| 09.12.2008 |
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| So, as I mused recently on these very blog pages, Bernd Schuster's time is up in Madrid. Reports doing the rounds today suggest that the German will be heading home for Christmas (as is compatriot Timo Hildebrand) after being sacked as Real coach. The writing was on the wall for most of the last six weeks of La Liga as Real lurched around liked a wounded lion, flailing as lesser predators took bites out of it moth-eaten hide and added further injuries to the insult of its many toothless performances. With a list of crippled players which would make up a team of international all-stars if only they could walk, Schuster's team was shorn of world class talent at a time when confidence was low and frustration high. Add the suspensions which started to pile up when Madrid's more volatile divas started getting themselves sent off, and it seemed even more unlikely that Bernd was going to be able to dig himself out of this particular hole with a makeshift team of second-stringers. This, it should be noted, however, is Real Madrid. They don't have rubbish players on the bench – or anywhere else in the club, come to mention it. So the question must be whether or not Schuster was up to the job this season. With a rejuvenated Barcelona showing the way, the pressure must have been even more intense to get Los Blancos firing on all cylinders in a bid to defend their title. Unfortunately, Schuster has become a victim of that pressure and the superhuman demands placed on coaches at the Santiago Bernabeu to keep the team in top spot. As I mentioned in my previous post, Real Madrid is a club well known for its insanity. While Schuster's exit may be not be the result of a complete mental meltdown (the results speak for themselves, after all), the rumored appointment of Juande Ramos as his successor comes straight from the loony bin. This is a man who took Tottenham Hotspur, a team which should have been challenging the top four for a Champions League place, to the bottom of the English Premiership. Ramos, despite his success with Sevilla in Spain, failed spectacularly to drag his Spurs team out of the doldrums as they suffered their worst ever start to a league season. Despite buying a host of new talent during the summer, Spurs failed to record a win in their first eight matches. Ramos was sacked as manager in October after recording only six wins in all competitions since February. If the rumors turn out to be true, Real President Ramon Calderon now believes Ramos is the man to revive Madrid. Los Blancos may not be in such a dire situation as Spurs were in the league, but they are certainly a team which needs a similar injection of confidence. After Ramos did such a bang-up job London, the wisdom of such an appointment must surely come into question. Let's see how this latest masterstroke by the Madrid puppet master plays out… |
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| 06.12.2008 |
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| Germans (and others, including me) became enthralled with the national team after its fairy-tale finish at the 2006 World Cup. So much so, in fact, that people flooded movie theaters to relive the magic. A euphoric run to the final of last summer's European Championships, cemented Germany's return to the international soccer elite and German's expectations that their team was destined to be a "team of 11 friends" unburdened by personal animosity. But with players engaging in open revolt against coach Joachim Loew's roster decisions, it's seemed clear for quite some time now that the fairy princess who keeps the locker room peace left Die Mannschaft quite some time ago. The amazing thing is that Bierhoff is, apparently, just realizing that it's not all peace and harmony among the players he's meant to be keeping an eye on. Saturday he told a German newspaper that there was nothing but hard work left for the national team. "We must realize that the summer fairy tale, and the summer fairy tale 'reloaded' -- if you want to give Euro 2008 this name -- is over ... We must be down to earth again," Bierhoff told the Sueddeutsche Zeitung. Bierhoff also admitted that he personally made mistakes in dealing with the team's personnel issues and didn't always put his best side forward in public. For a man who has maintained such a sharp and polished public image -- since dumping his player's jersey he's not been spotted without his ubiquitous sports jacket -- I'm amazed it's taken him so long to come to terms with the discontent that's eating away at the national team. He has, after all, been intricately involved in the disagreements since having it out with team captain Michael Ballack on the field at the 2008 EURO. My hope is that everyone takes some antacids and the team gets aligned before South Africa 2010. I'm personally willing to part ways with Ballack and/or Bierhoff. |
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| 05.12.2008 |
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| One song which might not be getting a lot of appreciative airtime in the Hildebrand household this yuletide is Frank Sinatra's "I'll Be Home for Christmas". The sound of Ol' Blue Eyes crooning out his festive promise is likely to force poor Timo to the nearest mirror for a reassuring ogle at himself – that is if he can hear the stereo over the sound of a bunch of burly Spanish removal men loading up his furniture. The (allegedly) narcissistic former Stuttgart keeper and Germany's often third choice stopper has finally been put out of his misery by Spanish giants Valencia, who signed the man known as The Mirror on a free transfer after he lifted the Bundesliga title in 2007. Achieving a level of bench-warming which would make Lukas Podolski jealous, Hildebrand failed to fulfil the prophecies of the Spanish press who had him pegged as the long-term successor to the equally in-awe-of-himself Santiago Canizares. Now, leaving the Valencia bench looking like Homer Simpson's sofa, Hildebrand has been given his cards and with a loud "adios" ringing in his ears, he now looks covetously at the Bundesliga in the hope that one of Germany's top clubs will remember that he was actually quite a good stopper before becoming a permanent fixture in the home dug-out at the Mestalla. After a first season in Valencia which saw him play 26 games, Timo fell out of favour at the Mestalla when coach Ronald Koeman was replaced by Unai Emery at the end of the last campaign. Emery, supposedly a no-nonsense kind of guy, immediately opted to play Brazilian Renan Brato in goal at the Spanish club in place of the preening German. Cue a season of pouting and complaining which did the young Hildebrand no favors whatsoever. After a Spanish Super Cup appearance on August 24, Timo settled down with his haemorrhoid cushion to enjoy a view of Valencia's league campaign that the fans in the vertiginous stands would kill for. So what now for the one-time great goalkeeping hope of German soccer? It must be galling for Timo to look towards his former club and once again see Jens Lehmann creaking away between the sticks in the shirt that should be his. It's just like the national team all over again. While Lehmann may not make another season at Stuttgart, it is unlikely that Hildebrand will spend the rest of the season buying hair products in the hope that he'll get the call home from new coach and former team mate Markus Babbel at the start of the next campaign. He may be very use to doing nothing for a living but chances are that Timo will want to get back to playing as soon as possible. Hoffenheim and Cologne seem to be interested and are reportedly looking to bring the free agent in from the cold in the January transfer window. Hmm…Not particularly fashionable clubs, eh, Timo? Despite their high-flying debut season, being the Hoffenheim keeper is hardly an advantage when going for those lucrative L'Oreal contracts. And Cologne? All those clowns and beer can play havoc with your image. It all seems so very far away from those heady days of championship success and the almost predetermined elevation to the Germany No.1 slot. The grass may not have been greener in Valencia but the sun was definitely warmer and the euros more in abundance. Now it seems that if Timo Hildebrand is going to prove to everyone that he can still perform at the level he once could before his move to Spain, he's going to have to brave the cold once more and take whatever offer comes his way -- regardless of whether his new team's shirts match his eyes. |
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| 03.12.2008 |
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| Hertha Berlin are third in the Bundesliga -- a sentence I never thought I write in December. Hertha aren't playing that much differently than usual, but they're winning. I've seen it with my own eyes. Two weeks ago in the fan section at the Olympic stadium: Berlin play one of the worst first halves since the demise of the 7-2-1 formation, going behind after a marshmallow-soft goal to Hamburg. Then, before I'd even gotten the half-time beers back to my seat, Hertha score twice. They hibernate their way through the remaining 40-odd minutes but, with a little help from aluminum, rack up three points. Last weekend in Bar 11 in the Kreuzberg district of Berlin: Hertha go up early against Cologne before conceding a stupid equalizer milliseconds before the break. The second half winds its way to a conclusion, both teams seem happy with a point. Typical Hertha, I think...and then Marco Pantelic scores the winner with a nifty back-to-the-goal header. The Bar 11 goes wild. I am truly confused. Can it be that this is our season? I know better to believe that. Been there too many times before. It's never our season. And yet... ...midfielders Cicero and Kacar have been excellent, and the interior defense is arguably the best in the Bundesliga. Why shouldn't they keep on winning? Well, maybe the fact that coach Lucien Favre can't stand Pantelic, the team's best goal-getter, and wants to flog him off at the winter break. After the Cologne match Pante practically begged to be allowed to stay, but will Favre relent? Just another soap opera to add to the emotional bewilderment of a Hertha fan who'd love to hope but who's learned -- the hard way -- to keep his enthusiasm well in check. |
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