| 19.03.2009 |
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| Months ago I promised to announce which Bundesliga team would bask in the glow of my adoration, and, loath as I am to run contrary to readers' opinions (you said I should support Bielefeld -- and they got close), I've decided to extend my love to FC Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04. And ever since I made the decision the bad news doesn't stop rolling in. Results from the second leg of the season have been like multiple stab wounds to the chest -- the most recent of which was the 4-3 loss to Wolfsburg last week. But now, even as the team works to reclaim its title as the "struggling also rans" and "perennial bridesmaids" of the Bundesliga, the Royal Blues are looking to plunge the knife into my back. Ollie Kahn? In Gelsenkirchen? Say it ain't so. Even though I don't doubt his qualification for the job (much) is looking at the one-time "King Kahn" really something Schalke execs have the nerve to ask their fans to stomach? Please, give me something to be happy about on Sunday in the match at home against Hamburg. I'd like to hope for a UEFA Cup spot, but part of me is already resigned to the fact that I've sworn allegiance to Schalke in a season that will go down as (another) one that leaves fans in tears. |
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| 15.03.2009 |
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| Bayer Leverkusen -- the young side many people tipped as a dark horse to win the league this season -- came into Saturday's match with Hertha Berlin knowing it was do or die. Leverkusen died, but it was the way they did it that was most curious. Instead of playing their usual pressing, offensive football, coach Bruno Labbadia's squad tried to match Hertha at a game of hang back, win the ball and counterattack. The result -- from the perspective of a Hertha fan -- was one of the best crap matches ever. Leverkusen didn't generate a single serious scoring opportunity. Indeed, ace striker Patrick Helmes only had one shot on goal, late in the day and from an impossible angle. Rarely has a 1-nil outcome seemed so natural, so self-evident,so...well, easy. The game illustrated why Leverkusen are currently twelve points behind Hertha. While they're capable of scoring prodigiously and elegantly, they don't do the little things that win games. Case in point: the lone goal of the match. Hertha striker Raffael tracked back to win the ball in midfield. Three passes later and a somewhat lucky rebound off of striker Andriy Voronin's chest, and Hertha had all the advantage they needed to secure three big points and take Leverkusen out of contention. Leverkusen should take a good hard look at the video of this match and learn two lessons. Always play your own game, and remember that it's sometimes the basics, and not the brilliance, that gets results. |
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| 08.03.2009 |
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| There are some worries I like having. For instance, concerns about which team poses the greatest challenge to Hertha Berlin at the top of the table – never thought I’d write that sentence in March! But that’s the way things stand, and the team making me most nervous at the moment isn’t Bayern Munich. The press will be full of Munich-is-back reports this week, but I’m not convinced. The team I’m afraid of is Wolfsburg. The Wolves are on a serious roll in 2009, taking 16 points from their first 6 matches. And unlike Klinsmann’s collection of often underperforming big names, Wolfsburg is balanced side without any obvious weaknesses. Grafite and Edin Dzeko are, for my money, the best forward duo in the league. They’re both big, burly guys capable of outmuscling opponents – which is precisely what happened to Hertha when they lost to the Wolves three weeks ago. They also have Zvjezdan Misimovic, a midfielder capable of scoring directly from free kicks, which is becoming something of a lost art in the league. In any case I’d take him over Bastian Schweinsteiger most days. And their defense is the third-best in Germany. They don’t allow opponents many scoring opportunities, and when they do, keeper Diego Benaglio – in contrast to Bayern’s Michael Rensing – is usually up to the job. Finally, whereas Bayern have a motivator in Juergen Klinsmann, the Wolves are run by strategist Felix Magath. Call me old-fashioned, but I prefer coaches who concentrate on tactics and whose teams have won something in the past. The two teams play one another the first week of April, and I think it will be one of the key games of the season. I’ll be watching in any case – and praying for a draw. |
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