Dortmund sucks! That is the verdict from the 7th round of the Bundesliga. Now strictly from a legal point, perhaps you cannot label them as the suckiest team in the league, since they aren’t last. But ferhevinsakes, you lost at home to Hamburg!! And HSV was officially the suckiest team. So a good lawyer might be able to make a case…Anyway, as far as the game itself, hats off to HSV. One thing under Zinnbauer is at least they look like they’re trying. They fought hard, scored on a counter, and defended as if they were armed with a shotgun to defend their teenage daughter’s virginity. Meanwhile the Neons dicked around aimlessly without a care in the world. They did finally wake up in the last 20 minutes and attacked ferociously, but HSV stood firm and gets a huge win, which could jump-start their season. BVB is in ruins (well, obviously, half the team is in the hospital anyway), and this Bundesliga season is basically over!!
Leaders Bayern München had no problems with visiting Hannover. Bayern dominated, did whatever they wanted, and finally let up in the 2nd half against the Angsthasen from the north. You could argue the game was over after 6 minutes when Lewandowski scored, and certainly after 13 on Robben’s goal. Basically, the hosts could have scored 10 easily if they had pressed the issue, as the 96ers were disgraceful. Yeah, you will likely lose, but have some dignity and play. I suppose it’s premature to say that Bayern has retained their title (after only 7 games), but it certainly has that feeling…
Very quietly, Hoffenheim has advanced to being a pretty good side. Nobody pays attention anymore. This is not the Dietmar Hopp moneybags team from a few years ago that had all the purists upset. It’s basically a team of young talents and a few discarded veterans that have melded nicely under coach Markus Gisdol. But since they’re not the lightening-rod for over-commercialization (Red Bull, I mean “Rasenballsportler” Leipzig a much worse offender these days), they fly under the radar. But they’re a solid side, as Schalke found out today, getting beat fairly soundly. Soundly not because of the scoreline, but because the Hoppers looked solid throughout, and Schalke seemed half-asleep. When they finally started putting things together, it was too late.
Leverkusen would seem to deserve better. They generally play attractive football, get decent results. They of course always suck at the critical moment when staring glory in the face (hence their deserved moniker “Luserkusen”). They have a nice stadium courtesy of Bayer Aspirin that is almost never full. But they always seem to reurn to the Luserkusen traits. Like I said, usually their stadium ain’t full – unless they’re playing some regional derby (in which case more visiting fans) or of course Bayern, who sell out every game where ever they play (I wonder what was the last game that a domestic Bayern match was not sold out. barring the worthless Ligapokal, I can’t think of one). Anyway, the Aspirin Arena was sold out, against Paderborn no less. And instead of making a statement, the home side flopped. (Well, you could argue that WAS the statement, “We’re Luserkusen!”). Anyway, they were chasing their tail against Paderborn all game, and then things got worse, as SCP took the lead at the end – despite being a man down. Lucky for Bayer, Karim Bellarabi scored in the last second to avoid total disgrace (BTW, keep an eye on Bellarabi, he looks like the next German youngster to perhaps force his way into the national team). Obviously a great result for Paderborn, who continue to impress in their first top-flight season.
Hertha BSC got back on track with a win over Stuttgart. They put in a strong effort, but also benefited from some shoddy defending by VfB. Stuttgart remains in crisis, but given several other teams in the same boat, it wouldn’t take much to straighten things out.
Bremen hosted Freiburg in a battle of winless sides, so obviously they both lost. OK, the result was predictable (draw), but it probably feels like a loss for Werder. The hosts controlled and pressed most of the match, but in the end still couldn’t get the win. In that sense, obviously a decent result for Freiburg.
Frankfurt toppled Köln in an exciting match, full of mistakes on both sides. The hero was probably veteran Alex Meier, who headed in two goals for the home side.
Wolfsburg was generally the better team against Augsburg, and got their first home win against the Fuggers.
Gladbach had advantages against Mainz, but was unable to convert, and thereby weren’t able to secure 2nd place. They pressed, and although Mainz gave a good account, the Gladbachers should have won the match.
Total attendance 425,835 (avg 47,315), sellouts in München, Dortmund, Leverkusen, Frankfurt
Hertha BSC - VfB Stuttgart 3:2 (1:1) 46,312
0:1 Leitner (5., Klein)
1:1 Kalou (22., penalty, Stocker)
2:1 Kalou (64., Stocker)
3:1 Roy Beerens (74., Ben-Hatira)
3:2 Wagner (83., own goal, Leitner)
Bayern München - Hannover 96 4:0 (3:0) 71,000 *
1:0 Lewandowski (6., Rafinha)
2:0 Robben (13.)
3:0 Lewandowski (38., Juan Bernat)
4:0 Robben (79.)
Borussia Dortmund - Hamburger SV 0:1 (0:1) 80,667 *
0:1 Lasogga (35., N. Müller)
Bayer 04 Leverkusen - SC Paderborn 07 2:2 (1:1) 30,210 *
0:1 Koc (20., Rupp)
1:1 L. Bender (42., Bellarabi)
1:2 Stoppelkamp (87., Rupp)
2:2 Bellarabi (90., R. Kruse)
TSG Hoffenheim - FC Schalke 04 2:1 (2:0) 30,000
1:0 Elyounoussi (13., Roberto Firmino)
2:0 Szalai (29., Roberto Firmino)
2:1 Huntelaar (83., Uchida)
Werder Bremen - SC Freiburg 1:1 (1:1) 40,029
0:1 Darida (8., penalty, Philipp)
1:1 di Santo (31., Junuzovic)
Eintracht Frankfurt - 1. FC Köln 3:2 (1:1) 51,500 *
0:1 Risse (15., Vogt)
1:1 Meier (44., Seferovic)
2:1 Meier (54., Seferovic)
2:2 Hector (65., Vogt)
3:2 Horn (79., own goal, Oczipka)
VfL Wolfsburg - FC Augsburg 1:0 (0:0) 25,734
1:0 Naldo (58., Jung)
Bor. Mönchengladbach - 1. FSV Mainz 05 1:1 (1:1) 50,383
1:0 M. Kruse (15., Linksschuss, F. Johnson)
1:1 Hofmann (31., Hand penalty)
1 Bayern München (M, P) 7 5 2 0 15:2 +13 17
2 TSG Hoffenheim 7 3 4 0 11:6 +5 13
3 Bor. Mönchengladbach 7 3 4 0 9:4 +5 13
4 Bayer 04 Leverkusen 7 3 3 1 13:11 +2 12
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5 Eintracht Frankfurt 7 3 3 1 12:10 +2 12
6 1. FSV Mainz 05 7 2 5 0 10:6 +4 11
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7 VfL Wolfsburg 7 3 2 2 11:8 +3 11
8 Hannover 96 7 3 1 3 5:8 -3 10
9 SC Paderborn 07 (N) 7 2 3 2 10:10 0 9
10 FC Augsburg 7 3 0 4 8:9 -1 9
11 FC Schalke 04 7 2 2 3 11:12 -1 8
12 Hertha BSC Berlin 7 2 2 3 11:14 -3 8
13 Borussia Dortmund 7 2 1 4 9:12 -3 7
14 1. FC Köln (N) 7 1 3 3 4:6 -2 6
15 SC Freiburg 7 0 5 2 7:10 -3 5
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16 VfB Stuttgart 7 1 2 4 6:12 -6 5
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17 Hamburger SV 7 1 2 4 2:8 -6 5
18 Werder Bremen 7 0 4 3 10:16 -6 4
1st line: Champions League
2nd line: Europaliga (+ Cup winner)
3rd line: Playoff with 2.Liga 3rd place
4th line: Relegation to 2.Liga
M = Meister, defending Champion
P = Pokalsieger, Cup winner
N = Neuling, just promoted