverkusen twitter before getting to our 10 predictions for Matchday 28!” Bundesliga Fanatic
“When I last wrote about VFB Stuttgart for the Fanatic, they were in the thick of the relegation battle, and they had just recently hired Jurgen Kramny. Even though I thought that they had the ingredients to improve, even the most optimistic Stuttgart supporter couldn’t have predicted what would ensue for Kramny and Die Schwaben. Despite their most recent performance, a disappointing 2-0 home loss to a talent-rich but injury-riddled Leverkusen, the fact that Stuttgart are 11th in the league is remarkable when you realize where they were when Kramny took over.” Bundesliga Fanatic
“After a dramatic 2-2 draw in the first leg, Juventus travel to the Allianz Arena in Germany to face Bayern Munich in the last 16 of the Champions League. The first leg ended 2-2 at the appropriately named Juventus Stadium following Pep Guardiola’s Bayern going into a 0-2 lead. Readjustments from Massimillano Allegri which saw the men from Turin adopt a more direct style for the latter stages causing Bayern’s makeshift centre-back pairing of Joshua Kimmich and David Alaba serious problems.” Outside of the Boot
“This isn’t the reaction we expected to see from Pep Guardiola, but knowing his character, it’s not too surprising. As the final whistle blows on a scoreless draw between his Bayern Munich and Bundesliga title rivals Borussia Dortmund, Guardiola marches onto the field with a purpose. He strides by late-game substitute Mehdi Benatia, briefly making a point with both his words and his hands, in the classic Guardiola manner.” SI
Julian Weigl
“Judging the calibre of a young player is often a tricky task. Perceived potential has an important bearing in any consideration and is just one of the many parameters to consider when trying to quantify the ability of football’s young stars. To add a basis to what may be a leap of faith, it is useful to look back and trace the growth, or indeed lack thereof, in young players.” Outside of the Boot
“Eintracht Frankfurt have signed a new head coach to replace Armin Veh. From now on Niko Kovac, 44, will be the man at the side-line together with his brother, Robert Kovac, as assistant coach. The brothers were born in Berlin, and Niko played 241 matches for Hertha BSC Berlin, Hamburger SV, Bayer Leverkusen and FC Bayern München. Eintracht Frankfurt is in danger to be relegated after a disastrous sequence of losses, as Die Adler are 16th in the Bundesliga table, sliding downward as they haven’t won in their last seven matches.” Bundesliga Fanatic
“MatchDay 25 was a glorious one for the Bundesliga. After a rare midweek slate of matches, one would think that it would be a low-scoring weekend, with players fatigued from their exertions a few days back as the season nears the stretch run. But not so. The six early Bundesliga matches showed a total of 26 goals scored, with the late Saturday matchup between Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich, the league’s two best clubs and the highest scoring. And, in predictable unpredictable Bundesliga fashion, Der Klassiker ended up scoreless between the German giants.” Bundesliga Fanatic
Juventus’ static 4-4-2 shape vs. Bayern’s dynamic shape.
“Massimiliano Allegri played his 4-4-2 basic formation. As usual, when his side settled into low-block defense, the shape would be transpositioned into a 4-4-1-1 / 4-4-2-0. Early in the first-half, in their initial defensive shape, Juventus tended to let their forward-duo press without always establishing strong support-shape behind them. This pressing, in turn, allowed Bayern to bypass and progress forward. Juve’s zonal marking strongly focused on the central area, which provided space on the flank for Bayern, but Juventus was happy to push Bayern wide and trap them on the flanks.” Bundesliga Fanatic
“In an era, where the total net worth of squads in the BPL (4.4billion Euros) is double that of the Bundesliga teams (2.38 billion), and the third richest/most valuable clubs in Germany (Leverkusen and Schalke are around 200 million Euros) would barely crack the top 10 in England (West Ham and Newcastle are tied for 9th at 182 mil each) moving to the Premier League after one or two great seasons has increasingly become the norm for Bundesliga talents.” Bundesliga Fanatic
“There was late drama in both Champions League ties Tuesday. Lionel Messi continued to haunt Arsenal as Barcelona won 2-0 on a pair of Messi goals in London. Meanwhile, in Turin, Bayern Munich threw away a 2-0 lead and settled for a 2-2 draw against Juventus, though the German side will bring an away-goals edge with it to the return leg next month.” SI
“A first-half tactical masterclass from Pep Guardiola saw Bayern Munich dominate Juventus in their own back yard and they take two away goals back to the Allianz Arena. The German side looked comfortable to leave Turin with a commanding win but Massimiliano Allegri’s side’s second half resurgence has assured that there is still life in the tie.” Squawka (Video)
“Over 65,000 were in attendance for this clash between two giants with extremely diverse footballing cultures. The hosts came into the tie in fine form having won four of their previous five fixtures and Porto arrived to the famous Signal Iduna Park stadium in high spirits after picking up a somewhat surprising 2-1 win in the back garden of their greatest rivals Benfica. The Portuguese club fell just one point short of the last 16 in the Champions League yet they have struggled domestically, sitting in 3rd place in the Primeira Liga.” Outside of the Boot
“Julian Nagelsmann, who has yet to pass his coaching qualifications, has become the youngest Bundesliga head coach in history, after the 28-year old replaced Huub Stevens at struggling Hoffenheim. Previously, the youngest coach in league history was Klaus-Dieter Ochs, who took over the coaching reins at Hamburger SV in 1970 at the age of 30. Nagelsmann, a youth coach at Hoffenheim, had agreed in October last year to take over the club next season, signing a three-year contract.” Bundesliga Fanatic
“November 28th 2015. It was the last time the duo of Yoshinori Muto or Yunus Malli have scored for 7th place Mainz 05, which one would think would be a problem, seeing that they had combined for 15 of the teams 20 goals up to that point. Since then, Mainz have won 4 games and taken 13 points from 7 matches, scoring 7 goals while conceding 5. Five of those goals came courtesy of wingers Jairo Samperio and Christian Clemens (2 from the Spaniard and 1 from the German was enough to see off HSV in early December). The other two: Julian Baumgartlinger and Gaetan Bussmann both scored their first career Bundesliga goals this Friday night to defeat Schalke 04 2-1 in a wild game at the Coface Arena.” Bundesliga Fanatic (Video)
“Pep Guardiola has won the Bundesliga twice and the DFB-Pokal once. From Bayern’s point of view, it possible to think of the Bundesliga and the Pokal as useless. If you win the Bundesliga eight times in ten years, you would not be celebrating either. We all know what ambitions Pep Guardiola had when he came to Bayern. He wanted to infect Bayern with his football ideas, building his second Barcelona. Did he succeed? Partially, yes!” Bundesliga Fanatic
Pep Guardiola must realise Manchester City’s dream of joining the European elite
“For Manchester City, it feels as though the announcement that Pep Guardiola will take charge in the summer is the culmination of a four-year process. From the moment Txiki Begiristain and Ferran Soriano arrived as director of football and chief executive respectively, their aim was to appoint the man with whom they had achieved such success at Barcelona.” Guardian – Jonathan Wilson
“A couple of weeks ago Deloitte published the 19th edition of their annual Football Money League, which ranks leading clubs by revenue, this time for the 2014/15 season. On the face of it, little has changed compared to the previous year, as Real Madrid once again top the table for the 11th year in a row with annual revenue of €577 million (£439 million), and there are no new entrants in the top 10. However, there has been some movement with Barcelona (€561 million) overtaking both Manchester United (€520 million) and Bayern Munich (€474 million) to reclaim second place, as they became only the third club to break the €500 million revenue barrier.” The Swiss Ramble
“In the return of the Bundesliga, Tuchel´s BVB gave dealt a severe blow to Borussia Mönchengladbach beating them as they did in the first round of the league, when they won 4-0. Although in this case the tactics and the circumstances were very different from that encounter.” Outside of the Boot
“As the transfer window gets set to shut and teams in Europe’s top leagues take stock of where they stand, significant developments continued to unfold around the continent. Arsenal, down to 10 men, lost ground in the title race after a London derby defeat, while Manchester United also slipped again at home in the Premier League. Real Madrid dropped its first points under Zinedine Zidane, while Pep Guardiola is facing another injury-induced challenge at Bayern Munich. Two Argentine strikers are fighting it out for top honors in Italy, while in France, the title race is over already. Here is what caught our eye Around Europe this week.” SI
“The 50th birthday of any football club is an occasion to celebrate, but the festivities on Friday 15th January of the former East Germany’s most successful club side will stir up mixed emotions for fans from a bygone era. Formed in 1966, Berliner FC Dynamo became the GDR’s premier club side racking up ten successive league titles between 1979 and 1988. Their coach during that period, Jürgen Bogs, can point to a record which under most normal circumstances would place him as one of the most successful coaches in European football with a CV that would stand up against more recognisable names.” Bundesliga Fanatic
“The history of football tactics is defined by innovators. Managers who specialize in tactical theory and find ways to reinvent the beautiful game are forever engraved in the minds of supporters. It is the era of the philosopher in football, as systems based on ideas of the correct way to play are dominant in Europe’s top leagues. This dogmatic belief in one’s own philosophy is often the tragic flaw of managers who enjoy tremendous spells of success. FC Bayern Munich manager Pep Guardiola has a special stake to the claim of the most innovative mind in football history. However Die Roten now more than ever are an ideal fit for the versatile pragmatist Carlo Ancelotti.” Bundesliga Fanatic
“As the Pep era comes to a close and the Tuchel era dawns, it looks like business as usual in the Bundesliga. Bayern are 8 points ahead of Dortmund while BVB have a a comfortable 6 point edge on Hertha in 3rd. Bayern have pretty much wrapped up the title barring a shock but Dortmund’s improvements have seen them establish themselves as a legit rival if Bayern drop from their otherwordly level just a bit. Title races in the future have the potential to be something special, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Today we look at the teams as they have performed so far this season and some questions for the second half of the year.” Stats Bomb
“It’s been another big year for Back Page Football as we published almost 1000 articles that covered news, views and opinion from all across the globe. As we head into 2016, there’s no better time to look back at the 12 months that was, and below are the features that grabbed the attention of our readers the most.” backpagefootball
“The Bundesliga Hinrunde certainly lived up to its reputation as one on the best leagues in football with five months of excitement, incident, drama, goals and above all mouth-watering football. Bayern may have stormed the first half of the season, but the title is by no means a foregone conclusion. The race for the Champions League spots is heating up, the newly promoted sides continue to surprise everyone, while the battle against relegation looks set to be as intriguing as ever. Let’s take a look back at the best the Hinrunde had to offer…” Bundesliga Fanatic
“Borussia Dortmund have been amazing to say the least, in the first half of the 2015-16 season. It’s only half a season, yet Dortmund have scored a whopping 85 goals in all competitions which, astonishingly, is seven more than they managed all of last season. New head coach Thomas Tuchel has changed the commonly used ‘Gegenpressing’ philosophy of Dortmund, which was used by Jurgen Klopp. Tuchel’s new game model of positional play (translated from the Spanish juego de posición) makes them unique in a league dominated by pressing and counterattacking teams.” Bundesliga Fanatic
“After Chelsea had won the league last season, José Mourinho made a not especially veiled dig at Pep Guardiola. … The jibe was unfair in a number of ways but it carried enough truth to sting. At Bayern Munich, Guardiola took over a club that had just won the treble. Inevitably, in terms of trophies won, the trajectory has been downward: two Bundesliga titles have followed and there will surely be a third this year but in each of the past two seasons Bayern have gone out of the Champions League in the semi-finals. In terms of the football played, though, Guardiola’s reign has been a triumph. Bayern stand in the avant-garde of football’s tactical evolution.” Guardian – Jonathan Wilson
“Bayer Leverkusen edged high-flying Borussia Monchengladbach for most of the first hour of the match before the floodgates opened for what turned out to be a feast for die Werkself‘s two strikers, Stefan Kiessling and Javier Hernandez, the Mexican scoring his first hat-trick in Leverkusen colours. An hour of finely poised action was soon to be a rout for the home side, as Gladbach were punished for their lack of conviction in the attacking third combined with Bayer’s craftily created and ruthlessly finished goals. Both clubs saw their Champions League run for the season end in midweek, but Gladbach were on the back of last weekend’s stunning 3-1 win over Bayern Munich.” Outside of the Boot
“Normally things would be rather quiet around this time of the year for Bundesliga clubs, soaking up the tranquility that comes with a winter break which suspends top-flight German football until late January. However, for Bayern Munich, that hasn’t been the case in the last few days. While the Bavarians are only midway through the current campaign, eyes are already turning towards a new era starting at the end of the season. With Pep Guardiola set to stand down next spring to seek pastures new after what will be three years at the helm, Bayern have moved quickly to appoint his successor in waiting ahead of 2016/17.” Squawka
“MatchDay 16 gave Bundesliga fans another exciting weekend, full of thrilling matches and outstanding performances. The leaders, Bayern Munich took care of business against the scrappy boys from Ingolstadt, turning it on in the second half for a 2-0 victory. Dortmund players flexed their collective muscles with an impressive 4 goal performance on 24 shots, despite the excellent Henrik Mkhitaryan with perhaps two of the misses of the season, as well as goal scoring machine Pierre Emerick Aubameyang missing a penalty.” Bundesliga Fanatic
Scissors Kick 