BUNDESLIGA, Round 4

This was a week of redemption for several clubs that had been wavering with indifferent performances.

Bayern got an early start, and rested some of their starters. The result was dropped points at Freiburg, who never gave up despite being outplayed. However the Bayern bosses probably weren’t too ypsets, as they also defeated Chelsea – albeit on penalties – to take the Euro Super Cup. That’s pretty worthless, but I suppose you can claim more silverware. The champs had several opportunities to close out the match, but were wasteful. Freiburg was rewarded with a late goal and a nice point.

Gladbach looked vastly improved and pressured Bremen throughout. Werder’s defense seemed to holdup, and even when the hosts took the lead, they had hard-going. However in the end the Gladbachers continued pressing took it’s toll and Breemn collapsed, getting routed.

Mainz had looked great in previous matches, and despite the end-result, they weren’t terrible in hannover either. In fact, they started off well, Nicolai Müller scoring yet again. However unlike some other wishy-washy 96ers outings, the homeside was prepared and came roaring back. The difference was the Hannover forwards were ruthless with their chances, and therefore the win, albeit a little too high, is legit.

Wolfsburg completely dominated Hertha, showing the Berliners that it’s not going to be easy staying up. The Vws could have got more goals, as the Hertha defense was somewhat shaky all afternoon, but they were somewhat wasteful, showing that they themselves have a lot of work to do too.

Augsburg gets a key road win against Nürnberg. It was a crap game, and FCN looked especially terrible. The Fuggers were obviously crap as well, but at least they exhibited enough pulse to take a lot of shots in the hope that one would go in. Not sure what der Club’s plan was, the fans would have been better off at der Pub. FCA was rewarded with a late goal, but 0 points for both teams wouldn’t have been an unfair result.

Hamburg and Braunschweig revived the northern derby after a few decades, but it was pretty one-sided. HSV had started the season horribly, so a dose of “silent brown” (get it? lame joke) was just what der Doktor ordered. Eintracht tried to play, but they just weren’t good enough and were disorganized to boot, which meant easy pickings for HSV.

This could have been a disaster week for Schalke, but now things are looking up. First, the Blues travelled to Greece and defeated PAOK 3-2, gaining qualification to the Champions League. That means some big euros that are desperately needed. They’ve been pretty lame in the Bundesliga, but despite facing in form Leverkusen, they also got the job done, although it was a tough win against the Aspirins. Another interest bit of Schalke news was that they signed Kevin-Prince Boateng from AC Milan. The German born Ghana international- his brother Jerome from Bayern is a DFB squad player – should be a big boost and went straight into the starting lineup. KP is arguably much better than Jerome, but he is somewhat of an asshole, and now Schalke has him and Jermaine Jones, so the Blues automatically move to the top in the red card sweepstakes with the betting oddsmaker. Still, a good week for Schalke, who needed it. Bayer just neds some Alka-Seltzer and forget this match.

Stuttgart was another struggling team that figured things out. VfB was all over Hoffenheim, and although the play on the field wasn’t as one-sided as the score indicates, the Hopper defense was chaotic and Stuttgart took ruthless advantage to blast their neighbors.

Dortmund is now the only team with a perfect start, but they were pushed to the limit by Frankfurt. The Neons were dominant in the 1st half, but neglected to gain the decisive advantage. Eintracht began to take control of the match in the 2nd period, but ironically took one in the shorts, and they weren’t able to pull it back. They can draw some positives from their overall strong performance, but that’s about it. Dortmund of course is now top of table, another indication to Bayern that the Neons are serious about wresting the title from them.

Total attendance 388,757 (avg 43,195), sellouts in Freiburg and Frankfurt

 	
SC Freiburg	      -   Bayern München	  1:1 (0:1)   24,000 *

                     0:1  Shaqiri (33., T. Müller)
                     1:1  Höfler (86., Freis)

Bor. Mönchengladbach  -   Werder Bremen	          4:1 (1:0)   54,010

                     1:0  Arango (36., G. Xhaka)
                     2:0  Raffael (53., Jantschke)
                     2:1  Nordtveit (69., own goal, Junuzovic)
                     3:1  M. Kruse (74., Herrmann)
                     4:1  Herrmann (85.,  M. Kruse)

Hannover 96	      -   1. FSV Mainz 05	  4:1 (2:1)   38,600

                     0:1  N. Müller (12., Pospech)
                     1:1  M. Diouf (31., Prib)
                     2:1  A. Sobiech (37.,  Stindl)
                     3:1  Ya Konan (80., Bittencourt)
                     4:1  Prib (82., Andreasen)

VfL Wolfsburg	      -   Hertha BSC	          2:0 (2:0)   25,000

                     1:0  Olic (42., Naldo)
                     2:0  Diego (45. + 2, Diego)


1. FC Nürnberg	      -   FC Augsburg	          0:1 (0:0)   37,239

                     0:1  Vogt (84., To. Werner)

Hamburger SV	      -   Eintracht Braunschweig  4:0 (2:0)   54,958

                     1:0  van der Vaart (7., Beister)
                     2:0  Zoua (17., Beister)
                     3:0  Calhanoglu (80.)
                     4:0  Calhanoglu (90. + 1, direct freekick)

FC Schalke 04	      -   Bayer 04 Leverkusen  	  2:0 (1:0)   61,000

                     1:0  Höger (30., Farfan)
                     2:0  Farfan (83., penalty, Farfan)

VfB Stuttgart	      -   1899 Hoffenheim	  6:2 (3:1)   42,450

                     1:0  Rüdiger (12., Maxim)
                     2:0  Ibisevic (19., Maxim)
                     2:1  Volland (26., Elyounoussi)
                     3:1  Maxim (28., Ti. Werner)
                     4:1  Ibisevic (47., G. Sakai)
                     5:1  Maxim (55., Gentner)
                     6:1  Ibisevic (63., Ti. Werner)
                     6:2  Roberto Firmino (87., Herdling)

Eintracht Frankfurt   -   Borussia Dortmund	  1:2 (1:1)   51,500 *

                     0:1  H. Mkhitaryan (10., schuss, Blaszczykowski)
                     1:1  Kadlec (36., Aigner)
                     1:2  H. Mkhitaryan (56., Großkreutz)



 1  Borussia Dortmund	  	4    4 	0  0    9:2  +7    12 
 2  Bayern München (M, P)	4    3 	1  0    7:2  +5    10 
 3  Hannover 96	  	        4    3 	0  1    8:5  +3     9		
 4  Bayer 04 Leverkusen	  	4    3 	0  1    8:5  +3     9
-------------------------------------------------------------
 5  1. FSV Mainz 05	  	4    3 	0  1    8:7  +1     9 
 6  Hertha BSC Berlin (N)	4    2 	1  1    9:5  +4     7
-------------------------------------------------------------
 7  Bor. Mönchengladbach	4    2 	0  2   10:8  +2     6 
 8  VfL Wolfsburg	  	4    2 	0  2    6:4  +2     6 
 9  Werder Bremen	  	4    2 	0  2    3:5  -2     6 
10  FC Augsburg	  	        4    2 	0  2    3:6  -3     6 
11  1899 Hoffenheim	  	4    1 	2  1   12:12  0     5 
12  Hamburger SV	  	4    1 	1  2    8:9  -1     4 
13  FC Schalke 04	        4    1 	1  2    6:9  -3     4 
14  VfB Stuttgart	        4    0 	0  3    9:8  +1     3 
15  Eintracht Frankfurt	        4    1 	0  3    4:9  -5     3 
-------------------------------------------------------------
16  SC Freiburg	                4    0 	2  2    6:9  -3     2
-------------------------------------------------------------
16  1. FC Nürnberg	        4    0 	2  2    4:7  -3     2
18  Eintr. Braunschweig (N)     4    0 	0  4    1:9  -8     0


M = Meister, defending Champion
P = Pokal, defending Cup winner
N = Neuling, newly promoted

1st line: Champions League
2nd line: Europaliga (+ Cup winner)
3rd line: Playoff with 2.Liga 3rd place
4th line: Relegation to 2.Liga

3.Liga, Round 6

Wehen has withstood the first season test, as they defeated upstart RedBull and control the top. The win wasn’t undeserved, and Wehen never looked like losing.

Kiel is making the most of their good start, and defeated Burghausen to remain in a promotion spot. The Holsteiners have quite a bit to go, and opponents are sure to get tougher. Burghausen on the other hand has had a disastrous beginning, and are digging themselves deep.

Osnabrück and Münster were pre-season favorites, but haven’t really looked the part. Both striggled to “earn” a point against relegation candidates Stuttgarter Kikcers and Elversberg.

Heidenheim is back on track, and generally had a firm grip on Rostock. Captain Marc Schnatterer doubled penalties to give FCH the win. Hansa was largely disappointing, and after a good season start, they need to regroup
Strong performance by Duisburg, who may know be announcing that they’ve stabilized in the 3.liga and expect to contend. The Zebras were in full control at Erfurt, despite playing almost an hour down a man.

Halle continued their upswing with a key win at VfB Part II.

Total attendance this weekend 44,616 (avg 4,416), somewhat on the low side

 	
VfB Stuttgart II     -   Hallescher FC	        1:2 (0:0)      620
SpVgg Unterhaching   -   1. FC Saarbrücken	3:1 (1:0)    2,220
VfL Osnabrück	     -   Stuttgarter Kickers	2:2 (1:0)    8,098
SV Elversberg	     -   Preußen Münster	2:2 (1:0)      850
Holstein Kiel	     -   Wacker Burghausen	2:1 (2:1)    5,921
SV Wehen Wiesbaden   -   RasenBallsport Leipzig	2:1 (2:0)    4,122
Rot-Weiß Erfurt	     -   MSV Duisburg	        1:3 (0:2)    5,540
Chemnitzer FC	     -   Borussia Dortmund II	2:0 (0:0)    5,495
Jahn Regensburg	     -   SV Darmstadt 98	2:0 (1:0)    3,250
1. FC Heidenheim     -   Hansa Rostock	        2:0 (0:0)    8,500


 1  SV Wehen Wiesbaden	  	6    5 	1  0   14:5   +9    16 
 2  Holstein Kiel (N)	  	6    4 	2  0   12:3   +9    14
--------------------------------------------------------------
 3  1. FC Heidenheim	  	6    4 	1  1   11:3   +8    13
--------------------------------------------------------------
 4  VfL Osnabrück	  	6    3 	2  1    9:4   +5    11 
 5  MSV Duisburg (A)	  	6    3 	2  1    9:5   +4    11 
 6  RB Leipzig (N)	  	6    3 	2  1    9:6   +3    11 
 7  Hansa Rostock	  	6    3 	1  2    7:6   +1    10 
 8  Jahn Regensburg (A)	  	6    2 	2  2   10:10   0     8 
 9  Rot-Weiß Erfurt	  	6    2 	2  2    9:9    0     8 
10  Chemnitzer FC	  	6    2 	2  2    9:10  -1     8
11  SpVgg Unterhaching	  	6    2 	2  2    9:10  -1     8 
12  SV Darmstadt 98	  	6    2 	2  2    6:7   -1     8 
13  Preußen Münster	  	6    1 	4  1   11:11   0     7 
14  VfB Stuttgart II	  	6    2 	1  3    7:7    0     7 
15  Hallescher FC	  	6    2 	0  4    5:8   -3     6 
16  Borussia Dortmund II	6    2 	0  4    6:11  -5     6 
17  1. FC Saarbrücken	  	6    1 	1  4    5:12  -7     4
--------------------------------------------------------------
18  SV Elversberg (N)	  	6    0 	3  3    4:9   -5     3 
19  Stuttgarter Kickers	  	6    0 	3  3    4:11  -7     3 
20  Wacker Burghausen	  	6    0 	1  5    4:13  -9     1


A = Absteiger just relegated 
N = Neuling just promoted

1st line: Promotion to 2.Liga
2nd line: Promotion Playoff with 2.Liga 16th place
3rd line: Relegation to Regionalliga

2.Liga, Round 5

Some slight upsets this round, as some of the favorites got reminded that there are no easy matches.

Greuther Fürth hosting 1. FC Köln was the most anticipated match, but it was basically a snoozer. Neither side did much going forward, and both teams had solid defense, so they just kicked the ball back and forth and then went off to the pub. Nevertheless, Greuthers must be fairly happy sitting on top already with a cushion.

1860 of course got dumped in Paderborn, so they lose pace. Not unexpected, as the Müncheners are one of the liga’s most underperforming sides in several seasons now.

Düsseldorf got back on track with a derby win over Bochum.

A stunner in Aalen, as struggling VfR ripped favored Kaiserslautern’s ass. FCK was totally out of rhythym in this one, and almost immediately after the Devils fell behind on an own goal, Idrissou got his ass red carded, and Aalen came out firing on all cylinders in the 2nd half and routed the promotion challengers.

Cottbus looked like a challenger last week, but they went down ugly with two red cards and a loss at Aue. Erzgebirge needed this, and it just goes to show that the eastern clubs will not do each other any favors. The win at least gives indication that they want to play a role in the promotion race. They played hard and didn’t let a somewhat contraversial penalty stop their attack. Energie will be put out since their best player Sanogo went psycho and chopped down an opponent to get a red card and likely a lengthy ban, and a few minutes later Bittroff decided he wanted an early shower too and got his ass tossed as well.

Ingolstadt finally got going as they beat down Bielefeld in an exciting match where they were always behind. Arminia was unable to hold off the Schanzer, despite kicking them in the balls several times. Bielefeld had chances to win, but they showed they need steel to bring home points like this.

Derby in Sandhausen village, as SVS faced famous Karlsruhe. KSC was close to getting a win, but Sandhausen put in a good effort, and were rewarded with a late equalizer that got them a fair result.

On Monday it was St.Pauli straightening their ship a bit, while Dresden fell deeper into the hole. The Paulistas were dominant, but looked to be dropping points late in the match. Then 19 year old Sebastian Maier – you had just been subbed in – knocked in a direct freekick from 20 yards causing the Millerntor stadium to explode.

Total attendance: 124,087 (avg 13,787)

 	
SV Sandhausen	      -   Karlsruher SC	        1:1 (0:0)   10,600

                     0:1  Nazarov (57., Yabo)
                     1:1  F. Hübner (88., Schauerte)
 
FC Ingolstadt 04      -   Arminia Bielefeld	3:2 (1:1)    4,500

                     0:1  Klos (5., C. Müller)
                     1:1  P. Hofmann (31., Hajnal)
                     1:2  Riese (73., Klos)
                     2:2  Hajnal (76., Caiuby)
                     3:2  Eigler (79., Caiuby)

Erzgebirge Aue	      -   Energie Cottbus	2:1 (0:1)    9,550

                     0:1  Banovic (22., penalty, Jendrisek)
                     1:1  Novikovas (47.)
                     2:1  Novikovas (77., direct freekick)

SpVgg Greuther Fürth  -   1. FC Köln	        0:0 (0:0)   13,770

VfR Aalen	      -   1. FC Kaiserslautern	4:0 (1:0)    8,000

                     1:0  Löwe (42., own goal, Lechleiter)
                     2:0  Valentini (48., Traut)
                     3:0  Buballa (71., A. Hofmann)
                     4:0  Valentini (88., Weiß)
 	
Fortuna Düsseldorf    -   VfL Bochum	        1:0 (1:0)   37,233

                     1:0  Reisinger (8., Kenia)

FSV Frankfurt	      -   1. FC Union Berlin	1:1 (1:0)    4,436

                     1:0  Leckie (41., Huber)
                     1:1  Kreilach (57., Mattuschka)

SC Paderborn 07	      -   1860 München	        1:0 (0:0)    7,411

                     1:0  Wemmer (71., Vrancic)


Monday:
FC St. Pauli	      -   Dynamo Dresden        2:1 (0:0)   28,587

                     0:1  Aoudia (71., Fiel)
                     1:1  Kringe (73., Buchtmann)
                     2:1  Maier (88., direct freekick)


 1  SpVgg Greuther Fürth (A)    5    4 	1  0 	  8:2 	+6    13 
 2  Erzgebirge Aue	        5    3 	0  2 	  6:5 	+1    9
----------------------------------------------------------------
 3  1860 München	        5    3 	0  2 	  5:4 	+1    9
----------------------------------------------------------------
 4  1. FC Kaiserslautern        5    3 	0  2 	  7:8 	-1    9 
 5  1. FC Union Berlin	        5    2 	2  1 	  8:6 	+2    8 
 6  Karlsruher SC (N)	        5    2 	2  1 	  5:3 	+2    8 
 7  FC St. Pauli	        5    2 	2  1 	  5:4 	+1    8 
 8  Energie Cottbus	        5    2 	1  2 	 12:6 	+6    7 
 9  FSV Frankfurt	        5    2 	1  2 	  6:4 	+2    7 
10  1. FC Köln	                5    1 	4  0 	  5:3 	+2    7 
11  Fortuna Düsseldorf (A)      5    2 	1  2 	  5:5 	 0    7 
12  VfR Aalen	                5    2 	1  2 	  6:7 	-1    7 
13  VfL Bochum	                5    1 	2  2 	  5:6 	-1    5 
14  Arminia Bielefeld (N)       5    1 	2  2 	  7:9 	-2    5 
15  SC Paderborn 07	        5    1 	2  2 	  5:9 	-4    5
---------------------------------------------------------------
16  SV Sandhausen	        5    0 	3  2 	  3:6 	-3    3
---------------------------------------------------------------
17  FC Ingolstadt 04	        5    1 	0  4 	  5:10 	-5    3 
18  Dynamo Dresden	        5    0 	2  3 	  4:10 	-6    2 	


A = Absteiger just Relegated 
N = Neuling just promoted

1st line: Promotion to Bundesliga
2nd line: Playoff with 16th Bundesliga
3rd line: Playoff with no.3 of 3.Liga
4th line: Relegation to 3.Liga

BUNDESLIGA, Round 3

updates to follow soon…

Champions Bayern kept on track with a dominant win against Nürnberg, who only managed a couple of chances as they hunkered down to try and hold off the hosts. It took a while, and it was a rare header by Frank Ribery that finally opened things up. A few minutes later Arjen Robben had another of his high-speed slalom runs, and der Club was finished.

Dortmund kept pace, dominating Bremen. Werder tried to catenaccio their way to a point, giving up over 30 shots, but trying to survive. Lewandowski got the only goal, but the Neons could have easily scored a half-dozen

Bayer Leverkusen keeps things perfect with a win over Gladbach. The Aspirins were the better side, but lost concentration have way through and Gladbach got back in. However the home side still had enough in the tank to launch another winning attack. The combo of Stefan Kiessling and Sidney Sam turned out deadly, and Bayer deservedly gets the win.

Mainz is the early surprise, as they join the favorites with a perfect start. Wolfsburg was an even opponent, but Mainz took advantage of their chances, whereas the VWs were wasteful when it counted. Midfielder Nicolai Müller is off to a great start, with his fourth goal of the season, a nice blast into the top on the deciding break-away counter.

Schalke is in early crisis. They pretty much stunk again, losing at Hannover, largely because they went down a man early. The Knappen are also in trouble after they only drew 1-1 in the ChampionsLeague qualifier against Saloniki. High point of that was the police charging into the stands when Schalke fans raised a Macedonian flag to incite the Greeks. Maybe they should concentrate on football instead of politics, because if they go out, it’s about 20 million potential income down the drain. I suppose in that context they should be worried more about the rematch in Saloniki, but stinking in Hannover hardly gives too much faith. The 96ers really didn’t look like world beaters either, so they shouldn’t let this one go to their head.

Hoffenheim is certainly playing exciting football, but they might want to include defense in their offering in the future. Freiburg ran rampant through their feeble lines, but lucky the Hoppers showed some firepower of their own. The wild shootout ended in a fair draw to both sides.

Sunday’s matches were “desperation” struggles, as all involved started with double losses. Frankfurt won at Braunschweig in the battle of the Eintrachts. Overall, it was a pretty easy match for Frankfurt, as they were the dominant side, and Braunscwheig had will, but little talent on display.

Stuttgart must be headed for early season crisis again, as they pretty much stunk at Augsburg, getting played off the pitch for the most part. FCA figures to be in yet another struggle to stay up, but they keep on fighting. Stuttgart looked tired and ready to phone things in.

Total attendance 398,227 (avg 44,247), sellouts in Dortmund, München, Hannover and Braunschweig


Borussia Dortmund     -   Werder Bremen	        1:0 (0:0)   80,645 *

                     1:0  Lewandowski (55., Reus)

Bayern München	      -   1. FC Nürnberg        2:0 (0:0)   71,000 *

                     1:0  Ribery (69., Lahm)
                     2:0  Robben (78., Lahm)

Bayer 04 Leverkusen   -   Bor. Mönchengladbach  4:2 (2:0)   29,432

                     1:0  Kießling (23., Hand penalty)
                     2:0  Sam (28., Kießling)
                     2:1  Stranzl (54., Herrmann)
                     2:2  Arango (57.)
                     3:2  Sam (61., Kießling)
                     4:2  Castro (72., Sam)


Hannover 96	      -   FC Schalke 04	        2:1 (2:0)   49,000 *

                     1:0  Huszti (15., penalty, M. Diouf)
                     2:0  M. Diouf (42., Huszti)
                     2:1  Szalai (55., Neustädter)

1899 Hoffenheim	      -   SC Freiburg	        3:3 (2:2)   24,118

                     1:0  Salihovic (10., penalty, Volland)
                     1:1  Sorg (13., Schmid)
                     2:1  Volland (25., Vestergaard)
                     2:2  Guedé (29., Schuster)
                     2:3  Freis (65., Schmid)
                     3:3  Strobl (77.)

1. FSV Mainz 05	      -   VfL Wolfsburg	        2:0 (0:0)   27,103

                     1:0  Choupo-Moting (61., Svensson)
                     2:0  N. Müller (78., Geis)

Hertha BSC	      -   Hamburger SV	        1:0 (0:0)   63,574

                     1:0  Ramos (74., N. Schulz)


Sunday:
Eintr. Braunschweig   -   Eintracht Frankfurt	0:2 (0:0)   23,325 *

                     0:1  Meier (52., Kadlec)
                     0:2  Aigner (62.)
 
FC Augsburg	      -   VfB Stuttgart	        2:1 (2:1)   30,030

                     1:0  Halil Altintop (6., Verhaegh)
                     2:0  Callsen-Bracker (36., Holzhauser)
                     2:1  Ibisevic (42., penalty, Maxim)



 1  Borussia Dortmund	     3 	  3  0 	0    7:1  +6 	  9 
 2  Bayer 04 Leverkusen	     3 	  3  0 	0    8:3  +5 	  9 
 3  Bayern München (M, P)    3 	  3  0 	0    6:1  +5 	  9
 4  1. FSV Mainz 05	     3 	  3  0 	0    7:3  +4 	  9
-----------------------------------------------------------
 5  Hertha BSC Berlin (N)    3 	  2  1 	0    9:3  +6 	  7 
 6  Werder Bremen	     3 	  2  0 	1    2:1  +1 	  6
-----------------------------------------------------------
 7  Hannover 96	             3 	  2  0 	1    4:4   0 	  6 
 8  1899 Hoffenheim	     3 	  1  2 	0   10:6  +4 	  5 
 9  VfL Wolfsburg	     3 	  1  0 	2    4:4   0 	  3 
10  Bor. Mönchengladbach     3 	  1  0 	2    6:7  -1 	  3 
11  1. FC Nürnberg	     3 	  0  2 	1    4:6  -2 	  2 
12  SC Freiburg	             3 	  0  1 	2    5:8  -3 	  1 
13  Hamburger SV	     3 	  0  1 	2    4:9  -5 	  1 		
14  FC Schalke 04	     3 	  0  1 	2    4:9  -5 	  1 
15  Eintracht Frankfurt	     3 	  1  0 	2    3:7  -4 	  3
-----------------------------------------------------------
16  FC Augsburg	             3 	  1  0 	2    2:6  -4 	  3 
-----------------------------------------------------------
17  VfB Stuttgart	     2 	  0  0 	3    3:6  -3 	  0
18  Eintr. Braunschweig (N)  3 	  0  0 	3    1:5  -4 	  0


M = Meister, defending Champion
P = Pokal, defending Cup winner
N = Neuling, newly promoted

1st line: Champions League
2nd line: Europaliga (+ Cup winner)
3rd line: Playoff with 2.Liga 3rd place
4th line: Relegation to 2.Liga

3.Liga, Round 5

The 3.Liga certainly doesn’t look predictable. Just when you think you’ve got it figured out, some surprises pop up which takes you back to the drawing board.

Esrtwhile leaders Heidenheim got dumped in Darmstadt, and it wasn’t undeserved, as the leaders showed zip. The Lilies showed a forceful engagement and pull off a solid win. So far things are going nicely for Darmstadt, taking advantage of their relegation reprieve. They got the good news that next round of the DFB-Pokal – a home tie against Schalke, sure to be a sellout – will also be televised live.

Meanwhile, Rostock looked like they were on the up, but got kicked in the balls by Unterhaching, who had heretofore been rather crap. The Mini-Munchkins grabbed an early lead, and despite furious Hansa assaults, held on for an important win.

Another pre-season favorite, Osnabrück, looked pretty lame and showed nothing at Saarbrücken (who as an ex-Bundesligist *should* be halfway decent, but basically have sucked). Münster, a contender last season and expected to challenge seriously, got owned by upstart Kiel at home no less. The Preussen ran around a lot, but it was Holstein that looked the experienced side.

Wehen has been an early surprise, and they re-claimed the top with a solid away win at Burghausen, who already look ready to be relegated. Moneybags “We know you’re really Red Bull” Leipzig gave a solid performance in dispatching Erfurt. It seems like despite all the propaganda, the Leipzigers are slowly warming to the idea. To be honest, I think what ticks most folks off is the blatant “RB” as “Rasenballsport” nonsense. Germans like to pretend their football is still pure and devoid of commercialism, which is of course silly. Money talks and Bullsh*t walks. Of course it is a fair cop that RedBull went about the whole process in an annoyingly blatant manner, so they deserve some guff. Still, if Leipzig keep winning, I think the locals will come around, as they are starved for some decent football. It looks like Leipzig and Duisburg will be drawing the largest crowds this season.

At the bottom, Halle got things straight as they finally won, upending Elversberg in a relegation battle (perhaps to early to talk about that, but surely Elversberg will struggle).

Total attendance 70,834 (avg 7,083)

MSV Duisburg	      -   Chemnitzer FC	        1:1 (1:1)   14,368
Hallescher FC	      -   SV Elversberg	        2:0 (0:0)    6,347
1. FC Saarbrücken     -   VfL Osnabrück	        0:0 (0:0)    3,695
Hansa Rostock	      -   SpVgg Unterhaching	0:1 (0:1)   10,400
SV Darmstadt 98	      -   1. FC Heidenheim	1:0 (0:0)    5,100
Borussia Dortmund II  -   Jahn Regensburg	1:2 (0:0)    2,228
RB Leipzig	      -   Rot-Weiß Erfurt	2:0 (1:0)   14,103
Wacker Burghausen     -   SV Wehen Wiesbaden	1:3 (1:1)    2,000
Preußen Münster	      -   Holstein Kiel	        0:3 (0:3)    8,123
Stuttgarter Kickers   -   VfB Stuttgart II	0:2 (0:1)    4,470


 1  SV Wehen Wiesbaden	  5 	  4  1 	0   12:4   +8 	  13
 2  Holstein Kiel (N)	  5 	  3  2 	0   10:2   +8 	  11
------------------------------------------------------------
 3  RB Leipzig (N)	  5 	  3  2 	0    8:4   +4 	  11
------------------------------------------------------------
 4  1. FC Heidenheim	  5 	  3  1 	1    9:3   +6 	  10 
 5  VfL Osnabrück	  5 	  3  1 	1    7:2   +5 	  10 
 6  Hansa Rostock	  5 	  3  1 	1    7:4   +3 	  10 
 7  Rot-Weiß Erfurt	  5 	  2  2 	1    8:6   +2 	  8 
 8  MSV Duisburg (A)	  5 	  2  2 	1    6:4   +2 	  8 
 9  SV Darmstadt 98	  5 	  2  2 	1    6:5   +1 	  8 
10  VfB Stuttgart II	  5 	  2  1 	2    6:5   +1 	  7 
11  Preußen Münster	  5 	  1  3 	1    9:9    0 	  6 
12  Borussia Dortmund II  5 	  2  0 	3    6:9   -3 	  6 
13  Jahn Regensburg (A)	  5 	  1  2 	2    8:10  -2 	  5 
14  Chemnitzer FC	  5 	  1  2 	2    7:10  -3 	  5 
15  SpVgg Unterhaching	  5 	  1  2 	2    6:9   -3 	  5 
16  1. FC Saarbrücken	  5 	  1  1 	3    4:9   -5 	  4 
17  Hallescher FC	  5 	  1  0 	4    3:7   -4 	  3
-----------------------------------------------------------
18  SV Elversberg (N)	  5 	  0  2 	3    2:7   -5 	  2		
19  Stuttgarter Kickers	  5 	  0  2 	3    2:9   -7 	  2 
20  Wacker Burghausen	  5 	  0  1 	4    3:11  -8 	  1


A = Absteiger just relegated 
N = Neuling just promoted

1st line: Promotion to 2.Liga
2nd line: Promotion Playoff with 2.Liga 16th place
3rd line: Relegation to Regionalliga

2.Liga, Round 4

Apparently last season’s beat-down wasn’t enough for Greuther Fürth, and they’ve indicated they want to return to the Bundesliga for more punishment immediately. The leaders faced a strong Karlsruhe side, but good organization and wil-power eventually saw them through to a good result. KSC had the upper hand early, but the increased Greuther pressure eventually had them breaking.

Kaiserslautern dicked around too much against Aue, as this should have been a lopsoded crushing win. Instead FCK fell asleep and were only awakened when Aue kicked them in the balls. To their credit, the hosts immediately bounced back and then remained a bit less lackadaisical in seeing the game out.

Köln has largely sucked so far, mainly because they can’t score. So having Sandhausen show up at least meant they could finally get a win, which they did, albeit making it harder for themselves than it needed to be.

A wild Ostwestfalen derby saw Bielefeld come back against Paderborn, an uphill battle all the way.

Exciting match between two familiar sides, Bochum and St.Pauli. The hosts dominated, but St.Pauli’s Verhoek turned the game on it’s head with a double. Bochum attacked furiously and were eventually rewarded with an equalizer, but the Hamburgers held firm and escape with a point.

Boring match in München in which should have been decent, as it’s a Bavarian derby. But both 1860 and Ingolstadt apparently didn’t want to be there, and fittingly this was decided in the Lions favor by an own goal.

Cottbus ripped Aalen’s ass, giving notice that they could be a force to reckon with. This might be the 3rd time that Cottbus makes it’s way to the top flight, never an enjoyable prospect for the Bundesliga squads. The Stadion der Freundschaft is a tough place to play, and Aalen felt the full brunt.

Dresden was shockingly crap at home to FSV Frankfurt and got owned. Dynamo was so bad they never even managed a decent shot. Meanwhile the Bornheimers did whatever they wanted, and Albanian international Edmon Kapllani (who seems like he’s bounced around in the lower flights of German football for several decades) notched a hat-trick in a superb match. Dynamo better get their act together or we’ll be hearing about riots in Dresden before long.


 	
Karlsruher SC	       -   SpVgg Greuther Fürth	 1:2 (1:0)   18,877

                      1:0  Vitzthum (39., Mauersberger)
                      1:1  K. Kraus (75.)
                      1:2  Drexler (86., Sparv)
 
Arminia Bielefeld      -   SC Paderborn 07	 3:3 (0:1)   24,106

                      0:1  Saglik (15., Kachunga)
                      0:2  Kachunga (49., Wemmer)
                      1:2  Jerat (52., Riese)
                      2:2  Schütz (76., direct freekick)
                      2:3  ten Voorde (80., penalty, Kachunga)
                      3:3  Schönfeld (90. + 1)

VfL Bochum	       -   FC St. Pauli	         2:2 (1:2)   23,028

                      1:0  Butscher (18., Fabian)
                      1:1  Verhoek (23., Thy)
                      1:2  Verhoek (35., Rzatkowski)
                      2:2  Jungwirth (69.)

1. FC Kaiserslautern   -   Erzgebirge Aue	 2:1 (1:0)   25,565

                      1:0  Idrissou (29., penalty, Matmour)
                      1:1  Kocer (59., M. Fink)
                      2:1  Idrissou (60., Zoller)

1. FC Köln	       -   SV Sandhausen	 2:0 (0:0)   39,000

                      1:0  Risse (55., Gerhardt)
                      2:0  Risse (78., penalty, Hector)

 	
1860 München	       -   FC Ingolstadt 04	1:0 (0:0)   24,200

                      1:0  Roger (48., own goal, Tomasov)

Energie Cottbus	       -   VfR Aalen	        5:1 (3:1)    9,113

                      1:0  Stiepermann (4.)
                      2:0  Sanogo (24., Stiepermann)
                      3:0  Jendrisek (30., Stiepermann)
                      3:1  Möhrle (36., own goal, Buballa)
                      4:1  Kruska (49.)
                      5:1  Sanogo (76., Stiepermann)

Dynamo Dresden	       -   FSV Frankfurt	0:3 (0:1)   24,144

                      0:1  Kapllani (44., Leckie)
                      0:2  Kapllani (50.)
                      0:3  Kapllani (69., Epstein)

Monday:	
1. FC Union Berlin     -   Fortuna Düsseldorf   2:1 (1:0)   20,846

                      1:0  Nemec (43., Köhler)
                      2:0  Nemec (55., Mattuschka)
                      2:1  Bellinghausen (77., Levels)



 1  SpVgg Greuther Fürth (A)	  4    4  0  0 	  8:2 	+6 	  12 
 2  1. FC Kaiserslautern	  4    3  0  1 	  7:4 	+3 	  9
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 3  1860 München	          4    3  0  1 	  5:3 	+2 	  9
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 4  Energie Cottbus	          4    2  1  1 	 11:4 	+7 	  7
 5  1. FC Union Berlin	          4    2  1  1 	  7:5 	+2 	  7  
 6  Karlsruher SC (N)	          4    2  1  1 	  4:2 	+2 	  7 
 7  FSV Frankfurt	          4    2  0  2 	  5:3 	+2 	  6 		
 8  1. FC Köln	                  4    1  3  0 	  5:3 	+2 	  6
 9  Erzgebirge Aue	          4    2  0  2 	  4:4 	 0 	  6 
10  VfL Bochum	                  4    1  2  1 	  5:5 	 0 	  5 
11  FC St. Pauli	          4    1  2  1 	  3:3 	 0 	  5 
12  Arminia Bielefeld (N)	  4    1  2  1 	  5:6 	-1 	  5 
13  Fortuna Düsseldorf (A)	  4    1  1  2 	  4:5 	-1 	  4 
14  VfR Aalen	                  4    1  1  2 	  2:7 	-5 	  4 
15  SV Sandhausen	          4    0  2  2 	  2:5 	-3 	  2
-------------------------------------------------------------------
16  SC Paderborn 07	          4    0  2  2 	  4:9 	-5 	  2
-------------------------------------------------------------------
17  Dynamo Dresden	          4    0  2  2 	  3:8 	-5 	  2 
18  FC Ingolstadt 04	          4    0  0  4 	  2:8 	-6 	  0



A = Absteiger just Relegated 
N = Neuling just promoted

1st line: Promotion to Bundesliga
2nd line: Playoff with 16th Bundesliga
3rd line: Playoff with no.3 of 3.Liga
4th line: Relegation to 3.Liga

BUNDESLIGA, Round 2

Bayern München apparently has decided that their is something to Pep Guardiola’s tiki-taka boredom. Not so much the useless passing around, but that you can put everybody to sleep, then strike, and then waste around and get the win. That’s pretty much what the champions did at Frankfurt, which is usually a hard place to play. But Bayern was cruising without having to bring a sweat as they easily got the win against Eintracht, who never looked like scoring.

Biatch-Slap! The Volkswagens are apparently no longer being built in Kraftdurchfreudestadt, apparently production is now dependent on Sao Paulo. The Wolfies just signed Luiz Gustavo from Bayern, and he went straight into the lineup, which featured four Portuguese speakers (and another on the bench). At the receiving end of the new model VW was Schalke, who were pitiful and were justifiably biatch-slapped. Huntelaar went out at halftime with an injury, and soon the Blues fell apart and got their asses ripped.

Talk about a biatch and a new model. New look Hoffenheim ran rampant in Hamburg in front of a stunned crowd of Hamburgers who barely had time to finish their pre-game frankfurters… This is not the old Hoffenheim, who spent money to get established and then dicked around and almost got relegated. A new look squad of young cheap talent has been slapped together by coach Markus Gisdol into a respectable team that tries hard. They kicked Hamburg in the balls, whose defense was running around like chickens with their heads cut off. The HSV fans must be outraged over his performance.

Hard fought match in Stuttgart, but Leverkusen was a bit more fortunate. It was Stuttgart that did itself in. First they gave up the own goal. Then of course they ran into ex-VfBer Jay Leno. (OK, “Bernd”). The Aspirin GK was very sharp and kept the hosts at bay, allowing a discplined Alka-Seltzer squad to bring home the bacon.

Weird match in Bremen. Visitors Augsburg dominated the match and only top GK kept Werder out of trouble, However just the fact that a no talent side like FCA could thoroughly dominate Bremen (on the road no less) gives moment for pause. On the other hand, Werder is grinding some points, so that should keep them out of trouble in this re-building year. For the Fuggers, too bad, but that’s what lack of talent gets you. They continue to fight till they drop, but the talent gets you those goals.

Good season(s), then sell your players. Try and re-produce with even cheaper players. That’s Freiburg’s recipe, but it might be stale again. SCF and Mainz (which has a similar philosophy) kicked around in a sleeper, then it suddenly got exciting with a flurry of goals. Then the clock ran out as Frieburg had no clue on how to further break down their visitors.

Easy win for Gladbach, slapping Hannover, who basically didn’t want to be there. Perhaps the players can get prosecuted for Arbeitsverweigerung (“refusal to work”), or the 96ers were on strike that nobody knew about. In any case, Gladbach did whatever they wanted – which wasn’t very much – and probably got the easiest win they’ll have this season.

Sunday matches:
Dortmund hosted Braunschweig and struggled. The guests hunkered down and defended resolutely, and the Neons were beginning to get desperate, as they were banging their heads against Braunschweig’s well organized squad. They finally broke through as sub youngster Jonas Hofmann got things going. A good effort by Braunschweig, but there seems to be a bit of Greuther Fürth here, fight hard but not have enough to get the reward.

Nürnberg hosted Hertha in a tight match, both sides could complain about some wankerized referee decisions, but overall the draw was a fair result. Hertha showed that last week’s romp was no fluke and they look to have what it takes to stay up.

Total attendance this weekend was 343,257 (avg 38,140). One sellout, in Frankfurt

 	
VfB Stuttgart	       -   Bayer 04 Leverkusen	 0:1 (0:1)   40,800

                      0:1  Schwaab (42., own goal, Boenisch)

VfL Wolfsburg	       -   FC Schalke 04	 4:0 (0:0)   28,405

                      1:0  Knoche (55., Perisic)
                      2:0  Vieirinha (61.)
                      3:0  Naldo (67.)
                      4:0  Kutschke (90. + 1, M. Schäfer)

Werder Bremen	       -   FC Augsburg	         1:0 (1:0)   40,112

                      1:0  Ekici (23.)

SC Freiburg	       -   1. FSV Mainz 05	 1:2 (0:0)   23,100

                      0:1  Zimling (64., Geis)
                      0:2  N. Müller (68., Zimling)
                      1:2  Freis (71., Fernandes)

Hamburger SV	       -   1899 Hoffenheim	 1:5 (1:1)   47,483

                      0:1  Roberto Firmino (5., F. Johnson)
                      1:1  van der Vaart (44., Hand penalty)
                      1:2  Volland (51., Roberto Firmino)
                      1:3  Modeste (67., Roberto Firmino)
                      1:4  Modeste (75., Roberto Firmino)
                      1:5  Roberto Firmino (78., Volland)

Eintracht Frankfurt    -   Bayern München	 0:1 (0:1)   51,500 *

                      0:1  Mandzukic (13., T. Müller)

Bor. Mönchengladbach   -   Hannover 96	         3:0 (1:0)   46,089

                      1:0  M. Kruse (20., Raffael)
                      2:0  Kramer (53., M. Kruse)
                      3:0  Daems (66., Hand penalty)


1. FC Nürnberg	       -   Hertha BSC 	         2:2 (1:0)   37,068

                      1:0  Drmic (40., Ginczek)
                      1:1  Allagui (61., Pekarik)
                      1:2  Ronny (79., penalty, Baumjohann)
                      2:2  Kiyotake (89., direct freekick)
 
Borussia Dortmund      -   Eintr. Braunschweig   2:1 (0:0)   80,200

                      1:0  Hofmann (75., Hummels)
                      2:0  Reus (86., penalty, Hofmann)
                      2:1  Kratz (89., Boland)




 1  Borussia Dortmund	  	2 	  2  0 	0    6:1  +5 	  6 
 2  Bayer 04 Leverkusen	    	2 	  2  0 	0    4:1  +3 	  6 
 3  Bayern München (M, P)	2 	  2  0 	0    4:1  +3 	  6 
 4  1. FSV Mainz 05	  	2 	  2  0 	0    5:3  +2 	  6
-------------------------------------------------------------------
 5  Werder Bremen	  	2 	  2  0 	0    2:0  +2 	  6
 6  1899 Hoffenheim	  	2 	  1  1 	0    7:3  +4 	  4 
-------------------------------------------------------------------
 7  Hertha BSC Berlin (N)	2 	  1  1 	0    8:3  +5 	  4
 8  VfL Wolfsburg	  	2 	  1  0 	1    4:2  +2 	  3 
 9  Bor. Mönchengladbach	2 	  1  0 	1    4:3  +1 	  3 
10  Hannover 96	  	        2 	  1  0 	1    2:3  -1 	  3 
11  1. FC Nürnberg	  	2 	  0  2 	0    4:4   0 	  2 
12  Hamburger SV	  	2 	  0  1 	1    4:8  -4 	  1 
13  FC Schalke 04	        2 	  0  1 	1    3:7  -4 	  1 
14  VfB Stuttgart	        2 	  0  0 	2    2:4  -2 	  0
15  Eintracht Braunschweig (N)	2 	  0  0 	2    1:3  -2 	  0 
-------------------------------------------------------------------
16  SC Freiburg	                2 	  0  0 	2    2:5  -3 	  0
-------------------------------------------------------------------
17  FC Augsburg	                2 	  0  0 	2    0:5  -5 	  0 
18  Eintracht Frankfurt	        2 	  0  0 	2    1:7  -6 	  0


M = Meister, defending Champion
P = Pokal, defending Cup winner
N = Neuling, newly promoted

1st line: Champions League
2nd line: Europaliga (+ Cup winner)
3rd line: Playoff with 2.Liga 3rd place
4th line: Relegation to 2.Liga

3.Liga, Round 4

The top clash was in Osnabrück, but although hard-fought, was pretty sloppy. Nevertheless, Rostock may have announced to the league that they’re to be taken seriously, perhaps having straightened out their house. A late goal by Savran allowed them to snatch a win, but it wasn’t totally undeserved.

A powerful display by Heidenheim as they overran BVB II.

Münster looked the better side, but Wehen showed resiliency to bounce back and hold a draw. The Tanussteiners look pretty tough so far. Preussen has gotten off to a slow start and need to grind out some wins to keep pace.

A strong road performance by Darmstadt, with forward Dominik Stroh-Engel (“straw angel”) grabbing a hat-trick for the visitors and getting them to midtable.

The alarm bells must be going off in Halle, as HFC is the only club with a zippo in the points column. Not a horrible performance, but the hosts Kiel had a slight edge and grabbed the points that keep their excellent start going.

Big match Sunday of new money Red Bull against the Zebras, Duisburg jumped out the lead and gave no quarter. Leipzig eventually equalized, and overall a split of the points made sense.

Total attendance 56,302 (avg 5,630)


 	
VfB Stuttgart II     -   1. FC Saarbrücken	2:0 (1:0)      950
SV Elversberg	     -   Stuttgarter Kickers	1:1 (0:1)      600
SpVgg Unterhaching   -   SV Darmstadt 98	2:4 (0:2)    3,400
VfL Osnabrück	     -   Hansa Rostock   	1:2 (1:0)   10,056
Holstein Kiel	     -   Hallescher FC	        1:0 (1:0)    5,819
SV Wehen Wiesbaden   -   Preußen Münster	1:1 (0:1)    3,961
Rot-Weiß Erfurt	     -   Wacker Burghausen	1:1 (1:0)    5,734
Jahn Regensburg	     -   Chemnitzer FC	        3:5 (1:4)    4,624
1. FC Heidenheim     -   Borussia Dortmund II	4:0 (1:0)    7,400
Sunday:
RB Leipzig	     -   MSV Duisburg	        1:1 (0:1)   13,758


 1  1. FC Heidenheim	  4 	  3  1 	0    9:2  +7 	  10 
 2  SV Wehen Wiesbaden	  4 	  3  1 	0    9:3  +6 	  10
------------------------------------------------------------
 3  Hansa Rostock	  4 	  3  1 	0    7:3  +4 	  10
------------------------------------------------------------
 4  VfL Osnabrück	  4 	  3  0 	1    7:2  +5 	  9 
 5  Holstein Kiel (N)	  4 	  2  2 	0    7:2  +5 	  8 
 6  Rot-Weiß Erfurt	  4 	  2  2 	0    8:4  +4 	  8 
 7  RB Leipzig (N)	  4 	  2  2 	0    6:4  +2 	  8 
 8  MSV Duisburg (A)	  4 	  2  1 	1    5:3  +2 	  7 
 9  Preußen Münster	  4 	  1  3 	0    9:6  +3 	  6 
10  Borussia Dortmund II  4 	  2  0 	2    5:7  -2 	  6 
11  SV Darmstadt 98	  4 	  1  2 	1    5:5   0 	  5 
12  VfB Stuttgart II	  4 	  1  1 	2    4:5  -1 	  4 
13  Chemnitzer FC	  4 	  1  1 	2    6:9  -3 	  4 
14  1. FC Saarbrücken	  4 	  1  0 	3    4:9  -5 	  3 
15  Jahn Regensburg (A)	  4 	  0  2 	2    6:9  -3 	  2 
16  SV Elversberg (N)	  4 	  0  2 	2    2:5  -3 	  2 
17  SpVgg Unterhaching	  4 	  0  2 	2    5:9  -4 	  2
-----------------------------------------------------------
18  Stuttgarter Kickers	  4 	  0  2 	2    2:7  -5 	  2 
19  Wacker Burghausen	  4 	  0  1 	3    2:8  -6 	  1 
20  Hallescher FC	  4 	  0  0 	4    1:7  -6 	  0

A = Absteiger just relegated 
N = Neuling just promoted

1st line: Promotion to 2.Liga
2nd line: Promotion Playoff with 2.Liga 16th place
3rd line: Relegation to Regionalliga

WSV Blog: no road games

Ouch, the 5th division is definitely becoming a problem for Wuppertal, in an unexpected vein. After the opening away match against Rattingen was canceled, the second away match at SV Hönnepel-Niedermörmter (that’s a mouthful, makes Mönchengladbach look like an abbreviation) was also canceled, and the rumour is that the next away match at Rhede will suffer the same fate.

The reason is that the small clubs don’t have the facilities to entertain the “expected” crowds of traveling rowdies. According to police documents, there is a hardcore of some 300 Wuppertalers who are “ready for violence”, whatever that means. And some 80-100 are expected to be going on away trips. Virtually none of these smaller clubs have stadiums that allow for separation of fans, nor the necessary insurance. So they’re canceling the matches and leaving it in the federation’s hands to do something.

Of course the numbers given by police (some secretive investigative squad, a cross between the FBI and Stasi) are highly disputed, since there haven’t been 300 rowdies at a WSV match in decades. Everyone recognizes that it’s hardly something like Rostock vs Dresden that we’re talking about, so the same “security” measures shouldn’t apply. However until the federation takes charge, it’s all in limbo. Part of the problem is that the lower divisions are managed by the regional federations, and they won’t make a move until the DFB changes some of the statutes in place in the top flights (1-3 Liga). So in the meantime, it looks like it’s only home games for Wuppertal…

2.Liga, Round 3

Düsseldorf dominated the match against 1860, but ended up kicked in the nuts. Fortuna controlled the match, pressed, did everything right – except score goals, which was a major problem last season. The lions on the other usually lose matches like this, but this time took their few opportunities and come away without a lucky 3 points – and they sure won’t complain about it.

Frankfurt grabbed an early lead against Bochum, but then let the guests have all the play. FSV also neglected to gave some clear chances on counters, and as a result nervously clung to the lead. However Bochum basically just ran around a lot, or made worthless passes that achieved nothing. So they can’t be too upset that they get nada from this one, since they sucked. A critical win for FSV, as they may be battling relegation after a calm campaign last season.

Köln is repeating last season, dropping points and not grinding out the wins. Last season they mounted a late season charge, but where slapped in the end. Paderborn figures to struggle, but they gave it all they got with a strong performance. however they could have gone for the jugular against this lame Goats squad. A last gasp goal saved Köln an embarassing defeat, hardly deserved.

St.Pauli was unlucky to lose, as they were the stronger side in their clash against Bielefeld. The “Kiez-kicker” dominated the match, but Arminia’s defense was rock solid, and they did create some decent chances on the counter. Overall, a draw would have been a fair result. Bielefeld is looking to establish themselves mid-table, and although the Paulistas look plenty strong, they obviously have trouble putting the ball into the net, so they could possibly struggle against relegation if they don’t at least fix the problem. If they do, they are strong enough to contend for promotion, so it should be an interesting campaign for them.

A big eastern clash in Dresden, and Union ripped a disorganized Dynamo defense to shreds in the first half. Dresden looked out of synch, and Union ruthlessly exploited the chaos in a 15 minute segment when they put the game on ice. Dresden didn’t have an answer, and Gueye got his ass tossed at the start of the 2nd period, so the Dynamo’s goal was putting lipstick on a pig. Good win for Berlin.

Aue ruined their good start with a crap performance against Aalen. The Erzgebirgers totally slept the 1st half, and really never got things organized, except for some desperate pressing at the end. Aalen is a relegation candidate, and really didn’t do much to change that perception, despite the win. However they’ll certainly take it.

Ingolstadt ran around a lot, but Karlsruhe actually played some football, so they deservedly win. FCI looks like they’ve run out of surprises, and will have to improve if they plan to stay up. KSC obviously paid their dues in the 3.Liga, and look solid right now.

Sandhausen is taking advantage of their reprieve (Duisburg losing their license and taking their relegation spot). They need to grind out wins like this however; a two goal lead you need to bring home the bacon. On the other hand, it would have been unfair, as Cottbus was the better team.

Major clash Monday night as Greuther Fürth hosts Kaiserslautern in a clash between promotion contenders.

 	
Fortuna Düsseldorf     -   1860 München	       1:2 (1:1)   34,626

                      0:1  Lauth (9., Wood)
                      1:1  Benschop (37., penalty, Kenia)
                      1:2  Tomasov (78.)

FSV Frankfurt	       -   VfL Bochum	       1:0 (1:0)    4,839

                      1:0  Epstein (9., Leckie)

Dynamo Dresden	       -   1. FC Union Berlin  1:3 (0:3)   29,223

                      0:1  Brandy (23., Mattuschka)
                      0:2  Mattuschka (25., Özbek)
                      0:3  Kreilach (37., Köhler)
                      1:3  Susac (73., Poté)

SC Paderborn 07	       -   1. FC Köln	       1:1 (1:0)   12,397

                      1:0  Krösche (15., Heinloth)
                      1:1  K. Przybylko (90. + 3, Exslager)

FC Ingolstadt 04       -   Karlsruher SC       0:2 (0:0)    5,687

                      0:1  Micanski (58., , G. Krebs)
                      0:2  Alibaz (64., direct freekick)

FC St. Pauli	       -   Arminia Bielefeld   0:1 (0:0)   28,558

                      0:1  Hübener (67., penalty, Klos)

SV Sandhausen	       -   Energie Cottbus     2:2 (2:1)    3,200

                      1:0  Schauerte (9., penalty, Kister)
                      2:0  Jovanovic (21., M. Zimmermann)
                      2:1  Kruska (29., Sanogo)
                      2:2  Sanogo (58., Stiepermann)

Erzgebirge Aue	       -   VfR Aalen	       0:1 (0:1)    8,750

                      0:1  Reichwein (43., Klauß)


Monday:
SpVgg Greuther Fürth   -  	1. FC Kaiserslautern

 1  Karlsruher SC (N)	  	3    2 	1  0 	  3:0 	+3 	  7 
 2  SpVgg Greuther Fürth (A)	2    2 	0  0 	  4:0 	+4 	  6
-------------------------------------------------------------------
 3  1. FC Kaiserslautern	2    2 	0  0 	  4:1 	+3 	  6
-------------------------------------------------------------------
 4  1860 München	  	3    2 	0  1 	  4:3 	+1 	  6 
 5  Erzgebirge Aue	  	3    2 	0  1 	  3:2 	+1 	  6 
 6  Energie Cottbus	  	3    1 	1  1 	  6:3 	+3 	  4 
 7  1. FC Union Berlin	  	3    1 	1  1 	  5:4 	+1 	  4 
 8  VfL Bochum	  	        3    1 	1  1 	  3:3 	 0 	  4	 		
 9  Fortuna Düsseldorf (A)	3    1 	1  1 	  3:3 	 0 	  4 
10  FC St. Pauli	  	3    1 	1  1 	  1:1 	 0 	  4 
11  Arminia Bielefeld (N)	3    1 	1  1 	  2:3 	-1 	  4 
12  VfR Aalen	  	        3    1 	1  1 	  1:2 	-1 	  4 
13  1. FC Köln	  	        3    0 	3  0 	  3:3 	 0 	  3 
14  FSV Frankfurt	  	3    1 	0  2 	  2:3 	-1 	  3 
15  SV Sandhausen	  	3    0 	2  1 	  2:3 	-1 	  2
-------------------------------------------------------------------
16  Dynamo Dresden	  	3    0 	2  1 	  3:5 	-2 	  2
-------------------------------------------------------------------
17  SC Paderborn 07	  	3    0 	1  2 	  1:6 	-5 	  1 
18  FC Ingolstadt 04	  	3    0 	0  3 	  2:7 	-5 	  0


A = Absteiger just Relegated 
N = Neuling just promoted

1st line: Promotion to Bundesliga
2nd line: Playoff with 16th Bundesliga
3rd line: Playoff with no.3 of 3.Liga
4th line: Relegation to 3.Liga