| 28.05.2009 |
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| I don't know but the last weekend of the season reminded me of the ending to a Coen Brothers movie, one of their screwball comedies where a bunch of weird stuff happens and then kind of stops, in medias res, because, well, it has to stop somewhere. Wolfsburg raced out to a big lead, and Hertha completely blew it in Karlsruhe, so there was little drama at the top end of the table. The Wolves got their first-ever title, and deservedly so, but are faced with the prospect of a maiden trip throught the Champions League without the coach that built their success. The retribution you would have expected Bayern to get for fielding a poorly coached (and by some accounts not really physically fit) team never materialized. They coasted through with pride and budget intact. Stuttgart got what they wanted -- and then promptly lost their best player Mario Gomez to Bayern thanks to a secret 30-million-euro transfer clause in his contract (cue up Brad Pitt whispering "I've got your secret s%&t" to John Malkovich). Hertha and Hamburg don't know whether to happy or not -- especially Hamburg who were gifted a spot in whatever the UEFA Cup will be called by a last-minute, clearly offside goal. In the end, it was a season of anomalies, curious twists and occasional bits of farce that may not have signaled a new direction for the Bundesliga, or taught us anything about the football, but that was more fun to watch than I would have thought last August. |
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| 18.05.2009 |
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| …muttered my despondent fellow Hertha fan Krishnan in block F16.5 of Berlin’s Olympic Stadium, as the clock ticked down, the taunting chants of Schalke supporters grew louder and the gigantic 0:0 refused to yield from the stadium video screen. It was one of those afternoons. The only time the ball crossed the line was in the twentieth minute, after Marko Pantelic beat Schalke keeper Manuel Neuer – but the goal was ruled offside. The consensus is that it was a bad call, but that’s no consolation or excuse. Hertha are out of the title race, while Wolfsburg and Stuttgart got big wins to keep their dream of hoisting the “salad bowl” alive. They deserve it because they played attacking football (especially the Wolves who absolutely crushed Hanover). Meanwhile, Hertha stuck with the counter-attacking strategy that kept them in the race for 33 rounds but that was unlikely to break down the team with the best defense in the league and sole goal of spoiling our party. What else could we have done? The good news is that Hertha are guaranteed at least a Champions League qualification spot if we beat Karlsruhe – a bottom-of-the-table team with no choice but to attack -- on Saturday. No one committed suicide, no one lost an eye – the only casualty was a beer I dumped all over my trousers and the poor lady sitting in front of me. And there’s no point in crying over spilt beer or bad calls, though I would recommend the linesman stay away from the German capital for a couple of weeks. |
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| 10.05.2009 |
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| After this weekend's nasty 4-1 loss to Stuttgart, the answer would have to be almost everyone in the top five. First and foremost, still-table-toppers Wolfsburg have to be concerned about Dortmund, who are their mid-week opponents. Dortmund have the league's longest winning streak at present, and though the Wolves have been unbeatable at home this season, Dortmund have only lost four times. If the Wolves drop points to the men in yellow and black, they can likely kiss the top spot good-bye. Bayern, of course, have stabilized themselves under interim manager Jupp Heynckesand will now be thinking that the league title may be within reach after all. Third-placed Hertha are also lurking and have the advantage of an easier run-in. Their remaining opponents are Cologne, Schalke and last-placed Karlsruhe, compared to Dortmund, Hanover and Bremen for the Wolves. Wolfsburg would have run away with the title, had they not had troubles winning outside the VW Arena, so their away match in Hanover could prove a snag. And Bremen are capable of beating anyone on the right day. Finally, Wolfsburg probably won't need reminding that Stuttgart are also less than one win behind them, and that the Southern Germans already proved in 2006-7 season that they can keep their nerves in the clutch. Keeping one's nerve -- that's what the title will come down to in final three rounds of one of the tightest Bundesliga seasons ever. |
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| 08.05.2009 |
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| Boy, do I feel sorry for Hamburg and their fans. A couple of weeks ago, the Northern Germans were in the hunt for three titles. Now, they’re out of the UEFA and German Cups and have only an outside chance of capturing the league crown. To make matters worse, their failures in the two cup competitions came against their most hated rivals, fellow Northern Germans Werder Bremen. And to cap it all off, the corner kick that led to Bremen’s decisive third goal in Thursday’s game apparently happened when the ball hit a rolled-up wad of paper thrown on to the pitch by one of Hamburg’s own fans. Talk about absurdity added insult added to injury! And there many be a further bitter irony in store. Bremen have come in for heavy criticism of late for resting star players like Diego in the league to save them for the cup competition. The loudest complainer was, of course, Hamburg. But with Diego now banned from the UEFA Cup final after picking up a third yellow card, coach Thomas Schaaf will have little reason to leave him out of the squad for Bremen’s next match – which is, of course, against Hamburg |
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| 04.05.2009 |
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| After Wolfsburg’s 4-nil demolition of Hoffenheim, Felix Magath is poised to win a league title with his third different club and cement his reputation as one of the Bundesliga’s all-time greatest coaches. He’s already secured the title of its most inscrutable. It's now official that, despite his success with Wolves, Magath is heading to Schalke. That's after the coach himself fuelled months of speculation by refusing to confirm or deny anything. Now, in normal times, most people would say Schalke is a better gig than Wolfsburg. But these are anything but normal times, and you have to scratch your head at someone voluntarily giving up a chance to play in the Champions League next season in order to take over a team with a notoriously crotchety management that will be likely watching the 2009-10 international matches on TV. Or so what will be the upshot of Magath’s decision for this season? Will it take the pressure off his young team as they try to wrap up the league trophy? Last weekend, the focus was all on the coach while Edin Dzeko quietly scored a hat-trick to clinch a pivotal win. In his post-match interview, Magath, who’s played down expectations all season, said the title was Wolfsburg’s to lose – the verbal equivalent of a two-finger salute in Munich’s direction. What’s going on with this man? Someone please tell me because I surely can’t figure it out. |
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