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May 25, 2011

Promotion/relegation playoffs

The matches were hard fought and up for grabs. In the Bundesliga playoff, Gladbach was able to holdoff VfL Bochum. The Gladbachers won the first match 1-0, and the rematch in Bochum ended 1-1. A nice ending for BMG, as they really hustled in the last few weeks of the season to get themselves in a position to even have a chance of staying up. As a result, they survive, pulling off the great escape. Bochum was not overly impressive through most of the 2.Liga campaign. They were mediocre, but then started winning as other teams stubbed their toes. Most fans would rather see gladbach in the top than Bochum anyway.

The 2.Liga playoff ended in somewhat of a surprise. The first match in Dresden between Dynamo and Osnabruck ended 1-1, and that was the same line in the return. As a result, overtime, and Dynamo actually prevailed. So while the Purples take the bitter trip down to the 3.Liga, Dresden pops up into the 2.Liga, a huge gain for the ex-GDR provinces. Cottbus, Aue, Union and now Rostock and Dresden.


May 14, 2011

Bundesliga, Round 34

In the end, there wasn't as much drama as one would have expected. Frankfurt is relegated and Gladbach's reward for a great stretch effort is a chance to redeem themselves in the playoff.

Eintracht had their moment however. Facing champions Dortmund, the Frankfurters rode a brilliant performance by young GK Ralf Fährmann (stopped TWO penalties and several point blanksaves). They also got their only goal to stun the crowd early in the 2nd half, taking the lead and launching huge celebrations among the Frankfurt rowdies (lighting smoke bombs etc.). But Dortmund just kept plodding away and forced in a couple of goals, and in the end, the only thing memorable was Fährmann's heroics, otherwise they would have conceded 6-7 at least. A laughable effort and deservedly relegated. If I'm not mistaken, Frankfurt only managed 7 goals in the whole 2nd half of the season.

Wolfsburg can thank Mario Mandzukic's turn to form for staying up. The Croatian striker was less than worthless all season, but obviously likes Felix Magath: he scored 8 goals in the VWs last 7 games, and his two today were key in a desperate Wolfsburg second half performance when they were down. Hoffenheim played hard and had chances to finish off the VWs, but once Wolfsburg equalized, the tide turned. As a result, Wolfsburg managed to survive the disaster of Steve McClaren and Dieter Hoeness, and perhaps Magath can rebuild the remnants of his champion squad only a couple of seasons removed.

Gladbach once again was fighting hard, and had the upper hand at Hamburg, but HSV eventually equalized and with Wolfsburg pulling out a win, the "Fohlen" are left with a playoff with the 2.Liga 3rd place club. Still, not too bad, considering they were dead last from the 13th-30th rounds and looked an assured relegation victim. I would rate them a slight favorite to prevail over Bochum in the playoff.

1. FC Kaiserslautern 	- 	SV Werder Bremen 	3:2 (3:1) 	49.800	(Nemec, Rodnei, Lakic - Frings, Arnautovic)
SC Freiburg 		- 	Bayer Leverkusen 	0:1 (0:1) 	24.000 	(Makiadi)
FC Bayern München 	- 	VfB Stuttgart 		2:1 (1:1) 	69.000	(Gomez, Schweinsteiger - Okazaki)
1899 Hoffenheim 	- 	VfL Wolfsburg 		1:3 (0:0) 	30.000	(Firmino - Mandzukic 2, Grafite)
Hannover 96 		- 	1. FC Nürnberg 		3:1 (1:1)	49.000	(Haggui, Rausch, Konan Ya - Wiessmeier)
Borussia Dortmund 	- 	Eintracht Frankfurt 	3:1 (0:0) 	80.700 	(Barrios 2, Russ o.g. - Rode)
Hamburger SV 		- 	Bor. Mönchengladbach 	1:1 (0:1) 	57.000 	(Ben-Hatira - Arango)
1. FSV Mainz 05 	- 	FC St. Pauli 		2:1 (0:1) 	20.300	(Schürrle , Allagui - Lehmann)
1. FC Köln 		- 	FC Schalke 04 		2:1 (1:0) 	50.000	(Novakovic, Jajalo - Raúl)


 1. (1.)   Borussia Dortmund 	34 	23 	6 	5 	67:22 	+45 	75	CHAMPION, Champions League
 2. (2.)   Bayer Leverkusen 	34 	20 	8 	6 	64:44 	+20 	68	Champions League
 3. (3.)   FC Bayern München 	34 	19 	8 	7 	81:40 	+41 	65	Champions League
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 4. (4.)   Hannover 96 		34 	19 	3 	12 	49:45 	+4 	60	Europa-liga
 5. (5.)   1. FSV Mainz 05 	34 	18 	4 	12 	52:39 	+13 	58	Europa-liga
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 6. (6.)   1. FC Nürnberg 	34 	13 	8 	13 	47:45 	+2 	47
 7. (10.)  1. FC Kaiserslautern 34 	13 	7 	14 	48:51 	-3 	46
 8. (7.)   Hamburger SV 	34 	12 	9 	13 	46:52 	-6 	45
 9. (8.)   SC Freiburg 		34 	13 	5 	16 	41:50 	-9 	44
10. (13.)  1. FC Köln 		34 	13 	5 	16 	47:62 	-15 	44
11. (9.)   1899 Hoffenheim 	34 	11 	10 	13 	50:50 	0 	43
12. (11.)  VfB Stuttgart 	34 	12 	6 	16 	60:59 	+1 	42
13. (12.)  SV Werder Bremen 	34 	10 	11 	13 	47:61 	-14 	41
14. (14.)  FC Schalke 04 	34 	11 	7 	16 	38:44 	-6 	40
15. (15.)  VfL Wolfsburg 	34 	9 	11 	14 	43:48 	-5 	38
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16. (16.)  Bor. Mönchengladbach 34 	10 	6 	18 	48:65 	-17 	36 	relegation playoff
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17. (17.)  Eintracht Frankfurt 	34 	9 	7 	18 	31:49 	-18 	34 	relegated	
18. (18.)  FC St. Pauli 	34 	8 	5 	21 	35:68 	-33 	29 	relegated


2. Liga, Round 34

No real surprises on the last day. Bochum dominated against regional rival Duisburg and easily got the points, which meant that Greuther Fürth's efforts would be in vain. Bochum advances to a Bundesliga playoff spot with Gladbach. On the bottom, Osnabrück managed a great away win at tough Ingolstadt, but it didn't really matter either, as Karlsruhe fought off pesky Union and got the needed win to stay up. Oberhausen gave a good account of themselves in Cottbus, but a flurry of goals at the end doomed them, removing their small hope.

 
VfL Bochum 		- 	MSV Duisburg 		3:1 (1:0) 	27.400 	(Aydin 2, Federico - Exslager) 
Hertha BSC Berlin 	- 	FC Augsburg	 	2:1 (1:0) 	77.100 	(Lasogga, Kobiashvili - Hain)
SC Paderborn 07 	- 	TSV 1860 München 	3:2 (2:1) 	 8.500 	(Kapllani 2, Brandy - Aygün, Rakic)
FC Energie Cottbus 	- 	Rot-Weiß Oberhausen 	3:1 (1:0) 	12.700 	(Jula, Petersen, Soma - Luz)
Karlsruher SC	 	- 	1. FC Union Berlin 	3:2 (2:1) 	26.800 	(Cristea 2, Buckley - Mosquera, Mattuschka)
SpVgg Greuther Fürth 	- 	Fortuna Düsseldorf 	1:1 (0:0) 	14.500 	(Müller - Beister)
Alemannia Aachen 	- 	Arminia Bielefeld 	1:1 (1:0) 	20.000 	(Auer - Müller)
FSV Frankfurt 		- 	FC Erzgebirge Aue 	0:2 (0:1) 	 4.000	(Müller, Hochscheidt)
FC Ingolstadt 04 	- 	VfL Osnabrück 		0:1 (0:1) 	 9.400	(Tyrala)


 1. (1.)   Hertha BSC Berlin 	 34 	23 	5 	6 	69:28 	+41 	74	promoted
 2. (2.)   FC Augsburg 		 34 	19 	8 	7 	58:27 	+31 	65	promoted
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 3. (3.)   VfL Bochum 		 34 	20 	5 	9 	49:35 	+14 	65	promotion playoff
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 4. (4.)   SpVgg Greuther Fürth  34 	17 	10 	7 	47:27 	+20 	61
 5. (5.)   FC Erzgebirge Aue 	 34 	16 	8 	10 	40:37 	+3 	56
 6. (7.)   FC Energie Cottbus 	 34 	16 	7 	11 	65:52 	+13 	55
 7. (8.)   Fortuna Düsseldorf 	 34 	16 	5 	13 	49:39 	+10 	53
 8. (6.)   MSV Duisburg 	 34 	15 	7 	12 	53:38 	+15 	52
 9. (9.)   TSV 1860 München 	 34 	14 	10 	10 	50:36 	+14 	50 *
10. (10.)  Alemannia Aachen 	 34 	13 	9 	12 	58:60 	-2 	48
11. (11.)  1. FC Union Berlin 	 34 	11 	9 	14 	39:45 	-6 	42
12. (14.)  SC Paderborn 07 	 34 	10 	9 	15 	32:47 	-15 	39
13. (12.)  FSV Frankfurt 	 34 	11 	5 	18 	42:54 	-12 	38
14. (13.)  FC Ingolstadt 04 	 34 	9 	10 	15 	40:46 	-6 	37
15. (15.)  Karlsruher SC 	 34 	8 	9 	17 	46:72 	-26 	33
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16. (16.)  VfL Osnabrück 	 34 	8 	7 	19 	40:62 	-22 	31	relegation playoff
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17. (17.)  Rot-Weiß Oberhausen 	 34 	7 	7 	20 	30:65 	-35 	28	relegated
18. (18.)  Arminia Bielefeld 	 34 	4 	8 	22 	28:65 	-37 	17 *	relegated

* - 1860 deducted 2 points, Bielefeld 3 points for financial irregularities

3. Liga, Round 38

There was still some drama in the 3.Liga, as Dresden faced a difficult away match in Offenbach. Wehen was only a single point behind, but presumably facing an easier task in Bremen. As it was, both teams were being held to a draw, and it was only late that the favorites grabbed the lead. Wehen banged in a few more, but in the end Dresden's win stood up and Dynamo claims the playoff spot.

Burghausen had a must win at home, which would have saved them. (Especially since rival Ahlen had an almost impossible task at Rostock). However the Wacker faced rampaging Saarbrücken, and the hosts could not bring hoime the bacon. Instead, FCS won their impressive 9th match in a row, (matching Wacker's 9th in a row of not winning), and all that Burghausen could do was fire their coach Mario Basler.

FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt 	- 	VfR Aalen	 	1:0 (1:0) 	 5.500 	(Reichwein 2)
Hansa Rostock 		- 	Rot Weiss Ahlen 	2:0 (0:0) 	26.000 	(Pannewitz, Müller)
TuS Koblenz 		- 	Jahn Regensburg 	0:2 (0:1) 	 4.500 	(Haller, Schmid)
SV Werder Bremen II 	- 	SV Wehen Wiesbaden 	1:4 (1:1) 	   600 	(Maek - Kioyo, Menga, Mintzel, Janjic)
SpVgg Unterhaching 	- 	FC Bayern München II 	0:4 (0:3) 	 1.700 	(Wohlfarth, Sansone, Yilmaz, Hajdarovic)
SV Babelsberg 03 	- 	SV 1916 Sandhausen 	0:0 (0:0) 	 4.500 
Wacker Burghausen 	- 	1. FC Saarbrücken 	3:4 (1:2) 	 3.200 	(Schmidt, Agyemang, Knappmann - Lerandy, Zeitz, Stiefler, Özbek)
Kickers Offenbach 	- 	Dynamo Dresden 		2:3 (1:2) 	 8.000	(Mesic, Fiel o.g. - Schahin 2, Schuppan)
Eintracht Braunschweig 	- 	1. FC Heidenheim 1846 	4:0 (3:0) 	22.100	(Kumbela, Vrancic, Theuerkauf 2)
VfB Stuttgart II 	- 	FC Carl Zeiss Jena 	3:2 (0:1) 	   800 	(Holzhauser, Vier, Vecchione - Öztürk 2)

 1. (1.)   Eintr. Braunschweig 	 38 	26 	7 	5 	81:22 	+59 	85
 2. (2.)   Hansa Rostock 	 38 	24 	6 	8 	70:36 	+34 	78
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 3. (3.)   Dynamo Dresden 	 38 	19 	8 	11 	55:37 	+18 	65
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 4. (4.)   SV Wehen Wiesbaden 	 38 	18 	10 	10 	55:39 	+16 	64
 5. (5.)   FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt 	 38 	18 	7 	13 	63:45 	+18 	61
 6. (7.)   1. FC Saarbrücken 	 38 	17 	8 	13 	61:51 	+10 	59
 7. (6.)   Kickers Offenbach 	 38 	16 	9 	13 	52:45 	+7 	57
 8. (10.)  Jahn Regensburg 	 38 	13 	13 	12 	35:41 	-6 	52
 9. (8.)   1. FC Heidenheim 1846 38 	14 	9 	15 	59:58 	+1 	51
10. (11.)  VfB Stuttgart II 	 38 	12 	15 	11 	48:48 	0 	51
11. (9.)   TuS Koblenz 		 38 	13 	10 	15 	38:46 	-8 	49
12. (12.)  SV 1916 Sandhausen 	 38 	11 	13 	14 	43:46 	-3 	46
13. (13.)  SV Babelsberg 03 	 38 	12 	10 	16 	39:47 	-8 	46
14. (14.)  SpVgg Unterhaching 	 38 	11 	12 	15 	39:55 	-16 	45
15. (15.)  FC Carl Zeiss Jena 	 38 	11 	11 	16 	43:62 	-19 	44
16. (16.)  VfR Aalen 		 38 	9 	14 	15 	40:52 	-12 	41
17. (17.)  Rot Weiss Ahlen 	 38 	11 	9 	18 	45:69 	-24 	39 *
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18. (18.)  Wacker Burghausen 	 38 	9 	10 	19 	46:66 	-20 	37	relegated
19. (19.)  SV Werder Bremen II 	 38 	8 	12 	18 	33:56 	-23 	36	relegated
20. (20.)  FC Bayern München II  38 	7 	9 	22 	30:54 	-24 	30	relegated

* - RW Ahlen deducted 3 points for financial irregularities


May 07, 2011

Bundesliga, Round 33

Some critical decisions in the relegation battle. Bremen upended champions Dortmund, still hungover from their celebrations. This guarantees Werder's safety. Stuttgart did the same to Hannover, ending their worries. In the biggest match, Köln travelled to Frankfurt and easily held off the harmless Eintracht. Köln is therefore safe, and Frankfurt has one foot in the grave.

What the hell happened to St.Pauli?! This was a team that all season long were like Itchy and Scratchy ("Fight-Fight-Fight! Fight-fight-fight! The Itchy and Scratchy Show..."). Instead, the Paulistas were embarassed as Bayern ran rampant raping round the reeperbahn. This was Bayern's greatest Bundesliga away win (since a 7-1 in 1979 against Gladbach) and undoubtedly Pauli's greatest disgrace. Actually, it didn't look that way, as despite an early Bayern lead, SP was a somewhat equal partner in the 1st half. Bayern was cold-blooded with their chances, and Pauli wasted a great chance just before half to get back in the match. In the 2nd half, SP started strong, but got a cold shower with a couple of early goals. Then Bayern turned up a notch and mercilessly ripped the "Kiez-Kicker" a new ass as they slammed several goals down the stretch in front of a stunned crowd. St.Pauli therefore is relegated, and Bayern is in line for the Champions League.

Gladbach was lame in the 1st half, but realized that Freiburg was just going through the motions. As a result, the homeside threw everything into the attack and managed a couple of goals. Gladbach has a realistic chance of staying up, not only in getting a safe spot, but they now hold the playoff spot, and so far they look stronger than anything coming out of the 2.Liga 3rd spot. For Freiburg, it's been a decent season, so they have nothing to complain about.

Hoffenheim scored near the end to dump Nürnberg's last chance for Euro qualification. Overall, it's been a good year for der Club, but this loss will leave a sour taste in their mouth.

Mainz scored late to slap Schalke and wrap up Euro qualification, an amazing feat.

1. FC Nürnberg 		- 	1899 Hoffenheim 	1:2 (1:1) 	48,548	(Wollscheid - Firmino, Sigurdsson)
Bor. Mönchengladbach 	- 	SC Freiburg	 	2:0 (0:0) 	49,072	(Hanke, Reus)
Eintracht Frankfurt 	- 	1. FC Köln	 	0:2 (0:1) 	51,500	(Chihi, Podolski)
SV Werder Bremen 	- 	Borussia Dortmund 	2:0 (1:0) 	40,600 	(Silvestre, Pizarro)
FC Schalke 04 		- 	1. FSV Mainz 05 	1:3 (0:0) 	60,309 	(Huntelaar - Schürrle, Holtby, Noveski)
Bayer Leverkusen 	- 	Hamburger SV 		1:1 (0:1) 	30,210 	(Kießling - Westermann)
VfB Stuttgart 		- 	Hannover 96 		2:1 (0:0) 	39,000	(Hajnal, Okazaki - Stindl)
VfL Wolfsburg 		- 	1. FC Kaiserslautern 	1:2 (1:2) 	30,000	(Mandzukic - Lakic, Amedick)
FC St. Pauli 		- 	FC Bayern München 	1:8 (0:2) 	24,487	(Eger - Gomez 3, van Buyten, Robben 2, Ribery 2)



 1. (1.)   Borussia Dortmund 	33 	22 	6 	5 	64:21 	+43 	72 	CHAMPION, CL
 2. (2.)   Bayer Leverkusen 	33 	19 	8 	6 	63:44 	+19 	65 	CL
 3. (3.)   FC Bayern München 	33 	18 	8 	7 	79:39 	+40 	62 	CL
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 4. (4.)   Hannover 96	 	33 	18 	3 	12 	46:44 	+2 	57	EL
 5. (5.)   1. FSV Mainz 05 	33 	17 	4 	12 	50:38 	+12 	55	EL
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 6. (6.)   1. FC Nürnberg 	33 	13 	8 	12 	46:42 	+4 	47
 7. (8.)   Hamburger SV 	33 	12 	8 	13 	45:51 	-6 	44
 8. (7.)   SC Freiburg 		33 	13 	5 	15 	41:49 	-8 	44
 9. (9.)   1899 Hoffenheim 	33 	11 	10 	12 	49:47 	+2 	43
10. (11.)  1. FC Kaiserslautern 33 	12 	7 	14 	45:49 	-4 	43
11. (12.)  VfB Stuttgart 	33 	12 	6 	15 	59:57 	+2 	42
12. (13.)  SV Werder Bremen 	33 	10 	11 	12 	45:58 	-13 	41
13. (14.)  1. FC Köln 		33 	12 	5 	16 	45:61 	-16 	41
14. (10.)  FC Schalke 04 	33 	11 	7 	15 	37:42 	-5 	40
15. (15.)  VfL Wolfsburg 	33 	8 	11 	14 	40:47 	-7 	35
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16. (17.)  Bor. Mönchengladbach 33 	10 	5 	18 	47:64 	-17 	35
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17. (16.)  Eintracht Frankfurt 	33 	9 	7 	17 	30:46 	-16 	34 
18. (18.)  FC St. Pauli 	33 	8 	5 	20 	34:66 	-32 	29 	relegated

2. Liga, Round 33

Augsburg had a struggle, but prevailed over Frankfurt and gains promotion, becoming the 51st club to join the Bundesliga since it's founding in 1963. It's been a tough road, as FCA was in the promotion playoffs last season, only to lose both matches to a superior Nürnberg squad. This time, once they got rolling, they kept their eye on the prize and gain a deserved promotion. They can still get cuaght by Bochum on points, but their vastly superior goal difference sees them through.

Bochum and Greuther Fürth continue to battle for the playoff spot. Both clubs were guests at relegation threatened clubs, and both went about their business racking up wins. Neither team has easy assignments next week, Bochum hosting Duisburg, and Greuther Fürth at home to Düsseldorf. Bochum would have to lose however for Fürth to have any hope.

Karlsruhe got no help in no-hope Bielefeld. Instead, already relegated Arminia pushed around KSC and rewarded their loyal fans with a rare win. KSC still has the upper hand in the relegation battle, but they could have secured everything with a win here. Nevertheless, unless something bad happens, Karlsruhe survives. Both Osnabrück and Oberhausen would need unlikely away wins to trouble KSC, but with them at Ingolstadt and Cottbus, that seems pretty remote. KSC hosts Union, so they should at least be able to avoid a loss.

FC Augsburg 		- 	FSV Frankfurt 		2:1 (1:1)  30.700 (Thurk, Hain - Gjasula)
Fortuna Düsseldorf 	- 	Alemannia Aachen 	3:1 (2:1)  20.100 (Langeneke, Rösler, Beister - Stehle)
MSV Duisburg 		- 	SC Paderborn 07 	3:1 (2:0)  12.000 (Grlic, Schäffler, Sukalo - Kapllani)
Arminia Bielefeld 	- 	Karlsruher SC 		2:1 (1:0)  24.100 (Berisha, Vidosic - Rupp)
TSV 1860 München 	- 	FC Ingolstadt 04 	1:1 (1:0)  28.100 (Halfar - Buddle)
1. FC Union Berlin 	- 	FC Energie Cottbus 	4:2 (1:1)  18.400 (Mosquera, Peitz, Quiering, Benyamina - Jula, Shao)
Rot-Weiß Oberhausen 	- 	SpVgg Greuther Fürth 	1:4 (0:2)   5.200 (Gordon - Onuegbu 2, Haas, Müller)
VfL Osnabrück 		- 	VfL Bochum 		1:3 (0:1)  16.200 (Pauli - Federico, Maltritz, Saglik)
FC Erzgebirge Aue 	- 	Hertha BSC Berlin	0:2 (0:2)  15.000 (Ramos, Friend)


 1. (1.)   Hertha BSC Berlin 	33   22  5   6 	  67:27  +40 	71 	promoted
 2. (2.)   FC Augsburg 		33   19  8   6 	  57:25  +32 	65 	promoted
------------------------------------------------------------------
 3. (3.)   VfL Bochum 		33   19  5   9 	  46:34  +12 	62
------------------------------------------------------------------ 
 4. (4.)   SpVgg Greuther Fürth 33   17  9   7 	  46:26  +20 	60 
 5. (5.)   FC Erzgebirge Aue 	33   15  8  10 	  38:37  +1 	53 
 6. (7.)   MSV Duisburg 	33   15  7  11 	  52:35  +17 	52 
 7. (6.)   FC Energie Cottbus 	33   15  7  11 	  62:51  +11 	52 
 8. (9.)   Fortuna Düsseldorf 	33   16  4  13 	  48:38  +10 	52 
 9. (8.)   TSV 1860 München 	33   14 10   9 	  48:33  +15 	50 *
10. (10.)  Alemannia Aachen 	33   13  8  12 	  57:59  -2 	47 
11. (11.)  1. FC Union Berlin 	33   11  9  13 	  37:42  -5 	42 
12. (12.)  FSV Frankfurt 	33   11  5  17 	  42:52  -10 	38 
13. (13.)  FC Ingolstadt 04 	33    9 10  14 	  40:45  -5 	37 
14. (14.)  SC Paderborn 07 	33    9  9  15 	  29:45  -16 	36 
15. (15.)  Karlsruher SC 	33    7  9  17 	  43:70  -27 	30
------------------------------------------------------------------ 
16. (16.)  VfL Osnabrück 	33    7  7  19 	  39:62  -23 	28
------------------------------------------------------------------ 
17. (17.)  Rot-Weiß Oberhausen 	33    7  7  19 	  29:62  -33 	28 
18. (18.)  Arminia Bielefeld 	33    4  7  22 	  27:64  -37 	16 * 	relegated

* - 1860 deducted 2 points, Bielefeld 3 points for financial irregularities

3. Liga, Round 37

Dramatic decisions in the promotion race. Dresden is now in the driver's seat, as Offenbach and Erfurt say goodbye to their hopes. For Offenbach, their loss at Heidenheim is just the latest in a disgraceful fall that has their whole club management resigning or being forced out. They basically phoned it in for the 2nd half season. Erfurt however was stunned by a desperate Ahlen in the battle of the red-whites. The favorites looked to have the game wrapped by halftime, but the Ahleners threw everything forward in a desperate attempt to stave off relegation. It paid off, and Erfurt and their fans return east in stunned disbelief. Ahlen is still alive, but their battle with Burghausen will certainly rattle nerves. Bremen II has a mathematical chance of survival, as they seized their opportunity by winning at Bayern II. Toni Kroos younger brother Felix grabbed the only goal.

VfR Aalen got the point they needed to ensure thier survival.

Dresden's win over Burghausen in front of a packed house means that Dynamo control their destiny, and only Wehen can catch them.

Saarbrücken won their 8th match in a row, a great run that has seen them jump from mediocrity into respectability.

VfR Aalen 		- 	VfB Stuttgart II 	1:1 (0:1) 	 3,127 	(Dausch - Benyamina)
FC Carl Zeiss Jena 	- 	Eintr. Braunschweig 	2:2 (2:2) 	 7,549	(Smeekes, Hähnge - Kumbela, Vrancic)
1. FC Heidenheim 1846 	- 	Kickers Offenbach 	2:1 (0:0) 	 4,500 	(Heidenfelder, Essig - Occean)
Dynamo Dresden 		- 	Wacker Burghausen 	2:0 (1:0) 	29,394 	(Esswein, Schuppan)
1. FC Saarbrücken 	- 	SV Babelsberg 03 	3:1 (1:1) 	 5,023	(Stiefler, Fuchs 2 - Prochnow)
SV 1916 Sandhausen 	- 	SpVgg Unterhaching 	0:0 (0:0) 	 1,900
FC Bayern München II 	- 	SV Werder Bremen II 	0:1 (0:0) 	   380	(Kroos)
SV Wehen Wiesbaden 	- 	TuS Koblenz 		1:0 (0:0) 	 6,122 	(Kioyo)
Jahn Regensburg 	- 	Hansa Rostock 		2:2 (0:1) 	 5,084 	(Haller, Hein - Schyrba, Pelzer)
Rot Weiss Ahlen 	- 	FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt 	4:3 (1:3) 	 3,611	(Taylor 2, Özkara, Eckel - Semmer, Reichwein, Möckel)

Attendance: 66,690 (avg 6,669)


 1. (1.)   Eintracht Braunschweig 	37 	25 	7 	5 	77:22 	+55 	82	promoted
 2. (2.)   Hansa Rostock 	  	37 	23 	6 	8 	68:36 	+32 	75	promoted
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3. (3.)   Dynamo Dresden 	  	37 	18 	8 	11 	52:35 	+17 	62
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (5.)   SV Wehen Wiesbaden 	  	37 	17 	10 	10 	51:38 	+13 	61
 5. (4.)   FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt 	  	37 	17 	7 	13 	62:45 	+17 	58
 6. (6.)   Kickers Offenbach 		37 	16 	9 	12 	50:42 	+8 	57
 7. (7.)   1. FC Saarbrücken 		37 	16 	8 	13 	57:48 	+9 	56
 8. (9.)   1. FC Heidenheim 1846 	37 	14 	9 	14 	59:54 	+5 	51
 9. (8.)   TuS Koblenz 			37 	13 	10 	14 	38:44 	-6 	49
10. (10.)  Jahn Regensburg 		37 	12 	13 	12 	33:41 	-8 	49
11. (11.)  VfB Stuttgart II 		37 	11 	15 	11 	45:46 	-1 	48
12. (13.)  SV 1916 Sandhausen 		37 	11 	12 	14 	43:46 	-3 	45
13. (12.)  SV Babelsberg 03 		37 	12 	9 	16 	39:47 	-8 	45
14. (14.)  SpVgg Unterhaching 		37 	11 	12 	14 	39:51 	-12 	45
15. (15.)  FC Carl Zeiss Jena 		37 	11 	11 	15 	41:59 	-18 	44
16. (16.)  VfR Aalen 			37 	9 	14 	14 	40:51 	-11 	41
17. (18.)  Rot Weiss Ahlen 		37 	11 	9 	17 	45:67 	-22 	39 *
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
18. (17.)  Wacker Burghausen 		37 	9 	10 	18 	43:62 	-19 	37
19. (19.)  SV Werder Bremen II 		37 	8 	12 	17 	32:52 	-20 	36
20. (20.)  FC Bayern München II 	37 	6 	9 	22 	26:54 	-28 	27	relegated

* - RW Ahlen deducted 3 points for financial irregularities


Apr 30, 2011

Bundesliga, Round 32

DORTMUND IS CHAMPION!!

The inevitable happened as Dortmund clinched the title in front of their home fans. The Neons dominated against a strong Nürnberg side, and the pressure finally caused FCN's defense to break. That essentially wrapped up the match, and the 2nd half was basically passing the ball around partying. With Köln putting the hurt to Leverkusen, the title was secured.

Köln withstood initial first half pressure from the Aspirins, and then Novakovic struck twice to sink Luserkusen. Well actually, they deserve more of the "Vizekusen" moniker, as they are a worthy runner-up. For Köln, a critical win to give them a bit of breathing room, as they had frittered away their good work with crap performances in the last few weeks.

Bayern stomped all over Schalke, not too surprising. Some of the Bayern yahoos held up insulting banners directed at Schalke keeper Manuel Neuer, who presumably will be playing for Bayern next year. Not sure on the logic, since Neuer has proven to be a world-class keeper, and goal keeping has been a sore point with Bayern since Olli Kahn retired a couple of years ago. Clearly Bayern needs something, as their potential "keeper of the future" Thomas Kraft, who many fans were all excited about, has already announced he's leaving the club.

Kaiserslautern defeated St.Pauli and ensures their survival. They also essentially sink St.Pauli's ship. Good campaign so far for FCK, generally solid. Actually, St.Pauli has done better than expected, but they've missed the element of luck that might have turned things a bit better.

Gladbach is resisting relegation with all their might, and have climbed within striking distance of a survival spot. They stunned Hannover on the road, dealing a grievous blow to the 96ers hope of holding off Bayern. (Actually, a pretty amazing concept, the idea of 96ers competing with Bayern, so hats off to them.) It's probably too late for Gladbach to reach a safe spot, but they're now only two points from the playoff, and they would stand a good chance against the 2.Liga pretenders.

Frankfurt is in hot-water, in more than one way. They sucked in Mainz, and got their ass ripped. Good for the Mainzers, who are almost assured of Euro qualification. But with Wolfsburg winning in Bremen, the hotdogs are now in the danger zone. After the match, crazed Frankfurt Ultras attacked the Eintracht bus, and the police had to fire live ammo warning shots to get them to stand down. Several of these idiots were arrested, but expect further problems with rioting Frankfurt "fans". They can still climb out, but will need help to avoid the relegation playoff. (Although based on how they've played, I would rate Frankfurt stronger than their likely opponents, Bochum or Greuther Fürth.

Stuttgart has pretty much decided things, as their away win at Hoffenheim gives them all but catastrophic event protection.

HSV continues to sink into obscurity. They recently announced that interim coach Micahel Oenning is sticking around, but judging from the way they've performed, there will certainly be second guessing. Freiburg continues their solid season with one-man wrecking crew Papiss Cisse notching another two goals. SCF is probably thinking about a nice payout for an offseason transfer.

1. FC Kaiserslautern 	- 	FC St. Pauli	 	2:0 (1:0) 	48.500	(Tiffert, Abel)
SV Werder Bremen 	- 	VfL Wolfsburg	 	0:1 (0:1) 	40.000	(Riether)
Hannover 96 		- 	Bor. Mönchengladbach 	0:1 (0:0) 	49.000	(Reus)
1. FC Köln 		- 	Bayer Leverkusen 	2:0 (0:0) 	50.000	(Novakovic 2)
1899 Hoffenheim 	- 	VfB Stuttgart	 	1:2 (1:0) 	30.000	(Mlapa - Cacau, Kuzmanovic)
1. FSV Mainz 05 	- 	Eintracht Frankfurt 	3:0 (3:0) 	20.300	(Ivanschitz, Soto 2)
Borussia Dortmund 	- 	1. FC Nürnberg 		2:0 (2:0) 	80.700	(Barrios, Lewandowski)
Hamburger SV 		- 	SC Freiburg 		0:2 (0:1) 	53.000	(Cisse 2)
FC Bayern München 	- 	FC Schalke 04 		4:1 (3:1) 	69.000	(Robben, T.Müller 2, Gomez - Badstuber o.g.)


 1. (1.)   Borussia Dortmund 	32 	22 	6 	4 	64:19 	+45 	72	CHAMPION, Champions League
 2. (2.)   Bayer Leverkusen 	32 	19 	7 	6 	62:43 	+19 	64	Champions League
 3. (4.)   FC Bayern München 	32 	17 	8 	7 	71:38 	+33 	59
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (3.)   Hannover 96	 	32 	18 	3 	11 	45:42 	+3 	57
 5. (5.)   1. FSV Mainz 05 	32 	16 	4 	12 	47:37 	+10 	52
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 6. (6.)   1. FC Nürnberg 	32 	13 	8 	11 	45:40 	+5 	47
 7. (8.)   SC Freiburg 		32 	13 	5 	14 	41:47 	-6 	44
 8. (7.)   Hamburger SV 	32 	12 	7 	13 	44:50 	-6 	43
 9. (9.)   1899 Hoffenheim 	32 	10 	10 	12 	47:46 	+1 	40
10. (10.)  FC Schalke 04 	32 	11 	7 	14 	36:39 	-3 	40
11. (12.)  1. FC Kaiserslautern 32 	11 	7 	14 	43:48 	-5 	40
12. (13.)  VfB Stuttgart 	32 	11 	6 	15 	57:56 	+1 	39
13. (11.)  SV Werder Bremen 	32 	9 	11 	12 	43:58 	-15 	38
14. (14.)  1. FC Köln 		32 	11 	5 	16 	43:61 	-18 	38
15. (16.)  VfL Wolfsburg 	32 	8 	11 	13 	39:45 	-6 	35
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16. (15.)  Eintracht Frankfurt 	32 	9 	7 	16 	30:44 	-14 	34
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17. (17.)  Bor. Mönchengladbach 32 	9 	5 	18 	45:64 	-19 	32
18. (18.)  FC St. Pauli 	32 	8 	5 	19 	33:58 	-25 	29

2. Liga, Round 32

The relegation battles have some clarity, but the final say is withheld for another week. Paderborn's victory ensured their survival, whereas Osnabrück is pushed deeper in despair. Luckily, Karlsruhe blew a two goal lead in the last 5 mintes and had to settle a draw, leaving the window open. Oberhausen got blasted by a revived Aachen. These 3 clubs are jockeying for position, as everybody else is now safe.

Bochum and Fürth remain in the promotion race, but Aue has bowed out, as they got nothing in Ingolstadt. Augsburg got a draw in Cottbus to hold them off, and simultaneously removed Energie from any promotion hopes.

VfL Bochum 		- 	1. FC Union Berlin 	3:0 (1:0) 	16,009 	(Aydin 2, Freier)
Hertha BSC Berlin	- 	TSV 1860 München 	1:2 (0:0) 	57,829	(Lasogga - Aygün, Buck)
SC Paderborn 07 	- 	VfL Osnabrück 		1:0 (0:0) 	11,767	(Brandy)
Karlsruher SC 		- 	Fortuna Düsseldorf 	2:2 (2:0) 	17,414	(Chrisantus, Langkamp - Bröker, Ilso)
Alemannia Aachen 	- 	Rot-Weiß Oberhausen 	4:0 (1:0) 	18,377 	(Auer 2, Stieber 2)
SpVgg Greuther Fürth 	- 	Arminia Bielefeld 	1:0 (1:0) 	 7,000	(Müller)
FSV Frankfurt 		- 	MSV Duisburg	 	0:4 (0:2) 	 4,821 	(Yilmaz 2, Banovic, Schäffler)
FC Ingolstadt 04 	- 	FC Erzgebirge Aue	0:0 (0:0) 	12,350 
FC Energie Cottbus 	- 	FC Augsburg 		1:1 (0:1)	 8,266	(Jula - Rafael)

Attendance: 153,833 (avg 17,093)


 1. (1.)   Hertha BSC Berlin 	32 	21 	5 	6 	65:27 	+38 	68	promoted
 2. (2.)   FC Augsburg	 	32 	18 	8 	6 	55:24 	+31 	62
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3. (3.)   VfL Bochum 		32 	18 	5 	9 	43:33 	+10 	59
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (4.)   SpVgg Greuther Fürth 32 	16 	9 	7 	42:25 	+17 	57
 5. (5.)   FC Erzgebirge Aue 	32 	15 	8 	9 	38:35 	+3 	53
 6. (6.)   FC Energie Cottbus 	32 	15 	6 	10 	60:47 	+13 	52
 7. (9.)   MSV Duisburg 	32 	14 	7 	11 	49:34 	+15 	49
 8. (8.)   TSV 1860 München 	32 	14 	9 	9 	47:32 	+15 	49 *
 9. (7.)   Fortuna Düsseldorf 	32 	15 	4 	13 	45:37 	+8 	49
10. (10.)  Alemannia Aachen 	32 	13 	8 	11 	56:56 	0 	47
11. (11.)  1. FC Union Berlin 	32 	10 	9 	13 	33:40 	-7 	39
12. (12.)  FSV Frankfurt 	32 	11 	5 	16 	41:50 	-9 	38
13. (13.)  FC Ingolstadt 04 	32 	9 	9 	14 	39:44 	-5 	36
14. (14.)  SC Paderborn 07 	32 	9 	9 	14 	28:42 	-14 	36
15. (15.)  Karlsruher SC 	32 	7 	9 	16 	42:68 	-26 	30
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16. (16.)  VfL Osnabrück 	32 	7 	7 	18 	38:59 	-21 	28
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17. (17.)  Rot-Weiß Oberhausen 	32 	7 	7 	18 	28:58 	-30 	28
18. (18.)  Arminia Bielefeld 	32 	3 	7 	22 	25:63 	-38 	13 *	relegated

* - 1860 deducted 2 points, Bielefeld 3 points for financial incompetance

3. Liga, Round 36

The battle between the confusing names was decisively in favor the southerners. Aalen dumped Ahlen, and may have secured their survival. In addition, Rot-Weiss was wounded severely by the DFB ruling that deducted 3 points for their financial problems (it was on appeal, but has been confirmed apparently). Burghausen is floating above them, but it will take help to catch.

SV Babelsberg 03 	- 	Dynamo Dresden 			1:1 (0:0) 	 6.800 	(Engler - Koch)
SpVgg Unterhaching 	- 	1. FC Saarbrücken 		0:2 (0:1) 	 1.500 	(Zeitz, Schug)
Kickers Offenbach 	- 	FC Carl Zeiss Jena 		0:2 (0:0) 	 6.000 	(Pichinot, Eckardt)
Eintracht Braunschweig 	- 	VfB Stuttgart II 		2:1 (0:0) 	18.300	(Kessel, Calamita - Holzhauser)
VfR Aalen	 	- 	Rot Weiss Ahlen 		3:0 (1:0) 	 4.000 	(Traut, Herröder, Fink)
FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt 	- 	Jahn Regensburg 		0:1 (0:0) 	 9.400 	(Formento)
Hansa Rostock 		- 	SV Wehen Wiesbaden 		3:1 (2:1) 	16.000	(Ziegenbein, Lartey 2 - Abraham)
TuS Koblenz 		- 	FC Bayern München II 		1:3 (0:1) 	 5.100 	(Steegmann - Wohlfarth, Yilmaz 2)
SV Werder Bremen II 	- 	SV 1916 Sandhausen 		1:1 (1:1) 	   300	(Kroos - Zinnow)
Wacker Burghausen 	- 	1. FC Heidenheim 1846 		2:2 (0:0) 	 2.500	(Omodiagbe, Agyemang - Spann, Bagceci)


 1. (1.)   Eintr. Braunschweig 	 36 	25 	6 	5 	75:20 	+55 	81	promoted
 2. (2.)   Hansa Rostock 	 36 	23 	5 	8 	66:34 	+32 	74	promoted
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3. (4.)   Dynamo Dresden 	 36 	17 	8 	11 	50:35 	+15 	59
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (3.)   FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt 	 36 	17 	7 	12 	59:41 	+18 	58
 5. (5.)   SV Wehen Wiesbaden 	 36 	16 	10 	10 	50:38 	+12 	58
 6. (6.)   Kickers Offenbach 	 36 	16 	9 	11 	49:40 	+9 	57
 7. (7.)   1. FC Saarbrücken 	 36 	15 	8 	13 	54:47 	+7 	53
 8. (8.)   TuS Koblenz 		 36 	13 	10 	13 	38:43 	-5 	49
 9. (9.)   1. FC Heidenheim 1846 36 	13 	9 	14 	57:53 	+4 	48
10. (11.)  Jahn Regensburg 	 36 	12 	12 	12 	31:39 	-8 	48
11. (10.)  VfB Stuttgart II 	 36 	11 	14 	11 	44:45 	-1 	47
12. (12.)  SV Babelsberg 03 	 36 	12 	9 	15 	38:44 	-6 	45
13. (14.)  SV 1916 Sandhausen 	 36 	11 	11 	14 	43:46 	-3 	44
14. (13.)  SpVgg Unterhaching 	 36 	11 	11 	14 	39:51 	-12 	44
15. (15.)  FC Carl Zeiss Jena 	 36 	11 	10 	15 	39:57 	-18 	43
16. (16.)  VfR Aalen 		 36 	9 	13 	14 	39:50 	-11 	40
17. (17.)  Wacker Burghausen 	 36 	9 	10 	17 	43:60 	-17 	37
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
18. (18.)  Rot Weiss Ahlen 	 36 	10 	9 	17 	41:64 	-23 	36 *
19. (19.)  SV Werder Bremen II 	 36 	7 	12 	17 	31:52 	-21 	33
20. (20.)  FC Bayern München II  36 	6 	9 	21 	26:53 	-27 	27	relegated

* - Ahlen deducted 3 points for financial irregularities.

Apr 24, 2011

Bundesliga, Round 31

Dortmund wasted tons of chances and got stunned in Gladbach, which means they've still got work to do. For the Gladbachers however, this desperate win gives them some hope, and they get off the bottom for the first time in ages. A reasonable goal would be to seize the playoff spot, which gives them a decent chance of staying up. The Neons are clearly showing their inexperience as they can't finish off the task. However, it seems likely that their lead will hold up despite the increasing pressure on the young squad.

Leverkusen had a difficult match against a determined Hoffenheim, but were able to notch up the win. Of course, they still need Dortmund to trip up to remove the "Vizekusen" stigma.

Hannover had an impressive win at Freiburg, and hold on to the coveted 3rd spot. Not oeven their most rabid fans would have predicted this level of success. The 96ers were expected to have a difficult match in Freiburg, who have been quite solid all season long.

Bayern was expecting a win at Frankfurt, but in the end they were lucky to get a point. Theofanis Gekas missed a header from 2 meters, and figured there was only one way to top that, so he went and missed an open net from 1 meter. (And Gekas is one of the dealiest scorers in the league over the last few seasons). Unfortunately, the desperately defending Frankfurters were made to pay as the ref gave Bayern a ridiculous penalty that led to the equalizer. Luiz Gustavo basically tried to kick the ball and ran into a defender, falling down. One of the worst calls in history. Too bad for Eintracht, who desperately could have used the points. Bayern on the other hand has nobody but to blame but themselves. They had enough chances, especially in the 1st half, to win a couple of matches. Instead, they had to be rescued by the ridiculous call and a huge amount of luck.

Wolfsburg seized their chance and thumped a ridiculously lame Köln, Felix Magath's first win. The VWs are still in the relegation playoff spot, but at least they've got a solid chance. Köln on the other hand has been phoning it in for the last few weeks. It looked like they had done enough work to save their asses, but now they're in trouble. For the Wolfies, I good sign is that striker Mario Mandzukic seems to be scoring on a regular basis. He was totally ineffective under McClaren/Littbarski, but has recently partnered well with oldtimer Grafite.

Nürnberg was unable to break down Mainz in a critical battle for a Euro spot. Der Club needed a more aggressive stance, and the visitors were able to fend off any attempts of FCN domination.

Cacau is finally back on target, and it comes at a good time for Stuttgart. They thumped a crap HSV, and give themselves a bit of breathing room. Their excellent goal difference (for a bottom team) essentially gives them another point against their rivals.

St.Pauli lost a crucial match at home to Bremen, who probably have banished any relegation worries now. For the Paulistas, they drop to the bottom, and although I have no doubt they'll fight to the bitter end, they're probably going down. They had the lead and ironically oldtimer Gerald Asamoah, one of their best players this season, missed a sitter that might have given them the match.

Schalke gave a disinterested performance and Kaiserslautern gets the huge win, probably enough to save them. Schalke was probably still reeling from the announcement that GK Manuel Neuer has decided to leave, so most likely he'll be sold to Bayern in the offseason. His contract runs for another year, but Schalke needs to cash in. Neuer has been with Schalke since he was 5 years old, but it's a sign that Schalke is suffering from the financial burden. If they're lucky, they can recover like Dortmund has, but it might take a while.

SC Freiburg 		- 	Hannover 96 		1:3 (0:2) 	23.000 	(Rosenthal - Abdellaoue, Schlaudraff, Rausch)
FC St. Pauli 		- 	SV Werder Bremen 	1:3 (1:0) 	24.000 	(Bartels - Thorandt, Pizarro 2)
Eintracht Frankfurt 	- 	FC Bayern München 	1:1 (0:0) 	51.500 	(Rode - Gomez)
FC Schalke 04 		- 	1. FC Kaiserslautern 	0:1 (0:1) 	61.700 	(Lakic)
Bayer Leverkusen 	- 	1899 Hoffenheim 	2:1 (1:1) 	30.000 	(Kadlec, Vidal - Sigurdsson)
VfB Stuttgart 		- 	Hamburger SV 		3:0 (1:0) 	39.000 	(Cacau 2, Gentner)
Bor. Mönchengladbach 	- 	Borussia Dortmund 	1:0 (1:0) 	54.100 	(Idrissou)
VfL Wolfsburg 		- 	1. FC Köln 		4:1 (2:1) 	30.000 	(Mandzukic 2, Dejagah 2 - Freis)
1. FC Nürnberg 		- 	1. FSV Mainz 05 	0:0 (0:0) 	48.500 

Attendance: 361,800 (avg 40,200)

 1. (1.)   Borussia Dortmund 	31 	21 	6 	4 	62:19 	+43 	69
 2. (2.)   Bayer Leverkusen 	31 	19 	7 	5 	62:41 	+21 	64
 3. (4.)   Hannover 96	 	31 	18 	3 	10 	45:41 	+4 	57
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (3.)   FC Bayern München 	31 	16 	8 	7 	67:37 	+30 	56
 5. (5.)   1. FSV Mainz 05 	31 	15 	4 	12 	44:37 	+7 	49
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 6. (6.)   1. FC Nürnberg 	31 	13 	8 	10 	45:38 	+7 	47
 7. (7.)   Hamburger SV 	31 	12 	7 	12 	44:48 	-4 	43
 8. (8.)   SC Freiburg 		31 	12 	5 	14 	39:47 	-8 	41
 9. (9.)   1899 Hoffenheim 	31 	10 	10 	11 	46:44 	+2 	40
10. (10.)  FC Schalke 04 	31 	11 	7 	13 	35:35 	0 	40
11. (11.)  SV Werder Bremen 	31 	9 	11 	11 	43:57 	-14 	38
12. (13.)  1. FC Kaiserslautern 31 	10 	7 	14 	41:48 	-7 	37
13. (14.)  VfB Stuttgart 	31 	10 	6 	15 	55:55 	0 	36
14. (12.)  1. FC Köln 		31 	10 	5 	16 	41:61 	-20 	35
15. (15.)  Eintracht Frankfurt 	31 	9 	7 	15 	30:41 	-11 	34
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16. (16.)  VfL Wolfsburg 	31 	7 	11 	13 	38:45 	-7 	32
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17. (18.)  Bor. Mönchengladbach 31 	8 	5 	18 	44:64 	-20 	29
18. (17.)  FC St. Pauli 	31 	8 	5 	18 	33:56 	-23 	29


Top scorers:
						Games	Goals	Assists	TOTAL
 1  Gomez, Mario 	Bayern München		29 	23 	3 	26
 2  Cissé, Papiss Demba SC Freiburg		29 	20 	1 	21
 3  Müller, Thomas 	Bayern München		31 	10 	11 	21
 4  Gekas, Theofanis 	Eintracht Frankfurt	31 	16 	4 	20
 5  Götze, Mario 	Borussia Dortmund	30 	6 	14 	20
 6  Ribery, Franck 	Bayern München		23 	5 	15 	20
 7  Vidal, Arturo 	Bayer Leverkusen	30 	10 	10 	20
 8  Ya Konan, Didier 	Hannover 96		25 	13 	7 	20
 9  Barrios, Lucas 	Borussia Dortmund	29 	13 	6 	19
10  Novakovic, Milivoje 1. FC Köln		25 	14 	5 	19

2. Liga, Round 31

Hertha BSC returns to the Bundesliga after only one year absence. The Berliners clinched promotion with their away win in Duisburg.ALthough they had a couple of dry spells, in general Hertha has been very good and in retrospect was a solid bet all the way to go back up.

Aachen dropped a turd in the middle of Augsburg's celebration, as they came away with a win and keep FCA from all but wrapping things up. However, since Bochum was unable to get much in Paderborn, it probably doesn't hurt too much. On the other hand, 1860 thumped Fürth, leaving the Greuther still chasing Bochum. The eastern clash between Aue and Cottbus ended badly for Erzgebirge, a crucial home loss. The match was interrupted as firebombs were tossed onto the field, and fans on both sides rioted and fought each other.

Oberhausen seized their last opportunity in a relegation six-pointer, as ex-Wuppertaler Mike Terranova's double gave them a crucial win over Karlsruhe. KSC is hanging by a thread. snabrück struggled to gain a draw at home to Frankfurt, and therefore remain in serious trouble.

SC Paderborn 07 	- 	VfL Bochum	 	0:0 (0:0) 	10.400 
VfL Osnabrück 		- 	FSV Frankfurt	 	1:1 (1:1) 	13.200	(Tyrala - Schlicke)
FC Erzgebirge Aue 	- 	FC Energie Cottbus 	1:2 (0:1) 	13.500	(Paulus - Adlung, Petersen)
TSV 1860 München 	- 	SpVgg Greuther Fürth 	3:0 (2:0) 	22.000 	(Stahl, Lauth 2)
Rot-Weiß Oberhausen 	- 	Karlsruher SC 		2:1 (1:1) 	 8.400	(Terranova 2 - Chrisantus)
FC Augsburg 		- 	Alemannia Aachen 	1:2 (1:2) 	25.000 	(Hain -	Radjabali-Fardi, Kratz)
Fortuna Düsseldorf 	- 	Arminia Bielefeld 	2:0 (1:0)	18,100	(Rösler, Lambertz)
1. FC Union Berlin 	- 	FC Ingolstadt 04 	1:1 (0:0) 	14.000	(Benyamina - Caiuby)
MSV Duisburg 		- 	Hertha BSC Berlin 	0:1 (0:1)	16,677	(Ramos)

Attendance: 141,277 (avg 15,697)


 1. (1.)   Hertha BSC Berlin 	31 	21 	5 	5 	64:25 	+39 	68	promoted
 2. (2.)   FC Augsburg 		31 	18 	7 	6 	54:23 	+31 	61
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3. (3.)   VfL Bochum 		31 	17 	5 	9 	40:33 	+7 	56
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (4.)   SpVgg Greuther Fürth 31 	15 	9 	7 	41:25 	+16 	54
 5. (5.)   FC Erzgebirge Aue 	31 	15 	7 	9 	38:35 	+3 	52
 6. (6.)   FC Energie Cottbus 	31 	15 	6 	10 	59:46 	+13 	51
 7. (8.)   Fortuna Düsseldorf 	31 	15 	3 	13 	43:35 	+8 	48
 8. (9.)   TSV 1860 München 	31 	13 	9 	9 	45:31 	+14 	46 *
 9. (7.)   MSV Duisburg 	31 	13 	7 	11 	45:34 	+11 	46
10. (10.)  Alemannia Aachen 	31 	12 	8 	11 	52:56 	-4 	44
11. (11.)  1. FC Union Berlin 	31 	10 	9 	12 	33:37 	-4 	39
12. (12.)  FSV Frankfurt 	31 	11 	5 	15 	41:46 	-5 	38
13. (13.)  FC Ingolstadt 04 	31 	9 	8 	14 	39:44 	-5 	35
14. (14.)  SC Paderborn 07 	31 	8 	9 	14 	27:42 	-15 	33
15. (15.)  Karlsruher SC 	31 	7 	8 	16 	40:66 	-26 	29
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16. (16.)  VfL Osnabrück 	31 	7 	7 	17 	38:58 	-20 	28
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17. (17.)  Rot-Weiß Oberhausen 	31 	7 	7 	17 	28:54 	-26 	28
18. (18.)  Arminia Bielefeld 	31 	3 	7 	21 	25:62 	-37 	13 *	relegated

* - 1860 deducted 2 points, Arminia deducted 3 points both for faulty finances

3. Liga, Round 35

Hansa Rostock officially joins Braunschweig in promotion. One season after the disaster, a rebuilt Hansa squad has accomplished the mission.

The race for 3rd is almost unbelievable. Erfurt got the huge away win at Wehen to vault into the coveted 3rd spot, but only on goal difference. Dresden threw their hat into the ring with an impressive rout of Unterhaching to also jump over Wehen by a single goal. The big loser is Offenbach, who suffer a not unexpected loss at Braunschweig, but after weeks of holding off the competition, now find themselves in 6th. The Offenbachers had a solid hold on the top early in the season, but they've really been terrible since Winter, and this poor run may cost them a promotion try. They're only a point behind, but now they need to leapfrog 3 teams.

The relegation battle remains red-hot as well. Jena got a huge win against Burghausen to give themselves a bit breathing room. VfR Aalen got a critical point at Regensburg, who now are all but mathematically safe. Rot-Weiss Ahlen suffered a double blow, as last week the DFB ruled that Ahlen should be deducted 3 critical points due to theuir financial troubles. In addition, they got their asses ripped in Stuttgart, so they hold down the last relegation spot. Werder Bremen II is almost down as well. The drop of FC Bayern München II is interesting, as FCB's B squad has been at the 3rd level since 1973, but obviously since producing young talent such as Thomas Müller recently, the well is dry.

Jahn Regensburg 	- 	VfR Aalen	 	1:1 (1:1) 	 4.000	(Laurito - Lechleiter)
Eintracht Braunschweig 	- 	Kickers Offenbach 	2:1 (1:0) 	21.200 	(Kumbela, Bellarabi - Feldhahn)
FC Carl Zeiss Jena 	- 	Wacker Burghausen 	1:0 (0:0) 	 5.100 	(Eckardt)
1. FC Heidenheim 1846 	- 	SV Babelsberg 03 	1:1 (1:0) 	 4.600 	(Spann - Makarenko)
Dynamo Dresden	 	- 	SpVgg Unterhaching	4:0 (1:0) 	17.000	(Esswein 2, Schahin 2)
1. FC Saarbrücken 	- 	SV Werder Bremen II 	1:0 (0:0) 	 4.800	(Sieger)
SV 1916 Sandhausen 	- 	TuS Koblenz 		0:0 (0:0) 	 2.100 
SV Wehen Wiesbaden 	- 	FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt 	0:1 (0:1) 	 6.100	(Pfingsten)
VfB Stuttgart II 	- 	Rot Weiss Ahlen 	5:1 (1:0) 	   400 	(Schipplock 3, Rathgeb, Müller - Taylor)
FC Bayern München II 	- 	Hansa Rostock	 	0:0 (0:0)	 1.000

Attendance: 66,300 (avg 6,630)


 1. (1.)   Eintr. Braunschweig 	 35 	24 	6 	5 	73:19 	+54 	78	promoted
 2. (2.)   Hansa Rostock 	 35 	22 	5 	8 	63:33 	+30 	71	promoted
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3. (5.)   FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt 	 35 	17 	7 	11 	59:40 	+19 	58
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (6.)   Dynamo Dresden 	 35 	17 	7 	11 	49:34 	+15 	58
 5. (3.)   SV Wehen Wiesbaden 	 35 	16 	10 	9 	49:35 	+14 	58
 6. (4.)   Kickers Offenbach 	 35 	16 	9 	10 	49:38 	+11 	57
 7. (8.)   1. FC Saarbrücken 	 35 	14 	8 	13 	52:47 	+5 	50
 8. (7.)   TuS Koblenz	 	 35 	13 	10 	12 	37:40 	-3 	49
 9. (9.)   1. FC Heidenheim 1846 35 	13 	8 	14 	55:51 	+4 	47
10. (10.)  VfB Stuttgart II 	 35 	11 	14 	10 	43:43 	0 	47
11. (12.)  Jahn Regensburg 	 35 	11 	12 	12 	30:39 	-9 	45
12. (13.)  SV Babelsberg 03 	 35 	12 	8 	15 	37:43 	-6 	44
13. (11.)  SpVgg Unterhaching 	 35 	11 	11 	13 	39:49 	-10 	44
14. (14.)  SV 1916 Sandhausen 	 35 	11 	10 	14 	42:45 	-3 	43
15. (15.)  FC Carl Zeiss Jena 	 35 	10 	10 	15 	37:57 	-20 	40
16. (16.)  VfR Aalen 		 35 	8 	13 	14 	36:50 	-14 	37
17. (17.)  Wacker Burghausen 	 35 	9 	9 	17 	41:58 	-17 	36
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
18. (18.)  Rot Weiss Ahlen 	 35 	10 	9 	16 	41:61 	-20 	36 *
19. (19.)  SV Werder Bremen II 	 35 	7 	11 	17 	30:51 	-21 	32
20. (20.)  FC Bayern München II  35 	5 	9 	21 	23:52 	-29 	24	relegated

* - Ahlen deducted 3 points for financial irregularities


Apr 17, 2011

Bundesliga, Round 30

It's been fashionable to laugh at Bayern München's struggles this season, as they seemed like the FC Hollywood of old. But you do so at your own peril. Bayer Leverkusen had been riding high, perhaps even dreaming of catching Dortmund. Bayern had other ideas, and interim coach Andreas Jonker obviously impressed upon his charges the necessity of looking like the Bayern of old (rather than just an old Bayern). As a result, the defending champs ripped Leverkusen a new asshole. Bayer coach Jupp Heynckes probably popped a vein, since this is quite embarassing: Heynckes is scheduled to take over Bayern in the summer, so conspiracy theorists can speculate that he wants Bayern to qualify for CHampions. (Personally, I think that's nonsense. Heynckes may fly off the handle, but he's no idiot.) Mario Gomez re-awakened from recent slumber with a hat-trick.

Dortmund had the late game Sunday, so they already knew what happened to Luserkusen down in München. So Borussia went out and totally dominated Freiburg, giving them a good thumping and probably wrapping up the title. Freiburg basically had one reasonable goal-threat, spending most of the match trying not to get rolled.

Hannover outplayed Hamburg, but was unable to turn their advantage into victory. Somewhat of a surprise, since this northern derby never sees the 96ers outplaying HSV, but that shows that the hosts still haven't figured it out. HSV has announced that interim coach Michael Oenning will get the permanent job. Ruud Van Nistelrooy went down with a likely season ending injury, which essentially ends his stay in Hamburg. He's been wanting to go back to Real Madrid, although why RM would want a 34-year old striker seems strange.

Mainz managed to sqeak by a desperate Gladbach with a late goal. The guests have Mike Hanke to thank for a lot, as he got his ass tossed giving Mainz the extra pressure they needed. Hanke was once a very promising striker, but his ego is clearly bigger than his brain, and after getting called up to the national team many years ago has basically coasted on reputation and attitude as he has bounced around to different teams.

Nürnberg continues with one of the better seasons in recent memory. Der Club claimed a hard fought victory at Kaiserslautern, and remain in contention for a Euro spot. FCK was always one step behind against a clever opponent. They're still in a good position to stave off relegation though.

40 years ago, the old (2nd division) Regionalliga Nord was a battle ground between Osnabrück, St.Pauli and Wolfsburg. Usually the VWs got the short end of the stick, but since then fortunes have shone their way. So a classic old derby in Kraft-durch-Freude-Stadt, but with different prize at stake: survival in the top flight. The Wolfies no doubt had hoped that the return of coach Felix Magath would energize, but instead St.Pauli was running rings around them. It took a late goal to salvage a point, leaving both in a precarious position, although they did gain ground on Frankfurt.

Bremen and Schalke delivered a hard-fought draw. Neither team is really going anywhere. Both have struggled mightily this season, and Werder perhaps still should keep an eye over their shoulder at the bottom clubs. Schalke could still qualify for Europe, but only if they win the Champions League. (In order to do that, they only have to get past the most famous clubs in the world, Manchester United and Real Madrid/Barcelona. Probably easier though than getting the points off your Hoffenheims and Mainzes of the world though, hehehe.)

Köln has probably done enough work already, to save their asses, which is good, since they've gotten severely bitch-slapped the last couple of outings. This time struggling Stuttgart ripped them a new one, giving nervous VfB some breathing room.

Hoffenheim dumped a listless Frankfurt, still looking for it's first win under Christoph Daum. While the Hoppers are going nowhere, Eintracht could be facing a derby in Bornheim (a Frankfurt suburb) against FSV if they dont't get their act together soon.

 
1. FSV Mainz 05 	- 	Bor. Mönchengladbach 	1:0 (0:0) 	20,300	(Schürrle) 
1. FC Kaiserslautern 	- 	1. FC Nürnberg	 	0:2 (0:1) 	49,780	(Eigler, Mak)
1. FC Köln	 	- 	VfB Stuttgart	 	1:3 (0:0) 	50,000	(Novakovic - Träsch, Harnik, Kuzmanovic)
1899 Hoffenheim 	- 	Eintracht Frankfurt 	1:0 (0:0) 	30,150	(Firmino)
VfL Wolfsburg	 	- 	FC St. Pauli 		2:2 (1:0) 	30,000	(Mandzukic, Polak - Naki, Lehmann)
Hamburger SV 		- 	Hannover 96	 	0:0 (0:0) 	57,000 
SV Werder Bremen 	- 	FC Schalke 04	 	1:1 (0:0) 	40,500	(Wagner - Edu)
FC Bayern München 	- 	Bayer Leverkusen 	5:1 (4:0) 	69,000	(Rolfes o.g., Gomez 3, Ribery - Derdiyok)
Borussia Dortmund 	- 	SC Freiburg 		3:0 (2:0) 	80,720	(Götze, Lewandowski, Großkreutz)

Attendance: 427,450 (avg 47,494)


 1. (1.)   Borussia Dortmund 	30 	21 	6 	3 	62:18 	+44 	69
 2. (2.)   Bayer Leverkusen 	30 	18 	7 	5 	60:40 	+20 	61
 3. (4.)   FC Bayern München 	30 	16 	7 	7 	66:36 	+30 	55
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (3.)   Hannover 96 		30 	17 	3 	10 	42:40 	+2 	54
 5. (5.)   1. FSV Mainz 05 	30 	15 	3 	12 	44:37 	+7 	48
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 6. (6.)   1. FC Nürnberg 	30 	13 	7 	10 	45:38 	+7 	46
 7. (7.)   Hamburger SV 	30 	12 	7 	11 	44:45 	-1 	43
 8. (8.)   SC Freiburg 		30 	12 	5 	13 	38:44 	-6 	41
 9. (10.)  1899 Hoffenheim 	30 	10 	10 	10 	45:42 	+3 	40
10. (9.)   FC Schalke 04 	30 	11 	7 	12 	35:34 	+1 	40
11. (13.)  SV Werder Bremen 	30 	8 	11 	11 	40:56 	-16 	35
12. (11.)  1. FC Köln 		30 	10 	5 	15 	40:57 	-17 	35
13. (12.)  1. FC Kaiserslautern 30 	9 	7 	14 	40:48 	-8 	34
14. (15.)  VfB Stuttgart 	30 	9 	6 	15 	52:55 	-3 	33
15. (14.)  Eintracht Frankfurt 	30 	9 	6 	15 	29:40 	-11 	33
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16. (16.)  VfL Wolfsburg 	30 	6 	11 	13 	34:44 	-10 	29
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17. (17.)  FC St. Pauli 	30 	8 	5 	17 	32:53 	-21 	29
18. (18.)  Bor. Mönchengladbach 30 	7 	5 	18 	43:64 	-21 	26

2. Liga, Round 30

Hertha is cruising back to the Bundesliga. The Berliners had no trouble in thrashing flailing Osnabrück, and now are in total control of the 2.Liga.

Bochum is still in a dogfight. The Ruhr boys went down in flames at resurgent Ingolstadt. The Schanzer scored in the opening minute, and never let the ex-Bundesligist off the hook, pressuring them until they cracked. After a horrible pre-winter, it looks like Ingolstadt has secured their 2.Liga status with this impressive run.

Greuther Fürth struggled to take advantage of Bochum's patzer, as visiting Paderborn gave them no quarter. Eventually the superior squad managed to beat down the challenge, although it was not secured until the closing minutes.

Aue stunningly jumped back into the race. A difficult road match got turned on it's head in an amazing 5 minute spurt. Host Aachen wasted many early chances, and Erzgebirge was hanging on by a thread, until from the 71st minute they struck a goal a minute, four times in the black. Aachen and the Tivoli crowd watched in stunned silence. Aue is still a longshot, but they're only 3 points back from the playoff spot, which is pretty amazing considering that their goal was only to avoid relegation.

Oberhausen did themselves no favors as they gave up an injury time goal at Bielefeld to leave points on the table. It's increasingly likely that RWO will be going down. Arminia on the other hand is definitely down, but the loyal fans are still showing up in reasonable numbers. The squad may be no good, but they're still trying. This week the board decided to draw on the league reserve funds to ensure financial stability. This fund is to help clubs in dire straits, but the usual proviso is that it is accompanied with a deduction, usually around 3 points. Not that it matters much in Bielefeld's case.

FSV Frankfurt has been terrible since the winterbreak, but their come-from-behind win over 1860 gives them a hard-fought recovery and pretty much ends any relegation worries.

Fortuna Düsseldorf 	- 	1. FC Union Berlin 	3:0 (2:0) 	18,900	(Rösler, Lambertz, Ilso)
FSV Frankfurt 		- 	TSV 1860 München 	2:1 (0:1) 	 4,884	(N´diaye 2 - Volland) 
FC Ingolstadt 04 	- 	VfL Bochum	 	3:0 (2:0) 	10,881	(Hartmann, Karl, Leitl)
Hertha BSC Berlin 	- 	VfL Osnabrück 		4:0 (2:0) 	46,293	(Lasogga 2, Ramos 2)
FC Energie Cottbus 	- 	MSV Duisburg 		3:1 (0:0) 	10,130	(Petersen 2, Sörensen - Yilmaz)
Arminia Bielefeld 	- 	Rot-Weiß Oberhausen 	3:3 (0:1) 	12,131	(Heidinger, Reichert, Tadic - Terranova, König, Kaya)
SpVgg Greuther Fürth 	- 	SC Paderborn 07 	2:0 (0:0) 	 8,230	(Kaplan, Haas)
Alemannia Aachen 	- 	FC Erzgebirge Aue 	1:5 (1:1) 	16,632	(Stieber - Kern 2, Hensel, Ramaj, Hochscheidt)
Karlsruher SC 		- 	FC Augsburg 	 	0:1 (0:1)	17,050	(Werner)

Attendance:



 1. (1.)   Hertha BSC Berlin 	30 	20 	5 	5 	63:25 	+38 	65
 2. (2.)   FC Augsburg 		30 	18 	7 	5 	53:21 	+32 	61
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3. (3.)   VfL Bochum 		30 	17 	4 	9 	40:33 	+7 	55
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (4.)   SpVgg Greuther Fürth 30 	15 	9 	6 	41:22 	+19 	54
 5. (5.)   FC Erzgebirge Aue 	30 	15 	7 	8 	37:33 	+4 	52
 6. (7.)   FC Energie Cottbus 	30 	14 	6 	10 	57:45 	+12 	48
 7. (6.)   MSV Duisburg 	30 	13 	7 	10 	45:33 	+12 	46
 8. (9.)   Fortuna Düsseldorf 	30 	14 	3 	13 	41:35 	+6 	45
 9. (8.)   TSV 1860 München 	30 	12 	9 	9 	42:31 	+11 	43 *
10. (10.)  Alemannia Aachen 	30 	11 	8 	11 	50:55 	-5 	41
11. (11.)  1. FC Union Berlin 	30 	10 	8 	12 	32:36 	-4 	38
12. (12.)  FSV Frankfurt 	30 	11 	4 	15 	40:45 	-5 	37
13. (14.)  FC Ingolstadt 04 	30 	9 	7 	14 	38:43 	-5 	34
14. (13.)  SC Paderborn 07 	30 	8 	8 	14 	27:42 	-15 	32
15. (15.)  Karlsruher SC 	30 	7 	8 	15 	39:64 	-25 	29
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16. (16.)  VfL Osnabrück 	30 	7 	6 	17 	37:57 	-20 	27
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17. (17.)  Rot-Weiß Oberhausen 	30 	6 	7 	17 	26:53 	-27 	25
18. (18.)  Arminia Bielefeld 	30 	3 	7 	20 	25:60 	-35 	16

* - 1860 deducted 2 points for financial irregularities

3. Liga, Round 33

Rostock's promotion party was postponed as they got thumped by a resurgent Saarbrücken. Offenbach again staved off the threats to 3rd place, but Wehen continues to exert pressure. Erfurt laid an egg as they got dumped in Sandhausen, giving the hosts some breathing room at eth bottom. Dresden struggled but their desperate win over Koblenz keeps their hopes alive, but they'll need some help. By drawing at Braunschweig, Babelsberg seems to have completed their recovery and look safe now.

SV 1916 Sandhausen 	- 	FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt 	3:2 (2:2) 	 2,200	(Pischorn, Danneberg, Glibo - Zedi 2)
Eintracht Braunschweig 	- 	SV Babelsberg 03 	1:1 (1:0) 	22,120	(Theuerkauf - Hebisch)
FC Bayern München II 	- 	VfR Aalen 		0:1 (0:0) 	   900	(Dausch)
SV Wehen Wiesbaden 	- 	Rot Weiss Ahlen 	3:0 (0:0) 	 3,215	(Menga 2, Mintzel)
VfB Stuttgart II 	- 	Jahn Regensburg 	1:2 (1:1) 	   410 	(Holzhauser - Röcker, Alibaz)
Kickers Offenbach 	- 	Wacker Burghausen 	2:0 (1:0) 	 5,587	(Rathgeber, Occean)
FC Carl Zeiss Jena 	- 	SpVgg Unterhaching 	1:2 (1:2) 	 4,940	(Nikol - Hain, Amachaibou (28.)
1. FC Heidenheim 1846 	- 	SV Werder Bremen II 	3:1 (2:0) 	 5,100	(Schnatterer, Heidenfelder 2 - Stevanovic)
Dynamo Dresden 		- 	TuS Koblenz 		1:0 (1:0) 	13,252	(Hübener)
1. FC Saarbrücken 	- 	Hansa Rostock 		3:0 (1:0) 	 7,959	(Fuchs 2, Stiefler)
	
Attendance: 65,683 (avg 6,568)


 1. (1.)   Eintracht Braunschweig 	33 	23 	5 	5 	71:18 	+53 	74
 2. (2.)   Hansa Rostock 		33 	22 	4 	7 	63:32 	+31 	70
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3. (3.)   Kickers Offenbach 		33 	16 	8 	9 	46:34 	+12 	56
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (5.)   SV Wehen Wiesbaden 		33 	15 	10 	8 	47:33 	+14 	55
 5. (4.)   FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt 		33 	15 	7 	11 	56:40 	+16 	52
 6. (6.)   Dynamo Dresden 		33 	15 	7 	11 	42:34 	+8 	52
 7. (7.)   TuS Koblenz		 	33 	13 	9 	11 	36:38 	-2 	48
 8. (9.)   1. FC Heidenheim 1846 	33 	13 	6 	14 	53:49 	+4 	45
 9. (10.)  1. FC Saarbrücken 		33 	12 	8 	13 	49:46 	+3 	44
10. (11.)  Jahn Regensburg 		33 	11 	11 	11 	29:36 	-7 	44
11. (8.)   VfB Stuttgart II 		33 	10 	13 	10 	36:40 	-4 	43
12. (12.)  SpVgg Unterhaching 		33 	11 	10 	12 	38:44 	-6 	43
13. (13.)  SV Babelsberg 03 		33 	11 	7 	15 	32:41 	-9 	40
14. (15.)  SV 1916 Sandhausen 		33 	10 	9 	14 	41:45 	-4 	39
15. (14.)  FC Carl Zeiss Jena 		33 	9 	10 	14 	35:53 	-18 	37
16. (17.)  VfR Aalen 			33 	8 	12 	13 	34:47 	-13 	36
17. (16.)  Wacker Burghausen 		33 	9 	8 	16 	41:57 	-16 	35
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
18. (18.)  Rot Weiss Ahlen 		33 	9 	9 	15 	38:56 	-18 	33
19. (19.)  SV Werder Bremen II 		33 	7 	11 	15 	30:47 	-17 	32
20. (20.)  FC Bayern München II 	33 	5 	8 	20 	23:50 	-27 	23


Apr 09, 2011

Bundesliga, Round 29

Dortmund continues to live dangerously. The Neons were outplayed in the 1st half by an engaged Hamburg, but turned up the heat in a dominant second period. However, as usual, they wasted most of their chances. It took an injury time goal by Kuba to salvage a deserved point, but this could have been more. For HSV, an indication that the squad appears motivated under interim coach Michael Oenning.

Leverkusen looked to have a walk in the park against a potentially demoralized St.Pauli squad. The Hamburgers were suffering from the hangover of their home defeat to Schalke, which was brokemn off when the sideline ref was hit in the head with a beer bottle. The DFB court confirmed a 0-2 loss and further more indicated that the Paulistas next home game would be in an empty stadium. Meanwhile the Aspirins could cut Dortmund's lead to 5 points with what was expected to be an easy win. Of course, this is the Bundesliga, so there are no free passes. The Paulistas showed great effort and the result was that after an hour, Bayer was losing. It took a firm effort by teh Aspirins to turn the match and save the day. The net result is that Leverkusen is within striking distance of Dortmund, despite not really impressing all season. Meanwhile, things are looking grim for St.Pauli. If I were a betting man, they look doomed.

A huge win for Hannover, as they dumped Mainz and grabbed 3rd. Miro Slomka has the 96ers performing at their limits, and it looks like the best Bundesliga campaign ever. They're already qualified for Europe (barring an unbelievable collapse) and are knocking on the door of the Champions League - at Bayern's expense.

Bayern struggled once again, this time in a Bavarian derby with a motivated Nürnberg. The main result was that coach Louis Van Gaal got his ass fired immediately. No real shock, as the club had already announced that Jupp Heynckes would be taking over in the summer. But apparently Bayern brass are concerned of not qualifying for Champions, so they decided to pay him off now. The match itself was a hard-fought duel, and Nürnberg fully deserve their point. Bayern jumped out to a quick lead and had FCN on the ropes, but in the 2nd half der Club came storming back. Arjen Robben managed to get his ass tossed in injury time for insulting the ref. What a wanker.

Frankfurt and Bremen battled to an exciting draw. The hosts had a slight edge in chances, but were chasing the equalizer until late. For Bremen, a continuation of their recent form recovery, and Christoph Daum looks to have stopped the rot with Eintracht.

Kaiserslautern might have had their biggest victory of the season. The Devils were down in a critical relegation battle in Stuttgart, who have been playing fairly well. FCK came back late in the match not only to equalize, to to win it outright.

Gladbach seized their last chance to remain in the relegation battle as they thumped Köln thoroughly in the Rhein-derby. The Kölners have been playing fairly well, and have almost pulled out of trouble, and showed a lackadaisical approach, especially in the 1st half. Gladbach smelled blood and struck furiously, basically finishing off the match in the first 45 minutes.

Eintracht Frankfurt 	- 	SV Werder Bremen 	1:1 (0:0) 	51,500	(Altintop - Fenin)
1. FC Nürnberg 		- 	FC Bayern München 	1:1 (0:1) 	48,584 	(Eigler - T.Müller)
Hannover 96 		- 	1. FSV Mainz 05 	2:0 (1:0) 	49,000 	(Ya Konan, Pinto)
SC Freiburg 		- 	1899 Hoffenheim 	3:2 (1:2) 	24,000 	(Schuster, Cisse, Butscher -Ibisevic, Babel)
Hamburger SV 		- 	Borussia Dortmund 	1:1 (1:0) 	57,000 	(van Nistelrooy - Blaszczykowski)
FC Schalke 04 		- 	VfL Wolfsburg 		1:0 (0:0) 	60,000 	(Jurado)
VfB Stuttgart 		- 	1. FC Kaiserslautern 	2:4 (2:1) 	39,000	(Kuzmanovic, Pogrebnyak - Lakic 2, Hoffer, Rivic)
Bor. Mönchengladbach 	- 	1. FC Köln 		5:1 (3:0) 	53,104	(Arango, Reus 2, Daems, Nordtveit - Novakovic)
Bayer Leverkusen 	- 	FC St. Pauli	 	2:1 (0:0) 	30,210	(Kießling, Bender - Takyi)

Attendance: 412,398 (avg 45,822)


 1. (1.)   Borussia Dortmund 	29 	20 	6 	3 	59:18 	+41 	66
 2. (2.)   Bayer Leverkusen 	29 	18 	7 	4 	59:35 	+24 	61
 3. (4.)   Hannover 96 		29 	17 	2 	10 	42:40 	+2 	53
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 4. (3.)   FC Bayern München 	29 	15 	7 	7 	61:35 	+26 	52
 5. (5.)   1. FSV Mainz 05 	29 	14 	3 	12 	43:37 	+6 	45
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 6. (6.)   1. FC Nürnberg 	29 	12 	7 	10 	43:38 	+5 	43
 7. (7.)   Hamburger SV 	29 	12 	6 	11 	44:45 	-1 	42
 8. (8.)   SC Freiburg 		29 	12 	5 	12 	38:41 	-3 	41
 9. (10.)  FC Schalke 04 	29 	11 	6 	12 	34:33 	+1 	39
10. (9.)   1899 Hoffenheim 	29 	9 	10 	10 	44:42 	+2 	37
11. (11.)  1. FC Köln 		29 	10 	5 	14 	39:54 	-15 	35
12. (14.)  1. FC Kaiserslautern 29 	9 	7 	13 	40:46 	-6 	34
13. (12.)  SV Werder Bremen 	29 	8 	10 	11 	39:55 	-16 	34
14. (13.)  Eintracht Frankfurt 	29 	9 	6 	14 	29:39 	-10 	33
15. (15.)  VfB Stuttgart 	29 	8 	6 	15 	49:54 	-5 	30
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16. (16.)  VfL Wolfsburg 	29 	6 	10 	13 	32:42 	-10 	28
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17. (17.)  FC St. Pauli 	29 	8 	4 	17 	30:51 	-21 	28
18. (18.)  Bor. Mönchengladbach 29 	7 	5 	17 	43:63 	-20 	26

2. Liga, Round 29

Augsburg and Fürth faced off in a Bavarian derby, but the match was a somewhat dull draw. Aue was unable to make up any ground, as they couldn't beat KSC. Bochum lost their chance to gain ground, as they lost to Hertha Monday night.

It was a good week for 1860. The club run by incompetants seems to have turned the corner, as they were able to come up with the money to stave off financial collapse, thereby assuring a license from the DFB. Then they went out and ripped Cottbus' ass.

A packed house in Osnabrück shows that even though Bielefeld is struggling, they are still the primary attraction in Westphalia. Osnabrück needed the win, but were unable to score. The home fans can't be too happy not getting full points, since everybody else does against Arminia.

FC Augsburg 		- 	SpVgg Greuther Fürth 	0:0 (0:0)	30,035
MSV Duisburg 		- 	Alemannia Aachen 	3:2 (1:1) 	13,137	(Baljak, Exslager, Sukalo - Stieber, Auer)
VfL Osnabrück 		- 	Arminia Bielefeld 	0:0 (0:0) 	16,130
TSV 1860 München 	- 	FC Energie Cottbus 	4:0 (2:0) 	21,000 	(Stahl, Aigner 2, Lauth) 
Rot-Weiß Oberhausen 	- 	Fortuna Düsseldorf 	1:2 (0:0) 	 8,200 	(Kaya - Langeneke, Beister)
SC Paderborn 07 	- 	FC Ingolstadt 04 	1:1 (0:0) 	 8,299	(Wachsmuth - Leitl)
1. FC Union Berlin 	- 	FSV Frankfurt 		2:0 (0:0) 	16,619	(Mattuschka, Mosquera (89.) 2:0
FC Erzgebirge Aue 	- 	Karlsruher SC	 	1:1 (0:1) 	10,100 	(Klingbeil - Terrazzino)
VfL Bochum 		- 	Hertha BSC Berlin 	0:2 (0:1)	24,211	(Niemeyer, Raffael)

Attendance: 147,731 (avg 16,415)


 1. (1.)   Hertha BSC Berlin	29 	19 	5 	5 	59:25 	+34 	62
 2. (2.)   FC Augsburg 		29 	17 	7 	5 	52:21 	+31 	58
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 3. (3.)   VfL Bochum 		29 	17 	4 	8 	40:30 	+10 	55
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 4. (4.)   SpVgg Greuther Fürth 29 	14 	9 	6 	39:22 	+17 	51
 5. (5.)   FC Erzgebirge Aue 	29 	14 	7 	8 	32:32 	0 	49
 6. (7.)   MSV Duisburg 	29 	13 	7 	9 	44:30 	+14 	46
 7. (6.)   FC Energie Cottbus 	29 	13 	6 	10 	54:44 	+10 	45
 8. (9.)   TSV 1860 München 	29 	12 	9 	8 	41:29 	+12 	43 *
 9. (10.)  Fortuna Düsseldorf 	29 	13 	3 	13 	38:35 	+3 	42
10. (8.)   Alemannia Aachen 	29 	11 	8 	10 	49:50 	-1 	41
11. (11.)  1. FC Union Berlin 	29 	10 	8 	11 	32:33 	-1 	38
12. (12.)  FSV Frankfurt 	29 	10 	4 	15 	38:44 	-6 	34
13. (13.)  SC Paderborn 07 	29 	8 	8 	13 	27:40 	-13 	32
14. (14.)  FC Ingolstadt 04 	29 	8 	7 	14 	35:43 	-8 	31
15. (15.)  Karlsruher SC 	29 	7 	8 	14 	39:63 	-24 	29
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16. (16.)  VfL Osnabrück 	29 	7 	6 	16 	37:53 	-16 	27
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17. (17.)  Rot-Weiß Oberhausen 	29 	6 	6 	17 	23:50 	-27 	24
18. (18.)  Arminia Bielefeld 	29 	3 	6 	20 	22:57 	-35 	15

* - 1860 deducted two points for financials

3. Liga, Round 32

Rostock hurt Dresden's effort, while at the same pulling up with Braunschweig. At least until the Lions won their game on Sunday. As a result, Braunschweig is now mathematically promoted. Rostock will probably have to wait another week, but should be officially in the 2.Liga as well.

The battle for 3rd remains redhot. Offenbach got dumped on the road against a desperate Babelsberg fighting relegation. Not that shocking considering that the Kickers have been shaky the last several weeks, and Babelsberg has recently found some verve. However, it was shocking that high-flying Erfurt failed to take advantage: RWE was stunned at home by Saarbrücken. Even a draw would have been enough for Erfurt to claim 3rd. Wehen was the only contender not to lose: but they had a disappointing draw in Regensburg. (Doubly disappointing, since Jahn is one of the worst home teams). The villager gained a point, but a win would have sent them into 3rd.

The relegation battle continues red hot as well. Bremen II and Jena split teh points, but Ahlen got the needed win to reduce their deficit and stay within striking distance. Aalen and Sandhausen battled to a scoreless draw which only keeps each slightly above water.

Wacker Burghausen 	- 	VfB Stuttgart II 	3:4 (1:2) 	 2,200	(Knappmann, Halfar, Agyemang - Vier, Holzhauser, Benyamina 2)
SV Babelsberg 03 	- 	Kickers Offenbach 	2:0 (1:0) 	 2,471	(Koc, Makarenko)
Jahn Regensburg 	- 	SV Wehen Wiesbaden 	0:0 (0:0) 	 2,347
Rot Weiss Ahlen 	- 	FC Bayern München II 	2:0 (1:0) 	 1,815	(Hille 2)
VfR Aalen 		- 	SV 1916 Sandhausen 	0:0 (0:0) 	 2,514
FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt 	- 	1. FC Saarbrücken 	1:2 (1:1) 	 8,223	(Pfingsten - Pisano, Zimmermann)
Hansa Rostock 		- 	Dynamo Dresden	 	1:0 (1:0) 	24,200	(R.Müller)
TuS Koblenz 		- 	1. FC Heidenheim 1846 	4:0 (1:0) 	 4,954	(Steegmann 2, Bauer, Göhlert)
SV Werder Bremen II 	- 	FC Carl Zeiss Jena 	0:0 (0:0) 	   900 
SpVgg Unterhaching 	- 	Eintracht Braunschweig  0:1 (0:1)	 3,100	(Bellarabi)

Attendance: 52,724 (avg 5,272)


 1. (1.)  Eintr. Braunschweig 	32 	23 	4 	5 	70:17 	+53 	73	promoted
 2. (2.)  Hansa Rostock 	32 	22 	4 	6 	63:29 	+34 	70
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 3. (3.)  Kickers Offenbach 	32 	15 	8 	9 	44:34 	+10 	53
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 4. (4.)  FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt 	32 	15 	7 	10 	54:37 	+17 	52
 5. (5.)  SV Wehen Wiesbaden 	32 	14 	10 	8 	44:33 	+11 	52
 6. (6.)  Dynamo Dresden 	32 	14 	7 	11 	41:34 	+7 	49
 7. (7.)  TuS Koblenz	 	32 	13 	9 	10 	36:37 	-1 	48
 8. (9.)  VfB Stuttgart II 	32 	10 	13 	9 	35:38 	-3 	43
 9. (8.)  1. FC Heidenheim 1846 32 	12 	6 	14 	50:48 	+2 	42
10. (12.) 1. FC Saarbrücken 	32 	11 	8 	13 	46:46 	0 	41
11. (11.) Jahn Regensburg 	32 	10 	11 	11 	27:35 	-8 	41
12. (10.) SpVgg Unterhaching 	32 	10 	10 	12 	36:43 	-7 	40
13. (13.) SV Babelsberg 03 	32 	11 	6 	15 	31:40 	-9 	39
14. (14.) FC Carl Zeiss Jena 	32 	9 	10 	13 	34:51 	-17 	37
15. (15.) SV 1916 Sandhausen 	32 	9 	9 	14 	38:43 	-5 	36
16. (16.) Wacker Burghausen 	32 	9 	8 	15 	41:55 	-14 	35
17. (17.) VfR Aalen 		32 	7 	12 	13 	33:47 	-14 	33
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18. (19.) Rot Weiss Ahlen 	32 	9 	9 	14 	38:53 	-15 	33
19. (18.) SV Werder Bremen II 	32 	7 	11 	14 	29:44 	-15 	32
20. (20.) FC Bayern München II 	32 	5 	8 	19 	23:49 	-26 	23

Apr 06, 2011

Schalke surprises in Champions

I usually don't write much about Euro competition, but Schalke's stunning 5-2 win in the San Siro against Inter Milan was amazing. They may be struggling, but destroying the reigning Italian and Euro champ in front of 75,000 away is quite a feat. I'll bet the Italians still can't beleive what slapped them in the face and kicked them in the balls. It's hard to imagine how they could suck so badly in the Bundesliga and still perform against tougher opposition. Although when you think about it, Milan will always have a special place among the Blues hearts, as that's where Schalke clinched the UEFA Cup in 1997...

3. Liga, Round 31

Midweek action in the 3.Liga saw a sensation: Braunschweig lost at home to Bremen II! Not that it matters much to the Lions, but the Bremen B-boys now have a slight chance of staving off relegation. The big match however was in Dresden, and Erfurt was the big winner. A sold out crowd watched Dynamo take the lead, but RWE proved to be superior and thumped the hosts. While Offenbach edged Unterhaching to maintain 3rd, Wehen missed a chance by only drawing at Stuttgart. The race for 3rd remains red-hot, and even Dresden hasn't suffered a fatal blow.

On the bottom, Babelsberg won a crucial match in Burghausen to gain some breathing room, and Sandhausen thumped Ahlen to state their case. Regensburg can't win at home, but their road success at Bayern-II pretty much ends any worries they may have had.

FC Carl Zeiss Jena 	- 	TuS Koblenz	 	2:2 (1:2) 	 4,819	(Brown Forbes 2 - Kittner, Steegmann)
1. FC Saarbrücken 	- 	VfR Aalen 		3:2 (1:2) 	 4,800	(Zeitz, Pisano, Kohler - Dausch, Lechleiter)
FC Bayern München II 	- 	Jahn Regensburg 	0:2 (0:1) 	   870 	(T.Schweinsteiger, Klauß)
VfB Stuttgart II 	- 	SV Wehen Wiesbaden 	3:3 (0:1) 	   310 	(Schipplock 2, Rathgeb - Vier o.g., Ziemer, Brosinski)
Wacker Burghausen 	- 	SV Babelsberg 03 	1:2 (0:1) 	 2.400 	(Eberlein - Prochnow, Hebisch)
SV 1916 Sandhausen 	- 	Rot Weiss Ahlen 	5:0 (2:0) 	 1,600	(Löning 2, Pischorn, Dorn 2)
Kickers Offenbach 	- 	SpVgg Unterhaching 	1:0 (1:0) 	 7,221	(Rathgeber)
Eintracht Braunschweig 	- 	SV Werder Bremen II 	1:2 (0:1) 	20,985	(Kumbela - Stevanovic 2)
1. FC Heidenheim 1846 	- 	Hansa Rostock	 	1:2 (1:1) 	 6,800	(Tausenpfund - Vujanovic, Ziegenbein)
Dynamo Dresden 		- 	FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt 	1:3 (1:2) 	28,365	(Schuppan - Malura, Stenzel, Drexler)

Attendance:

 1. (1.)  Eintr. Braunschweig 	31 	22 	4 	5 	69:17 	+52 	70
 2. (2.)  Hansa Rostock 	31 	21 	4 	6 	62:29 	+33 	67
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 3. (3.)  Kickers Offenbach 	31 	15 	8 	8 	44:32 	+12 	53
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 4. (5.)  FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt 	31 	15 	7 	9 	53:35 	+18 	52
 5. (4.)  SV Wehen Wiesbaden 	31 	14 	9 	8 	44:33 	+11 	51
 6. (6.)  Dynamo Dresden 	31 	14 	7 	10 	41:33 	+8 	49
 7. (7.)  TuS Koblenz 		31 	12 	9 	10 	32:37 	-5 	45
 8. (8.)  1. FC Heidenheim 1846 31 	12 	6 	13 	50:44 	+6 	42
 9. (10.) VfB Stuttgart II 	31 	9 	13 	9 	31:35 	-4 	40
10. (9.)  SpVgg Unterhaching 	31 	10 	10 	11 	36:42 	-6 	40
11. (11.) Jahn Regensburg 	31 	10 	10 	11 	27:35 	-8 	40
12. (12.) 1. FC Saarbrücken 	31 	10 	8 	13 	44:45 	-1 	38
13. (16.) SV Babelsberg 03 	31 	10 	6 	15 	29:40 	-11 	36
14. (14.) FC Carl Zeiss Jena 	31 	9 	9 	13 	34:51 	-17 	36
15. (17.) SV 1916 Sandhausen 	31 	9 	8 	14 	38:43 	-5 	35
16. (13.) Wacker Burghausen 	31 	9 	8 	14 	38:51 	-13 	35
17. (15.) Rot Weiss Ahlen 	31 	8 	9 	14 	36:53 	-17 	33
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18. (18.) VfR Aalen 		31 	7 	11 	13 	33:47 	-14 	32
19. (19.) SV Werder Bremen II 	31 	7 	10 	14 	29:44 	-15 	31
20. (20.) FC Bayern München II 	31 	5 	8 	18 	23:47 	-24 	23


Apr 02, 2011

Bundesliga, Round 28

After a weekend off with ho-hum internationals - Germany's Euro campaign continues to waltz along with a 4-0 over Kazakhstan (could have been 8-0) and then the B team lost a 1-2 friendly to Australia that has the Oz falling over in their Fosters - the league matches are back. After some additional coaching moves (Christoph Daum takes over to try and save Frankfurt), some critical matches served up further proof that Germany has some great football on offer.

Borussia Dortmund got back on track with an ultimately impressive 4-1 pounding of Hannover. In the first half, the 96ers looked fairly strong, with a stout defense and fast counterattacks that had the Neons on their backfoot. Eventually the hosts began to assert control, but promising buildups fell apart due to the "Arsenal symptom" which is basically pretty kickabout and then dick around and blow your chance. As Dortmund was still sleeping in the second half, Hannover decided to take the bull by the horns and scored the opener on a snoring Dortmund defense. Unfortunately for them, this kick in the balls is just waht Dortmund needed. A couple of minutes later, Mario Götze dribbled through the packed Hannover defense and equalized, Lucas Barrios rose with a majestic rocket-header to give the Neons the lead, and the rout was on.

Leverkusen keeps the pressure on Dortmund, as they managed to sneak out of Kaiserslautern with a win. The Aspirins shook off the announcement that coach Jupp Heynckes will take over Bayern München next season, and got a late goal from ex-Lautern player Sidney Sam. It wasn't easy, as Bayer struggled much of the match to assert their dominance, but in the end, it was a just win. The loss leaves FCK in continued with continued relegation worries.

Bayern München used Hannover's thumping to get back into the coveted 3rd spot (Champions League). Ironically, it was similar to Leverkusen's struggle against a relegation opponent. The Müncheners struggled to impose their will, and it took a late combo by Ribery&Robben to get the crucial win.

An ugly occurence in Hamburg with St.Pauli losing 0-2 to Schalke: the assistant ref was hit in the head by a beer bottle tossed from the stands. The head ref had no choice but to call the match off with only a minute left in regulation time. Schalke dominated the match, and St.Pauli went beserk, having two players tossed, which probably contributed to the disgraceful fan behaviour. In any case, St.Pauli apologized and no doubt will suffer another penalty when the DFB reviews the incident. Schalke will obviously get the points, although probably not in the manner they would have liked coach Ralf Rangnick's debut to go. (But at least it will be memorable, since it's the 7th suspended match in Bundesliga history. (The only one I remember is many years ago, I think Bremen and Gladbach were involved. One team scored and the player celebrated by hanging on the net, causing the goal posts to break in half and collapse. With no replacement goal available, the match was called.)

Two of the surprise mini-teams fought it out in Mainz. The visiting Breisgauers grabbed the lead in the opening seconds, but Mainz then proceeded to dominated the rest of the match. Despite their pressure, the hosts were only able to equalize, so Freiburg gets a nice away point.

Werder Bremen wasted a ton of chances, and therefore could only draw with Stuttgart. It really helps neither of these two struggling clubs, although they're probably both happy not to lose.

Hoffenheim and Hamburg petered out to a goal-less draw, indicative of two clubs going nowhere, although I suppose HSV could sneak into Europe somehow. The match itself was a total snoozer, although the hosts had some advantage. I guess though the fact that the Hoppers get another sell-out in their Sinsheim stadium is positive news. For a bunch of nobodies, Hoffenheim has at least established a decent following.

Köln got an injury time goal to get a critical win against Nürnberg. This may be enough to save their butts from relegation. The match itself was ho-hum, as both teams presented strong defenses, but hapless attacks.

Wolfsburg dominated most of the match against Frankfurt, but were losing and also a man down. Nevertheless the VWs continued to press and were rewarded with a late goal that saved a point. Frankfurt didn't deserve anything, but new coach Christoph Daum has to be happy they got something out of it.

FC St. Pauli	 	- 	FC Schalke 04	 	0:2 (0:1) 	24.500	(Raúl, Draxler)
1. FC Kaiserslautern 	- 	Bayer Leverkusen 	0:1 (0:0) 	46,050 	(Sam) 
1. FSV Mainz 05 	- 	SC Freiburg 		1:1 (0:1) 	20,300 	(Allagui - Cisse)
Borussia Dortmund 	- 	Hannover 96 		4:1 (0:0)	80,720 	(Götze, Barrios 2, Großkreutz - Abdellaoue)
SV Werder Bremen 	- 	VfB Stuttgart	 	1:1 (1:1) 	40,500 	(Frings - Hajnal)
FC Bayern München 	- 	Bor. Mönchengladbach 	1:0 (0:0) 	69,000 	(Robben)
1899 Hoffenheim 	- 	Hamburger SV 		0:0 (0:0) 	30,150 
1. FC Köln 		- 	1. FC Nürnberg	 	1:0 (0:0) 	49.000  (Novakovic)
VfL Wolfsburg 		- 	Eintracht Frankfurt 	1:1 (0:0) 	29,125 	(Mandzukic - Meier)

Attendance:

 1. (1.)  Borussia Dortmund 	28 	20 	5 	3 	58:17 	+41 	65
 2. (2.)  Bayer Leverkusen 	28 	17 	7 	4 	57:34 	+23 	58
 3. (4.)  FC Bayern München 	28 	15 	6 	7 	60:34 	+26 	51
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 4. (3.)  Hannover 96	 	28 	16 	2 	10 	40:40 	0 	50
 5. (5.)  1. FSV Mainz 05 	28 	14 	3 	11 	43:35 	+8 	45
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 6. (6.)  1. FC Nürnberg 	28 	12 	6 	10 	42:37 	+5 	42
 7. (7.)  Hamburger SV 		28 	12 	5 	11 	43:44 	-1 	41
 8. (8.)  SC Freiburg 		28 	11 	5 	12 	35:39 	-4 	38
 9. (9.)  1899 Hoffenheim 	28 	9 	10 	9 	42:39 	+3 	37
10. (10.) FC Schalke 04 	28 	10 	6 	12 	33:33 	0 	36
11. (11.) 1. FC Köln 		28 	10 	5 	13 	38:49 	-11 	35
12. (12.) SV Werder Bremen 	28 	8 	9 	11 	38:54 	-16 	33
13. (14.) Eintracht Frankfurt 	28 	9 	5 	14 	28:38 	-10 	32
14. (13.) 1. FC Kaiserslautern 	28 	8 	7 	13 	36:44 	-8 	31
15. (15.) VfB Stuttgart 	28 	8 	6 	14 	47:50 	-3 	30
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16. (17.) VfL Wolfsburg 	28 	6 	10 	12 	32:41 	-9 	28
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17. (16.) FC St. Pauli 		28 	8 	4 	16 	29:49 	-20 	28
18. (18.) Bor. Mönchengladbach 	28 	6 	5 	17 	38:62 	-24 	23


2. Liga, Round 28

Nice weather, a big crowd and Paderborn. What more could Hertha want? They only played hard near the end of teh 1st half, when they secured the match. Then the hosts kicked around lazily in the 2nd half to send the fans home happy and secure in 1st place for another week.

Augsburg continues to move towards the Bundesliga. They had a bye week, well they played Bielefeld, which is almost the same thing, except better. FCA would make history if they reached top flight, as they certainly haven't been near it anytime since 1963. Aue was all pumped up for a "must win" match, but instead they got seriously bitch-slapped in Düsseldorf. Although they're not completely out of the promotion race, it's hanging by a thread. Fortuna dominated the match, and Erzgebirge ended up with only 9 men. Bochum seized their opportunity to build out a lead, as they won a tough match at Frankfurt, and hold down 3rd.

A big, sensational, win for scrappy bottom feeder Ingolstadt: they stormed the Stadion-der-(not so)-Freundschaft in Cottbus and came away with all the points. This counts double, as two relegation rivals faced off in Karlsruhe, with Osnabrück getting the better result: a draw away.

Greuther Fürth was a big winner as they edged slipping Duisburg in a tough fight. The Greuther have often been in contention, and this season is no different. However, lack of a decent size facility makes them pretty unattractive for a Bundesliga fixture.

Oberhausen a a crucial home match, but they were left standing with nothing as Union gets the win. This may be the stab-in-the-heart for RWO if they don't pick up a couple of wins quick. For Union, this excellent result gives them a little bit of breathing room.

 
Arminia Bielefeld 	- 	FC Augsburg	 	0:2 (0:0) 	13,588 	(Hain, Sinkiewicz)
FC Energie Cottbus 	- 	FC Ingolstadt 04 	1:2 (0:2) 	10,100 	(Petersen - Leitl, Caiuby)
Karlsruher SC 		- 	VfL Osnabrück 		2:2 (1:1)	16,986	(Chrisantus, Langkamp - Kastrati, Andersen)
Fortuna Düsseldorf 	- 	FC Erzgebirge Aue 	3:0 (2:0) 	20,400 	(Ilso, Langeneke, Hensel)
SpVgg Greuther Fürth 	- 	MSV Duisburg 		2:1 (1:1) 	 7,470	(Klaus, Nehrig - Sahan)
Hertha BSC Berlin 	- 	SC Paderborn 07 	2:0 (2:0) 	70,621 	(Lasogga, Mijatovic)
Alemannia Aachen 	- 	TSV 1860 München 	2:1 (1:0)	18,521 	(Höger, Demai - Lauth)
Rot-Weiß Oberhausen 	- 	1. FC Union Berlin 	0:2 (0:0) 	 5,520 	(Madouni, Peitz)
FSV Frankfurt 		- 	VfL Bochum		0:1 (0:1)	 5,769  (Azaough)


 1. (1.)  Hertha BSC Berlin 	28 	18 	5 	5 	57:25 	+32 	59
 2. (2.)  FC Augsburg	 	28 	17 	6 	5 	52:21 	+31 	57
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3. (3.)  VfL Bochum 		28 	17 	4 	7 	40:28 	+12 	55
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (5.)  SpVgg Greuther Fürth 	28 	14 	8 	6 	39:22 	+17 	50
 5. (4.)  FC Erzgebirge Aue 	28 	14 	6 	8 	31:31 	0 	48
 6. (6.)  FC Energie Cottbus 	28 	13 	6 	9 	54:40 	+14 	45
 7. (7.)  MSV Duisburg 		28 	12 	7 	9 	41:28 	+13 	43
 8. (9.)  Alemannia Aachen 	28 	11 	8 	9 	47:47 	0 	41
 9. (8.)  TSV 1860 München 	28 	11 	9 	8 	37:29 	+8 	40 *
10. (10.) Fortuna Düsseldorf 	28 	12 	3 	13 	36:34 	+2 	39
11. (12.) 1. FC Union Berlin 	28 	9 	8 	11 	30:33 	-3 	35
12. (11.) FSV Frankfurt 	28 	10 	4 	14 	38:42 	-4 	34
13. (13.) SC Paderborn 07 	28 	8 	7 	13 	26:39 	-13 	31
14. (14.) FC Ingolstadt 04 	28 	8 	6 	14 	34:42 	-8 	30
15. (15.) Karlsruher SC 	28 	7 	7 	14 	38:62 	-24 	28
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16. (16.) VfL Osnabrück 	28 	7 	5 	16 	37:53 	-16 	26
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17. (17.) Rot-Weiß Oberhausen 	28 	6 	6 	16 	22:48 	-26 	24
18. (18.) Arminia Bielefeld 	28 	3 	5 	20 	22:57 	-35 	14

* - 1860 deducted two points


Scoring:
						Gms	Goals	Assists	TOTAL
1  Petersen, Nils 	Energie Cottbus  	27 	21 	5 	26
2  Ramos, Adrian 	Hertha BSC	 	27 	11 	10 	21
3  Stieber, Zoltan 	Alemannia Aachen	28 	6 	14 	20
4  Leitl, Stefan 	FC Ingolstadt 04	21 	11 	8 	19
5  Auer, Benjamin 	Alemannia Aachen	26 	16 	2 	18
6  Rafael, Nando 	FC Augsburg	 	23 	13 	5 	18
7  Mölders, Sascha 	FSV Frankfurt	 	27 	15 	2 	17
8  Thurk, Michael 	FC Augsburg	 	21 	8 	8 	16
9  Jula, Emil	 	Energie Cottbus		25 	7 	8 	15

3. Liga, Round 30

While Braunschweig and Rostock continue to walk away at the top, other races are reaching the fever point. Four teams are battling for the critical 3rd spot, and Wehen was the big winner, with an impressive thumping of Bayern-II. Dresden on the other hand was the big loser. Dynamo was in a good position to grab the spot, but instead lost in Aalen, who got critical points in the fierce relegation battle.

Offenbach continues to suck, but are holding on to 3rd by teh skin of their teeth. The Kickers travelled to Bremen to face Werder Jr. and struggled to hold the point. This allowed Wehen to pull dead even, with Erfurt joining the chase. Of course even Dresden is only a point out as well, so expect a continued fierce struggle for the promotion playoff spot.

Although Bremen and München are hopefully on their last legs, the battle for the last relegation spot remains red hot. Despite their heroic win over Dresden, Aalen is still the "winner". Sandhausen got a point at Regensburg, but Ahlen got dumped at home by Saarbrücken in an important six-pointer. Babelsberg stopped their drift with a thumping of Stuttgart's B squad. This figures to be an exciting struggle as we head down the stretch.

SV Werder Bremen II 	- 	Kickers Offenbach 	0:0 (0:0) 	   800 
SV Babelsberg 03 	- 	VfB Stuttgart II 	3:0 (1:0) 	 2.000 	(Koc, Stroh-Engel, Hebisch)
TuS Koblenz 		- 	Eintracht Braunschweig 	0:2 (0:0) 	 5.500 	(Kumbela, Kruppke)
SpVgg Unterhaching 	- 	Wacker Burghausen 	2:0 (1:0) 	 3.000 	(Mitterhuber, Thee)
SV Wehen Wiesbaden 	- 	FC Bayern München II 	3:0 (2:0) 	 4.400 	(Brosinski, Ziemer, Menga)
Jahn Regensburg 	- 	SV 1916 Sandhausen 	0:0 (0:0) 	 4.500 
Rot Weiss Ahlen 	- 	1. FC Saarbrücken 	0:2 (0:0) 	 2.200 	(Vrzogic, Zeitz)
VfR Aalen 		- 	Dynamo Dresden 		1:0 (0:0) 	 3.500 	(Sulu)
FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt 	- 	1. FC Heidenheim 1846 	0:0 (0:0) 	 7.500 
Hansa Rostock	 	- 	FC Carl Zeiss Jena 	2:1 (0:0) 	18.000	(Jänicke, Landeka - Voigt)


 1. (1.)  Eintr. Braunschweig 	30 	22 	4 	4 	68:15 	+53 	70
 2. (2.)  Hansa Rostock 	30 	20 	4 	6 	60:28 	+32 	64
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3. (3.)  Kickers Offenbach 	30 	14 	8 	8 	43:32 	+11 	50
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (6.)  SV Wehen Wiesbaden 	30 	14 	8 	8 	41:30 	+11 	50
 5. (5.)  FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt 	30 	14 	7 	9 	50:34 	+16 	49
 6. (4.)  Dynamo Dresden 	30 	14 	7 	9 	40:30 	+10 	49
 7. (7.)  TuS Koblenz 		30 	12 	8 	10 	30:35 	-5 	44
 8. (8.)  1. FC Heidenheim 1846 30 	12 	6 	12 	49:42 	+7 	42
 9. (10.) SpVgg Unterhaching 	30 	10 	10 	10 	36:41 	-5 	40
10. (9.)  VfB Stuttgart II 	30 	9 	12 	9 	28:32 	-4 	39
11. (11.) Jahn Regensburg 	30 	9 	10 	11 	25:35 	-10 	37
12. (15.) 1. FC Saarbrücken 	30 	9 	8 	13 	41:43 	-2 	35
13. (12.) Wacker Burghausen 	30 	9 	8 	13 	37:49 	-12 	35
14. (13.) FC Carl Zeiss Jena 	30 	9 	8 	13 	32:49 	-17 	35
15. (14.) Rot Weiss Ahlen 	30 	8 	9 	13 	36:48 	-12 	33
16. (17.) SV Babelsberg 03 	30 	9 	6 	15 	27:39 	-12 	33
17. (16.) SV 1916 Sandhausen 	30 	8 	8 	14 	33:43 	-10 	32
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
18. (18.) VfR Aalen 		30 	7 	11 	12 	31:44 	-13 	32
19. (19.) SV Werder Bremen II 	30 	6 	10 	14 	27:43 	-16 	28
20. (20.) FC Bayern München II 	30 	5 	8 	17 	23:45 	-22 	23


Mar 19, 2011

Bundesiga, Round 27

Dortmund let one slip away as they controlled the match against Mainz, but let chances go. They looked to have eased out a slim victory, but the Mainzers struck near the end to grab a great point. probably doesn't hurt the Neons title chances, although Leverkusen moves closer with a workman-like win of struggling Schalke. Sepp Eichorn was the interim coach for rudderless Schalke.

Bayern München had a difficult win away against a tough Freiburg squad, but were unable to make any ground on Hannover, who clinically dispatched Hoffenheim.

Felix Magath's return to Wolfsburg almost paid immediate returns, as the VWs nursed a lead into the end. However, they started dicking around as the game progressed, trying to make their lead hold up. So four minutes into injury time Stuttgart struck and the teams share the points.

Hamburg made up for some recent feeble performances and ripped Köln a new ass. The Kölners had been playing well recently, but had no answer to a rampant HSV, spearheaded by Mladen Petric's hat-trick.

Frankfurt hasn't completely forgetten how to play, score, and more importantly, win. As such, a visit from sinking St.Pauli was just what the doctor ordered, and despite struggling, Eintracht was able to grab all the points

Bremen had the most impressive result of the week. Facing a resurgent Nürnberg, Werder figured to struggle. However, the visitors exhibited confidence and cold-bloodedness, and it paid off with a huge away win. Although they're not yet out of the woods, this goes a long way in at least avoiding relegation. Nürnberg misses a chance to move into a Euro spot, which would be quite an accomplishment.

Gladbach gave a sorry-ass performance at home against Kaiserslautern, missing a serious opportunity to seize some ground. Instead, the Reds gain the initiative and Gladbach is doomed unless they grab some wins real quick.

Bor. Mönchengladbach 	- 	1. FC Kaiserslautern 	0:1 (0:0) 	47,696 	(Bailly o.g)
1. FC Nürnberg 		- 	SV Werder Bremen 	1:3 (1:1) 	48,548 	(Gündogan - Wagner 2, Pizarro)
Hannover 96 		- 	1899 Hoffenheim 	2:0 (1:0) 	47,200 	(Konan Ya, Abdellaoue)
SC Freiburg 		- 	FC Bayern München 	1:2 (1:1) 	24,000 	(Cisse - Gomez, Ribery)
Eintracht Frankfurt 	- 	FC St. Pauli 		2:1 (1:1) 	50,500 	(Gekas 2 - Takyi)
Hamburger SV	 	- 	1. FC Köln 		6:2 (4:0) 	57,000 	(Petric 3, Ben-Hatira, Kacar, Zé Roberto - Jajalo, Podolski)
Borussia Dortmund 	- 	1. FSV Mainz 05 	1:1 (1:0) 	80,720	(Hummels - Sliskovic)
Bayer Leverkusen 	- 	FC Schalke 04 		2:0 (2:0) 	30,210 	(Derdiyok, Metzelder o.g.)
VfB Stuttgart 		- 	VfL Wolfsburg 		1:1 (0:1)	39,000	(Niedermeier - Grafite)

Attendance: 424,874 (avg 47,208)


 1. (1.)   Borussia Dortmund 	27 	19 	5 	3 	54:16 	+38 	62
 2. (2.)   Bayer Leverkusen 	27 	16 	7 	4 	56:34 	+22 	55
 3. (3.)   Hannover 96 		27 	16 	2 	9 	39:36 	+3 	50
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (4.)   FC Bayern München 	27 	14 	6 	7 	59:34 	+25 	48
 5. (5.)   1. FSV Mainz 05 	27 	14 	2 	11 	42:34 	+8 	44
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 6. (6.)   1. FC Nürnberg 	27 	12 	6 	9 	42:36 	+6 	42
 7. (8.)   Hamburger SV 	27 	12 	4 	11 	43:44 	-1 	40
 8. (7.)   SC Freiburg 		27 	11 	4 	12 	34:38 	-4 	37
 9. (9.)   1899 Hoffenheim 	27 	9 	9 	9 	42:39 	+3 	36
10. (10.)  FC Schalke 04 	27 	9 	6 	12 	31:33 	-2 	33
11. (11.)  1. FC Köln 		27 	9 	5 	13 	37:49 	-12 	32
12. (12.)  SV Werder Bremen 	27 	8 	8 	11 	37:53 	-16 	32
13. (14.)  1. FC Kaiserslautern 27 	8 	7 	12 	36:43 	-7 	31
14. (15.)  Eintracht Frankfurt 	27 	9 	4 	14 	27:37 	-10 	31
15. (13.)  VfB Stuttgart 	27 	8 	5 	14 	46:49 	-3 	29
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16. (16.)  FC St. Pauli 	27 	8 	4 	15 	29:47 	-18 	28
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17. (17.)  VfL Wolfsburg 	27 	6 	9 	12 	31:40 	-9 	27
18. (18.)  Bor. Mönchengladbach 27 	6 	5 	16 	38:61 	-23 	23


Scoring table:
						Games	Goal	Assist	TOTAL
 1  Gomez, Mario 	Bayern München		25 	19 	3 	22
 2  Cissé, Papiss 	SC Freiburg		25 	18 	1 	19
 3  Gekas, Theofanis 	Eintracht Frankfurt	27 	16 	3 	19
 4  Ya Konan, Didier 	Hannover 96		22 	12 	7 	19
 5  Müller, Thomas 	Bayern München		27 	9 	9 	18
 6  Podolski, Lukas 	1. FC Köln		26 	12 	6 	18
 7  Ribery, Franck 	Bayern München		19 	4 	14 	18
 8  Vidal, Arturo 	Bayer Leverkusen 	26 	9 	9 	18
 9  Petric, Mladen 	Hamburger SV		18 	11 	6 	17
10  Schürrle, André 	1. FSV Mainz 05		26 	12 	5 	17

2.Liga, Round 27

The battle for first rages on. Augsburg crept closer as they dispatched Oberhausen, but Hertha stubbed their toe at revived Ingolstadt. The Berliners had a dig-fight on their ends against the former tailenders, and finally took the lead, but the "Schanzer" came back with a late goal to save a deserved point. After several impressive outings, Hertha needs to be careful that they don't fall into complacency, since as usual there isn't much margin in the 2.Liga. Ingolstadt has done a fine job in pulling themselves up by their bootstraps, and avoiding relegation is a real possibility now.

Some of the biggest news in the 2.Liga is off the field. Apparently 1860 München is on the verge of bankruptcy. The Lions need to come up with some 8 million euros within two weeks, otherwise they could go into insolvency. Some 3.5 million is needed just to finish out the season, and the rest is to assure that the DFB will grant a license for next season. One way the goal will be reached is an immediate 10% cut in the squad. Currently the prospects are fair, at least bills are being paid. As a last resort, the club can receive assistace from the DFL (Bundesliga and 2.Liga organization) emergency fund. However, the club would endure a point penalty, and they've already been jacked two points for similar reasons this year. In general, I think they'll muddle through, as they're a popular club ("More popular in München than Bayern", but that is of course bunk). The current management seems to have got the message and is trying to fix the hangovers from previous incompetance. And of course 1860 has been through this whole mess before and bounced back.

Ironically, on the field 1860 has their most impressive performance of the season, as they ruthlessly kicked Karlsruhe's ass.

Monday night was good for Bochum, as they were unable to upend fellow challenger Cottbus and thereby strengthen their position in 3rd. A rather uneventful match where Bochum mainly relied on a stout defense.

MSV Duisburg 		- 	Fortuna Düsseldorf 	1:0 (0:0) 	21,777 	(Maierhofer)
TSV 1860 München 	- 	Karlsruher SC 		5:1 (3:0)	16,700 	(Volland, Bülow, Halfar, Volland, Lauth - Iashvili)
FC Ingolstadt 04 	- 	Hertha BSC Berlin 	1:1 (0:0) 	10,820 	(Matip - Lasogga)
FC Augsburg 		- 	Rot-Weiß Oberhausen 	2:0 (1:0) 	30,660 	(Verhaegh, Bellinghausen)
VfL Osnabrück 		- 	Alemannia Aachen 	1:3 (0:0) 	12,500 	(Stehle - Demai, Arslan, Uludag)
SC Paderborn 07 	- 	FSV Frankfurt 		2:2 (2:1) 	 5,835 	(Heithölter, Brandy - Mölders, Cidimar)
1. FC Union Berlin 	- 	Arminia Bielefeld 	2:2 (1:2) 	15,789 	(Savran, Mosquera - Müller, Tadic)
FC Erzgebirge Aue 	- 	SpVgg Greuther Fürth 	0:0 (0:0) 	12,000 
VfL Bochum 		- 	FC Energie Cottbus 	1:0 (0:0)	16,558	(Federico)

Attendance: 142,639 (avg 15,845)


 1. (1.)   Hertha BSC Berlin 	27 	17 	5 	5 	55:25 	+30 	56
 2. (2.)   FC Augsburg	 	27 	16 	6 	5 	50:21 	+29 	54
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3. (3.)   VfL Bochum 		27 	16 	4 	7 	39:28 	+11 	52
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (4.)   FC Erzgebirge Aue 	27 	14 	6 	7 	31:28 	+3 	48
 5. (5.)   SpVgg Greuther Fürth 27 	13 	8 	6 	37:21 	+16 	47
 6. (6.)   FC Energie Cottbus 	27 	13 	6 	8 	53:38 	+15 	45
 7. (7.)   MSV Duisburg 	27 	12 	7 	8 	40:26 	+14 	43
 8. (8.)   TSV 1860 München 	27 	11 	9 	7 	36:27 	+9 	40 *
 9. (10.)  Alemannia Aachen 	27 	10 	8 	9 	45:46 	-1 	38
10. (9.)   Fortuna Düsseldorf 	27 	11 	3 	13 	33:34 	-1 	36
11. (11.)  FSV Frankfurt 	27 	10 	4 	13 	38:41 	-3 	34
12. (12.)  1. FC Union Berlin 	27 	8 	8 	11 	28:33 	-5 	32
13. (13.)  SC Paderborn 07 	27 	8 	7 	12 	26:37 	-11 	31
14. (15.)  FC Ingolstadt 04 	27 	7 	6 	14 	32:41 	-9 	27
15. (14.)  Karlsruher SC 	27 	7 	6 	14 	36:60 	-24 	27
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16. (16.)  VfL Osnabrück 	27 	7 	4 	16 	35:51 	-16 	25
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17. (17.)  Rot-Weiß Oberhausen 	27 	6 	6 	15 	22:46 	-24 	24
18. (18.)  Arminia Bielefeld 	27 	3 	5 	19 	22:55 	-33 	14

* - 1860 substracted two points for finances

3.Liga, Round 29

Lots of goose-eggs in the 3.Liga, but some interesting results see the battle for 3rd heating up. Offenbach was unable to defeat Koblenz at home, leaving the visitors with a slight hope of getting back in the race. However, Offenbach's threat is coming from the east, as both Dresden and Erfurt had strong victories to creep closer. While the revived Dynamo easily dispatched Ahlen, Erfurt had a harder task in the Thüringen derby at Jena, but came home with the bacon.

Of interest was the clash of titans between Braunschweig and Rostock. The Eintracht-stadion an der Hamburger-Strasse was sold out, and the Lions didn't disappoint, outplaying Hansa and getting a deserved win. This probably decides the title in favor of Braunschweig, as it seems unlikely that there are 3 more matches where the Lions will trip up and Rostock win out. It really doesn't matter that much though, since both clubs have wrapped the auto-promotion spots.

In the relegation battle, sinking Babelsberg got their lunch handed to them by Unterhaching. While the Müncheners finally end any relegation worries, the Potsdamers are in serious trouble.

Good for the 3.Liga was the nice attendance in the regional derby between Heidenheim and Aalen. Newcomers Heidenheim nobody has ever heard of, but they've been a very positive addition to the field, both from a competitive and an attendance factor.

1. FC Heidenheim 1846 	- 	VfR Aalen 		0:0 (0:0) 	10.000 
Dynamo Dresden 		- 	Rot Weiss Ahlen 	3:0 (2:0) 	13.400	(Schahin 2, Röttger)
1. FC Saarbrücken 	- 	Jahn Regensburg 	0:0 (0:0) 	 4.100 
SV 1916 Sandhausen 	- 	SV Wehen Wiesbaden 	0:0 (0:0) 	 1.800 
VfB Stuttgart II 	- 	FC Bayern München II 	0:0 (0:0) 	   500 
SV Babelsberg 03 	- 	SpVgg Unterhaching 	0:4 (0:3) 	 1.800	(Hain, Zillner, Amachaibou 2)
Wacker Burghausen 	- 	SV Werder Bremen II 	2:1 (0:1) 	 3.400	(Omodiagbe, Holzer - Schindler)
Kickers Offenbach 	- 	TuS Koblenz	 	0:0 (0:0) 	 6.500 
FC Carl Zeiss Jena 	- 	FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt 	1:3 (0:1) 	11.000	(Ullmann - Zedi, Drexler 2)
Eintracht Braunschweig 	- 	Hansa Rostock 		2:1 (2:0)	23.000	(Kruppke, Theuerkauf - Schied)

Attendance: 75,500 (avg 7,550)


 1. (1.)  Eintr. Braunschweig 	29 	21 	4 	4 	66:15 	+51 	67
 2. (2.)  Hansa Rostock 	29 	19 	4 	6 	58:27 	+31 	61
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3. (3.)  Kickers Offenbach 	29 	14 	7 	8 	43:32 	+11 	49
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (5.)  FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt 	29 	14 	6 	9 	50:34 	+16 	48
 5. (6.)  Dynamo Dresden 	28 	14 	6 	8 	40:29 	+11 	48
 6. (4.)  SV Wehen Wiesbaden 	29 	13 	8 	8 	38:30 	+8 	47
 7. (7.)  TuS Koblenz	 	29 	12 	8 	9 	30:33 	-3 	44
 8. (8.)  1. FC Heidenheim 1846 28 	12 	4 	12 	49:42 	+7 	40
 9. (9.)  VfB Stuttgart II 	29 	9 	12 	8 	28:29 	-1 	39
10. (11.) SpVgg Unterhaching 	29 	9 	10 	10 	34:41 	-7 	37
11. (14.) Wacker Burghausen 	29 	9 	8 	12 	37:47 	-10 	35
12. (10.) Jahn Regensburg 	28 	9 	8 	11 	25:35 	-10 	35
13. (12.) FC Carl Zeiss Jena 	28 	9 	7 	12 	31:47 	-16 	34
14. (13.) Rot Weiss Ahlen 	29 	8 	9 	12 	36:46 	-10 	33
15. (15.) 1. FC Saarbrücken 	29 	8 	8 	13 	39:43 	-4 	32
16. (16.) SV 1916 Sandhausen 	29 	8 	7 	14 	33:43 	-10 	31
17. (17.) VfR Aalen 		29 	6 	11 	12 	30:44 	-14 	29
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
18. (19.) SV Werder Bremen II 	29 	6 	9 	14 	27:43 	-16 	27
19. (18.) SV Babelsberg 03 	28 	7 	6 	15 	22:38 	-16 	27
20. (20.) FC Bayern München II 	28 	5 	8 	15 	22:40 	-18 	23


Mar 17, 2011

Schalke, Wolfsburg make desperation moves

What the hell is going on? Just one day after Schalke coach Felix Magath was fired, he's found a new job. He's heading back to VfL Wolfsburg, whom he led to an incredible title only two seasons ago. Magath gets a nice payout from Schalke, and only collects an unemployment check for one day. Of course, his job is not too enviable, as Wolfsburg has been a sinking ship, really since Magath left. After Armin Veh failed as Magath's successor, Steve McClaren was brought in, and was a total disaster till he was canned a couple of weeks ago. Pierre Littbarski had been filling in, but the VWs had basically continued to suck. Frankly, it will take a major effort to save the Wolfs. However, at least the club moved in the right direction, as they fired sports director Dieter Hoeness, who has proved his incompetance now at both Hertha and Wolfsburg...

Despite getting Schalke into the quaterfinals of the Champions League, and a decent season last year, Magath hasn't made any friends. For one thing, the Blues have sucked in the league this season, when by all means they should be a contender. Furthermore, Magath has been throwing money around, which is a major concern, as Schalke is heavily in debt (largely from building their new stadium), and the board has been trying to reign in costs. And of course, most of the guys that Magath has brought in are bums, so the club has hardly been getting value for his money. Finally, the players don't seem to like him too much, but that's usually true wherever he's popped up.

The story gets even better when you consider that Schalke is appointing Ralf Rangnick as Magath's successor. Rangnick was with Schalke in 2004-2005, and then masterminded Dietmar Hopp's money as Hoffenheim jumped from obscurity into a rather successful Bundesliga stint. Rangnick resigned this season as Hoffenheim started acted like a real club and stopped spending like a drunken sailor, and indeed started selling off some talent for nice sums. Nevertheless, Rangnick has a reputation as a braniac, so maybe that's what Schalke needs...


Mar 13, 2011

Bundesliga - Round 26

(No time this weekend for detailed reports, might try and catch up later...)

Dortmund finally lost, and Bayern ripped Hamburg, who then fired Armin Veh. Köln kicked Hannover's ass. Wolfsburg continues in freefall. Frankfurt lost at Schalke, but scored their first goal in 793 minutes, and it was a doozy: defender Giorgios Tzavellas launched a Bundesliga record 73 meter shot into the net. Bit of an irony, since Schalke keeper Manuel Neuer has been brilliant lately. Neuer made up for his mistake by getting an assist as he booted the ball 60 meters down field, allowing Charisteas to run under and shopot in the winner...Despite the win, the rumor is that coach Felix Magath is getting his ass fired this Wednesday...

1. FC Köln 		- 	Hannover 96	 	4:0 (1:0) 	46.500 	(Petit, Podolski, Novakovic 2)
1. FC Kaiserslautern 	- 	SC Freiburg 		2:1 (1:1) 	41.000 	(Nemec 2 - Hoffer) 
1899 Hoffenheim 	- 	Borussia Dortmund 	1:0 (0:0) 	30.200 	(Ibisevic)
VfL Wolfsburg 		- 	1. FC Nürnberg 		1:2 (1:1) 	27.300	(Mandzukic - Wollscheid, Nilsson)
FC Bayern München 	- 	Hamburger SV	 	6:0 (1:0) 	69.000 	(Robben 3, Ribery, T.Müller, Westermann o.g.)
FC Schalke 04 		- 	Eintracht Frankfurt 	2:1 (1:0) 	61.700 	(Jurado, Charisteas - Tzavellas)
SV Werder Bremen 	- 	Bor. Mönchengladbach 	1:1 (1:0) 	40.500 	(Wagner - Dante Bonfim)
1. FSV Mainz 05 	- 	Bayer Leverkusen 	0:1 (0:0) 	20.300	(Augusto)
FC St. Pauli 		- 	VfB Stuttgart	 	1:2 (1:1)	24.100 	(Boll - Kuzmanovic, Schipplock)

Attendance: 360,600 (avg 40,067)

 1. (1.) Borussia Dortmund 	26 	19 	4 	3 	53:15 	+38 	61
 2. (2.)  Bayer Leverkusen 	26 	15 	7 	4 	54:34 	+20 	52
 3. (3.)  Hannover 96	 	26 	15 	2 	9 	37:36 	+1 	47
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (5.)  FC Bayern München 	26 	13 	6 	7 	57:33 	+24 	45
 5. (4.)  1. FSV Mainz 05 	26 	14 	1 	11 	41:33 	+8 	43
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 6. (6.)  1. FC Nürnberg 	26 	12 	6 	8 	41:33 	+8 	42
 7. (8.)  SC Freiburg 		26 	11 	4 	11 	33:36 	-3 	37
 8. (7.)  Hamburger SV 		26 	11 	4 	11 	37:42 	-5 	37
 9. (9.)  1899 Hoffenheim 	26 	9 	9 	8 	42:37 	+5 	36
10. (10.) FC Schalke 04 	26 	9 	6 	11 	31:31 	0 	33
11. (11.) 1. FC Köln 		26 	9 	5 	12 	35:43 	-8 	32
12. (14.) SV Werder Bremen 	26 	7 	8 	11 	34:52 	-18 	29
13. (16.) VfB Stuttgart 	26 	8 	4 	14 	45:48 	-3 	28
14. (17.) 1. FC Kaiserslautern 	26 	7 	7 	12 	35:43 	-8 	28
15. (12.) Eintracht Frankfurt 	26 	8 	4 	14 	25:36 	-11 	28
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16. (13.) FC St. Pauli 		26 	8 	4 	14 	28:45 	-17 	28
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17. (15.) VfL Wolfsburg 	26 	6 	8 	12 	30:39 	-9 	26
18. (18.) Bor. Mönchengladbach 	26 	6 	5 	15 	38:60 	-22 	23

2. Liga - Round 26

Augsburg struggled to gain the upper hand in Berlin against Union, and had to be content with a draw and not moving into 1st. Bochum got a nice road win at Aachen, and Aue was less impressive, but got the job done at sinking Oberhausen. Hertha then had an impressive away win to take advanatge of Augsburg's slip-up.

Bottom clubs got boosts with good performances. Karlsruhe ended Duisburg's faint hopes of promotion with an important win that pulled them up. Ingolstadt was thrilled to get an away win at sliding FSV Frankfurt. The Schanzer have been working hard since the winterbreak, and it looks to be paying off.

Cottbus got an important win to keep pace, but it was overshadowed by another event. Osnabrück's Norwegian forward Flamur Kastrati collided with another player, banging his head, and went down in a heap. He was rushed to the hospital unconscious. The stunned players then proceeded to just pass the ball back and forth until the ref finally blew the whistle to end the game. Kastrati regained consciousness in the hospital and is undergoing tests, but so far he appears to be alright.

Karlsruher SC 		- 	MSV Duisburg	 	3:1 (2:0) 	13.400 	(Cristea, Iashvili, Müller - Sukalo)
Rot-Weiß Oberhausen 	- 	FC Erzgebirge Aue 	1:2 (0:1) 	 4.300 	(Kruse - Klingbeil, Kern)
FSV Frankfurt 		- 	FC Ingolstadt 04 	1:2 (0:0) 	 3.000 	(Gjasula - Caiuby 2)
Fortuna Düsseldorf 	- 	SC Paderborn 07 	0:0 (0:0) 	18.500 
1. FC Union Berlin 	- 	FC Augsburg 		0:0 (0:0) 	15.000 
Arminia Bielefeld 	- 	TSV 1860 München 	0:3 (0:1) 	15.100  (Schindler, Aigner, Volland)
FC Energie Cottbus 	- 	VfL Osnabrück	 	2:0 (0:0) 	12.300 	(Petersen, Hünemeier)
Alemannia Aachen 	- 	VfL Bochum 		1:3 (1:1) 	19.000 	(Arslan - (Azaouagh, Korkmaz, Maltritz)
SpVgg Greuther Fürth 	- 	Hertha BSC Berlin	0:2 (0:1)	12,790	(Ramos, Neimeyer)


 1. (1.)  Hertha BSC Berlin	26 	17 	4 	5 	54:24 	+30 	55
 2. (2.)  FC Augsburg 		26 	15 	6 	5 	48:21 	+27 	51
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 3. (4.)  VfL Bochum	 	26 	15 	4 	7 	38:28 	+10 	49
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 4. (5.)  FC Erzgebirge Aue 	26 	14 	5 	7 	31:28 	+3 	47
 5. (3.)  SpVgg Greuther Fürth 	26 	13 	7 	6 	37:21 	+16 	46
 6. (6.)  FC Energie Cottbus 	26 	13 	6 	7 	53:37 	+16 	45
 7. (7.)  MSV Duisburg 		26 	11 	7 	8 	39:26 	+13 	40
 8. (10.) TSV 1860 München 	26 	10 	9 	7 	31:26 	+5 	37 *
 9. (8.)  Fortuna Düsseldorf 	26 	11 	3 	12 	33:33 	0 	36
10. (9.)  Alemannia Aachen 	26 	9 	8 	9 	42:45 	-3 	35
11. (11.) FSV Frankfurt 	26 	10 	3 	13 	36:39 	-3 	33
12. (12.) 1. FC Union Berlin 	26 	8 	7 	11 	26:31 	-5 	31
13. (13.) SC Paderborn 07 	26 	8 	6 	12 	24:35 	-11 	30
14. (16.) Karlsruher SC 	26 	7 	6 	13 	35:55 	-20 	27
15. (17.) FC Ingolstadt 04 	26 	7 	5 	14 	31:40 	-9 	26
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16. (14.) VfL Osnabrück 	26 	7 	4 	15 	34:48 	-14 	25
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17. (15.) Rot-Weiß Oberhausen 	26 	6 	6 	14 	22:44 	-22 	24
18. (18.) Arminia Bielefeld 	26 	3 	4 	19 	20:53 	-33 	13

* - 1860 deducted two points for lying

3. Liga - Round 28

Not a great week for the favorites, but it doesn't really matter. Braunschweig lost for the first time in ages, losing to an insipred Erfurt squad hoping to keep pace for a 3rd place finish. Rostock and Offenbach split the points in a goalless tussle that maintains the Kickers somewhat precarious hold on 3rd. Wehen defeated Saarbrücken, an interesting regional battle that was played in Wehen's village home park instead of the usual larger Wiesbaden. They actually drew more fans, so they should really stay put. Wiesbaden is one of the worst football towns in Germany anyway. For Wehen, this allows them to creep closer. Another club that has been stealthily moving up is Dynamo Dresden. The easterners arenow within striking distance, and with a game in hand, could soon find themselves in revived promotion dreams.

The relegation battle has been heating up, as several clubs are struggling. Babelsberg has fallen deep, and they will need points in their makeup matches. Burghausen crapped on Koblenz' hopes for promotion with a thumping away win that gives the Wackers a slight breathing cushion.

SV Werder Bremen II 	- 	SV Babelsberg 03 	1:0 (0:0) 	   600 	(Ronneburg)
FC Bayern München II 	- 	SV 1916 Sandhausen 	0:1 (0:1) 	   900	(Danneberg)
SpVgg Unterhaching 	- 	VfB Stuttgart II 	0:1 (0:1) 	 1.500 	(Rathgeb)
FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt 	- 	Eintracht Braunschweig 	3:1 (2:1) 	 8.100 	(Reichwein 2, Weidlich - Kruppke)
Hansa Rostock 		- 	Kickers Offenbach 	0:0 (0:0) 	17.800 
TuS Koblenz 		- 	Wacker Burghausen 	0:4 (0:2) 	 4.100 	(Agyemang, Knappmann, Halfar, Omodiagbe)
SV Wehen Wiesbaden 	- 	1. FC Saarbrücken 	2:1 (1:0) 	 4.500 	(Mintzel, Janjic - Zimmermann)
Jahn Regensburg 	- 	Dynamo Dresden	 	0:1 (0:0) 	 5.000  (Schahin)
Rot Weiss Ahlen 	- 	1. FC Heidenheim 1846 	3:1 (0:0) 	 2.000 	(Taylor, Celik, Piossek - Spann)
VfR Aalen 		- 	FC Carl Zeiss Jena 	2:1 (0:0) 	 2.800 	(Fink, Grüttner - Reimann)



 1. (1.)  Eintrt. Braunschweig 	28 	20 	4 	4 	64:14 	+50 	64
 2. (2.)  Hansa Rostock 	28 	19 	4 	5 	57:25 	+32 	61
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 3. (3.)  Kickers Offenbach 	28 	14 	6 	8 	43:32 	+11 	48
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (4.)  SV Wehen Wiesbaden 	28 	13 	7 	8 	38:30 	+8 	46
 5. (6.)  FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt 	28 	13 	6 	9 	47:33 	+14 	45
 6. (7.)  Dynamo Dresden 	27 	13 	6 	8 	37:29 	+8 	45
 7. (5.)  TuS Koblenz	 	28 	12 	7 	9 	30:33 	-3 	43
 8. (8.)  1. FC Heidenheim 1846	27 	12 	3 	12 	49:42 	+7 	39
 9. (9.)  VfB Stuttgart II 	28 	9 	11 	8 	28:29 	-1 	38
10. (10.) SpVgg Unterhaching 	28 	8 	10 	10 	30:41 	-11 	34
11. (11.) FC Carl Zeiss Jena 	27 	9 	7 	11 	30:44 	-14 	34
12. (14.) Rot Weiss Ahlen 	28 	8 	9 	11 	36:43 	-7 	33
13. (12.) Jahn Regensburg 	26 	9 	6 	11 	24:34 	-10 	33
14. (15.) Wacker Burghausen 	28 	8 	8 	12 	35:46 	-11 	32
15. (13.) 1. FC Saarbrücken 	28 	8 	7 	13 	39:43 	-4 	31
16. (16.) SV 1916 Sandhausen 	28 	8 	6 	14 	33:43 	-10 	30
17. (18.) VfR Aalen 		28 	6 	10 	12 	30:44 	-14 	28
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
18. (19.) SV Werder Bremen II 	28 	6 	9 	13 	26:41 	-15 	27
19. (17.) SV Babelsberg 03 	26 	7 	5 	14 	21:33 	-12 	26
20. (20.) FC Bayern München II 	27 	5 	7 	15 	22:40 	-18 	22


Mar 06, 2011

Bundesliga - Round 25

The story for this week is how Bayern is struggling, as the defending champs went down in flames in Hannover. The 96ers gave a fine display of counter-attacking football and have completely justified their heretofore superb campaign.

Meanwhile, leaders Dortmund continue to run away with the title. The Neons dominated against Köln, and if it wasn't for a brilliant display by GK Michael Rensing, the visitors would have been routed. Obviously there was nothing that Köln could realistically hope for in the Westfalenstadion, so not getting massacred is probably a good effort. The Neons simply steamroller the opposition and realistically nothing can stop them. This was coach Jürgen Klopp's 50th win for Dortmund.

The other interesting story is how the bottom clubs are in revolt against their fate, and the relegation battle has really become the league's focus of excitement. Stuttgart struggled against Schalke, but benefited from a early penalty and red-card to upend Schalke. This allowed VfB to at least temporarily jump from relegation, and although they fell back due to the Sunday matches, the point is that they're back in the hunt. Obviously Schalke shot themselves in the foot early, and they're not the type of team that can get it together.

Gladbach was given up for dead, but the Foals have managed to sneak back into the struggle. They hardly gave a convincing performance, but visiting Hoffenheim was pathetic, one of their lamest displays in their short Bundesliga history. Gladbach took a while to realize that the visitors were phoning it in, but after a little over an hour struck and finished them off. This huge victory all of a sudden sees them within striking distance, and with several teams struggling, a window of hope has been opened.

Two of those struggling teams met in Frankfurt, and the result was a predictable goaless draw. Host Eintracht hasn't scored in 724 minutes, basically since last year! And Kaiserslautern runs around a lot, but achieves nothing. While FCK now remains in a hot spot, with Frankfurt in free fall, opportunities open for other teams.

Bremen is in crisis, but luckily they get to play Freiburg once in a while. For some reason, Werder rips SCF a new asshole everytime they play, winning 6-0 the last couple of times they played (in Freiburg!). And once again, an otherwise solid Freiburg team basically crapped all over themselves, and Werder gladly received the gifts, banging in the goals that gave them their first away win of the horrible season. SCF might have ruined their Euro chances, but all things considered, they will probably just write this one off and return to their hard nosed football next week. For Bremen, this win was a life-line, as every single point and even goal are critical in avoiding what would be a disastrous relegation.

In the corporate derby, Leverkusen had an easy time kicking Wolfsburg's ass, holding on to 2nd place (justifying more of a "Vizekusen" vs. "Luserkusen" moniker). The Aspirins were all over the VWs, who once again were laughable. The team that brilliantly won the title with aggressive attacking football two seasons ago has been dismantled through a coimbination of board-room incompetance, ridiculous coaching and player laziness. The Wolfs are in a tail-spin, and relegation seems a real possibility. If interim coach Pierre Littbarski can save the team, it will be a fine coaching recovery. Leverkusen meanwhile is sitting pretty, with a return to Champions League football almost certain and no pressure on the squad. The most interesting tidbit from their perspective is that a healthy Michael Ballack didn't even make the reserve bench, perhaps an indication that top German player of the previous generation may be slinking off into the night quietly.

One club that hasn't been sucking recently is Nürnberg. In fact, der Club is playing some of their most effective football in decades. They were an obvious relegation candidate and did little to change those opinions in the early season, but have been on a rampage, winning 6 of 7. In perhaps their best showing yet, they blasted St.Pauli, and Christian Eigler made quite the splash, striking four times. The Paulistas are struggling, but the fact that they're not on the bottom indicates that they've been fighting hard all season. This was a pathetic display, but it's probably more of a reflection that when Nürnberg scored after only 3 minutes, the hosts smelled blood and were merciless.

Aside from Hannover, Mainz is another club that has justified their high standing this year. The young and basically unknown squad has fought hard in every game, and the away win against Hamburg keeps them in the hunt for a Euro spot. HSV needed this win, and had their moments of sustained pressure. However, the Mainzers were brilliant in their counterattacks, and laid waste to the feeble HSV defense. A greta win for them, and a huge setback for Hamburg.

 
Borussia Dortmund 	- 	1. FC Köln 		1:0 (1:0) 	80,720 	(Lewandowski)
1. FC Nürnberg 		- 	FC St. Pauli 		5:0 (3:0)	45,109	(Wollscheid, Eigler 4)
Hannover 96 		- 	FC Bayern München 	3:1 (1:0) 	49,000 	(Abdellaoue, Rausch, Pinto - Robben)
Eintracht Frankfurt 	- 	1. FC Kaiserslautern 	0:0 (0:0) 	49,400
VfB Stuttgart 		- 	FC Schalke 04 		1:0 (1:0) 	39,000	(Kuzmanovic)
Bor. Mönchengladbach 	- 	1899 Hoffenheim 	2:0 (0:0) 	35,350	(Daems, De Camargo)
Bayer Leverkusen 	- 	VfL Wolfsburg	 	3:0 (3:0) 	28,115	(Bender, Augusto, Kießling)
SC Freiburg 		- 	SV Werder Bremen 	1:3 (0:1) 	24,000 	(Cisse - Wagner, Pizarro, Marin)
Hamburger SV	 	- 	1. FSV Mainz 05 	2:4 (1:0) 	49,462	(Jansen, Petric - Schürrle 2, Risse, Heller)

Attendance: 400,156 (avg 44,462)


 1. (1.)  Borussia Dortmund 	25 	19 	4 	2 	53:14 	+39 	61
 2. (2.)  Bayer Leverkusen 	25 	14 	7 	4 	53:34 	+19 	49
 3. (3.)  Hannover 96 		25 	15 	2 	8 	37:32 	+5 	47
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (5.)  1. FSV Mainz 05 	25 	14 	1 	10 	41:32 	+9 	43
 5. (4.)  FC Bayern München 	25 	12 	6 	7 	51:33 	+18 	42
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 6. (8.)  1. FC Nürnberg 	25 	11 	6 	8 	39:32 	+7 	39
 7. (6.)  Hamburger SV 		25 	11 	4 	10 	37:36 	+1 	37
 8. (7.)  SC Freiburg 		25 	11 	4 	10 	32:34 	-2 	37
 9. (9.)  1899 Hoffenheim 	25 	8 	9 	8 	41:37 	+4 	33
10. (10.) FC Schalke 04 	25 	8 	6 	11 	29:30 	-1 	30
11. (11.) 1. FC Köln 		25 	8 	5 	12 	31:43 	-12 	29
12. (13.) Eintracht Frankfurt 	25 	8 	4 	13 	24:34 	-10 	28
13. (12.) FC St. Pauli 		25 	8 	4 	13 	27:43 	-16 	28
17. (15.) SV Werder Bremen 	25 	7 	7 	11 	33:51 	-18 	28
14. (14.) VfL Wolfsburg 	25 	6 	8 	11 	29:37 	-8 	26
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15. (17.) VfB Stuttgart 	25 	7 	4 	14 	43:47 	-4 	25
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16. (16.) 1. FC Kaiserslautern 	25 	6 	7 	12 	33:42 	-9 	25
18. (18.) Borussia M'gladbach 	25 	6 	4 	15 	37:59 	-22 	22

2.Liga - Round 25

Leaders Hertha had their hands full with dwarf FSV Frankfurt, but eventually overpowered the vistitors, gving good evidence that a Bundelsiga return is almost in the bag. Greuther Fürth was a big winner, as they leapfrog into 3rd with a tough win at Osnabrück, since Bochum laid an egg and was unable to beat struggling KSC. A great point for Karlsruhe.

The big loser on the weekend was Duisburg. The Zebras and their fans were probably still hung-over from the midweek win over Cottbus to gain the finals of the DFB-Cup. As a result, they were half-asleep against Bielefeld and didn't notice when the Arminen dumped a turd in the MSV party punch bowl.

As they have been giving indications since the winterbreak, Ingolstadt has not given up. The Schanzer upended Alemannia and could seriously avoid relegation. This is a nice turn of events for what looked hopeless a couple of months ago.

A great outing for Nils Petersen and Cottbus, as they destroyed Paderborn, who are usually pretty decent at home. Aue could have used full points against Union, but have to be satisfied just with the sell-out crowd for the eastern derby.

Hertha BSC Berlin 	- 	FSV Frankfurt 		3:1 (2:1) 	32,401	(Ebert, Hubnik, Raffael - Mölders)
TSV 1860 München 	- 	Rot-Weiß Oberhausen 	1:1 (0:0) 	13,800 	(Lauth - Gordon)
VfL Osnabrück 		- 	SpVgg Greuther Fürth 	0:2 (0:1) 	12,500	(Sararer, Pektürk)
VfL Bochum 		- 	Karlsruher SC 		1:1 (0:0) 	14,684	(Chong Tese - Chrisantus)
SC Paderborn 07 	- 	FC Energie Cottbus 	0:5 (0:4) 	 5,000 	(Petersen 4, Kruska)
MSV Duisburg 		- 	Arminia Bielefeld 	1:2 (0:1) 	12,797	(Baljak - Tadic, Heidinger)
FC Erzgebirge Aue 	- 	1. FC Union Berlin 	0:0 (0:0) 	15,000 
FC Ingolstadt 04 	- 	Alemannia Aachen 	2:1 (2:1) 	 7,235 	(Matip, Leitl - Auer)
FC Augsburg 		- 	Fortuna Düsseldorf 	

 1. (1.)  Hertha BSC Berlin 	25 	16 	4 	5 	52:24 	+28 	52
 2. (2.)  FC Augsburg	 	24 	14 	5 	5 	43:19 	+24 	47
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3. (4.)  SpVgg Greuther Fürth 	25 	13 	7 	5 	37:19 	+18 	46
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (3.)  VfL Bochum 		25 	14 	4 	7 	35:27 	+8 	46
 5. (5.)  FC Erzgebirge Aue 	25 	13 	5 	7 	29:27 	+2 	44
 6. (7.)  FC Energie Cottbus 	25 	12 	6 	7 	51:37 	+14 	42
 7. (6.)  MSV Duisburg 		25 	11 	7 	7 	38:23 	+15 	40
 8. (8.)  Fortuna Düsseldorf 	24 	11 	2 	11 	31:28 	+3 	35
 9. (9.)  Alemannia Aachen 	25 	9 	8 	8 	41:42 	-1 	35
10. (10.) TSV 1860 München 	25 	9 	9 	7 	28:26 	+2 	34 *
11. (11.) FSV Frankfurt 	25 	10 	3 	12 	35:37 	-2 	33
12. (12.) 1. FC Union Berlin 	25 	8 	6 	11 	26:31 	-5 	30
13. (13.) SC Paderborn 07 	25 	8 	5 	12 	24:35 	-11 	29
14. (14.) VfL Osnabrück 	25 	7 	4 	14 	34:46 	-12 	25
15. (15.) Rot-Weiß Oberhausen 	25 	6 	6 	13 	21:42 	-21 	24
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16. (16.) Karlsruher SC 	25 	6 	6 	13 	32:54 	-22 	24
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17. (17.) FC Ingolstadt 04 	25 	6 	5 	14 	29:39 	-10 	23
18. (18.) Arminia Bielefeld 	25 	3 	4 	18 	20:50 	-30 	13

* - 1860 deducted two points for being annoying

3.Liga - Round 27

The most interesting race in the 3.Liga is now the battle for 3rd place, which gives the winner a playoff against the 2.Liga 16th finisher. The auto-promotion spots are already decided, with Braunschweig and Rostock continuing to waltz home. Offenbach currently holds the coveted 3rd spot, and although they've been struggling recently, they won a huge battle against Erfurt. Wehen was thumped by Dresden, which is again waking some hope that they might challenge for that spot, and Koblenz eeked out an away win in Potsdam to stay in the race. Heidenheim was challenging, but have since dropped three in a row, and are almost of of the picture now. Offenbach has a critical makeup in the coming days at last place Bayern-II, so they could strengthen their position. BTW, there is a decent consolation prize as well: finish 4th, and you auto-qualify for the main round of next year's DFB-Cup, which could mean some extra cash.

There still is a tight race to the bottom, with several clubs in trouble. Hopefully Bayern-II and Werder-II remain in the dumps and disappear. Perhaps the most significant result here was that ex-Bundesligist Saarbrücken got themselves some breathing room with a thumping win over Bayern-II.

VfB Stuttgart II 	- 	SV 1916 Sandhausen 	0:1 (0:1) 	   450	(Glibo)
Kickers Offenbach 	- 	FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt 	2:1 (0:0) 	 8,059	(Teixeira, Occean)
Eintracht Braunschweig 	- 	VfR Aalen	 	2:0 (2:0) 	17,967	(Kumbela, Kempe)
FC Carl Zeiss Jena 	- 	Rot Weiss Ahlen 	3:3 (1:3) 	 4,888	(Smeekes 2, Hähnge - Vrzogic, Taylor, Hille)
1. FC Heidenheim 1846 	- 	Jahn Regensburg 	0:1 (0:1) 	 5,400	(Hörnig)
Dynamo Dresden	 	- 	SV Wehen Wiesbaden 	3:0 (1:0) 	14,074	(Röttger, Esswein 2)
1. FC Saarbrücken 	- 	FC Bayern München II 	4:1 (1:0) 	 5,126	(Stiefler, Pisano 2, Özbek - Wohlfarth)
SpVgg Unterhaching 	- 	SV Werder Bremen II 	2:0 (2:0)	 1,500 	(Schwabl, Amachaibou) 
SV Babelsberg 03 	- 	TuS Koblenz 		0:1 (0:1) 	 1,981	(Hahn)
Wacker Burghausen 	- 	Hansa Rostock 		1:4 (1:1) 	 3,375	(Knappmann - Lartey 2, Pannewitz, Vujanovic)

Attendance: 62,820 (avg 6,282)


 1. (1.)  Eintr. Braunschweig 	27 	20 	4 	3 	63:11 	+52 	64
 2. (2.)  Hansa Rostock 	27 	19 	3 	5 	57:25 	+32 	60
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3. (3.)  Kickers Offenbach 	26 	14 	5 	7 	43:31 	+12 	47
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (4.)  SV Wehen Wiesbaden 	27 	12 	7 	8 	36:29 	+7 	43
 5. (6.)  TuS Koblenz 		27 	12 	7 	8 	30:29 	+1 	43
 6. (5.)  FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt 	27 	12 	6 	9 	44:32 	+12 	42
 7. (8.)  Dynamo Dresden 	26 	12 	6 	8 	36:29 	+7 	42
 8. (7.)  1. FC Heidenheim 1846 26 	12 	3 	11 	48:39 	+9 	39
 9. (9.)  VfB Stuttgart II 	26 	8 	11 	7 	27:27 	0 	35
10. (11.) SpVgg Unterhaching 	27 	8 	10 	9 	30:40 	-10 	34
11. (10.) FC Carl Zeiss Jena 	26 	9 	7 	10 	29:42 	-13 	34
12. (12.) Jahn Regensburg 	25 	9 	6 	10 	24:33 	-9 	33
13. (14.) 1. FC Saarbrücken 	27 	8 	7 	12 	38:41 	-3 	31
14. (13.) Wacker Burghausen 	27 	7 	8 	12 	31:46 	-15 	29
15. (18.) SV 1916 Sandhausen 	27 	7 	6 	14 	32:43 	-11 	27
16. (16.) Rot Weiss Ahlen 	26 	6 	9 	11 	31:42 	-11 	27
17. (15.) SV Babelsberg 03 	25 	7 	5 	13 	21:32 	-11 	26
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
18. (17.) VfR Aalen 		27 	5 	10 	12 	28:43 	-15 	25
19. (19.) SV Werder Bremen II 	27 	5 	9 	13 	25:41 	-16 	24
20. (20.) FC Bayern München II 	25 	4 	7 	14 	21:39 	-18 	19

Mar 02, 2011

DFB POKAL HALBFINALE

MSV Duisburg 	- Energie Cottbus 	2:1 (1:0)	31,500	(Maierhofer, Baljak - Petersen)
Bayern Muenchen - Schalke 04		0:1 (0:1)	69,000	(Raul)

The final for Berlin is set, and it's somewhat of a surprise, as defending Cup holder Bayern will not be present. Bayern was upended at home by a determined Schalke squad, which scored early and then held on. Once again, Schalke GK Manuel Neuer was superb, and the hosts were not able to break through. As a result, Schalke has a chance to salvage what has been a horrid season, as a Cup title could actually bring silverware.

The 2.Liga was assured representation in the final due to the draw, and Duisburg and Cottbus delivered an exciting match, the Zebras going out deserved winners. This was a rare sellout for Duisburg, and win against Schalke in the final would be the highlight of the club's history. Clearly Schalke will be the favorite, but I wouldn't count out the Zebras. Cottbus had some chances, especially since MSV was down a man, but in the end, the Zebras were the better team.


Feb 27, 2011

Bundesliga, Round 24

The title was probably "officially" given over, as the top clash between Bayern München and Borussia Dortmund saw the leaders put in a gala performance and stun the defending champions. The Müncheners were arrogant during the week buildup to tis highly anticipated clash, whereas Borussia's president merely stated "my parents told me to be humble". The match itself lived up to the hype, both teams aggressively attacking. However, the visitors showed that their attacks were a bit faster, their defenses a bit sturdier. Amazing, when you realize that Dortmund's average age in the starting lineup was only 22 years, 3 months, the youngest ever for a Neon team.

Leverkusen looked to have all things wrapped up, since they were cruising against Werder, who have been pretty crap all season. But the Bremer fund resources they hadn't shown all year and stormed back, grabbing a point and essentially putting the Aspirins out to lunch. Although Bayer has solid control of 2nd, they're too far behind to threaten Dortmund.

Hannover got a lucky win at St.Pauli, stealing the points at the final gun. The Paulistas were the controlling team throughout most the match, but the 96ers stood firm. Obviously, it comes at a good time, as Hannover now slips into 3rd. A bitter loss for St.Pauli, who haven't managed to gain seperation from the relegation mire.

Mainz was the better team than Hoffenheim, and didn't panic when the Hoppers got a late equalizer. They simply regrouped and scored a couple of minutes later to get the deserved win.

Köln dominated against Freiburg, but wasted many solid chances. SCF displayed good defensive discipline, but never really threatened to win the match. In the end, it was Prinz Poldi that brought the home fans the win, as he struck with a minute left.

Stuttgart is not done, as they took advantage of incompetant Frankfurt to get back in the relegation battle. VfB was in trouble, as Delpierre got his ass tossed after only 15 minutes. But Eintracht hasn't scored since last year, and dillied around aimlessly. The Stuttgarters usually sucked, but realized that this one was for the taking, and struck twice in the second half to grab a huge road win.

Nürnberg once again showed they are vastly improved, getting a draw at Schalke. FCN was probably the better team early on, although as the game wore on, Schalke began to get the upper hand.

Wolfsburg got a critical win, although not suprisingly they made it more difficult than they had to against tailend Gladbach. Diego turned out to be the decisive figure, as although he missed a penalty (again), he came back with two strikes to give the VWs the match. The match should have been over, but the hosts wasted chance after chance. However, a late penalty to Gladbach almost turned the match on it's head, as Wolfsburg was reduced to fending off the last gasp attacks. And it wasn't easy, given the VWs catastrophic defense.

Kaiserslautern and Hamburg had an entertaining match with chances on both sides, although perhaps HSV had an edge. The result doesn't help either team, although for FCK, every point counts in the relegation battle.

VfL Wolfsburg 		- 	Bor. Mönchengladbach 	2:1 (2:0) 	28,763	(Diego 2 - Daems (73.)
FC St. Pauli 		- 	Hannover 96	 	0:1 (0:0) 	24,487	(Schulz)
1. FC Kaiserslautern 	- 	Hamburger SV 		1:1 (1:0) 	45,682	(Hlousek - Jansen)
1. FC Köln 		- 	SC Freiburg	 	1:0 (0:0) 	45,500	(Podolski)
1899 Hoffenheim 	- 	1. FSV Mainz 05 	1:2 (0:1) 	29,000	(Alaba - Ivanschitz, Soto)
FC Schalke 04 		- 	1. FC Nürnberg	 	1:1 (0:1) 	61,431	(Raúl -	Hegeler)
FC Bayern München 	- 	Borussia Dortmund 	1:3 (1:2) 	69,000 	(Gustavo - Barrios, Sahin, Hummels)
Eintracht Frankfurt 	- 	VfB Stuttgart	 	0:2 (0:0) 	47,400 	(Harnik, Hajnal)
SV Werder Bremen 	- 	Bayer Leverkusen 	2:2 (0:1) 	37,500  (Prödl, Derdiyok - Rolfes, Kießling)

Attendance: 388,763 (avg 43,196)

 1. (1.)  Borussia Dortmund 	24 	18 	4 	2 	52:14 	+38 	58
 2. (2.)  Bayer Leverkusen 	24 	13 	7 	4 	50:34 	+16 	46
 3. (4.)  Hannover 96	 	24 	14 	2 	8 	34:31 	+3 	44
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (3.)  FC Bayern München 	24 	12 	6 	6 	50:30 	+20 	42
 5. (5.)  1. FSV Mainz 05 	24 	13 	1 	10 	37:30 	+7 	40
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 6. (7.)  Hamburger SV 		24 	11 	4 	9 	35:32 	+3 	37
 7. (6.)  SC Freiburg 		24 	11 	4 	9 	31:31 	0 	37
 8. (8.)  1. FC Nürnberg 	24 	10 	6 	8 	34:32 	+2 	36
 9. (9.)  TSG 1899 Hoffenheim 	24 	8 	9 	7 	41:35 	+6 	33
10. (10.) FC Schalke 04 	24 	8 	6 	10 	29:29 	0 	30
11. (13.) 1. FC Köln 		24 	8 	5 	11 	31:42 	-11 	29
12. (11.) FC St. Pauli	 	24 	8 	4 	12 	27:38 	-11 	28
13. (12.) Eintracht Frankfurt 	24 	8 	3 	13 	24:34 	-10 	27
14. (15.) VfL Wolfsburg 	24 	6 	8 	10 	29:34 	-5 	26
15. (14.) SV Werder Bremen 	24 	6 	7 	11 	30:50 	-20 	25
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16. (16.) 1. FC Kaiserslautern 	24 	6 	6 	12 	33:42 	-9 	24
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17. (17.) VfB Stuttgart 	24 	6 	4 	14 	42:47 	-5 	22
18. (18.) Bor. Mönchengladbach 	24 	5 	4 	15 	35:59 	-24 	19

2.Liga - Round 24

Hertha has made a definate statement that they're back in the top flight next year. Berlin ran rampant in Aachen, inflicting a horrid home loss on Alemannia. The match was perhaps not as one sided as the score line, but Hertha played like a champion and ripped the hapless Aachers at every opportunity.

Bielefeld actually had some good news. Arminia faced Paderborn in an eastern Westfalen derby, and had the vistors on the back foot throughout the match. But Paderborn struck near the death to ruin Arminia's party. Nevertheless, the good news is that the DFB has granted Bielefeld a license for the 3.Liga. This is important since obviously Arminia is getting relegated, but their financial future looks OK now. There were a couple of large sponsors that were sitting on the sidelines to see if Arminia was going to get busted down several divisions. Now that they'll be in the 3.Liga, the sponsors have decided to cough up the badly needed money.

FC Energie Cottbus 	- 	FSV Frankfurt 		2:1 (0:0) 	 8,520	(Hünemeier, Petersen - Bouhaddouz)
1. FC Union Berlin 	- 	TSV 1860 München 	0:1 (0:0) 	14,037	(Volland)
Rot-Weiß Oberhausen 	- 	MSV Duisburg 		0:0 (0:0) 	12,261
Arminia Bielefeld 	- 	SC Paderborn 07 	1:1 (1:0) 	17,112	(Tadic - Klotz)
Alemannia Aachen 	- 	Hertha BSC Berlin 	0:5 (0:3) 	20,758	(Lustenberger, Ramos 2, Lasogga, Rukavytsya)
Fortuna Düsseldorf 	- 	VfL Osnabrück 		2:1 (1:0) 	22,212	(Rösler 2 - Kotuljac)
Karlsruher SC 		- 	FC Ingolstadt 04 	1:4 (0:2) 	12,739	(Cristea - Leitl 2, Caiuby, Buddle)
SpVgg Greuther Fürth 	- 	VfL Bochum	 	1:1 (0:1) 	 8,260	(Kaplan - Aydin)
FC Augsburg 		- 	FC Erzgebirge Aue 	2:1 (0:0)	15,371	(Rafael, Callsen-Bracker - Hensel)

Attendance: 131,270 (avg 14,856)


 1. (1.)  Hertha BSC Berlin 	24 	15 	4 	5 	49:23 	+26 	49
 2. (2.)  FC Augsburg	 	24 	14 	5 	5 	43:19 	+24 	47
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3. (3.)  VfL Bochum 		24 	14 	3 	7 	34:26 	+8 	45
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (5.)  SpVgg Greuther Fürth 	24 	12 	7 	5 	35:19 	+16 	43
 5. (4.)  FC Erzgebirge Aue 	24 	13 	4 	7 	29:27 	+2 	43
 6. (6.)  MSV Duisburg 		24 	11 	7 	6 	37:21 	+16 	40
 7. (7.)  FC Energie Cottbus 	24 	11 	6 	7 	46:37 	+9 	39
 8. (10.) Fortuna Düsseldorf 	24 	11 	2 	11 	31:28 	+3 	35
 9. (8.)  Alemannia Aachen 	24 	9 	8 	7 	40:40 	0 	35
10. (11.) TSV 1860 München 	24 	9 	8 	7 	27:25 	+2 	33 *
11. (9.)  FSV Frankfurt 	24 	10 	3 	11 	34:34 	0 	33
12. (12.) 1. FC Union Berlin 	24 	8 	5 	11 	26:31 	-5 	29
13. (13.) SC Paderborn 07 	24 	8 	5 	11 	24:30 	-6 	29
14. (14.) VfL Osnabrück 	24 	7 	4 	13 	34:44 	-10 	25
15. (16.) Rot-Weiß Oberhausen 	24 	6 	5 	13 	20:41 	-21 	23
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16. (15.) Karlsruher SC 	24 	6 	5 	13 	31:53 	-22 	23
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17. (17.) FC Ingolstadt 04 	24 	5 	5 	14 	27:38 	-11 	20
18. (18.) Arminia Bielefeld 	24 	2 	4 	18 	18:49 	-31 	10

* - 1860 deducted 2 points for financial shenanigans

3.Liga - Round 26


SV 1916 Sandhausen 	- 	1. FC Saarbrücken 	3:1 (2:1) 	 2,300 	(Pischorn, Danneberg, Löning - Kohler)
SV Werder Bremen II 	- 	VfB Stuttgart II 	1:1 (1:0) 	 1,015	(Artmann - Aschauer (60.)
Rot Weiss Ahlen 	- 	Eintracht Braunschweig 	0:3 (0:1) 	 5,120	(Kruppke, Dogan, Fetsch)
VfR Aalen	 	- 	Kickers Offenbach 	1:1 (0:1) 	 2,964	(Fink -	Huber)
FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt 	- 	Wacker Burghausen 	1:1 (1:0) 	 4,971	(Zedi - Agyemang)
Hansa Rostock 		- 	SV Babelsberg 03 	3:0 (1:0) 	11,000	(Jänicke, Wiemann, Vujanovic)
TuS Koblenz 		- 	SpVgg Unterhaching 	1:1 (0:0) 	 3,833	(Steegmann -Balkan)
SV Wehen Wiesbaden 	- 	1. FC Heidenheim 1846 	5:2 (2:2) 	 3,051	(Sailer 2, Ziemer, Brosinski, Salem - Mayer, Aupperle)
FC Bayern München II 	- 	Dynamo Dresden	 	1:2 (1:2) 	 3,250	(Erb - Kegel, Solga)
Jahn Regensburg 	- 	FC Carl Zeiss Jena	postponed

 1. (1.)  Eintr. Braunschweig 	26 	19 	4 	3 	61:11 	+50 	61
 2. (2.)  Hansa Rostock 	26 	18 	3 	5 	53:24 	+29 	57
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3. (3.)  Kickers Offenbach 	25 	13 	5 	7 	41:30 	+11 	44
 4. (5.)  SV Wehen Wiesbaden 	26 	12 	7 	7 	36:26 	+10 	43
 5. (4.)  FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt 	26 	12 	6 	8 	43:30 	+13 	42
 6. (7.)  TuS Koblenz	 	26 	11 	7 	8 	29:29 	0 	40
 7. (6.)  1. FC Heidenheim 1846 25 	12 	3 	10 	48:38 	+10 	39
 8. (8.)  Dynamo Dresden 	25 	11 	6 	8 	33:29 	+4 	39
 9. (9.)  VfB Stuttgart II 	25 	8 	11 	6 	27:26 	+1 	35
10. (10.) FC Carl Zeiss Jena 	25 	9 	6 	10 	26:39 	-13 	33
11. (12.) SpVgg Unterhaching 	26 	7 	10 	9 	28:40 	-12 	31
12. (11.) Jahn Regensburg 	24 	8 	6 	10 	23:33 	-10 	30
13. (14.) Wacker Burghausen 	26 	7 	8 	11 	30:42 	-12 	29
14. (13.) 1. FC Saarbrücken 	26 	7 	7 	12 	34:40 	-6 	28
15. (15.) SV Babelsberg 03 	24 	7 	5 	12 	21:31 	-10 	26
16. (16.) Rot Weiss Ahlen 	25 	6 	8 	11 	28:39 	-11 	26
17. (17.) VfR Aalen 		26 	5 	10 	11 	28:41 	-13 	25
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
18. (19.) SV 1916 Sandhausen 	26 	6 	6 	14 	31:43 	-12 	24
19. (18.) SV Werder Bremen II 	26 	5 	9 	12 	25:39 	-14 	24
20. (20.) FC Bayern München II 	24 	4 	7 	13 	20:35 	-15 	19


Feb 19, 2011

Bundesliga, Round 23

Dortmund continues to plow forward, as they eventually broke down the resistance of the plucky Paulistas. Despite having lost some of their edge (e.g. injuries to Kagawa etc.) , Dortmund's young squad continues to play superbly as a team, and they pressure their opponent until they finally breakthrough. St.Pauli has had a couple of nice results recently, but getting anything in Dortmund would have been pretty amazing.

Bayern is in form, and they outplayed a tough Mainz squad away. Mainz win in München was one of teh sensational results of the season, and Bayern was determined to let the upstarts know who's the boss. Mainz hurt themselves with their poor finishing once again, and Bayern was ruthless when they needed to be. Mainz basically ran around a lot, like they always do. Not enough against someone like Bayern.

The northern derby between HSV and Werder is usually a fierce struggle, but this one was a disgrace. Bremen rolled open like a cheap whore and the Hamburgers whipped them mercilessly. Truly a laughable performance by Werder, but for Hamburg, it was just what the doctor ordered. HSV had fired their sport-director Dieter Beiersdorf last week in an attempt to shake things up. Of course then they go out and announce that Frank Arnesen, currently in that role at Chelsea, will be taking over. Arnesen's track record at Chelski is pretty crap all things considered, so it remains to be seen how that is going to work at HSV.

Hannover continues to impress, and they rolled Kaiserslautern easily. FCK is in trouble, as in general they have been playing hard, but basically failing to get points. They sucked in this one, so they can't complain, but things are looking grim. The 96ers on the other hand have start thinking seriously of qualifying for Europe, which would be quite an accomplishment. It shows what the right attitude can do, because from a talent standpoint, they're mid-table at best.

Nürnberg beat up Frankfurt, who continue to suck since the restart. I believe that Eintracht hasn't even managed to score a goal (although they may have been gifted an own goal somewhere), and they have looked truly pathetic. On the other hand, Nürnberg has been playing quite well in the past few weeks, and have gone from a relegation candidate to having some possibilities of gaining a European spot! I must admit I'm truly impressed, since I'm used to FCN basically sucking. Part of their improvement has been due to the forcefulness of their young forward Julian Schieber (22), who reminds many of a Wayne Rooney with brain-cells.

Freiburg gets the win against Wolfsburg, which is expected. The VWs suck, and Freiburg is pretty decent this year, so how could any other outcome be expected? Bright spot for Wolfsburg is that Patrick Helmes scored, so maybe they'll at least be able to score some goals.

Köln fought off Hoffenheim to get a nice road point. Every little point counts, and in the end, Köln has a good chance to be left standing. Bremen and Wolfsburg suck, and Kaiserslautern is without luck. Gladbach is already on verge of going down and Stuttgart needs a kick in the ass. So Köln's prospects have risen immensely over the last few weeks, due to their improvement and their opponents suckitude. The Hoff are very inconsistent probably are at their potential, an upper mid-table squad. They could kick your ass if you don't bring your A game, but often their effort is somewhat lame and they can't get the result.

1. FC Nürnberg	 	- 	Eintracht Frankfurt 	3:0 (0:0) 	40,853	(Schieber, Mak, Cohen)
Hannover 96	 	- 	1. FC Kaiserslautern 	3:0 (2:0) 	35,412	(Schlaudraff 2, Abdellaoue)
SC Freiburg 		- 	VfL Wolfsburg 		2:1 (1:1) 	19,200	(Reisinger, Cisse - Helmes)
1899 Hoffenheim 	- 	1. FC Köln 		1:1 (0:0) 	30,000	(Novakovic o.g. - Mohamad)
Hamburger SV 		- 	SV Werder Bremen 	4:0 (1:0) 	54,121	(Petric, Guerrero 2, Ben-Hatira)
Borussia Dortmund 	- 	FC St. Pauli	 	2:0 (1:0) 	80,720	(Barrios, Gunesch)
1. FSV Mainz 05 	- 	FC Bayern München 	1:3 (0:1) 	20,300	(Allagui - Schweinsteiger, Müller, Gomez)
Bayer Leverkusen 	- 	VfB Stuttgart 		4:2 (2:1) 	28,851	(Kießling 2, Castro, Reinartz - Harnik, Kuzmanovic)
Bor. Mönchengladbach 	- 	FC Schalke 04 		2:1 (2:1) 	51,592	(Reus , Idrissou - Kluge)


Attendance: 361,049 (avg 40,117)


 1. (1.)  Borussia Dortmund 	23 	17 	4 	2 	49:13 	+36 	55
 2. (2.)  Bayer Leverkusen 	23 	13 	6 	4 	48:32 	+16 	45
 3. (3.)  FC Bayern München 	23 	12 	6 	5 	49:27 	+22 	42
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (4.)  Hannover 96	 	23 	13 	2 	8 	33:31 	+2 	41
 5. (5.)  1. FSV Mainz 05 	23 	12 	1 	10 	35:29 	+6 	37
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 6. (6.)  SC Freiburg 		23 	11 	4 	8 	31:30 	+1 	37
 7. (7.)  Hamburger SV 		23 	11 	3 	9 	34:31 	+3 	36
 8. (9.)  1. FC Nürnberg 	23 	10 	5 	8 	33:31 	+2 	35
 9. (8.)  1899 Hoffenheim 	23 	8 	9 	6 	40:33 	+7 	33
10. (10.) FC Schalke 04 	23 	8 	5 	10 	28:28 	0 	29
11. (11.) FC St. Pauli 		23 	8 	4 	11 	27:37 	-10 	28
12. (12.) Eintracht Frankfurt 	23 	8 	3 	12 	24:32 	-8 	27
13. (13.) 1. FC Köln 		23 	7 	5 	11 	30:42 	-12 	26
14. (14.) SV Werder Bremen 	23 	6 	6 	11 	28:48 	-20 	24
15. (15.) VfL Wolfsburg 	23 	5 	8 	10 	27:33 	-6 	23
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16. (16.) 1. FC Kaiserslautern 	23 	6 	5 	12 	32:41 	-9 	23
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17. (17.) VfB Stuttgart 	23 	5 	4 	14 	40:47 	-7 	19
18. (18.) Bor. Mönchengladbach 	23 	5 	4 	14 	34:57 	-23 	19


Scoring:
						Games	Goal	Assist	Total

 1  Gomez, Mario 	Bayern München		21 	18 	3 	21
 2  Vidal, Arturo 	Bayer Leverkusen	23 	9 	9 	18
 3  Ya Konan, Didier 	Hannover 96		21 	11 	7 	18
 4  Cissé, Papiss Demba SC Freiburg		21 	16 	1 	17
 5  Müller, Thomas 	Bayern München		23 	8 	9 	17
 6  Gekas, Theofanis 	Eintracht Frankfurt	23 	14 	2 	16
 7  Schieber, Julian 	1. FC Nürnberg		23 	7 	9 	16
 8  Barrios, Lucas 	Borussia Dortmund	22 	10 	5 	15
 9  Podolski, Lukas 	1. FC Köln		22 	9 	5 	14
10  Reus, Marco 	Borussia M'gladbach	21 	6 	8 	14
11  Schürrle, André 	1. FSV Mainz 05		22 	10 	4 	14

2.Liga - Round 23

Not much shocking this week. Hertha maintains their lead at the top, but BOchum and Augsnurg crept closer with tough wins. (Well, OK, 1860 sucks, so FCA's win wasn't that difficult.) Aue has also maintained their interest at the top as they thumped hapless Bielefeld. Union Berlin crapped all over Duisburg's ambitions with an important away win, which keeps them floating above relegation worries.

Osnabruck had the most significant win, as they dumped Oberhausen in a hotly contested telegation battle. With Karlsruhe suprising FSV Frankfurt, this means that RWO is now in the danger spot.

VfL Bochum	 	- 	Fortuna Düsseldorf 	2:0 (1:0) 	24,100	(Maltritz, Korkmaz)
TSV 1860 München 	- 	FC Augsburg 		0:2 (0:1) 	29,200	(Thurk, de Jong)
FC Ingolstadt 04 	- 	SpVgg Greuther Fürth 	0:2 (0:1) 	 7,249	(Sararer, Haas)
SC Paderborn 07 	- 	Alemannia Aachen 	1:3 (1:2) 	 6,044 	(Jansen - Stieber, Auer, Radjabali-Fardi)
MSV Duisburg 		- 	1. FC Union Berlin 	0:1 (0:1) 	12,547	(Ede)
FSV Frankfurt 		- 	Karlsruher SC	 	1:2 (1:1) 	 5,419	(Mölders - Groß, Stadler)
VfL Osnabrück 		- 	Rot-Weiß Oberhausen 	3:1 (2:1) 	13,000 	(Kastrati 2, Andersen - König)
FC Erzgebirge Aue 	- 	Arminia Bielefeld 	3:0 (2:0) 	 9,200	(Paulus, Hensel, Klingbeil)
Hertha BSC Berlin	- 	FC Energie Cottbus	2:2 (2:2)	40,134	(Lasogga, Hubnik - Adlung, Hunemeier)


 1. (1.)  Hertha BSC Berlin 	23 	14 	4 	5 	44:23 	+21 	46
 2. (2.)  FC Augsburg 		23 	13 	5 	5 	41:18 	+23 	44
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3. (3.)  VfL Bochum 		23 	14 	2 	7 	33:25 	+8 	44
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (4.)  FC Erzgebirge Aue 	23 	13 	4 	6 	28:25 	+3 	43
 5. (6.)  SpVgg Greuther Fürth 	23 	12 	6 	5 	34:18 	+16 	42
 6. (5.)  MSV Duisburg 		23 	11 	6 	6 	37:21 	+16 	39
 7. (7.)  FC Energie Cottbus 	23 	10 	6 	7 	44:36 	+8 	36
 8. (10.) Alemannia Aachen 	23 	9 	8 	6 	40:35 	+5 	35
 9. (8.)  FSV Frankfurt 	23 	10 	3 	10 	33:32 	+1 	33
10. (9.)  Fortuna Düsseldorf 	23 	10 	2 	11 	29:27 	+2 	32
11. (11.) TSV 1860 München 	23 	8 	8 	7 	26:25 	+1 	30 *
12. (13.) 1. FC Union Berlin 	23 	8 	5 	10 	26:30 	-4 	29
13. (12.) SC Paderborn 07 	23 	8 	4 	11 	23:29 	-6 	28
14. (14.) VfL Osnabrück 	23 	7 	4 	12 	33:42 	-9 	25
15. (16.) Karlsruher SC 	23 	6 	5 	12 	30:49 	-19 	23
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16. (15.) Rot-Weiß Oberhausen 	23 	6 	4 	13 	20:41 	-21 	22
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17. (17.) FC Ingolstadt 04 	23 	4 	5 	14 	23:37 	-14 	17
18. (18.) Arminia Bielefeld 	23 	2 	3 	18 	17:48 	-31 	9

* - 1860 deducted 2 points for financial irregularities


Scoring:
						Games	Goals	Assist	Total

1  Stieber, Zoltan 	Alemannia Aachen	23 	6 	14 	20
2  Auer, Benjamin 	Alemannia Aachen	21 	15 	2 	17
3  Petersen, Nils 	Energie Cottbus		21 	14 	3 	17
4  Ramos, Adrian 	Hertha BSC		21 	8 	9 	17
5  Mölders, Sascha 	FSV Frankfurt		23 	13 	2 	15
6  Thurk, Michael 	FC Augsburg		19 	8 	7 	15
7  Jula, Emil 		Energie Cottbus		22 	7 	7 	14
8  Rafael, Nando 	FC Augsburg		19 	10 	3 	13
9  Raffael 		Hertha BSC		20 	8 	5 	13
10 Chong Tese 		VfL Bochum		20 	9 	3 	12

3.Liga - Round 25

While leaders Braunschweig continued their streak to 15 unbeaten, chasing Rostock seriously stubbed their toe as they got bitch-slapped in Unterhaching. However, both clubs are so far ahead that they are already planning their 2.Liga campaign for next season.

Offenbach continues to struggle, losing at home to Ahlen. The Kickers still maintain their increasingly precarious hold on the promotion playoff spot, but Erfurt is now breathing down their neck. Although Wehen got dumped also, newcomers Heidenheim continue an impressive campaign and are now threatening as well.

Wacker Burghausen 	- 	VfR Aalen 		3:2 (2:1) 	 2,213	(Knappmann, Agyemang 2 - Lechleiter, Dausch)
Kickers Offenbach 	- 	Rot Weiss Ahlen 	1:2 (0:1) 	 6,201	(Vunguidica - Hille, Wölk)
Eintracht Braunschweig 	- 	Jahn Regensburg 	2:0 (0:0) 	16,556	(Reichel, Dogan)
FC Carl Zeiss Jena 	- 	SV Wehen Wiesbaden 	1:0 (0:0) 	 4,808	(Öztürk)
1. FC Heidenheim 1846 	- 	FC Bayern München II 	3:1 (0:0) 	 6,200	(Mayer, Beisel, Schnatterer - Hajdarovic)
VfB Stuttgart II 	- 	1. FC Saarbrücken 	2:2 (1:0) 	   900	(Holzhauser, Rühle - Krause, Sieger)
SV Werder Bremen II 	- 	TuS Koblenz 		0:2 (0:0) 	   374	(Hahn, Hornig)
SpVgg Unterhaching 	- 	Hansa Rostock 		3:0 (0:0) 	 2,750	(Thee, Zillner, Vitzthum)
SV Babelsberg 03 	- 	FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt 	1:1 (1:0) 	 2,511	(Herrem - Reichwein)
Dynamo Dresden 		- 	SV 1916 Sandhausen 	3:1 (1:0	10,170	(Solga, Röttger, Esswein - Löning) 

Attendance: 52,683 (avg 5,268)


 1. (1.)  Eintr. Braunschweig 	25 	18 	4 	3 	58:11 	+47 	58
 2. (2.)  Hansa Rostock 	25 	17 	3 	5 	50:24 	+26 	54
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3. (3.)  Kickers Offenbach 	24 	13 	4 	7 	40:29 	+11 	43
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (4.)  FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt 	25 	12 	5 	8 	42:29 	+13 	41
 5. (5.)  SV Wehen Wiesbaden 	25 	11 	7 	7 	31:24 	+7 	40
 6. (6.)  1. FC Heidenheim 1846 23 	12 	3 	8 	45:31 	+14 	39
 7. (7.)  TuS Koblenz 		25 	11 	6 	8 	28:28 	0 	39
 8. (8.)  Dynamo Dresden 	23 	9 	6 	8 	28:27 	+1 	33
 9. (11.) FC Carl Zeiss Jena 	25 	9 	6 	10 	26:39 	-13 	33
10. (9.)  VfB Stuttgart II 	23 	7 	10 	6 	24:24 	0 	31
11. (10.) Jahn Regensburg 	24 	8 	6 	10 	23:33 	-10 	30
12. (13.) SpVgg Unterhaching 	25 	7 	9 	9 	27:39 	-12 	30
13. (12.) 1. FC Saarbrücken 	25 	7 	7 	11 	33:37 	-4 	28
14. (15.) Wacker Burghausen 	25 	7 	7 	11 	29:41 	-12 	28
15. (14.) SV Babelsberg 03 	23 	7 	5 	11 	21:28 	-7 	26
16. (17.) Rot Weiss Ahlen 	24 	6 	8 	10 	28:36 	-8 	26
17. (16.) VfR Aalen 		25 	5 	9 	11 	27:40 	-13 	24
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
18. (18.) SV Werder Bremen II 	25 	5 	8 	12 	24:38 	-14 	23
19. (19.) SV 1916 Sandhausen 	24 	5 	6 	13 	27:39 	-12 	21
20. (20.) FC Bayern München II 	23 	4 	7 	12 	19:33 	-14 	19


Goal scorers:

						Games	Goals
 1  Mayer, Patrick 	1. FC Heidenheim	23 	18
 2  Kumbela, Dominick 	Ein. Braunschweig	25 	13 
 3  Kruppke, Dennis 	Ein. Braunschwieg	24 	12
 4  Ziegenbein, Björn 	Hansa Rostock		21 	12
 5  Esswein, Alexander 	Dynamo Dresden		20 	11
 6  Occean, Olivier 	Kickers Offenbach	19 	11
 7  Schnatterer, Marc 	1. FC Heidenheim	23 	11
 8  Janjic, Zlatko 	SV Wehen Wiesbaden	25 	10
 9  Schied, Marcel 	Hansa Rostock		25 	10
10  Taylor, Matthew 	Rot Weiss Ahlen		16 	10


Feb 16, 2011

Paulistas rule!

A surprise in the makeup match of Hamburg derby, as 57,000 fans witnessed Hamburger SV lose 0-1 to St.Pauli. Gerald Asamoah was once again the hero, as the ex-international gave the Paulistas the memorable win. HSV dominated the early portions of the match, and had good chances to do some damage, but St.Pauli held. After about an hour, Asamoah headed home against the run of play, and from then on, the "vistors" gained in strength and HSV was struggling. A huge win for St.Pauli


Feb 12, 2011

Bundesliga, Round 22

Dortmund had their hands full at fighting Kaiserslautern. The Neons were the stronger team, but could not break down FCK, and when they did, they managed to waste their chances. The leaders finally did take the lead late, but were forced to concede a draw at the whistle, as the hosts got some sustained pressure after Subotic got his ass kicked out with 5 minutes left. No real harm for Borussia, who remain 10 points on top. A good result for FCK, but goven that other struggling clubs got some results, they see themselves dumped into a relegation spot.

Bayern was back with an impressive thumping of Hoffenheim, who are drifting about aimlessly. With Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery back, and Mario Gomez scoring regularily, they are the team to beat right now. Their only problem is that they're 13 points behind Dortmund, so no chance to catch the Neons.

Frankfurt's post winterbreak effort has been pretty pathetic, so it's no real shocker that they got their asses reemed by visting Leverkusen. Frankfurt is probbaly OK as far as relegation, as they're usual MO is to start playing well when they look like sliding into serious danger. And of course, they start sucking when they look like they actually might be able to go somewhere.

Schalke and Freiburg both packed their defenses, or perhaps the attackers were taking the weekend off. In any case, SCF surprised with their anti-football, holing up in front of their goal and daring Schalke to attack. Of course, Schalke's attack has no force behind it, as the midfield collapses whenever called upon. So it was left to winger Jefferson Farfan, perhaps the best Schalker this season, to grab the game winner. It's hard to call any Schalke win this season "deserved", but since Freiburg showed nothing, the Blues "Much ado about nothing" is enough to claim the win and secure mid-table status.

Wolfsburg fired coach Steve McClaren, but guess what? They still suck! Pierre Littbarski has taken over, but teh VWs looked pretty lame in losing to Hamburg in a northern matchup. Relegation is a real possibility if they don't do something in a hurry. Hardly an impressive performance by HSV, but hey, they bring home the bacon, and therefore "mission accomplished."

Stuttgart sucked big time as they got their ass handed by visiting Nürnberg. A week after a huge comeback at Gladbach, the VfBers stunk up the joint, hardly showing any fight. Nürnberg on the other was on their game, as they sliced through the Stuttgart swiss-cheese defense and romped to an easy win. Stuttgart therefore continues to suck at the bottom, and the only consoling factor is that they're not that far behind. It looks pretty good for FCN now, I'd say any relegation worries are firmly discarded now.

An important win for St.Pauli, as Gladbach is basically free points, and you need to seize those when you have a chance. Oldtimer forward Gerald Asamoah had seen his Schalke career fizzle out, but he's been quite the inspiration in St.Pauli, and once again was the key figure in a Pauli win. Gladbach isn't in a hopeless position quite yet on points, as a couple of wins would see them within striking distance, but based on their display a the fire-sale in winterbreak, I'd say they're pretty much done. Of course their management merely reinforces their standing of incompetance, as they fired coach Michael Frontzeck, as if everything was his fault.

Bremen put in a decent performance against Hannover, who showed very little, but managed to take the lead. As the game progressed however, Werder increasingly took control and equalized. In the end the 96ers were probably fortunate to get a point, as you could not tell which team was trying for Europe and which was fighting relegation.

Köln did themselves a favor as they beat down Mainz. If the Geisböcke actually save themselves, their sudden strength at home will be a mjor reason.

FC St. Pauli 		- 	Bor. Mönchengladbach 	3:1 (1:1) 	24,487	(Kruse, Asamoah, Lehmann - De Camargo)
Eintracht Frankfurt 	- 	Bayer Leverkusen 	0:3 (0:2) 	42,600	(Rolfes, Augusto, Balitsch)
VfL Wolfsburg	 	- 	Hamburger SV	 	0:1 (0:1) 	30,000 	(Petric)
VfB Stuttgart 		- 	1. FC Nürnberg 		1:4 (1:2) 	38,500 	(Funk  - Simons, Schieber, Chandler, Ekici)
FC Schalke 04 		- 	SC Freiburg 		1:0 (0:0) 	60,469	(Farfan)
FC Bayern München 	- 	1899 Hoffenheim 	4:0 (2:0) 	69,000 	(Gomez,TMüller, Robben 2)
1. FC Kaiserslautern 	- 	Borussia Dortmund 	1:1 (0:0) 	49,780	(Morávek - Bender)
1. FC Köln 		- 	1. FSV Mainz 05 	4:2 (2:1)	44,000	(Podolski 2, Novakovic 2 - Allagui, Sliskovic)
SV Werder Bremen 	- 	Hannover 96		1:1 (0:1)	39,500	(Mertesacker - Ya Konan)

Attedance: 398,336 (avg 44,260)

1.  (1.)  Borussia Dortmund 	22 	16 	4 	2 	47:13 	+34 	52
2.  (2.)  Bayer Leverkusen 	22 	12 	6 	4 	44:30 	+14 	42
3.  (5.)  FC Bayern München 	22 	11 	6 	5 	46:26 	+20 	39
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.  (4.)  Hannover 96           22      12      2       8       30:31   -1      38
5.  (3.)  1. FSV Mainz 05 	22 	12 	1 	9 	34:26 	+8 	37
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6.  (6.)  SC Freiburg 		22 	10 	4 	8 	29:29 	0 	34
7.  (8.)  Hamburger SV 		21 	10 	3 	8 	30:30 	0 	33
8.  (7.)  1899 Hoffenheim 	22 	8 	8 	6 	39:32 	+7 	32
9.  (9.)  1. FC Nürnberg 	22 	9 	5 	8 	30:31 	-1 	32
10. (11.) FC Schalke 04 	22 	8 	5 	9 	27:26 	+1 	29
11. (10.) Eintracht Frankfurt 	22 	8 	3 	11 	24:29 	-5 	27
12. (15.) FC St. Pauli 		21 	7 	4 	10 	26:35 	-9 	25
16. (16.) 1. FC Köln            22      7       4       11      29:41   -12     25
15. (13.) SV Werder Bremen      22      6       6       10      28:44   -16     24
13. (12.) VfL Wolfsburg 	22 	5 	8 	9 	26:31 	-5 	23
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
14. (14.) 1. FC Kaiserslautern 	22 	6 	5 	11 	32:38 	-6 	23
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17. (17.) VfB Stuttgart 	22 	5 	4 	13 	38:43 	-5 	19
18. (18.) Bor. Mönchengladbach 	22 	4 	4 	14 	32:56 	-24 	16

2.Liga - Round 22

The top clash between Augsburg and Duisburg petered out. FCA was the controlling team, but the Zebra defense was tight, and in reality, the hosts had few chances to score. Leaders Hertha put in a gala performance in the 2nd half as they routed host Karlsruhe. Ironically Bochum has their win streak stopped by the worst team in the league, as Bielefeld managed to score late and save a point. If Arminia had been giving similar effort throughout the season, they wouldn't be in trouble. For Bochum, they gave minimal effort, clearly expecting to be gifted all the points. But they were a bit too arrogant, and when Dabrowski got his ass tossed with 10 minutes left, Arminia seized their chance and gave the snooty Bochumers their just desserts. Aue remains the rash that just won't go away. An injury time goal by Enrico Kern gave the Veilchen a win over 1860, and they remain in the hunt for an unbelievable promotion. Prior to the season, Aue had a "Projekt 40" plan, which was their goal of reaching 40 points, the theoretical "can't be relegated" level. Well, they've already reached that goal, and if they sneak into the Bundesliga, that would certainly make this a season for the ages.

1. FC Union Berlin 	- 	VfL Osnabrück	 	3:3 (0:1) 	14,074	(Stuff, Kolk, Ede - Nickenig, Tyrala, Adler)
Rot-Weiß Oberhausen 	- 	SC Paderborn 07 	2:0 (1:0) 	 4,117	(Bahcecioglu, König)
FC Augsburg	 	- 	MSV Duisburg 		0:0 (0:0) 	20,143 
SpVgg Greuther Fürth 	- 	FC Energie Cottbus 	3:1 (1:0) 	 6,430 	(Sararer, Kaplan, Sararer - Petersen)
Alemannia Aachen 	- 	FSV Frankfurt 		2:1 (1:0) 	15,813 	(Achenbach, Auer - Gjasula)
Fortuna Düsseldorf 	- 	FC Ingolstadt 04 	3:1 (1:0)	20,700 	(Beister, Langeneke 2 - Leitl)
Arminia Bielefeld 	- 	VfL Bochum	 	2:2 (1:1) 	17,532 	(Quaner, Appiah - Aydin 2)
Karlsruher SC 		- 	Hertha BSC Berlin 	2:6 (1:0) 	20,823 	(Cristea 2 - Raffael 3, Ramos 2, Ronny)
FC Erzgebirge Aue 	- 	TSV 1860 München 	1:0 (0:0)	 8,200	(Kern)



 1. (1.)  Hertha BSC Berlin 	22 	14 	3 	5 	42:21 	+21 	45
 2. (2.)  FC Augsburg	 	22 	12 	5 	5 	39:18 	+21 	41
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3. (3.)  VfL Bochum 		22 	13 	2 	7 	31:25 	+6 	41
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (5.)  FC Erzgebirge Aue 	22 	12 	4 	6 	25:25 	 0 	40
 5. (4.)  MSV Duisburg 		22 	11 	6 	5 	37:20 	+17 	39
 6. (6.)  SpVgg Greuther Fürth 	22 	11 	6 	5 	32:18 	+14 	39
 7. (7.)  FC Energie Cottbus 	22 	10 	5 	7 	42:34 	+8 	35
 8. (8.)  FSV Frankfurt 	22 	10 	3 	9 	32:30 	+2 	33
 9. (11.) Fortuna Düsseldorf 	22 	10 	2 	10 	29:25 	+4 	32
10. (10.) Alemannia Aachen 	22 	8 	8 	6 	37:34 	+3 	32
11. (9.)  TSV 1860 München 	22 	8 	8 	6 	26:23 	+3 	30 *
12. (12.) SC Paderborn 07 	22 	8 	4 	10 	22:26 	-4 	28
13. (13.) 1. FC Union Berlin 	22 	7 	5 	10 	25:30 	-5 	26
14. (14.) VfL Osnabrück 	22 	6 	4 	12 	30:41 	-11 	22
15. (16.) Rot-Weiß Oberhausen 	22 	6 	4 	12 	19:38 	-19 	22
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16. (15.) Karlsruher SC 	22 	5 	5 	12 	28:48 	-20 	20
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17. (17.) FC Ingolstadt 04 	22 	4 	5 	13 	23:35 	-12 	17
18. (18.) Arminia Bielefeld 	22 	2 	3 	17 	17:45 	-28 	9

* - 1860 deducted two points for financial arrogance

3.Liga - Round 24

Pretty much ho-hum, but there were some important developments. First, leaders Braunschweig had a tough fight on their hands, but eventually put away Wehen away, which puts the villagers at a disadvantage in the battle for 3rd. Offenbach finally got a result, winning at Regensburg, but they remain hard pressed by Wehen and a new threat - Erfurt.

Rostock had a nice week, since they picked up an away win, and are coasting to promotion.

On the bottom, Aalen gets a huge win as Anton Fink, just loaned from 2.Liga struggler KSC, picked up a hattrick.

FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt 	- 	SpVgg Unterhaching 	4:0 (2:0) 	 5,704	(Zedi, Semmer, Reichwein 2)
1. FC Saarbrücken 	- 	Dynamo Dresden 		3:2 (1:0) 	 5,898	(Mann,Zimmermann, Sieger - Röttger, Esswein)
FC Bayern München II 	- 	FC Carl Zeiss Jena 	1:2 (0:2) 	  400	(Wohlfarth - Ullmann 2)
SV Wehen Wiesbaden 	- 	Eintracht Braunschweig 	0:2 (0:0) 	 5,018	(Kumbela, Bohl)
TuS Koblenz	 	- 	VfB Stuttgart II 	2:0 (0:0) 	 3,775	(Riemer, Hornig)
Jahn Regensburg 	- 	Kickers Offenbach 	0:2 (0:2) 	 2,408	(Vunguidica, Occean)
Rot Weiss Ahlen 	- 	Wacker Burghausen 	0:1 (0:1) 	 1,819	(Agyemang)
VfR Aalen 		- 	SV Babelsberg 03 	3:2 (2:1) 	 2,007	(Fink 3 -Kocer, Hebisch)
Hansa Rostock 		- 	SV Werder Bremen II 	2:0 (0:0) 	11,500	(Lartey, Vujanovic)
SV 1916 Sandhausen 	- 	1. FC Heidenheim 1846 	1:2 (1:1) 	 1,650	(Rohracker - Mayer, Weil)


Midweek makeup:

Rot Weiss Ahlen 	- 	Hansa Rostock 		0:2 (0:1)	 3,520	(Pannewitz, Ziegenbein) 	


 1. (1.)  Eintr. Braunschweig 	24 	17 	4 	3 	56:11 	+45 	55
 2. (2.)  Hansa Rostock 	23 	17 	2 	4 	49:20 	+29 	53
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3. (3.)  Kickers Offenbach 	22 	13 	4 	5 	39:25 	+14 	43
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (5.)  FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt 	23 	12 	4 	7 	40:26 	+14 	40
 5. (4.)  SV Wehen Wiesbaden 	24 	11 	7 	6 	31:23 	+8 	40
 6. (6.)  1. FC Heidenheim 1846 22 	11 	3 	8 	42:30 	+12 	36
 7. (8.)  TuS Koblenz 		24 	10 	6 	8 	26:28 	-2 	36
 8. (7.)  Dynamo Dresden 	23 	9 	6 	8 	28:27 	+1 	33
 9. (9.)  Jahn Regensburg 	22 	8 	6 	8 	23:29 	-6 	30
10. (12.) FC Carl Zeiss Jena 	24 	8 	6 	10 	25:39 	-14 	30
11. (10.) VfB Stuttgart II 	21 	6 	9 	6 	20:21 	-1 	27
12. (11.) SpVgg Unterhaching 	23 	6 	9 	8 	24:38 	-14 	27
13. (13.) SV Babelsberg 03 	22 	7 	4 	11 	20:27 	-7 	25
14. (15.) Wacker Burghausen 	24 	6 	7 	11 	26:39 	-13 	25
15. (16.) 1. FC Saarbrücken 	23 	6 	6 	11 	29:35 	-6 	24
16. (14.) Rot Weiss Ahlen 	23 	5 	8 	10 	26:35 	-9 	23
17. (19.) VfR Aalen 		23 	5 	8 	10 	24:36 	-12 	23
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
18. (17.) SV 1916 Sandhausen 	24 	5 	6 	13 	27:39 	-12 	21
19. (18.) SV Werder Bremen II 	23 	4 	8 	11 	22:36 	-14 	20
20. (20.) FC Bayern München II 	21 	3 	7 	11 	17:30 	-13 	16


Feb 06, 2011

Bundesliga, Round 21

An interesting round of hard fought battles, and despite not being a winner, Dortmund gets the edge - because they get a point.

The Neons dominated the "Revier-derby" against Schalke, perhaps Germany's most intense rivalry, from start to finish. In fact within the first 7 minutes, Schalke was under siege, with GK Manuel Neuer coming up with big saves against Götze, "Kuba" (Blaszczykowski) and Hummels. Neuer was brilliant, showing why he has advanced to Germany's no.1. It seemed only a matter of time before Dortmund would put the game away, but if Neuer wasn't stopping it, the woodwork came to his rescure, and in the end, Schalke escaped with the skin of their teeth and a point.

Leverkusen stubbed their toe, as they were defeated by an engaged and energetic Nürnberg, picking up more critical points to secure their campaign. It was hard to tell who was the "lower" team, as the Aspirins disappointed over long periods of the game; FCN lacked the skills, but they made up for it in fight, and were rewarded with Eigler's winner on the hour (in his 100th match for der Club). Of course, he later got his ass tossed to make things a little too exciting for the home fans.

The most amazing result however was in Köln. Bayern was cruising, dominating against the hapless hosts and two goals up by halftime. A day at the office. But something happened in locker room, perhaps coach Schaefer pumped his players full of meth, but Köln came roaring out in the 2nd half, fighting for every inch and out-hustling the champions. Forward Milovoje Novakovic was unstoppable, and he made Bayern defender Holger Badstuber look like scarecrow, as he ran rings around him. (Seriously though, Badstuber is all you got?). In the final 20 minutes, Bayern finally woke up, but they were already behind, and were unable to save the match, despite some furious attacks. A massive win for Köln, who ironically have done well against Bayern, 5 games without defeat.

An early goal by Sergio Pinto was enough for Hannover to dump Wolfsburg in a Niedersachen derby. The 96ers have been dominated by the VWs in recent years, but with Hannover very efficient this year and Wolfsburg "McClaren-nized", perhaps this result should surprise no one.

Finally something positive for Bremen. Claudio Pizarro scored deep into injury time to save Werder a point at Mainz, yet another bitter pill for Mainz. The hosts had controlled the match from start to finish, pressed crappy Bremen into a defensive shell, and basically had their way. After taking the lead after 20 minutes, all they had to do was finish of Bremen for an easy win, but as usual, the Mainzers wasted their chances and were penalized in the end. This has been a recurring theme for the hosts in an otherwise stellar season. Bremen of course has been living the nightmare, so they must be pretty happy in getting a point they had no business receiving.

Hoffenheim met Kaiserslautern in a "new" southwest derby, and it lived up to a derby billing, as it was hard fought on both sides. The Hoppers had been showing some signs of straightening things out, and this win gives them hopes of slipping into Europe. FCK is left empty handed and has to look nervously at the bottom dwellers perhaps creeping upon them. After finally taking a 3-2 lead, it looked like Hoff was in control, but their new signing, Edson Braafheid from Bayern, had other ideas. The Dutchman was hardly on the pitch for 5 minutes as a late defensive sub, when he got his ass tossed for a nasty foul. But FCK was unable to rise to the occasion and Hoffenheim keeps all the points.

A dramatic encounter with the bottom dwellers essentially doomed one club to relegation. Gladbach looked to be a good position to help themselves out, as they took a quick two-goal lead against Stuttgart in the "do-or-die-death-match" (liberal license). The loser you can stick a fork in, as they're done. In the 1st half, Gladbach looked to be in control and well on their way to their first home win. Instead, they dicked around aimlessly, and VfB seized the opportunity to come roaring back. The home fans watched helplessly as Stuttgart overran the feeble Gladbach defense and scored 3 times, taking all the points. Kudos to VfB Bruno Labbadia, who at halftime realized the ship was almost sunk. He yanked two defenders and brought in more attack, including Tomas Hajnal, just signed from Dortmund. His move played huge dividends, as it may have saved the season. Gladbach is surely going down now; this was a must-win for both sides. Stuttgart shouldn't be having an orgasm, since they still suck. However, they showed that they do have the talent to pull themselves out of the dumps.

Freiburg and Frankfurt petered out to a draw, although SCF's usually deadly Papiss Cisse left a couple of sitters that could have given the Breisgauer the win. Frankfurt has been crap on the restart, so they're happy with getting a point.

Unfortunately, the highly anticipated Hamburg derby between HSV and St.Pauli was called off. Heavy rains led to a water-logged pitch, causing only the 10th cancelation of a Bundesliga match since 2000. HSV has been acused by some of aiding the cancelation, as they had only just laid down new turf. I guess the argument is that HSV has been sucking lately, and St.Pauli is coming off a thumping win against Köln. However, this assumes that HSV management would be really clever, and all evidence points otherwise. Besides, experts have weighed in that even the old pitch would probably not have held out. The rain estimates on the field were about 80 liters per square meter, if you're interested in that sort of thing.

 
Borussia Dortmund 	- 	FC Schalke 04 		0:0 (0:0)	80,720
1. FC Nürnberg 		- 	Bayer Leverkusen 	1:0 (0:0) 	34,113 	(Eigler)
Hannover 96 		- 	VfL Wolfsburg 		1:0 (1:0) 	37,213	(Pinto)
1. FC Köln 		- 	FC Bayern München 	3:2 (0:2) 	50,000 	(Clemens, Novakovic 2 - Gomez, Altintop)
1899 Hoffenheim 	- 	1. FC Kaiserslautern 	3:2 (2:0) 	30,150  (Sigurdsson, Rudy, Ibisevic - Hoffer, Rodnei)
1. FSV Mainz 05 	- 	SV Werder Bremen 	1:1 (1:0) 	20,300	(Schürrle - Pizarro)
Borussia M'gladbach 	- 	VfB Stuttgart		2:3 (2:0)	39,132	(Dante, de Camargo - Pogrebnyak, Harnik, Gebhardt)
SC Freiburg		-	Eintracht Frankfurt	0:0 (0:0)	21,900
Hamburger SV		-	FC St.Pauli		postponed

Attendance: 313,528 (avg 39,191)


1.  (1.)  Borussia Dortmund 	21 	16 	3 	2 	46:12 	+34 	51
2.  (2.)  Bayer Leverkusen 	21 	11 	6 	4 	41:30 	+11 	39
3.  (4.)  1. FSV Mainz 05 	21 	12 	1 	8 	32:22 	+10 	37
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.  (5.)  Hannover 96 		21 	12 	1 	8 	29:30 	-1 	37
5.  (3.)  FC Bayern München 	21 	10 	6 	5 	42:26 	+16 	36
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6.  (6.)  SC Freiburg 		21 	10 	4 	7 	29:28 	+1 	34
7.  (8.)  1899 Hoffenheim 	21 	8 	8 	5 	39:28 	+11 	32
8.  (7.)  Hamburger SV 		20 	9 	3 	8 	29:30 	-1 	30
9.  (10.) 1. FC Nürnberg 	21 	8 	5 	8 	26:30 	-4 	29
10. (9.)  Eintracht Frankfurt 	21 	8 	3 	10 	24:26 	-2 	27
11. (11.) FC Schalke 04 	21 	7 	5 	9 	26:26 	0 	26
12. (12.) VfL Wolfsburg 	21 	5 	8 	8 	26:30 	-4 	23
13. (15.) SV Werder Bremen 	21 	6 	5 	10 	27:43 	-16 	23
14. (13.) 1. FC Kaiserslautern 	21 	6 	4 	11 	31:37 	-6 	22
15. (14.) FC St. Pauli 		20 	6 	4 	10 	23:34 	-11 	22
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16. (16.) 1. FC Köln	 	21 	6 	4 	11 	25:39 	-14 	22
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17. (17.) VfB Stuttgart 	21 	5 	4 	12 	37:39 	-2 	19
18. (18.) Bor. Mönchengladbach 	21 	4 	4 	13 	31:53 	-22 	16

2.Liga - Round 20

The Zweite Liga remains wide open, as the Berlin derby tossed a wrench in Hertha's plan to control the race.

The first sellout for a domestic league match in some time for Berlin's Olympiastadio, and the fans saw an exciting hard fought match. Hertha jumped out to an early lead, and the expectation was that Union would keel over and die. Far from it, the underdogs kept on fighting and in the end were rewarded with a famous win. The points are precious for Union, as the relegation zone is uncomfortably close. Not a huge set back for Hertha, as they remain league leaders, but they lose Berlin bragging rights.

Augsburg was in control at Osnabrück and had little difficulty in notching up a victory and putting pressure on Hertha. The loss for the Lilacs keeps them under relegation pressure. Bochum won a club record 8th straight, but it wasn't easy in the local Ruhr derby with Oberhausen. RWO is generally fairly crap, but they showed determination against the favored Blues, and even held the lead, forcing a Bochum fightback. Duisburg also did themselves a favor, as they defeated Aue to leapfrog the Easterners into 4th place.

At the very bottom, Ingolstadt confirmed that they might still have a chance in stayin' alive. The Schanzers upended Arminia Bielefeld, and I'd say that's the final nail in the Westfalen coffin. Arminia had garned some 3 million euros in additional sponsorship recently, which they plunked down on additional players before the transfer window closed. Unfortunately, the results remain the same, and it looks impossible to avoid relegation. Ingolstadt on the other hand is just a win from moving up from an auto-relegation spot, and have shown a fair competitive streak.

Karlsruhe is another big club that is in trouble. They managed to hold out for a half against Paderborn, but then got thoroughly bitch-slapped as their resistance petered out.

FC Energie Cottbus 	- 	Alemannia Aachen 	3:3 (2:3) 	 8,540	(Hünemeier, Roger, Jula - Kratz, Auer 2)
FSV Frankfurt 		- 	SpVgg Greuther Fürth 	0:0 (0:0) 	 3,014
VfL Osnabrück 		- 	FC Augsburg 		0:2 (0:1) 	12,000	(Callsen-Bracker, de Jong)
Hertha BSC Berlin 	- 	1. FC Union Berlin 	1:2 (1:1) 	74,244  (Hubnik - Mosquera, Mattuschka)
SC Paderborn 07 	- 	Karlsruher SC 		3:0 (0:0) 	 6,261	(Krösche, Brandy, Brückner)
VfL Bochum 		- 	Rot-Weiß Oberhausen 	2:1 (1:1) 	16,672	(Korkmaz, Federico - König)
MSV Duisburg 		- 	FC Erzgebirge Aue 	3:1 (1:0) 	17,664	(Sukalo 2, Schäffler - Kempe)
FC Ingolstadt 04 	- 	Arminia Bielefeld 	1:0 (1:0) 	 6,978	(Buchner)
TSV 1860 München 	- 	Fortuna Düsseldorf 	1:1 (1:0)	15,800	(Bülow - Gaus)

Attendance: 161,173 (avg 17,908)


1.  (1.)  Hertha BSC Berlin 	21 	13 	3 	5 	36:19 	+17 	42
2.  (2.)  FC Augsburg 		21 	12 	4 	5 	39:18 	+21 	40
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.  (3.)  VfL Bochum 		21 	13 	1 	7 	29:23 	+6 	40
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.  (5.)  MSV Duisburg	 	21 	11 	5 	5 	37:20 	+17 	38
5.  (4.)  FC Erzgebirge Aue 	21 	11 	4 	6 	24:25 	-1 	37
6.  (6.)  SpVgg Greuther Fürth 	21 	10 	6 	5 	29:17 	+12 	36
7.  (7.)  FC Energie Cottbus 	21 	10 	5 	6 	41:31 	+10 	35
8.  (8.)  FSV Frankfurt 	21 	10 	3 	8 	31:28 	+3 	33
9.  (9.)  TSV 1860 München 	21 	8 	8 	5 	26:22 	+4 	30 *
10. (10.) Alemannia Aachen 	21 	7 	8 	6 	35:33 	+2 	29
11. (11.) Fortuna Düsseldorf 	21 	9 	2 	10 	26:24 	+2 	29
12. (12.) SC Paderborn 07 	21 	8 	4 	9 	22:24 	-2 	28
13. (13.) 1. FC Union Berlin 	21 	7 	4 	10 	22:27 	-5 	25
14. (14.) VfL Osnabrück 	21 	6 	3 	12 	27:38 	-11 	21
15. (15.) Karlsruher SC 	21 	5 	5 	11 	26:42 	-16 	20
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16. (16.) Rot-Weiß Oberhausen 	21 	5 	4 	12 	17:38 	-21 	19
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17. (17.) FC Ingolstadt 04 	21 	4 	5 	12 	22:32 	-10 	17
18. (18.) Arminia Bielefeld 	21 	2 	2 	17 	15:43 	-28 	8

* - 1860 deducted two points for financial incompetance

3.Liga - Round 23

A couple of significant matches this round. Offenbach can't get rid of pesky Wehen, as they had the chance to finish them off from contention. As it was the Kickers will have to get points in their makeup matches if they don't want to sweat down the stretch. And of course by not winning, they've been unable to close the gap to the auto-promotion spots, and will have to take their chances in the playoffs. Braunschweig and Rostock picked up wins, so Offenbach is now in a deep hole. Also worthy of note, but more like a wimper, was Dresden losing at Stuttgart which finally puts to rest any dreams Dynamo might have had to still play for a promotion spot.

1. FC Heidenheim 1846 	- 	1. FC Saarbrücken 	2:0 (1:0) 	 5,500	(Weil, Mayer)
SpVgg Unterhaching 	- 	VfR Aalen 		2:0 (0:0) 	 1,600 	(Gunnlaugsson, Kadrijaj)
SV Babelsberg 03 	- 	Rot Weiss Ahlen 	1:0 (1:0) 	 1,461 	(Flottmann o.g.)
Kickers Offenbach 	- 	SV Wehen Wiesbaden 	0:0 (0:0) 	 7,025
Eintracht Braunschweig 	- 	FC Bayern München II 	2:0 (1:0) 	16,900 	(Kruppke, Fetsch)
FC Carl Zeiss Jena 	- 	SV 1916 Sandhausen 	3:0 (1:0) 	 4,644	(Riemer, Öztürk, Brown Forbes)
VfB Stuttgart II 	- 	Dynamo Dresden 		1:0 (1:0) 	   800 	(Vier)
SV Werder Bremen II 	- 	FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt 	1:2 (1:1) 	   490	(Caillas o.g. - Caillas, Pfingsten)
Wacker Burghausen 	- 	Jahn Regensburg 	0:1 (0:0)	 3,718	(Schweinsteiger)
TuS Koblenz 		- 	Hansa Rostock		0:2 (0:0)	 6,760	(Pannewitz, Jänicke)

Attendance: 48,898 (avg 4,890)


Makeup matches from earlier in the week:

Jahn Regensburg 	- 	TuS Koblenz 		0:2 (0:2)	 1,500 	(Bender, Hornig)
SV Wehen Wiesbaden 	- 	SpVgg Unterhaching 	3:0 (3:0) 	 2,100 	(Menga, Kioyo, Janjic) 



 1. (1.)  Eintr. Braunschweig 	23 	16 	4 	3 	54:11 	+43 	52
 2. (2.)  Hansa Rostock 	21 	15 	2 	4 	45:20 	+25 	47
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3. (3.)  Kickers Offenbach 	21 	12 	4 	5 	37:25 	+12 	40
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (4.)  SV Wehen Wiesbaden 	23 	11 	7 	5 	31:21 	+10 	40
 5. (5.)  FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt 	22 	11 	4 	7 	36:26 	+10 	37
 6. (8.)  1. FC Heidenheim 1846 21 	10 	3 	8 	40:29 	+11 	33
 7. (6.)  Dynamo Dresden 	22 	9 	6 	7 	26:24 	+2 	33
 8. (7.)  TuS Koblenz 		23 	9 	6 	8 	24:28 	-4 	33
 9. (9.)  Jahn Regensburg 	21 	8 	6 	7 	23:27 	-4 	30
10. (10.) VfB Stuttgart II 	20 	6 	9 	5 	20:19 	+1 	27
11. (11.) SpVgg Unterhaching 	22 	6 	9 	7 	24:34 	-10 	27
12. (12.) FC Carl Zeiss Jena 	23 	7 	6 	10 	23:38 	-15 	27
13. (14.) SV Babelsberg 03 	21 	7 	4 	10 	18:24 	-6 	25
14. (13.) Rot Weiss Ahlen 	21 	5 	8 	8 	26:32 	-6 	23
15. (15.) Wacker Burghausen 	23 	5 	7 	11 	25:39 	-14 	22
16. (16.) 1. FC Saarbrücken 	22 	5 	6 	11 	26:33 	-7 	21
17. (17.) SV 1916 Sandhausen 	23 	5 	6 	12 	26:37 	-11 	21
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
18. (18.) SV Werder Bremen II 	22 	4 	8 	10 	22:34 	-12 	20
19. (18.) VfR Aalen 		22 	4 	8 	10 	21:34 	-13 	20
20. (20.) FC Bayern München II 	20 	3 	7 	10 	16:28 	-12 	16


Feb 1, 2011

2.Liga makeup

Erzgebirge Aue finally got back on track, as they defeated FSV Frankfurt 3-1 in a makeup match from the 17th round in the 2.Liga. 7,150 fans in Erzgebirgsstadion withnessed a decent performance by the "Veilchen", who have been struggling since topping the table earlier in the season. The match was hard fought and up for grab, but Aue pulled it out and finished off the visitors with a goal in injury time for the final score. Aue moves up to a tie 2nd-4th with 37 points, although their goal difference leaves them at the end. FSV remains in 8th, a solid season.

Transfers

The last minute winter-transfer spree saw some interesting moves, although only Wolfsburg spent like a drunken sailor, since they had all the cash from the Edin Dzeko sale to Man City. (Let's not even talk about the drunken EPL transfer market). Although Steve McClaren has clearly indicated he has no clue what he is doing, the VWs made at least some moves that could turn out OK. Striker Patrick Helmes comes from Leverkusen, where he has been laid up with injury. This could be a decent move, since Helmes is good when he's on form. Turkish attacking midfielder Tuncay also joins, after several seasons in the EPL. So there is some logic in those moves, since Wolfsburg's attack had been diminished. They added several other nobodies, and then dumped Andrea Barzagli off to Italy. Makes little sense, since the VW defense is crap, but maybe they figured, well, we can be equally crap without him.

Other intriguing moves is of course that Demba Ba pissed off to England, good riddance, as far as Hoffenheim is concerned. They replaced him with Dutch striker Ryan Babel from Liverpool, and this may work out if they play him right, which the Reds never did. The Hoppers also picked up Edson Braafheid from Bayern, where he never looked any good. American midifielder Michael Bradley leaves the sinking Gladbach ship for Aston Villa, and Mauro Camoranesi was dumped by Stuttgart, as that pairing never really worked out. Not surprisingly, Schalke also made some strange moves. They dumped Ivan Rakitic, who was once heralded as the new midfield superstar. He's off to Spain to sit on the bench somewhere. Felix Magath also signed Iranian veteran Ali Karimi and Greek international Angelos Charisteas, neither of which should really make a huge impact. (You've already got Raul and Huntelaar up front). Americans might also be interested that Jermaine Jones, who has stated he wants to play for the US, has been in Magath's doghouse, was loaned out to Blackburn. Probably good riddance, as he is somewhat of a punk. But on the other hand, it's not as if Magath has been making all sorts of clever moves, so maybe he should have put Jones in the lineup to thump somebody, given Schalke's lame midfield. Bayern surprisingly was largely quiet, having earlier sprung for Luis Gustavo from Hoffenheim, that leading to Ralf Rangnick throwing in the towel for the Hoppers. Good news is that Bayern did punt Mark Van Bommel off to Italy, as the Bundesliga can do without that thug.


Jan 29, 2011

Bundesliga, Round 20

A good round for the leaders, but bad for middle and bottom clubs.

Dortmund had little trouble as they dominated in Wolfsburg against the lame VWs. The Neons didn't miss a beat, despite the horrible news that Shinji Kagawa, the revelation of the year, broke is foot against South Korea in the Asian Cup and is basically out for the rest of the year. No worries, they are playing McLaren-burg. Wolfsburg looked incompetant and useless, so the Neons pretty much did whatever they wanted.

Leverkusen didn't have much trouble with Hannover, as they kicked the 96ers in the balls in the first half, and them mailed it in for the rest. The Aspirins seem to have some staying power, although it seems unlikely they can catch Dortmund. In fact, most likely Bayern will overtake them, leaving them with 3rd. Hannover is having a nice season, so they should be happy with that.

Bremen has been total crap this season, so it was to be expected that they would get routed at home against a recovered Bayern. To Werder's credit, they put it together and fought Bayern to standstill in the first half, and then even managed to take the lead. In fact, they could have scored in the first 40 seconds, but the forward chose to shoot instead of passing to the wide open man with an empty net. (Probably would have missed anyway.). However, the Werder defense has been Keystone-Kops all year, and when Werder relaxed, the champions struck and brutally finished off the Bremers.

Schalke once again disappointed their home fans, losing against nobodies Hoffenheim. But it was the nobodies that seized control of the match, as they scored early and then had no problem holding off the lame Schalkers. The Blues were laughable in attack, and in the end were probably lucky they didn't get their ass whupped even worse. In a season full of pathetic performances, this has to rank right up there.

Nürnberg grabbed an important win against Hamburg. The 1st half was pretty even, and then der Club took the lead with a substitution. HSV dicked around, and then Kacar got his ass tossed for a late foul that gave FCN the deciding penalty to kill off the match. Or maybe I have it backwards. Bottom line, HSV was crap and Nürnberg fully deserved the win.

St.Pauli hadn't beaten Köln at home in almost 20 years, so this ass-kicking came at an opportune time. Köln had been looking almost respectable recently, but was totally dominated by the Sliders (mini-Hamburgers, haha). After some unlucky results, the Paulistas served notice that they're not dead yet, and shouldn't be counted as an automatic relegation candidate. Köln needs to go back to the drawing board, as this was one of lamest performances of the season. Only GK Michael Rensing prevented a worse hiding. (Rensing looked better than he ever did at Bayern.)

Last century, Kaiserslautern was the undisputed dominant force in the southwest, and Mainz was barely a backwater. Things have obviously changed in the last 10 years, but it was not unexpected that this regional matchup would be a hard fought battle. For one thing, Mainz is still clearly no.2 in the local fan's heart, so they have to do more. They were probably lucky to win this one, but the enthusiasm generated bodes well for a now growing regional derby.

In a similar fashion, VfB Stuttgart has always been the top flagship of Baden-Württemberg, fending off rivals like Karlsruhe, Kickers Stuttgart and Waldhof. More recently, they've had to contend with upstarts like Freiburg and the Hoppers, but have easily held them off. But this season proud VfB is in the toilet, and it's already been flushed. At times, Stuttgart has looked like a decent squad, ready to climb over the corpses of other strugglers. But then they bitterly disappoint, and in the regional derby with Freiburg, they get dumped. VFB fans are undobutedly insulted by the fact that they even have to give SCF the time of the day, but the Breisgauer fans can merely point out that they have twice as many points (!!).

Bayer Leverkusen 	- 	Hannover 96 		2:0 (2:0) 	28,013 	(Vidal, Rolfes)
FC St. Pauli	 	- 	1. FC Köln 		3:0 (2:0) 	24.355 	(Takyi 2, Bruns)
1. FC Nürnberg 		- 	Hamburger SV	 	2:0 (0:0) 	36.202 	(Simons, Cohen)
VfL Wolfsburg 		- 	Borussia Dortmund 	0:3 (0:2) 	30.000 	(Barrios, Sahin, Hummels)
SV Werder Bremen 	- 	FC Bayern München 	1:3 (0:0)	40.500 	(Mertesacker -  Robben, Mertesacker o.g., Klose)
FC Schalke 04 		- 	1899 Hoffenheim 	0:1 (0:1) 	60.569 	(Vorsah)
1. FC Kaiserslautern 	- 	1. FSV Mainz 05 	0:1 (0:1) 	46.649 	(Holtby)
VfB Stuttgart 		- 	SC Freiburg 		0:1 (0:1) 	38.600 	(Flum)
Eintracht Frankfurt 	- 	Borussia M'gladbach 	0:1 (0:0)	43,700	(de Camargo)



 1. (1.)  Borussia Dortmund 	20 	16 	2 	2 	46:12 	+34 	50
 2. (2.)  Bayer Leverkusen 	20 	11 	6 	3 	41:29 	+12 	39
 3. (4.)  FC Bayern München 	20 	10 	6 	4 	40:23 	+17 	36
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (5.)  1. FSV Mainz 05 	20 	12 	0 	8 	31:21 	+10 	36
 5. (3.)  Hannover 96 		20 	11 	1 	8 	28:30 	-2 	34
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 6. (7.)  SC Freiburg 		20 	10 	3 	7 	29:28 	+1 	33
 7. (6.)  Hamburger SV 		20 	9 	3 	8 	29:30 	-1 	30
 8. (8.)  1899 Hoffenheim 	20 	7 	8 	5 	36:26 	+10 	29
 9. (9.)  Eintracht Frankfurt 	20 	8 	2 	10 	24:26 	-2 	26
10. (12.) 1. FC Nürnberg 	20 	7 	5 	8 	25:30 	-5 	26
11. (10.) FC Schalke 04 	20 	7 	4 	9 	26:26 	0 	25
12. (11.) VfL Wolfsburg 	20 	5 	8 	7 	26:29 	-3 	23
13. (13.) 1. FC Kaiserslautern 	20 	6 	4 	10 	29:34 	-5 	22
14. (16.) FC St. Pauli 		20 	6 	4 	10 	23:34 	-11 	22
15. (14.) SV Werder Bremen 	20 	6 	4 	10 	26:42 	-16 	22
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16. (15.) 1. FC Köln 		20 	5 	4 	11 	22:37 	-15 	19
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17. (17.) VfB Stuttgart 	20 	4 	4 	12 	34:37 	-3 	16
18. (18.) Bor. Mönchengladbach 	20 	4 	4 	12 	29:50 	-21 	16

2.Liga - Round 20

Berlin seized their chance to solidify their promotion drive. Hertha travelled to Bielefeld, where Arminia still manages to draw respectable crowds despite their lameness. It's pretty evident that Arminia is going down, and Hertha looks a good bet to return to the top flight.

Bochum is showing that they are finally serious. In the top clash, they travelled to Augsburg and gave a solid defensive performance, and then struck on a counter near the end. This was Bochum's 7th straight win, and they move into 3rd place, looking like a team on a mission.

Düsseldorf gave upstart Frankfurt a severe hiding, showing FSV that it will take a lot more to play with the big boys. Obviously Fortuna was taking out their frustration of a crap season, but at least they have probably laid to rest any relegation worries.

Cottbus got dumped in Karlsruhe, allowing the hosts to climb out of the relegation zone. KSC was in fact the better team, as once again Energie showed very little on the road.

Aue continues to suffer, as they lost at home against Osnabrück, the latter's first road win of the season. Although they're only a point out of 3rd (with a game in hand no less), it's really looking like Erzgebirge has run out of gas, and unless they can figure out a way to score some goals, they should keep sliding down the table. For VfL, a huge win, as they struggle to keep their head above water.

1860 had it all wrapped up against a underperforming Duisburg, but the Zebras managed to snatch a point, so Lion fans once again go home with a bitter taste in their mouth (and it wasn't the beer causing it.)

Oberhausen blew a chance to help themnselves out, as they struggled to a home draw against Ingolstadt. These two clubs are the front runners to join Bielefeld in going down.

Union Berlin continues to slide and they now need to be seriously concerned about relegation. Paderborn essentially ran rings around them, picking up a crucial away win.

Fortuna Düsseldorf 	- 	FSV Frankfurt	 	6:0 (2:0) 	18,027  (Ilsö 3, Bodzek, Beister 2)
Rot-Weiß Oberhausen 	- 	FC Ingolstadt 04 	1:1 (0:1)	 3,362 	(Leitl - König)
FC Erzgebirge Aue 	- 	VfL Osnabrück 		0:1 (0:0) 	 7,700	(Schmidt)
TSV 1860 München 	- 	MSV Duisburg 		1:1 (1:0) 	15,000 	(Lauth - Schäffler)
Alemannia Aachen 	- 	SpVgg Greuther Fürth 	2:2 (1:2) 	19,468 	(Auer, Junglas - Nöthe, Fürstner)
Arminia Bielefeld 	- 	Hertha BSC Berlin	1:3 (0:2) 	20,017 	(Tadic - Ronny, Raffael 2)
Karlsruher SC 		- 	FC Energie Cottbus 	1:0 (1:0) 	14,876  (Buckley)
1. FC Union Berlin 	- 	SC Paderborn 07 	0:2 (0:1) 	11,870	(Brandy, Guié-Mien) 
FC Augsburg 		- 	VfL Bochum		0:1 (0:0)	15,348	(Federico)


1. (1.)   Hertha BSC Berlin 	20 	13 	3 	4 	35:17 	+18 	42
2. (2.)	  FC Augsburg 		20 	11 	4 	5 	37:18 	+19 	37
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. (6.)   VfL Bochum	 	20 	12 	1 	7 	27:22 	+5 	37
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. (3.)   MSV Duisburg 		20 	10 	5 	5 	34:19 	+15 	35
5. (4.)   SpVgg Greuther Fürth 	20 	10 	5 	5 	29:17 	+12 	35
6. (5.)   FC Energie Cottbus 	20 	10 	4 	6 	38:28 	+10 	34
7. (7.)   FC Erzgebirge Aue 	19 	10 	4 	5 	20:21 	-1 	34
8. (8.)   FSV Frankfurt 	19 	10 	2 	7 	30:25 	+5 	32
9. (9.)   TSV 1860 München 	20 	8 	7 	5 	25:21 	+4 	29 *
10. (10.) Alemannia Aachen 	20 	7 	7 	6 	32:30 	+2 	28
11. (11.) Fortuna Düsseldorf 	20 	9 	1 	10 	25:23 	+2 	28
12. (13.) SC Paderborn 07 	20 	7 	4 	9 	19:24 	-5 	25
13. (12.) 1. FC Union Berlin 	20 	6 	4 	10 	20:26 	-6 	22
14. (14.) VfL Osnabrück 	20 	6 	3 	11 	27:36 	-9 	21
15. (16.) Karlsruher SC 	20 	5 	5 	10 	26:39 	-13 	20
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16. (15.) Rot-Weiß Oberhausen 	20 	5 	4 	11 	16:36 	-20 	19
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17. (17.) FC Ingolstadt 04 	20 	3 	5 	12 	21:32 	-11 	14
18. (18.) Arminia Bielefeld 	20 	2 	2 	16 	15:42 	-27 	8

* - 1860 deducted two points for financial shenanigans

3.Liga - Round 22

A stunning home setback for Rostock matched with Braunschweig's away win were the highlights of this round, with a few games postponed due to weather. Still, the top two remain in control of the board, as Offenbach is still 6 points behind Rostock, although if the ball were to bounce their way, it could be cut.

Jena got an important road win at Saarbrücken. not only because of the direct matchup, the east Germans also have generally played more matches than the other teams at the bottom, so it will likely remain tight.

Wehen overcame weeks of lame results as they thumped Burghausen. This might just let them back into the race, at least for 3rd place and a promotion playoff.

SV 1916 Sandhausen 	- 	Eintracht Braunschweig 	0:2 (0:0) 	 2,070 	(Fetsch, Vrancic)
Hansa Rostock 		- 	VfB Stuttgart II 	0:1 (0:0)   	11,000 	(Benyamina)
SV Wehen Wiesbaden 	- 	Wacker Burghausen 	3:0 (1:0) 	 2,495 	(Brosinski, Janjic, Sailer)
Rot Weiss Ahlen 	- 	SpVgg Unterhaching 	1:1 (0:1) 	 1,910 	(Taylor - Amachaibou)
VfR Aalen 		- 	SV Werder Bremen II	1:1 (1:1) 	 2,120	(Kettemann - Maek) 
FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt 	- 	TuS Koblenz 		3:0 (1:0) 	 3,825	(Pfingsten, Reichwein, Hauswald)
1. FC Saarbrücken 	- 	FC Carl Zeiss Jena 	1:3 (1:1) 	 4,932 	(Zimmermann - Otto, Hähnge 2)
FC Bayern München II 	- 	Kickers Offenbach 	postponed 	
Jahn Regensburg 	- 	SV Babelsberg 03 	postponed 	
Dynamo Dresden 		- 	1. FC Heidenheim 1846 	postponed 	


 1. (1.)  Eintracht Braunschweig22 	15 	4 	3 	52:11 	+41 	49
 2. (2.)  Hansa Rostock 	20 	14 	2 	4 	43:20 	+23 	44
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3. (3.)  Kickers Offenbach 	20 	12 	3 	5 	37:25 	+12 	39
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (4.)  SV Wehen Wiesbaden 	21 	10 	6 	5 	28:21 	+7 	36
 5. (6.)  FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt 	21 	10 	4 	7 	34:25 	+9 	34
 6. (5.)  Dynamo Dresden 	21 	9 	6 	6 	26:23 	+3 	33
 7. (7.)  1. FC Heidenheim 1846 20 	9 	3 	8 	38:29 	+9 	30
 8. (8.)  TuS Koblenz 		21 	8 	6 	7 	22:26 	-4 	30
 9. (9.)  Jahn Regensburg 	19 	7 	6 	6 	22:25 	-3 	27
10. (14.) VfB Stuttgart II 	19 	5 	9 	5 	19:19 	0 	24
11. (10.) SpVgg Unterhaching 	20 	5 	9 	6 	22:31 	-9 	24
12. (17.) FC Carl Zeiss Jena 	22 	6 	6 	10 	20:38 	-18 	24
13. (11.) Rot Weiss Ahlen 	20 	5 	8 	7 	26:31 	-5 	23
14. (12.) SV Babelsberg 03 	20 	6 	4 	10 	17:24 	-7 	22
15. (13.) Wacker Burghausen 	22 	5 	7 	10 	25:38 	-13 	22
16. (15.) 1. FC Saarbrücken 	21 	5 	6 	10 	26:31 	-5 	21
17. (16.) SV 1916 Sandhausen 	22 	5 	6 	11 	26:34 	-8 	21
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
18. (18.) VfR Aalen 		21 	4 	8 	9 	21:32 	-11 	20
19. (18.) SV Werder Bremen II 	21 	4 	8 	9 	21:32 	-11 	20
20. (20.) FC Bayern München II 	19 	3 	7 	9 	16:26 	-10 	16


Jan 26, 2011

DFB Pokal Quarterfinals

The Zweite-Liga is still alive and kicking in the German Cup. If Cottbus and Duisburg get drawn against each other, that insures a crap crowd, since nobody will want to watch it. However, the winner gets a huge payoff in the final in Berlin. Of course, if they're at home against Bayern, that's an automatic sell-out, and even Schalke would probably mean full treasure chest for the underdogs.

Alemannia Aachen - Bayern München 0:4 (0:1)

Defending Cup winner Bayern had little trouble in their trip to Aachen. Mario Gomez struck after 26 minutes as Bayern controlled the match from start to finish. Alemannia was able to open up the match a bit in the 2nd period, but eventually that came at the expense of letting Bayern take advanatge of their weaknesses. Thomas Müller knocked in a couple before Arjen Robben came in late and finished off the match. The Aacheners had little to cheer about, except of course that the Tivoli-Stadion was completely sold out (32,190).

Energie Cottbus - 1899 Hoffenheim 1:0 (0:0)

This was somewhat of a surprise, but not as much as you might think. Cottbus has been in the top flight a few times, and the "Stadion der Freundschaft" was anything but. 15,220 fans showed up, which by Cottbus standards is a pretty good crowd. Hoffenheim obviously is a much more talented team, but they've been pretty lame at times, and this was another one of those outings. Basically they slept through the 1st half, and then when they decided to bother, they really couldn't ramp up and dominate. On the other hand, Energie can't play pretty football, but they know how to run around and play hard. They were rewarded by a late goal from China international Shao, and Cottbus can still dream of a big payday in Berlin.

MSV Duisburg - 1. FC Kaiserslautern 2:0 (1:0)

This isn't really much of a surprise either. Both teams were in the 2.Liga last season, and there's a reasonable chance that the Zebras will be back next year. As it was, MSV dominated the match, as they looked engaged and interested, whereas FCK seemed to be just going through the motions. Goals by Sukalo and Baljic gave the hosts all they needed. Attendance was 22,917, which is a pretty good crowd for Duisburg these days.

FC Schalke 04 - 1.FC Nürnberg 3:2 aet (1:2,2:2)

This was the best match, as both Bundesliga clubs delivered an exciting Cup fight. FCN was by no means inferior, and had Schalke on their heals after only 4 minutes on a goal by Schieber. After Schalke equalized, Schieber again put Nürnberg ahead, and in general der Club was very effective in keeping the edge in the period. However in the 2nd half, Schalke began to seize control and pressured the visitors. Rakitic equalized after an hour, but despite continued pressure, Schalke was unable to beat down the Franconians. It was more of the same in overtime, and the match looked to go to penalties. In the end, the hero was 17 year old Julian Draxler, who came on in the 116th minute, and knocked in a 25 yard shot just before the whistle. Attendance was 49,191, which sounds decent, but is somewhat crap by Schalke standards, since they basically sell out (61,000+) for every normal Bundesliga home game. However, this is the trend in the Cup, where Bundesliga clubs only really draw the massive crowds when they're on the road, playing lesser opposition.


Jan 23, 2011

Bundesliga, Round 19

Dortmund is not invincible, and despite constant pressure, they were unable to inflict heavy damage on Stuttgart. On the contrary, VfB was able to fend off the Neon assaults and managed to steal a point with a late goal. No skin off Dortmund's nose however, as they still did well, despite missing Shinji Kagawa (who was scoring against Qatar in the Asian quartfinals). Stuttgart showed determination that was lacking in the pre-winterbreak, so climbing out of relegation looks like a real possibility.

Leverkusen welcomed back Michael Ballack, but since they were playing hapless Gladbach, there was no real need for him. After a wonderful curved free-kick by Kadlec, the Aspirins toyed with their hosts before finally putting them away.

Hannover was in the odd position of being the favorite - as 2nd you'd have to bet that way, no? And Schalke of course has struggled quite a bit. But in fact, it was the Blues that had the best chances throughout the match, with Raul causing all sorts of chaos. The Spaniard was foiled on many a chance, but he got the game winner. The 96ers played hard, but in truth, their talent level is lacking, and there is only so much you can do with "fighting play" that is so prized in German football.

Bayern actually had some trouble with upstart Kaiserslautern in the first half. the visitors showed the champions no respect, and had some opportunities to grab a lead. However, Bayern is definitely a team that has the talent to turn it up a notch when they can be bothered, and they decided the farce had gone on long enough. So a minute on the side of half-time, they struck and basically kicked 'Lautern's ass. Mario Gomez torrid recovery continues unabated, as he banged a hattrick. Ivica Who? Miroslav What?

HSV was bummed out that Matthias Sammer apparently told them to go take a hike, as he decided not to take the offered "sports-director" job. But fortunately they faced an injury-riddled Frankfurt squad that has gotten off to a crap restart, so they were able to do enough to get the win.

Köln helped their cause immensely as they bitchslapped a shockingly lame Bremen. Werder was not dangerous except to themselves as the hosts constantly overran the alleged "defense". It's hard to believe that Bremen could be so crap. Prinz Poldi (scored twice, caused all sorts of problems) has actually been having a pretty decent season for the lame Kölners, so they should get a nice transfer fee when they get relegated.

As predicted, Mainz is having problems - because they can't score. They had decent pressure against struggling Wolfsburg, but the VWs didn't make their usual mistakes, and Mainz proved to be unable to get the ball in the net. Wolfsburg didn't show too much on offense (another lame addition of the McClaren era), but near the end they ended up winning - Simon Kjaer scored, the first headed goal against Mainz all season. The "Wolfs" are not out of the woods yet, but this is a match that they lose earlier in the year, and it has to be satisfying on another account: In the pre-winterbreak season, Wolfsburg blew a 3-0 home lead and lost to Mainz, which started the VWs on a disastrous half-season.

St.Pauli put in a strong away performance and looked to have grabbed all the points, but a weak, possibly deflected shot in injury time found the lower corner of the net and Hoffenheim saved face.

Freiburg and Nürnberg split the points, which each side having the edge in the half they scored. Overall, a fair result and an important point for der Club.

	
Hamburger SV	 	-  	Eintracht Frankfurt	1:0 (0:0)	50,295	(Petric) 		
Bayern München	 	-  	1. FC Kaiserslautern	5:1 (1:0)	69,000	(Robben, Gomez 3, T. Müller - Moravek)
Borussia Dortmund	-  	VfB Stuttgart		1:1 (1:0) 	80,720	(M. Götze - Pogrebnyak)
1. FSV Mainz 05	 	-  	VfL Wolfsburg		0:1 (0:0) 	18,900	(Kjaer)
SC Freiburg	 	- 	1. FC Nürnberg		1:1 (1:0) 	20,000	(Flum - Schieber)		
Hannover 96	 	-  	FC Schalke 04		0:1 (0:1) 	49,000	(Raul)
1. FC Köln	 	-  	Werder Bremen		3:0 (2:0)	45,100	(Podolski 2, Mattyschuk)		
Borussia M'gladbach	 -  	Bayer Leverkusen	1:3 (0:2)	36,696	(Stranzl - Castro 2, Kadlec)
1899 Hoffenheim		 -  	FC St. Pauli		2:2 (1:0)	29,300	(Compper, Alaba - Kruse, Asamoah)

Attendance: 399,011 (avg 44,335)


 1. (1.)  Borussia Dortmund 	19 	15 	2 	2 	43:12 	+31 	47
 2. (4.)  Bayer Leverkusen 	19 	10 	6 	3 	39:29 	+10 	36
 3. (2.)  Hannover 96 		19 	11 	1 	7 	28:28 	 0 	34
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (5.)  FC Bayern München 	19 	9 	6 	4 	37:22 	+15 	33
 5. (3.)  1. FSV Mainz 05 	19 	11 	0 	8 	30:21 	+9 	33
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 6. (7.)  Hamburger SV 		19 	9 	3 	7 	29:28 	+1 	30
 7. (6.)  SC Freiburg 		19 	9 	3 	7 	28:28 	 0 	30
 8. (9.)  TSG 1899 Hoffenheim 	19 	6 	8 	5 	35:26 	+9 	26
 9. (8.)  Eintracht Frankfurt 	19 	8 	2 	9 	24:25 	-1 	26
10. (11.) FC Schalke 04 	19 	7 	4 	8 	26:25 	+1 	25
11. (14.) VfL Wolfsburg 	19 	5 	8 	6 	26:26 	 0 	23
12. (12.) 1. FC Nürnberg 	19 	6 	5 	8 	23:30 	-7 	23
13. (10.) 1.FC Kaiserslautern 	19 	6 	4 	9 	29:33 	-4 	22
14. (13.) SV Werder Bremen 	19 	6 	4 	9 	25:39 	-14 	22
15. (16.) 1. FC Köln 		19 	5 	4 	10 	22:34 	-12 	19
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16. (15.) FC St. Pauli	 	19 	5 	4 	10 	20:34 	-14 	19
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17. (17.) VfB Stuttgart 	19 	4 	4 	11 	34:36 	-2 	16
18. (18.) Bor. Mönchengladbach 	19 	3 	4 	12 	28:50 	-22 	13

2. Liga, Round 19

Hertha Berlin appears back on track as they moved to the top, but they had their hands full with a fighting Düsseldorf.

Augsburg was in a tough battle with Paderborn, which can be a difficult opponent. On the positive side, veteran striker Michael Thurk is back early from injury, and he opened the scoring for the Fuggers. But the Westfalen hosts evened the score, and although both sides had decent chances, the game ended with the fair split in points.

Duisburg almost had their zebra stripes ripped off as they were going down hard against bottom dweller Ingolstadt. The Schanzer have shown that they're vastly improved from their poor start, and US forward Edson Buddle put them in the lead in his German debut. Meanwhile, Duisburg struggled to justify their high-ranking, but with some luck were able to grab a late goal and get a somewhat lucky point.

Dwarf FSV Frankfurt showed that they have bite, as they bitch-slapped Oberhausen silly. Sascha Mölders continues to prove that he's one of the best players in the 2.Liga, as he nailed a hat-trick.

On Monday night, Bochum and Aue had a wide open match that saw both teams go for the win. It took a 20 meter blast by North Korea international Chong Tese to give the hosts the lead with a minute to play, and then in injury time he picked up an "assist" as well (the Aue GK kicked the ball of his back, which bounced to Federico) to give VfL the win. On overall play it was probably a deserved win for Bochum, but somewhat cruel to Aue, who had held out for so long. Bochum appears to be a serious contender now for promotion, which was their pre-season expectation.

	
SC Paderborn 07	 	-  	FC Augsburg		1:1 (1:1) 	 5,624	(Mohr - Thurk)
VfL Osnabrück	 	-  	1860 München		0:1 (0:0) 	12,500	(Volland)
FC Ingolstadt 04	-  	MSV Duisburg		1:1 (0:0) 	 4,300	(Buddle - Sahan)
Energie Cottbus	 	-  	Arminia Bielefeld	2:1 (1:0) 	 8,100	(Kruska, Petersen - Bollmann)
Alemannia Aachen	-  	Karlsruher SC		4:2 (3:1) 	19,814	(Stieber, Auer, Arslan, Radu - Krebs, Staffeldt)
Hertha BSC	 	-  	Fortuna Düsseldorf	4:2 (1:1) 	36,192	(Ramos 2, Lasogga, Rukavytsya - Lambertz 2)
SpVgg Greuther Fürth	-  	1. FC Union Berlin	1:0 (0:0) 	 6,480	(Klaus)
FSV Frankfurt	 	-  	Rot-Weiß Oberhausen	4:0 (1:0) 	 3,170	(Mölders 3, Fillinger)
VfL Bochum	 	-  	Erzgebirge Aue		2:0 (0:0)	11,785	(Chong Tese, Federico) 

Attendance:


 1. (2.)  Hertha BSC Berlin 	19 	12 	3 	4 	32:16 	+16 	39
 2. (1.)  FC Augsburg 		19 	11 	4 	4 	37:17 	+20 	37
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3. (4.)  MSV Duisburg 		19 	10 	4 	5 	33:18 	+15 	34
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (5.)  SpVgg Greuther Fürth 	19 	10 	4 	5 	27:15 	+12 	34
 5. (6.)  FC Energie Cottbus 	19 	10 	4 	5 	38:27 	+11 	34
 6. (7.)  VfL Bochum 		19 	11 	1 	7 	26:22 	+4 	34
 7. (3.)  FC Erzgebirge Aue 	18 	10 	4 	4 	20:20 	 0 	34
 8. (8.)  FSV Frankfurt 	18 	10 	2 	6 	30:19 	+11 	32
 9. (9.)  TSV 1860 München 	19 	8 	6 	5 	24:20 	+4 	28 (*)
10. (11.) Alemannia Aachen 	19 	7 	6 	6 	30:28 	+2 	27
11. (10.) Fortuna Düsseldorf 	19 	8 	1 	10 	19:23 	-4 	25
12. (12.) 1. FC Union Berlin 	19 	6 	4 	9 	20:24 	-4 	22
13. (13.) SC Paderborn 07 	19 	6 	4 	9 	17:24 	-7 	22
14. (14.) VfL Osnabrück 	19 	5 	3 	11 	26:36 	-10 	18
15. (15.) Rot-Weiß Oberhausen 	19 	5 	3 	11 	15:35 	-20 	18
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16. (16.) Karlsruher SC 	19 	4 	5 	10 	25:39 	-14 	17
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17. (17.) FC Ingolstadt 04 	19 	3 	4 	12 	20:31 	-11 	13
18. (18.) Arminia Bielefeld 	19 	2 	2 	15 	14:39 	-25 	8

* - 1860 deducted two points for financial irregularities

3. Liga, Round 21

Mostly makeup matches.

The most significant result is that Offenbach stubbed their toe against Sandhausen at home. This was the first home loss for the Kickers, and they lose ground against the leaders. With auto-promotion limited to the top two spots, Offenbach is now facing the prospect of coming up empty, despite coasting through the season.

Dresden had top-of-table Braunschweig on the ropes, but once again the Lions showed their resiliency down the stretch, and they were able to salvage a point with a late goal. Rostock had few problems kicking Erfurt's ass.



1. FC Heidenheim	-  	Carl Zeiss Jena		2:0 (0:0)	 4,200	(Schnatterer, Aupperle)
Dynamo Dresden	 	-  	Eintracht Braunschweig	1:1 (0:0) 	18,736	(Shahin - Fetsch)
Rot Weiss Ahlen	 	-  	TuS Koblenz		2:3 (0:0)	 2,110	(Taylor, Wölk - Popischil, Rahn, Kittner)
Carl Zeiss Jena	 	-  	VfB Stuttgart II	1:1 (0:0) 	 4,171	(Bikakcic - Rathgeb) 		
Hansa Rostock	 	-  	Rot-Weiß Erfurt		3:0 (2:0) 	14,100	(Ziegenbein, Larthey, Schied)
SpVgg Unterhaching 	-  	Jahn Regensburg		0:0 (0:0) 	 1,750
SV Babelsberg 03	-  	SV Wehen Wiesbaden	0:0 (0:0) 	 1,839 		
Wacker Burghausen	-  	Bayern München II	2:0 (1:0) 	 2,300	(Eberlein, Burkhard)		
Kickers Offenbach	-  	SV Sandhausen		1:2 (0:0) 	 7,011	(Occean - Löning, Benschneider)


 1. (1.)  Eintr. Braunschweig	21 	14 	4 	3 	50:11 	+39 	46
 2. (2.)  Hansa Rostock 	19 	14 	2 	3 	43:19 	+24 	44
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3. (3.)  Kickers Offenbach 	20 	12 	3 	5 	37:25 	+12 	39
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (4.)  SV Wehen Wiesbaden 	20 	9 	6 	5 	25:21 	+4 	33
 5. (5.)  Dynamo Dresden 	21 	9 	6 	6 	26:23 	+3 	33
 6. (6.)  FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt 	20 	9 	4 	7 	31:25 	+6 	31
 7. (7.)  1. FC Heidenheim 1846 20 	9 	3 	8 	38:29 	+9 	30
 8. (8.)  TuS Koblenz 		20 	8 	6 	6 	22:23 	-1 	30
 9. (9.)  Jahn Regensburg 	19 	7 	6 	6 	22:25 	-3 	27
10. (10.) SpVgg Unterhaching 	19 	5 	8 	6 	21:30 	-9 	23
11. (11.) Rot Weiss Ahlen 	18 	5 	7 	6 	24:27 	-3 	22
12. (12.) SV Babelsberg 03 	20 	6 	4 	10 	17:24 	-7 	22
13. (13.) 1. FC Saarbrücken 	20 	5 	6 	9 	25:28 	-3 	21
14. (14.) Wacker Burghausen 	20 	5 	6 	9 	24:34 	-10 	21
15. (15.) FC Carl Zeiss Jena 	21 	5 	6 	10 	17:37 	-20 	21
16. (16.) VfB Stuttgart II 	17 	4 	8 	5 	17:18 	-1 	20
17. (17.) SV 1916 Sandhausen 	20 	5 	5 	10 	25:31 	-6 	20
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
18. (18.) VfR Aalen 		19 	4 	6 	9 	19:30 	-11 	18
19. (19.) FC Bayern München II 	19 	3 	7 	9 	16:26 	-10 	16
20. (20.) SV Werder Bremen II 	19 	3 	7 	9 	17:30 	-13 	16


Jan 18, 2011

Bundesliga, Round 18

After the winterbreak, the Bundesliga is back in action, but the only conslusion one can draw is that leaders Borussia Dortmund intend on crushing their opposition to the title. The bottom clubs seemed to have used the break to refocus, and got some results to try and get them back into the mix.

An impressive performance by Dortmund, as they piled pressure on their hosts in the first half, and then finished them off quickly at the restart. Leverkusen had opened the campaign with a strong away win in Dortmund, but times have changed quite a bit, and there was little question who the better team was in this one.

Bayern must realize that the title defense is over. They realize that they're still the big kid on the block, but seem to lack the killer instinct and end up shooting themselves in the foot. They dominated a shockingly lame Wolfsburg and should have had several goals, but instead only ended up with Franck Ribery leaving with an ankle injury that should cause him to miss at least the next game. They also brought back Arjen Robben, but he's clearly got a way to go. I was more "impressed" with how crap the VWs looked, especially in the first half. They did have a Diego freekick goal called back on a questionable offsides, but otherwise they were total crap. McClaren doesn't seem to have much player confidence, as they didn't look very interested. In the 2nd half, things got marginally better, and they managed to steal a point with a late goal.

Hannover is unreal. They are crap, but they don't appear to realize it. Instead they are 2nd in the table, after giving Frankfurt a severe thumping.

Stuttgart was a disaster in the first half season, and they faced one of the surprises, Mainz. Normally of course VfB would be heavily favored against such a squad, but of course they've looked so crap that the opposite was the case. As things turned out, Mainz was unable to live up to their earlier form, and Stuttgart seemed to have straightened out at least some of their problems. The win for VfB is critical in getting them back into range of a saving spot.

Schalke had showed signs of getting back into groove, but what they showed against Hamburg was manure. HSV has basically stunk, but they deserve this victory because their hosts were so lame. Rude Van Morrison, err Borstel-Boy, whatever-his-name-is, has announced he wants to slink off back to Real Madrid's bench. Seems silly, but he's thinking retirement, and Madrid sounds a bit nicer than Hamburg. Still, he hasn't forgotten what he's here for, and banged in the winner. Schalke sucked, did I mention that?

Along with Stuttgart, Schalke, Wolfsburg, Bayern, HSV...hey, almost all favorites...Bremen has stunk to high heaven. Obviously heads are going to have to role, but unlike Stuttgart, they haven't taken to firing their coach every 3 weeks. Thomas Schaaf has been in charge 11 years, and it's been a good run. However, he seems exhausted from the horrible play of his squad, and if he survives, he'll have to clean house. So with Bremen sucking, you'd expect them to give a lame performance. Instead, they got their act together and dumped Hoffenheim, another squad with an identity crisis.

Köln was fortunate to escape with a point in Kaiserslautern. The hosts generally dominated the match, despite losing Lakic in the first half with a straight red. Although Podolski gave the visitors the lead soon after, it never looked like they would be able to hold it, despite the man advantage. Instead it was the hosts that pushed the match and kept Köln bottled up, running around like scared chickens. A good point for Köln, but the Reds will be unhappy with letting this slip away.

St.Pauli and Freiburg delivered an entertaining slug fest that ended in a draw. The hosts probably hoped for more, but Papiss Cissé said otherwise.

Gladbach was a disaster in the first half season, and a loss in Nürnberg would have been the final nail in the coffin. However, a dose of "der Club" is just what the doctor ordered, as you can usually count on the Nürnbergers to come up with an incompetant performance when you expect them to do well. As a result, the Gladbachers were able to steal a win, and although they still look like cannon-fodder and relegation prime, they at least can see the clubs above them. And a couple of wins, hey, stranger things have happened...

Bayer Leverkusen 	- 	Borussia Dortmund 	1:3 (0:0)	30,210	(Kiessling - Grosskreutz 2, Götze)
SV Werder Bremen 	- 	1899 Hoffenheim 	2:1 (1:0)	34,274	(Pizarro, Frings - Vukcevic)
VfB Stuttgart 		- 	1. FSV Mainz 05 	1:0 (0:0)	33,500	(Harnik)
VfL Wolfsburg 		- 	FC Bayern München 	1:1 (0:1)	30,000	(Riether - T. Müller)
1. FC Nürnberg 		- 	Borussia M'gladbach 	0:1 (0:1)	37,464	(Neustädter)
FC St. Pauli 		- 	SC Freiburg 		2:2 (1:0)	24,051	(Ebbers, Asamoah - Cissé 2)
FC Schalke 04	 	- 	Hamburger SV	 	0:1 (0:0)	61,673	(Van Nistelrooy)
Eintracht Frankfurt 	- 	Hannover 96 		0:3 (0:2)	39,300	(Abdellaoue, Schulz, Ya Konan)
1. FC K'lautern 	- 	1. FC Köln 		1:1 (0:1)	42,295 	(Moravek - Podolski)

Attendance: 332,767 (avg 36,974)

	
 1. (1.)  Borussia Dortmund 	18  	15 	1 	2 	 42:11  	+31 	46
 2. (4.)  Hannover 96	 	18  	11 	1 	6 	 28:27  	+1 	34
 3. (2.)  1. FSV Mainz 05 	18  	11 	0 	7 	 30:20  	+10 	33
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (3.)  Bayer Leverkusen 	18  	9 	6 	3 	 36:28  	+8 	33
 5. (5.)  FC Bayern München 	18  	8 	6 	4 	 32:21  	+11 	30
 6. (6.)  SC Freiburg 		18  	9 	2 	7 	 27:27  	0 	29
 7. (9.)  Hamburger SV 		18  	8 	3 	7 	 28:28  	0 	27
 8. (7.)  Eintracht Frankfurt 	18  	8 	2 	8 	 24:24  	0 	26
 9. (8.)  1899 Hoffenheim 	18  	6 	7 	5 	 33:24  	+9 	25
10. (12.) 1. FC K'lautern 	18  	6 	4 	8 	 28:28  	0 	22
11. (10.) FC Schalke 04 	18  	6 	4 	8 	 25:25  	0 	22
12. (11.) 1. FC Nürnberg 	18  	6 	4 	8 	 22:29  	-7 	22
13. (14.) SV Werder Bremen 	18  	6 	4 	8 	 25:36  	-11 	22
14. (13.) VfL Wolfsburg 	18  	4 	8 	6 	 25:26  	-1 	20
15. (15.) FC St. Pauli 		18  	5 	3 	10 	 18:32  	-14 	18
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16. (16.) 1. FC Köln 		18  	4 	4 	10 	 19:34  	-15 	16
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17. (17.) VfB Stuttgart 	18  	4 	3 	11 	 33:35  	-2 	15
18. (18.) Borussia M'gladbach 	18  	3 	4 	11 	 27:47  	-20 	13

2. Liga, Round 18

Augsburg holds on to the top with a Bavarian derby against struggling Ingolstadt. It was by no means easy, as the guest have shown some inclination to improve their game, but in the end the leaders were too strong.

Duisburg used the winterbreak drinking grog, judging from a flat first half against Osnabrück, a team they should have been thumping. Apparently though the drink wore off, or more likely they got their asses kicked in the lockerroom at the half, because they came out stronger and clubbed the visitors into submission. Hertha kept pace at the top, as the Berliners didn't have too much trouble grabbing the points at Oberhausen, despite a relatively decent performance by hosts RWO. Aue also remained in the hunt, although it took a very late goal to dump Paderborn.

Cottbus was the first top club to lay an egg at the restart. Fact is, they showed very little in getting their asses whupped in Düsseldorf, as Fortuna really dominated the game from start to finish. Although Nils Petersen got his league leading 12th goal, (otherwise he was a true "stealth" striker - he was invisible the whole game), Energie really displayed "lack of Energie" and were probably lucking they didn't get royally thumped. If Fortuna continues to play this way, they can put any relegation worries to rest.

I thought that Bochum was showing some signs of maybe getting back in the race, and the restart seems to confirm that initial hunch. The Blues travelled to München to face the disappointing Lions and ended up with a nice win.

Union Berlin has been struggling and sliding down into the relegation zone, so it was important to get the restart off on a good foot. In a hard fought match with disappointing Aachen, the Berliners were able to grab all the points and give themselves a little breathing room at the bottom. Aachen is the poster boy for mediocrity, 6 wins, 6 draws, 6 losses, even goals. The Alemannia fans deserve better, but are unlikely to get it.

Karlsruhe split the points with Fürth, which given the standings should be a decent result. But of course KSC fully expected to contend for promotion, and by reputation at least they should be able to stop the Greuther.

Bielefeld continues to suck, as they were unable to beat the minnows from Frankfurt. Relegation looms.

Karlsruher SC	 	- 	SpVgg Greuther Fürth 	1:1 (0:0)	12,087	(Iashvili - N. Müller)
1. FC Union Berlin 	- 	Alemannia Aachen 	2:1 (1:0)	12,347	(Thomik, Mosquera - Höger)
Fortuna Düsseldorf 	- 	FC Energie Cottbus 	3:1 (1:0)	18,000	(Bröker, Lambertz, Fink - Petersen)
TSV 1860 München 	- 	VfL Bochum 		1:3 (0:1)	16,150	(Lauth - Dedic, Aydin, Dabrowski)
FC Augsburg 		- 	FC Ingolstadt 04 	2:0 (1:0)	20,618	(Oehrl, Hain)
MSV Duisburg 		- 	VfL Osnabrück 		4:1 (1:1)	13,127	(Trojan, Maierhofer, Yilmaz, Sahan - Kastrati)
Arminia Bielefeld 	- 	FSV Frankfurt 		1:1 (0:0)	13,006	(di Gregorio - Gjasula)
Rot-Weiss Oberhausen 	- 	Hertha BSC Berlin	1:3 (0:1)	 6,850	(Kaya - Lasogga 2, Kobiashvili) 
FC Erzgebirge Aue 	- 	SC Paderborn 07		1:0 (0:0)	 8,050	(Le Beau)

Attendance: 120,235 (avg 13,359)


 1. (1.)  FC Augsburg 		18  	11 	3 	4 	 36:16  	+20 	36
 2. (2.)  Hertha BSC Berlin 	18  	11 	3 	4 	 28:14  	+14 	36
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3. (4.)  FC Erzgebirge Aue     17      10      4       3        20:18          +2      34
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (5.)  MSV Duisburg 		18  	10 	3 	5 	 32:17  	+15 	33
 4. (6.)  SpVgg Greuther Fürth	18  	9 	4 	5 	 26:15  	+11 	31
 5. (3.)  FC Energie Cottbus 	18  	9 	4 	5 	 36:26  	+10 	31
 6. (8.)  VfL Bochum 		18  	10 	1 	7 	 24:22  	+2 	31
 8. (7.)  FSV Frankfurt 	17  	9 	2 	6 	 26:19  	+7 	29
 9. (9.)  TSV 1860 München 	18  	7 	6 	5 	 23:20  	+3 	25 *
10. (11.) Fortuna Düsseldorf 	18  	8 	1 	9 	 17:19  	-2 	25
11. (10.) Alemannia Aachen 	18  	6 	6 	6 	 26:26  	0 	24
12. (13.) 1. FC Union Berlin 	18  	6 	4 	8 	 20:23  	-3 	22
13. (12.) SC Paderborn 07 	17  	6 	3 	9 	 16:23  	-7 	21
14. (14.) VfL Osnabrück 	18  	5 	3 	10 	 26:35  	-9 	18
15. (15.) Rot-Weiss Oberhausen 	18  	5 	3 	10 	 15:31  	-16 	18
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16. (16.) Karlsruher SC 	18  	4 	5 	9 	 23:35  	-12 	17
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17. (17.) FC Ingolstadt 04 	18  	3 	3 	12 	 19:30  	-11 	12
18. (18.) Arminia Bielefeld 	18  	2 	2 	14 	 13:37  	-24 	8

* - 1860 deducted two points for being pinheads. Or financial shenanigans, I can't remember.


Jan 10, 2011

Misc News

Daddy Warbucks for Hoffenheim

SAP co-founder Dietmar Hopp has certainly put his money where his mouth is. He played for TSG Hoffenheim in his youth, and now that he is a zillionaire, decided a few years ago to help out. His estimated "net loss" is about 42 million euros so far, as aside from helping to cover losses, he has has built the brand new 30,000 capacity stadium in Sinsheim and also the training center. He started pumping money into the club back in 2005, when they were playing in the Regionalliga Süd, a "modest" 900,000 euros, but a couple of years later, it was 18 million as they jumped into the 2.Liga. Now that Hoffenheim has established themselves in the Bundesliga (and usually near capacity crowds in Sinsheim), it appears that his net losses are smaller, and the club looks to be doing OK financially. Considering the money those clowns in Spain or the EPL constantly throw around, you'd have to say that Hopp has actually got pretty decent value for his euros...

Gomez top striker

"Kicker" publishes their "ratings of German football" twice a year, and the big surprise is that "Stupor Mario" Gomez has made a huge comeback to become the top rated Bundesliga striker. Gomez beat out Theofanis Gekas (Frankfurt) and Papiss Cisse (Freiburg) who have scored more league goals, but the Bayern star has one telling advantage: he was 3rd choice on the Bayern bench behind Klose and Olic through the first 8 games. When those guys went down with injuries, Gomez seized his chance as a starter and has banged in 20 goals in only 12 games (league, cup, Europe). If Gomez keeps his form, look for Klose to get dumped.

No one playing in Germany was classified as "World Class", but the group making "International Class" includes the 3 mentioned above, plus Lucas Barrios (Dortmund), Didier Ya Konan (Hannover), Srdan Lakic (Kaiserslautern) and Edin Dzeko (Wolfsburg, off to Man City). Perhaps the most interesting is Lakic, whose contract expires at the end of season and looks to be a hot property.

Dzeko move to Man City

Manchester City is clearly a case of a club that has more money than brains. But sometimes that is a nice position to be in. The "ManCinis" plunked down 35 million euros for Wolfsburg's Edin Dzeko, who has been the top striker in Germany over the last couple of seasons. I believe this is a Bundesliga record. The Bosnian was having a decent year (10 goals) for a crap VW squad this year as well, but the constant speculation was a definite drag on the team. So kudos to GM Dieter Hoeness and coach Steve McClaren for cashing in. Of course, as usual, the comic duo shot themselves in the foot as well, as now there is no one to pair with effective but oft injured Grafite up front. McClaren is planning on going with Mario Mandzukic, the Croatian who has been a bust so far. Ironically, last season the VWs had Obafemi Martins, who was scoring regularily, but couldn't get enough playing time with Grafite/Dzeko. Martins was shipped off the Russia in the offseason.

Dzeko is a fine player, and his goals will clearly be missed. However, he seemed to be whining more often than not about his move, so it's a move that had to be made.

Friction in München

Although Bayern seems to have recovered their swagger, coach Louis Van Gaal is busy feuding with the bosses. The latest incident is Van Gaal trying to throw a wrench in the goal-keeping plans. Since the 1960s, Bayern has always had stellar goalkeeping, whether legendary Sepp Maier, Jean-Marie Pfaff, Olli Kahn etc. Things got kind of shaky with Michael Rensing, who got shipped out to Köln after basically sucking. His replacement has been veteran Hans-Jörg Butt, solid, but unspectacular. So Bayern management has made Schalke's Manuel Neuer their top target, and Bayern always gets whomever they want. But Van Gaal has stated he doesn't need Neuer and wants to promote some unknown youngster as Butt's replacement, starting the 2nd half season. Guys like Uli Hoeness and Kalle Rummennigge (not to mention Franz Beckenbauer) aren't used to being shown up by their coach, so maybe Van Gaal is maneuvering to get a big payout to leave. (Rummennigge of course denies that there is any friction).

Rangnick out at Hoffenheim

In a surprise move, Hoffenheim coach Ralf Rangnick resigned as head coach of Hoffenheim on January 1. He sited differences of opinion with the club over the sale of Luis Gustavo as the reason, but their are lots of rumours flying around. The British press is playing up the angle that Rangnick may be in line to replace struggling Roy Hodgson, although that seems a bit far-fetched. Rangnick has built himself a reputation of as a pretty clever coach who favors attacking football. He took SSV Ulm into the Bundesliga, and of course replicated the same march with Hoffenheim (although Dietmar Hopp's money had most to do with the latter). He's also had less successful runs with Stuttgart, Hannover and Schalke.


Dec 23, 2010

2.Liga Midseason Report Card

 1. (1.)  FC Augsburg 		17  	10 	3 	4 	 34:16  	+18 	33

Grade: A- FCA failed last season in the playoffs, so you had to figure that they would at least be a contender. They got off to a ho-hum start, but since then have been consistently strong and worked their way up to the top. The loss of veteran striker Michael Thurk is bound to hurt, but they appear to be a solid all-around squad and should be in contention at the end. 2. (2.) Hertha BSC Berlin 17 10 3 4 25:13 +12 33 Grade: B Hertha started out OK, looking like they would slide easily back into the Bundesliga. Then they hit a dry stretch in which they really looked lame, and many questions have been raised. They probably will be going back up, but any thoughts of an easy waltz have been dispelled. With a solid defense and an adequate offense, Hertha is too strong not to be there. 3. (6.) FC Energie Cottbus 17 9 4 4 35:23 +12 31 Grade: B+ Cottbus has been shaky at times, but have looked strong at other points. Clearly Energie is one of those battle-hardened squads that can get the job done. 4. (3.) FC Erzgebirge Aue 16 9 4 3 19:18 +1 31 Grade: A As a newly promoted squad, Aue was probably just hoping to survive. In fact, as reported earlier, they've done so well that their finanancial stability was threatened - they hadn't planned for success. They've played as well as possible, really over their heads. I don't expect them to be near the top at the end, (they can't score enough), but their first half of the season has been sensational. 5. (4.) MSV Duisburg 17 9 3 5 28:16 +12 30 Grade: B As usual, the Zebras have sucked part time, while looking pretty damn good for a 2.Liga squad at other moments. 6. (5.) SpVgg Greuther Fürth 17 9 3 5 25:14 +11 30 Grade: B Usually somewhere near the top, and this year is no different. 7. (7.) FSV Frankfurt 16 9 1 6 25:18 +7 28 Grade: A FSV has been a major surprise. Usually at this time they're in last place and we're writing about the optimization of 3.Liga train schedules. But in the 2nd half, FSV has pulled themselves up and survives. This time, they've been a very solid squad throughout the first half and a hard nut to crack for their opponents. I would expect them to start sliding back down, but they've done the work to keep themselves around another year. 8. (9.) VfL Bochum 17 9 1 7 21:21 0 28 Grade: C A disappointment, everyone expected them to contend. They've been listless all season long, showing only glimpses of their potential. That said, they're not that far behind, so if they put together a decent run, they're back in the hunt. 9. (8.) TSV 1860 München 17 7 6 4 22:17 +5 25 (-2) Grade: C+ As befitting a club run by lunatics, 1860 is dicking around, and of course shot themselves in the foot already by getting deducted two points for financial cheating. On paper, they're not bad, but this is an underachieving squad that continues to piss off their huge fanbase - which has been shrinking due to their consistent sucking over the last few seasons. 10. (10.) Alemannia Aachen 17 6 6 5 25:24 +1 24 Grade: C I expect more from Alemannia, but their respectable Bundesliga sojourn is now a couple of years off, and they're probably just not thatq good, although you would think they could ride their home support for a higher position. 11. (11.) Fortuna Düsseldorf 17 7 1 9 14:18 -4 22 Grade: C They were a surprise last season, but reality has struck and they've been revealed to be not that good. They've struggled to score, but look good enough to at least stay up. 12. (12.) SC Paderborn 07 17 6 3 8 16:22 -6 21 Grade: C+ I figured Paderborn would be a relegation candidate, but they've done somewhat better than expected and look to float above the morass. In that sense, they deserve a passing grade. 13. (14.) 1. FC Union Berlin 17 5 4 8 18:22 -4 19 Grade: C+ Union need to be content to stay up. They've looked shaky at times. 14. (16.) VfL Osnabrück 17 5 3 9 25:31 -6 18 Grade: C- Osnabrück draws respectable crowds at home, but they're just not a very strong squad. They're capable of some decent results (especially at home), but on the balance they're right where they should be, slightly hovering above the relegation zone. 15. (13.) Rot-Weiß Oberhausen 17 5 3 9 14:28 -14 18 Grade: C- RWO getting relegated would probably be good for the league attendance numbers. Lucky for them, they had a bright start, but since then they've pretty much been crap. 16. (15.) Karlsruher SC 17 4 4 9 22:34 -12 16 Grade: D This is a disaster and heads should roll in Karlsruhe. KSC should be a contender, or at least in the top half somewhere (which by definition is a contender in the 2.Liga) 17. (17.) FC Ingolstadt 04 17 3 3 11 19:28 -9 12 Grade: D+ Newcomer Ingolstadt was on everybody's relegation list, and for most of the season, they did nothing to change that perception. However in the last few matches, they've raised the level of their game and given a glimpse of hope. It may be too late, since they've dug themselves in a deep hole, but if they can continue their improvement, they've got a chance. I'm given them a "fail" because of their poor start, but it won't take too much to push this to a barely passing grade. Most likely they're going down. 18. (18.) Arminia Bielefeld 17 2 1 14 12:36 -24 7 Grade: F A major train-wreck, almost the no.1 disgrace in German football this season. That Arminia could be so crap is shocking to just about everybody. There are plenty of weak teams above them, but I can't see Arminia climbing out of this hole.


Dec 22, 2010

Bundesliga Midseason Report Card

Once again, winterbreak is also time for the mid-season report cards of the clubs. As usual, I'm using the American grading convention, and I tend to rate clubs on how they're doing vs. how I expected them be. This has been a suprising half-season, but I don't think the grades are very contraversial...


1. (1.)  Borussia Dortmund 	17  	14 	1 	2 	 39:10  	+29 	43

Grade: A+

No question, the Neons have been brilliant this half of the campaign, clearly the best team and certainly the best
they've ever played under Jürgen Klopp, who is living up to his reputation as a great motivator. Dortmund has the
youngest squad in the league as well, so they could be on the verge of great things. Nuri Sahin is fufilling his promise
as a playmaker, and unknown Japanese Shinji Kagawa has been a revelation. As long as they don't come out flat in the second
half, it will be pretty hard to take the title from them. Once again, the possibility of a "second force" in German football raises 
it's head, somebody that could challenge Bayern on a regular basis. Of course, last time Dortmund successfully pulled this off, only 
to collapse financially. After a few lean years, they appear to be on the rise again.


2. (4.)  1. FSV Mainz 05 	17  	11 	0 	6 	 30:19  	+11 	33

Grade: A

Mainz was the league sensation for about half of the pre-winter campaign. After a brilliant start, they were brought back down to 
earth, but have since recovered and fully deserve top marks. This is a team of nobodies, with some potential young susperstars 
developing. I would expect them to fall off as the season rolls on, but they've proven to be pretty resillient. For a club with
limited resources, anything above mid-table is a fantastic achievement.


 3. (2.)  Bayer Leverkusen 	17  	9 	6 	2 	 35:25  	+10 	33

Grade: B

The Aspirins haven't played poorly, but on paper they are surely capapbe of more. They were expected to be a top contender,
but despite gathering points, haven't really impressed. The return of Michael Ballack has been a non-starter. The return of
Patrick Helmes seems to help, Stefan Kiessling has been a non-factor. In fact, most of the Aspirins have been non-impressive, with 
the possible exception of Arturo Vidal. Mostly a solid, almost meat-and-potatoes team that leave you yearning for some imaginative 
cuisine.


 4. (3.)  Hannover 96 		17  	10 	1 	6 	 25:27  	-2 	31

Grade: A-

The 96ers were on many folks list as a top relegation contender. What they have shown is amazing resiliency and hard-nosed football
to get results from matches where something was available. They miss getting top mark, because when they come up against real 
opposition, they usually get their ass kicked. So they have a ways to go before being taken seriously, but they obviously don't 
mind, as they've probably already achieved the year's goals.


 5. (6.)  FC Bayern München 	17  	8 	5 	4 	 31:20  	+11 	29

Grade: B-

The return of Franck Ribery and the latter half of Mario Gomez basically saved Bayern's ass from an embarassing grade. the champions 
got off to a poor start, and basically continued on that level until recently. Now it's pretty clear that things are back to normal, 
but they're probably too far behind to make a run. Chaotic management by Louis Van Gaal and likely player clearout will be the main
entertainment value, although Bayern should be kicking asses in the second half. One positive of that is the thug van Bommel is 
probably on his way out.


 6. (5.)  SC Freiburg 		17  	9 	1 	7 	 25:25  	0 	28

Grade: A-

Freiburg has been a pleasant surprise, with enterprising football from a bunch of nobodies - Mainz in comparsion are football 
celebrities. Obviously forward Papiss Cisse has been brilliant, a one-man wrecking crew, but the team concept has stood Freiburg 
well. Like Mainz, with limited resources, not much is ever to be expected from the Breisgauer.


 7. (8.)  Eintracht Frankfurt 	17  	8 	2 	7 	 24:21  	+3 	26

Grade: B

Frankfurt is tough to grade, since they inevitably look good or suck. Frankly I don't think they're very good, so the fact that they 
have more wins than losses leads me to rate their performance on the positive side. High point has been top goal scorer Theofanis 
Gekas, who has bounced around for several clubs.


 8. (7.)  1899 Hoffenheim 	17  	6 	7 	4 	 32:22  	+10 	25

Grade: B

Hoffenheim continues with their identity crisis. The old "money-bags" label is disappearing, and they are a solid club with decent 
talent. But they don't seem very consistent, somewhat like Frankfurt, but with more talent.


 9. (9.)  Hamburger SV 		17  	7 	3 	7 	 27:28  	-1 	24

Grade: C

HSV bores me for some reason, and they've dicked around enough that they barely deserve a passing grade. There is a reasonable 
amount of talent, so you expect more. This club has been mismanaged both on and especially off the field, so it's not surprising 
that they fail to reach their potential. Overall, they look like a middle-of-the-pack club this season, and that's pretty much how 
they've performed.


10. (10.) FC Schalke 04 	17  	6 	4 	7 	 25:24  	+1 	22

Grade: D+

Schalke appears to have stabilized the ship, but the first half of the season has been a disaster. If things have truly stabilized, 
then look for Schalke to start inching back up the table. Obviously, this season is a failure, no matter how well the squad performs 
after winterbreak. As a result, I decided to give a failing grade rather than barely passing, especially since they expected great 
things this season. On the plus side for Schalke, newcomers Raul and Huntelaar are looking settled now, so that could be a good sign 
moving forward for the typically lame Schalke attack.


11. (11.) 1. FC Nürnberg 	17  	6 	4 	7 	 22:28  	-6 	22

Grade: C+

Nürnberg has looked really poor at times, but just when you think they're about to pack it in, they manage to come up with some 
points. Given that they're usually at the bottom, you have to give them a passing grade, but they appear to have a bit more 
potential.


12. (13.) 1. FC K'lautern 	17  	6 	3 	8 	 27:27  	0 	21

Grade: B-

I'm not sure if FCK is over-achieving or not - they may merit a full "B". They've certainly come up with some suprising wins (like 
Bayern), but as expected, have gotten their ass kicked a few times. They don't appear to have much talent, but they have a good 
attitude that has stood up well.


13. (14.) VfL Wolfsburg 	17  	4 	7 	6 	 24:25  	-1 	19

Grade: D-

This has been disaster. Brit coach Steve McClaren has demonstrated that he isn't fit for the Bundesliga, but it's not completely his 
fault. GM Dieter Hoeness is probably the most incompetant one in the league, but he doesn't coach either. Perhaps I'm thinking too 
much about their title season two years ago, but this team has talent, but clearly lacks will power and attitude. The team seems to 
rely too much on Diego and Dzeko, and unfortunately Grafite has been injury prone this season. However, the aggressive attack 
oriented VW squad has been neutered into something namby-pamby like you'd expect from McClaren's Middlesborough days.


14. (12.) SV Werder Bremen 	17  	5 	4 	8 	 23:35  	-12 	19

Grade: D-

Another disaster. You would think "Fire the coach" except that Thomas Schaaf has proven to be a fine leader for Werder, so it would 
seem to be hard to pull that trigger. The players haven't really changed, but they seem to run about aimlessly and have given up 
some really puerile performances that almost border on what the Germans like to call "Arbeitsverweigerung" (refusal to work).
Certainly there is enough talent on the squad to beat just about anybody, so I think they'll manage to avoid sinking to the 2.Liga, 
but obviously a house-clearing is in order. Perhaps Schaaf needs a new club, but certainly the players need to booted out as well.


15. (15.) FC St. Pauli 		17  	5 	2 	10 	 16:30  	-14 	17

Grade: C-

St.Pauli started brightly, but their lack of talent is beginning to show. They don't have much of a cushion, so I think it's likely 
they go down along with Gladbach. Given the fact that they had to be considered a top relegation candidate at the outset, I don't 
think that anyone can consider it a complete failure so far. What looks to really sink Pauli is that their offense is too weak.


16. (16.) 1. FC Köln 		17  	4 	3 	10 	 18:33  	-15 	15

Grade: C-

Köln is weak. They've probably played somewhat around what has been expected, looking on the verge of total collapse but then 
pulling out a result and giving some hope for survival. They're probably better than St.Pauli, and with Gladbach virtually 
eliminated, they only have to find one club completely worse than them. Plus, even if they remain 16th, they look to be better than 
the 3rd place 2.Liga club at this juncture. The return of hero Lukas Podolski hasn't really worked out for either side. He's played 
decently enough, but probably needs to move to a better team, because realistically Köln is pretty much "what you see is what you 
get", and they've got no money to get better.


17. (17.) VfB Stuttgart 	17  	3 	3 	11 	 32:35  	-3 	12

Grade: F

I refuse to believe that Stuttgart can suck so much, so an "F" is fully warranted. They've clearly stunk up the whole season so far, 
but at times have shown that they still have teeth. Somehow, I think they'll muddle through and avoid the drop, so this season will
simply be a severe hangover. They can score, and that's usually good enough to stay up.


18. (18.) Borussia M'gladbach 	17  	2 	4 	11 	 26:47  	-21 	10

Grade: D-

Gladbach is too weak on defense and is going down. It's not totally unexpected, so I can't give them an "F".

Dec 19, 2010

Bundesliga - Round 17

Dortmund finally lost again, going into the Winterbreak. So you could say that it was some of "sandwich", with two slices of losses on the end, and filling in between. The Neons lost their opener and the winter finale, but won 14/15 in between. In the match at Frankfurt, Dortmund was looking the better team and pressing, but Eintracht stood firm and stole the match with a late goal by Theofanis Gekas. Great win for Frankfurt, albeit undeserved. The Neons probably aren't too worried about the result.

Mainz topped off a brilliant first half season with an impressive win in Hamburg against St.Pauli. The visitors looked to be in control, but the hosts came storming back to make things close. However, Mainz demonstrated cold-bloodedness as they finished off the match to bring home the bacon. This is the type of match St.Pauli needed to at least get points from; ending upwith a goose-egg certainly hurts their chances of survival.

Leverkusen hold 3rd place, but they can't be overly happy. Despite grabbing points, the Aspirins have only shown glimpses of their potential. This match was no exception. Leverkusen struggled to make headway against an energetic Freiburg, and eventually was happy to get a split of points. Freiburg once again was impressive, fully deserved the point.

Bayern München looks back on track as they overran Stuttgart in a wild match. In reality, the champs put the match away in the first half, and only some late activity by Stuttgart makes the score somewhat respectable. Ironically, ex-VfB man Mario Gomez did the most damage, garnering a hat-trick against his old club. VfB's defense was a disaster, and the visitors ruthlessly took advantage. After the match, Stuttgart fans rioted, demanding the resignation of the club board. That probably would be a step in the right direction, since they can't keep on firing the coach.

Schalke seems to have steadied the ship somewhat. The Blues kicked Köln's ass all over the field, and Spanish legend Raul once again gave indication that he has finally found his grrove in German football - he nailed another hat-trick. In their recent form, the Schalkers are a match for just about anybody in the league, and it looks like they've put to rest the relegation struggles. Not a very good match for Köln.

Wolfsburg sucked most of the match against Hoffenheim, but with their backs to the wall, they turned things around late and managed to snatch a draw. Hoffenheim once again demonstrated that they lack that extra push that could have put the game away and made the miserable winterbreak even worse for the VWs.

Great result for Kaiserslautern as they stunned Bremen on the road. FCK was just the cleverer team, as Werder ran their heads against a solid defense, and laid themselves open like a cheap hooker against the Devils counterattacks. Another disaster in Bremen for Werder, but superb points towards salvation for FCK.

Nürnberg gave their fans a nice Xmas present, as they thumped suprising Hannover, pretty much dominating the match. It was probbaly one of their better performances of the season. The 96ers didn't look like the team that has been getting results, but they were probbaly already celebrating the winterbreak for a job well done.

Borussia M'gladbach 	- 	Hamburger SV 		1:2 (0:0)	42,253	(de Camargo - Elia, Trochowski)
FC Schalke 04 		- 	1. FC Köln 		3:0 (1:0)	61,673	(Raul 3)
SV Werder Bremen 	- 	1. FC K'lautern 	1:2 (1:1)	35,135	(Hunt - Lakic 2)
VfL Wolfsburg 		- 	1899 Hoffenheim 	2:2 (0:2)	24,512	(Diego, Dzeko - Luis Gustavo, Sigurdsson)
Eintracht Frankfurt 	- 	Borussia Dortmund 	1:0 (0:0)	51,500	(Gekas)
1. FC Nürnberg 		- 	Hannover 96 		3:1 (2:0)	33,111	(Cherundolo o.g., Wolf, Schieber - Pinto)
FC St. Pauli 		- 	1. FSV Mainz 05 	2:4 (1:3)	24,235	(Lehmann 2 - Schürrle 2, Szalai, Caligiuri)
Bayer Leverkusen 	- 	SC Freiburg 		2:2 (1:1)	22,421	(Vidal, Helmes - Rosenthal, Reisinger)
VfB Stuttgart 		- 	FC Bayern München 	3:5 (0:3)	40,500	(Harnik 2, Gentner - Gomez 3, T. Müller, Ribery)

Attendance: 335,340 (avg 37,260)


 1. (1.)  Borussia Dortmund 	17  	14 	1 	2 	 39:10  	+29 	43
 2. (4.)  1. FSV Mainz 05 	17  	11 	0 	6 	 30:19  	+11 	33
 3. (2.)  Bayer Leverkusen 	17  	9 	6 	2 	 35:25  	+10 	33
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (3.)  Hannover 96 		17  	10 	1 	6 	 25:27  	-2 	31
 5. (6.)  FC Bayern München 	17  	8 	5 	4 	 31:20  	+11 	29
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 6. (5.)  SC Freiburg 		17  	9 	1 	7 	 25:25  	0 	28
 7. (8.)  Eintracht Frankfurt 	17  	8 	2 	7 	 24:21  	+3 	26
 8. (7.)  1899 Hoffenheim 	17  	6 	7 	4 	 32:22  	+10 	25
 9. (9.)  Hamburger SV 		17  	7 	3 	7 	 27:28  	-1 	24
10. (10.) FC Schalke 04 	17  	6 	4 	7 	 25:24  	+1 	22
11. (11.) 1. FC Nürnberg 	17  	6 	4 	7 	 22:28  	-6 	22
12. (13.) 1. FC K'lautern 	17  	6 	3 	8 	 27:27  	0 	21
13. (14.) VfL Wolfsburg 	17  	4 	7 	6 	 24:25  	-1 	19
14. (12.) SV Werder Bremen 	17  	5 	4 	8 	 23:35  	-12 	19
15. (15.) FC St. Pauli 		17  	5 	2 	10 	 16:30  	-14 	17
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16. (16.) 1. FC Köln 		17  	4 	3 	10 	 18:33  	-15 	15
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17. (17.) VfB Stuttgart 	17  	3 	3 	11 	 32:35  	-3 	12
18. (18.) Borussia M'gladbach 	17  	2 	4 	11 	 26:47  	-21 	10

Scoring:
						Gms	Goal	Assist	Pts	
 1 Gekas, Theofanis 	Eintracht Frankfurt	17 	14 	2 	16
 2 Cissé, Papiss Demba 	SC Freiburg	 	16 	13 	1 	14
 3 Gomez, Mario 	Bayern München 		15 	12 	2 	14
 4 Vidal, Arturo 	Bayer Leverkusen 	17 	8 	6 	14
 5 Ya Konan, Didier 	Hannover 96 		15 	9 	4 	13
 6 Lakic, Srdjan 	1. FC Kaiserslautern	16 	11 	1 	12
 7 Schürrle, André 	1. FSV Mainz 05 	16 	9 	3 	12
 8 Schieber, Julian 	1. FC Nürnberg 		17 	4 	8 	12
 9 Dzeko, Edin 		VfL Wolfsburg 		17 	10 	1 	11
10 Barrios, Lucas 	Borussia Dortmund 	16 	8 	3 	11 
11 Ilicevic, Ivo 	1. FC Kaiserslautern	14 	5 	6 	11
12 Reus, Marco 		Borussia M'gladbach	16 	5 	6 	11

2. Liga - Round 17

The top clash between Augsburg and Hertha ended fairly, with the Berliners showing improvement over several recent crap displays. The clubs will share top honors during the winter, but will have different perspectives on their positioning. For Augsburg, they're probably were they hoped to be, seriously contending once again, and confident that their play has justified their position. For Hertha, theyir fans have to be disappointed despite their position, because sometimes they've really sucked in a league that many expected them to dominate.

Bochum put in a decent performance in a tight Ruhr derby against their neighbors, the Zebras of Duisburg. The win might be an indication that the Blues are about ready to be taken seriously again, but of course with the winterbreak coming up, we'll have to wait and see.

Düsseldorf got a huge boost with a win over contenders Greuther Fürth, which helps them tremendously in their relegation battle, and simultaneously drops a turd into Fürth's Xmas party.

Cottbus was impressive as they kicked Oberhausen's ass all over the field. Energie should challenge for promotion and should be feared by all 2.Liga opponents. Oberhausen once again showed that they have little business in the 2.Liga.

Osnabrück won a huge relegation battle against revived Ingolstadt. It was a tough come-from-behind win for the Lilacs. Union Berlin also got a much needed win against crap Karlsruhe in another huge relegation tussle.

1860 once again crapped all over their fans with a stinker of an Xmas present as they lost at home to Paderborn. How can they be so crappy? Perhaps the whole board needs to be fired. That would probably be a a nice gift from Santa Claus. Nice result for Paderborn on the road.

MSV Duisburg	 	- 	VfL Bochum 		0:1 (0:0)	18,027	(Dabrowski)
Arminia Bielefeld 	- 	Alemannia Aachen 	1:3 (0:1)	 8,697	(Heidinger - Auer 2, Arslan)
FC Augsburg 		- 	Hertha BSC 		1:1 (0:1)	25,647	(Rafael - Rukavytsya)
Fortuna Düsseldorf 	- 	SpVgg Greuther Fürth 	1:0 (0:0)	18,117	(Beister)
TSV 1860 München 	- 	SC Paderborn 07 	0:1 (0:1)	13,600	(Kapllani)
Rot-Weiß Oberhausen 	- 	FC Energie Cottbus 	0:4 (0:2)	 3,735	(Shao, Brzenska, Petersen, Jovanovic)
VfL Osnabrück 		- 	FC Ingolstadt 04 	2:1 (0:1)	 8,500	(Lindemann, Bencik - Metzelder)
1. FC Union Berlin 	- 	Karlsruher SC 	 	3:1 (0:1)	12,126	(St. Müller o.g., Savran, Ede - Langkamp) 
FC Erzgebirge Aue 	- 	FSV Frankfurt 	 	postponed

Attendance: 108,449 (avg 13,556)


 1. (1.)  FC Augsburg 		17  	10 	3 	4 	 34:16  	+18 	33
 2. (2.)  Hertha BSC Berlin 	17  	10 	3 	4 	 25:13  	+12 	33
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3. (6.)  FC Energie Cottbus 	17  	9 	4 	4 	 35:23  	+12 	31
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (3.)  FC Erzgebirge Aue 	16  	9 	4 	3 	 19:18  	+1 	31
 5. (4.)  MSV Duisburg 		17  	9 	3 	5 	 28:16  	+12 	30
 6. (5.)  SpVgg Greuther Fürth 	17  	9 	3 	5 	 25:14  	+11 	30
 7. (7.)  FSV Frankfurt 	16  	9 	1 	6 	 25:18  	+7 	28
 8. (9.)  VfL Bochum 		17  	9 	1 	7 	 21:21  	0 	28
 9. (8.)  TSV 1860 München 	17  	7 	6 	4 	 22:17  	+5 	25 (*)
10. (10.) Alemannia Aachen 	17  	6 	6 	5 	 25:24  	+1 	24
11. (11.) Fortuna Düsseldorf 	17  	7 	1 	9 	 14:18  	-4 	22
12. (12.) SC Paderborn 07 	17  	6 	3 	8 	 16:22  	-6 	21
13. (14.) 1. FC Union Berlin 	17  	5 	4 	8 	 18:22  	-4 	19
14. (16.) VfL Osnabrück 	17  	5 	3 	9 	 25:31  	-6 	18
15. (13.) Rot-Weiß Oberhausen 	17  	5 	3 	9 	 14:28  	-14 	18
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16. (15.) Karlsruher SC 	17  	4 	4 	9 	 22:34  	-12 	16
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17. (17.) FC Ingolstadt 04 	17  	3 	3 	11 	 19:28  	-9 	12
18. (18.) Arminia Bielefeld 	17  	2 	1 	14 	 12:36  	-24 	7

* - 1860 subtracted two points for financial incomptetance

Scoring:
						Gms	Goals	Assist	Total
 1 Stieber, Zoltan 	Alemannia Aachen 	17 	4 	10 	14
 2 Petersen, Nils 	Energie Cottbus		16 	11 	2 	13
 3 Rafael, Nando 	FC Augsburg 		15 	10 	2 	12
 4 Thurk, Michael 	FC Augsburg 		14 	6 	6 	12
 5 Jula, Emil 		Energie Cottbus  	17 	6 	6 	12
 6 Mölders, Sascha 	FSV Frankfurt	 	16 	9 	2 	11
 7 Chong Tese 		VfL Bochum 	 	16 	8 	2 	10
 8 Auer, Benjamin 	Alemannia Aachen 	15 	9 	0 	9
 9 Lauth, Benjamin 	1860 München	 	17 	8 	1 	9
10 Baljak, Srdjan 	MSV Duisburg	 	15 	7 	2 	9
11 Iashvili, Alexander 	Karlsruher SC 	 	16 	4 	5 	9
12 Ramos, Adrian 	Hertha BSC 	 	16 	4 	5 	9
13 Staffeldt, Timo 	Karlsruher SC	 	16 	4 	5 	9

3.Liga - Round 21

Nothing doing in the 3.Liga, as basically everything was cancelled due to the weather. Heidenheim continued their decent season with a solid win over desperate Jena.

1. FC Heidenheim 1846 	- 	FC Carl Zeiss Jena 	2:0 (0:0)	4,200	(Schnaterrer, Aupperle)
all other matches canceled


 1. (1.)  Eintracht Braunschweig20  	14 	3 	3 	 49:10  	+39 	45
 2. (2.)  Hansa Rostock 	18  	13 	2 	3 	 40:19  	+21 	41
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3. (3.)  Kickers Offenbach 	19  	12 	3 	4 	 36:23  	+13 	39
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (4.)  SV Wehen Wiesbaden 	19  	9 	5 	5 	 25:21  	+4 	32
 5. (5.)  Dynamo Dresden 	20  	9 	5 	6 	 25:22  	+3 	32
 6. (6.)  FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt 	19  	9 	4 	6 	 31:22  	+9 	31
 7. (7.)  1. FC Heidenheim 1846 20  	9 	3 	8 	 38:29  	+9 	30
 8. (8.)  TuS Koblenz 		19  	7 	6 	6 	 19:21  	-2 	27
 9. (9.) Jahn Regensburg 	18  	7 	5 	6 	 22:25  	-3 	26
10. (10.) Rot Weiss Ahlen 	17  	5 	7 	5 	 22:24  	-2 	22
11. (11.) SpVgg Unterhaching 	18  	5 	7 	6 	 21:30  	-9 	22
12. (12.) 1. FC Saarbrücken 	20  	5 	6 	9 	 25:28  	-3 	21
13. (13.) SV Babelsberg 03 	19  	6 	3 	10 	 17:24  	-7 	21
14. (14.) FC Carl Zeiss Jena 	20  	5 	5 	10 	 16:36  	-20 	20
15. (15.) VfB Stuttgart II 	16  	4 	7 	5 	 16:17  	-1 	19
16. (16.) VfR Aalen 		19  	4 	6 	9 	 19:30  	-11 	18
17. (17.) Wacker Burghausen 	19  	4 	6 	9 	 22:34  	-12 	18
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
18. (18.) SV 1916 Sandhausen 	19  	4 	5 	10 	 23:30  	-7 	17
19. (19.) FC Bayern München II 	18  	3 	7 	8 	 16:24  	-8 	16
20. (20.) SV Werder Bremen II 	19  	3 	7 	9 	 17:30  	-13 	16

Scorers:
						Gms	Goals
 1 Mayer, Patrick 	1. FC Heidenheim	20 	15
 2 Kumbela, Dominick 	Eintracht Braunschweig	20 	12
 3 Kruppke, Dennis 	Eintracht Braunschweig	20 	11
 4 Schnatterer, Marc 	1. FC Heidenheim 	20 	10
 5 Ziegenbein, Björn 	Hansa Rostock	 	14 	10
 6 Occean, Olivier 	Kickers Offenbach 	14 	9
 7 Esswein, Alexander 	Dynamo Dresden	 	16 	9
 8 Schied, Marcel 	Hansa Rostock	 	18 	9
 9 Semmer, Tino 	Rot-Weiß Erfurt	 	18 	8
10 Janjic, Zlatko 	SV Wehen Wiesbaden	19 	8
 

Dec 11, 2010

Bundesliga - Round 16

Pretty decent attendance all around despite cold weather hammering northern Europe. There is no stopping Dortmund. The Neons hosted Bremen in a packed Westfalen stadium and dominated from the start. A beautiful curving freekick by Nuri Sahin have Dortmund the early lead, and the hosts then took the foot off the gas a bit, allowing an improved Werder to actually create some chances and hold the game even. But in the second half Dortmund ratcheted their level up again and finished off the match, their seventh win in a row. Not a bad effort by Werder, which looks to have at least stopped their freefall.

Leverkusen had one of the better performances as they slapped HSV on the road. The Hamburgers gave a limp performance, so the Asiprins decided to help themselves and kicked their hosts in the balls. Good win for them, as even though they haven't exactly been setting the world on fire, they're bringing home the bacon. HSV this season on balance has been slightly better than pathetic; lame is probably more accurate.

Hannover has ensured their best winterbreak in history, continuing a remarkable turnaround from last season's meltdown. Once again, Ivorian international Didier Ya Konan was the hero, his two strikes raising his total to 9 on the season. Stuttgart, who have been playing crap, actually put in a decent performance, and were a worthy opponent, especially in the 2nd half. Perhaps they were a bit hard done by, but that's how things are going this season. And management decided to act, as they fired head coach Jens Keller afterwards - the second VFB manager change this season. Obviously things are getting pretty desperate. Bruno Labbadia, who has had a rather lame coaching record, is supposed to turn things around. So Stuttgart will get a couple of wins, and then we'll have to see.

Bayern München is perhaps poised to get back in the hunt, if not for the title, at least for Euro spots. Franck Ribery is back, and has been scoring nicely. The hosts had some early trouble with the visiting Paulistas, but eventually had an easy time. St.Pauli didn't help themselves with poor shooting, and finally ended down a man when GK Kessler took out Thomas Müller for Lahm's finishing penalty. All in all, a ho-hum win for Bayern, as obviously St.Pauli didn't expect to gain anything from this match.

Hoffenheim was clearly superior over Nürnberg, but dicked around wasting chances and eventually throwing away an easy win. Great point for Nürnberg, especially since they sucked. But as head coach Dieter Hecking indicated, he'd rather get points than praise. Hoffenheim can't seem to decide whether they want to rise above mediocre level or not. Sugardaddy Dietmar Hopp is no longer spending the big euros, but the club seems to have established a decent fan base and assembled a good squad (and even sold off some high priced talent, like Carlos Eduardo, for a nice profit).

Schalke gets an important win away against high-flying Mainz, perhaps a sign that the Blues have finally straightened things out. Both sides will have something to complain about - they both missed penalties (Huntelaar and Schürrle). Jefferson Farfan, who has been one of the few decent schalkers all season, got the winner. The visitors actually were the better squad, as Mainz could only run around harmlessly. This was one of Schalke's better away performances, as they showed some spine and discipline. Although they're hardly out of the woods, given the tight pack at the bottom, Schalke jumps 5 spots into 10th place. For Mainz, they're on the way down, but if they can keep things in order, their great start could still see them rewarded with a nice prize at season's end.

Steve McClaren needs to be fired. He's managed to turn one of the more exciting attacking squads in the Bundesliga into a limp turd. He's a a good coach in the right situation (Middlesborough, Twente) and sucks when he's over his head (England, Wolfsburg). They need to stop worrying about not getting to Europe and look at the bottom, since the relegation spots are getting closer. The VWs gave another crap performance and were totally outplayed and hustled by their hosts Kaiserlsautern. Luckily, FCK was too dumb to kick the ball into the net, allowing Wolfsburg to escape with an undeserved point. Actually, it's not all McClaren's fault. The real incompetant is GM Dieter Hoeness, who's claim to fame (aside from being Uli Hoeness' less talented younger brother) is overseeing the collapse of Hertha BSC Berlin.

I had written Köln off earlier. OK, they're still probably going down, but they've exhibited some fight in the last few weeks, and had a nice win over suddenly helpless Frankfurt. The bad news for Köln is that star Lukas Podolski came out after 20 minutes with what looks like a bad ankle. He's expected to miss the next match, so the winterbreak comes at a good time for Köln. Still, they'll take the win, which puts them right behind several struggling clubs, and at least the prospect of saving their asses. Frankfurt is back to their old tricks of excel-suck-excel-suck-suck-suck-excel-excel-suck etc.

Freiburg basically had a routine win over hapless Gladbach. Papis Cissé raised his goal tally to 13 with a couple of strikes that put down the visitors. It's hard to believe that coach Michael Frontzeck won't get fired soon, probably after the next match when they go into winterbreak. Not sure it's really his fault, basically the squad sucks. Both Freiburg and Mainz hold unexpected positions, either win or lose, and so far they've come out on top. With the smallest stadiums in the Bundesliga, some extra cash from Euro competition could be a nice addition if they can hold on.

 
Hannover 96 		- 	VfB Stuttgart	 	2:1 (1:0)	36,207	(Ya Konan 2 - Niedermeier) 
FC Bayern München 	- 	FC St. Pauli 		3:0 (1:0)	69,000	(Altintop, Lahm, Ribery)
Hamburger SV 		- 	Bayer Leverkusen 	2:4 (0:1)	51,225	(Vidal o.g., Elia - Sam, Vidal, Renato Augusto 2)
1899 Hoffenheim 	- 	1. FC Nürnberg 		1:1 (0:0)	30,150	(Compper - Eigler)
1. FC Köln 		- 	Eintracht Frankfurt 	1:0 (0:0)	45,000	(Clemens)
1. FC K'lautern 	- 	VfL Wolfsburg 		0:0 (0:0)	38,181
Borussia Dortmund 	- 	SV Werder Bremen 	2:0 (1:0)	80,720	(Sahin, Kagawa)
SC Freiburg 		- 	Borussia M'gladbach 	3:0 (2:0)	22,700	(Cissé 2, Barth) 
1. FSV Mainz 05 	- 	FC Schalke 04 	 	0:1 (0:1)	20,300	(Farfan) 

Attendance: 393,843 (avg 43,720)


 1. (1.)  Borussia Dortmund 	16  	14 	1 	1 	 39:9   	+30 	43
 2. (3.)  Bayer Leverkusen 	16  	9 	5 	2 	 33:23  	+10 	32
 3. (4.)  Hannover 96 		16  	10 	1 	5 	 24:24  	0 	31
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (2.)  1. FSV Mainz 05 	16  	10 	0 	6 	 26:17  	+9 	30
 5. (5.)  SC Freiburg 		16  	9 	0 	7 	 23:23  	0 	27
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 6. (7.)  FC Bayern München 	16  	7 	5 	4 	 26:17  	+9 	26
 7. (6.)  1899 Hoffenheim 	16  	6 	6 	4 	 30:20  	+10 	24
 8. (8.)  Eintracht Frankfurt 	16  	7 	2 	7 	 23:21  	+2 	23
 9. (9.)  Hamburger SV 		16  	6 	3 	7 	 25:27  	-2 	21
10. (15.) FC Schalke 04 	16  	4 	4 	7 	 22:24  	-2 	19
11. (11.) 1. FC Nürnberg 	16  	5 	4 	7 	 19:27  	-8 	19
12. (10.) SV Werder Bremen 	16  	5 	4 	7 	 22:33  	-11 	19
13. (12.) 1. FC K'lautern 	16  	5 	3 	8 	 25:26  	-1 	18
14. (13.) VfL Wolfsburg 	16  	4 	6 	6 	 22:23  	-1 	18
15. (14.) FC St. Pauli 		16  	5 	2 	9 	 14:26  	-12 	17
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16. (17.) 1. FC Köln 		16  	4 	3 	9 	 18:30  	-12 	15
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17. (16.) VfB Stuttgart 	16  	3 	3 	10 	 29:30  	-1 	12
18. (18.) Borussia M'gladbach 	15  	2 	4 	10 	 25:45  	-20 	10


2.Liga - Round 16

Augsburg is the new leader after a tough win in Frankfurt against the Bornheimer dwarves. In a weekend with few goals, FCA had to fight their way back against the improved FSV, prevailing late. Augsburg is a pretty good team, and only by losing the playoff last season avoided the Bundesliga. So I could see them holding on in the promotion race (which means of course they'll probably suck next week). For me, FSV Frankfurt is quite shocking, perhaps even more than Aue. FSV is a small club, and their fans could probably fit nicely in your living room. They've battled mightily against relegation the last couple of seasons, coming from a hopeless position to save themselves. But so far this season, they've been quite decent.

Hertha BSC is finally back on track after sucking for several weeks. The "old dame" of Berlin dominated against erstwhile leaders and eastern upstarts Aue, with a large crowd due to the interest. However the match was pretty much one-sided, as Aue was pretty much too lame, especially on offense.

Duisburg lost ground as they basically got nothing at Paderborn. And in the battle of the clover-leafs, Greuther Fürth also was goose-eggs against Oberhausen.

Is Bochum ready to get back into the race? They've really sucked most of the season, but they're not out of things, only 6 points from the playoff. They struggled to win against Osnabrück, but in the end, got the points. The hero once again was Bochum's new signing, Chong Tese. Chong was born and raised in Japan, but decided to play for North Korea. OK, he might not be very smart, but appears to be a good footballer. (Or maybe he's very smart, as he plays for North Korea, but doesn't live there.) In any case, Bochum has basically sucked this season, but he's been their major bright spot. Osnabrück has been competitive in most of their matches this season, but they appear to be overmatched.

Ingolstadt continues to show improvement at the bottom. The stadium was sold out as the Schanzer battled 1860 in a regional derby, and they pressed the Lions quite hard - probably deserved a win, but 1860 managed to sneak out with a late goal. They're still in the toilet, but at least they have some hope for saving their asses. 1860 could challenge. Really. Ha-ha-ha. OK, just kidding. They look decent, but lack that biting edge and their -2 pts is massive given the overall level strength of the top clubs. Bielefeld on the other hand looks like a hopeless case. The Arminen had a critical relegation battle against almost equally sucking Karlsruhe, and of course they lost. It's hard to envision a scenario of them not going down. KSC has been horrible as well, but at leats they won this one.

Fragile finances is common for lower division clubs, but even when getting to the "big time" problems often remain. Erzgebirge Aue was promoted into the 2.Liga, and had established a goal of "maybe 40 points and avoiding relegation". Of course, the Purples stunned everybody by flying high and are of course on a pace to smash that goal. However, for a club with modest resources - Aue's budget is a mere 4 million euros - the success of the club has actually created some immediate financial problems. The players are due some additional 500,000 euros in bonus payments that hadn't been budgeted. The DFB thereby investigated Erzgebirge to see if they actually had the finanicial resources. Luckily, sponsors have kicked in and Aue was granted a thumbs up by the DFB finance commitee.

Karlsruher SC 		- 	Arminia Bielefeld 	1:0 (1:0)	11,386	(Staffeldt)
SpVgg Greuther Fürth 	- 	Rot-Weiß Oberhausen 	0:0 (0:0)	 5,030
Alemannia Aachen 	- 	Fortuna Düsseldorf 	0:0 (0:0)	20,071
SC Paderborn 07 	- 	MSV Duisburg	 	0:0 (0:0)	 7,878
FSV Frankfurt 		- 	FC Augsburg 		1:2 (0:0)	 3,473	(Mölders - Hain, Oehrl)
VfL Bochum 		- 	VfL Osnabrück 		2:1 (0:1)	12,465	(Saglik, Chong Tese - Hansen)
Hertha BSC Berlin 	- 	FC Erzgebirge Aue 	2:0 (1:0)	45,892	(Kobiashvili, Lasogga)
FC Ingolstadt 04 	- 	TSV 1860 München 	1:1 (0:0)	15,729	(Buchner - Ludwig)
FC Energie Cottbus 	- 	1. FC Union Berlin 	0:0 (0:0)	12,240 

Attendance: 134,164 (avg 14,907)


 1. (2.)  FC Augsburg 		16  	10 	2 	4 	 33:15  	+18 	32
 2. (5.)  Hertha BSC Berlin 	16  	10 	2 	4 	 24:12  	+12 	32
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3. (1.)  FC Erzgebirge Aue 	16  	9 	4 	3 	 19:18  	+1 	31
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (3.)  MSV Duisburg 		16  	9 	3 	4 	 28:15  	+13 	30
 5. (4.)  SpVgg Greuther Fürth 	16  	9 	3 	4 	 25:13  	+12 	30
 6. (7.)  FC Energie Cottbus 	16  	8 	4 	4 	 31:23  	+8 	28
 7. (6.)  FSV Frankfurt 	16  	9 	1 	6 	 25:18  	+7 	28
 8. (8.)  TSV 1860 München 	16  	7 	6 	3 	 22:16  	+6 	25 (*)
 9. (9.)  VfL Bochum 		16  	8 	1 	7 	 20:21  	-1 	25
10. (10.) Alemannia Aachen 	16  	5 	6 	5 	 22:23  	-1 	21
11. (11.) Fortuna Düsseldorf 	16  	6 	1 	9 	 13:18  	-5 	19
12. (12.) SC Paderborn 07 	16  	5 	3 	8 	 15:22  	-7 	18
13. (13.) Rot-Weiß Oberhausen 	16  	5 	3 	8 	 14:24  	-10 	18
14. (15.) 1. FC Union Berlin 	16  	4 	4 	8 	 15:21  	-6 	16
15. (16.) Karlsruher SC 	16  	4 	4 	8 	 21:31  	-10 	16
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16. (14.) VfL Osnabrück 	16  	4 	3 	9 	 23:30  	-7 	15
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17. (17.) FC Ingolstadt 04 	16  	3 	3 	10 	 18:26  	-8 	12
18. (18.) Arminia Bielefeld 	16  	2 	1 	13 	 11:33  	-22 	7

* - 1860 deducted two points for financial violations
3.Liga, Round 20

Once again, most of the 3.Liga matches were cancelled due to the heavy snow in Germany. Leaders Braunschweig did get their match in, and they bumped off Saarbrücken in a difficult match. The vistors pressed and had the Lions nervously holding on. Jena gave themselves a big boost in their struggle, and at the same time crapped all over Dresden's faint hope of getting back in the race. That undoubtedly makes their fans extra happy. I'm surprised Rostock didn't get off their match with Erfurt. As an ex-Bundesliga club, they certainly have a heated turf. Probably doesn't work though, as they undoubtedly haven't paid their energy bill and the local electric company cut them off. Or perhaps rioting visiting fans had to be clubbed into submission at the train station, a common occurence in eastern Germany.

TuS Koblenz 		- 	VfR Aalen 		1:0 (1:0)	 3,483	(Kittner)
Eintracht Braunschweig 	- 	1. FC Saarbrücken 	1:0 (0:0)	15,300	(Boland)
FC Carl Zeiss Jena 	- 	Dynamo Dresden 		1:0 (0:0)	 6,422	(Hähnge)
SpVgg Unterhaching 	- 	Jahn Regensburg 	-:- 
SV Werder Bremen II 	- 	Rot Weiss Ahlen 	-:- 
SV Babelsberg 03 	- 	SV Wehen Wiesbaden 	-:- 
Wacker Burghausen 	- 	FC Bayern München II 	-:- 
Kickers Offenbach 	- 	SV 1916 Sandhausen 	-:- 
VfB Stuttgart II 	- 	1. FC Heidenheim 1846 	-:- 
Hansa Rostock	 	- 	FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt 	-:-


 1. (1.)  Eintracht Braunschweig20  	14 	3 	3 	 49:10  	+39 	45
 2. (2.)  Hansa Rostock 	18  	13 	2 	3 	 40:19  	+21 	41
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3. (3.)  Kickers Offenbach 	19  	12 	3 	4 	 36:23  	+13 	39
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (4.)  SV Wehen Wiesbaden 	19  	9 	5 	5 	 25:21  	+4 	32
 5. (4.)  Dynamo Dresden 	20  	9 	5 	6 	 25:22  	+3 	32
 6. (6.)  FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt 	19  	9 	4 	6 	 31:22  	+9 	31
 7. (7.)  1. FC Heidenheim 1846 19  	8 	3 	8 	 36:29  	+7 	27
 8. (9.)  TuS Koblenz	 	19  	7 	6 	6 	 19:21  	-2 	27
 9. (8.)  Jahn Regensburg 	18  	7 	5 	6 	 22:25  	-3 	26
10. (10.) Rot Weiss Ahlen 	17  	5 	7 	5 	 22:24  	-2 	22
11. (11.) SpVgg Unterhaching 	18  	5 	7 	6 	 21:30  	-9 	22
12. (12.) 1. FC Saarbrücken 	20  	5 	6 	9 	 25:28  	-3 	21
13. (13.) SV Babelsberg 03 	19  	6 	3 	10 	 17:24  	-7 	21
14. (18.) FC Carl Zeiss Jena 	19  	5 	5 	9 	 16:34  	-18 	20
15. (14.) VfB Stuttgart II 	16  	4 	7 	5 	 16:17  	-1 	19
16. (15.) VfR Aalen 		19  	4 	6 	9 	 19:30  	-11 	18
17. (16.) Wacker Burghausen 	19  	4 	6 	9 	 22:34  	-12 	18
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
18. (17.) SV 1916 Sandhausen 	19  	4 	5 	10 	 23:30  	-7 	17
19. (19.) FC Bayern München II 	18  	3 	7 	8 	 16:24  	-8 	16
20. (20.) SV Werder Bremen II 	19  	3 	7 	9 	 17:30  	-13 	16


Dec 04, 2010

Bundesliga, Round 15

Cold weather didn't stop the Bundesliga, and the strange season continues unabated.

Dortmund remains in control as they travelled to Nürnberg and came away with a routine win. The Neons were obviously superior and toyed with their hosts before finishing them off.

The "big" match this week was actually in Gelsenkirchen, where struggling Schalke faced off against defending champion Bayern München. This probably was penciled in by everybody as the highlight of the year, but given both teams season of difficulty, it took on another dimension. Bayern has been showing signs of life, and some of their injured stars, such as Franck Ribery, are back in the line up. Schalke has sucked all year long, and was coming off a disastrous outing in Kaiserslautern. In general, Bayern dominated the first half, and only the post and a superb GK Manuel Neuer kept the Blues level. However, the champions defense has been pretty shaky all season long, so Schalke hoped to weather the pressure and maybe launch some counterattacks. This strategy worked wonders, as the Blues grabbed the lead early in the 2nd half. After holding off the visitors, they struck again and Bayern showed lack of imagination to get back in the match. Thus a huge win for Schalke, and another setback for Bayern's dwindling hopes of defending their title.

Mainz went belly up in the derby with Frankfurt. Eintracht had been dicking around recently, but were ready in this match and get the points, albeit somewhat fortunately.

Leverkusen figured to have an easy time against a lame Köln squad, but regional derbies are often not representative of they standings. After much difficulty, the Aspirins seemed to have beaten the Kölners into submission, but were on their backheels as the guests launched a fierce comeback. Only poor finishing prevented Köln from getting a point, and they may end up rueing this loss. For Bayer, yet another indication that they aren't championship material, although they do seem to get lucky...or at least do the bare minimum to get a result.

Wolfsburg is a huge disappointment, and Bremen even more so. And with some of the worst defenses in the league, you'd expect both potent offenses to have a field day. Instead, it was what the Germans call Schlaraffenland. High points were Edin Dzeko and Torsten Frings missing penalties for their sides.

St.Pauli has been sinking fast, but they put in a fighting effort to get the points against Kaiserslautern. The visitors were equal, and probably deserved a point, but this time the luck was with the Paulistas. Critical points for the Hamburgers to keep their heads above water. FCK would have liked a point, but are still a reasonable bet to stay up, given the struggles of the bottom feeders.

Stuttgart continues to struggle, and were unable to win against Hoffenheim despite a man advantage. Instead, they had to struggle to come back and salvage a point. It appears the 'fire the coach' strategy has diminished returns this season, so perhaps they should can their boss every week for maximum effect.

Gladbach is miserable, but were in pretty good shape unable Raul Bobadilla got his ass tossed. (BTW, "boba" means "stupid" in Brazil, so how apt?). Anyway, Hannover took advantage and turned the macth in their favor. The 96ers haven't been overly impressive, but have been extremely efficient, getting what they can out of matches that are up for grabs, and bailing on ones that are a lost cause. Hence 4th place with a negative goal difference.

Freiburg grabbed an early lead and managed to make it stand up against clueless Hamburg. Like Mainz, Freiburg win or lose, no ties. The Breisgauer are having a fine season and can breathe easily and even dream of Europe. Once again Papiss Cissé was the decider. If he keeps on scoring, some bigger club will coming knocking, which could mean a nice payday for SCF.

FC St. Pauli 		- 	1. FC K'lautern 	1:0 (0:0)	24,337	(Tiffert o.g.)
VfB Stuttgart 		- 	1899 Hoffenheim 	1:1 (1:1)	36,800	(Harnik - Salihovic)
VfL Wolfsburg 		- 	SV Werder Bremen 	0:0 (0:0)	30,000
Eintracht Frankfurt 	- 	1. FSV Mainz 05 	2:1 (1:1)	51,500	(Russ, Gekas - Schürrle)
Borussia M'gladbach 	- 	Hannover 96	 	1:2 (1:0)	37,195	(Bradley - Hanke, Ya Konan)
SC Freiburg 		- 	Hamburger SV 		1:0 (1:0)	23,900	(Cissé)
FC Schalke 04 		- 	FC Bayern München 	2:0 (0:0)	61,673	(Jurado, Höwedes)
Bayer Leverkusen 	- 	1. FC Köln 		3:2 (1:1)	30,210	(Helmes, Barnetta, Reinartz - Geromel, Lanig)
1. FC Nürnberg	 	- 	Borussia Dortmund 	0:2 (0:1)	48,500	(Hummels, Lewandowski)

Attendance: 344,115 (avg 38,235)


 1. (1.)  Borussia Dortmund 	15  	13 	1 	1 	 37:9   	+28 	40
 2. (2.)  1. FSV Mainz 05 	15  	10 	0 	5 	 26:16  	+10 	30
 3. (3.)  Bayer Leverkusen 	15  	8 	5 	2 	 29:21  	+8 	29
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (4.)  Hannover 96	 	15  	9 	1 	5 	 22:23  	-1 	28
 5. (8.)  SC Freiburg 		15  	8 	0 	7 	 20:23  	-3 	24
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 6. (6.)  1899 Hoffenheim 	15  	6 	5 	4 	 29:19  	+10 	23
 7. (5.)  FC Bayern München 	15  	6 	5 	4 	 23:17  	+6 	23
 8. (9.)  Eintracht Frankfurt 	15  	7 	2 	6 	 23:20  	+3 	23
 9. (7.)  Hamburger SV 		15  	6 	3 	6 	 23:23  	0 	21
10. (11.) SV Werder Bremen 	15  	5 	4 	6 	 22:31  	-9 	19
11. (10.) 1. FC Nürnberg 	15  	5 	3 	7 	 18:26  	-8 	18
12. (12.) 1. FC K'lautern 	15  	5 	2 	8 	 25:26  	-1 	17
13. (13.) VfL Wolfsburg 	15  	4 	5 	6 	 22:23  	-1 	17
14. (14.) FC St. Pauli 		15  	5 	2 	8 	 14:23  	-9 	17
15. (15.) FC Schalke 04 	15  	4 	4 	7 	 21:24  	-3 	16
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16. (17.) VfB Stuttgart 	15  	3 	3 	9 	 28:28  	0 	12
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17. (16.) 1. FC Köln 		15  	3 	3 	9 	 17:30  	-13 	12
18. (18.) Borussia M'gladbach 	15  	2 	4 	9 	 25:42  	-17 	10
	

2.Liga, Round 15

The 2.Liga is a mess, as nobody wants to seize control. Erzgebirge Aue remains the leader, because the rivals are faltering. After getting their asses ripped in Cottbus last week, the Purples promised their fans redemption against crap Ingolstadt. Instead they struggled to a draw against the reviving Schanzer. Duisburg expected to take the lead, but were stunned at home by FSV Frankfurt. The Frankfurters are basically a dwarf club, but they've proven to be a hard nut to crack this season. All their goals were scored by ex-Duisburgers, not that many people noticed.

Augsburg has been getting their act back together after a ho-hum streak, and the gave evidence with a thorough thumping of Cottbus, who only last week looked to be serving notice to the league.

Hertha Berlin continues in crisis, with their 3rd straight defeat. 1860 was coming off a terrible performance in Fürth, but grabbed an early goal and sailed home against the incompetant Berliners. Something needs to happen in Berlin or they risk self-destructing. 1860 isn't convincing enough yet to joing the promotion contenders, and if they do, the two point penalty may end up costing them. Greuther Fürth is back in the hunt as they ripped Bielefeld's ass on the road. Arminia is a disaster and hasn't given any indication that they won't drop at least one league. (More if their finances don't recover).

Osnabrück missed a chance to gain some air as they couldn't win a Westfalen derby with Paderborn. I rate Osnabrück as a quintessential 2.Liga club, with solid home support, but going nowhere. Well, actually, if they do have movement, it's in the wrong direction, back to the 3.Liga. They're barely hanging on as is, although they were helped by Düsseldorf upending Karlsruhe. Düsseldorf is another town with huge pent-up demand for top-flight football, but obviously this season they'll be nowhere near promotion, and should be happy if they don't get relegated.

MSV Duisburg 		- 	FSV Frankfurt	 	1:3 (1:2)	10,127	(Maierhofer - Schlicke, Mölders, Wunderlich)
Rot-Weiß Oberhausen 	- 	Alemannia Aachen 	1:2 (0:1)	 4,391	(Lamidi - Arslan, Stehle)
VfL Osnabrück 		- 	SC Paderborn 07 	2:2 (0:0)	12,100	(Adler, Lindemann - Brandy, Mohr)
FC Augsburg	 	- 	FC Energie Cottbus 	4:0 (2:0)	13,246	(Rafael 3, Werner)
Arminia Bielefeld 	- 	SpVgg Greuther Fürth 	1:4 (0:1)	 7,518	(di Gregorio - Prib, Haas 2, Sararer)
Fortuna Düsseldorf 	- 	Karlsruher SC 		1:0 (1:0)	20,095	(Rösler)
TSV 1860 München 	- 	Hertha BSC Berlin 	1:0 (1:0)	23,600	(Lauth)
FC Erzgebirge Aue 	- 	FC Ingolstadt 04 	1:1 (0:0)	 7,300	(Schröder - Metzelder)
1. FC Union Berlin 	- 	VfL Bochum 		0:1 (0:1)	10,889	(Dambrowski) 

Attendance: 109,266 (avg 12,141)
	

 1. (1.)  FC Erzgebirge Aue 	15  	9 	4 	2 	 19:16  	+3 	31
 2. (5.)  FC Augsburg 		15  	9 	2 	4 	 31:14  	+17 	29
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3. (2.)  MSV Duisburg 		15  	9 	2 	4 	 28:15  	+13 	29
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (6.)  SpVgg Greuther Fürth 	15  	9 	2 	4 	 25:13  	+12 	29
 5. (3.)  Hertha BSC Berlin 	15  	9 	2 	4 	 22:12  	+10 	29
 6. (7.)  FSV Frankfurt 	15  	9 	1 	5 	 24:16  	+8 	28
 7. (4.)  FC Energie Cottbus 	15  	8 	3 	4 	 31:23  	+8 	27
 8. (8.)  TSV 1860 München 	15  	7 	5 	3 	 21:15  	+6 	24 *
 9. (9.)  VfL Bochum	 	15  	7 	1 	7 	 18:20  	-2 	22
10. (10.) Alemannia Aachen 	15  	5 	5 	5 	 22:23  	-1 	20
11. (14.) Fortuna Düsseldorf 	15  	6 	0 	9 	 13:18  	-5 	18
12. (12.) SC Paderborn 07 	15  	5 	2 	8 	 15:22  	-7 	17
13. (11.) Rot-Weiß Oberhausen 	15  	5 	2 	8 	 14:24  	-10 	17
14. (15.) VfL Osnabrück 	15  	4 	3 	8 	 22:28  	-6 	15
15. (13.) 1. FC Union Berlin 	15  	4 	3 	8 	 15:21  	-6 	15
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16. (16.) Karlsruher SC 	15  	3 	4 	8 	 20:31  	-11 	13
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17. (17.) FC Ingolstadt 04 	15  	3 	2 	10 	 17:25  	-8 	11
18. (18.) Arminia Bielefeld 	15  	2 	1 	12 	 11:32  	-21 	7

* - 1860 subtracted 2 points

3.Liga, Round 19

Most matches were postponed due to the heavy snows that slammed all northern Europe. Some of the matches have been rescheduled for later in the week, but you never know exactly when they'll get made up. While there is a requirement for the top two leagues that all stadiums must have heated turf, that is not a stipulation for the 3.Liga. So 13 of 20 clubs haven't installed heating yet. In the case of Ahlen, they have a special heating system, but it would have cost them 6,000 euros to use it, and given that they're broke, they opted not to turn it on and face Rostock.

There were some significant results in the matches that did manage to kick off. Braunschweig confirmed their excellent form as they crapped all over a tough Heidenheim side. After a somewhat shaky start to the season, the Lions have been on fire and are probably the most feared squad in the league right now. Offenbach was an early pace setter, but they have been drifting as of late. The Kickers were beaten down in Dresden (where probably the bad weather kept the crowd down) and have dropped behind. Dynamo needed a good result to keep their slim hopes alive, and if they can avoid their usual pattern of sucking after a decent result, they could sneak into the race. It was a good performance by the hosts, as they dominated the match. The Kickers didn't have much of a clue and deservedly lost. Wehen continues to slip, as they were unable to win against last place Bremen II. The villagers are probably just hoping to hold onto 4th, which guarantees qualification to the first round of the DFB Cup. It doesn't look all that great in that department, as not only Dresden, but Erfurt is pressing hard.

VfR Aalen 		- 	FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt 	0:4 (0:1)	 2,076	(Semmer 2, Caillas, Pfingsten)
SV Wehen Wiesbaden 	- 	SV Werder Bremen II 	1:1 (0:0)	 2,580	(Bohl - Thy)
Dynamo Dresden	 	- 	Kickers Offenbach 	2:0 (0:0)	11,912	(Kopilas o.g., Koch)
1. FC Heidenheim 1846 	- 	Eintracht Braunschweig 	1:4 (1:1)	 7,214	(Weil - Dogan, Kruppke, Bellarabi, Pfitzner)
SV 1916 Sandhausen 	- 	SV Babelsberg 03 	0:0 (0:0)	   880 
Rot Weiss Ahlen 	- 	Hansa Rostock 		-:-
Jahn Regensburg 	- 	TuS Koblenz 	 	-:- 
FC Bayern München II 	- 	SpVgg Unterhaching 	-:- 
FC Carl Zeiss Jena 	- 	VfB Stuttgart II 	-:- 
1. FC Saarbrücken 	- 	Wacker Burghausen 	2:1 (1:0)	 2,565	(Pisano, Sieger - Cappek) 
Rot Weiss Ahlen 	- 	VfB Stuttgart II 	-:- 
	
	
 1. (2.)  Eintracht Braunschweig19  	13 	3 	3 	 48:10  	+38 	42
 2. (1.)  Hansa Rostock 	18  	13 	2 	3 	 40:19  	+21 	41
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3. (3.)  Kickers Offenbach 	19  	12 	3 	4 	 36:23  	+13 	39
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (4.)  SV Wehen Wiesbaden 	19  	9 	5 	5 	 25:21  	+4 	32
 5. (5.)  Dynamo Dresden 	19  	9 	5 	5 	 25:21  	+4 	32
 6. (6.)  FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt 	19  	9 	4 	6 	 31:22  	+9 	31
 7. (7.)  1. FC Heidenheim 1846 19  	8 	3 	8 	 36:29  	+7 	27
 8. (8.)  Jahn Regensburg 	18  	7 	5 	6 	 22:25  	-3 	26
 9. (9.)  TuS Koblenz 		18  	6 	6 	6 	 18:21  	-3 	24
10. (10.) Rot Weiss Ahlen 	17  	5 	7 	5 	 22:24  	-2 	22
11. (11.) SpVgg Unterhaching 	18  	5 	7 	6 	 21:30  	-9 	22
12. (14.) 1. FC Saarbrücken 	19  	5 	6 	8 	 25:27  	-2 	21
13. (12.) SV Babelsberg 03 	19  	6 	3 	10 	 17:24  	-7 	21
14. (13.) VfB Stuttgart II 	16  	4 	7 	5 	 16:17  	-1 	19
15. (15.) VfR Aalen 		18  	4 	6 	8 	 19:29  	-10 	18
16. (16.) Wacker Burghausen 	19  	4 	6 	9 	 22:34  	-12 	18
17. (18.) SV 1916 Sandhausen 	19  	4 	5 	10 	 23:30  	-7 	17
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
18. (17.) FC Carl Zeiss Jena 	18  	4 	5 	9 	 15:34  	-19 	17
19. (19.) FC Bayern München II 	18  	3 	7 	8 	 16:24  	-8 	16
20. (20.) SV Werder Bremen II 	19  	3 	7 	9 	 17:30  	-13 	16


Dec 03, 2010

World Cups to be

Let the whining begin! So the FIFA oldtimers figured it was their last opportunity to rake in extra dough before retiring and accepted massive bribes to award the World Cup. And predicatbly the English and to a lesser extent, the Americans are whining and sniveling about unfairness etc. Get over it. Nobody wants the World Cup in England. They probably couldn't even get Scotland's vote. As for the US, well, we hosted in 1994, so give someone else a chance.

So the Russkies get it in 2018, which seems fair. The Russian mafia needs new growth opportunities, since investing in English football clubs hasn't been doing too well lately. And it's never been in eastern Europe, so there is some logic here.

Awarding 2022 to Qatar though was a clear case of bribery. I suppose playing at night in air conditioned stadiums should be OK for the players. And if they're willing to waste zillions building facilities that will only be used once, that's their problem.


Dec 01, 2010

Schalke crisis

Things are obviously not going too well at Schalke. The new "Arena Auf-Schalke" has been quite nice, basically sold out every game over the last couple of years, but the construction debt has weighed heavily on the club finances. Of course, it doesn't help having so many high salaried flops either. Indeed, now into the second year of Felix Magath's "Reign of (T)error", it basically looks like every other coaching mess for the Blues. Magath is of course a legend in German coaching circles, and his best job was undoubtedly leading unheralded Wolfsburg to an unheard of title a couple of years ago. So when he traded in his VW for something else (looks like a Chrysler), there were high hopes. While last season it looked like his magic was working, this year not so much.

Things started to look up with a strong 3-0 route of Olympique Lyon in the Champions League, but then they turned around and laid an egg with a disastrous 0-5 at Kaiserslautern. Magath flew off the handle, and among other things forced training in the snow during the coldest part of the day and promised serious ass kicking. In fact, he basically kicked 3 players off the team, Hans Sarpei, Alex Baumjohann and Jermaine Jones. They've been dumped to the 4th division Regionalliga Schalke-II squad, where they join forever banished Albert Streit. (See why normal clubs get pissed off when they have to play the "B" squads in lower divisions?) Now Streit somehow got in "Maggot's" doghouse last season and has disappeared forever. He was a decent player at Frankfurt, but never clicked with Magath and has apparently decided just to cash his big paycheck playing folks like Wuppertaler SV. Defender Sarpei is a veteran with several German clubs (Magath may have even brought him from Wolfsburg), and played for Ghana in the recent World Cup. Baumjohann was considered a top talent at Gladbach, but got greedy and transferred to Bayern where he came down with the dreaded "Bankholzsplinterimarschverletzung". So he hoped to rebuild his career with Schalke, but I guess ixnay on that. However, at 23, he could seemingly go somewhere else and perhaps show his talent. Jermaine Jones is of course of interest to most Americans. He was considered an up-and-coming defensive midfielder and indeed even got a few caps for friendlies in the national team. But he correctly decided that he wasn't going to be good enough for a long term career in the DFB squad, so he announced that he would play for the US national team. Then he promptly got injured and missed any chance of joining the US. He can be very good at times, but he is a bit of a hot-head and thug. Needless to say, Magath isn't sending him any Xmas cards. The funny thing about banning these players however is that they've hardly been responsible for Schalke's sucking, since they really haven't played much. Apparently they're banned for "bad attitude". But there could be more to come. The only players that Magath has singled out as being worthy are GK Manuel Neuer and Jefferson Farfan. Neuer was the World Cup GK, and strikes me as a bit of a prat, as he runs around screaming like a wanker when he screws up or perceives the defense has let him down. But he can be brilliant at times, and is definitely a top keeper. Peruvian Farfan has trouble hitting the side of a barn, let alone the net. However, he has been a demon on the wing and has created many of Schalke's scoring chances. I would add Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, as at least he has scored on a regular basis. Perhaps some good news is that defender Christian Pander, who has been out injured all season, could be back int the lineup soon.

It will be interesting to see what happens in the next couple of matches for the Blues. Indeed, Magath has already announced he has cut the player's vacation time in the upcoming Winterbreak and intends to kick their asses in training. I'm not sure that Schalke has any money to make moves in the transfer window, but he may try and dump some players to free up cash.

Ahlen alive

Some good news this week as the administrator has announced that 3.Liga club Rot-Weiss Ahlen has sufficient funds to continue and finish out the season. Ahlen had gone into insolvency administration due to financial difficulties, but audits have shown that things are perhaps not quite as bad as thought. All sponsors have paid up, and indeed, some have indicated willingness to add funds if needed. It doesn't mean that they're out of the woods, as the club still will need to fix things financially, but they will not be forcibly relegated. They were looking dead and buried on the field, but they have since climbed to mid-table and look competitive.

Playoff dates

The DFL has set May 19th/24th for the "Relegationsspiele" (Note that German uses "Relegation" to mean "playoff". What civilized folks call relegation is "Abstieg".) These are the promotion-relegation playoffs where the 16th place Bundesliga club faces off against the 3rd place 2.Liga club for all the marbles. (This also happens with the 2.Liga/3.Liga). This sucky system has been back in place for two years, and both times 1.FC Nürnberg managed to win out (by dumping Cottbus to go up and Augsburg to stay up.) I suppose it's inevitable, as lots of leagues like this system. But I think it blows, since it potentially rewards a club for a season of suckitude and gives them an out. The whole point of having a league season is that everybody is judged for their whole season, not the last game. (That's one reason MLS sucks, BTW).


Nov 29, 2010

Bundesliga, Round 14

Dortmund continues unfettered. Gladbach was holding it's own, and managed to grab the lead in their first real attack. But from then on, the Neons dominated, and it was only a matter of time before the Gladbachers got rolled. Dortmund's attack comes from various angles, but Lucas Barrios and newcomer Shinji Kagawa have been especially impressive this season, and they once again struck when needed. Gladbach's defense is like a bucket with holes.

Mainz continues to battle hard, and despite Nürnberg putting up some decent resistance, the host's vistory was never really in question.

Leverkusen jumped out to an early advantage against Hoffenheim, but in the end were forced to concede a draw with an injury time penalty. Typical of the rather listless effort the Aspirins have been giving all year. Defending champion Bayern München seems to be getting into gear. They hosted inconsistent Eintracht Frankfurt, who basically decided to catenaccio their way to a point. Despite being able to hold on for the first half, it was pretty clear that Frankfurt was not going to be successful. Bayern basically overran them after the restart, en route to an easy victory. They've now moved within 3 points of a Champions League spot.

Schalke was coming off an impressive Champions League win against Lyon, and clearly didn't have their act together in Kaiserslautern. As a result they were ripped to shreads by an aggressive FCK. Things got so bad that the huge Schalke travelling support actually turned their backs on the field in the 2nd half. Coach Felix Magath then proceeded to rip the team in the press, promising some thorough ass kicking to prevent them from getting relegated. Looks like he may have to kick his own ass too. A great win for Lautern, which gives them a bit of breathing space above relegation.

Bremen finally got back on track. It took a hat-trick by Hugo Almeida, who also managed to get his ass tossed for a late nasty foul. Nevertheless, after thoroughly embarassing performances over the last few weeks at least a few leaks have been plugged. St.Pauli on the other hand appears to be sinking like a rock. The Paulistas have the weakest attack, and it doesn't seem to have any improvement on the horizon.

Hannover had to withstand Freiburg's attacks, but their counters were lethal and the 96ers thumped the visiting Breisgauers. Both clubs are doing pretty well this season.

Hamburg beat down Stuttgart with a good effort. Could Stuttgart's coach firing scheme not be having it's usual effect?

Köln and Wolfsburg played even, which doesn't help either side that much. Havne't heard any rumours about McClaren getting dumped by the VWs, but they are certainly playing beneath their abilities. Perhaps Schalke and Wolfsburg should swap, since Magath did win the title with Wolfsburg. McClaren will probably still suck at the Blues, but they're used to that. Köln still looks pretty crappy, and it will be hard for them to avoid relegation.

1. FSV Mainz 05 	- 	1. FC Nürnberg 		3:0 (1:0)	20,300	(Schürrle, Noveski, Allagui)
FC Bayern München 	- 	Eintracht Frankfurt 	4:1 (1:1)	69,000	(Tymoschyk 2, T. Müller, Gomez - Gekas)
Hamburger SV 		- 	VfB Stuttgart 		4:2 (3:1)	53,055	(Trochowski, Pitriopa, Petric, Van Nistelrooy - Marica, Gentner)
1899 Hoffenheim 	- 	Bayer Leverkusen 	2:2 (1:2)	29,250	(Ibisevic, Sigurdsson - Sam, Vidal)
Hannover 96 		- 	SC Freiburg 		3:0 (1:0)	34,108	(Schlaudraff, Ya Konan, Hanke)
1. FC K'lautern 	- 	FC Schalke 04 		5:0 (2:0)	49,474	(Lakic 2, Amedick, Illicevic, Moravek)
Borussia Dortmund 	- 	Borussia M'gladbach 	4:1 (1:1)	79,200	(Subotic, Kagawa, Grosskreutz, Barrios - Reus)
SV Werder Bremen 	- 	FC St. Pauli 		3:0 (2:0)	36,400	(Hugo Almeida 3)
1. FC Köln	 	- 	VfL Wolfsburg 		1:1 (0:0)	43,000	(Novakovic - Cicero)

Attendance: 413,787 (avg 45,976)


 1. (1.)  Borussia Dortmund 	14  	12 	1 	1 	 35:9   	+26 	37
 2. (2.)  1. FSV Mainz 05 	14  	10 	0 	4 	 25:14  	+11 	30
 3. (3.)  Bayer Leverkusen 	14  	7 	5 	2 	 26:19  	+7 	26
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (4.)  Hannover 96 		14  	8 	1 	5 	 20:22  	-2 	25
 5. (8.)  FC Bayern München 	14  	6 	5 	3 	 23:15  	+8 	23
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 6. (5.)  1899 Hoffenheim 	14  	6 	4 	4 	 28:18  	+10 	22
 7. (9.)  Hamburger SV 		14  	6 	3 	5 	 23:22  	+1 	21
 8. (6.)  SC Freiburg 		14  	7 	0 	7 	 19:23  	-4 	21
 9. (7.)  Eintracht Frankfurt 	14  	6 	2 	6 	 21:19  	+2 	20
10. (10.) 1. FC Nürnberg 	14  	5 	3 	6 	 18:24  	-6 	18
11. (12.) SV Werder Bremen 	14  	5 	3 	6 	 22:31  	-9 	18
12. (13.) 1. FC K'lautern 	14  	5 	2 	7 	 25:25  	0 	17
13. (11.) VfL Wolfsburg 	14  	4 	4 	6 	 22:23  	-1 	16
14. (14.) FC St. Pauli 		14  	4 	2 	8 	 13:23  	-10 	14
15. (15.) FC Schalke 04 	14  	3 	4 	7 	 19:24  	-5 	13
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16. (17.) 1. FC Köln 		14  	3 	3 	8 	 15:27  	-12 	12
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17. (16.) VfB Stuttgart 	14  	3 	2 	9 	 27:27  	0 	11
18. (18.) Borussia M'gladbach 	14  	2 	4 	8 	 24:40  	-16 	10

2.Liga - Round 14

The big winner this week is Duisburg, as the Zebras travelled to Berlin and outplayed host Hertha, who have been pretty crap the last few matches. If Hertha doesn't get gtheir act together soon, they could start drifting into the pack. Of course, this is rather typical of the 2.Liga. A few weeks ago it was Duisburg that was drifiting aimlessly, and now that MSV has put together a mini-run, they're back in the hunt.

Leaders Aue got a lesson as they were bitchslapped silly in Cottbus. The newly promoted squad has been the sensation so far, but Energie clearly showed them that they're not tough enough. It will be interesting to see how Aue reacts. They're still top the table, but this shock could cause a collapse. That seems a more likely scenario than complete recovery. Nevertheless, the pre-season goal was to avoid relegation, and they've already accomplished that.

Last year's playoff loser Augsburg has quietly gotten back into the hunt. After a poor start, FCA has climbed back, although their excellent away win in Aachen carries a high cost. Their veteran striker Michael Thurk as injured and may be out for a long time. Aachen is one of the clubs that's dicking around aimlessly.

At the bottom, Ingolstadt has shown signs of life, with a late goal giving them their second straight win. Also showing grit was Karlsruhe. They fired their coach and brought in Uwe Rapolder, and the squad responded with a thrashing of Oberhausen. The bottom races are becoming more defined, as several clubs are beginning to slip into trouble. Osnabrück had a famous win over Hertha last week, but got their ass handed to them by surprising FSV Frankfurt. The purples are barely above water now. Union Berlin's loss in Ingolstadt should raise the alarm, whereas Düsseldorf has climbed from the depths to mere danger as they crapped all over Bielefeld's attempted revival. Arminia looks pretty sorry now. Paderborn also got slapped by rudder-less Bochum, and could soon find themselves in hot water as well.

VfL Bochum 		- 	SC Paderborn 07 	3:0 (0:0)	 9,186	(Chong Tese, Dedic, Rzatkowski)
Arminia Bielefeld 	- 	Fortuna Düsseldorf 	0:2 (0:2)	10,736	(Bröker 2)
FSV Frankfurt 		- 	VfL Osnabrück	 	4:1 (4:0)	 2,808	(N'Diaye, Wunderlich 2, Fillinger - Lindemann)
Hertha BSC Berlin 	- 	MSV Duisburg 		0:2 (0:0)	32,052	(Sahan, Baljak)
Alemannia Aachen 	- 	FC Augsburg 		1:3 (0:1)	14,505	(Auer - Werner, Rafael, Bertram)
FC Energie Cottbus 	- 	FC Erzgebirge Aue 	6:0 (2:0)	14,550	(Hünemeier 3, Jula 2, Kurth) 
Karlsruher SC 		- 	Rot-Weiß Oberhausen 	4:0 (1:0)	11,607	(Staffeldt, Chrisanthus, Zimmermann, Rupp)
FC Ingolstadt 04 	- 	1. FC Union Berlin 	1:0 (0:0)	 5,500	(Leitl)
SpVgg Greuther Fürth 	- 	TSV 1860 München 	1:0 (1:0)	 6,870	(Onuegbu) 
	
	
 1. (1.)  FC Erzgebirge Aue 	14  	9 	3 	2 	 18:15  	+3 	30
 2. (3.)  MSV Duisburg 		14  	9 	2 	3 	 27:12  	+15 	29
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3. (2.)  Hertha BSC Berlin 	14  	9 	2 	3 	 22:11  	+11 	29
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (4.)  FC Energie Cottbus 	14  	8 	3 	3 	 31:19  	+12 	27
 5. (5.)  FC Augsburg 		14  	8 	2 	4 	 27:14  	+13 	26
 6. (6.)  SpVgg Greuther Fürth 	14  	8 	2 	4 	 21:12  	+9 	26
 7. (7.)  FSV Frankfurt 	14  	8 	1 	5 	 21:15  	+6 	25
 8. (8.)  TSV 1860 München 	14  	6 	5 	3 	 20:15  	+5 	21 *
 9. (12.) VfL Bochum	 	14  	6 	1 	7 	 17:20  	-3 	19 
10. (9.)  Alemannia Aachen 	14  	4 	5 	5 	 20:22  	-2 	17
11. (10.) Rot-Weiß Oberhausen 	14  	5 	2 	7 	 13:22  	-9 	17
12. (11.) SC Paderborn 07 	14  	5 	1 	8 	 13:20  	-7 	16
13. (13.) 1. FC Union Berlin 	14  	4 	3 	7 	 15:20  	-5 	15
14. (15.) Fortuna Düsseldorf 	14  	5 	0 	9 	 12:18  	-6 	15
15. (14.) VfL Osnabrück 	14  	4 	2 	8 	 20:26  	-6 	14
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16. (16.) Karlsruher SC 	14  	3 	4 	7 	 20:30  	-10 	13
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17. (17.) FC Ingolstadt 04 	14  	3 	1 	10 	 16:24  	-8 	10
18. (18.) Arminia Bielefeld 	14  	2 	1 	11 	 10:28  	-18 	7

* - 1860 deducted 2 points for financial irregularities

3.Liga - Round 18

The top guns blasted their way through. Braunschweig annihilated a Jena squad that been showing some signs of life. Rostock bitchslapped Regensburg silly. Offenbach on the other hand had a difficult time with tough opposition from Heidenheim, barely squeaking by. However, since Wehen was defeated in Koblenz, the gap is now 8 points. I think it's pretty clear that the top 3 are decided, but the jockeying for the automatic promotion spots (1,2) should give cause for excitement.

A nice away win for Dresden, that gives them hope for at least moving into 4th. This position does have some value, since I believe it means automatic qualification for the main round of the DFB-Cup next year, which can mean a nice payoff.

The relegation battle has tightened up. Werder II was looking as a clear dumpee, but they've recovered somewhat and aren't that far behind. There now are several clubs that look vulnerable.

SV Werder Bremen II 	- 	FC Bayern München II 	2:0 (2:0)	   500	(Thy, Testroet)
SV Babelsberg 03 	- 	1. FC Saarbrücken 	0:2 (0:1)	 1,779	(Mann, Schutzbach)
Eintracht Braunschweig 	- 	FC Carl Zeiss Jena 	6:0 (2:0)	15,820	(Kumbela 2, Kruppke 2, Bellarabi, Calamita)
Kickers Offenbach 	- 	1. FC Heidenheim 1846 	1:0 (1:0)	 7,007	(da Costa)
Wacker Burghausen 	- 	Dynamo Dresden 		0:2 (0:1)	 2,970	(Esswein, Koch)
TuS Koblenz	 	- 	SV Wehen Wiesbaden 	3:2 (2:1)	 3,749	(Haben, Gentner 2 - Ziemer, Janjic)
Hansa Rostock 		- 	Jahn Regensburg 	5:0 (2:0)	10,500	(Schied 2, Ziegenbein 2, Jänicke)
FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt 	- 	Rot Weiss Ahlen 	4:0 (2:0)	 3,683	(Möckel, Weidlich, Flottmann o.g., Semmer)
SpVgg Unterhaching 	- 	SV 1916 Sandhausen 	1:1 (0:0)	 1,450	(Amachaibou - Dorn)
VfB Stuttgart II 	- 	VfR Aalen 		-:- 


 1. (1.)  Hansa Rostock 	18  	13 	2 	3 	 40:19  	+21 	41
 2. (2.)  Eintracht Braunschweig18  	12 	3 	3 	 44:9   	+35 	39
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3. (3.)  Kickers Offenbach 	18  	12 	3 	3 	 36:21  	+15 	39
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (4.)  SV Wehen Wiesbaden 	18  	9 	4 	5 	 24:20  	+4 	31
 5. (7.)  Dynamo Dresden 	18  	8 	5 	5 	 23:21  	+2 	29
 6. (8.)  FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt 	18  	8 	4 	6 	 27:22  	+5 	28
 7. (5.)  1. FC Heidenheim 1846 18  	8 	3 	7 	 35:25  	+10 	27
 8. (6.)  Jahn Regensburg 	18  	7 	5 	6 	 22:25  	-3 	26
 9. (10.) TuS Koblenz 		18  	6 	6 	6 	 18:21  	-3 	24
10. (9.)  Rot Weiss Ahlen 	17  	5 	7 	5 	 22:24  	-2 	22
11. (11.) SpVgg Unterhaching 	18  	5 	7 	6 	 21:30  	-9 	22
12. (12.) SV Babelsberg 03 	18  	6 	2 	10 	 17:24  	-7 	20
13. (13.) VfB Stuttgart II 	16  	4 	7 	5 	 16:17  	-1 	19
14. (18.) 1. FC Saarbrücken 	18  	4 	6 	8 	 23:26  	-3 	18
15. (14.) VfR Aalen 		17  	4 	6 	7 	 19:25  	-6 	18
16. (15.) Wacker Burghausen 	18  	4 	6 	8 	 21:32  	-11 	18
17. (16.) FC Carl Zeiss Jena 	18  	4 	5 	9 	 15:34  	-19 	17
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
18. (19.) SV 1916 Sandhausen 	18  	4 	4 	10 	 23:30  	-7 	16
19. (17.) FC Bayern München II 	18  	3 	7 	8 	 16:24  	-8 	16
20. (20.) SV Werder Bremen II 	18  	3 	6 	9 	 16:29  	-13 	15


Nov 25, 2010

Ulm bankrupt?

One of the great stories was SSV Ulm 1846, who actually played in the Bundesliga in 1999-2000. They put up a surprisingly good show, although in the end finished 16th and were relegated. Obviously the club management overextended the finances and next season not only was the club relegated from the 2.Liga, but they were denied a 3rd division license and were busted down to the Oberliga, going into administrtaion. However, they managed to straighten things out and continue.

Now, it's back to the old story. Once again Ulm is looking at insolvency, with some 500,000 euros debt. The difference is that they are now struggling in the 4th division Regionalliga Süd, so sponsors are a bit harder to come by. (Indeed, fellow strugglers SpVgg Weiden has already gone into administration courts). Ulm needs to come up with some 150,000 euros in new sponsorship by the end of the year, or else they will go into insolvency for the 2nd time in 10 years. This could mean that all their results would be annulled. Let's hope that somehow they manage to get it together and survive.


Nov 21, 2010

Bundesliga, Round 13

Just when I think I got it all figured out...well, at least one constant still rings true: Dortmund continues to grind out the points. The Neons were on their back foot at Freiburg, trailing at half-time and comepletely outplayed. But coach Jürgen Klopp clearly made adjustments in the locker room, and the Neons came out breathing fire. An interesting battle, but in the end, the superior talent of the leaders came to the top, and the eeked out yet another win.

The expected top clash between Luserkusen and Bayern München was pretty exciting in the first half, but started petering out after the half-time whistle. Neither squad seemed interested in winning the match, perhaps an indication that neither has the energy to chase a relentless Dortmund.

Mainz continues to impress. Obviously they've fallen off their early blistering pace, but even in their recent losses, they've held true to their up-tempo attacking football. After a somewhat slow start at Gladbach, they needed to pull out all the stops to get this win. The Gladbachers are not known for their defensive prowess, but they can go forward, and soon Mainz found themselves in a struggle. It took a couple of late goals by super-sub Sami Allagui to grab the win. So the Mainzers remain in the hunt at the top, pressing for Europe. The Gladbachers remain in trouble, bringing up the rear...mainly because their defense is non-existant.

Frankfurt got seriously bitch-slapped at home by Hoffenheim, although the result is somewhat deceptive. Hoffenheim was the cleverer squad, and deserving winner. Eintracht looked clumsy at times, as they chased a deficit. Still, they probably didn't deserve to get slapped silly. Good win for Hoffenheim obviously, but they have beeb very inconsistent so far this season.

Schalke may be finally getting their act together, although a win against Bremen is hardly much to cheer about these days. The Blues had the game in control, indeed GK Manuel Neuer had a quiet afternoon. For Schalke, it was the veteran Raul who was outstanding. The Spaniard did what he's always done: be in the right spot, and finish clinically. Although the Schalke midfield was often crap, when they got near the Bremen goal, they were quite dangerous. Meanwhile, Bremen was total crap. Only GK Tim Wiese put in a fine performance, as he stopped Farfan on a one-on-one, saved a couple of point-lank Hunterlaar headers, and otherwise prevented Werder from losing 7-0. Although part of Bremen's problem is their injury list, one thinks that coach Thomas Schaaf probably wants in a hospital as well, albeit a mental one.

Kaiserslautern put in a gala 1st half performance at Nürnberg, and were able to coast home in the 2nd half. Der Club was stunned by FCK blitz assaults, and by the time they had reorganized, the Devils had the match put away and critical points. A bad loss for Nürnberg, but no reason to panic just yet.

St.Pauli vs. Wolfsburg was once one of the hot derbies - in the Regionalliga West back in the early 1970s. This was before the VWs spent lots of money to get better, and prior to Pauli becoming the traveling circus. Those were hard nosed battles, but today's match wasn't too far behind. The Paulistas actually dominated most of the match, but were unable to turn their advantage into more goals. As a result, Edin Dzeko punished them with a late equalizer to salvage a point for the VWs.

Hannover upended HSV in a northern derby at the last minute.

Köln looked horrible last week, and in dead last, seemed sure relagtion fodder. Meanwhile, Stuttgart appears to have gotten their act together. However, Köln's favorite opponent appears to be VfB, as they stunned their hosts...for the 4th consecutive away win in Stuttgart! VfB pressured Köln throughout the match, but GK Mondragon was sharp and the defense didn't break. Then on a late counterattack, a somewhat soft penalty was given, which Podolski duly slammed home. Stuttgart continued to attack furiously, but was unable to breach the Köln wall; indeed the visitors had several good chances to finish off the match. A huge win for Köln that comes at a critical time. And a warning for Stuttgart that they're not out of the woods yet.

 
FC Schalke 04 		- 	SV Werder Bremen 	4:0 (2:0)	61,673	 (Metzelder, Raul 3) 
Eintracht Frankfurt 	- 	1899 Hoffenheim 	0:4 (0:1)	44,300	(Vukcevic, Ibisevic 2, Mlapa)
Borussia M'gladbach 	- 	1. FSV Mainz 05 	2:3 (0:0)	45,472	(Reus 2 - Schürrle, Allagui 2)
SC Freiburg 		- 	Borussia Dortmund 	1:2 (1:0)	24,000	(Hummels o.g. - Lewandowski, Mujdza o.g.)
Hannover 96 		- 	Hamburger SV 		3:2 (1:1)	49,000	(Stindl, Schulz, Hanke - Son 2)
1. FC Nürnberg 		- 	1. FC K'lautern 	1:3 (0:3)	40,711	(Mak - Rivic, Ilicevic, Lakic)
Bayer Leverkusen 	- 	FC Bayern München 	1:1 (1:1)	30,210	(Vidal - Gomez)
VfB Stuttgart 		- 	1. FC Köln 	 	0:1 (0:0)	39,500	(Podolski) 
FC St. Pauli	 	- 	VfL Wolfsburg 	 	1:1 (1:0)	24,150	(Thorandt - Dzeko) 

Attendance: 359,016 (avg 39,891)


 1. (1.)  Borussia Dortmund 	13  	11 	1 	1 	 31:8   	+23 	34
 2. (3.)  1. FSV Mainz 05 	13  	9 	0 	4 	 22:14  	+8 	27
 3. (2.)  Bayer Leverkusen 	13  	7 	4 	2 	 24:17  	+7 	25
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (7.)  Hannover 96 		13  	7 	1 	5 	 17:22  	-5 	22
 5. (8.)  1899 Hoffenheim 	13  	6 	3 	4 	 26:16  	+10 	21
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 6. (4.)  SC Freiburg 		13  	7 	0 	6 	 19:20  	-1 	21
 7. (5.)  Eintracht Frankfurt 	13  	6 	2 	5 	 20:15  	+5 	20
 8. (6.)  FC Bayern München 	13  	5 	5 	3 	 19:14  	+5 	20
 9. (9.)  Hamburger SV 		13  	5 	3 	5 	 19:20  	-1 	18
10. (10.) 1. FC Nürnberg 	13  	5 	3 	5 	 18:21  	-3 	18
11. (12.) VfL Wolfsburg 	13  	4 	3 	6 	 21:22  	-1 	15
12. (11.) SV Werder Bremen 	13  	4 	3 	6 	 19:31  	-12 	15
13. (15.) 1. FC K'lautern 	13  	4 	2 	7 	 20:25  	-5 	14
14. (13.) FC St. Pauli 		13  	4 	2 	7 	 13:20  	-7 	14
15. (16.) FC Schalke 04 	13  	3 	4 	6 	 19:19  	0 	13
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16. (14.) VfB Stuttgart 	13  	3 	2 	8 	 25:23  	+2 	11
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17. (18.) 1. FC Köln 		13  	3 	2 	8 	 14:26  	-12 	11
18. (17.) Borussia M'gladbach 	13  	2 	4 	7 	 23:36  	-13 	10

2.Liga, Round 13

Look at the table, Aue in 1st! This is certainly a surprise, but the fact remains that this season, just about everybody in the 2.Liga is playing crap at times. This time, it's Hertha Berlin's turn. The heavy favorites got their asses kicked in Osnabrück. Neither Duisburg nor Cottbus were able to take full advantage, as they played to an entertaining draw in a direct match on Monday.

Ingolstadt shocked even themselves, showing their not total crap. The Schanzer stunned a lame Bochum squad that figured they only needed to show up to bag the points. Instead they got their clocks cleaned, insulting their (few) fans that showed up.

Bielefeld on the other hand was hoping to get their season rolling after a win last week. Instead they got bitch-slapped in Oberhausen, a team that had been in free-fall. Since the league is fairly tightly packed, it's not a disaster, but Arminia clearly has a lot of work to do, bringing up the rear. For oldtimers, an RWO-Arminia match brings back memories of the "Bundesligaskandal" bribery scandals of the early 1970s. Not much has changed in 40 years, as both clubs continue to struggle financially...

1860 was unable to move up, as they could not keep down a pesky FSV Frankfurt, despite jumping out to a 3-1 lead. 1860 has shown signs of being able to be a top rank club, but as soon as they give their fans some hope, they turn around and suck.

1. FC Union Berlin 	- 	Fortuna Düsseldorf 	1:0 (0:0)	14,309	(Mattuschka)
Rot-Weiß Oberhausen 	- 	Arminia Bielefeld 	3:0 (2:0)	 5,165	(Petersch. Luz, Lamidi)
VfL Osnabrück	 	- 	Hertha BSC Berlin 	2:0 (1:0)	15,700	(Diabang, Adler)
VfL Bochum 		- 	FC Ingolstadt 04 	1:4 (1:2)	 9,609	(Chong Tese - Gerber, Leitl 3) 
SC Paderborn 07 	- 	SpVgg Greuther Fürth 	0:4 (0:1)	 5,876	(Nehrig, Karaslavov, Sararer, N. Müller)
FC Augsburg 		- 	Karlsruher SC 		3:1 (1:0)	14,427	(Werner, Oehrl, Thurk - Rupp)
TSV 1860 München 	- 	FSV Frankfurt	 	3:3 (1:1)	17,100	(Ludiwg, Bell, Lauth - Mölders 2, Cinaz)
FC Erzgebirge Aue 	- 	Alemannia Aachen 	2:1 (1:0)	10,636	(Lachheb, Hochscheidt - Höger)
MSV Duisburg 		- 	FC Energie Cottbus 	2:2 (1:1)	12,000	(Sahan, Maierhofer - Jula, Petersen)

Attendance: 


 1. (2.)  FC Erzgebirge Aue 	13  	9 	3 	1 	 18:9   	+9 	30
 2. (1.)  Hertha BSC Berlin 	13  	9 	2 	2 	 22:9   	+13 	29
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3. (3.)  MSV Duisburg 		13  	8 	2 	3 	 25:12  	+13 	26
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (4.)  FC Energie Cottbus 	13  	7 	3 	3 	 25:19  	+6 	24
 5. (6.)  FC Augsburg 		13  	7 	2 	4 	 24:13  	+11 	23
 6. (8.)  SpVgg Greuther Fürth 	13  	7 	2 	4 	 20:12  	+8 	23
 7. (5.)  FSV Frankfurt 	13  	7 	1 	5 	 17:14  	+3 	22
 8. (7.)  TSV 1860 München 	13  	6 	5 	2 	 20:14  	+6 	21
 9. (9.)  Alemannia Aachen 	13  	4 	5 	4 	 19:19  	0 	17
10. (12.) Rot-Weiß Oberhausen 	13  	5 	2 	6 	 13:18  	-5 	17
11. (10.) SC Paderborn 07 	13  	5 	1 	7 	 13:17  	-4 	16
12. (11.) VfL Bochum	 	13  	5 	1 	7 	 14:20  	-6 	16
13. (13.) 1. FC Union Berlin 	13  	4 	3 	6 	 15:19  	-4 	15
14. (15.) VfL Osnabrück 	13  	4 	2 	7 	 19:22  	-3 	14
15. (14.) Fortuna Düsseldorf 	13  	4 	0 	9 	 10:18  	-8 	12
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16. (16.) Karlsruher SC 	13  	2 	4 	7 	 16:30  	-14 	10
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17. (18.) FC Ingolstadt 04 	13  	2 	1 	10 	 15:24  	-9 	7
18. (17.) Arminia Bielefeld 	13  	2 	1 	10 	 10:26  	-16 	7

* -2 Points deduction for TSV 1860 München (financial shenanigans)

3.Liga, Round 17

Rostock is back on top, although it was a tough match in Wiesbaden against the villagers from Wehen. Wehen's loss means that a slight gap has now opened between the triumpvirat and the rest of the pack. Braunschweig was held by Stuttgart's B squad, and Offenbach was stunned at struggling Jena.

VfB Stuttgart II 	- 	Eintracht Braunschweig 	0:0 (0:0)	   900
Rot Weiss Ahlen 	- 	VfR Aalen 		4:2 (1:2)	 2,358	(Hille, Piossek, Adler, Taylor - Dausch, Taylor)
Jahn Regensburg 	- 	FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt 	0:0 (0:0)	 2,728
FC Bayern München II 	- 	TuS Koblenz 		1:1 (0:1)	   350	(Erb - Bender)
SV 1916 Sandhausen 	- 	SV Werder Bremen II 	5:1 (1:1)	 1,310	(Danneberg, Dorn, Benschneider, Pinto 2 - Tesroet)
1. FC Saarbrücken 	- 	SpVgg Unterhaching 	2:3 (1:2)	 3,823	(Zimmermann, Pisano - Mimm, Amachaibou, Tunjic)
Dynamo Dresden 		- 	SV Babelsberg 03 	0:1 (0:0)	12,763	(Makarenko)
1. FC Heidenheim 1846 	- 	Wacker Burghausen 	4:1 (1:0)	 5,200	(Mayer 3, Spann - Eberlein)
FC Carl Zeiss Jena 	- 	Kickers Offenbach 	1:0 (1:0)	 4,702	(Hähnge)
SV Wehen Wiesbaden 	- 	Hansa Rostock 	 	1:2 (0:1)	 3,709	(Ziemer - Ziegenbein, Lartey) 

Attendance: 37,843 (avg 3,784)



 1. (3.)  Hansa Rostock 	17  	12 	2 	3 	 35:19  	+16 	38
 2. (2.)  Eintracht Braunschweig17  	11 	3 	3 	 38:9   	+29 	36
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3. (1.)  Kickers Offenbach 	17  	11 	3 	3 	 35:21  	+14 	36
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (4.)  SV Wehen Wiesbaden 	17  	9 	4 	4 	 22:17  	+5 	31
 5. (7.)  1. FC Heidenheim 1846 17  	8 	3 	6 	 35:24  	+11 	27
 6. (6.)  Jahn Regensburg 	17  	7 	5 	5 	 22:20  	+2 	26
 7. (5.)  Dynamo Dresden 	17  	7 	5 	5 	 21:21  	0 	26
 8. (8.)  FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt 	17  	7 	4 	6 	 23:22  	+1 	25
 9. (10.) Rot Weiss Ahlen 	16  	5 	7 	4 	 22:20  	+2 	22
10. (9.)  TuS Koblenz 		17  	5 	6 	6 	 15:19  	-4 	21
11. (14.) SpVgg Unterhaching 	17  	5 	6 	6 	 20:29  	-9 	21
12. (15.) SV Babelsberg 03 	17  	6 	2 	9 	 17:22  	-5 	20
13. (11.) VfB Stuttgart II 	16  	4 	7 	5 	 16:17  	-1 	19
14. (12.) VfR Aalen 		17  	4 	6 	7 	 19:25  	-6 	18
15. (13.) Wacker Burghausen 	17  	4 	6 	7 	 21:30  	-9 	18
16. (18.) FC Carl Zeiss Jena 	17  	4 	5 	8 	 15:28  	-13 	17
17. (17.) FC Bayern München II 	17  	3 	7 	7 	 16:22  	-6 	16
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
18. (16.) 1. FC Saarbrücken 	17  	3 	6 	8 	 21:26  	-5 	15
19. (19.) SV 1916 Sandhausen 	17  	4 	3 	10 	 22:29  	-7 	15
20. (20.) SV Werder Bremen II 	17  	2 	6 	9 	 14:29  	-15 	12


Nov 14, 2010

Lame draw in friendly

The national team played away 0-0 against Sweden. Coach Joachim Löw wasn't too concerned that some of his starters weren't available (e.g. Lahm, Özil, Podolski, Klose and Thomas Müller.). He used the match as an opporunity to look at some other young candidates, such as Mainz Lewis Holtby and the Dortmund trio of Marcel Schmelzer, Mario Götze and Kevin Grosskreutz. In general, Germany was far superior, but the Swedes were suprisingly uninterested in doing anything in front of their home crowd, and instead just bolted down the hatches and defended. As a result, a boring draw that certainly had the fans happy...not.


Nov 14, 2010

Bundesliga - Round 12

No real stunners this round, but Dortmund continues to ride the summit. The Neons were dominant against HSV, and it really seemed only a matter of time until they broke through and claimed a just victory. Dortmund has been dominating the league, the only real consistent team (Well, I suppose Köln has been consistently...crap). "Kicker" publishes player ratings, and not only are the top 3 Neons, but 6 of the top 10. (Nuri Sahin, Kagawa, Bender, Hummels, Götze and Weidenfeller). I keep thinking theyt're going to slow down, but Jürgen Klopp has kept the engine running. HSV has played OK, but for some reason I find them excruciatingly boring and can't watch them.

Mainz continues to struggle, as expected. They were pressing most of the game, but missed a glorious chance as Lewis Holtby put one over an empty net. Hannover remained dangerous on counters, but it was a an amazing 40 yard rocket from Sergio Pinto that brought the only goal. Mainz attacked furiously, but Hannover was up to the task. The 96ers have stunk a couple of times this year, but in general have been a tough nut. Mainz of course has been one of the sensations, but we're seeing them come back to earth.

Leverkusen has snuck into 2nd place, following a difficult win at St.Pauli. In general, the Aspirins were the better team, but failed to take advantage of their opportunities, and therefore had to suffer needlessly as the Paulistas applied some pressure. In theory, Leverkusen is the top contender threatening Dortmund, but they really come off as pretty lame. This is a bad loss for St.Pauli, which has played much better than expected, but is sliding back into the relegation mess.

Bremen has been sliding with terrible results, so they really needed to get a good effort. Frankfurt was unwilling to cooperate, as they gave a solid defensive performance, and were never in any real danger of losing this one. So Werder continues with their disappointing season, whereas Eintracht remain in good shape.

Bayern München slapped Nürnberg silly, if there were any doubts who rules Bavaria. Bayern is still a long way from getting back in the mode of defending their title, but they have to be pleased with at least one small aspect of this season: "Stupor Mario" has been scoring on a regular basis, which is bad news for the rest of the league. Everyone should have expected a result like this, and although they can't get complacent, Nürnberg could afford to get thumped in this one, as they've already put in some of the hard work to save their asses for another year.

A much awaited clash in Wolfsburg, although not from where the clubs expected to be in the standings. Schalke has sucked, and Wolfsburg hasn't been much better. The VWs jumped out to the lead, but then dicked around and Schalke got back in the game. The leveller was a blatant handball by Huntelaar, one of the few brightspots (7 goals) of the Blues dismal season. So it was left to Steve McClaren to rant and rave against the ref, who pretended to be the only German who doesn't speak English. Steve-o will undoubtedly get a fine from the league, and he should also be fined by the club for impersonating a coach, hehehe. Meanwhile, I suppose his counterpart Felix Magath is satisfied with not losing, although Schalke continues to impersonate a Bundesliga club. The Blues will probably stumble their way out of harms way, and obviously some major asses will get kicked. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Magath accidentally kicks his own ass, since he bears a lot of responsibility for Schalke's crap start.

The fierce rivalry between Köln and Gladbach used to be played out at the top of the table, but moving to the bottom hasn't reduced it's intensity. A packed house saw Gladbach run rampant over the hapless Kölners, who are in total chaos on and off the field. I would expect some major shakeups and resignations of directors, but it's too little, to late. Köln has some decent players that could be sold (like Novakovic and of course Podolski), but basically this is a 2.Liga quality team. Outraged fans forced a "discussion" session with the club, and interim coach Frank Schaefer admitted that he was "ashamed of our 2nd half performance". The Gladbachers have struggled this season with inconsistency, especially leaving their rear ends uncovered. But at least they've shown some fight, and perhaps have a decent chance to stay up. Köln on the other hand should be checking out 2.Liga train schedules to see if tghey can get discount fares.

Stuttgart is firing again since they fired their coach. They were ripping Kaiserslautern's ass 3-0 away and basically had it all wrapped up. But FCK launched an amazing comeback to escapewith a point. In the end, this probably won't mean much to Stuttgart, since they now look strong enough to waltz into mid-table, but who knows, this point may be critical to FCK's chances. They still look shaky though, and I could see them not having enough.

Freiburg is like a bad rash that won't go away. The Breisgauer have hung tough, and certainly this stunning away win at Hoffenheim gives ample evidence of SCF's competitive form. Once again it was Pappis Cisse who scored (10 in 12 matches), getting the stunning winner in injury time. It's amazing to think that the Freiburgers may sneak into Europe. Hoffenheim is off and on, listless at times. They appear to have gathered enough of a fanbase (they usually sell out their spanking new 30,000 arena), although who knows, they all may be freebies to SAP employees. ("First prize, two tickets to Hoffenheim! Second prize, four tickets...").

Borussia Dortmund  	-  	Hamburger SV  		2:0 (0:0)	80,720	(Kagawa, Barrios)
SV Werder Bremen 	- 	Eintracht Frankfurt 	0:0 (0:0)	34,000
VfL Wolfsburg 		- 	FC Schalke 04	 	2:2 (2:1)	30,000	(Grafite, Dzeko - Edu, Huntelaar)
1. FC Köln 		- 	Borussia M'gladbach 	0:4 (0:0)	50,000	(Bobadilla 2, Bradley, de Camargo)
1. FC K'lautern 	- 	VfB Stuttgart 		3:3 (0:2)	48,904	(Micanski, Illicevic, Abel - Boka, Cacau, Gentner)
FC St. Pauli	 	- 	Bayer Leverkusen 	0:1 (0:0)	24,387	(Renato Augusto)
1. FSV Mainz 05 	- 	Hannover 96 		0:1 (0:1)	20,000	(Pinto)
1899 Hoffenheim 	- 	SC Freiburg 		0:1 (0:0)	30,150	(Cissé)
FC Bayern München 	- 	1. FC Nürnberg 		3:0 (1:0)	69,000	(Gomez 2, Lahm)

Attendance: 387,161 (avg 43,178)


 1. (1.)  Borussia Dortmund 	12  	10 	1 	1 	 29:7   	+22 	31
 2. (3.)  Bayer Leverkusen 	12  	7 	3 	2 	 23:16  	+7 	24
 3. (2.)  1. FSV Mainz 05 	12  	8 	0 	4 	 19:12  	+7 	24
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (8.)  SC Freiburg 		12  	7 	0 	5 	 18:18  	0 	21
 5. (4.)  Eintracht Frankfurt 	12  	6 	2 	4 	 20:11  	+9 	20
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 6. (9.)  FC Bayern München 	12  	5 	4 	3 	 18:13  	+5 	19
 7. (10.) Hannover 96 		12  	6 	1 	5 	 14:20  	-6 	19
 8. (5.)  1899 Hoffenheim 	12  	5 	3 	4 	 22:16  	+6 	18
 9. (6.)  Hamburger SV 		12  	5 	3 	4 	 17:17  	0 	18
10. (6.)  1. FC Nürnberg 	12  	5 	3 	4 	 17:18  	-1 	18
11. (11.) SV Werder Bremen 	12  	4 	3 	5 	 19:27  	-8 	15
12. (12.) VfL Wolfsburg 	12  	4 	2 	6 	 20:21  	-1 	14
13. (13.) FC St. Pauli 		12  	4 	1 	7 	 12:19  	-7 	13
14. (14.) VfB Stuttgart 	12  	3 	2 	7 	 25:22  	+3 	11
15. (15.) 1. FC K'lautern 	12  	3 	2 	7 	 17:24  	-7 	11
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16. (16.) FC Schalke 04 	12  	2 	4 	6 	 15:19  	-4 	10
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17. (18.) Borussia M'gladbach 	12  	2 	4 	6 	 21:33  	-12 	10
18. (17.) 1. FC Köln 		12  	2 	2 	8 	 13:26  	-13 	8
	

2.Liga - Round 12

Hertha is still the best team in the league, and they remain on top with a win over Bochum. Erzgebirge Aue remains the sensation of the 2.Liga, although it wasn't clear who was the top and who was the flop in their match at Karlsruhe. KSC is still in chaos, but it's hard to believe that they aren't strong enough to keep their head above water. They also got some good news in that the league has decided not to punish them for crappy financial deals, so at least they can now concentrate fully on the pitch. Aue is doing sensationally well, although I expect them to fall by the wayside at some point. It would be pretty gaudi to see them in the top flight, but unlikely.

Bielefeld fired their coach and picked up a victory, although they were struggling to get the points. Still, under new boss Ewald Lienen (an ex-Arminia star), perhaps the Arminen can back in the hunt to stay up. No such luck for Ingolstadt, which tried the same maneuver as Bielefeld. The "Schanzer" gave a lame effort and went down at home to Paderborn. Struggling Düsseldorf got a nice reprieve as they thumped a sinking Oberhausen. RWO is crap, and despite their decent start, I can see them falling into the relegation morass and sinking. This would be acceptable, since nobody really wants to watch them anyway, least of all Oberhausen residents.

"Chasing teams" Duisburg and Cottbus were unable to get full points. The Zebras were locked in a lively battle with disappointing Aachen, and Energie hosted the partially(?) competitive 1860 Lions. I suppose gutsy Cottbus would be OK in the Bundesliga, but Duisburg are just re-treads, and I doubt there's much enthusiasm anywhere to see them go up again. (In fact, nobody wants to see Cottbus either, given their rowdy travelling mob)

 
Fortuna Düsseldorf  	-  	Rot-Weiß Oberhausen  	3:0 (0:0)	20,100	(Fink, Langeneke, Torghelle) 
Karlsruher SC 		- 	FC Erzgebirge Aue 	1:1 (0:1)	11,676	(Iashvili - Hensel)
SpVgg Greuther Fürth 	- 	FC Augsburg 		1:1 (1:1)	 6,230	(Onuegbu - Rafael)
Arminia Bielefeld 	- 	VfL Osnabrück 		2:1 (1:1)	20,103	(Nickenig, Hansen - Adler)
FSV Frankfurt	 	- 	1. FC Union Berlin 	2:1 (1:1)	 3,512	(Mölders 2 - Mosquera)
FC Energie Cottbus 	- 	TSV 1860 München 	0:0 (0:0)	10.970
Alemannia Aachen 	- 	MSV Duisburg 		2:2 (0:0)	19,083	(Höger, Auer - Sukalo, Baljak)
FC Ingolstadt 04 	- 	SC Paderborn 07 	1:2 (0:1)	 5,050	(Leitl - Krösche, Brandy)
Hertha BSC Berlin 	- 	VfL Bochum 		2:0 (1:0)	28,973	(Lassogga 2) 


 1. (1.)  Hertha BSC Berlin 	12  	9 	2 	1 	 22:7   	+15 	29
 2. (2.)  FC Erzgebirge Aue 	12  	8 	3 	1 	 16:8   	+8 	27
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3. (3.)  MSV Duisburg 		12  	8 	1 	3 	 23:10  	+13 	25
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (4.)  FC Energie Cottbus 	12  	7 	2 	3 	 23:17  	+6 	23
 5. (8.)  FSV Frankfurt 	12  	7 	0 	5 	 14:11  	+3 	21
 6. (5.)  FC Augsburg 		12  	6 	2 	4 	 21:12  	+9 	20
 7. (6.)  TSV 1860 München 	12  	6 	4 	2 	 17:11  	+6 	20
 8. (7.)  SpVgg Greuther Fürth 	12  	6 	2 	4 	 16:12  	+4 	20
 9. (9.)  Alemannia Aachen 	12  	4 	5 	3 	 18:17  	+1 	17
10. (12.) SC Paderborn 07 	12  	5 	1 	6 	 13:13  	0 	16
11. (10.) VfL Bochum	 	12  	5 	1 	6 	 13:16  	-3 	16
12. (11.) Rot-Weiß Oberhausen 	12  	4 	2 	6 	 10:18  	-8 	14
13. (13.) 1. FC Union Berlin 	12  	3 	3 	6 	 14:19  	-5 	12
14. (15.) Fortuna Düsseldorf 	12  	4 	0 	8 	 10:17  	-7 	12
15. (14.) VfL Osnabrück 	12  	3 	2 	7 	 17:22  	-5 	11
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16. (16.) Karlsruher SC 	12  	2 	4 	6 	 15:27  	-12 	10
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17. (18.) Arminia Bielefeld 	12  	2 	1 	9 	 10:23  	-13 	7
18. (17.) FC Ingolstadt 04 	12  	1 	1 	10 	 11:23  	-12 	4

3.Liga - Round 16

A stunner as leage leaders Rostock were beaten at home by lowly Bayern-II. That ought to be good for a riot. Meanwhile Offenbach and Braunschweig squared off in a huge match, with the Lions gaining the moral victory. The Kickers came out strong and had a two goal lead at half-time, but the visitors pressed hard after the restart and were rewarded with a deserved draw.

Wehen was unable to win away to Erfurt, and look almost on the verge of falling off the pace. The villagers (they play in Wiesbaden so they can enjoy indoor plumbing, hehehe) have been a pretty strong squad, but don't look strong enough to keep up with the top 3. The one everyone wants to see, Dresden, basically dicks around and goes nowhere. So what you see now at the top is pretty much what you can expect at the end of the season, and only the order is yet to be determined.

The 3.Liga is largely a financial failure, although the top teams are doing decently at the box office. As mentioned ad nauseum, the problem is that nobody wants to watch the B teams of the Bundesliga, despite whatever future talent they might have. So you have the 3 big clubs at the top (Offenbach, Braunschweig and Rostock) that draw decent crowds, and the sleeping giant (Dresden) also with potential. But you have all the "II" squads that rarely draw more than 1,000, which is basically 5th or 6th division numbers. Resistance from the Bundesliga clubs has made reform impossible, although apparently thye DFB has decided to tinker with the 4th division Regionalliga again, expanding from 3 divisions to 5 in the near future.

 
Rot Weiss Ahlen 	- 	VfB Stuttgart II 	postponed 
SpVgg Unterhaching 	- 	Dynamo Dresden 		0:1 (0:0)	 3,800	(Esswein)
Kickers Offenbach 	- 	Eintracht Braunschweig 	2:2 (2:0)	 9,439	(da Costa 2 - Bellarabi, Theuerkauf)
VfR Aalen 		- 	Jahn Regensburg 	2:3 (1:1)	 2,514	(Haas, Lechleiter - Schweinsteiger 2, Erfen)
Wacker Burghausen 	- 	FC Carl Zeiss Jena 	2:3 (1:2)	 3,850	(Cappek, Agyemang - Truckenbrod, Kurbjuweit, Reimann)
SV Babelsberg 03 	- 	1. FC Heidenheim 1846 	4:3 (2:1)	 1,778	(Kocer, Schütz, Oumari, Stroh-Engel - Mayer 2, Schnatterer)
Hansa Rostock 		- 	FC Bayern München II 	0:2 (0:0)	14,000	(Deul, Schwarz)
FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt 	- 	SV Wehen Wiesbaden 	0:0 (0:0)	 4,881
SV Werder Bremen II 	- 	1. FC Saarbrücken 	2:0 (2:0)	   650	(Testroet, Thy) 
TuS Koblenz 		- 	SV 1916 Sandhausen 	3:0 (2:0)	 5,286	(Nottbeck, Steegmann 2)

Attendance: 46,198 (avg 5,133)


 1. (2.)  Kickers Offenbach 	16  	11 	3 	2 	 35:20  	+15 	36
 2. (3.)  Eintracht Braunschweig16  	11 	2 	3 	 38:9   	+29 	35
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3. (1.)  Hansa Rostock 	16  	11 	2 	3 	 33:18  	+15 	35
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (4.)  SV Wehen Wiesbaden 	16  	9 	4 	3 	 21:15  	+6 	31
 5. (7.)  Dynamo Dresden 	16  	7 	5 	4 	 21:20  	+1 	26
 6. (8.)  Jahn Regensburg 	16  	7 	4 	5 	 22:20  	+2 	25
 7. (5.)  1. FC Heidenheim 1846 16  	7 	3 	6 	 31:23  	+8 	24
 8. (6.)  FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt 	16  	7 	3 	6 	 23:22  	+1 	24
 9. (14.) TuS Koblenz 		16  	5 	5 	6 	 14:18  	-3 	20
10. (9.)  Rot Weiss Ahlen 	15  	4 	7 	4 	 18:18  	0 	19
11. (10.) VfB Stuttgart II 	15  	4 	6 	5 	 16:17  	-1 	18
12. (11.) VfR Aalen 		16  	4 	6 	6 	 17:21  	-4 	18
13. (12.) Wacker Burghausen 	16  	4 	6 	6 	 20:26  	-6 	18
14. (13.) SpVgg Unterhaching 	16  	4 	6 	6 	 17:27  	-10 	18
15. (16.) SV Babelsberg 03 	16  	5 	2 	9 	 16:22  	-6 	17
16. (15.) 1. FC Saarbrücken 	16  	3 	6 	7 	 19:23  	-4 	15
17. (18.) FC Bayern München II 	16  	3 	6 	7 	 15:21  	-6 	15
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
18. (19.) FC Carl Zeiss Jena 	16  	3 	5 	8 	 14:28  	-14 	14
19. (17.) SV 1916 Sandhausen 	16  	3 	3 	10 	 17:28  	-11 	12
20. (20.) SV Werder Bremen II 	16  	2 	6 	8 	 13:24  	-11 	12


Nov 7, 2010

Bundesliga - Round 11

Dortmund has thrown down the gaunlet indicating that they intend to take the title. The Neons dominated at Hannover, and slapped the 96ers silly. They were especially strong in the 2nd half, and Hannover had nothing to slow them down.

Mainz basically broke their teeth against a steeled Freiburg defense, and lose a match that they probably should have had at least a point. Despite some attractive football, this team of nobodies is likely on the slow burn down, but their great start certainly bodes well for a reasonable standing. Good win for Freiburg.

Bayern München continues to dick around, and I think we can basically write them off for defending their title. They are now 12 points behind a solid Dortmund squad, which looks like too much of a gap. They dominated against Gladbach, hitting the post several times, Schweinsteiger even missing a penalty, and had the lead at half. Surely they would waltz home against the last place team? But the Gladbachers pulled extra energy from somewhere and made a great run in the early 2nd half that turned the game around. Bayern then had to scramble to get a late equalizer to even salvage a point. A great point for Gladbach, but certainly this should cause more distress in the locker and board room of the champs.

Leverkusen controlled the match against Kaiserslautern, after a slow start. The Aspirins basically toyed with their guests, and ended up winning easily. Although they're the closest squad to the high-flying Dortmunders, Bayer hasn't impressed much this season, and it's hard to see them mounting a serious challenge. FCK is basically trying to hold on and avoid relegation, which certainly was their reasonable pre-season goal. Nothing much has changed there.

Schalke finally got the monkey off their back with a solid win over St.Pauli, but it was only impressive in the clinical finishing. Veteran Raul nailed two, and Huntelaar got the other, as the Blues delivered a so-so match that the Paulistas had a realistic chance to steal a point from, at least based on the 1st half. Schalke still has a long climb back from the dregs, but at least they've indicated that they can do it.

When Stuttgart fires their coach, look out. That's the pattern over the last few years. They suck, they fire their coach, and they come out breathing fire. Any ideas that folks might have been entertaining of a sensational VfB relegation should be firmly laid to rest. Bremen on the other hand was a Hühnerhaufen, basically chickens running around with their heads cut off. The new look Stuttgarters were merciless as the sliced up the miserable Werder defense.

Frankfurt has been playing well, a lot due to the striking consistency of Theofanis Gekas. The Greek international is now 11/11, a nice little pace. This is bringing back memories of a few years ago, when his 20 goals single handedly kept Bochum afloat. Eintracht dominated from start against a listless Wolfsburg, who are clearly underachieving. Unless things start improving, the experiment with Steve McClaren looks like it will come to an abrupt end.

Nürnberg has cleverly taken advantage of other teams sucking more, and has collected a bunch of points that look adequate to keep them out of trouble. For der Club, that should be considered a successful season. Köln certainly had chances to salvage a point, as after a strong first half, FCN fell into a rather shaky defense. But luckily for them, Köln is rather clueless, and then an injury-time couterattack finally put things away.

Hamburg defeated Hoffenheim with a good effort, fighting through the whole match against a stubborn opponent.

 
FC Schalke 04 		- 	FC St. Pauli	 	3:0 (1:0)	61,173	(Raul 2, Huntelaar) 
Hamburger SV 		- 	1899 Hoffenheim 	2:1 (1:1)	54,162	(Westermann, Petric - Salihovic)
Eintracht Frankfurt 	- 	VfL Wolfsburg 		3:1 (2:0)	43,800	(Gekas 2, Schwegeler - Dejagah)
Borussia M'gladbach 	- 	FC Bayern München 	3:3 (1:2)	54,057	(Herrmann, Reus, de Camargo - Gomez, Schweinsteiger, Lahm)
SC Freiburg 		- 	1. FSV Mainz 05 	1:0 (0:0)	22,400	(Cissé)
1. FC Nürnberg 		- 	1. FC Köln 		3:1 (2:1)	41,789	(Hegeler, Gündogan, Schieber - Geromel)
Hannover 96 		- 	Borussia Dortmund 	0:4 (0:1)	49,000	(Kagawa, Barrios, Lewandowski, Blaszczykowski)
Bayer Leverkusen 	- 	1. FC K'lautern 	3:1 (1:1)	29,794	(Sam 2, Helmes - Dick)
VfB Stuttgart	 	- 	SV Werder Bremen 	6:0 (3:0)	39,500	(Marica, Cacau 2, Gentner, Niedermeier, Boka)

Attendance: 396,175 (avg 44,019)

 1. (1.)  Borussia Dortmund 	11  	9 	1 	1 	 27:7   	+20 	28
 2. (2.)  1. FSV Mainz 05 	11  	8 	0 	3 	 19:11  	+8 	24
 3. (4.)  Bayer Leverkusen 	11  	6 	3 	2 	 22:16  	+6 	21
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (5.)  Eintracht Frankfurt 	11  	6 	1 	4 	 20:11  	+9 	19
 5. (3.)  1899 Hoffenheim 	11  	5 	3 	3 	 22:15  	+7 	18
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 6. (9.)  1. FC Nürnberg 	11  	5 	3 	3 	 17:15  	+2 	18
 7. (8.)  Hamburger SV 		11  	5 	3 	3 	 17:15  	+2 	18
 8. (10.) SC Freiburg 		11  	6 	0 	5 	 17:18  	-1 	18
 9. (7.)  FC Bayern München 	11  	4 	4 	3 	 15:13  	+2 	16
10. (6.)  Hannover 96 		11  	5 	1 	5 	 13:20  	-7 	16
11. (11.) SV Werder Bremen 	11  	4 	2 	5 	 19:27  	-8 	14
12. (12.) VfL Wolfsburg 	11  	4 	1 	6 	 18:19  	-1 	13
13. (13.) FC St. Pauli	 	11  	4 	1 	6 	 12:18  	-6 	13
14. (16.) VfB Stuttgart 	11  	3 	1 	7 	 22:19  	+3 	10
15. (14.) 1. FC K'lautern 	11  	3 	1 	7 	 14:21  	-7 	10
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16. (17.) FC Schalke 04 	11  	2 	3 	6 	 13:17  	-4 	9
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17. (15.) 1. FC Köln 		11  	2 	2 	7 	 13:22  	-9 	8
18. (18.) Borussia M'gladbach 	11  	1 	4 	6 	 17:33  	-16 	7

2.Liga - Round 11

Erzgebirge Aue in the Bundesliga? Well, I suppose stranger thigs have happened...e.g. SSV Ulm making a Bundesliga appearance. But the wacky life of the 2.Liga now has the east Germans tied for 1st place. The Auer got lucky however in beating struggling Düsseldorf, so I wouldn't read too much into it yet. But the promoted club has been doig amazingly well, and with the 2.Liga always closely packed, stranger things have happend. Leaders Hertha gave a lackluster performance and were completely outplayed in Paderborn. The Berliners are still top on goal difference, and should realistically jump back to top flight. However, lackluster performances like this one make it more difficult than it needs to be. Duisburg stays on track with a solid win over a tough Greuther Fürth. Somehow I think the Zebras will be there at the end, sneaking into the Bundesliga again, to the collective groan of just about everybody. It's not that they won't deserve it, but at best they'll last a season or two and be back down.

1860 has been doing well recently, but just when they look to get into the promotion range (or within view), they receive a nasty blow. The Lions were deducted two points for violating some terms of their license grant, which basically means that their finances are all screwed up. It's possible that they will get the points back after appeal.

Bottom clubs Ingolstadt and Bielefeld are taking bold actions to stop their sucking. They fired their coaches Michael Wiesinger and Christian Ziege respectively. I'm not sure that this will make much difference. In Bielefeld's case, the whole management has been incompetant, and they should have at least fired themselves. Arminia has been bleeding money and looks headed for yet another financial collapse, followed by a successful rebuilding. In the case of Ingolstadt, I think it's probably just that they're not very good. The 3rd club in danger of dropping is Karlsruhe, who also have been sucking, but at least seem a cut above the bottom two auto-relegation clubs.

VfL Bochum 		- 	FSV Frankfurt	 	1:0 (1:0)	10,731	(Dedic)
FC Erzgebirge Aue 	- 	Fortuna Düsseldorf 	1:0 (0:0)	11,600	(Hensel)
FC Ingolstadt 04 	- 	FC Energie Cottbus 	1:2 (1:0)	 6,300	(Fatacs - Jula, Petersen)
FC Augsburg 		- 	Arminia Bielefeld 	3:0 (1:0)	13,555	(Hain 2, Raffael)
MSV Duisburg 		- 	SpVgg Greuther Fürth 	2:0 (1:0)	11,249	(Sukalo 2)
SC Paderborn 07 	- 	Hertha BSC Berlin 	1:0 (0:0)	12,261	(Krösche)
TSV 1860 München 	- 	Alemannia Aachen 	2:1 (1:1)	22,300	(Ludwig, Lauth - Auer)
1. FC Union Berlin 	- 	Rot-Weiß Oberhausen 	2:1 (1:1)	14,168	(Benyamina 2 - Luz)
VfL Osnabrück 		- 	Karlsruher SC 		0:0 (0:0)	13,000 

Attendance: 115,164 (avg 12,796)


 1. (1.)  Hertha BSC Berlin 	11  	8 	2 	1 	 20:7   	+13 	26
 2. (2.)  FC Erzgebirge Aue 	11  	8 	2 	1 	 15:7   	+8 	26
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3. (3.)  MSV Duisburg 		11  	8 	0 	3 	 21:8   	+13 	24
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (5.)  FC Energie Cottbus 	11  	7 	1 	3 	 23:17  	+6 	22
 5. (7.)  FC Augsburg 		11  	6 	1 	4 	 20:11  	+9 	19
 6. (8.)  TSV 1860 München 	11  	6 	3 	2 	 17:11  	+6 	19 *
 7. (4.)  SpVgg Greuther Fürth 	11  	6 	1 	4 	 15:11  	+4 	19
 8. (6.)  FSV Frankfurt 	11  	6 	0 	5 	 12:10  	+2 	18
 9. (9.)  Alemannia Aachen 	11  	4 	4 	3 	 16:15  	+1 	16
10. (11.) VfL Bochum	 	11  	5 	1 	5 	 13:14  	-1 	16
11. (10.) Rot-Weiß Oberhausen 	11  	4 	2 	5 	 10:15  	-5 	14
12. (12.) SC Paderborn 07 	11  	4 	1 	6 	 11:12  	-1 	13
13. (14.) 1. FC Union Berlin 	11  	3 	3 	5 	 13:17  	-4 	12
14. (13.) VfL Osnabrück 	11  	3 	2 	6 	 16:20  	-4 	11
15. (15.) Fortuna Düsseldorf 	11  	3 	0 	8 	  7:17  	-10 	9
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16. (16.) Karlsruher SC 	11  	2 	3 	6 	 14:26  	-12 	9
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17. (17.) FC Ingolstadt 04 	11  	1 	1 	9 	 10:21  	-11 	4
18. (18.) Arminia Bielefeld 	11  	1 	1 	9 	  8:22  	-14 	4

* - 1860 deducted two points for financial shenanigans

3. Liga - Round 15

Top clubs win, but Wehen lays an egg and loses ground to the leaders. Rostock and Offenbach had rough away wins, but Braunschweig continues to slap their opponents, waiting in the wings to seize one of the coveted top two spots - which gain automatic promotion.

One of the interesting stories is Rot-Weiss Ahlen. A few years ago they were known as LR Ahlen, sponsored by a cosmetics company and called "The Millionaires" as they were intent on spending their way to the top. Didn't really work out and the moneybags left. The club went back to it's roots as Rot-Weiss, but was suffering under crushing debt. In fact a few weeks ago, it sounded like they might go into administration, not to mention they wer hopelessly down in the table (0 wins after 7 matches). Since that moment however, they've pulled themselves up and if they can survive financially, look like a solid squad.

Dresden continues to dump around. They couldn't even beat last place Bremen II. The most interesting part of this match is that Felix Kroos, Toni's younger brother, scored for Bremen. Erfurt had shown signs of trying to get in the race, but getting crapped on at Bayern II pretty much shows they're worthless as well.

SV 1916 Sandhausen 	- 	Hansa Rostock 		1:2 (0:1)	 2,380	(Dorn - Jänicke, Ziegenbein)
VfB Stuttgart II 	- 	Kickers Offenbach 	0:2 (0:2)	   700	(Hayer, Rathgeber)
Eintracht Braunschweig 	- 	Wacker Burghausen 	3:0 (1:0)	14,500	(Kumbela, Kruppke, Calamita)
Jahn Regensburg 	- 	Rot Weiss Ahlen 	1:2 (0:0)	 2,386	(Piossek, Stoilov, Taylor)
SV Wehen Wiesbaden 	- 	VfR Aalen 		1:3 (1:2)	 3,115	(Abraham - Lechleiter, Bauer, Haas)
FC Bayern München II 	- 	FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt 	1:0 (0:0)	   350	(Holzmann)
1. FC Saarbrücken 	- 	TuS Koblenz	 	0:0 (0:0)	 5,117
Dynamo Dresden	 	- 	SV Werder Bremen II 	1:1 (0:1)	12,054	(Esswein - Kroos)
1. FC Heidenheim 1846 	- 	SpVgg Unterhaching 	5:1 (3:1)	 6,100	(Spann, Schnatterer, Bagdeci, Mayer, Sirigu - Zillner)
FC Carl Zeiss Jena 	- 	SV Babelsberg 03 	0:0 (0:0)	 4,144

Attendance: 50,846 (avg 5,085)


 1. (1.)  Hansa Rostock 	15  	11 	2 	2 	 33:16  	+17 	35
 2. (2.)  Kickers Offenbach 	15  	11 	2 	2 	 33:18  	+15 	35
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3. (3.)  Eintracht Braunschweig15  	11 	1 	3 	 36:7   	+29 	34
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (4.)  SV Wehen Wiesbaden 	15  	9 	3 	3 	 21:15  	+6 	30
 5. (8.)  1. FC Heidenheim 1846 15  	7 	3 	5 	 28:19  	+9 	24
 6. (5.)  FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt 	15  	7 	2 	6 	 23:22  	+1 	23
 7. (7.)  Dynamo Dresden 	15  	6 	5 	4 	 20:20  	0 	23
 8. (6.)  Jahn Regensburg 	15  	6 	4 	5 	 19:18  	+1 	22
 9. (12.) Rot Weiss Ahlen 	15  	4 	7 	4 	 18:18  	0 	19
10. (9.)  VfB Stuttgart II 	15  	4 	6 	5 	 16:17  	-1 	18
11. (14.) VfR Aalen 		15  	4 	6 	5 	 15:18  	-3 	18
12. (10.) Wacker Burghausen 	15  	4 	6 	5 	 18:23  	-5 	18
13. (11.) SpVgg Unterhaching 	15  	4 	6 	5 	 17:26  	-9 	18
14. (13.) TuS Koblenz 		15  	4 	5 	6 	 11:18  	-7 	17
15. (15.) 1. FC Saarbrücken 	15  	3 	6 	6 	 19:21  	-2 	15
16. (16.) SV Babelsberg 03 	15  	4 	2 	9 	 12:19  	-7 	14
17. (17.) SV 1916 Sandhausen 	15  	3 	3 	9 	 17:25  	-8 	12
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
18. (19.) FC Bayern München II 	15  	2 	6 	7 	 13:21  	-8 	12
19. (18.) FC Carl Zeiss Jena 	15  	2 	5 	8 	 11:26  	-15 	11
20. (20.) SV Werder Bremen II 	15  	1 	6 	8 	 11:24  	-13 	9


Oct 31, 2010

Bundesliga - Round 10

The top clash in Mainz gave evidence to improving Dortmund fortunes. The Neons have the youngest squad in the league, chock full of U18/U21s, and coach Jürgen Klopp has welded them together in a tight unit. Mainz of course has been the sensation of the season (unless stinking Schalke and Stuttgart are more suprising). The match itself seemed pretty even over large stretches, but it seemed clear to me that Dortmund was much more inventive and threatening, due to the huge talent disparity. Mainz was valiant, but never looked like they could break through.

Leverkusen slides into 3rd with a lucky win at Schalke. The Blues are in desperate straits, as they always seem to shoot themselves in the foot at a critical moment. The Aspirins basically stood firm and let the Schalkers run around, and on counterattacks threw the hosts into chaos. Sidney Sam popped up a couple of times all alone, and on the second, he put away the only goal. Hardly a gala performance, but Luserkusen will certainly take the points. Meanwhile, Schalke boss Felix Magath must be contemplating firing himself

Bayern appears to be back on track as they dispatched Freiburg. It took some effort, but once they got rolling, the champions were always going to get the points. Freiburg hardly expected to get a result here, so they shouldn't be too bent out of shape.

Hoffenheim easily dispatched Hannover, showing the 96ers that they have no business being near the top.

A couple of the bottom feeders had signifcant results. Nürnberg has shown some life, and travelled to Bremen with hope of a result. Instead, they ended up stunning Werder (and themselves for that matter), with a solid performance and a deserved win. Certainly this was unexpected, so der Club gets a pat on the back - and is looking pretty solid to survive another season in the top flight. Perhaps more important was struggling Kaiserslautern bitch-slapping crap Gladbach, as this was a direct relegation 6-pointer. At the rate they're going, the Gladbachers would concede 100 goals, which doesn't seem too conducive to staying up. FCK was able to stop a crap dive that had seen them sink down the table since a quick season start.

Köln also got into the action, with a big win over Hamburg.

Wolfsburg wasn't that impressive, but didn't have too much trouble with Stuttgart, which looked horrible.

FC Bayern München 	- 	SC Freiburg 		4:2 (1:0)	69,000	(Demichelis, Gomez, Tymoschyk, Kroos - Reisinger, Braafheid o.g.)
SV Werder Bremen 	- 	1. FC Nürnberg 		2:3 (1:1)	35,500	(Almeida, Pizarro - Gündogan 2, Ekici)
VfL Wolfsburg 		- 	VfB Stuttgart 		2:0 (1:0)	29,043	(Dzeko 2)
1. FC Köln 		- 	Hamburger SV 		3:2 (2:2)	50,000	(Novakovic 3 - Son, Petric)
1. FC K'lautern 	- 	Borussia M'gladbach 	3:0 (0:0)	49,167	(Tiffert, Nemec, Lakic)
FC St. Pauli 		- 	Eintracht Frankfurt 	1:3 (1:1)	24,330	(Zambrano - Gekas 2, Caio)
FC Schalke 04 		- 	Bayer Leverkusen 	0:1 (0:0)	61,673	(Sam)
1. FSV Mainz 05 	- 	Borussia Dortmund 	0:2 (0:1)	20,300	(Götze, Barrios)
1899 Hoffenheim 	- 	Hannover 96 		4:0 (1:0)	28,450	(Sigurdsson 2, Ba, Mlapa)

Attendance: 367,463 (avg 40,829)


 1. (2.)  Borussia Dortmund 	10  	8 	1 	1 	 23:7   	+16 	25
 2. (1.)  1. FSV Mainz 05 	10  	8 	0 	2 	 19:10  	+9 	24
 3. (4.)  1899 Hoffenheim 	10  	5 	3 	2 	 21:13  	+8 	18
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (5.)  Bayer Leverkusen 	10  	5 	3 	2 	 19:15  	+4 	18
 5. (9.)  Eintracht Frankfurt 	10  	5 	1 	4 	 17:10  	+7 	16
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 6. (3.)  Hannover 96	 	10  	5 	1 	4 	 13:16  	-3 	16
 7. (11.) FC Bayern München 	10  	4 	3 	3 	 12:10  	+2 	15
 8. (6.)  Hamburger SV 		10  	4 	3 	3 	 15:14  	+1 	15
 9. (12.) 1. FC Nürnberg 	10  	4 	3 	3 	 14:14  	0 	15
10. (7.)  SC Freiburg 		10  	5 	0 	5 	 16:18  	-2 	15
11. (8.)  SV Werder Bremen 	10  	4 	2 	4 	 19:21  	-2 	14
12. (13.) VfL Wolfsburg 	10  	4 	1 	5 	 17:16  	+1 	13
13. (10.) FC St. Pauli 		10  	4 	1 	5 	 12:15  	-3 	13
14. (15.) 1. FC K'lautern 	10  	3 	1 	6 	 13:18  	-5 	10
15. (18.) 1. FC Köln 		10  	2 	2 	6 	 12:19  	-7 	8
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16. (14.) VfB Stuttgart 	10  	2 	1 	7 	 16:19  	-3 	7
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17. (16.) FC Schalke 04 	10  	1 	3 	6 	 10:17  	-7 	6
18. (17.) Borussia M'gladbach 	10  	1 	3 	6 	 14:30  	-16 	6

2.Liga - Round 10

Not much interesting in the 2.Liga, execpt perhaps Aue's continued surprise performance. The Erzgebirgers travelled to Fürth and came away with a nice win. They also improved to 2nd, as Duisburg was upended in a regional derby at struggling Düsseldorf. It was a somewhat disappointing match, but Fortuna isn't losing any sleep over it, as they got a crucial win. Hertha wasn't exactly impressive, but got the job done against lowly Ingolstadt, and remain in control at the top.

Aside from Bielefeld continuing to stink, the other "big" club to sink into the morass is Karlsruhe. KSC was crap once again, this time losing at home to an inconsistent 1860.

Arminia Bielefeld 	- 	1. FC Union Berlin 	1:2 (0:0)	10,112	(Berisha - Peitz, Benyamina)
SpVgg Greuther Fürth 	- 	FC Erzgebirge Aue 	1:2 (1:1)	 8,470	(Prib - Hensel, Kern)
FSV Frankfurt 		- 	SC Paderborn 07 	2:0 (0:0)	 3,173	(Wunderlich, Fillinger)
Hertha BSC Berlin 	- 	FC Ingolstadt 04 	3:1 (1:1)	38,529	(Raffael, Domovchiyski, Ramos - Hartmann)
Karlsruher SC 		- 	TSV 1860 München 	2:4 (0:1)	14,870	(Iashvili, Müller - Lauth 2, Bülow, Stahl)
FC Energie Cottbus 	- 	VfL Bochum	 	2:1 (0:1)	13,750	(Petersen, Adlung - Jula)
Alemannia Aachen 	- 	VfL Osnabrück 		2:1 (1:0)	19,953	(Auer, Feisthammel - Lindemann)
Rot-Weiß Oberhausen 	- 	FC Augsburg 		0:3 (0:2)	 4,229	(Rafael, Thurk, Hain)
Fortuna Düsseldorf 	- 	MSV Duisburg 		1:0 (0:0)	31,400	(Veigneau o.g.)

Attendance: 144,486 (avg 16,054) 
	
	
 1. (1.)  Hertha BSC Berlin 	10  	8 	2 	0 	 20:6   	+14 	26
 2. (3.)  FC Erzgebirge Aue 	10  	7 	2 	1 	 14:7   	+7 	23
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3. (2.)  MSV Duisburg	 	10  	7 	0 	3 	 19:8   	+11 	21
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (4.)  SpVgg Greuther Fürth 	10  	6 	1 	3 	 15:9   	+6 	19
 5. (5.)  FC Energie Cottbus 	10  	6 	1 	3 	 21:16  	+5 	19
 6. (6.)  FSV Frankfurt 	10  	6 	0 	4 	 12:9   	+3 	18
 7. (8.)  FC Augsburg 		10  	5 	1 	4 	 17:11  	+6 	16
 8. (9.)  TSV 1860 München 	10  	5 	3 	2 	 15:10  	+5 	16
 9. (10.) Alemannia Aachen 	10  	4 	4 	2 	 15:13  	+2 	16
10. (7.)  Rot-Weiß Oberhausen 	10  	4 	2 	4 	  9:13  	-4 	14
11. (11.) VfL Bochum 		10  	4 	1 	5 	 12:14  	-2 	13
12. (12.) SC Paderborn 07 	10  	3 	1 	6 	 10:12  	-2 	10
13. (13.) VfL Osnabrück 	10  	3 	1 	6 	 16:20  	-4 	10
14. (15.) 1. FC Union Berlin 	10  	2 	3 	5 	 11:16  	-5 	9
15. (16.) Fortuna Düsseldorf 	10  	3 	0 	7 	  7:16  	-9 	9
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17. (14.) Karlsruher SC 	10  	2 	2 	6 	 14:26  	-12 	8
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17. (17.) FC Ingolstadt 04 	10  	1 	1 	8 	  9:19  	-10 	4
18. (18.) Arminia Bielefeld 	10  	1 	1 	8 	  8:19  	-11 	4

3.Liga - Round 14

Rostock takes the lead after a hard fought win over Saarbrücken, as Offenbach was still punch-drunk from their Cup upset over Dortmund. As a result, the Kickers were ambushed in Burghausen. Braunschweig contimues to pummel opponents, and is hot on the tail of the leaders. On the other hand, Wehen was stunned in Ahlen. Nevertheless, these top 4 clubs will most likely decide the promotion spots, as they appear to clearly better than the rest of the pack.

VfR Aalen 		- 	FC Bayern München II 	2:2 (2:0)	10,983	(Haas, Lechleiter - Yilmaz, Jüllich)
Rot Weiss Ahlen 	- 	SV Wehen Wiesbaden 	4:1 (4:1)	 2,000	(Ghasemi, Taylor 2, Piossek - Book o.g.)
Jahn Regensburg 	- 	VfB Stuttgart II 	1:2 (0:2)	 2,958	(Jarosch - Benyamina 2)
Wacker Burghausen 	- 	Kickers Offenbach 	4:3 (2:2)	 3,000	(Eberlein 2, Kopilas o.g., Stadel o.g - da Costa, Rathgeber 2)
SV Babelsberg 03 	- 	Eintracht Braunschweig 	0:3 (0:2)	 3,000	(Kruppke 2, Kumbela)
SpVgg Unterhaching 	- 	FC Carl Zeiss Jena 	1:1 (1:0)	 1,000	(Amachaibou - Reimann)
SV Werder Bremen II 	- 	1. FC Heidenheim 1846 	0:1 (0:1)	   502	(Weil)
Hansa Rostock	 	- 	1. FC Saarbrücken 	2:1 (1:1)	12,500	(Wiemann, Forkel o.g - Özbek)
FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt 	- 	SV 1916 Sandhausen 	2:1 (0:1)	 6,245	(Zedi, Semmer - Löning)
TuS Koblenz 		- 	Dynamo Dresden	 	-:- 


 1. (3.)  Hansa Rostock 	14  	10 	2 	2 	 31:15  	+16 	32
 2. (1.)  Kickers Offenbach 	14  	10 	2 	2 	 31:18  	+13 	32
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3. (4.)  Eintr. Braunschweig 	14  	10 	1 	3 	 33:7   	+26 	31
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (2.)  SV Wehen Wiesbaden 	14  	9 	3 	2 	 20:12  	+8 	30
 5. (6.)  FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt 	14  	7 	2 	5 	 23:21  	+2 	23
 6. (5.)  Jahn Regensburg 	14  	6 	4 	4 	 18:16  	+2 	22
 7. (8.)  1. FC Heidenheim 1846 14  	6 	3 	5 	 23:18  	+5 	21
 8. (7.)  Dynamo Dresden 	13  	5 	4 	4 	 18:19  	-1 	19
 9. (11.) VfB Stuttgart II 	14  	4 	6 	4 	 16:15  	+1 	18
10. (12.) Wacker Burghausen 	14  	4 	6 	4 	 18:20  	-2 	18
11. (9.)  SpVgg Unterhaching 	14  	4 	6 	4 	 16:21  	-5 	18
12. (15.) Rot Weiss Ahlen 	14  	3 	7 	4 	 16:17  	-1 	16
13. (10.) TuS Koblenz 		13  	4 	4 	5 	 11:17  	-6 	16
14. (14.) VfR Aalen 		14  	3 	6 	5 	 12:17  	-5 	15
15. (13.) 1. FC Saarbrücken 	14  	3 	5 	6 	 19:21  	-2 	14
16. (15.) SV Babelsberg 03 	14  	4 	1 	9 	 12:19  	-7 	13
17. (17.) SV 1916 Sandhausen 	14  	3 	3 	8 	 16:23  	-7 	12
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
18. (18.) FC Carl Zeiss Jena 	14  	2 	4 	8 	 11:26  	-15 	10
19. (19.) FC Bayern München II 	14  	1 	6 	7 	 12:21  	-9 	9
20. (20.) SV Werder Bremen II 	14  	1 	5 	8 	 10:23  	-13 	8


Oct 29, 2010

DFB Pokal, Round 2

Germany does the Cup competition right, as has been mentioned here before on several occasions. To insure that lower clubs have a fighting chance, the non-DFL club (basically 3.Liga and below) automatically gets home advantage, no matter what the draw. This usally ensures a somewhat exciting match. The lower division club generally gets some type of financial windfall, as on some occasions they move to a larger stadium nearby. Or at least they opt to give the home fans a reward for loyalty and fill out their own park.

This round saw a few upsets, the biggest being Offenbach managing to hold Dortmund scoreless and then beating them on penalties. The hero was GK Robert Wulnikowski, who stopped several sure goals from the Bundesliga club, and then proceeded to block a couple of penalties as well. For Offenbach, it was the first time the Bieberer Berg was soldout in ages. Other lower division clubs gave good accounts of themselves as well, Victoria Hamburg holding out against Wolfsburg, and Chemnitz was more than a match for Stuttgart.

TuS Koblenz 		- 	Hertha BSC Berlin 	2:1 (0:0)	 7,015	(Stahl, Steegmann - Ramos)
Victoria Hamburg 	- 	VfL Wolfsburg	 	1:3 (0:1)	 8,370	(Rahn - Pekarik, Josue, Schäfer)
1. FC Köln 		- 	TSV 1860 München 	3:0 (0:0)	24,500	(Lanig, Novakovic, Podolski)
SpVgg Greuther Fürth 	- 	FC Augsburg 		2:4 aet		 7,945	(Onuegbu, Sararer - Thurk 2, Rafael 2)
FC Energie Cottbus 	- 	SC Freiburg 		2:1 (1:0)	 8,500	(Kruska, Jula - Cisse)
FSV Frankfurt 		- 	FC Schalke 04 		0:1 (0:1)	10,470	(Jurado)
FC Bayern München 	- 	SV Werder Bremen 	2:1 (1:1)	64,000	(Schweinsteiger 2 - Pizzaro)
1. FC K'lautern 	- 	Arminia Bielefeld 	3:0 (2:0)	17,159	(Lakic 3)
Hallescher FC 		- 	MSV Duisburg 		0:3 (0:2)	 4,629	(Maierhofer 2, Grlic)
Eintracht Frankfurt 	- 	Hamburger SV 		5:2 (3:1)	39,400	(Caio, Gekas 2, Petric o.g, Altintop - Petric 2)
1899 Hoffenheim 	- 	FC Ingolstadt 04 	1:0 (0:0)	10,500	(Ba)
Alemannia Aachen 	- 	1. FSV Mainz 05 	2:1 (1:0)	25,657	(Auer, Höger - Szalai)
Kickers Offenbach 	- 	Borussia Dortmund 	4:2 pen		25,000
SV Elversberg 		- 	1. FC Nürnberg 		0:3 (0:1)	 3,600	(Schieber, Pinola, Simons)
Chemnitzer FC	 	- 	VfB Stuttgart 		1:3 aet		17,145	(Förster - Harnik 3)
Borussia M'gladbach 	- 	Bayer Leverkusen 	6:5 pen		34,570	(Idrissou - Derdiyok)


Oct 23, 2010

Bundesliga - Round 9

Mainz is like a bad rash that just won't go away. Suffering their first defeat last week, I'm sure most felt that they would disappear. Luserkusen certainly had something to prove, and came out all guns blazing. But the Mainzers kept their cool and withstood the fierce Aspirin assault, and gained more play. They were rewarded with a goal, and clueless Leverkusen was unable to recover. With the win, Mainz not only recover 1st place, but a measure of respect.

Dortmund found out that 1st place isn't that easy. Hoffenheim came ready to play, and grabbed an early goal. Despite a lot of effort, the Neons were being outplayed by the Hoppers, and it wasn't until a final desperate attack well into injury time that allowed Dortmund to escape with a draw.

Hamburg actually had a slight advantage of play against Bayern München, but wasted some key chances and were therefore unable to convert their pressure into a win. Bayern looked tentative and seemed happy to head home with only a point.

Schalke was somewhat lucky to escape with a tie in Frankfurt. Although they were even in the 1st half, in the 2nd period, the Blues were in danger of being overrun by Eintracht. However Magath's squad grimly held on, as Frankfurt dillied around too much in terms of finishing off the Blues.

The most interesting thing in Bremen's thumping of hapless Gladbach was that Peruvian striker Claudio Pizarro became the top foreign career goalscorer in the Bundesliga, surpassing Giovane Elber. Pizarro notched number 134 with a late penalty against the Horsies, who basically stunk once again.

Nürnberg has been struggling, but put in a pretty good performance against a rather tame Wolfsburg. It is looking like Englosh coach Steve McClaren is out of his league in the Bundesliga, as his talented squad consistently underperforms.

Hannover is having a fine season, and they continue to win the matches they have a chance in. Köln is pretty crap, and they ended up firing coach Zvonimir Soldo, although it's not really clear that it will make much of a difference. The Kölners are simply short on talent.

Stuttgart had a difficult time, but fortunately St.Pauli was wasteful in front of goal. As a result, VfB wins and climbs out of the bottom and presumably their slow climb up the table.

Kaiserslautern is now woken up to the grim reality of the Bundesliga survival struggle with a weak squad. They jumped out early in the season, but now it's hard to catch anyone with their pants down. Freiburg bumped them off in an important relegation battle, and while FCK sinks further into the depths, SCF is looking pretty good now. They've probably already built enough of a cushion that they won't have to worry about relegation this season, which is clearly their goal.

Hamburger SV 		- 	FC Bayern München 	0:0 (0:0)	57,000
Eintracht Frankfurt 	- 	FC Schalke 04	 	0:0 (0:0)	51,500
Borussia M'gladbach 	- 	SV Werder Bremen 	1:4 (0:2)	53,511	(Mertesacker o.g. - Marin, Wesley, Hunt, Pizarro)
SC Freiburg 		- 	1. FC K'lautern 	2:1 (1:1)	24,000	(Reisinger, Cissé - Moravek)
Hannover 96 		- 	1. FC Köln 		2:1 (2:0)	44,124	(Ya Konan 2 - Lanig)
1. FC Nürnberg 		- 	VfL Wolfsburg 		2:1 (1:1)	40,127	(Gündogan, Frantz - Grafite)
Borussia Dortmund 	- 	1899 Hoffenheim 	1:1 (0:1)	80,720	(da Silva - Ba)
Bayer Leverkusen 	- 	1. FSV Mainz 05 	0:1 (0:0)	30,210	(Ivanschitz)
VfB Stuttgart 		- 	FC St. Pauli 		2:0 (1:0)	40,000	(Niedermeier, Kuzmanovic)

Attendance: 421,192 (avg 46,799)


 1. (2.)  1. FSV Mainz 05 	9  	8 	0 	1 	 19:8   	+11 	24
 2. (1.)  Borussia Dortmund 	9  	7 	1 	1 	 21:7   	+14 	22
 3. (7.)  Hannover 96	 	9  	5 	1 	3 	 13:12  	+1 	16
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (4.)  1899 Hoffenheim 	9  	4 	3 	2 	 17:13  	+4 	15
 5. (3.)  Bayer Leverkusen 	9  	4 	3 	2 	 18:15  	+3 	15
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 6. (5.)  Hamburger SV 		9  	4 	3 	2 	 13:11  	+2 	15
 7. (9.)  SC Freiburg 		9  	5 	0 	4 	 14:14  	0 	15
 8. (11.) SV Werder Bremen 	9  	4 	2 	3 	 17:18  	-1 	14
 9. (8.)  Eintracht Frankfurt 	9  	4 	1 	4 	 14:9   	+5 	13
10. (6.)  FC St. Pauli 		9  	4 	1 	4 	 11:12  	-1 	13
11. (10.) FC Bayern München 	9  	3 	3 	3 	  8:8   	0 	12
12. (13.) 1. FC Nürnberg 	9  	3 	3 	3 	 11:12  	-1 	12
13. (12.) VfL Wolfsburg 	9  	3 	1 	5 	 15:16  	-1 	10
14. (18.) VfB Stuttgart 	9  	2 	1 	6 	 16:17  	-1 	7
15. (14.) 1. FC K'lautern 	9  	2 	1 	6 	 10:18  	-8 	7
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16. (16.) FC Schalke 04 	9  	1 	3 	5 	 10:16  	-6 	6
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17. (15.) Borussia M'gladbach 	9  	1 	3 	5 	 14:27  	-13 	6
18. (17.) 1. FC Köln	 	9  	1 	2 	6 	  9:17  	-8 	5

2.Liga - Round 9

The top clash was in Berlin, and despite a strong effort from Greuther Fürth, Hertha ended up as the deserved winner and remain on top of the table. The relegated club always had a edge in the match, and as the game wore on, were able to translate their advantage into goals.

Duisburg announced their intent to gain promotion, as they thumped a lame Karlsruhe. The Zebras haven't overly impressed this season, but seem to be racking up the points, and have to be considered a co-favorite along with Hertha. The surprise contender early this season is Aue. The easterners met with resistance from Oberhausen, but a penalty put them on the road to victory. I'm sure they would love the season to end right now, as they would play-off against Schalke for the Bundesliga spot. I wouldn't really expect Erzgebirge to be in a promotion spot come end of season, but they have snuck in quietly, and sudden spurts of points goes a long way in the 2.Liga as teams jockey for position.

Among other surprises so far is FSV Frankfurt, who around this time are usually dead last and faced with a momnetous struggle to survive. This time the Bornheimers are off to a good start, and while they obviously won't be anywhere except lower half later in the season, they've probably already done enough of the hard work to keep themselves up another year. Given the crap performance of Düsseldorf, Ingolstadt and Bielefeld, it's hard to see them falling back into the struggle. Actually Bielefeld showed signs of life, as they achieved a draw at 1860. The Arminen basically went catenaccio, and the Lions were too lame to break them down. Given the fact that Arminia has been in free fall, this is a significant result, and maybe they've stabilized the sinking ship. On the other hand, some of the other "big" 2.Liga clubs, 1860, Bochum, Aachen and Karlsruhe have been pretty crap so far.

Hertha BSC Berlin 	- 	SpVgg Greuther Fürth 	2:0 (0:0)	39,274	(Domovchiyski, Ramos)
FC Augsburg 		- 	1. FC Union Berlin 	2:1 (0:1)	14,694	(Möhrle, Hain - Benyamina)
VfL Osnabrück 		- 	FC Energie Cottbus 	2:0 (1:0)	15,000	(Schnetzler, Adler)
TSV 1860 München 	- 	Arminia Bielefeld 	0:0 (0:0)	20,000
FC Ingolstadt 04 	- 	FSV Frankfurt	 	0:1 (0:0)	 7,250	(N'diaye)
VfL Bochum 		- 	Alemannia Aachen 	1:1 (1:0)	15,390	(Saglik - Auer)
SC Paderborn 07 	- 	Fortuna Düsseldorf 	3:0 (0:0)	10,103	(Mohr, Kapllani, Wemmer)
MSV Duisburg 		- 	Karlsruher SC 		3:0 (1:0)	14,127	(Baljak, Koch, Yilmaz)
FC Erzgebirge Aue 	- 	Rot-Weiß Oberhausen 	2:0 (0:0)	 7,200	(Paulus, Kern) 

Attendance: 143,038 (avg 15,893)


 1. (1.)  Hertha BSC Berlin 	9  	7 	2 	0 	 17:5   	+12 	23
 2. (3.)  MSV Duisburg	 	9  	7 	0 	2 	 19:7   	+12 	21
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3. (4.)  FC Erzgebirge Aue 	9  	6 	2 	1 	 12:6   	+6 	20
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (2.)  SpVgg Greuther Fürth 	9  	6 	1 	2 	 14:7   	+7 	19
 5. (5.)  FC Energie Cottbus 	9  	5 	1 	3 	 19:15  	+4 	16
 6. (9.)  FSV Frankfurt 	9  	5 	0 	4 	 10:9   	+1 	15
 7. (6.)  Rot-Weiß Oberhausen 	9  	4 	2 	3 	  9:10   	-1 	14
 8. (11.) FC Augsburg 		9  	4 	1 	4 	 14:11  	+3 	13
 9. (7.)  TSV 1860 München 	9  	4 	3 	2 	 11:8   	+3 	13
10. (8.)  Alemannia Aachen 	9  	3 	4 	2 	 13:12  	+1 	13
11. (10.) VfL Bochum 		9  	4 	1 	4 	 11:12  	-1 	13
12. (13.) SC Paderborn 07 	9  	3 	1 	5 	 10:10  	0 	10
13. (14.) VfL Osnabrück 	9  	3 	1 	5 	 15:18  	-3 	10
14. (12.) Karlsruher SC 	9  	2 	2 	5 	 12:22  	-10 	8
15. (15.) 1. FC Union Berlin 	9  	1 	3 	5 	  9:15  	-6 	6
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16. (16.) Fortuna Düsseldorf 	9  	2 	0 	7 	  6:16  	-10 	6
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17. (17.) FC Ingolstadt 04 	9  	1 	1 	7 	  8:16  	-8 	4
18. (18.) Arminia Bielefeld 	9  	1 	1 	7 	  7:17  	-10 	4

3.Liga - Round 13

The leaders remain in control, jockeying for position. The biggest match was in Dresden, where Dynamo desperately wanted to win to perhaps sneak back into view. They hosted Hansa Rostock, and the massive interest led to a sold out stadium. Rostock has been the ex-GDR's most successful squad over the years, although now they have dropped down to Dresden's level. With Dynamo on the verge of victory, it looked like the record crowd might go home happy. However Hansa showed that they are a superior side, and managed to escape with a draw. Leaders Offenbach struggled somewhat, but prevailed over Babelsberg. Wehen passed up Rostock with a solid win. And Braunschweig remains in the wings with a thumping over Unterhaching.

On the bottom, a critical away win for financially belaugered Ahlen, as they win at München. Jena looks like they're falling apart, as they were unable to get the win while hosting Bremen B.

Kickers Offenbach 	- 	SV Babelsberg 03 	2:1 (0:1)	 7,611	(Hesse, Occean - Civa)
VfB Stuttgart II 	- 	Wacker Burghausen 	1:1 (0:0)	   350	(Breier - Omodiagbe)
Eintracht Braunschweig 	- 	SpVgg Unterhaching 	3:0 (1:0)	14,920	(Bellarabi, Boland, Fuchs)
SV Wehen Wiesbaden 	- 	Jahn Regensburg 	2:0 (2:0)	 3,455	(Sailer, Janjic)
FC Bayern München II 	- 	Rot Weiss Ahlen 	2:3 (1:3)	   420	(Sansone, Deul - Busch, Taylor, Piossek)
SV 1916 Sandhausen 	- 	VfR Aalen 		1:3 (1:1)	 1,550	(Jungwirth - Schön, Lechleiter, Dausch)
1. FC Saarbrücken 	- 	FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt 	1:3 (0:2)	 4,896	(Pisano - Semmer 2, Reichwein)
Dynamo Dresden 		- 	Hansa Rostock 		2:2 (1:1)	29,300	(Esswein, G. Müller - Schied, Ziegenbein)
1. FC Heidenheim 1846 	- 	TuS Koblenz 		3:1 (2:1)	 2,500	(Spann, Bagceci, Schnatterer - Nottbeck)
FC Carl Zeiss Jena 	- 	SV Werder Bremen II 	1:1 (1:1)	 4,000	(Landeka - Krisch)

Attendance: 69,002 (avg 6,900)


 1. (1.)  Kickers Offenbach 	13  	10 	2 	1 	 28:14  	+14 	32
 2. (3.)  SV Wehen Wiesbaden 	13  	9 	3 	1 	 19:8   	+11 	30
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3. (2.)  Hansa Rostock 	13  	9 	2 	2 	 29:14  	+15 	29
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (4.)  Eintr. Braunschweig 	13  	9 	1 	3 	 30:7   	+23 	28
 5. (5.)  Jahn Regensburg 	13  	6 	4 	3 	 17:14  	+3 	22
 6. (7.)  FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt 	13  	6 	2 	5 	 21:20  	+1 	20
 7. (6.)  Dynamo Dresden 	13  	5 	4 	4 	 18:19  	-1 	19
 8. (10.) 1. FC Heidenheim 1846	13  	5 	3 	5 	 22:18  	+4 	18
 9. (8.)  SpVgg Unterhaching 	13  	4 	5 	4 	 15:20  	-5 	17
10. (9.)  TuS Koblenz 		13  	4 	4 	5 	 11:17  	-6 	16
11. (12.) VfB Stuttgart II 	13  	3 	6 	4 	 14:14  	0 	15
12. (13.) Wacker Burghausen 	13  	3 	6 	4 	 14:17  	-3 	15
13. (11.) 1. FC Saarbrücken 	13  	3 	5 	5 	 18:19  	-1 	14
14. (16.) VfR Aalen 		13  	3 	5 	5 	 10:15  	-5 	14
15. (14.) SV Babelsberg 03 	13  	4 	1 	8 	 12:16  	-4 	13
16. (17.) Rot Weiss Ahlen 	13  	2 	7 	4 	 12:16  	-4 	13
17. (15.) SV 1916 Sandhausen 	13  	3 	3 	7 	 15:21  	-6 	12
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18. (19.) FC Carl Zeiss Jena 	13  	2 	3 	8 	 10:25  	-15 	9
19. (18.) FC Bayern München II 	13  	1 	5 	7 	 10:19  	-9 	8
20. (20.) SV Werder Bremen II 	13  	1 	5 	7 	 10:22  	-12 	8


Oct 19, 2010

Bielefeld is pathetic

I suppose it would have made more sense to kick off a weekly talk about interesting clubs...with Mainz, as they are certainly the revelation of the early Bundesliga season. But it's more fun to kick somebody when they're down, and therefore I choose to slander Arminia Bielefeld. This is a club that wasn't doing that bad not that long ago. They got relegated in 2009 after a five year run in the Bundesliga, and were one of the favorites to bounce back in the 2.Liga. But after failing last year (7th), they have totally fallen apart, losing 7 of 8 and dead last. To make matters worse, the club is on the verge of bankruptcy. "kicker" had article entitled "Ratlose Arminia" that described their problems. This essentially means "Without-a-clue-Arminia", which although appropriate, seems less accurate then a fake translation like "Rats on the loose at Arminia"

Head coach Christian Ziege was once a very good player, although I found it hard to take him seriously after he showed up for some World Cup (I think it was 1998) with a stupid mohawk haircut that made him look like an idiot. His basic response is that he is clueless on why Arminia suck, although he admits the problem is when the opening whistle sounds and they soon give up a goal and proceed to run around aimlessly. The board and directors are of course largely responsible for this mess, but so far their only reaction is to darkly hint that Ziege might get his ass canned. Well, actually, they admitted that they are clueless on why they suck. In reality, Ziege doesn't seem to be the problem; so far it looks like the players are just no good. Actually, on paper they don't look that bad, although the only one you'll probably recognize is 37 year old social-security-pensioneer Oliver Neuville. It seems more like a general malaise has set in, and that this has effected everything from the players, the coaches and the board. One thing seems certain, the financial instability is the 800 pound albatross.

A total collapse is not impossible, as Arminia basically went through the same process in the late 1980s-early 1990s. when they dropped down to the 3rd division for about 6 years. But that stay in the boonies seemed to have steeled the club, and they worked their way back to the top, bouncing up and down over about 15 years. It's hard to see much of a silver lining, since their sole win this season was struggling win over Ingolstadt, who are probably the crappiest team in the league and currently in 19th...one spot up on Arminia. On the other hand, the 2.Liga is usually all bunched up, so if Ziege could get his troops rallied, they could find themselves uncomfortably safe. Maybe he should bring back the Mohawk, which in these circumstances wouldn't bother me in the slightest.


Oct 17, 2010

Bundesliga, Round 8

Mainz finally got stopped, and ironically it was Hamburg that did the trick. HSV is often completely lame, but tis time they matched Mainz fighting spirit. It took a somewhat fortunate late goal to grab the win, but HSV only was doing to Mainz what their hosts had accomplished with other clubs. Next week should be very interesting, as Mainz travel to Leverkusen. If they get stuffed, then it's probably a sure sign that they're headed back down to obscurity. But in any case, their fine start means they have nothing to worry about.

Dortmund continues their good form and take over the lead. However, they were somewhat fortunate in a tough win in Köln, where a tie would have probably been a fairer result. But that's the difference, Dortmund is cold-blooded these days, and Köln is lackadaisical in finishing. That should be their undoing, chances are Köln goes back down this season. Dortmund needs to continue their good form. If they can do that, the fact that all their rivals are dicking around means that this could be a memorable title run.

Just about all of Bayern's starting midfield is out injured, so you figured that the champions would struggle. But ironically when you figured they would really be lame, Stupor Mario stepped out and nailed a hat-trick, giving them an easy win. Hannover has started the season decently, but are likely to drift back toward mediocrity, where they belong. Not sure what to make of Bayern's performance, but obviously if Gomez starts hit the net instead of the corner flag, it's a bad sign for future opponents.

Leverkusen is another team that should be happy this week. They were basically getting overrun by Wolfsburg, but punished crap VW defending with some late goals to steal a nice road win. VW boss Steve McClaren was in stunned disbelief, and his only coherent comment was "That's football." For Luserkusen, this actually means that they move up into 3rd, despite a season long lameness. Since they're certainly capable of much better, perhaps it's a sign of good things to come. Wolfsburg blew a chance to get into the Europe hunt.

The Schalke-Stuttgart match figured to be huge, but not a relegation battle. As it was, both teams showed improved performance, so if you ignored the standings, it was a top clash. The visitors seemed a bit more efficient, having fired their coach Christian Gross ealrier. The Blues struggled at times, but were rewarded for their constant pressure with yet another goal by Huntelaar, albeit via penalty.

The St.Pauli fans appear to be loving life, as their squad has fought well in the Bundesliga. They managed to beat down Nürnberg in a hard fought match, and gain their first home win. If they keep up these performances, they should have little problem staying up. The same can't be said for Nürnberg, who are bumbling around as usual. In their defense, there are teams that suck more. However, I expect Schalke and Stuttgart to eventually straighten themselves out and at least pull out of the relegation zone. That means der Club will be stuck in a gogfigt with the usual suspects, like Köln, Gladbach and somewhat reeling Kaiserslautern.

Kaiserslautern is back to reality. They controlled the first half against Frankfurt, but had nothing to show for it. Indeed, they fell behind. In the 2nd half, the visitors were ruthless as they drove their advantage and left the Lauterers sniveling helplessly. Welcome to the Bundesliga! Good win for Frankfurt, who are in their usual good-suck-good-suck pattern.

Gladbach looks to be in trouble, as they continue to throw away points. Certainly there was the possibility of a result in Hoffenheim, but they dicked around and the Hoppers managed to strike for a nice win.

Bremen continues to play mediocre football, but they got a win aganist Freiburg, and I guess their strategy is just to tread water until their squad is healthy again.

1. FC Köln  		-  	Borussia Dortmund  	1:2 (0:1)	50,000	(Podolski - Kuba, Sahin)
FC Bayern München 	- 	Hannover 96 		3:0 (1:0)	69,000	(Gomez 3)
FC Schalke 04 		- 	VfB Stuttgart 		2:2 (1:1)	61,700	(Edu, Huntelaar - Gebhart, Harnik)
SV Werder Bremen 	- 	SC Freiburg 		2:1 (1:0)	34,500	(Hunt, Almeida - Schuster)
1. FSV Mainz 05 	- 	Hamburger SV 		0:1 (0:0)	20,300	(Guerrero)
FC St. Pauli 		- 	1. FC Nürnberg 		3:2 (1:0)	24,500	(Asamoah, Ebbers, Bruns - Ekici, Wolff)
VfL Wolfsburg	 	- 	Bayer Leverkusen 	2:3 (1:0)	25,000	(Diego, Grafite - Rolfes 2, Vidal)
1. FC K'lautern 	- 	Eintracht Frankfurt 	0:3 (0:1)	40,000	(Gekas 2, Meier)
1899 Hoffenheim 	- 	Borussia M'gladbach 	3:2 (0:1)	30,150	(Ba 2, Salihovic - Bobadilla, Idrissou)
	
Attendance: 355,150 (39,461)

	
 1. (2.)  Borussia Dortmund  	8   	7  	0  	1  	 20:6    	+14  	21
 2. (1.)  1. FSV Mainz 05 	8  	7 	0 	1 	 18:8   	+10 	21
 3. (4.)  Bayer Leverkusen 	8  	4 	3 	1 	 18:14  	+4 	15
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (6.)  1899 Hoffenheim 	8  	4 	2 	2 	 16:12  	+4 	14
 5. (7.)  Hamburger SV 		8  	4 	2 	2 	 13:11  	+2 	14
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 6. (9.)  FC St. Pauli 		8  	4 	1 	3 	 11:10  	+1 	13
 7. (3.)  Hannover 96 		8  	4 	1 	3 	 11:11  	0 	13
 8. (10.) Eintracht Frankfurt 	8  	4 	0 	4 	 14:9   	+5 	12
 9. (5.)  SC Freiburg 		8  	4 	0 	4 	 12:13  	-1 	12
10. (12.) FC Bayern München 	8  	3 	2 	3 	  8:8   	0 	11
11. (13.) SV Werder Bremen 	8  	3 	2 	3 	 13:17  	-4 	11
12. (8.)  VfL Wolfsburg 	8  	3 	1 	4 	 14:14  	0 	10
13. (11.) 1. FC Nürnberg 	8  	2 	3 	3 	  9:11  	-2 	9
14. (14.) 1. FC K'lautern 	8  	2 	1 	5 	  9:16  	-7 	7
15. (15.) Borussia M'gladbach 	8  	1 	3 	4 	 13:23  	-10 	6
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16. (17.) FC Schalke 04 	8  	1 	2 	5 	 10:16  	-6 	5
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17. (16.) 1. FC Köln 		8  	1 	2 	5 	  8:15  	-7 	5
18. (18.) VfB Stuttgart 	8  	1 	1 	6 	 14:17  	-3 	4
	

2.Liga - Round 8

Nothing really dramatic this week. Leaders Hertha cling to the lead, although it took a late goal at FSV Frankfurt to hold the top. Greuther Fürth is serious about giving Bundesliga treasurers ulcers, as they stuffed Osnabrück and establish themselves as a solid promotion contender. If only they had a few fans. Düsseldorf continues to fight on bottom, as they upended Augsburg, who have now totally fallen off the wagon.

Fortuna Düsseldorf  	-  	FC Augsburg  		1:0 (1:0)	21,100	(Bröker)
SpVgg Greuther Fürth 	- 	VfL Osnabrück 		3:0 (2:0)	 6,400	(Onuegbu, Aleksic, Stang)
1. FC Union Berlin 	- 	FC Erzgebirge Aue 	1:1 (1:1)	16,900	(Mosquera - Hensel)
Karlsruher SC	 	- 	VfL Bochum 		0:2 (0:2)	13,000	(Chong, Yahia)
FSV Frankfurt 		- 	Hertha BSC Berlin 	0:1 (0:0)	 7,500	(Ramos)
FC Energie Cottbus 	- 	SC Paderborn 07 	3:1 (1:0)	10,100	(Adlung, Hünemeier, Jula - Mosquera)
Alemannia Aachen 	- 	FC Ingolstadt 04 	2:1 (1:0)	16,900	(Auer, Stieber - Hartmann)
Rot-Weiß Oberhausen 	- 	TSV 1860 München 	0:0 (0:0)	 5,800
Arminia Bielefeld 	- 	MSV Duisburg 	 	1:3 (0:3)	10,260	(Feck - Yilmaz, Soares, Baljak) 


 1. (1.)  Hertha BSC Berlin 	8  	6 	2 	0 	 15:5   	+10 	20
 2. (2.)  SpVgg Greuther Fürth 	8  	6 	1 	1 	 14:5   	+9 	19
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3. (4.)  MSV Duisburg	 	8  	6 	0 	2 	 16:7   	+9 	18
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (3.)  FC Erzgebirge Aue 	8  	5 	2 	1 	 10:6   	+4 	17
 5. (5.)  FC Energie Cottbus 	8  	5 	1 	2 	 19:13  	+6 	16
 6. (6.)  TSV 1860 München 	8  	4 	2 	2 	 11:8   	+3 	14
 7. (7.)  Rot-Weiß Oberhausen 	8  	4 	2 	2 	  9:8   	+1 	14
 8. (10.) Alemannia Aachen 	8  	3 	3 	2 	 12:11  	+1 	12
 9. (8.)  FSV Frankfurt 	8  	4 	0 	4 	  9:9   	0 	12
10. (11.) VfL Bochum 		8  	4 	0 	4 	 10:11  	-1 	12
11. (9.)  FC Augsburg 		8  	3 	1 	4 	 12:10  	+2 	10
12. (12.) Karlsruher SC 	8  	2 	2 	4 	 12:19  	-7 	8
13. (13.) SC Paderborn 07 	8  	2 	1 	5 	  7:10  	-3 	7
14. (14.) VfL Osnabrück 	8  	2 	1 	5 	 13:18  	-5 	7
15. (15.) 1. FC Union Berlin 	8  	1 	3 	4 	  8:13  	-5 	6
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16. (18.) Fortuna Düsseldorf 	8  	2 	0 	6 	  6:13  	-7 	6
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17. (16.) FC Ingolstadt 04 	8  	1 	1 	6 	  8:15  	-7 	4
18. (17.) Arminia Bielefeld 	8  	1 	0 	7 	  7:17  	-10 	3

3.Liga - Round 12

Braunschweig made a statement about their desire to stay in the race. The Lions crushed Bremen's B squad and keep place with the top clubs. Leaders Offenbach had a tough match at revived Unterhaching. The München suburbanites may have fewer fans than players, but they are a tough bunch when they're organized. Meanwhile, Rostock snuck back closer to the top, although it wasn't easy at home to Heidenheim. Same for Wehen.

The big loser this week is probably Dresden, which might have been on the verge of getting within striking range of challenging. Instead the Dynamos got bitch-slapped by Erfurt and are a good 10 pts off the pace for even a whiff of promotion.

Rot-Weiss Ahlen has asked to go into bankruptcy proceedings, as the city declined in negotiations to purchase the Wersestadion and then lease back to the club. It's believed that Ahlen's debt is around 2 million euros, but the club is going to try and finish out the season. Let's hope they can survive financially, as even though the club is in a relegation battle, they certainly have a chance to stay up.

SV Werder Bremen II  	-  	Eintracht Braunschweig  0:5 (0:4)	 2,400	(Kruppke, Boland, Kumbela, Bellarabi, Henn)
TuS Koblenz	 	- 	FC Carl Zeiss Jena 	1:0 (1:0)	 5,000	(Cannizzaro)
VfR Aalen 		- 	1. FC Saarbrücken 	1:1 (1:0)	 3,600	(Lechleiter - Grgic)
Rot Weiss Ahlen 	- 	SV 1916 Sandhausen 	1:1 (0:0)	 2,000	(Piossek - Jungwirth)
Jahn Regensburg 	- 	FC Bayern München II 	0:0 (0:0)	 2,000
SV Wehen Wiesbaden 	- 	VfB Stuttgart II 	2:1 (2:0)	 3,000	(Schönheim, Sailer - Schipplock)
SV Babelsberg 03 	- 	Wacker Burghausen 	0:2 (0:0)	 3,000	(Burkhard, Agyemang)
SpVgg Unterhaching 	- 	Kickers Offenbach 	1:1 (1:0) 	 1,500	(Nygaard - Rathgeber)
Hansa Rostock 		- 	1. FC Heidenheim 1846 	2:1 (2:0)	12,000	(Ziegenbein 2 - Schnaterrer)
FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt 	- 	Dynamo Dresden 		3:0 (1:0)	 7,000	(Zedi, Ströhl, Semmer)


 1. (1.)  Kickers Offenbach 	12  	9 	2 	1 	 26:13  	+13 	29
 2. (2.)  Hansa Rostock 	12  	9 	1 	2 	 27:12  	+15 	28
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3. (3.)  SV Wehen Wiesbaden 	12  	8 	3 	1 	 17:8   	+9 	27
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (4.)  Eintr. Braunschweig 	12  	8 	1 	3 	 27:7   	+20 	25
 5. (5.)  Jahn Regensburg 	12  	6 	4 	2 	 17:12  	+5 	22
 6. (6.)  Dynamo Dresden 	12  	5 	3 	4 	 16:17  	-1 	18
 7. (10.) FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt 	12  	5 	2 	5 	 18:19  	-1 	17
 8. (7.)  SpVgg Unterhaching 	12  	4 	5 	3 	 15:17  	-2 	17
 9. (13.) TuS Koblenz 		12  	4 	4 	4 	 10:14  	-4 	16
10. (8.)  1. FC Heidenheim 1846	12  	4 	3 	5 	 19:17  	+2 	15
11. (11.) 1. FC Saarbrücken 	12  	3 	5 	4 	 17:16  	+1 	14
12. (9.)  VfB Stuttgart II 	12  	3 	5 	4 	 13:13  	0 	14
13. (15.) Wacker Burghausen 	12  	3 	5 	4 	 13:16  	-3 	14
14. (12.) SV Babelsberg 03 	12  	4 	1 	7 	 11:14  	-3 	13
15. (14.) SV 1916 Sandhausen 	12  	3 	3 	6 	 14:18  	-4 	12
16. (16.) VfR Aalen 		12  	2 	5 	5 	  7:14  	-7 	11
17. (17.) Rot Weiss Ahlen 	12  	1 	7 	4 	  9:14  	-5 	10
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
18. (20.) FC Bayern München II 	12  	1 	5 	6 	  8:16  	-8 	8
19. (18.) FC Carl Zeiss Jena 	12  	2 	2 	8 	  9:24  	-15 	8
20. (19.) SV Werder Bremen II 	12  	1 	4 	7 	  9:21  	-12 	7


Oct 9, 2010

Solid win for Germany

Joachim Löw's squad showed themselves in fine form, despite missing Bastian Schweinsteiger. The DFB squad ripped Turkey 3-0 in the Euro 2012 Qualifier, and is threatening to run away with their group, 3 victories in 3 games. Goals from Miro Klose (2) and Mesut Özil. Özil's goal was especially sweet, because the Turkish-German was mercilessly whistled throughout the game by some 40,000 Turks in the Berlin Olympiastadion.


Oct 3, 2010

Bundesliga, Round 7

The Bundesliga continues it's merry way as one stunner after another.

Mainz has tied the all-time quick start record with 7 wins on the trot, and despite some resistance from Hoffenheim, they clearly deserved their win and the top spot. What this team of nobodies has achieved is amazing, and although one expects them to get bumped off every week, they keep on pulling rabbits out of the hat. I'm not jumping on the Mainz bandwagon yet, as there's still too much to play. But given their great start, they should be in the race for a Euro spot, which would be a great achievement. Despite Mainz brilliant start, I would expect them to do a Hoffenheim, and flame out in the 2nd half, when their lack of talent should be laid bare.

Dortmund has announced that they intend to take the title this year. By beating Bayern, they've essentially showed that they are a serious contender, and given the fact that they have one of the youngest squads in the league, it's perhaps a sign of great things to come. The match against the champions was actually pretty even, with Bayern having the edge in the first half. However, defender Martin Demichelis came on in the 2nd, and his blunders led to both Neon goals, giving Borussia the solid win. Bayern president Karl-Heinz Rummennigge went ape after the match, demanding better. But the fact is, Van Gaal has no clue right now, as his players run around and dominate, but can't put the ball in the net. And then the defense inevitably goes retarded and Bayern drops points. So Karl-Heinz can yap-yap-yap, but I doubt anybody is listening. I think Dortmund is possibly on the verge of a major comeback as a German powerhouse. A decade ago they were there, challenging Bayern, but they overextended themselves financially and collapsed. Now the finances seem to have been stabilized, and they have one of the youngest squads in the league.

St.Pauli is showing some great fight in their return, and they showed that Hannover clearly has limits. The 96ers were picked as a relegation candidate, but have showed good form in a nice start. St.Pauli showed that Hannover should still pay attention to the bottom line, safety from relegation. They show that they've fully recovered, but frankly they're not very good. For the Paulistas, they seem to be playing much better on the road, so these points may hold the key to their salvation.

Speaking of relegation, Schalke is beginning to look like one of thise clubs that is "too good to go down", but their current form has 2.Liga treasurers smacking their lips. Basically, the Blues sucked in Nürnberg, another team who has struggled (but everybody expected them to be crap). Der Club did enough to grab the victory and get the crucial points. Basically, Schalke is sucking across the board, and the only thing positive that I can see is that Huntelaar is scoring, but given Schalke's usual pathetic offense, it's not enough. Schalke looks like a clear relegation candidate, of the type "they're too good to go down". But you can bet your ass that 2.Liga treasurers are beginning to have wet dreams of the prospect of the Blues showing up in their stadiums next season.

The only team more pathetic than Schalke is Stuttgart. VfB sucked like a cheap hooker as they went down against a ho-hum Frankfurt squad, who were happy to take the points. However, there is a silver lining. We all know from past experience that this is Stuttgart's way. Over several seasons, they have been touted as contenders, only to suck big time at the start. Then at some point, the board fires the coach and appoints some clown. Then VfB goes psycho and start mowing down everybody in their path, terrorizing the league. It usually ends in a Euro spot. The clown is now the toast of Schwaben and VfB is expected to win the title the next year. But of course they suck and do the whole cycle over again. That said, Christian Gross will undoubtedly get his ass fired and "whoever" will lead a raging comeback.

Luserkusen should be taking advantage of the state of the league to make a move, but they're dicking around. Hard to see them achieving much. They struggled against out of form Bremen. The whole Return of Michael Ballack thingy has been nothing but a distraction, and this talented squad seems rather cavalier. Bremen got ripped in Europe and with their injuries are clearly in survival mode. Their plan should be to not stink too much until their healthy again, and then kick some butts to perhaps sneak into Europe again.

Wolfsburg looked to have righted the ship, maybe ready to make a run. Well, guess that VW isn't so fuel efficient, as they failed to bring home the bacon against a worthless Gladbach squad. The Gladbachers were getting pummeled silly on a regular basis, but nothing like a dose of Schalke and now Wolfies to allow them to catch their breath. Wolfsburg should have won, but they failed to go for the jugular, allowing Gladbach to escape.

Hamburg are too boring to comment about right now, but they did comeback in a rather listless effort against Kaiserslautern. FCK was good, but didn't really show enough to get a win against the bored HSVers.

Hannover 96  		-  	FC St. Pauli  		0:1 (0:1)	49,000	(Ebbers)
Hamburger SV 		- 	1. FC K'lautern 	2:1 (0:1)	57,000	(Kacar, Choupo-Moting - Lakic)
1. FSV Mainz 05 	- 	1899 Hoffenheim 	4:2 (1:1)	20,300	(Allagui, Szalai, Holtby, Schürrle - Ba, Sigurdsson)
Borussia M'gladbach 	- 	VfL Wolfsburg 		1:1 (0:1)	40,400	(Marx - Kahlenberg)
SC Freiburg 		- 	1. FC Köln 		3:2 (2:1)	22,100	(Rosenthal 2, Papiss Cisse - Mohammad, Matuschyk)
1. FC Nürnberg	 	- 	FC Schalke 04 		2:1 (0:0)	48,500	(Frantz, Wolf - Huntelaar)
VfB Stuttgart 		- 	Eintracht Frankfurt 	1:2 (0:1)	37,000	(Pogrebnyak - Gekas, Chris)
Bayer Leverkusen 	- 	SV Werder Bremen 	2:2 (1:0)	25,000	(Helmes, Derdiyok - Almeida, Marin)
Borussia Dortmund 	- 	FC Bayern München 	2:0 (0:0)	80,700	(Barrios, Sahin)

Attendance: 380,000 (avg 42,222)


 1. (1.)  1. FSV Mainz 05 	7  	7 	0 	0 	 18:7   	+11 	21
 2. (2.)  Borussia Dortmund 	7  	6 	0 	1 	 18:5   	+13 	18
 3. (3.)  Hannover 96	 	7  	4 	1 	2 	 11:8   	+3 	13
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (5.)  Bayer Leverkusen 	7  	3 	3 	1 	 15:12  	+3 	12
 5. (7.)  SC Freiburg 		7  	4 	0 	3 	 11:11  	0 	12
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 6. (4.)  1899 Hoffenheim 	7  	3 	2 	2 	 13:10  	+3 	11
 7. (8.)  Hamburger SV 		7  	3 	2 	2 	 12:11  	+1 	11
 8. (6.)  VfL Wolfsburg 	7  	3 	1 	3 	 12:11  	+1 	10
 9. (10.) FC St. Pauli 		7  	3 	1 	3 	  8:8   	0 	10
10. (13.) Eintracht Frankfurt 	7  	3 	0 	4 	 11:9   	+2 	9
11. (14.) 1. FC Nürnberg 	7  	2 	3 	2 	  7:8   	-1 	9
12. (9.)  FC Bayern München 	7  	2 	2 	3 	  5:8   	-3 	8
13. (12.) SV Werder Bremen 	7  	2 	2 	3 	 11:16  	-5 	8
14. (11.) 1. FC K'lautern 	7  	2 	1 	4 	  9:13  	-4 	7
15. (16.) Borussia M'gladbach 	7  	1 	3 	3 	 11:20  	-9 	6
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16. (15.) 1. FC Köln 		7  	1 	2 	4 	  7:13  	-6 	5
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17. (17.) FC Schalke 04 	7  	1 	1 	5 	  8:14  	-6 	4
18. (18.) VfB Stuttgart 	7  	1 	0 	6 	 12:15  	-3 	3

2.Liga - Round 7

Not a particularily great date for the favorites. Hertha remains ontop after an uninspired draw to struggling Aachen. Cottbus was stunned at pipsqueak FSV Frankfurt. Aue has shockingly moved into 3rd with a win over faulty Augsburg. Perhaps Greuther Fürth is the only frontrunner to really celebrate as they won away to crappy Bochum. Perhaps Duisburg as well, as they clearly showed that Oberhausen is worthless in a Rhein derby. On the other hand, this is the only half-way impressive result for the Zebras. Lets hope they don't make it back to the Bundesliga soon, as their presence merely serves to lower standards and attendance in the top flight. They should stay in the 2.Liga where they belong. It is nice to see Düsseldorf finally get in the win column. Meanwhile, Paderborn dumped Bielfeld to claim Westfalen supremacy. Arminia continues to slump, and with their chaotic finances, looks like relegation one way or another is not far fetched.

SC Paderborn 07  	-  	Arminia Bielefeld  	3:1 (1:0)	12,700	(Kapllani 2, Wemmer - Heidinger)
MSV Duisburg 		- 	Rot-Weiß Oberhausen 	3:0 (1:0)	20,400	(Mayerhofer 2, Sahan)
FC Ingolstadt 04 	- 	Karlsruher SC	 	1:1 (0:0)	 5,100	(Hoffmann - Fink)
VfL Bochum 		- 	SpVgg Greuther Fürth 	0:2 (0:0)	10,100	(Kleiner, Sararer)
VfL Osnabrück 		- 	Fortuna Düsseldorf 	2:3 (1:3)	15,000	(Heidrich, Schmidt - Zoundi, Langenecke, Fink)
TSV 1860 München 	- 	1. FC Union Berlin 	1:0 (0:0)	22,100	(Lauth)
FSV Frankfurt 		- 	FC Energie Cottbus 	3:2 (0:1)	 3,600	(Mölders 2, Brzenska - Kronaveter, Hünemeier)
FC Erzgebirge Aue 	- 	FC Augsburg 		3:2 (2:1)	10,600	(Paulus, Lachheb, Hochscheidt - Thurk 2)
Hertha BSC Berlin 	- 	Alemannia Aachen 	0:0 (0:0)	34,800

Attendance: 134,400 (avg 14,933)


 1. (1.)  Hertha BSC Berlin 	7  	5 	2 	0 	 14:5   	+9 	17
 2. (3.)  SpVgg Greuther Fürth 	7  	5 	1 	1 	 11:5   	+6 	16
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3. (5.)  FC Erzgebirge Aue 	7  	5 	1 	1 	  9:5   	+4 	16
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (6.)  MSV Duisburg 		7  	5 	0 	2 	 13:6   	+7 	15
 5. (2.)  FC Energie Cottbus 	7  	4 	1 	2 	 16:12  	+4 	13
 6. (8.)  TSV 1860 München 	7  	4 	1 	2 	 11:8   	+3 	13
 7. (3.)  Rot-Weiß Oberhausen 	7  	4 	1 	2 	  9:8   	+1 	13
 8. (9.)  FSV Frankfurt 	7  	4 	0 	3 	  9:8   	+1 	12
 9. (7.)  FC Augsburg	 	7  	3 	1 	3 	 12:9   	+3 	10
10. (11.) Alemannia Aachen 	7  	2 	3 	2 	 10:10  	0 	9
11. (10.) VfL Bochum 		7  	3 	0 	4 	  8:11  	-3 	9
12. (13.) Karlsruher SC 	7  	2 	2 	3 	 12:17  	-5 	8
13. (15.) SC Paderborn 07 	7  	2 	1 	4 	  6:7   	-1 	7
14. (12.) VfL Osnabrück 	7  	2 	1 	4 	 13:15  	-2 	7
15. (14.) 1. FC Union Berlin 	7  	1 	2 	4 	  7:12  	-5 	5
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16. (16.) FC Ingolstadt 04 	7  	1 	1 	5 	  7:13  	-6 	4
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17. (17.) Arminia Bielefeld 	7  	1 	0 	6 	  6:14  	-8 	3
18. (18.) Fortuna Düsseldorf 	7  	1 	0 	6 	  5:13  	-8 	3

3.Liga - Round 11

The 3.Liga is struggling at the box office, although there are a couple of "traditionals" that have some pent-up demand for winning football (Dresden, Braunschweig, maybe Offenbach) that can draw respectable numbers. They are all near the top, and beginning to set themselves apart from the rest of the league. Pipsqueak Wehen is holding in the race, as is Regensburg. Another team that nobody wants to watch, Unterhaching, haas seemingly recovered from their horrible start and is slowly rising.

As long as Bayern and Werder get relegated, it is a successful season. It's probably too much to ask that Stuttgart goes down as well, since they are also death to attendance. Maybe Christian Gross could take over and they could start sucking.

Dynamo Dresden  	-  	VfR Aalen  		1:0 (1:0)	17,200	(Jungnickel)
VfB Stuttgart II 	- 	SV Babelsberg 03 	1:1 (0:0)	   300	(Rathgeb - Tocer)
Eintracht Braunschweig 	- 	TuS Koblenz 		4:1 (0:1)	13,700	(Amrhein, Kumbela 2, Kruppke - Rahn)
Kickers Offenbach 	- 	SV Werder Bremen II 	3:1 (0:1)	 6,500	(Berger, Hesse 2 - Testroet)
Wacker Burghausen 	- 	SpVgg Unterhaching 	1:3 (0:1)	 3,000	(Capek - Tunjic, Hoffmann, Jerat)
FC Bayern München II 	- 	SV Wehen Wiesbaden 	0:1 (0:1)	   300	(Janjic)
SV 1916 Sandhausen 	- 	Jahn Regensburg 	2:2 (2:1)	 1,500	(Dorn, Fischer - T.Schweinsteiger, Haller)
1. FC Saarbrücken 	- 	Rot Weiss Ahlen 	0:0 (0:0)	 4,100
1. FC Heidenheim 1846 	- 	FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt 	1:1 (1:0)	 4,600	(Schnatterer - Reichwein)
FC Carl Zeiss Jena 	- 	Hansa Rostock 		1:3 (0:2)	 8,500	(Hähnge - Jänicke, Schied 2)

Attendance: 59,700 (avg 5,970)


 1. (1.)  Kickers Offenbach 		11  	9 	1 	1 	 25:12  	+13 	28
 2. (2.)  Hansa Rostock 		11  	8 	1 	2 	 25:11  	+14 	25
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3. (3.)  SV Wehen Wiesbaden 		11  	7 	3 	1 	 15:7   	+8 	24
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (5.)  Eintracht Braunschweig 	11  	7 	1 	3 	 22:7   	+15 	22
 5. (4.)  Jahn Regensburg 		11  	6 	3 	2 	 17:12  	+5 	21
 6. (6.)  Dynamo Dresden 		11  	5 	3 	3 	 16:14  	+2 	18
 7. (11.) SpVgg Unterhaching 		11  	4 	4 	3 	 14:16  	-2 	16
 8. (7.)  1. FC Heidenheim 1846 	11  	4 	3 	4 	 18:15  	+3 	15
 9. (8.)  VfB Stuttgart II 		11  	3 	5 	3 	 12:11  	+1 	14
10. (10.) FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt 		11  	4 	2 	5 	 15:19  	-4 	14
11. (12.) 1. FC Saarbrücken 		11  	3 	4 	4 	 16:15  	+1 	13
12. (13.) SV Babelsberg 03 		11  	4 	1 	6 	 11:12  	-1 	13
13. (9.)  TuS Koblenz 			11  	3 	4 	4 	  9:14  	-5 	13
14. (15.) SV 1916 Sandhausen 		11  	3 	2 	6 	 13:17  	-4 	11
15. (14.) Wacker Burghausen 		11  	2 	5 	4 	 11:16  	-5 	11
16. (16.) VfR Aalen 			11  	2 	4 	5 	  6:13  	-7 	10
17. (17.) Rot Weiss Ahlen 		11  	1 	6 	4 	  8:13  	-5 	9
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
18. (18.) FC Carl Zeiss Jena 		11  	2 	2 	7 	  9:23  	-14 	8
19. (19.) SV Werder Bremen II 		11  	1 	4 	6 	  9:16  	-7 	7
20. (20.) FC Bayern München II 		11  	1 	4 	6 	  8:16  	-8 	7


Sep 26, 2010

Bundesliga, Round 6

Mainz must be for real, as they continue to stun their opponents. They travelled to the champions Bayern and came away with a historic win. After grabbing an early lead, they were pushed back into defensive as Bayern dominated the match, but was unable to get the lead. Then a blitz counterattack have Mainz the advantage late, and they managed to hold on for a stunning away win. After the match, Bayern president Karl-Heinz Rummennigge flipped out at his players, demanding better. I suppose they'll eventually get their act together, but they're digging themselves a pretty deep hole. I can't figure out Mainz, except they just keep fighting hard and are off to a historic start. Obviously at some time they have to be considered "for real", but I'm not willing to make that call just yet.

Dortmund is another team in form, as they outplayed St.Pauli on the road. The match was somewhat even early, but eventually the Neons superiority began to show, and they were rewarded with the win. The Neons need a couple more wins, then they can be considered a serious title contender.

Hoffenheim was on the ropes at Köln, but were fortunate that the hosts were unable to get much from their early advantage.

Stuttgart is back to looking like sorry-ass losers. They got completely ripped apart at home by visiting Alka-Seltzer. VfB looked total crap, and Leverkusen had an easy time. Good stuff for Luserkusen, who have been playing crap, but the points come in handy for the title race.

Wolsfburg seems to discovered themselves, and perhaps Steve McClaren has decided that the two striker model is really the way to go...their 3rd straight win. Freiburg defended tightly and didn't give the VWs many chances, but a double by back-in-favor Grafite was enough for Wolfsburg to seal the win. Since the league is so topsy-turvy this season, Wolfsburg has to be considered a contender, as they seem to have stabilized the ship, and look to have a very talented squad. Freiburg should start slipping down the table, but look to be fairly well balanced and ready to fight for the necessary points.

Schalke on the other hand is still reeling. The Blues had their backs to the wall at home against a crap Gladbach squad, and only with some effort were able to escape and horrible loss. New signing Huntelaar scored again to bring Schalke back, and a late goal by Raul, his first, saved the match. Overall Gladbach is probably satisified that they at least stopped the rot from the last few games, but they could have escaped with all the points. Schalke is still a disaster.

Hannover was picked by many to be relegation fodder, as they almost went down last season. However, new season, new players, new attitude, and the 96ers are off to a good start. Their win at Kaiserslautern was somewhat lucky, but I'm sure they'll take it.

Bremen managed to upend HSV in a northern derby of two clubs that are trying to get back on track. Fairly even match, it took Piotr Trochowski losing the ball for Werder to grab the win late. It really doesn't settle the matters though. Werder is happy with the win, but looked shaky. Hamburg just gave further evidence that they're going nowhere.

Frankfurt beat Nürnberg. yawn...

1. FC Köln  		-  	1899 Hoffenheim  	1:1 (1:0)	45,000	(Podolski - Ba)
FC Bayern München 	- 	1. FSV Mainz 05 	1:2 (1:1)	69,000	(Svensson o.g. - Allagui, Szalai)
FC Schalke 04 		- 	Borussia M'gladbach 	2:2 (0:2)	61,700	(Huntelaar, Raul - Daems, Bradley)
VfB Stuttgart 		- 	Bayer Leverkusen 	1:4 (0:2)	38,300	(Kuzmanovic - Hyppia, Vidal, Balitsch, Sam)
Eintracht Frankfurt 	- 	1. FC Nürnberg	 	2:0 (1:0)	41,000	(Gekas, Chris)
FC St. Pauli 		- 	Borussia Dortmund 	1:3 (1:1)	24,400	(Hennings - Grosskreutz 2, Kagawa)
SV Werder Bremen 	- 	Hamburger SV 		3:2 (2:0)	36,300	(Almeida 2, Demel - Van Nistelrroy, Pitriopa)
VfL Wolfsburg	 	- 	SC Freiburg 		2:1 (1:1)	26,000	(Grafite 2 - Papiss Cisse)
1. FC K'lautern 	- 	Hannover 96 		0:1 (0:1)	40,100	(Abdellaoue)

Attendance: 381,800 (avg 42,422)


 1. (1.)  1. FSV Mainz 05 	6  	6 	0 	0 	 14:5   	+9 	18
 2. (2.)  Borussia Dortmund 	6  	5 	0 	1 	 16:5   	+11 	15
 3. (4.)  Hannover 96	 	6  	4 	1 	1 	 11:7   	+4 	13
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (3.)  1899 Hoffenheim 	6  	3 	2 	1 	 11:6   	+5 	11
 5. (7.)  Bayer Leverkusen 	6  	3 	2 	1 	 13:10  	+3 	11
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 6. (11.) VfL Wolfsburg 	6  	3 	0 	3 	 11:10  	+1 	9
 7. (5.)  SC Freiburg 		6  	3 	0 	3 	  8:9   	-1 	9
 8. (6.)  Hamburger SV 		6  	2 	2 	2 	 10:10  	0 	8
 9. (8.)  FC Bayern München 	6  	2 	2 	2 	  5:6   	-1 	8
10. (9.)  FC St. Pauli 		6  	2 	1 	3 	  7:8   	-1 	7
11. (10.) 1. FC K'lautern 	6  	2 	1 	3 	  8:11  	-3 	7
12. (14.) SV Werder Bremen 	6  	2 	1 	3 	  9:14  	-5 	7
13. (17.) Eintracht Frankfurt 	6  	2 	0 	4 	  9:8   	+1 	6
14. (12.) 1. FC Nürnberg 	6  	1 	3 	2 	  5:7   	-2 	6
15. (13.) 1. FC Köln 		6  	1 	2 	3 	  5:10  	-5 	5
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16. (15.) Borussia M'gladbach 	6  	1 	2 	3 	 10:19  	-9 	5
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17. (18.) FC Schalke 04 	6  	1 	1 	4 	  7:12  	-5 	4
18. (16.) VfB Stuttgart 	6  	1 	0 	5 	 11:13  	-2 	3

2.Liga - Round 6

The 2.Liga saw some of the struggling teams add some valuable scalps this week, so the main winner was relegated Hertha, who won at always home-tough Cottbus. This allowed Berlin to claim sole 1st place. Both Duisburg and Augsburg stumbled in tests.

Bielefeld looks in total chaos. The club is on the brink of bankruptcy, so it is not inconceivable that they will disappear from the scene for some time if they can't right the ship. Another weak performance saw them lose at home to Aue, and Arminia remains in one of the relegation spots.

One team that has surprised somewhat is FSV Frankfurt. Usually, around this time they're hopelessly on the bottom and it takes a strong 2nd half effort to save their skins. However so far, the Bornheimer are off to a decent start in mid-table, not looking like a relegation candidate at all.

At the bottom, Düsseldorf is a fairly sorry sight. There is a pent up demand for some good football in town, and if they were half-way decent, they'd probably get huge crowds. However, the squad is lackadaisical when it comes to taking their chances, so despite lots of energetic running around, they have nothing to show for it. The loss to Bochum was a typical effort, where Fortuna dicked around basically inviting the other team to win. It took Bochum some time, as they obviously need some encouragement from their previous sucky performances, but they eventually took the hint, scored, and left town with all the points.

FC Energie Cottbus  	-  	Hertha BSC Berlin  	0:1 (0:0)	21,400	(Friend)
Karlsruher SC 		- 	FSV Frankfurt	 	0:2 (0:0)	11,200	(Wunderlich, N'Diaye)
Alemannia Aachen 	- 	SC Paderborn 07 	2:0 (0:0)	14,500	(Stieber, Auer)
Arminia Bielefeld 	- 	FC Erzgebirge Aue 	0:1 (0:0)	 9,200	(Paulus)
SpVgg Greuther Fürth 	- 	FC Ingolstadt 04 	1:0 (0:0)	 5,900	(Nehrig)
FC Augsburg 		- 	TSV 1860 München 	1:2 (0:1)	30,700	(Traore - Aigner, Bell)
1. FC Union Berlin 	- 	MSV Duisburg 		2:0 (0:0)	11,400	(Mattuschka, Kolk)
Rot-Weiß Oberhausen 	- 	VfL Osnabrück 		1:0 (0:0)	 6,600	(König)
Fortuna Düsseldorf 	- 	VfL Bochum 	 	0:1 (0:0)	20,400	(Tese) 



 1. (1.)  Hertha BSC Berlin 	6  	5 	1 	0 	 14:5   	+9 	16
 2. (2.)  FC Energie Cottbus 	6  	4 	1 	1 	 14:9   	+5 	13
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3. (5.)  SpVgg Greuther Fürth 	6  	4 	1 	1 	  9:5   	+4 	13
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (5.)  Rot-Weiß Oberhausen 	6  	4 	1 	1 	  9:5   	+4 	13
 5. (7.)  FC Erzgebirge Aue 	6  	4 	1 	1 	  6:3   	+3 	13
 6. (3.)  MSV Duisburg	 	6  	4 	0 	2 	 10:6   	+4 	12
 7. (4.)  FC Augsburg 		6  	3 	1 	2 	 10:6   	+4 	10
 8. (8.)  TSV 1860 München 	6  	3 	1 	2 	 10:8   	+2 	10
 9. (12.) FSV Frankfurt 	6  	3 	0 	3 	  6:6   	0 	9
10. (11.) VfL Bochum 		6  	3 	0 	3 	  8:9   	-1 	9
11. (13.) Alemannia Aachen 	6  	2 	2 	2 	 10:10  	0 	8
12. (9.)  VfL Osnabrück 	6  	2 	1 	3 	 11:12  	-1 	7
13. (10.) Karlsruher SC 	6  	2 	1 	3 	 11:16  	-5 	7
14. (17.) 1. FC Union Berlin 	6  	1 	2 	3 	  7:11  	-4 	5
15. (14.) SC Paderborn 07 	6  	1 	1 	4 	  3:6   	-3 	4
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16. (15.) FC Ingolstadt 04 	6  	1 	0 	5 	  6:12  	-6 	3
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17. (16.) Arminia Bielefeld 	6  	1 	0 	5 	  5:11  	-6 	3
18. (18.) Fortuna Düsseldorf 	6  	0 	0 	6 	  2:11  	-9 	0

3.Liga - Round 10

A good week for Offenbach, who are in control of the board. Rostock had a big win against Braunschweig to remain in the top. Wehen also kept pace with a win. Dresden appears to be sneaking up, but so far their performances haven't been overly impressive.

At the bottom, Jena seems to be struggling mightily, and they undoubtedly expected to be a challenger for promotion. But there are several clubs within striking distance, so it's too early for panic.

Rot Weiss Ahlen  	-  	Dynamo Dresden  	0:1 (0:1)	 2,900	(G.Müller)
SpVgg Unterhaching 	- 	SV Babelsberg 03 	1:0 (0:0)	 1,700	(Tunjic)
VfR Aalen 		- 	1. FC Heidenheim 1846 	2:1 (2:0)	 7,700	(Dausch 2 - Meyer)
Jahn Regensburg 	- 	1. FC Saarbrücken 	2:2 (0:2)	 2,600	(T.Schweinsteiger, Haller - Zimmermann, Fuchs)
SV Wehen Wiesbaden 	- 	SV 1916 Sandhausen 	2:0 (0:0)	 3,000	(Ziemer, Boskovic)
SV Werder Bremen II 	- 	Wacker Burghausen 	1:1 (0:1)	   500	(Grieneisen - Hertl)
TuS Koblenz 		- 	Kickers Offenbach 	0:1 (0:1)	 7,500	(Haas)
FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt 	- 	FC Carl Zeiss Jena 	2:1 (1:1)	10,500	(Pfingsten, Weidlich - Landeka) 
Hansa Rostock 		- 	Eintracht Braunschweig 	2:1 (0:0)	13,000	(Wiemann, Schyrba - Kumbela)
FC Bayern München II 	- 	VfB Stuttgart II 	1:1 (1:1)	   577	(Yilmaz - Schipplock)

Attendance: 49,977 (avg 4,998)


 1. (1.)  Kickers Offenbach 	10  	8 	1 	1 	 22:11  	+11 	25
 2. (3.)  Hansa Rostock 	10  	7 	1 	2 	 22:10  	+12 	22
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3. (5.)  SV Wehen Wiesbaden 	10  	6 	3 	1 	 14:7   	+7 	21
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (4.)  Jahn Regensburg 	10  	6 	2 	2 	 15:10  	+5 	20
 5. (2.)  Eintr. Braunschweig 	10  	6 	1 	3 	 18:6   	+12 	19
 6. (9.)  Dynamo Dresden 	10  	4 	3 	3 	 15:14  	+1 	15
 7. (6.)  1. FC Heidenheim 1846	10  	4 	2 	4 	 17:14  	+3 	14
 8. (8.)  VfB Stuttgart II 	10  	3 	4 	3 	 11:10  	+1 	13
 9. (7.)  TuS Koblenz 		10  	3 	4 	3 	  8:10  	-2 	13
10. (14.) FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt 	10  	4 	1 	5 	 14:18  	-4 	13
11. (15.) SpVgg Unterhaching 	10  	3 	4 	3 	 11:15  	-4 	13
12. (11.) 1. FC Saarbrücken 	10  	3 	3 	4 	 16:15  	+1 	12
13. (10.) SV Babelsberg 03 	10  	4 	0 	6 	 10:11  	-1 	12
14. (13.) Wacker Burghausen 	10  	2 	5 	3 	 10:13  	-3 	11
15. (12.) SV 1916 Sandhausen 	10  	3 	1 	6 	 11:15  	-4 	10
16. (18.) VfR Aalen 		10  	2 	4 	4 	  6:12  	-6 	10
17. (16.) Rot Weiss Ahlen 	10  	1 	5 	4 	  8:13  	-5 	8
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
18. (17.) FC Carl Zeiss Jena 	10  	2 	2 	6 	  8:20  	-12 	8
19. (19.) SV Werder Bremen II 	10  	1 	4 	5 	  8:13  	-5 	7
20. (20.) FC Bayern München II 	10  	1 	4 	5 	  8:15  	-7 	7


Sep 22, 2010

Bundesliga, Round 5

Midweek action in the Bundesliga saw some things get back to "normal".

Mainz continued their sensational start with a dominating win against Köln. The visitors held on grimly, but were eventually overpowered by their superior hosts.

Dortmund put in a gala performance against upstart Kaiserslautern, who were awakened to the reality of top flight. FCK started well, but soon was under Borussia pressure, and when the wall cracked, they were mercilessly massacred. Jürgen Klopp has his team of nobodies playing quite well the last few matches, the Neons might have to be taken seriously as a contender.

Bayern München managed to steal a tough road win against Hoffenheim, but paid dearly with an injury to Franck Ribery, who looks to be out for at least a month. A good win for them, ripping off the Hoppers at the end.

Bremen looks completely distracted by Europe and injuries. They got their butts kicked in Hannover, and were lucky it wasn't even worse. Good win for the 96ers, who are at least showing complete recovery from last year's Robert Enke inspired collapse.

Schalke finally gets in the win column, although it was a struggle at Freiburg. Klaas-Jan Huntelaar scored again, and he seems to be the striker that the Blues have been sorely lacking. (Raul probably needs to start collecting his pension.) Beating Freiburg is hardly reason to break out the champagne, but I suppose Felix Magath will take what he can get.

Gladbach might be the worst Bundesliga club right now. A disastrous home loss to upstart St.Pauli follows two crap performances.

1. FSV Mainz 05  	-  	1. FC Köln 	 	2:0 (0:0)	20,300	(Holtby 2)
1899 Hoffenheim 	- 	FC Bayern München 	1:2 (1:0)	30,200	(Ibisevic - T.Müller, van Buyten)
Hannover 96 		- 	SV Werder Bremen 	4:1 (1:1)	43,100	(Fritz, Konan Ya, Schulz, Abdellaoue - Frings)
Bayer Leverkusen 	- 	Eintracht Frankfurt 	2:1 (1:1)	23,000	(Bender, Vidal - Gekas)
Borussia Dortmund 	- 	1. FC K'lautern 	5:0 (2:0)	70,100	(Barrios 2, Grosskreutz, Hummels, Lewandowski)
Hamburger SV 		- 	VfL Wolfsburg 		1:3 (1:1)	50,200	(Choupo-Moting - Dzeko, Grafite 2)
Borussia M'gladbach 	- 	FC St. Pauli 		1:2 (1:0)	45,000	(Arango - Asamoah, Bruns)
SC Freiburg	 	- 	FC Schalke 04 		1:2 (0:1)	24,000	(Pappe Cisse - Rakitic, Huntelaar)
1. FC Nürnberg 		- 	VfB Stuttgart 		2:1 (1:0)	38,000	(Schieber, Pinola - Cacau)

Attendance: 343,900 (avg 38,211)


 1. (1.)  1. FSV Mainz 05 	5  	5 	0 	0 	 12:4   	+8 	15
 2. (3.)  Borussia Dortmund 	5  	4 	0 	1 	 13:4   	+9 	12
 3. (2.)  1899 Hoffenheim 	5  	3 	1 	1 	 10:5   	+5 	10
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (7.)  Hannover 96 		5  	3 	1 	1 	 10:7   	+3 	10
 5. (4.)  SC Freiburg 		5  	3 	0 	2 	  7:7   	0 	9
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 6. (5.)  Hamburger SV 		5  	2 	2 	1 	  8:7   	+1 	8
 7. (8.)  Bayer Leverkusen 	5  	2 	2 	1 	  9:9   	0 	8
 8. (9.)  FC Bayern München 	5  	2 	2 	1 	  4:4   	0 	8
 9. (10.) FC St. Pauli 		5  	2 	1 	2 	  6:5   	+1 	7
10. (6.)  1. FC K'lautern 	5  	2 	1 	2 	  8:10  	-2 	7
11. (17.) VfL Wolfsburg 	5  	2 	0 	3 	  9:9   	0 	6
12. (16.) 1. FC Nürnberg 	5  	1 	3 	1 	  5:5   	0 	6
13. (12.) 1. FC Köln	 	5  	1 	1 	3 	  4:9   	-5 	4
14. (11.) SV Werder Bremen 	5  	1 	1 	3 	  6:12  	-6 	4
15. (13.) Borussia M'gladbach 	5  	1 	1 	3 	  8:17  	-9 	4
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16. (14.) VfB Stuttgart 	5  	1 	0 	4 	 10:9   	+1 	3
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17. (15.) Eintracht Frankfurt 	5  	1 	0 	4 	  7:8   	-1 	3
18. (18.) FC Schalke 04 	5  	1 	0 	4 	  5:10  	-5 	3

2.Liga - Round 5

A strong performance by Hertha see them go top, as Augsburg was upended in Duisburg. Cottbus defeated Fürth and continue as a co-favorite to gain promotion.

Hertha BSC Berlin  	-  	Karlsruher SC	  	4:0 (2:0)	33,800	(Raffael, Ramos, Rukavytsa, Domochyiski)
SC Paderborn 07 	- 	Rot-Weiß Oberhausen 	0:0 (0:0)	 5,200
FC Energie Cottbus 	- 	SpVgg Greuther Fürth 	2:0 (1:0)	12,000	(Petersen, Kruska)
FSV Frankfurt 		- 	Alemannia Aachen 	1:3 (0:0)	 2,700	(Mölders - Uludag, Arslan, Stieber)
VfL Bochum 		- 	Arminia Bielefeld 	3:1 (2:1)	 9,800	(Neuville, Freier, Chong - Dabrowski)
MSV Duisburg 		- 	FC Augsburg 		1:0 (0:0)	11,800	(Baljak)
TSV 1860 München 	- 	FC Erzgebirge Aue 	0:0 (0:0)	15,600
VfL Osnabrück	 	- 	1. FC Union Berlin 	4:1 (2:1)	12,500	(Heidrich, Stang, Adler, Andersen - Kohlmann)
FC Ingolstadt 04 	- 	Fortuna Düsseldorf 	3:0 (1:0)	 5,900	(Buchner, Hofmann, Gerber)

Attendance: 109,300 (avg 12,144)


 1. (4.)  Hertha BSC Berlin 	5  	4 	1 	0 	 13:5   	+8 	13
 2. (3.)  FC Energie Cottbus 	5  	4 	1 	0 	 14:8   	+6 	13
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3. (5.)  MSV Duisburg 		5  	4 	0 	1 	 10:4   	+6 	12
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (1.)  FC Augsburg 		5  	3 	1 	1 	  9:4   	+5 	10
 5. (6.)  Rot-Weiß Oberhausen 	5  	3 	1 	1 	  8:5   	+3 	10
 6. (2.)  SpVgg Greuther Fürth 	5  	3 	1 	1 	  8:5   	+3 	10
 7. (7.)  FC Erzgebirge Aue 	5  	3 	1 	1 	  5:3   	+2 	10
 8. (9.)  TSV 1860 München 	5  	2 	1 	2 	  8:7   	+1 	7
 9. (11.) VfL Osnabrück 	5  	2 	1 	2 	 11:11  	0 	7
10. (8.)  Karlsruher SC 	5  	2 	1 	2 	 11:14  	-3 	7
11. (14.) VfL Bochum 		5  	2 	0 	3 	  7:9   	-2 	6
12. (10.) FSV Frankfurt 	5  	2 	0 	3 	  4:6   	-2 	6
13. (16.) Alemannia Aachen 	5  	1 	2 	2 	  8:10  	-2 	5
14. (12.) SC Paderborn 07 	5  	1 	1 	3 	  3:4   	-1 	4
15. (18.) FC Ingolstadt 04 	5  	1 	0 	4 	  6:11  	-5 	3
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16. (13.) Arminia Bielefeld 	5  	1 	0 	4 	  5:10  	-5 	3
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17. (15.) 1. FC Union Berlin 	5  	0 	2 	3 	  5:11  	-6 	2
18. (17.) Fortuna Düsseldorf 	5  	0 	0 	5 	  2:10  	-8 	0

3.Liga - Round 9

Eintracht Braunschweig  -  	FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt  	4:0 (3:0)	13,200	(Kumbela 2, Krupke, Pfitzner)
VfB Stuttgart II 	- 	SpVgg Unterhaching 	1:1 (0:0)	   400	(Karatas - Jerat)
Kickers Offenbach 	- 	Hansa Rostock 		3:2 (1:1)	11,400	(Husterer, Occean, Berger - Ziegenbein, Lartey)
SV Babelsberg 03 	- 	SV Werder Bremen II 	2:0 (1:0)	 1,000	(Stroh-Engel 2)
Dynamo Dresden 		- 	Jahn Regensburg 	1:1 (0:0)	14,500	(Esswein - Haller)
1. FC Heidenheim 1846 	- 	Rot Weiss Ahlen 	3:0 (2:0)	 3,500	(Spann 2, Meyer)
FC Carl Zeiss Jena 	- 	VfR Aalen 		0:0 (0:0)	 4,300
Wacker Burghausen 	- 	TuS Koblenz 		3:1 (1:1)	 2,400	(Agyemang, Burkhard, Halfar - Steegmann)
SV 1916 Sandhausen 	- 	FC Bayern München II 	1:0 (0:0)	 1,700	(Rohrracker)
1. FC Saarbrücken 	- 	SV Wehen Wiesbaden 	0:0 (0:0)	 5,000

Attendance: 57,400 (avg 5,740)


 1. (2.)  Kickers Offenbach 	9  	7 	1 	1 	 21:11  	+10 	22
 2. (5.)  Eintr. Braunschweig	9  	6 	1 	2 	 17:4   	+13 	19
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3. (1.)  Hansa Rostock 	9  	6 	1 	2 	 20:9   	+11 	19
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (3.)  Jahn Regensburg 	9  	6 	1 	2 	 13:8   	+5 	19
 5. (4.)  SV Wehen Wiesbaden 	9  	5 	3 	1 	 12:7   	+5 	18
 6. (7.)  1. FC Heidenheim 1846 9  	4 	2 	3 	 16:12  	+4 	14
 7. (6.)  TuS Koblenz 		9  	3 	4 	2 	  8:9   	-1 	13
 8. (8.)  VfB Stuttgart II 	9  	3 	3 	3 	 10:9   	+1 	12
 9. (9.)  Dynamo Dresden 	9  	3 	3 	3 	 14:14  	0 	12
10. (12.) SV Babelsberg 03 	9  	4 	0 	5 	 10:10  	0 	12
11. (10.) 1. FC Saarbrücken 	9  	3 	2 	4 	 14:13  	+1 	11
12. (15.) SV 1916 Sandhausen 	9  	3 	1 	5 	 11:13  	-2 	10
13. (16.) Wacker Burghausen 	9  	2 	4 	3 	  9:12  	-3 	10
14. (11.) FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt 	9  	3 	1 	5 	 12:17  	-5 	10
15. (13.) SpVgg Unterhaching 	9  	2 	4 	3 	 10:15  	-5 	10
16. (14.) Rot Weiss Ahlen 	9  	1 	5 	3 	  8:12  	-4 	8
17. (17.) FC Carl Zeiss Jena 	9  	2 	2 	5 	  7:18  	-11 	8
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
18. (20.) VfR Aalen	 	9  	1 	4 	4 	  4:11  	-7 	7
19. (18.) SV Werder Bremen II 	9  	1 	3 	5 	  7:12  	-5 	6
20. (19.) FC Bayern München II 	9  	1 	3 	5 	  7:14  	-7 	6


Sep 19, 2010

Bundesliga, Round 4

Another weird week in the Bundesliga, who knows what is going on? Of course it's way to early, but poor starts by the contenders have opened up the race for clubs that were lurking (like Dortmund or Hamburg) or perhaps having something to prove (Hoffenheim). Meanwhile Schalke continues to sink.

Mainz continues their sensational start. They visited Bremen and put in a strong performance against favored Werder, and ended up with a deserved victory, outplaying the hosts. Werder was comepletely crap, perhaps distracted by Euro competition. It seems illogical that Mainz will end up anywhere near the top of the table at the end, but this solid start might already be enough momentum to ensure another year and who knows, maybe even a push for Europe.

Champions Bayern München continue with their hangover as they once again had a lame outing at home against Köln, who have managed decent performances in München in their last 4 appearances. A valuable points for the Goats. But who would believe that Bayern would be sporting the lamest offense in the league after 4 matches? Basically they run around and miss chances. Certainly though I wouldn't expect this to be a permanent state of affairs. They started somewhat slow last season too. For Köln, a massive point. Interesting, coach Zvonimir Soldo, who has been rumoured to be on shaky ground, took the point in stride and said he was still upset over "throwing away all the points against Kaiserslautern."

Schalke is in a terrible state. The Blues were outplayed at home by rivals Dortmund, who rode Japanese midfielder Shinji Kagawa's doublestrike for an excellent Revier-derby victory. No points and dead last, coach Felix Magath must be going mental right about now. Schalke stinks, and something needs to happen. I think it's their worst start in 30 years. Meanwhile, Dortmund is right on track.

The other sunken favorites finally got started this week. Stuttgart absolutely annihilated hapless Gladbach, and perhaps could have reached double-digits if they had pressed harder. While that hardly makes up for their miserable start, VfB should now be back on track. Gladbach on the other hand needs massive quantities of drugs and alcohol, or something. After a great away win at Luserkusen a couple of weeks ago, they've been horsewhipped silly in their last couple of outings.

Wolfsburg is the other that club that got on track, although it was hardly a glory performance in a northern derby against Hannover. Goals by stars Diego and Dzeko however were enough to give the VWs and Steve McClaren (who did start two forwards, changing his tactics) their first win.

An eventful southwest matchup saw Kaiserslautern and Hoffenheim square the points. Frankfurt is back to sucking and managed to lose at home to Freiburg, who must be thrilled with their start.

The much anticipated Hamburg derby was mostly a dud. St.Pauli managed to take the lead after some nice individual skill by oldie Gerald Asamoah, but HSV managed to salvage a point at the end. Neither club showed very much.

Bayer Aspirin and Nürnberg put everyone to sleep in a boring draw, a good point for the visitors. For Bayer, it doesn't seem like Michael Ballack's return has yielded any positive dividends yet.

Eintracht Frankfurt  	-  	SC Freiburg  		0:1 (0:0)	40,600	(Rosenthal)
FC Bayern München 	- 	1. FC Köln 		0:0 (0:0)	69,000
SV Werder Bremen 	- 	1. FSV Mainz 05 	0:2 (0:0)	34,000	(Risse, Schürrle)
VfB Stuttgart 		- 	Borussia M'gladbach 	7:0 (2:0)	39,500	(Pogrebnyak 3, Nidermeyer, Kuzmanovic, Delpierre, Marica)
VfL Wolfsburg 		- 	Hannover 96 		2:0 (0:0)	29,000	(Diego, Dzeko)
1. FC K'lautern 	- 	1899 Hoffenheim 	2:2 (0:1)	44,500	(Hoffer 2 - Gustavo, Sigurdsson)
FC St. Pauli 		- 	Hamburger SV 		1:1 (0:0)	23,800	(Boll - Petric)
FC Schalke 04 		- 	Borussia Dortmund 	1:3 (0:1)	61,700	(Huntelaar - Kagawa 2, Lewandowski)
Bayer Leverkusen 	- 	1. FC Nürnberg 		0:0 (0:0)	25,000

Attendance: 367,100 (avg 40,789)


 1. (2.)  1. FSV Mainz 05 	4  	4 	0 	0 	 10:4   	+6 	12
 2. (1.)  1899 Hoffenheim 	4  	3 	1 	0 	  9:3   	+6 	10
 3. (6.)  Borussia Dortmund 	4  	3 	0 	1 	  8:4   	+4 	9
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (7.)  SC Freiburg	 	4  	3 	0 	1 	  6:5   	+1 	9
 5. (3.)  Hamburger SV 		4  	2 	2 	0 	  7:4   	+3 	8
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 6. (5.)  1. FC K'lautern 	4  	2 	1 	1 	  8:5   	+3 	7
 7. (4.)  Hannover 96 		4  	2 	1 	1 	  6:6   	0 	7
 8. (8.)  Bayer Leverkusen 	4  	1 	2 	1 	  7:8   	-1 	5
 9. (11.) FC Bayern München 	4  	1 	2 	1 	  2:3   	-1 	5
10. (13.) FC St. Pauli 		4  	1 	1 	2 	  4:4   	0 	4
11. (10.) SV Werder Bremen 	4  	1 	1 	2 	  5:8   	-3 	4
12. (14.) 1. FC Köln 		4  	1 	1 	2 	  4:7   	-3 	4
13. (8.)  Borussia M'gladbach 	4  	1 	1 	2 	  7:15  	-8 	4
14. (18.) VfB Stuttgart 	4  	1 	0 	3 	  9:7   	+2 	3
15. (12.) Eintracht Frankfurt 	4  	1 	0 	3 	  6:6   	0 	3
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16. (15.) 1. FC Nürnberg 	4  	0 	3 	1 	  3:4   	-1 	3
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17. (16.) VfL Wolfsburg 	4  	1 	0 	3 	  6:8   	-2 	3
18. (17.) FC Schalke 04 	4  	0 	0 	4 	  3:9   	-6 	0

2.Liga - Round 4

No real massive results. The Berlin derby ended even. Bochum is a big loser, as they sucked and have already fallen 7 points off the pace. That is just about enough to write them off as a contender. Good win for Cottbus on the road, and Bielefeld finally got into the win column, albeit against a crap Ingolstadt.

SpVgg Greuther Fürth  	-  	FSV Frankfurt  		1:0 (1:0)	 5,900	(Aleksic)
1. FC Union Berlin 	- 	Hertha BSC Berlin 	1:1 (0:1)	19,000	(Kolk - Niemeyer)
Alemannia Aachen 	- 	FC Energie Cottbus 	2:3 (1:1)	15,000	(Stieber, Höger - Petersen 2, Shao)
Karlsruher SC 		- 	SC Paderborn 07 	2:1 (1:1)	14,000	(Brückner, Iashvili - Kapllani)
Rot-Weiß Oberhausen 	- 	VfL Bochum 		3:1 (1:1)	 8,600	(Lamidi, Klinger, Terranova - Yahia)
FC Augsburg 		- 	VfL Osnabrück 		2:2 (1:0)	16,100	(Thurk, Oehrl - Hansen, Tyrala)
Fortuna Düsseldorf 	- 	TSV 1860 München 	1:2 (1:0)	21,140	(Lovin - Rakic, Buck)
Arminia Bielefeld 	- 	FC Ingolstadt 04 	1:0 (0:0)	10,100	(Heidinger)
FC Erzgebirge Aue 	- 	MSV Duisburg 		1:0 (0:0)	10,100	(Hochscheidt)

Attendance: 119,940 (avg 13,327)


 1. (2.)  FC Augsburg	 	4  	3 	1 	0 	  9:3   	+6 	10
 2. (4.)  SpVgg Greuther Fürth 	4  	3 	1 	0 	  8:3   	+5 	10
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3. (5.)  FC Energie Cottbus 	4  	3 	1 	0 	 12:8   	+4 	10
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (3.)  Hertha BSC Berlin 	4  	3 	1 	0 	  9:5   	+4 	10
 5. (1.)  MSV Duisburg 		4  	3 	0 	1 	  9:4   	+5 	9
 6. (6.)  Rot-Weiß Oberhausen 	4  	3 	0 	1 	  8:5   	+3 	9
 7. (7.)  FC Erzgebirge Aue 	4  	3 	0 	1 	  5:3   	+2 	9
 8. (9.)  Karlsruher SC 	4  	2 	1 	1 	 11:10  	+1 	7
 9. (10.) TSV 1860 München 	4  	2 	0 	2 	  8:7   	+1 	6
10. (8.)  FSV Frankfurt 	4  	2 	0 	2 	  3:3   	0 	6
11. (13.) VfL Osnabrück 	4  	1 	1 	2 	  7:10  	-3 	4
12. (11.) SC Paderborn 07 	4  	1 	0 	3 	  3:4   	-1 	3
13. (16.) Arminia Bielefeld 	4  	1 	0 	3 	  4:7   	-3 	3
14. (12.) VfL Bochum 		4  	1 	0 	3 	  4:8   	-4 	3
15. (15.) 1. FC Union Berlin 	4  	0 	2 	2 	  4:7   	-3 	2
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16. (14.) Alemannia Aachen 	4  	0 	2 	2 	  5:9   	-4 	2
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17. (17.) Fortuna Düsseldorf 	4  	0 	0 	4 	  2:7   	-5 	0
18. (18.) FC Ingolstadt 04 	4  	0 	0 	4 	  3:11  	-8 	0

3.Liga - Round 8

Things tighten a bit, as the top clubs had trouble, Offenbach actually got thumped in Erfurt.

The good thing so far is that except for annoying Stuttgart, the B squads of the Bundesliga squads are sucking. Let's hope it stays that way.

FC Bayern München II  	-  	1. FC Saarbrücken  	0:0 (0:0)	   900
SV Werder Bremen II 	- 	SpVgg Unterhaching 	1:3 (0:0)	   500	(Balogun - Leandro, Hoffmann, Tunjic)
VfR Aalen 		- 	Eintracht Braunschweig 	0:0 (0:0)	 2,800
Rot Weiss Ahlen 	- 	FC Carl Zeiss Jena 	3:0 (2:0)	 3,000	(Wölk, Taylor 2)
Jahn Regensburg 	- 	1. FC Heidenheim 1846 	2:1 (1:0)	 3,400	(Schweinsteiger, Opoku - Schnatterer)
SV Wehen Wiesbaden 	- 	Dynamo Dresden 		2:2 (1:1)	 8,000	(Abraham 2 - Koch, G. Müller)
SV 1916 Sandhausen 	- 	VfB Stuttgart II 	0:1 (0:1)	 2,000	(Benyamina)
TuS Koblenz 		- 	SV Babelsberg 03 	1:0 (1:0)	 2,000	(Steegmann)
Hansa Rostock 		- 	Wacker Burghausen 	1:1 (1:1)	12,000	(Schied - Agyemang)
FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt 	- 	Kickers Offenbach 	3:1 (1:0)	 5,000	(Pfingsten 2, Caillas - Feldhahn)

Attendance: 39,600 (avg 3,960)


 1. (2.)  Hansa Rostock 		8  	6 	1 	1 	 18:6   	+12 	19
 2. (1.)  Kickers Offenbach 		8  	6 	1 	1 	 18:9   	+9 	19
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3. (5.)  Jahn Regensburg 		8  	6 	0 	2 	 12:7   	+5 	18
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (3.)  SV Wehen Wiesbaden	 	8  	5 	2 	1 	 12:7   	+5 	17
 5. (4.)  Eintracht Braunschweig 	8  	5 	1 	2 	 13:4   	+9 	16
 6. (8.)  TuS Koblenz	 		8  	3 	4 	1 	  7:6   	+1 	13
 7. (6.)  1. FC Heidenheim 1846 	8  	3 	2 	3 	 13:12  	+1 	11
 8. (11.) VfB Stuttgart II 		8  	3 	2 	3 	  9:8   	+1 	11
 9. (7.)  Dynamo Dresden 		8  	3 	2 	3 	 13:13  	0 	11
10. (9.)  1. FC Saarbrücken 		8  	3 	1 	4 	 14:13  	+1 	10
11. (13.) FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt 		8  	3 	1 	4 	 12:13  	-1 	10
12. (10.) SV Babelsberg 03 		8  	3 	0 	5 	  8:10  	-2 	9
13. (17.) SpVgg Unterhaching 		8  	2 	3 	3 	  9:14  	-5 	9
14. (18.) Rot Weiss Ahlen 		8  	1 	5 	2 	  8:9   	-1 	8
15. (12.) SV 1916 Sandhausen 		8  	2 	1 	5 	 10:13  	-3 	7
16. (16.) Wacker Burghausen 		8  	1 	4 	3 	  6:11  	-5 	7
17. (14.) FC Carl Zeiss Jena 		8  	2 	1 	5 	  7:18  	-11 	7
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
18. (15.) SV Werder Bremen II 		8  	1 	3 	4 	  7:10  	-3 	6
19. (19.) FC Bayern München II 		8  	1 	3 	4 	  7:13  	-6 	6
20. (20.) VfR Aalen 			8  	1 	3 	4 	  4:11  	-7 	6


Sep 12, 2010

Bundesliga, Round 3

The Bundesliga remains in it's crazy start phase. Schalke is on to it's worst start in 23 years, although at times they looked like a respectable squad. Newly signed Klaas Huntelaar made his debut, and was dangerous up front, but overall the Schalkers once again were way too lame. Hoffenheim on the other hand reamins totally efficient in front of goal, and took their chances to sink the guest and remain with a clean vest. Another great start to the season for the Hoppers, who at least seem to getting some grudging respect, now that they're not spending anymore. Schalke as mentioned showed some positive signs, but they've got a long way to go.

Wolfsburg is another club that is reeling. English coach Steve McClaren has instilled a 4-5-1 strategy which is clearly a flop. The VWs had only a few moments of brilliance, and were for the most part outplayed by a strong Dortmund squad. A beautiful long range blast by Nuri Sahin put the Neons in the lead, and not much later a nice combo saw Shinji Kagawa ram home the second. Although Wolfsburg appears to have at least stabilized their defense a bit, the offense was totally lame. McClaren stubbornly made silly subs to reinforce his worthless scheme even when it was clear that Wolfsburg needed a goal. He finally brought Grafite on, but it was too late. perhaps he might try the Dzeko-Grafite combo up front next time; afterall they did set a Bundesliga scoring record two seasons ago, and even if Grafite has lost a step, it couldn't be any worse than this. Diego tried hard in midfield, but Dortmund basically kicked his ass and none of the other VWs stood up. Dortmund looked impressive, a solid performance from everybody. If you had to single out, perhaps left back Marcel Schmelzer, whose raids down the left flank caused chaos in the VW defense. But most important is that Nuri Sahin seems to be growing into the role of playmaker, showing the promise he had as the youngest Bundesliga player ever (16, he is now still only 22). If he gets on, and the squad continues to fight, this could be another decent season for the Neons.

Bayern München seemingly would have an easy time with Bremen, who were forced into a makeshift defense. And the champions controlled the match, but Werder gave stiff resistance and fully deserved the point. Bayern is looking a bit jaded, perhaps they were reading too many press releases on how they had all sorts of great players. Obviously Bayern is still the team to beat, but they need to score goals, which they haven't been doing a very good job of. Bremen obviously has some issues, as Per Mertesacker suffered a broken eye-socket in the Germany-Azerbaijan match.

Hamburg can usually be counted on to suck when it counts. They looked like they were going to kick guest Nürnberg's ass back south, but instead dicked around and struggled against an increasingly confident FCN defense. HSV eventually managed to break through to take the lead, but then squandered the whole mess when they conceded a late penalty allowing der Club to ratchet a precious point. Not completely undeserved, because they never gave up. HSV should be furious, but they perhaps need a kick in the ass to be reminded that you need to go out and win the match and put it away. So already we can say that HSV will probably hang around and then suck enough to flail and fail to reach Europe. Nürnberg still is pretty weak, but hey, they've got more points than Schalke, Wolfsburg and Stuttgart combined.

After last week's gala performance at Luserkusen, Gladbach fans were perhaps dreaming of the late 1970s glory days. Then the alarm clock went off, it's 2010. And they proceeded to put in a lame performance and got their asses royally kicked by a hungry Frankfurt. Everyone knows that Eintracht is capable of some solid performances, but they're so inconsistent that often you can slap them silly without even trying. Well, I guess Gladbach opted for the "no trying" method, and Eintracht biatch-slapped them. So Gladbach is back to earth, and Frankfurt, well, we all know they'll start dicking around soon enough to irritate their fans with irregular performances.

Stuttgart is another team in crisis. Another loss, this time to worthless Freiburg, who are well aware that they need to fight to stay up. Well, SCF is fighting, and Stuttgart is...whatever. VfB took the lead, but never looked comfortable, and the Breisgauers kept on coming and were rewarded with a heroic win. Stuttgart, like Wolfsburg and Schalke, is in chaos, and for all intents and purposes, has probably already fallen out of any championship hope.

Luserkusen isn't getting much love these days. Hannover wants to demonstrate to their fans (and everybody else) that they're not the shellshocked club from last season. So far, they're doing a good job. The 96ers showed no respect to the supposedly favored Aspirins and had the visitors pressed to the wall. It look a last second free kick by Patrick Helmes to save Bayer's ass. Another club that doesn't appear to be on the right track. Obviously on paper Leverkusen is a strong squad, but really have only shown in in their opening match. Hannover on the other hand seems to at least have an idea of what they can do, and are moving in the right direction.

In the southwest derby, Mainz prevailed over quick starting Kaiserslautern. The hosts have always been in the shadow of FCK, but they've come a long way in the last decade and a great fighting effort gave them a deserved win. It took an improved effort in the 2nd half, as FCK was in control early.

Köln prevailed over St.Pauli, but it wasn't easy. The hosts pressured rom the start, and took the lead when Podolski blasted off the post from 30 meters, the rebound put home by Yalcin. but the Kölners seemed to be lacking conditioning, and as the match went on, they were clearly losing their grip. St.Pauli was fighting hard, and were almost rewarded with a split as they ran rings around their hosts late in the match.

1899 Hoffenheim  	-  	FC Schalke 04	  	2:0 (1:0)	30,200	(Vorsah, Salihovic)
Borussia Dortmund 	- 	VfL Wolfsburg 		2:0 (0:0)	75,000	(Sahin, Kagawa)
Hamburger SV 		- 	1. FC Nürnberg 		1:1 (0:0)	55,000	(Mathijsen - Pinola)
Borussia M'gladbach 	- 	Eintracht Frankfurt 	0:4 (0:2)	48,000	(Köhler, Gekas 2, Ochs)
SC Freiburg 		- 	VfB Stuttgart 		2:1 (0:1)	25,000	(Cisse, Schuster - Pogrebnyak)
Hannover 96 		- 	Bayer Leverkusen 	2:2 (1:0)	43,000	(Ya Konan, Abdellaoue - Derdiyok, Helmes)
FC Bayern München 	- 	SV Werder Bremen 	0:0 (0:0)	69,000
1. FSV Mainz 05 	- 	1. FC K'lautern 	2:1 (0:1)	20,300	(Bungert, Schürrle - Lakic) 
1. FC Köln	 	- 	FC St. Pauli 	 	1:0 (1:0)	50,000	(Yalcin)

Attendance: 415,500 (avg 46,167)

 1. (1.)  1899 Hoffenheim  	3   	3  	0  	0  	  7:1    	+6  	9
 2. (3.)  1. FSV Mainz 05 	3  	3 	0 	0 	  8:4   	+4 	9
 3. (4.)  Hamburger SV 		3  	2 	1 	0 	  6:3   	+3 	7
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (5.)  Hannover 96 		3  	2 	1 	0 	  6:4   	+2 	7
 5. (1.)  1. FC K'lautern 	3  	2 	0 	1 	  6:3   	+3 	6
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 6. (8.)  Borussia Dortmund 	3  	2 	0 	1 	  5:3   	+2 	6
 7. (11.) SC Freiburg 		3  	2 	0 	1 	  5:5   	0 	6
 8. (6.)  Borussia M'gladbach 	3  	1 	1 	1 	  7:8   	-1 	4
 9. (9.)  Bayer Leverkusen 	3  	1 	1 	1 	  7:8   	-1 	4
10. (9.)  SV Werder Bremen 	3  	1 	1 	1 	  5:6   	-1 	4
11. (12.) FC Bayern München 	3  	1 	1 	1 	  2:3   	-1 	4
12. (16.) Eintracht Frankfurt 	3  	1 	0 	2 	  6:5   	+1 	3
13. (7.)  FC St. Pauli 		3  	1 	0 	2 	  3:3   	0 	3
14. (17.) 1. FC Köln	 	3  	1 	0 	2 	  4:7   	-3 	3
15. (13.) 1. FC Nürnberg 	3  	0 	2 	1 	  3:4   	-1 	2
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16. (14.) VfL Wolfsburg 	3  	0 	0 	3 	  4:8   	-4 	0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17. (15.) FC Schalke 04 	3  	0 	0 	3 	  2:6   	-4 	0
18. (18.) VfB Stuttgart 	3  	0 	0 	3 	  2:7   	-5 	0

2.Liga - Round 3

Duisburg leads a trio of pacesetters, all of who had difficult matches. The Zebras managed to down the somewhat revived Lions, Augsburg had a huge away win at Bochum, and Hertha seems to have spiked some interest in their fans with a decent start, downing Bielefeld, who have a goosegg so far.

Stadion der Freundschaft witnessed a crazy match between energie and KSC. The hosts jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead, but their defense was an absolute disaster. Karlsruhe ran rampant and banged in five straight goals. Energie's coach Claus Wollitz brought on extra attackers and threw everything forward, and it miraculously paid off and they came back and tied. Both clubs created massive chances to steal the win in the closing moments, but in the end, a correct draw.

SC Paderborn 07  	-  	1. FC Union Berlin  	2:0 (0:0)	 7,100	(Manno, Krösche)
VfL Osnabrück	 	- 	FC Erzgebirge Aue 	3:2 (0:0)	13,200	(Heidrich, Adler, Siegert - Hensel, Paulus)
FC Ingolstadt 04 	- 	Rot-Weiß Oberhausen 	1:2 (0:0)	 5,300	(Gerber - Reichert, Lamidi)
MSV Duisburg 		- 	TSV 1860 München 	2:1 (0:1)	10,000	(Baljak 2 - Lauth)
FSV Frankfurt 		- 	Fortuna Düsseldorf 	1:0 (1:0)	 5,000	(Cidimar)
VfL Bochum 		- 	FC Augsburg	 	0:2 (0:2)	14,700	(Thurk, de Jong)
Hertha BSC Berlin 	- 	Arminia Bielefeld 	3:1 (2:0)	47,700	(Friend 2, Ramos - Neuville)
SpVgg Greuther Fürth 	- 	Alemannia Aachen 	1:1 (1:0)	 8,300	(N.Müller - Höger)
FC Energie Cottbus 	- 	Karlsruher SC 		5:5 (2:4)	 9,875	(Petersen 2, Shao, Kruska, Reimerink - Christantus, Mutzel, Fink, Iashvili, Starfeldt) 

Attendance: 121,175 (avg 13,464)


 1. (1.)  MSV Duisburg 		3  	3 	0 	0 	  9:3   	+6 	9
 2. (3.)  FC Augsburg 		3  	3 	0 	0 	  7:1   	+6 	9
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3. (5.)  Hertha BSC Berlin 	3  	3 	0 	0 	  8:4   	+4 	9
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (2.)  SpVgg Greuther Fürth 	3  	2 	1 	0 	  7:3   	+4 	7
 5. (4.)  FC Energie Cottbus 	3  	2 	1 	0 	  9:6   	+3 	7
 6. (9.)  Rot-Weiß Oberhausen 	3  	2 	0 	1 	  5:4   	+1 	6
 7. (6.)  FC Erzgebirge Aue 	3  	2 	0 	1 	  4:3   	+1 	6
 8. (11.) FSV Frankfurt 	3  	2 	0 	1 	  3:2   	+1 	6
 9. (8.)  Karlsruher SC 	3  	1 	1 	1 	  9:9   	0 	4
10. (7.)  TSV 1860 München 	3  	1 	0 	2 	  6:6   	0 	3
11. (15.) SC Paderborn 07 	3  	1 	0 	2 	  2:2   	0 	3
12. (9.)  VfL Bochum 		3  	1 	0 	2 	  3:5   	-2 	3
13. (17.) VfL Osnabrück 	3  	1 	0 	2 	  5:8   	-3 	3
14. (13.) Alemannia Aachen 	3  	0 	2 	1 	  3:6   	-3 	2
15. (12.) 1. FC Union Berlin 	3  	0 	1 	2 	  3:6   	-3 	1
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16. (14.) Arminia Bielefeld 	3  	0 	0 	3 	  3:7   	-4 	0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17. (16.) Fortuna Düsseldorf 	3  	0 	0 	3 	  1:5   	-4 	0
18. (18.) FC Ingolstadt 04 	3  	0 	0 	3 	  3:10  	-7 	0

3.Liga, Round 7

No surprises in the 3.Liga, as the favorites easily prevailed. Offenbach and Rostock keep their blistering pace, but Wehen and Braunschweig have managed to stay with them.

VfB Stuttgart II  	-  	SV Werder Bremen II  	0:3 (0:1)	   400	(Becker, Kroos, Thy)
Eintracht Braunschweig 	- 	Rot Weiss Ahlen 	2:0 (2:0)	13,600	(Unger, Reinhardt)
Kickers Offenbach 	- 	VfR Aalen 		2:0 (0:0)	 7,700	(Laux, Occean)
Wacker Burghausen 	- 	FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt 	1:0 (0:0)	 2,500	(Omodiagbe)
SV Babelsberg 03 	- 	Hansa Rostock 		0:2 (0:1)	 7,000	(Ziegenbein, Schied)
SpVgg Unterhaching 	- 	TuS Koblenz 		1:1 (0:1)	 2,700	(Hoffmann - Rahn)
1. FC Saarbrücken 	- 	SV 1916 Sandhausen 	3:1 (1:1)	 4,500	(Sieger, Grgic, Mann - Löning)
Dynamo Dresden	 	- 	FC Bayern München II 	3:1 (1:1)	13,500	(Esswein 2, Koch - Deul)
1. FC Heidenheim 1846 	- 	SV Wehen Wiesbaden 	0:2 (0:1)	 5,800	(Janjic 2)
FC Carl Zeiss Jena 	- 	Jahn Regensburg 	-:- 



 1. (1.)   Kickers Offenbach	 	7  	6 	1 	0 	 17:6   	+11 	19
 2. (2.)   Hansa Rostock 		7  	6 	0 	1 	 17:5   	+12 	18
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3. (3.)   SV Wehen Wiesbaden 		7  	5 	1 	1 	 10:5   	+5 	16
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (4.)   Eintracht Braunschweig 	7  	5 	0 	2 	 13:4   	+9 	15
 5. (5.)   Jahn Regensburg 		6  	4 	0 	2 	  8:5   	+3 	12
 6. (6.)   1. FC Heidenheim 1846 	7  	3 	2 	2 	 12:10  	+2 	11
 7. (12.)  Dynamo Dresden 		7  	3 	1 	3 	 11:11  	0 	10
 8. (8.)   TuS Koblenz 			7  	2 	4 	1 	  6:6   	0 	10
 9. (14.)  1. FC Saarbrücken 		7  	3 	0 	4 	 14:13  	+1 	9
10. (7.)   SV Babelsberg 03 		7  	3 	0 	4 	  8:9   	-1 	9
11. (9.)   VfB Stuttgart II 		7  	2 	2 	3 	  8:8   	0 	8
12. (10.)  SV 1916 Sandhausen 		7  	2 	1 	4 	 10:12  	-2 	7
13. (11.)  FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt 		7  	2 	1 	4 	  9:12  	-3 	7
14. (13.)  FC Carl Zeiss Jena 		6  	2 	1 	3 	  6:13  	-7 	7
15. (19.)  SV Werder Bremen II 		7  	1 	3 	3 	  6:7   	-1 	6
16. (20.)  Wacker Burghausen 		7  	1 	3 	3 	  5:10  	-5 	6
17. (18.)  SpVgg Unterhaching 		7  	1 	3 	3 	  6:13  	-7 	6
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
18. (15.)  Rot Weiss Ahlen 		7  	0 	5 	2 	  5:9   	-4 	5
19. (16.)  FC Bayern München II 	7  	1 	2 	4 	  7:13  	-6 	5
20. (17.)  VfR Aalen 			7  	1 	2 	4 	  4:11  	-7 	5


Sep 7, 2010

OK start to Europa 2012

The national team started off decently in their campaign for Euro 2012. Opening up in Brussels against a determined Belgium, the DFB squad came away with a solid and deserved 1-0 away win. Oldie Miro Klose continues to poke away, getting the only goal. Klose has now reached 103 caps, tying him with Franz Beckenbauer, and should manage to catch Jürgen Kohler (105) and Jürgen Klinsmann (108). The all time leader Lothar Matthaus (150) looks untouchable. He has also managed to tie GDR great Joachim Streich with 55 goals, trailing only Der Bomber, Gerd Müller, who has 68. (Of course, Müller did it in only 62 games and retired from the national team at 28...)

After the tough Belgium match, the squad then followed it up with a rather ho-hum 6-1 beating of Azerbaijan. The most interesting part of the latter match was that Berti Vogts is the coach of Azerbaijan. And of course Manuel Neuer continues to be rather lame in goal, so that the Azeris managed to score. He should spend less time whining and more time learning how to position.

Coach Löw also shows that he has a sense of humour. He responded to the Philipp Lahm vs Michael Ballack fight by announcing that Ballack would be the captain of the national team, but then proceeded not to pick him for the matches. Joggi probably realizes that Ballack is yesterday's news, and figures on continuing to build on his South Africa success.


August 29, 2010

Bundesliga, Round 2

Plenty of interesting results from this weekend, which indicates that the Bundesliga race will be wide open. Clearly the standings will look different at the end, but all indications that this should make for a thrilling season.

Kaiserslautern pulled out a huge upset, defeating champions Bayern 2-0. Certainly the FCK fans could be excused of being overly excited, since in their last promotion in 1997 they actually stunningly won the title. Bayern actually dominated the match, but it was Lautern that scored the goals. It would be hard to read too much into this match, except that FCK is back and a tough opponent, and Bayern is not invincible.

Steve McClaren must be furious with Wolfsburg's collapse. The VWs pulled somewhat of a coup when they signed Juventus midfielder Diego, and he showed that he hasn't lost touch with his Werder Bremen form, giving an excellent performance, crowning it with a goal. Indeed, Wolfsburg raced out to a 3-0 lead and were running Mainz around in circles. Malcontent Edin Dzeko isn't moping on the field, as he scored his 2nd and 3rd goals of the season. However, with the game "wrapped up", the VW fans watched in stunned fashion as Mainz came roaring back and scored 4 times to win the match. The Wolfsburg defense is even more chaotic than last season, if that's even possible. Unless McClaren can fix that pretty soon, the VWs could have a disastrous campaign. Mainz deserves kudos for a 2nd straight fighting win.

Schalke is rumoured to be on the verge of signing Dutch forward Klaas-Jan Huntelaar from Milan, and they could certainly use the firepower. Despite attacking Hannover most of the match, the Blues were sliced up with the 96ers counter-attacks, and easily could have given up more goals. Hannover was always dangerous on the break, and Schalke's defense ran around like chickens with their heads cut off.

Hamburg is off to a good start. They were in a tough match at Frankfurt, which showed a marked improvement over their lame performance last week. HSV was trailing, but managed to square the match, which looked up for grabs. And in typical fashion, Ruud van Nistelrooy pounced and gave HSV the lead late in the match. An excellent result for HSV, and somewhat unlucky for Frankfurt, which needs to be careful not got slip into an early season hole.

Werder Bremen got back on track, largely due to a fine debut of forward Marko Arnautovic. Bremen dominated the first half against Köln, but the guests managed to stay in the match. The 2nd half was an even affair and it wasn't until late in the game that Werder was able to put away the stubborn Kölners. For Bremen, a necessary win to get back on track, and for Köln, they're off to a bad start.

Nürnberg dominated against Freiburg, but ended up losing. The visitors withstood the pressure and struck to steal the points, a huge result. Both teams figure to be in the middle of the relegation battle, so this is a huge plus for Freiburg, especially since it was on the road.

Hoffenheim stole the points away to St.Pauli. In a hard fought match, there was lots of running around, but little class and fewer chances. The Hoppers struck late and get the win, leaving the Pauli fans to head out to the Reeperbahn to drown their sorrow with Astra...

The most sensational game though has to be Gladbach running wild in Leverkusen. The Aspirins were certainly feeling that this could be their year of finally discarding the Luserkusen label, but were left grasping for the Alka-Seltzer. The vistors ran wild, their best performance in years, and delivered Bayer's worst home lost. It's not that bayer was terrible, indeed they pressed fairly hard. But their defensive weakness was laid bare by Gladbach's blitz counters that had Leverkusen in total chaos, and a stunned crowd watched the bodies and goals pile up.

Stuttgart continued their "Fehlstart" as the wheels fell off at home against Dortmund. Their defense was a catastrophe, and they haven't a clue on how to replace Khedira in midfield. Dortmund meanwhile went straight to business and wrapped this up by halftime. Lucas Barrios is back on track, and that's good news for the generally anemic Borussia attack.

1. FC K'lautern 	- 	FC Bayern München 	2:0 (2:0)	49,700	(Ilicevic, Lakic)
FC Schalke 04	 	- 	Hannover 96 		1:2 (0:1)	61,700	(Jones - Rausch, Abdellaoue)
SV Werder Bremen 	- 	1. FC Köln 		4:2 (2:1)	35,500	(Arnautovic 2, Frings, Almeida - Podolski, McKenna)
VfL Wolfsburg 		- 	1. FSV Mainz 05 	3:4 (3:1)	35,000	(Dzeko 2, Diego - Rasmussen, Soto, Schürrle, Szalai)
Eintracht Frankfurt 	- 	Hamburger SV 		1:3 (1:0)	51,000	(Ochs - Mathijsen, Van Nistelrooy, Guerrero)
1. FC Nürnberg 		- 	SC Freiburg 		1:2 (1:1)	36,800	(Schieber - Cisse 2)
FC St. Pauli 		- 	1899 Hoffenheim 	0:1 (0:0)	23,800	(Vorsah)
Bayer Leverkusen 	- 	Borussia M'gladbach 	3:6 (1:3)	30,200	(Derdiyok, Vidal, Kiessling - Hermann 2, Brouwers, Arango, Idrissou, Reus)
VfB Stuttgart 		- 	Borussia Dortmund 	1:3 (0:3)	38,000	(Cacau - Schmelzer, Barrios, Götze)
	
Attendance: 361,700 (avg 40,189)

	
 1. (2.)  1. FC K'lautern 	2  	2 	0 	0 	  5:1   	+4 	6
 2. (1.)  1899 Hoffenheim 	2  	2 	0 	0 	  5:1   	+4 	6
 3. (4.)  1. FSV Mainz 05 	2  	2 	0 	0 	  6:3   	+3 	6
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (6.)  Hamburger SV 		2  	2 	0 	0 	  5:2   	+3 	6
 5. (6.)  Hannover 96 		2  	2 	0 	0 	  4:2   	+2 	6
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 6. (9.)  Borussia M'gladbach 	2  	1 	1 	0 	  7:4   	+3 	4
 7. (2.)  FC St. Pauli 		2  	1 	0 	1 	  3:2   	+1 	3
 8. (16.) Borussia Dortmund 	2  	1 	0 	1 	  3:3   	0 	3
 9. (4.)  Bayer Leverkusen 	2  	1 	0 	1 	  5:6   	-1 	3
10. (18.) SV Werder Bremen 	2  	1 	0 	1 	  5:6   	-1 	3
11. (14.) SC Freiburg 		2  	1 	0 	1 	  3:4   	-1 	3
12. (6.)  FC Bayern München 	2  	1 	0 	1 	  2:3   	-1 	3
13. (9.)  1. FC Nürnberg 	2  	0 	1 	1 	  2:3   	-1 	1
14. (11.) VfL Wolfsburg 	2  	0 	0 	2 	  4:6   	-2 	0
15. (11.) FC Schalke 04 	2  	0 	0 	2 	  2:4   	-2 	0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16. (11.) Eintracht Frankfurt 	2  	0 	0 	2 	  2:5   	-3 	0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17. (14.) 1. FC Köln 		2  	0 	0 	2 	  3:7   	-4 	0
18. (16.) VfB Stuttgart 	2  	0 	0 	2 	  1:5   	-4 	0

2.Liga - Round 2

The 2.Liga is almost always anybody's game. This season, there is the potential for some good crowds, as there are several attractive venues: relegated Berlin and Bochum, Bielefeld, Duisburg, Düsseldorf and of course München. Augsburg failed in the promotion playoffs against Nürnberg, and they are certainly going to be hungry for more. The only clubs that are sure to have anemic crowds are Oberhausen, Paderborn, Ingolstadt and Frankfurt. Everybody else could have a nice year if they do well on the field.

FC Augsburg 		- 	SC Paderborn 07 	1:0 (0:0)	14,000	(Nando Rafael)
Rot-Weiß Oberhausen 	- 	FSV Frankfurt	 	1:0 (0:0)	 4,400	(Gordon)
FC Erzgebirge Aue 	- 	VfL Bochum 		1:0 (1:0)	10,000	(Schlitte)
MSV Duisburg 		- 	FC Ingolstadt 04 	4:1 (3:1)	10,000	(Maierhofer 2, Grlic, Sahan - Hofmann)
1. FC Union Berlin 	- 	SpVgg Greuther Fürth 	1:2 (0:0)	11,000	(Kolk -  Müller, Nöthe)
Arminia Bielefeld 	- 	FC Energie Cottbus 	1:2 (0:2)	11,500	(Guela - Petersen, Kurth)
TSV 1860 München 	- 	VfL Osnabrück 		3:1 (2:1)	21,300	(Rakic 2, Ludwig - Hansen)
Karlsruher SC	 	- 	Alemannia Aachen 	3:0 (3:0)	13,600	(Staffelt, Chrisanthus 2)
Fortuna Düsseldorf 	- 	Hertha BSC Berlin 	1:2 (0:2)	30.629	(Wellington - Friend, Domovchisky)

Attendance: 126,429 (avg 14,048)

 

 1. (3.)  MSV Duisburg	 	2  	2 	0 	0 	  7:2   	+5 	6
 2. (1.)  SpVgg Greuther Fürth 	2  	2 	0 	0 	  6:2   	+4 	6
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3. (1.)  FC Augsburg 		2  	2 	0 	0 	  5:1   	+4 	6
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (4.)  FC Energie Cottbus 	2  	2 	0 	0 	  4:1   	+3 	6
 5. (5.)  Hertha BSC Berlin 	2  	2 	0 	0 	  5:3   	+2 	6
 6. (8.)  FC Erzgebirge Aue 	2  	2 	0 	0 	  2:0   	+2 	6
 7. (11.) TSV 1860 München 	2  	1 	0 	1 	  5:4   	+1 	3
 8. (17.) Karlsruher SC 	2  	1 	0 	1 	  4:4   	0 	3
 9. (11.) Rot-Weiß Oberhausen 	2  	1 	0 	1 	  3:3   	0 	3
10. (5.)  VfL Bochum 		2  	1 	0 	1 	  3:3   	0 	3
11. (7.)  FSV Frankfurt 	2  	1 	0 	1 	  2:2   	0 	3
12. (9.)  1. FC Union Berlin 	2  	0 	1 	1 	  3:4   	-1 	1
13. (9.)  Alemannia Aachen 	2  	0 	1 	1 	  2:5   	-3 	1
14. (13.) Arminia Bielefeld 	2  	0 	0 	2 	  2:4   	-2 	0
15. (14.) SC Paderborn 07 	2  	0 	0 	2 	  0:2   	-2 	0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16. (16.) Fortuna Düsseldorf 	2  	0 	0 	2 	  1:4   	-3 	0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17. (15.) VfL Osnabrück 	2  	0 	0 	2 	  2:6   	-4 	0
18. (17.) FC Ingolstadt 04 	2  	0 	0 	2 	  2:8   	-6 	0

3.Liga - Round 6

Rostock bounced back with a crushing win over hapless Unterhaching, and Offenbach was held by pesky Ahlen. Indeed, the Kickers took the lead three times, but couldn't get the win. Both Offenbach and Rostock have opened a slight gap at teh top already, with perhaps Braunschweig looking like the only contender. The Lions delivered a solid slap in Regensburg's face, getting the big away win. I tend to discount Wehen, since they're basically a village team playing in the "big" city (Wiesbaden, which has a lousy football tradition).

Aside from crappy Unterhaching, the main disappointment seems to be Dresden. The famous club is always on the verge of bankruptcy, but still commands a lot of respect and following. So their mediocre start is unlikely to thrill anybody, even amonth their rivals. Jena was another pre-season favorite, but they got a dose of reality a week ago, when they were pummeled 0-7 at home to then last place Saarbrücken!

TuS Koblenz 		- 	SV Werder Bremen II 	0:0 (0:0)	5,200
VfR Aalen 		- 	Wacker Burghausen 	1:0 (0:0)	3,300	(Sulu)
Rot Weiss Ahlen 	- 	Kickers Offenbach 	3:3 (1:2)	2,700	(Kluft, Book, Tankulic - Occean 2, Mehic)
Jahn Regensburg 	- 	Eintracht Braunschweig 	0:3 (0:1)	3,000	(Kruppke, Vranic, Fetsch)
FC Bayern München II 	- 	1. FC Heidenheim 1846 	2:3 (0:3)	1,100	(Jüllich, Yilmaz - Schnatterer, Spann, Meyer) 
SV 1916 Sandhausen 	- 	Dynamo Dresden 		4:1 (3:0)	1,500	(Löning 2, Danneberg, Zinnow - Esswein) 
1. FC Saarbrücken 	- 	VfB Stuttgart II 	1:0 (0:0)	4,300	(Zeitz)
Hansa Rostock 		- 	SpVgg Unterhaching 	7:2 (2:2)      13,000	(Jänicke, Lartey, Vujanovic, Hoffmann o.g., Schied, Neitzel, Ziegenbein - Nygaard, Amachaibou) 
FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt 	- 	SV Babelsberg 03 	4:2 (2:1)	3,500	(Weidlich 2, Semmer, Hauswald - Müller, Hahne)
SV Wehen Wiesbaden 	- 	FC Carl Zeiss Jena 	2:1 (0:0)	5,314	(Barg, Janjic - Hähnge) 

Attendance: 42,914 (avg 4,291)
	

 1. (1.)  Kickers Offenbach  		6  	5 	1 	0 	 15:6   	+9 	16
 2. (3.)  Hansa Rostock 		6  	5 	0 	1 	 15:5   	+10 	15
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 6. (4.)  SV Wehen Wiesbaden 		6  	4 	1 	1 	  8:5   	+3 	13
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3. (5.)  Eintracht Braunschweig 	6  	4 	0 	2 	 11:4   	+7 	12
 4. (2.)  Jahn Regensburg 		6  	4 	0 	2 	  8:5   	+3 	12
 5. (8.)  1. FC Heidenheim 1846 	6  	3 	2 	1 	 12:8   	+4 	11
 7. (6.)  SV Babelsberg 03 		6  	3 	0 	3 	  8:7   	+1 	9
 8. (9.)  TuS Koblenz 			6  	2 	3 	1 	  5:5   	0 	9
 9. (7.)  VfB Stuttgart II 		6  	2 	2 	2 	  8:5   	+3 	8
10. (15.) SV 1916 Sandhausen 		6  	2 	1 	3 	  9:9   	0 	7
11. (16.) FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt 		6  	2 	1 	3 	  9:11  	-2 	7
12. (10.) Dynamo Dresden 		6  	2 	1 	3 	  8:10  	-2 	7
13. (11.) FC Carl Zeiss Jena 		6  	2 	1 	3 	  6:13  	-7 	7
14. (17.) 1. FC Saarbrücken 		6  	2 	0 	4 	 11:12  	-1 	6
15. (14.) Rot Weiss Ahlen 		6  	0 	5 	1 	  5:7   	-2 	5
16. (13.) FC Bayern München II 		6  	1 	2 	3 	  6:10  	-4 	5
17. (20.) VfR Aalen 			6  	1 	2 	3 	  4:9   	-5 	5
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
18. (12.) SpVgg Unterhaching 		6  	1 	2 	3 	  5:12  	-7 	5
19. (19.) SV Werder Bremen II 		6  	0 	3 	3 	  3:7   	-4 	3
20. (18.) Wacker Burghausen 		6  	0 	3 	3 	  4:10  	-6 	3


August 23, 2010

The Bundesliga opened up with a few surprises, but no real shocks. Bayern dominated against Wolfsburg, but it took an injury-time goal by Bastian Schweinsteiger to pull out the win and spoil Steve McClaren's debut as VW coach. Wolfsburg had some decent scoring chances, especially in the 2nd half, but wasted most. A good result for Bayern, but Wolfsburg can't feel too bad, since they had their chances.

Hoffenheim stunned Bremen by ripping their ass with an impressive attacking first half. Werder seemed to think would be easy skating after their early lead, but then got clubbed down. Perhaps a sign of more Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde from Werder.

Hamburg hosted new look Schalke, and end up with a deserved victory. They discovered a nice plan off cross the ball in front to Ruud van Nistelrooy and let him run into the ball and hammer home. Meanwhile the Schalkers spent most of their time dicking around aimlessly, although they though perhaps they might escape with a point through Farfan's acrobatic flick when they were a man down. Neither team was overly impressive, although HSV with some luck could have routed their opponents. HSV also experienced another low point when some of their hooligans attacked St.Pauli fans returning from their away game, along with Pauli's reserve GK. What a bunch of wankers.

Leverkusen gave a controlling performance in an away win at Dortmund. A solid outing for the Aspirins, who have to be taken seriously as an almost-title-contender-until-we-choke. They took advantage of early opportunities and held a tight leash on the match, despite Borussia's best efforts to get back in. Dortmund isn't good enough to challenge, at least based on this result. Too much running around, not enough intelligence.

Gladbach showed nothing against Nürnberg, who are probably happy with an away point. Neither squad showed enough to suggest that they're not relegation candidates.

Promoted clubs Kaiserslautern and St.Pauli got off to thrilling starts with away wins against clubs that will undoubtedly struggle. Both Köln and Freiburg managed to take the lead, but then were overrun by the ambitious visitors. Both clubs showed steel and determination, as they put the games on ice with furious end spurts.

Mainz out hustled and outplayed a rather lame Stuttgart squad. So much for VfB being a contender. Hannover did the same to Frankfurt. After last season's near disaster and house-cleaning, new look Hannover at least takes some baby-steps towards recovery.

FC Bayern München 	- 	VfL Wolfsburg 		2:1 (1:0)	69,000	(T.Müller, Schweinsteiger - Dzeko)
1899 Hoffenheim 	- 	SV Werder Bremen 	4:1 (4:1)	30,100	(Ba, Mlapa, Ibisevic, Salihovic - Frings)
Borussia M'gladbach 	- 	1. FC Nürnberg 		1:1 (1:1)	42,200	(Idrissou - Hegeler)
1. FC Köln 		- 	1. FC K'lautern 	1:3 (1:0)	49,200	(Novakovic - Lakic 2, Ilicevic)
SC Freiburg 		- 	FC St. Pauli 		1:3 (0:0)	24,000	(Cisse - Boll, Sukuta-Pasu, Bartels)
Hannover 96 		- 	Eintracht Frankfurt 	2:1 (1:1)	37,000	(Rausch, Konan Ya - Köhler)
Hamburger SV	 	- 	FC Schalke 04 		2:1 (0:0)	57,000	(Van Nistelrooy 2 - Farfan)
1. FSV Mainz 05 	- 	VfB Stuttgart 		2:0 (1:0)	20,300	(Allagui, Rasmussen)
Borussia Dortmund 	- 	Bayer Leverkusen 	0:2 (0:2)	75,000	(Barnetta, Renato Augusto)

Attendance: 403,800 (avg 44,867)


 1. 1899 Hoffenheim 		1  	1 	0 	0 	  4:1   	+3 	3
 2. FC St. Pauli 		1  	1 	0 	0 	  3:1   	+2 	3
 3. 1. FC K'lautern 		1  	1 	0 	0 	  3:1   	+2 	3
 4. 1. FSV Mainz 05 		1  	1 	0 	0 	  2:0   	+2 	3
 5. Bayer Leverkusen 		1  	1 	0 	0 	  2:0   	+2 	3
 6. FC Bayern München 		1  	1 	0 	0 	  2:1   	+1 	3
 7. Hamburger SV 		1  	1 	0 	0 	  2:1   	+1 	3
 8. Hannover 96 		1  	1 	0 	0 	  2:1   	+1 	3
 9. 1. FC Nürnberg 		1  	0 	1 	0 	  1:1   	0 	1
10. Borussia M'gladbach 	1  	0 	1 	0 	  1:1   	0 	1
11. FC Schalke 04 		1  	0 	0 	1 	  1:2   	-1 	0
12. Eintracht Frankfurt 	1  	0 	0 	1 	  1:2   	-1 	0
13. VfL Wolfsburg 		1  	0 	0 	1 	  1:2   	-1 	0
14. 1. FC Köln 			1  	0 	0 	1 	  1:3   	-2 	0
15. SC Freiburg 		1  	0 	0 	1 	  1:3   	-2 	0
16. Borussia Dortmund 		1  	0 	0 	1 	  0:2   	-2 	0
17. VfB Stuttgart 		1  	0 	0 	1 	  0:2   	-2 	0
18. SV Werder Bremen 		1  	0 	0 	1 	  1:4   	-3 	0
	

August 22, 2010

Transfer Market moves

Note: if no sum is listed, player is assumed to be on a free, or return from loan


FC Bayern München  	Net: +3.500.000 € 
=================

The champions have not spent anything, as almost all the "new" players are ones that were out
on loan last season. Toni Kroos is perhaps the most imporant, as the youngster already made
some appearances in the World Cup squad, and is considered the next great German talent. The other
guys will probably be shipped out, as it seems like Sosa is the only one that might turn out to
be pretty good. As long as Robben and Ribery are in form, Bayern figures to dominate the league. On the other hand, 
Robben
is oft injured and Ribery seems to have some distractions, so it may not be a cakewalk. Still, like
everybody else, I expect Bayern to repeat as champions.

New:

Toni Kroos  (Bay. Leverkusenn), José Ernesto Sosa (Estudiantes), Andreas Ottl (1.FC Nürnberg) 	-
Breno (1.FC Nürnberg), Edson Braafheid (Celtic Glasgow), David Alaba (Bay. München II) 	-
	
Gone:

Georg Niedermeier (VfB Stuttgart) 3.500.000 €, Michael Rensing (Unknown), Christian Lell (Hertha BSC),
Andreas Görlitz (FC Ingolstadt), Luca Toni (FC Genua), Mehmet Ekici (1.FC Nürnberg) 




FC Schalke 04 		Net: +10.900.000 €
=============

Schalke's offseason efforts were mainly dumping veterans and their high salaries. The signing of
Spanish great Raúl might raise some eyebrows, as Schalke got rid of Kuranyi, who is a proven
Bundesliga scorer and whose salary demands are probably less than Raúl - and who knows if he will
adapt to the Bundesliga. But it seems more like
a case of Felix Magath not getting along with Kuranyi, and then deciding to show who's the boss.
Metzelder is an interesting gamble; he basically ruined his career by going to Madrid, but if
he's healthy, he could be a key addition, since Bordon, Westermann and Rafinha were all shipped out.
Schalke looks pretty lame, I'd be surprised if they can mount a serious challenge this year.

New:

Tim Hoogland (Mainz 05), Christoph Metzelder (Real Madrid), Erik Jendrisek (1.FC K´lautern),
Lars Unnerstall (Schalke 04 II), Atsuto Uchida (Antlers) 1.300.000 €, Kyriakos Papadopoulos 
(Olympiakos) 2.500.000 €, Raúl (Real Madrid), Sergio Escudero (Real Murcia CF), 2.400.000 €
	
Gone:

Mineiro (Unknown), 
Tore Reginiussen (US Lecce) 100.000 €, Carlos Grossmüller (US Lecce), Albert Streit (Schalke 04 II), 
Marvin Pourie (Schalke 04 II), Marvin Pachan (Schalke 04 II), Danny Latza (Schalke 04 II),
Predrag Stevanovic (Schalke 04 II), Bogdan Müller (Schalke 04 II), David Loheider (Schalke 04 II),
Emin Yalin (Göztepe), Marcelo Bordon (Al Rayyan), Kevin Kuranyi (Dinamo Moskau), Zé Roberto (Vasco), 	
Mohamed Amsif (FC Augsburg), Lewis Holtby (Mainz 05) 200.000 €, Gerald Asamoah (FC St. Pauli), 	
Carlos Zambrano (FC St. Pauli) 150.000 €, Heiko Westermann (Hamburger SV) 7.500.000 €,
Vicente Sánchez (América), Jan Morávek (1.FC K´lautern) 150.000 €, Besart Ibraimi (Schalke 04 II),
Rafinha (FC Genua) 9.000.000 €,



Werder Bremen 		Net: +4.850.000 €
=============

Werder's big move was selling Mesut Özil to Real Madrid. They really had no choice, as Özil wanted
to go, and would be leaving on a free after the season. In that light, it's not too bad for Bremen. For
one thing, this is a chance for Marko Marin to step in. Marin made cameo appearances at the World Cup,
and is basically the same age and type of player. In fact, two years ago, it was Marin that was the
heralded player, doing great things at Gladbach. He then made the mistake of going to Werder. Özil on
the other hand wasn't getting much playing time at Schalke, so his move to Bremen made sense. Now,
Özil's move to Madrid is risky, since he could rot on the bench. Werder did shell out some of the
Özil cash, but so far, it looks like worthless spending. High priced Brazilian imports usually flop,
unless they've already had some seasoning in Europe. You'd have thought they'd have learned the 
lesson from Carlos Alberto. Overall, Bremen looks like a decent team, but the loss of Özil could be
decisive if Marin can't recover his form.

New:
Kevin Schindler (MSV Duisburg), Jurica Vranjes (Genclerbirligi), Felix Wiedwald (W. Bremen II),
Marko Arnautovic (FC Twente) 6.200.000 €, Lennart Thy (W. Bremen U19), Florian Trinks (W. Bremen U19), 
Felix Kroos (Hansa Rostock) 150.000 €, Wesley (Santos) 	7.500.000 €
	
Gone:
Aymen Abdennour (Etoile Sportive), Kevin Artmann (W. Bremen II), Martin Harnik (VfB Stuttgart) 300.000 €,
Torsten Oehrl (FC Augsburg) 200.000 €, Carlos Alberto (Vasco), Márkó Futács (FC Ingolstadt),
José-Alex Ikeng (W. Bremen II), Peter Niemeyer (Hertha BSC) 200.000, 
Mesut Özil (Real Madrid) 18.000.000 €


Bayer 04 Leverkusen 	Net: -4.700.000 €
===================

Bayer actually spent a modest amount, but their biggest move was getting Michael Ballack. I would
think that he still has a couple of years left, but frankly his time at Chelski was wasted, in
the sense that he usually sucked instead of dominating the game like he did in Germany. If he can
regain his form, Leverkusen could threaten, although they will inevitably choke when they're staring
glory in the face.
 
New:
Marcel Risse (1.FC Nürnberg), Zvonko Pamic (HNK Rijeka) 500.000 €, Domagoj Vida (NK Osijek) 2.400.000 €,
Thanos Petsos (Leverkusen U19), Sidney Sam (Hamburger SV) 2.000.000 €, Hanno Balitsch (Hannover 96), 	
Michael Ballack (Chelsea), Nicolai Jørgensen (Akademisk BK) 800.000 €
	
Gone:
Toni Kroos (Bayern München), Theofanis Gekas (E. Frankfurt) 1.000.000 €, Thomas Zdebel (Alem. Aachen) 	
Sascha Dum (F. Düsseldorf), Jens Hegeler (1.FC Nürnberg), Lukas Sinkiewicz (FC Augsburg), 	
Zvonko Pamic (SC Freiburg), Thanos Petsos (1.FC K´lautern)


Borussia Dortmund	Net: -1.400.000 €
=================

Not sure that Dortmund did much to strengthen themselves. Valdez didn't really meet expectations,
but was probably the best they had. Tinga had some decent performances for them. I wouldn't expect
Dortmund to challenge, but they could still qualify for Europe.

New:
Florian Kringe (Hertha BSC), Daniel Ginczek (B. Dortmund II), Marc Hornschuh (B. Dortmund II),
Marco Stiepermann (B. Dortmund U19), Lasse Sobiech (B. Dortmund II), Johannes Focher (B. Dortmund II),
Robert Lewandowski (Lech Posen) 4.500.000 €, Mitchell Langerak (Melbourne) 500.000 €
Lukasz Piszczek (Hertha BSC) , Shinji Kagawa (Cerezo) 350.000 €, Mario Götze (B. Dortmund U19) 	-
	
Gone:
Bajram Sadrijaj (Unknown), Tinga (Internacional), Marc Ziegler (VfB Stuttgart) 300.000 €, 
Julian Koch (MSV Duisburg) 50.000 €, Uwe Hünemeier (Energ. Cottbus) 100.000 €, Christopher Kullmann (B. Dortmund II),
Nelson Valdez (Hércules CF) 3.500.000 €




VfB Stuttgart 		Net:	+6.250.000 €
=============

Stuttgart suffered a big loss when World Cup surprise Sami Khedira left for Madrid. But unlike Özil,
Khedira stands a good chance of making an impact, since he can play a defensive midfielder role.
VfB didn't spend too much of the money, but by picking up Gentner, they may have scored a winner.
Most pundits expect Gentner to make a break-through to the DFB squad. And Alex Hleb wuill probably
come crawling back when he flops at Barcelona again.

New:
Christian Gentner (VfL Wolfsburg), Élson (Hannover 96), Georg Niedermeier (Bayern München) 3.500.000 €,
Martin Harnik (Werder Bremen) 	300.000 €, Marc Ziegler (Bor. Dortmund) 300.000 €, 
Cristian Molinaro (Juventus Turin) 3.800.000 €, Johan Audel (Valenciennes) 2.500.000 €, Philipp Degen (Liverpool) * 	
	
Gone:
Aleksandr Hleb (FC Barcelona), Sami Khedira (Real Madrid) 14.000.000 €, Matthias Schwarz (VfB Stuttg. II),
Alessandro Riedle (VfB Stuttg. II), Georges Mandjeck (Rennes) 1.200.000 €, Julian Schieber (1.FC Nürnberg) 500.000 €,
Martin Lanig (1.FC Köln) 700.000 €, Roberto Hilbert (Besiktas), Ricardo Osorio (Monterrey),	
Jens Lehmann (retired), Clemens Walch (1.FC K´lautern) 	250.000 €



Hamburger SV 		Net:	+300.000 €
============

HSV sold Jerome Boateng to moneybags Man City, and pretty much used up the money on Heiko Westermann
and Gojko Kacar. Overall, this is still a rather thin team, but they have marginally improved their
depth. HSV is not strong enough to challenge, but figue to be fairly tough and close to Europe.

New:

Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting (1.FC Nürnberg), Mickaël Tavares (1.FC Nürnberg), Jaroslav Drobný (Hertha BSC),
Heiko Westermann (Schalke 04) 7.500.000 €, Lennard Sowah (Portsmouth Res.), Heung-Min Son (Hamburg U19), 
Muhamed Besic (Hamburg U19), Dennis Diekmeier (1.FC Nürnberg) 2.200.000 €,
Gojko Kacar (Hertha BSC) 5.500.000 €
	
Gone:

Sidney Sam (Bay. Leverkusen) 2.000.000 €, Änis Ben-Hatira (Hamburger SV II), Mickaël Tavares (Hamburger SV II), 
Christian Groß (Hamburger SV II), Tom Mickel (Hamburger SV II), Marcus Berg (PSV) 1.000.000 €, 
Tolgay Ali Arslan (Alem. Aachen), Kai-Fabian Schulz (FSV Frankfurt), Jérôme Boateng (Man City) 12.500.000 €
Maximilian Beister (F. Düsseldorf), Hanno Behrens (Hamburger SV II), Sören Bertram (FC Augsburg) 
 	?

VfL Wolfsburg		net: -9.550.000 €
=============

Wolfsburg is the one club that did spend money, although it's not clear that they got full value.
New coach Steve McClaren is relatively highly regarded in Germany, and it's expected that the VWs
are a force in the Bundesliga. Perhaps the biggest move was holding on to striker Edin Dzeko, although
he wants away and could have an attitude problem. Signing German World Cup veteran Arne Friedrich
comes at a good time, since the VWs had an especially leaky defense. Danish import Simon Kjær is
Wolfsburg's record signing, McClaren showing he has Vw backing. While I don't think they'll threaten
Bayern, Wolfsburg should qualify for Europe and perhaps Champions League.

New:

Caiuby (MSV Duisburg), Vlad Munteanu (FSV Frankfurt), Nassim Ben Khalifa (Grasshoppers) 1.600.000 €,
Tolga Cigerci (Wolfsburg U19), Arne Friedrich (Hertha BSC) 2.000.000 €, Simon Kjær (US Palermo) 12.000.000 €
Cícero (Tombense) 800.000 €, Mario Mandzukic (Dinamo Zagreb) 7.000.000 €
	
Gone:

Christian Gentner (VfB Stuttgart), Alexander Laas (RB Leipzig) , Jan Simunek (1.FC K´lautern) 850.000 €,
Obafemi Martins (Rubin Kazan) 	9.000.000 €, Jonathan Santana (Kayserispor) 600.000 €, Réver (Atlético-MG) 3.000.000 €,
Mahir Saglik (VfL Bochum) 200.000 €, Daniel Adlung (Energ. Cottbus) 150.000 €, Alexander Esswein (Dynamo Dresden) 
50.000 €


1.FSV Mainz 05 		Net:	+2.670.000 €
==============

Mainz is a small market team that has no money. But they have dedicated players and good coaching,
and are coming off a fine season. It will be a struggle to stay up, but they're capable. As far
as transfers

New:

Marco Caligiuri (Greuther Fürth), Sami Allagui (Greuther Fürth) 1.000.000 €, Ádám Szalai (Madrid Castilla) 500.000 €,
Christian Fuchs (VfL Bochum) 400.000 €, Dragan Georgiev (Horizont) 200.000 €, Haruna Babangida (no club), 	-
Lewis Holtby (Schalke 04) 200.000 €, Stefan Bell (Mainz 05 U19), Martin Pieckenhagen (Heracles Almelo), 	
Morten Rasmussen (Celtic Glasgow) 150.000 €
	
Gone:

Tim Hoogland (Schalke 04), Tufan Tosunoglu (FSV Frankfurt), Jared Jeffrey (Mainz 05 II),
Mario Vrancic (Mainz 05 II), Pierre Kleinheider (Mainz 05 II), Dragan Bogavac (Unknown),
Marco Rose (Mainz 05 II), Dimo Wache (retired), Chadli Amri (1.FC K´lautern), Malik Fathi (Spartak Moskau),
Filip Trojan (MSV Duisburg), Stefan Bell (1860 München), Jahmir Hyka (Panionios Athen) 	120.000 €,
Aristide Bancé (Al-Ahli Dubai) 	5.000.000 €, 




Eintracht Frankfurt 	Net:	-2.400.000 €
===================

Frankfurt us spending modestly, but they didn't lose much, so if any of the new guys pan out,
it's a net gain.

New:

Sonny Kittel (Frankfurt U19), Aykut Özer (Frankfurt U19), Markus Steinhöfer (1.FC K´lautern), 
Theofanis Gekas (Bay. Leverkusen) 1.000.000 €, Andreas Rössl (E. Frankfurt II), 
Habib Bellaïd (Boulogne), Sebastian Rode (K. Offenbach) 250.000 €, Georgios Tzavellas (Panionios Athen) 1.200.000 €, 
Nikola Petkovic (Amkar Perm)
	
Gone:

Christoph Spycher (Young Boys Bern), Nikos Liberopoulos (AEK Athen), Markus Pröll (Unknown), 	
Jan Zimmermann (Unknown), Faton Toski (VfL Bochum), Selim Teber (Kayserispor), 	
Alexander Krük (VfL Osnabrück) 50.000 €, Nikola Petkovic (Amkar Perm), Juvhel Tsoumou (Alem. Aachen),	



TSG 1899 Hoffenheim	Net:	 +3.750.000 €
===================

So much for the big moneybags. "Hopp"enheim is a net seller so far, and supposedly Carlos Eduardo
is leaving soon as well. Still, this is a fairly decent squad, so mid-table is likely.

New:

Ramazan Özcan (Besiktas), Tom Starke (MSV Duisburg), Jukka Raitala (HJK) 250.000 €, Peniel Mlapa (1860 München) 
1.300.000 €
	
Gone:

Franco Zuculini (FC Genua) 700.000 €, Pascal Groß (Hoffenheim II), Kevin Conrad (Hoffenheim II), 
Timo Hildebrand (unknown), Per Nilsson (1.FC Nürnberg) 400.000 €, Wellington (F. Düsseldorf) 200.000 €,
Marco Terrazzino (Hoffenheim II), Maicosuel (Botafogo) 4.000.000 €, 



Borussia Mönchengladbach	Net:	 -3.680.000 €
========================

Gladbach lost some key players yet again, and had to spend some money to replace them.

New:

Sebastian Schachten (SC Paderborn), Mohamadou Idrissou (SC Freiburg), Patrick Herrmann (M'gladbach U19),
Jens Wissing (Preußen Münster), Anderson (Tombense) 1.500.000 €, Igor de Camargo (Standard) 4.000.000 €
Marc-André ter Stegen (M'gladbach U19), Bernhard Janeczek (M'gladbach U19)
	
Gone:

Moses Lamidi (RW Oberhausen), Roberto Colautti (M. Tel Aviv), Oliver Neuville (Arm. Bielefeld), 
Thomas Kleine (Greuther Fürth), Frederic Löhe (SV Sandhausen) 20.000 €
Rob Friend (Hertha BSC) 1.800.000 €


1.FC Köln 		Net:	-3.950.000 €
=========

Köln spent, as they lost Maniche and Wome, two key players in last season's survival. However,
there is nothing in the "incoming" list that really jumps out, so it's difficult to rate.

New:
Andrézinho (Guimarães), Mato Jajalo (AC Siena) 250.000 €, Christopher Buchtmann (Fulham Res.) 150.000 €,
Miro Varvodic (Hajduk) 	100.000 €, Bienvenue Basala-Mazana (1.FC Köln U19), Reinhold Yabo (1.FC Köln U19), 
Konstantinos Giannoulis (Irakl. Saloniki) 300.000 €, Martin Lanig (VfB Stuttgart) 700.000 €,
Alexandru Ionita (Rapid Bukarest) 2.500.000 €, Marvin Matip (Karlsruher SC), Wilfried Sanou (Urawa Reds)

	
Gone:

Sebastian Zielinsky (FC Ingolstadt), Maniche (Sporting), Pierre Womé (Unknown), Lukas Nottbeck (TuS Koblenz), 
Thomas Kessler (FC St. Pauli) 50.000 €, Michael Gardawski (VfB Stuttg. II)


SC Freiburg 		Net:	-340.000 €
===========

Small market, no money. No money flow, so they're dependent on the team concept.

New:
Anton Putilo (Dinamo Minsk), Michael Müller (Saarbrücken), Alain Junior Ollé Ollé (RW Ahlen),
Daniel Williams (SC Freiburg II), Jan Rosenthal (Hannover 96) 550.000 €, Maximilian Nicu (Hertha BSC),  	
Nicolas Höfler (SC Freiburg II), Zvonko Pamic (Bay. Leverkusen) 
	
Gone:

Mohamadou Idrissou (Bor. M'gladbach), Andreas Glockner (1.FC Heidenheim), Eke Uzoma (1860 München), 	
Sandro Sirigu (1.FC Heidenheim), Du-Ri Cha (Celtic Glasgow), Yacine Abdessadki (Unknown), 	
David Targamadze (Unknown), Michael Langer (FSV Frankfurt), Hamed Namouchi (Unknown),  	
Jackson Mendy (Grenoble) 200.000 €, Felix Roth (A. Lustenau), Michael Müller (Wolfsburg II) 10.000 €



Hannover 96		Net:	 -450.000 €
===========

Hannover basically replaced a large section of their squad, and that's usually not a good sign.

New:

Lars Stindl (Karlsruher SC), Carlitos (FC Basel), Felix Burmeister (Hannover 96 II),
Emanuel Pogatetz (Middlesboro), Moritz Stoppelkamp (RW Oberhausen), Markus Miller (Karlsruher SC),
Ron-Robert Zieler (Man United Res.), Christopher Avevor (Hannover 96 U19), Willi Evseev (Hannover 96 U19), 
Mohammed Abdellaoue (Valerenga IF) 1.000.000 €
	
Gone:

Arouna Koné (FC Sevilla), Sofien Chahed (Holstein Kiel), Leon-Aderemi Balogun (W. Bremen II), 	
Jan Rosenthal (SC Freiburg) 550.000 €, Morten Jensen (Hessen Kassel), Uwe Gospodarek (retired), 
Hanno Balitsch (Bay. Leverkusen), Jacek Krzynówek (unknown), Vinícius (Unknown), 
Arnold Bruggink (Unknown), Jiri Stájner (Slovan Liberec), Élson (VfB Stuttgart), Salvatore Zizzo (CD Chivas)
	

1.FC Nürnberg 		Net:	+1.150.000 €
=============

Nürnberg never has any money to really spend, and given the fact that they relied on several loans
last season, they didn't make much in the transfer market either. They were suspect last season and
barely managed to stave off relegation. They look pretty crap, so it will be fairly tough.

New:

Matthew Spiranovic (Urawa Reds), Jens Hegeler (Bay. Leverkusen), Felicio Brown Forbes (Hertha BSC U19), 
Mehmet Ekici (Bayern München), Daniel Batz (Nürnberg II), Robert Mak (Man City Res.) 250.000 €, 
Per Nilsson (1899 Hoffenheim) 400.000 €, Julian Schieber (VfB Stuttgart) 500.000 €, 
Rubin Rafael Okotie (Austria Wien), Christoph Sauter (Mainz 05 U19), Almog Cohen (Maccabi Netanya), 	
Dario Vidosic (MSV Duisburg), Timmy Simons (PSV) 	
	
Gone:

Marcel Risse (Bay. Leverkusen), Dennis Diekmeier (Hamburger SV) 2.200.000 €, Peter Perchtold (Nürnberg II), 
Jonatan Kotzke (Nürnberg II), Jaouhar Mnari (FSV Frankfurt), Daniel Gygax (FC Luzern), 	
Dominik Reinhardt (FC Augsburg) 100.000 €, Mickaël Tavares (Hamburger SV), Breno (Bayern München), 
Andreas Ottl (Bayern München), Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting (Hamburger SV), Håvard Nordtveit (Arsenal Res.), 
Angelos Charisteas (Arles) 	



1.FC Kaiserslautern	Net:	-4.650.000 €
===================

FCK spent some money, but it was mostly quantity rather than quality. I think they are probably
stronger than several other clubs, so they should be staying up.

New:

Chadli Amri (Mainz 05), Stiven Rivic (Energ. Cottbus) 800.000 €, Erwin Hoffer (SSC Neapel) 350.000 €,
Jan Morávek (Schalke 04) 150.000 €, Jan Simunek (VfL Wolfsburg) 850.000 €, Leon Jessen (FC Midtjylland) 800.000 €,
Ivo Ilicevic (VfL Bochum) 500.000 €, Ilian Micanski (Zaglebie Lubin) 600.000 €, Alan Stulin (K´lautern II),
Oliver Kirch (Arm. Bielefeld), Rodnei (Hertha BSC) 450.000 €, Christian Tiffert (MSV Duisburg), 	
Thanos Petsos (Bay. Leverkusen), Clemens Walch (VfB Stuttgart) 250.000 €
	
Gone:

Markus Steinhöfer (E. Frankfurt), Dragan Paljic (Wisla Krakow), Anel Dzaka (K´lautern II), 	
Dario Damjanovic (K´lautern II), Ricky Pinheiro (K´lautern II), Alper Akcam (Gaziantepspor) 100.000 €,
Christoph Buchner (Saarbrücken), Fabian Müller (Erzgebirge Aue), Moussa Ouattara (Unknown), 	
Erik Jendrisek (Schalke 04), Sascha Kotysch (Unknown), Luis Robles (Karlsruher SC),
 	

FC St. Pauli 		Net:	-200.000 €
============

Logically, St.Pauli isn't good enough to stay, and they have no money. But they did manage to get
a couple of veterans at no cost, and they have some of the best fans in Germany. Not sure that's
enough, but they should be entertaining.

New:

Fin Bartels (Hansa Rostock), Gerald Asamoah (Schalke 04), Carlos Zambrano (Schalke 04) 150.000 €,
Moritz Volz (unknown/Fulham), Thomas Kessler (1.FC Köln) 50.000 €
	
Gone:

Thomas Meggle (retired), Andreas Biermann (Unknown), Marc Gouiffe à Goufan (Unknown), 
Jonathan Beaulieu-Bourgault (Preußen Münster), Patrik Borger (Unknown) 	



August 16, 2010

DFB Pokal, Erste Hauptrunde

There were only a few surprises in the 1st round of the DFB Cup, although several of favored clubs had difficult matches. The lower division club always gets home-field advantage against Bundesliga and 2.Liga clubs, so this not onlt makes for a nice home gate for teh lwoer club, but also makes it a tougher match for the favorite.

Two Bundesliga clubs went down in flames, as Halle upended St.Pauli, and Elversberg downed Hannover on penalties. Kaiserslautern had a close call, scoring and equalizer in the 90th before winning in overtime at Osnabrück. 5th division Pirmasens held out for a half against Leverksuen, but the dam broke after the restart, and they were duly pummeled 11-1. Offenbach pulled something of a surprise, as they whacked recently relegated Bochum. For Germannia Windeck, a day to remember, as although they were easily beaten 4-0 by double-winners Bayern München, they moved the match to Köln's Rheinenergiestadion, which probably is worth about 5 years of attendance in one shot.

 
SV Wilhelmshaven 	- 	Eintracht Frankfurt 	0:4 (0:2)	 6,500
FC Ingolstadt 04 	- 	Karlsruher SC 		2:0 (1:0)	 6,600
VfB Lübeck 		- 	MSV Duisburg 		0:2 (0:0)	 6,200
FSV Frankfurt 		- 	SC Paderborn 07 	2:0 (0:0)	 3,000
VfL Osnabrück 		- 	1. FC K'lautern 	2:3 aet		15,500
Jahn Regensburg 	- 	Arminia Bielefeld 	6:7 pen		 5,200
FK Pirmasens 		- 	Bayer Leverkusen 	1:11 (0:1)	 8,300
Wacker Burghausen 	- 	Borussia Dortmund 	0:3 (0:2)	10,500
SV Babelsberg 03 	- 	VfB Stuttgart 		1:2 (1:2)	 5,800
FC Oberneuland 1948 	- 	SC Freiburg 		0:1 (0:1)	 2,300
SC Pfullendorf 		- 	Hertha BSC Berlin 	0:2 (0:0)	 7,100
Rot Weiss Ahlen 	- 	SV Werder Bremen 	0:4 (0:1)	 9,100
SC Verl 		- 	TSV 1860 München 	1:2 (1:0)	 2,100
Hansa Rostock 		- 	1899 Hoffenheim 	0:4 (0:4)	12,600
Chemnitzer FC 		- 	FC St. Pauli 		1:0 (1:0)	10,400
SV 1916 Sandhausen 	- 	FC Augsburg 		5:7 pen		 4,500
SV Elversberg 		- 	Hannover 96 		5:4 pen		 2,700
Eintracht Braunschweig 	- 	SpVgg Greuther Fürth 	1:2 aet		16,900
FC Erzgebirge Aue 	- 	Borussia M'gladbach 	1:3 (0:1)	12,700
Schwarz-Weiß Essen 	- 	Alemannia Aachen 	1:2 (0:2)	 7,000
TuS Koblenz 		- 	Fortuna Düsseldorf 	1:0 (0:0)	 9,100
Victoria Hamburg 	- 	Rot-Weiß Oberhausen 	1:0 (1:0)	 1,600
ZFC Meuselwitz 		- 	1. FC Köln 		0:2 (0:2)	 9,000
TuS Heeslingen 		- 	FC Energie Cottbus 	1:2 (0:2)	 5,000
Eintracht Trier 	- 	1. FC Nürnberg 		0:2 (0:1)	 5,200
Berlin AK 07 		- 	1. FSV Mainz 05 	1:2 (0:1)	 1,100
Hallescher FC 		- 	1. FC Union Berlin 	1:0 (1:0)	 9,200 
Torgelower SV Greif 	- 	Hamburger SV 		1:5 (1:1)	 8,000
Preußen Münster 	- 	VfL Wolfsburg 		1:2 (0:0)	15,100 
Kickers Offenbach 	- 	VfL Bochum 		3:0 (2:0)	12,000
Germania Windeck 	- 	FC Bayern München 	0:4 (0:2)	41,400
VfR Aalen 		- 	FC Schalke 04	 	1:2 (0:1)	13,500


August, 2010

3.Liga - Round 2

No huge surprises in the 2nd round. Braunschweig and Offenbach justified their roles as favorites with solid road wins. Dresden met Jena in an old GDR classic, and with their win show that they intend to be a contender as well. Rostock also came out on top with a crucial win at Erfurt, keeping their solid start intact. A nice crunching win for Regensburg as well, as they stuff Unterhaching.

VfR Aalen 		- 	TuS Koblenz 		1:2 (0:1)	 3,578	(Lechleiter - Rahn, Cannizzaro)
Rot Weiss Ahlen 	- 	SV Werder Bremen II 	1:1 (1:1)	 2,440	(Piossek - Thy)
FC Bayern München II 	- 	Wacker Burghausen 	1:1 (0:0)	 1,600	(Kurz - Riedmüller o.g.)
SV 1916 Sandhausen 	- 	Kickers Offenbach 	0:2 (0:1)	 8,346	(Occean, Feldhahn)
1. FC Saarbrücken 	- 	Eintracht Braunschweig 	0:3 (0:0)	 7,294	(Dogan, Vrancic 2)
Dynamo Dresden 		- 	FC Carl Zeiss Jena 	2:0 (1:0)	21,604	(G. Müller, Gundersen)
1. FC Heidenheim 1846 	- 	VfB Stuttgart II 	0:0 (0:0)	 6,100
Jahn Regensburg 	- 	SpVgg Unterhaching 	3:0 (2:0)	 4,812	(Zellner, Schlauderer, Haller)
SV Wehen Wiesbaden 	- 	SV Babelsberg 03 	1:0 (0:0)	 3,025	(Menga)
FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt 	- 	Hansa Rostock 		0:1 (0:0)	12,519	(Wiemann)

Attendance: 71,318 (avg 7,132)


 1. (5.)  Eintr. Braunschweig	2  	2 	0 	0 	  5:1   	+4 	6
 2. (2.)  Hansa Rostock 	2  	2 	0 	0 	  4:0   	+4 	6
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3. (7.)  Jahn Regensburg 	2  	2 	0 	0 	  4:0   	+4 	6
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. (4.)  Kickers Offenbach 	2  	2 	0 	0 	  4:0   	+4 	6
 5. (7.)  SV Wehen Wiesbaden 	2  	2 	0 	0 	  2:0   	+2 	6
 6. (3.)  VfB Stuttgart II 	2  	1 	1 	0 	  3:1   	+2 	4
 7. (10.) TuS Koblenz 		2  	1 	1 	0 	  2:1   	+1 	4
 8. (1.)  SV 1916 Sandhausen 	2  	1 	0 	1 	  4:3   	+1 	3
 9. (12.) Dynamo Dresden 	2  	1 	0 	1 	  3:2   	+1 	3
10. (7.)  SV Babelsberg 03 	2  	1 	0 	1 	  1:1   	0 	3
11. (5.)  FC Carl Zeiss Jena 	2  	1 	0 	1 	  2:3   	-1 	3
12. (10.) Rot Weiss Ahlen 	2  	0 	2 	0 	  1:1   	0 	2
13. (14.) SV Werder Bremen II 	2  	0 	1 	1 	  1:2   	-1 	1
14. (14.) FC Bayern München II 	2  	0 	1 	1 	  1:2   	-1 	1
15. (12.) 1. FC Heidenheim 1846 2  	0 	1 	1 	  1:2   	-1 	1
16. (19.) Wacker Burghausen 	2  	0 	1 	1 	  2:5   	-3 	1
17. (17.) FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt 	2  	0 	0 	2 	  1:4   	-3 	0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
18. (20.) VfR Aalen	 	2  	0 	0 	2 	  1:5   	-4 	0
19. (14.) SpVgg Unterhaching 	2  	0 	0 	2 	  0:4   	-4 	0
20. (18.) 1. FC Saarbrücken 	2  	0 	0 	2 	  0:5   	-5 	0


July 25, 2010

3.Liga - Round 1

Football is back in action in Deutschland, as the 3.Liga gets and early start. (I imagine part of it is that lower division clubs don't have undersoil heating. As a result, post-winterbreak matches are often postponed due to weather).

Obviously of greatest interest will be the performance of "big" clubs such as Offenbach and Braunschweig, along with the relegated Rostock squad. Dresden is of course the sleeping giant (well, "comatose" might be a more apt description). Offenbach handled their test with ex-Bundesligist (and recovering collapsed club) Saarbrücken fairly nicely, and Rostock got off to a nice start by slapping Aalen silly. Braunschweig however was the top venue, as Eintracht managed to edge Dresden. We'll see whether this turns out to just be a ho-hum or deciding match as the season develops.

Topping the table is Sandhausen, as they routed Burghausen away. I wouldn't expect either dwarf to be around when promotion is decided though. Also of interest is Klaus Augenthaler's Unterhaching squad, which laid an egg in their home opener. Although this München suburb team has zero fans and not too much money, they often have benefitted in the past from Bayern's largesse, so they're always interesting to follow.

Kickers Offenbach 	- 	1. FC Saarbrücken 	2:0 (1:0)	 9,200	(Mann, Occean)	
VfB Stuttgart II 	- 	FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt 	3:1 (3:0)	 1,150	(Vier, Schwarz, Rathgeb - Hillebrand)
Eintracht Braunschweig 	- 	Dynamo Dresden 		2:1 (1:1)	17,200	(Kumbela, Kruppke - Kegel)
Wacker Burghausen 	- 	SV 1916 Sandhausen 	1:4 (0:2)	 2,400	(Hess - Löning 2, Hackenberg o.g., Ulm)
SpVgg Unterhaching 	- 	SV Wehen Wiesbaden 	0:1 (0:1)	 2,000	(Schönheim)
Werder Bremen II 	- 	Jahn Regensburg 	0:1 (0:1)	 2,014	(Temür)
TuS Koblenz	 	- 	Rot Weiss Ahlen 	0:0 (0:0)	 5,804
Hansa Rostock 		- 	VfR Aalen	 	3:0 (1:0)	14,000	(Lartey, Neitzel, Schied)
FC Carl Zeiss Jena 	- 	1. FC Heidenheim 1846 	2:1 (1:1)	 5,581	(Hähnge, Ziegner - Weil)
SV Babelsberg 03 	- 	FC Bayern München II 	1:0 (1:0)	 3,245	(Paul)

Attendance: 62,594 (avg 6,259)


 1. SV 1916 Sandhausen 		1  	1 	0 	0 	  4:1   	+3 	3
 2. Hansa Rostock 		1  	1 	0 	0 	  3:0   	+3 	3
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3. VfB Stuttgart II 		1  	1 	0 	0 	  3:1   	+2 	3
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. Kickers Offenbach 		1  	1 	0 	0 	  2:0   	+2 	3
 5. FC Carl Zeiss Jena 		1  	1 	0 	0 	  2:1   	+1 	3
 6. Eintracht Braunschweig 	1  	1 	0 	0 	  2:1   	+1 	3
 7. Jahn Regensburg 		1  	1 	0 	0 	  1:0   	+1 	3
 8  SV Babelsberg 03 		1  	1 	0 	0 	  1:0   	+1 	3
 9. SV Wehen Wiesbaden 		1  	1 	0 	0 	  1:0   	+1 	3
10. Rot Weiss Ahlen 		1  	0 	1 	0 	  0:0   	0 	1
11. TuS Koblenz 		1  	0 	1 	0 	  0:0   	0 	1
12. 1. FC Heidenheim 1846 	1  	0 	0 	1 	  1:2   	-1 	0
13. Dynamo Dresden 		1  	0 	0 	1 	  1:2   	-1 	0
14. SV Werder Bremen II 	1  	0 	0 	1 	  0:1   	-1 	0
15. SpVgg Unterhaching 		1  	0 	0 	1 	  0:1   	-1 	0
16. FC Bayern München II 	1  	0 	0 	1 	  0:1   	-1 	0
17. FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt 		1  	0 	0 	1 	  1:3   	-2 	0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
18. 1. FC Saarbrücken 		1  	0 	0 	1 	  0:2   	-2 	0
19. Wacker Burghausen 		1  	0 	0 	1 	  1:4   	-3 	0
20. VfR Aalen 			1  	0 	0 	1 	  0:3   	-3 	0


July 18, 2010

All clubs are maneuvering in the offseason to improve their squads, at least in theory. Some seem to be weakening their chances, hehehe.

VfL Wolfsburg has been the most active club in the offseason. The VWs had a weak campaign one season removed from their sensational title, and are splashing cash and making major moves. First, the made a surprise move by bringing on Brit coach Steve McClaren who led Dutch club FC Twente to a stunning title. McClaren of course failed as England boss, but perhaps given England's subsequent crap showings under Ericksson and Cappello, maybe it wasn't all his fault. He did have some success in the EPL with Middlesborough, and his Dutch showing has redeemed his reputation. The Wolfs have made some big moves in the transfer market, bringing in Danish World Cup defender Simon Kjaer for 12 million euros, and Serbian striker Mario Mandzukic for 7 million. In addition, they signed defender Arne Friedrich for a bargain 2 million from Hertha. Friedrich looked "past-sell-date", but had a great World Cup, so the Kjaer/Friedrich move looks to solidify VWs shaky defense in one swoop. On the selling side, McClaren somewhat surprised, dumping Obafemi Martins to Rubin Kazan for 9 million euros.

It's too early to say definitively who the winners and losers are, as the transfer season isn't done yet. One interesting point is that Hoffenheim is not splashing cash - just the opposite. Aside from not spending money, the Hoppers have dumped GK Timo Hildebrand and his big salary. This is a good warning from German players to think twice about ruining their careers with greed. Hildebrand was the heir-apparent to Olvier Kahn, then went to Valencia and sat on the bench. By the time he got back to the Bundesliga, he basically was sucking, and now he has no club and no chance of comingback into the national squad. Essentially he's being replace by Tom Starke, who comes as a free from 2nd division Duisburg, so that's how far his star has fallen. Also looking for clubs are Bayern's Michael Rensing (who is crap) and Frankfurt's Markus Pröll.

Hannover, who almost got relegated, is basically changing out their whole squad. Hamburg continues to weaken themselves, as they cashed in on defender Jerome Boateng (getting 12.5 million from Manchester City). Bayern hasn't splashed any cash yet, mostly getting guys back on loan. Probably the biggest impact is super talent Toni Kroos, who made brief appearances in the World Cup and is considered Germany's next great midfielder. Probably doesn't help Bayern too much directly, but since he was a key contributor to Leverkusen last season, his return weakens Bayern's opponent...

I'll probably do a team-by-team analysis once the transfers are a bit more final...


July 11, 2010

OK, now that the minor tournament is over, with Germany coming in with a positive performance and ending in 3rd, we can soon return to what we all know and love, 4th division Regionalliga West stories about Wuppertaler SV and worthless commentary on other German leagues...

But we should perhaps reflect on the performance of the DFB-squad, as it was quite good. Given the inexperience in much of the team and the absence of Michael Ballack, things were uncertain to say the least. However, the squad quickly gelled into an effective force, playing attractive football and scoring at will. Michael Ballack's absence turned out to be a good thing, as Bastian Schweinsteiger took over the role as team leader, and the players began to play as a multi-faceted team, rather than depending Ballack to pull their balls out of the fire. Philip Lahm filled in as captain, and was his usual outstanding self. Per Mertesacker was solid, and veteran Arne Friedrich was surprisingly good. Only the left side was a bit shaky. Holger Badstuber was overwhelmed and not ready for prime time. Jerome Boateng had some solid performances, but was in trouble against Spain. Marcell Jansen was a fine alternate.

The midfield never missed Ballack. Schweinsteiger was everywhere, Khedira solid, and Mesut Özil made his name in the international scene. In reality, Özil was hot/cold, as sometimes he was brilliant, and other times he dribbled around until he lost the ball. Plus he still misses sitters. However, the true revelation of the whole tournament was Thomas Müller. Only a year ago in Bayern reserves in the 3.Liga. Now winner of top scorer in the World Cup. Müller played out on the wing, and when needed crossed into the middle - with devastating effect. Up front, Podolski was his usual self, running around and occasionally hammering the ball. Miroslav Klose recaptured his form after missing several chances and with 14 all-time goals just fell short of Ronaldo's record. The bench didn't make massive contributions, but clearly there's some major talent there as well.

The end results were especially clear in the knock-out rounds, two of Germany's best back-to-back performances in any World Cup. The impressive 4-1 trouncing of England was followed by an even more amazing 4-0 demolition of Maradona's Argentina, a squad that had led Germany around the nose in winning a friendly only a few months before. The limitations were shown in the 0-1 semifinal loss to eventual winner Spain, but perhaps if Thomas Müller had not been unjustifiably banned, the outcome might have been different.

One thing the media has hyped endlessly once it became clear that this young German squad was excellent was the claim that "in four years they will be unstoppable". OK, maybe. Lots of things can go wrong. But it's pretty clear that Germany has developed some amazing young talent that has the potential to do major damage on the international stage...


June 13, 2010

Decent start for Germany

Not too much of a surprise, if anything a pleasant start. The DFB opened their World Cup campaign with and easy 4-0 win over Australia. Actually, 6-0 probably would have been a better representation of play. Germany dominated the match and looked quite well in combination play, ripping holes through the retarded Aussie defense. Of course, the Germans missed about half-a-dozen sitters, so Oz got off easy. But before folks get too excited, let's remember that Australia was total crap. Aside from some incompetance in the opening minutes when they had a real good chance to take a stunning lead, the Aussies looked like they didn't know what they were doing.

From the German side, Thomas Müller was especially good, playing mostly on the right-wing, setting up the first two goals and crownng his achievement with a a nicely taken third. Mesut Özil looked impressive as a playmaker, although his finishing was non-existant. Lukas Podolski hammered in the first goal, and in general did well, with some nifty passing that sliced through the Aussie defense. It looked like Miro Klose was continuing his usual crapola, missing sitters and looking horrible, but he did have a powerful header for the 2nd goal. The defense wasn't particularily challenged, although they looked chaotic in the opening minutes, they quickly settled down. The midfield with Khedira and Schweinsteiger was totally dominant. Whenever Germany pressed forward, you had the feeling they could score.

About the only thing you can say about Australia is they got a bum call when Tim Cahill got a straight red for what was at worst a yellow for a tackle in the 2nd half. But let's be serious, the game was already over.

Overall, a great start for Joachim Löw's squad, good to get the opening jitters out of the way. The youngsters fully justified their roles, it looks a much more balanced squad then if Ballack were playing.


June 08, 2010

No soup, err, license for you!

It looks grim for Rot-Weiss Essen, one of the "traditional" clubs of Ruhr football, German champion in 1955. RWE was denied a license for the Regionalilga, as they could not demonstrate financial responsibility. They were facing approximately 2.5 million euros deficit, and last minute negotiations were unsuccessful. As a result, the directors declared insolvency and now the courts will decide whether this club survives. After the announcement, several hundred fans who had gathered rioted, wanting to lynch the thieves who have been mismanging the club for ages. At the moment I can't think of any major West German club that has collapsed. As it now stands, they could be wound up and have to start all over in the 10th division or something. Of course, there have been clubs in the west that have had this (Hessen Kassel seems to have to start over every 10 years or so), and of course several ex-GDR clubs, but RWE is certainly a big fish. This also sucks for Wuppertal, as the clash with RWE was probably the main draw in the Regionalliga West.

Bonner SC was also denied a license by the DFB, and are therefore forcibly relegated from the Regionalliga as well. They had finished 10th, but with weak finances, they were in serious trouble. They have been given two weeks to show adequate funds to compete in the 5th division NRW-Liga.

SV Waldhof Mannheim is another ex-Bundesliga club that has fallen on hard times. The club announced that they can't meet the DFB requirements for the Regionalliga, and have therefore accepted forcible relegation into the Oberliga Baden-Württemberg. During the highpoint of the club in the 1980s, Waldhof played 7 years in the Bundesliga.

The net result of Essen, Bonn and Waldhof getting dumped is that the relegated clubs (Gladbach II, Worms and Trier) can now stay if they want to...


June 04, 2010

License for everybody!

The DFL (which officially governs the Bundesliga and 2.Liga) has given the OK for all 36 clubs to compete next season. All clubs have therefore passed financial audits to ensure sufficient funds. There was one club on the bubble, Arminia Bielefeld. It really was touch and go, as last week the Bielefeld city council gave a Bronx cheer to Arminia's appeal for some 10 million euros in guarantees. If fact, somewhat disgracefully, Hansa Rostock, who crapped all over themselves and got relegated from the 2.Liga, put in an application for a 2.Liga financial permit in the hope that Arminia would get denied and thereby forcibly relegated. In the end however, Arminia swung a deal with the city and sponsors and convinced the DFL that they have the funds for next season.

It is actually in the lower divisions (where the DFB does the financial exams) that things are a bit dicy. Clubs such as RW Essen, SSV Reutlingen and Eintracht Bamberg are on the verge of insolvency, so it's still up in the air where they play next season. (Essen matters to Wuppertal, as at least the RWE-WSV rivalry could ensure a somewhat respectable gate). The DFB has recognized lower division problems, and led by president Theo Zwanziger have comeup with a rather lame-brained idea to expand the Regionalliga to 6 leagues. The idea would be to reduce travel costs. These dimwits just don't get it. If you expand massively, yeah you reduce travel, but you also divy up the TV money even more, so clubs end up with less. Meanwhile, the problem with the B teams of the top clubs dominating the leagues and killing attendance remains - and probably gets worse. (Look, not even the players girlfriends want to watch Stuttgart II vs. anybody. In fact, the girls are probably more like "Yo, You'd better make the A squad and some dough, or I'm dumping your ass and hanging out with a bunch of loser Guidos on Jerseyshore!") And if you dilute the Regionalliga, now the B teams kick even more ass. Seriously, the DFB needs to bite the bullet and simply create a reserve round and lump all the B teams there so nobody has to watch. The top clubs will complain a bit since it's not real competition, but then they should loan out their talent to lower clubs. One thing is clear that there are several factions with different agendas, so the DFB has it's work cut out. Perhaps Germany should revisit the "Anschluss" and annex Austria, and stick all the B clubs there. Nobody watches Austrian football anyway, not even Austrians, plus the clubs change their names every 6 months, so nobody would notice if a bunch of new ones popped up, hehehehe...


June 03, 2010

OK performance in tuneup

The World Cup squad only gets a passing grade for the performance in the tuneup against Bosnia-Herzegovina. Coach Joachim Löw continues to tinker with the lineup, but he appears to have created more question marks than answers. First, he placed captain Philip Lahm on his weaker right side, and gave a start to Lahm's Bayern teammate, youngster Holger Badstuber. This experiment was OK, but Lahm is merely good, not World class, on the right. Expect more tinkering here. But what really went wrong was Trochowski in midfield and Klose up front. They both pretty much sucked, and Germany struggled in the 1st half. For the start of the 2nd period, Löw brought on Thomas Müller and Cacau as their replacements, and Germany dominated, eventually winning the match 3-1. Bastian Schweinsteiger was of the opinion that they should have scored more goals, but I guess as long as no one got injured, that's really what counts.

June 01, 2010

Final World Cup selections

Hoffenheim defender Andreas Beck was the last cut, no great loss. Here is the final roster, basically a very young and talented squad. Overall, I think Joachim Löw has picked the best players available to him, ignoring pressure for more experience. It may come back and bite him in the ass, but frankly if he went with a bunch of retreads, it would probably be a fairly lame tournament. Germany could still crash out, but at least they're setting the stage for the future, rather than going for the last hurrah.

Germany 2010 World Cup squad

			Club			Age	Caps
Goalkeepers:

Jorg Butt 		Bayern München		36	3
Manuel Neuer 		Schalke 04		24	4
Tim Wiese 		Werder Bremen		28	2

Defenders:

Dennis Aogo 		Hamburger SV		23	2
Holger Badstuber	Bayern München		21	1
Jerome Boateng 		Hamburger SV		21	5
Arne Friedrich 		Hertha BSC		31	71
Marcell Jansen 		Hamburger SV		24	31
Philipp Lahm 		Bayern München		26	64
Per Mertesacker 	Werder Bremen		25	61
Serdar Tasci 		VfB Stuttgart		23	11

Midfielders

Sami Khedira 		VfB Stuttgart		23	4
Toni Kroos 		Bayer Leverkusen	20	3
Marko Marin 		Werder Bremen		21	8
Mesut Özil 		Werder Bremen		21	9
Bastian Schweinsteiger 	Bayern München		25	73
Piotr Trochowski 	Hamburger SV		26	30

Forwards:

Cacau 			VfB Stuttgart		29	7
Mario Gomez 		Bayern München		24	33
Stefan Kießling 	Bayer Leverkusen	26	4
Miroslav Klose 		Bayern München		31	95
Thomas Müller 		Bayern München		20	1
Lukas Podolski 		1. FC Köln		24	72

Analysis

Goalkeepers

Not much experience at the international level, but shouldn't be a terrible problem. Manuel Neuer seems to be the annoited starter, and since (injured) Leverkusen Rene Adler was the projected no.1, it's clear that coach Joachim Löw has decided to go with youth. Neuer should be OK as long as he doesn't think, his reflexes are superb. Both Wiese and Butt are adequate backups if Neuer goes crazy.

Defenders

There are some problems here. Philipp Lahm is a world-class defender, excellent attacking skills and best when he plays on the left side. He may get stuck on the right to try and fill holes, and he is less effective there. Mertesacker is somewhat slow, but positionally strong and a solid spot in the middle. The other two positions however are somewhat of a concern. Jansen is probably the best, but he is rusty after long injury, he could play outside. Friedrich is a veteran, but I'm not too impressed. Boateng usually plays on the right, but hasn't exactly looked solid. I can't see Aogo doing anything but warming the bench. Tasci I haven't seen play too often. Westermann's injury certainly hurts, as he likely would have nailed down a spot. Not that he's that good, but now Löw has two positions to worry about.

Midifielers

With Michael Ballack going down, Löw is forced to go with youth. This should be an brilliant midfield...in 2014. The talent is there, but untried. Khedira may fill in for Ballack, he or Schweinsteiger taking the more defensive role. Kroos and Özil are playmakers, and Trochowski and Marin figure to run around alot. The issue seems to be toughness on the defensive side, (past teams have had some thug like Torsten Frings or Ballack) and inexperience going forward. Carrying "only" 6 midifielders is only somewhat of a risk, as Podolski and Thomas Müller can fill in as attacking midifielders if needed. Löw is gambling on the talent to shine through.

Forwards

This could be a problem, as Miroslav Klose is constipated in front of goal these days. Podolski always seems to play better in international competition, and figures to run around and get a couple of goals. Gomez is pretty good at winning balls, but needs the goal expanded about 10 feet. Kiessling was somewhat lucky to make the squad, as it appears that Löw doesn't rate him highly. He is somewhat similar to Gomez, but has little international experience. The upside is that he hasn't proven that he can't hit the side of a barn, which seems to be Gomez international record. I would like to see him therefore, but I doubt Löw plays him. Cacau has shown promise as a finisher, but I doubt he becomes a starter. Not sure where Thomas Müller ends up. A lot depends on Klose. If he continues to suck, Löw will be forced to experiment a lot.


May 31, 2010

World Cup News

I haven't been covering the World Cup or the national squad, but I guess I should at least pay attention....

Easy win against Hungary

Joachim Löw hasn't made the final decision to the 23 man squad, and I'm not sure that the tuneup against Hungary gave any help. Germany won 3-0, and probably should have scored about 6-7 goals. One thing was that starter Miroslav Klose was horrible , blowing a couple of chances and generally sucking. Strike partner Lukas Podolski wasn't much better , but at least he had a few moments. In the second half, Mario Gomez came on, and he was gifted several chances which of course he wasted. He did manage to score, but only after ruining his chance with a clumsy first touch, but was then gifted the goal as the Hungarian keeper refused to dive on the ball. A few minutes later sub Cacau showed Stupor-Mario how it's done, as he rounded the keeper and slotted home.

So Löw's job was perhaps made more difficult. A couple of marginal players, Cacau and especially Marko Marin, were quite impressive. Löw favorite Klose was total crap, and Gomez wasn't that much better, although he at least created some chances with his hustle (Laziness has never been one of Gomez traits). The plus for Löw is that youngsters are making their mark. Stuttgart's Sami Khedira looked good in midfield. GK Manuel Neuer is fine, almost spectacular when he doesn't have to think. But if he has to contemplate, expect some laughers on Youtube. Still, he is probably the starter. Super talents Toni Kroos and Mesut Ozil were uneven, but should make the squad. Of course, Marin helped his chances, previously he was certainly on the bubble. But this may have been the performance that stamps his passport for South Africa. Unfortunately Stefan Kiessling didn't get a run out, so I'm guessing that Joachim intends to give him the chop. It's probably him or defender Andreas Beck. Overall though, with all the young talent coming in, Germany could be in very good shape...for 2014. 2010 seems beyond their reach, but they will be disciplined and tough...with Germany, the sum is always greater than the individual parts.

The worst part of the match was that defender Heiko Westermann got injured and is out for the Cup. So after Ballack and his planned replacement Christian Träsch, that's three that have been dropped during the run-up. And of course the expected no.1 GK Rene Adler and midfielder Simon Rolfes also were eliminated earlier due to injury.

Ballack gone

The German squad received a hammer blow in the English FA Cup final as captain Michael Ballack was injured by Portsmouth thug Kevin-Prince Boateng. Ballack is out for the Cup, and naturally Germans are outraged, since Kevin-Prince was elected for the Ghana squad, one of Germany's group opponents. Further amusement comes from the fact that Kevin-Prince was actually eligible for Germany, as his father was a Ghanian soccer player who came to Germany and married a German. And Kevin's brother Jerome is likely to make the German squad. Many Germans believe the foul was intentional, although it seems more likely that Kevin-Price is just a crap player. It would be funny if when Germany play Ghana if Jerome then kicks Kevin in the balls...

I'm not so sure that this injury is quite the disaster it's made out to be. Ballack has been Germany's marquee player over the last few years, and certainly his 2002 and 2006 World Cups were impressive. But since his move to Chelski, he's been gradually relying on more thuggery than skill, and frankly he's hardly the player he used to be. Perhaps it's time for Germany to move on to some less whining players...


All news from 2009-10 season, including Bundesliga and 2.Liga report cards are listed below:

Last season archived news

You can also find further info in the Archive section...


(c) Abseits Guide to Germany - www.abseits-soccer.com