Bundesliga, DFB Cup, and other Bundesliga business 2014/2015

That was a wonderful Hitzfeld-esque 5-3-2 win. I really enjoyed that. We should do that more often. It's a bit shit and doesn't really use the full potential of the squad, but it gets results. Really happy that my worries before the game weren't justified.

I still wonder if Pep had this plan all along though. If he tried to add more versatility in terms of tactics since the winterbreak and it just went horribly wrong against Wolfsburg and Gladbach because we didn't execute it well. Interesting weeks coming up and the game at Leverkusen in a few days will tell us a lot more. They're in way better form than Dortmund.
 
But even in that some minutes you could see what class Thiago has. I am usually not the one praising somebody for his ball skills, but I know that he has the eye for the others, too. That is something Götze is missing.

A BILD writer that was outside of the Bayern dressing room just twittered that Thiago went with tears in his eyes into it and the others then were singing Thiago, Thiago oh oh ...
 
Blackwidow said:
But even in that some minutes you could see what class Thiago has. I am usually not the one praising somebody for his ball skills, but I know that he has the eye for the others, too. That is something Götze is missing.
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He plays an annoying of football if you're his opponent, it's like all his touches are taunts "come get the ball off me sucker!!". I love these kinda players.
 
kouroux said:
He plays an annoying of football if you're his opponent, it's like all his touches are taunts "come get the ball off me sucker!!". I love these kinda players.
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He spots the runs of others something I always missed with Kroos. Yes, he takes more risks - but if you do not want to just play dribbling winger football he is the factor that is missing. And we have Lewa and Müller there - who are smart f*** especially when it means to kill the offside trap.
 
Balu said:
That was a wonderful Hitzfeld-esque 5-3-2 win. I really enjoyed that. We should do that more often. It's a bit shit and doesn't really use the full potential of the squad, but it gets results. Really happy that my worries before the game weren't justified.

I still wonder if Pep had this plan all along though. If he tried to add more versatility in terms of tactics since the winterbreak and it just went horribly wrong against Wolfsburg and Gladbach because we didn't execute it well. Interesting weeks coming up and the game at Leverkusen in a few days will tell us a lot more. They're in way better form than Dortmund.
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You cannot be serious. This was the worst game I have seen in the stadium for a long time. Lots of tactical fouls on both sides, which destroyed any kind of game flow and were left largely unpunished. No creative edge in either teams, which led to a whole lot of three chances in the whole game, two for us and one for you guys. You used your lucky punch and have the best GK in the world in your ranks, who saved you with a fantastic save (this was weirdly my highlight of the whole game given that I simply appreaciate these kind of scenes as GK).

If I add to that the denied pen for Auba in the last minutes I simply don´t see this as a game which deserved a winner. Neither Bayern (even with the injuries) nor Dortmund played that anywhere as good as they could have.
 
Sphaero said:
You cannot be serious. This was the worst game I have seen in the stadium for a long time.
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Of course I'm serious. It was easily the worst game between the two clubs in years. It was a bit dirty and not really great to watch. A fluky win. Still highly enjoyable to see that the team is still capable of such a win, a way of playing that won us many titles. Great stuff.
 
Balu said:
Of course I'm serious. It was easily the worst game between the two clubs in years. It was a bit dirty and not really great to watch. A fluky win. Still highly enjoyable to see that the team is still capable of such a win, a way of playing that won us many titles. Great stuff.
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The thing is - Bayern was leading 1:0. They did not have to be very creative...

Actually that was the same trap Bayern fell in a lot against Dortmund in the first years. They had early goals and just sat back and counter attacked...

With a 0:0 after 60 minutes Pep would have subbed differently...
 
Tuned into this game with the deluded hope that we could cherry pick Germany's best, without giving it chapter and verse I think that two of the better players on show could have already been playing for us if we had pulled our fingers out....Lewandoski & Benatia.
 
How do Ribery and Robben fit into this formation? Or at least Robben. Ribery might be dispensable for tactical reasons but certainly Robben isn't. Looks like if Bayern come up against attacking behemoths like Madrid and Barca Pep will approach the game with similar tactics, otherwise sitting back against 10th placed Dortmund in what was essentially a 5-3-2 but playing the usual gung-ho stuff against better sides wouldn't make sense. So how does this look when everyone is fit?
 
Bayern had a fantastic first half, while the second one was rather rubbish. Still Bayern had no reason to change things and Dortmund couldnt do anything against it. Lewandowski was the MotM and superb. Müller had a very good first half, but didn´t do a lot in the second one. Alonso had a stinker (again). Overall I am pleased with the game considering that so many key-players are missing.
 
Cait Sith said:
How do Ribery and Robben fit into this formation? Or at least Robben. Ribery might be dispensable for tactical reasons but certainly Robben isn't. Looks like if Bayern come up against attacking behemoths like Madrid and Barca Pep will approach the game with similar tactics, otherwise sitting back against 10th placed Dortmund in what was essentially a 5-3-2 but playing the usual gung-ho stuff against better sides wouldn't make sense. So how does this look when everyone is fit?
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Actually - in a similar match I could see Robben starting behind Müller and Lewandowski - and then you probably have more action on the other side. Like this Müller and Lewa were left alone. Müller and Lewa in a similar role - holding up for Robben who can come from behind - sometimes shifting roles. Like this both did a great shift fighting, running and pressing - but could not do not create much chances as they were outnumbered. With another fast man coming from behind it would have been different.
 
Before the match started I was sure Dortmund would win it. Not so much because Bayern was missing Ribery or Robben but because they were missing Alaba. He and Boateng are Bayern only insurance versus really dangerous counter attacking teams, with fast players like Reus and Auba.

I didn't assume Pep being able to adjust his tactics this far. But he did. LvG's Bayern would have sticked to their one and only plan and would have run into the well-prepared knife. I was very disappointed that Klopp didn't bring Ramos right after halftime. Before Ramos came on Bayern's back three towers had so much of an aerial advantage that Dortmund didn't even try to cross into the box.

Anyway, knowing the teams and their usual style of play, tactically the match was a joy. For the neutral occasional fan it probably wasn't. And for the one's who doubted: Pep can put his team to a Plan B, no doubt.

PS: Those 10 minutes of Thiago were a pure joy. I really hope he stays heathy.
 
BigDunc9 said:
Lewandowskis abillity to make something of every ball upto him is superb.
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Just realized he wasn't mentioned enough: Lewa was great tonight. IMO he is still the best centre forward in the world. In Bayern's system he's usually lacking the opportunity to shine because all opponents are parking the bus. But he is a major improvement over Mandjukic.
 
Balu said:
That was a wonderful Hitzfeld-esque 5-3-2 win. I really enjoyed that. We should do that more often. It's a bit shit and doesn't really use the full potential of the squad, but it gets results. Really happy that my worries before the game weren't justified.

I still wonder if Pep had this plan all along though. If he tried to add more versatility in terms of tactics since the winterbreak and it just went horribly wrong against Wolfsburg and Gladbach because we didn't execute it well. Interesting weeks coming up and the game at Leverkusen in a few days will tell us a lot more. They're in way better form than Dortmund.
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Actually I think this match tonight was Pep's prep for the cup match in Leverkusen. Losing tonight wouldn't have mattered much but on Wedneday it would.
 
I have admit I found the Dortmund/Bayern game disappointingly dull, it did once again confirm my view that Bernat was the best big club buy of the summer though.
 
gofelx said:
Gonna be a fun League next year with the likes of Ingolstadt and Darmstadt getting promoted as well. Lot of interesting match ups like Darmstadt-Hoffenheim, can't wait :drool:
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I would never say "A relegation is sometimes the best for a club" but maybe your club really needs a relegation......the wrong decisions on and off the pitch are reaching a new level every week.
HSV can have only hope.....that there will be again two worse teams at the end of the season.
 
This game showed that even a quite mistake-free performance from a full-strength BVB isn't enough to deal with a Bayern-team stripped of some extraordinary players which does only what's necessary. The gap between the two clubs has widened.
I guess Pep saw it as an important test-run for meeting high quality attacking teams like Barca or Real. He will be satisfied.

A bit a match of the unsung heroes - Dante was excellent, as was Bernat - if this guy develops more penetration skill in his attacking play, he might develop into a world class fullback. Also Rafinhas consitency is often overlooked.

It was a joy to see Thiago back. His ball playing skills even stick out after being a year away, he is a level above everyone else on the pitch. Which quote i stole from just about everyone who was visiting the Bayern training grounds the last couple of weeks, like german team manager Hansi Flick.
 
A point at Augsburg isn't a terrible result this season but that wasn't enough for a top 4 finish for Schalke........8 points now away from Leverkusen.
Okay everything is possible with Leverkusen but no i can't see that Leverkusen are always so stupid and Schalke are improving their form so much over the next weeks.
Big blow for Schalke's future.
 
@Sphaero : how do you rate kampl so far?

i can't really decide if he's indeed kinda agile and lost in a f*cked-up system, or if he's just running around like a headless chicken. imho he doesn't really gel in ever as fluently as i had hoped, but that could as well be said about kagawa, mkhitaryan, immobile, ramos or gündogan - so i tend to view it as a system-based lack of actually considerable game-play!?
 
What do you do when the officials do not permit your choreographies...

You make one with red and white umbrellas...

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From the U23-derby between Bayern Munich and 1860.
 
Reus and Hummels not starting for Dortmund in the Cup QF today. Both injured, apparently.

Freiburg doing decently at Wolfsburg so far, 0-0 at half time.
 
Only 15k in the stadium and probably a couple of thousand Freiburg fans among them. That's really pathetic for a club which is doing as well as Wolfsburg atm.
 
do.ob said:
Only 15k in the stadium and probably a couple of thousand Freiburg fans among them. That's really pathetic for a club which is doing as well as Wolfsburg atm.
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Only the morning shift can attend as the afternoon shift works and it is not enough time for the night shift to get to work etc. in time... :cool:
 
Subotic, oh dear. 2-1 Hoffenheim, nice finish by Firmino.
 
strongwalker said:
Someone please inform the BVBdefense that volland is actually quite a competent forward? That had a hint of Brazil vs. Müller, tbh. Quite ridiculous for a top tier team.
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More of USA vs Müller

Subotic... - I always ask myself what that sub... stands for... substandard? substitute him?
 
Twigginater said:
My mates gone today. Can't watch the match but has it been decent?
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Robert Firminio is a joy to watch and it is in general a high intensity game. However Dortmund's build-up with Sokratis, Subotic and Sven Bender is pretty miserable to watch. It's all about their fullbacks charging forward (mostly unsuccessfully) or a haily mary pass towards Aubameyang.

It's intense though, so I enjoy watching it.
 
Blackwidow said:
Subotic... - I always ask myself what that sub... stands for... substandard? substitute him?
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I suppose he used to be good. Everytime i watched him in the recent past he has been awful.
 
Well now were at the familiar point of Dortmund trying/failing to break down an opponnet whos sitting deep.
 
2-2 Aubamayang or wth it´s spelled. Dortmund enter strongly in the second half
 
Yeah. Looks like they put in a lot more effort now.
 
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