BUNDESLIGA, Round 28: HSV continues to s(t)ink

Round 28, Apr 10-12

Hamburg may finally have to turn off the “eternal Bundesliga clock”. They might be the only original Bundesliga founder to never get relegated, but based on recent results, that may be ending. In a crucial northern derby against Wolfsburg, they stunk. The VWs did whatever they pleased, and should have really wrapped things up by halftime. But they were perhaps enjoying their Hamburg vacation, so took things easy. Meanwhile, HSV failed to get a single shot on target. Their pathetic offense – consider this: Alex Meier (19) and Arjen Robben (17) have already scored more than the whole HSV *team* – and sometimes chaotic defending doesn’t bode well for survival. Wolfsburg is of course coasting in the knowledge that they are the dominant no.2 this season, which is pretty respectable.

Paderborn finally picked up some critical points. And it was against their fellow “Itchy-and-Scratchy” side (“Fight, fight fight! Fight, fight fight!”) Augsburg. SCP desperately needed something, as they hadn’t scored in ages, and at least a half dozen home matches without a win. But they wanted this one more than Augsburg, who might yet play themselves out of the last Euro spot.

Most eyes this weekend were on the Borussia derby, as neighbors Gladbach and Dortmund met. The host Gladbachers dominated really, although the Neons had more possession and shots, as they usually do. But their pressure was clumsy, and Gladbach constantly broke out with dangerous counters that cuased consternation in the visitors disorganized defense. Given a blitzstart with a goal after 27 seconds, Gladbach was in complete safety from the start. BVB ran around like chickens with their heads cut off and were easily handled. With a major sell off rumored, perhaps this crappy season will become the norm for future Dortmund seasons. Gladbach could have a bright future, although their young squad will undoubtedly be torn apart as they all transfer to Bayern.

A gritty relegation battle in Hannover, as neither the 96ers or visiting Hertha conceded an inch. So it’s somewhat fair that it ended with a pint split, which probably helps Berlin a lot more. They’re not safe yet, but have a cushion. Hannover continues with no margin for error.

Bayern München likes playing Frankfurt. Well, I suppose you could argue that Bayern enjoys playing any German side, since they usually win. But Frankfurt is especially nice, since they never score. For the 6th straight time Eintracht fails to score against the champs, and were suitably beaten without too much effort. Not much else to say about this one.

Schalke hardly looks like a Euro favorite. The Blues struggled against Freiburg, as both goalies were busy with strong efforts. The visitors had a chance to win, but captain Julian Schuster blasted a penalty over the goal. Neither side really deserved to win this one though, so a draw is fair. An excellent away point for the Freiburgers, keeping their head barely above water.

Leverkusen impressed by seizing control at Mainz, and only a couple of late penalties for the hosts made the result respectable. The Aspirins and the VWs, because of their corporate sponsorship, are perhaps clubs that can keep their talent from Bayern poaching, and at times can be an annoyance to the Bavarian juggernaut. But they don’t have staying power. Mainz could have used a result to increase their cushion against relegation, which is still worrisome.

Köln got an important win over Hoffenheim to keep a nice cushion in the relegation battle. It was an entertaining game that the hosts might have lost control of due to a red card, but they recovered nicely to get the win.

Maybe Stuttgart has a chance. Or they are a team of destiny. Their match against Bremen might be a sign from above… VfB was playing well, but the usually reliable Martin Harnik was having the worst day in ages. He missed a couple of 100% sitters, that could have decided the match. Then he got his ass tossed for a double yellow, minutes later Bremen equalized and the game seemed over. But in injury time Daniel Ginczek pulled out the win for VfB that lifts them off the bottom, and gives them a chance to stay up.

Total attendance 435,865 (avg 48,429), 95.6% capacity, sellouts in München, Hamburg, Mönchengladbach


Hannover 96	     -   Hertha BSC	        1:1 (0:0)   46,000

                    1:0  C. Schulz (75.)
                    1:1  Stocker (83.)
 
Bayern München	     -   Eintracht Frankfurt	3:0 (1:0)   75,000 *

                    1:0  Lewandowski (15., T. Müller)
                    2:0  Lewandowski (66., M. Götze)
                    3:0  T. Müller (82., Weiser)

FC Schalke 04	     -   SC Freiburg            0:0 (0:0)   61,471

Bor. Mönchengladbach -   Borussia Dortmund	3:1 (2:0)   54,010 *

                    1:0  Wendt (1., F. Johnson)
                    2:0  Raffael (32., Herrmann)
                    3:0  Nordtveit (67.)
                    3:1  Gündogan (77., Dudziak)

1. FSV Mainz 05	     -   Bayer 04 Leverkusen	2:3 (0:1)   31,578

                    0:1  Son (15., Calhanoglu)
                    0:2  Kießling (60., Hilbert)
                    0:3  Calhanoglu (73., direct freekick)
                    1:3  Koo (78., penalty, Okazaki)
                    2:3  Koo (90. + 1, penalty, Jairo)

SC Paderborn 07	     -   FC Augsburg	        2:1 (0:0)   14,446
 
                    1:0  Kachunga (48., Heinloth)
                    1:1  Höjbjerg (52., Bobadilla)
                    2:1  Lakic (60., Hartherz)

Hamburger SV	     -   VfL Wolfsburg	        0:2 (0:1)   57,000 *

                    0:1  Guilavogui (10., Dost)
                    0:2  D. Caligiuri (73., Dost)

1. FC Köln	     -   TSG Hoffenheim	        3:2 (1:0)   45,000

                    1:0  M. Lehmann (20., penalty, Osako)
                    2:0  Ujah (54., Osako)
                    2:1  Polanski (70., penalty, Modeste)
                    3:1  Hector (78.)
                    3:2  Modeste (88., Rudy)

VfB Stuttgart	     -   Werder Bremen	        3:2 (1:0)   51,330

                    1:0  Gentner (15.)
                    1:1  Selke (50., Fritz)
                    2:1  Ginczek (70., Harnik)
                    2:2  Vestergaard (86., Junuzovic)
                    3:2  Ginczek (90. + 1, Serey Dié)


 1  Bayern München (M, P) 	28   22  4  2 	  74:13  +61 	  70 
 2  VfL Wolfsburg 	  	28   18  6  4 	  62:30  +32 	  60 
 3  Bor. Mönchengladbach 	28   15  8  5 	  44:22  +22 	  53
 4  Bayer 04 Leverkusen 	28   14  9  5 	  52:31  +21 	  51
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 5  FC Schalke 04 	  	28   11  8  9 	  37:31  +6 	  41 
 6  FC Augsburg 	  	28   12  3  13 	  34:36  -2 	  39
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 7  TSG Hoffenheim	  	28   10  7  11 	  43:45  -2 	  37 
 8  Eintracht Frankfurt	  	28    9  8  11 	  51:57  -6 	  35 
 9  Werder Bremen 	  	28    9  8  11 	  43:57  -14 	  35 
10  Borussia Dortmund 	  	28    9  6  13 	  35:37  -2 	  33 
11  1. FC Köln (N)	  	28    8  9  11 	  29:35  -6 	  33 
12  Hertha BSC Berlin	  	28    9  6  13 	  34:45  -11 	  33 
13  1. FSV Mainz 05 	  	28    6  13 9 	  37:39  -2 	  31 
14  SC Freiburg 	  	28    6  11 11 	  27:36  -9 	  29 
15  Hannover 96 	  	28    7  8  13 	  32:45  -13 	  29
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16  SC Paderborn 07 (N) 	28    6  9  13 	  25:53  -28 	  27
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17  VfB Stuttgart 	  	28    6  8  14 	  31:51  -20 	  26
18  Hamburger SV	  	28    6  7  15 	  16:43  -27 	  25 



	
M = Meister, defending Champion
P = Pokalsieger, Cup winner
N = Neuling, just promoted

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