| 27.04.2009 |
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| When the history of the 2008-9 Bundesliga season is finally written, I suspect it will include the name Gerhard Tremmel. In the 17th minute of Wolfsburg's Sunday match, the Cottbus keeper came up with one of those saves of the week. The eastern Germans went on to beat the league leaders -- a result that has implications for lots of people far away from either the Polish border or VW's headquarters. First and foremost, it's going to make the Wolves, previously riding a ten-game winning streak, even more skittish as they try to close out the title. Had Wolfsburg won in Cottbus, the race would have been theirs to lose. Now it's wide open. Second, Hertha Berlin -- now trailing Magath's men by only two points -- will start dreaming once more of hoisting the trophy. And take it from a Hertha fan: this is NOT usually a good thing. Third, Wolfsburg's 2-nil slip-up may have cost Jürgen Klinsmann his job and Bayern a lot of short-term money. Klinsi is rumoured to have a five-million-euro severance clause in his contract that kicks in if he's fired during his first season. He now has, and it's hard to imagine Hoeness and Co. spending that sort of money, if they had been trailing the Wolves by six points. As they would have, had Wolfsburg not been stymied by Cottbus. Fourth, Stuttgart have to be feeling very, very confident right now. Of all the top five, they're the only ones who've been there, done that when it comes to a national title. And their last opponent is Bayern Munich. Fifth, at only three points behind, Hamburg's hopes haven't entirely died yet. But they'll have to deal with Bremen in the UEFA Cup during the week and Hertha at the weekend. And in that vein, sixth and seventh, Schalke and Dortmund may be too far back to have anything but a outside shot at the league title. But they could realistically qualify for international competition. And that's means there are going to be multiple top matches with lots at stake every round of play. It's going to be quite a spectacle. So buckle up (in this case to a comfy couch or sturdy bar stool) and enjoy what's certain to be a frantic homestretch sprint with plenty of twists and turns. |
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| 27.04.2009 |
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| A newly avowed Schalke fan, I have been personally delivered from temptation by none other than Bayern Munich's team manager Uli Hoeness and chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. Completely of my own volition, I confess to flirting with the possibility of making FC Bayern Munich my Bundesliga club of choice and now solemnly swear to reject the false icons the team uses to lure unsuspecting soccer fans to a fiery hell of red and white colored merchandise. But don't get me wrong, I won't deny attraction I felt for the team and now recognize as prurient and base. I was pulled in first by fond -- but now aging -- memories of Philipp Lahm, Lukas Podolski and Bastian Schweinsteiger during the 2006 World Cup. Then awe for Luca Toni and Franck Ribery blinded me. And the team's illustrious record possesses a magnetism of its own. But it was Juergen Klinsman's sheer charisma that finally led to my fall from grace. A Klinsi devotee since his days as a player, I kneeled before the soccer gods and prayed for his success at the head of the national team when others questioned his methods, and I nearly folded my hands again for his sake after the surprise take over at Bayern. Now, with Klinsmann out of the picture, the battle for my soul can come to an end. Jupp Heynckes just doesn't have what Klinsi did, and I suspect wishing a rash of own-goals and missed opportunities on him will come with a long-practiced ease. My this be the first, last and only time I have to say it, but thank you Uli Hoeness and thank you Karl-Heinz Rummenigge for you have saved me. |
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| 23.04.2009 |
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| Reflecting on Bremen's win on penalties over Hamburg in the German Cup on Wednesday, I found myself humming a line from my favorite songwriter Elliott Smith: "It's all about taking the easy way out, I suppose." Werder Bremen have had a disastrous season in the league, and yet, like Hamburg, they're still in it with a shout to win two titles. And unlike Hamburg, Bremen's chances for some silverware come down to only four games. One win by a wide-enough margin over Hamburg in the UEFA Cup semifinals would be enough to send Werder to the big show in Istanbul. And a single result against fellow underachievers Leverkusen would net them the German Cup. Not too shabby for a team that, in the weekly grind of the league, has disappointed more than any other. Bremen can afford to rest their top players on weekends -- knowing that they're not part of the relegation battle and too far behind to climb into the top five in the table. Hamburg, on the other hand, have got to go all out in the remaining six league matches, plus play Bremen twice more in the UEFA semis. With a goal difference in the league of only plus 4, Hamburg are arguably fortunate to be third in the standings and have to be worried that luck will even itself out. One bad break has come already -- the injury picked up by striker Mladen Petric in Wednesday's Cup match. There's nothing more agonizing than to be in contention for multiple titles and win none -- ask Leverkusen who in 2002 managed to lose the Champions League, the league title and German Cup in the space of a few short weeks. So, personal loyalties aside, you're far better off supporting Bremen at the moment. They've got the easier way -- I suppose. |
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| 19.04.2009 |
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| Wolfsburg and Bayern aren't the only ones currently riding winning streaks. In fact, three teams that looked to be pretty much deceased have put together series of wins and gotten themselves back in contention for international competition. The first, of course, is Stuttgart. Having put aside his dreams of a move to Munich, striker Mario Gomez is looking like his old self again, popping in a hat-trick against an overmatched Cologne on Saturday. The scary thing, for the competition, about Stuttgart's resurgence is that they've been in this position before and gotten the job done -- having come from nowhere to win the league title in 2006-7. They don't eat brains, but they have come back from the dead Players like Gomez, Thomas Hitzlsperger and Roberto Hilbert can draw on that experience. And since they've still yet to play both Wolfsburg and Bayern, they have the opportunity to make up ground on leaders fast. The second squad to climb out of the grave is Schalke. They handed out such a beating to Cottbus on Friday that the Eastern German team had to refund money paid for tickets to their disgruntled fans. Schalke's resurrection seems to be down to a coaching change. For the second year in a row, former players Mike Büskens and Youri Mulder have been brought in to rescue the Royal Blues -- and for the second year in a row they're getting the job done. The bosses in Gelsenkirchen need to seriously consider retaining the duo, rather than squandering money on yet another high-profile Dutch coach. After all, who better equipped to deal with the madhouse that is Schalke than guys who've survived it for years? Finally another question -- and no cheating: which Bundesliga team has the fewest losses? Hard to believe but it's Dortmund. They, too, have strung together some wins and are threatening to crack the top five. That's been due in part to scheduling -- after starting 2009 slowly in matches against top competition, coach Jürgen Klopp's men have begun piling up points versus mediocre opposition. That could change. In their final six matches, Dortmund have to play Hamburg and Wolfsburg as well as three of the four main relegation candidates -- never an easy task late in a season. But in any case, how these three teams -- the undead, if you will -- perform is going to have a major influence on who wins the league title this season. |
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| 05.04.2009 |
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| Well, it took a few weeks, but a couple of predictions I made came true this weekend. And I'm anything but happy about it. The first was that Wolfsburg and not Bayern would be the biggest threat to take over first place from Hertha Berlin. Boy, did that one ever come true. The Wolves didn't just beat Munich on Saturday. They beat the living crap out of them, with super striker Grafite scoring a final goal that was the football equivalent of a rim-hanging, crotch-grabbing, wave-my-finger-in-your-face dunk in basketball. Strikers Dzeko and Grafite humiliated Bayern All of Bayern's deficiencies were on display -- a wobbly back four, a lack of midfield creativity and an absence of tactical acumen on the sidelines. Munich do have a home game in hand, but even if one grants them a three-point advantage over the rest of the competition, they'd still probably lose a tie-break to Wolfsburg. Meanwhile, Hertha's big shortcoming was also apparent. While they're a disciplined team capable of scoring big goals on the counter-attack, they're hard pressed when they have to take the game to their opponents. We in the capital, I think, can shelve our dreams of a title for the immediate future and concentrate on hoping that Hertha can hang on to a top-three spot. With five of their last eight on the road, it will be an uphill struggle. Hoffenheim also fell out of the top five, as I forecast this winter. But it's hard to fault them for what's been a disappointing 2009. No team has been harder hit with injuries, suspensions and unwelcome distractions, and Ralf Rangnick and his squad deserve credit for avoiding total collapse. And they've had poor luck as well -- Boubacar Sanogo hitting the post three times against Bremen, for example, or the ball skipping through for the otherwise harmless Jonathan Pitroipa to score the lone goal in Hoffenheim's 1-nil loss to Hamburg. I would have loved to see Hoffenheim challenging for the top spots until the final weeks of the season, but I just couldn't see it happening back in February. Unfortunately, I was right. |
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