BUNDESLIGA, Round 3

“The other clubs are too dumb to become champion”. That’s my all-time favorite Bundesliga quote. It’s from Bayern’s Uli Hoeness, when he was in his arrogant bastard stage gloating over Bayern’s continual success. (He’s maybe gloating a little less these days due to his tax-evasion conviction). If you’re a regular ready of my rantings, you’ve probably heard it many a time and are now sick of it. But I can’t resist to trot it out now and then. I can’t remember the context, but it was probably directed at Bayer Leverkusen. And you can certainly see how Luserksuen could get tagged with it…

The Aspirins have been playing well and needed to defend their lead. They dominated against Bremen and had enough chances in the 1st half to win two games. Instead Werder stunned them with an equalizer just before half. The Aspirins acted like they had been kicked in the balls, and Bremen sensed blood and came out sorming in the 2nd half. They took the lead, but Bayer woke up and charged back. They were on the verge of a huge win, but Bremen ruined the party with another late goal. This was one that Leverkusen should have won, despite Werder’s great effort, and given Bayern München’s ho-hum start, could have given them some momentum. But they blew it…

The champions had no problems this outing. Stuttgart basically parked the bus, not even caring about getting forward. Even after they fell behind. I guess they didn’t get the memo that a loss is zero points. Anyway, Bayern just kept probing away, and eventually Ribery got a 2nd and that was that.

Dortmund is full of injuries, so they’re a somewhat risky bet these days. But all eyes were on the return of hero Shinji Kagawa, back from a nightmare in the EPL. And the Japanese playmaker didn’t disappoint, with a well taken goal and a fine performance. If he can bring in his old form for the Neons, this would be an immense addition. (You might recall that Nuri Sahin also came back, but hasn’t been able to regain his old form). Anyway, Dortmund dominated against Freiburg, as the usually offensive guests hardly had any chances.

Hoffenheim and Wolfsburg played an entertaining match. Both sides look like they play attractive football, but in this one it was the hosts who had the edge. The Hoppers probably should have had a lead in the first period. The VWs came back into the match in the 2nd half, but it took a last minute strike by oldtimer Ivica Olic to salvage a point.

Mainz ius back on track with a nice win in Berlin. They were simply to clever for Hertha, and seemingly had things well under control. Shinji Okazaki was key, with two goals. This makes him the all-time leading Japanese scorer in the Bundesliga, which is the one Euro league that the Japanese players seem to have had decent success. His 28 strikes passes the legendary Yasuhiro Okudera, who blazed the trail back in the 1970s.

Paderborn hosted Köln in a battle of promoted side. It was hard-fought, not too much technique on display.

Schalke is a team in crisis. “Die Knappen” got their asses ripped by a rampaging Gladbach in a Ruhr/Rhein derby. The Blues defense was a disaster, much like their season. Coach Jens Keller is certainly going to be under severe pressure. The Gladbachers ran around and did whatever they pleased, ending up with a deserved thumping victory.

Augsburg showed they haven’t forgotten what has kept them up – Itchy and Scratchy football (“Fight,fight,fight…fight,fight,fight! The Itchy and Scratchy Show!”). The Fuggers smelled a chance against an uncertain Frankfurt and took it, fighting their way to a crucial away win and getting their campaign back on track.

OK, we might want to scratch the idea of sending HSV to face Gibraltar instead of Joggi Löw’s side. The Hamburgers sucked once again, in a Nordderby at Hannover. The 96ers struck in the 1st half and then retreated into a defensive shell, secure taht their guests were way too incompetant to threaten. And they were right. In the first period, when it was still an open game, HSV had some chances, but when it came down to it, they blew it. In the 2nd period, the 96ers were simply waiting for the pub to open and Hamburg had no clue what to do. So another disastrous loss for a side that hasn’t even managed to score a goal yet. I’m not sure what “Plan B” is for HSV. Maybe they should fire Slomka. He hasn’t been around a lot, but 3 wins, 3 draws and 10 losses is hardly a good track record. Besides it would be some positive news that the club is trying *something*, whatever that may be…

Total attendance this week, 393,802 (avg 43,756), sellouts in Leverkusen, München, Gladbach and Hannover

 	
Bayer 04 Leverkusen   -   Werder Bremen	    3:3 (1:1)   30,210 *

                     1:0  Jedvaj (17., Kießling)
                     1:1  Bartels (45., Garcia)
                     1:2  di Santo (60., Junuzovic)
                     2:2  Calhanoglu (63., direct freekick)
                     3:2  Son (73., Jedvaj)
                     3:3  Prödl (85., Petersen)

Bayern München	      -   VfB Stuttgart	    2:0 (1:0)   71,000 *

                     1:0  M. Götze (27.)
                     2:0  Ribery (85., Lewandowski)

Borussia Dortmund     -   SC Freiburg	    3:1 (2:0)   80,200

                     1:0  Ramos (34., Großkreutz)
                     2:0  Kagawa (41., Ramos)
                     3:0  Aubameyang (78., Kehl)
                     3:1  Sorg (90., Philipp)

TSG Hoffenheim	      -   VfL Wolfsburg     1:1 (0:0)   23,813

                     1:0  Modeste (55., Beck)
                     1:1  Olic (89., D. Caligiuri)

Hertha BSC	      -   1. FSV Mainz 05   1:3 (0:1)   42,069

                     0:1  Okazaki (36., Koo)
                     0:2  Allagui (70., Junior Diaz)
                     1:2  Ronny (86., Hand penalty)
                     1:3  Okazaki (90. + 1, Malli)

SC Paderborn 07	      -   1. FC Köln	    0:0 (0:0)   14,993

Bor. Mönchengladbach  -   FC Schalke 04	    4:1 (1:0)   54,010 *

                     1:0  Hahn (17., M. Kruse)
                     2:0  Hahn (50., M. Kruse)
                     2:1  Choupo-Moting (52., Hand penalty)
                     3:1  M. Kruse (56., Raffael)
                     4:1  Raffael (79.)

Eintracht Frankfurt   -   FC Augsburg	    0:1 (0:0)   43,500

                     0:1  Bobadilla (49.)

Hannover 96	      -   Hamburger SV	    2:0 (2:0)   49,000 *

                     1:0  Andreasen (13., Albornoz)
                     2:0  A. Sobiech (24., Joselu)
	


 1  Bayer 04 Leverkusen 	3    2 	1  0 	  9:5 	+4    7 
 2  Bayern München (M, P) 	3    2 	1  0 	  5:2 	+3    7
 3  Hannover 96 	  	3    2 	1  0 	  4:1 	+3    7  
 4  Borussia Dortmund 	  	3    2 	0  1 	  6:5 	+1    6
---------------------------------------------------------------	
 5  Bor. Mönchengladbach 	3    1 	2  0 	  5:2 	+3    5	
 6  SC Paderborn 07 (N) 	3    1 	2  0 	  5:2 	+3    5 
---------------------------------------------------------------
 7  1. FSV Mainz 05 	  	3    1 	2  0 	  5:3 	+2    5
 8  TSG Hoffenheim 	  	3    1 	2  0 	  4:2 	+2    5 
 9  1. FC Köln (N) 	  	3    1 	2  0 	  2:0 	+2    5 
10  Eintracht Frankfurt 	3    1 	1  1 	  3:3 	 0    4 
11  Werder Bremen 	  	3    0 	3  0 	  6:6 	 0    3 
12  FC Augsburg	  	        3    1 	0  2 	  3:5 	-2    3
13  VfL Wolfsburg 	  	3    0 	2  1 	  4:5 	-1    2 
14  SC Freiburg SC 	  	3    0 	1  2 	  1:4 	-3    1 
15  Hertha BSC Berlin	  	3    0 	1  2 	  5:9 	-4    1
---------------------------------------------------------------
16  FC Schalke 04 	  	3    0 	1  2 	  3:7 	-4    1
---------------------------------------------------------------
17  VfB Stuttgart 	  	3    0 	1  2 	  1:5 	-4    1 
18  Hamburger SV	  	3    0 	1  2 	  0:5 	-5    1 

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

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