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

Bayern have their work cut out for them in the next couple of seasons. Ribery, Robben, Lahm, Schweinsteiger are all 30 years or older and thus far Götze has not fully delivered.
Obiously they will be the team to beat for the foreseeable future, but it's not guaranteed that they can keep their current level.
 
But i would say Bayern Munich will win 100% the league for the next three seasons.
That would be sensational :drool:. It's also highly unlikely that we can win 6 league titles in a row. We have to replace so many key players in the next few years and transition periods never work as smoothly as they look on paper, just like new signings often don't work out as well as you want to believe.
 
Bayern have their work cut out for them in the next couple of seasons. Ribery, Robben, Lahm, Schweinsteiger are all 30 years or older and thus far Götze has not fully delivered.
Obiously they will be the team to beat for the foreseeable future, but it's not guaranteed that they can keep their current level.
That would be sensational :drool:. It's also highly unlikely that we can win 6 league titles in a row. We have to replace so many key players in the next few years and transition periods never work as smoothly as they look on paper, just like new signings often don't work out as well as you want to believe.
The same goes for Dortmund.
Wolfsburg could come closer over the next years but they must improve their squad and not lose their best players like De Bruyne or Rodriguez (And i don't think both will be Wolfsburg players after the Euro 2016).
Schalke, Leverkusen and Mönchengladbach have no serious chance.

If i find a betting site where i could put money on that (Bayern Munich will win the league in the next three seasons) then i would do it.
 
Yeah I think Bayern will be the favourites for the near future. They will have to go through a transitional period due to their key players being or near 30, but they have too much financial clout and the pull to be troubled at the top - unless another club has a freak season. I just can't see another club pipping them to the title at the moment or in the near future. Like you stated, it remains to be seen whether Wolfsburg can hold on to their best players although they do have rich owners. Dortmund have a bit of work to do after their disastrous season in addition to their recent abysmal transfer dealings.
 
Imho Bayern have already started to decline over the past two seasons (part of that is obviously down to injuries though) and for all we know Guardiola might be gone after next season. Even if they manage to replace several key players and possibly their coach without dropping quality (that would be a massive achievement for any club/dof) and go on to win titles they will probably face increasing motivation/concentration issues with every year.

These things usually go in cycles.
 
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I watched Gladbach vs Wolfsburg tonight, decent game that Gladbach deserved to win, outside of Bayern they have been the most impressive team in the Bundesliga this season IMO, they need to get a good striker in the summer window though if they are to try and push on.

Congrats to @Balu and @Blackwidow on Bayern's confirmation of their 25th league title. Looking at the game at the weekend I think you have another two excellent young prospects on your hands with Gaudino and Weiser.
 
Schalke could potential be the next competitor to Bayern as they have the finest pick of young german players. Enjoy watching Draxler and Mayer play ball. They should probably do better with signings and not believe everyone coming out of their academy will be a superstar.
 
Schalke could potential be the next competitor to Bayern as they have the finest pick of young german players. Enjoy watching Draxler and Mayer play ball. They should probably do better with signings and not believe everyone coming out of their academy will be a superstar.
They have a wonderful foundation in terms of young talent and I did expect them to improve further every year and build on it. It didn't happen though, for various reasons but the main one clearly being the managers they appointed since Rangnick stepped down because of his burn out. Huub Stevens and Jens Keller should have been interim managers until the end of the season and then replaced with a good manager taking over before pre-season starts. But both got longterm contracts and were fired midway through the season. And the shiny new longterm solution Di Matteo looks totally out of his depth and has no clue how to develop young players and give the team some sort of attacking identity. That's what Meyer & Draxler and all the others need to develop, instead they're left alone in a shit attempt to park the bus with any many centerbacks as Di Matteo can find. If they waste another year with a manager who clearly isn't good enough, they probably miss the small window in which they could have challenged. If they didn't already by finishing outside the top 4 this year.
 
If Schalke wants to have any chance at progressing they really need to find a good manager who likes to work with young players. Di Matteo certainly isn't the right manager for them und him Schalkes has regressed and their good players will leave if this trend continues. Meyer seems to be already on Bayern's shopping list and if Draxler can recover some form it won't be long before teams get interested again.
 
Polish media tell that Lewy broke his jaw - source the doctor of the Polish national team. If this is right he will be out for the rest of the season.
 
Polish media tell that Lewy broke his jaw - source the doctor of the Polish national team. If this is right he will be out for the rest of the season.
Sport1 report that he got a fracture of the zygomatic bone. He might be able to play with a special mask, it's not sure yet.

edit:
looking at the picture, I'd say a broken nose is more likely than a broken jaw. Let's hope for the former, because he's definitely out for the rest of the season if it's a broken jaw.

robert-lewandoswki-600.jpg
 
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What's up with Robben, will he be back for the Barca game?
We'll know more around noon. He entered Müller-Wohlfahrt's clinic on crutches this morning, I doubt we'll see him against Barca. We could be without Ribery, Lewandowski and Robben in the CL semifinals, I think Barca should show some sympathy and play without Neymar, Suarez and Messi to make it a fair fight.
 
We'll know more around noon. He entered Müller-Wohlfahrt's clinic on crutches this morning, I doubt we'll see him against Barca. We could be without Ribery, Lewandowski and Robben in the CL semifinals, I think Barca should show some sympathy and play without Neymar, Suarez and Messi to make it a fair fight.
Ah, so Pep is now relying on Müller-Wohlfahrt. Good...
 
Ah, so Pep is now relying on Müller-Wohlfahrt. Good...
Well yeah, it was never in question that the players continue to go to him. Which makes the whole drama about him stepping down from his job at Bayern so ridiculous. Nothing really changed.
 
Lewandowski broke his upper jaw and his nose and has a concussion as well. Robben is out for the rest of the season with a tear in his left calf muscle. :( This season is just unreal.
 
Bayern will still eliminate Barcelona.
If we find 11 players who can start the games, we might have enough quality left to not get embarrassed. At this point, it would be an incredible achievement if we pulled it off with a mix of inexperienced young players, aging stars past their peak and a bunch of players who just returned from injury and aren't at 100% yet.
 
That sucks so hard. Barca now so heavy favorite. :( The season is as good as over.

Without these massive injuries i would have said that we are favorites.
 
This game was just a fecking disaster on all fronts. This season is over... I see no chance for us to advance in the CL, nevermind win the damned thing. Damn it all to hell.
It really can't get much worse than that.
 
So let's assume the worst (which is the most likely to happen anyway), Lewandowski won't play the first leg, what's left for us? Pizarro? I doubt he's fit enough to play a full game.

Something like:

Götze ----- Müller
Bernat Thiago Alonso Schweinsteiger Lahm
Benatia -- Boateng -- Rafinha
Neuer​

Which leaves Reina, Dante, Rode, Weiser, Pizarro, Gaudino on the bench. They can still do this right?
 
This game was just a fecking disaster on all fronts. This season is over... I see no chance for us to advance in the CL, nevermind win the damned thing. Damn it all to hell.
It really can't get much worse than that.
You just won the league, cheer up. :lol:
 
Wow that sucks. No Robben and no Ribery and eventually no Lewa for the first game against Barca. Any news on when Alaba returns? I think you guys miss him a lot as well.
I'd be surprised if we see him again this season.
 
So let's assume the worst (which is the most likely to happen anyway), Lewandowski won't play the first leg, what's left for us? Pizarro? I doubt he's fit enough to play a full game.

Something like:

Götze ----- Müller
Bernat Thiago Alonso Schweinsteiger Lahm
Benatia -- Boateng -- Rafinha
Neuer​

Which leaves Reina, Dante, Rode, Weiser, Pizarro, Gaudino on the bench. They can still do this right?

Doesn't look bad at all on paper.
 
Doesn't look bad at all on paper.
A lot of shiny names with a few questionmarks around the roles they have to play. It also lacks hold-up play and maybe even a bit pace on the counter and I don't think it's good enough to actually dominate possession in Barcelona. I really hope Lewandowksi can play or maybe Ribery makes a miraculous recovery.
 
Hopefully Lewa can wear some kind of mask for the Barca game.

Really unlucky from Bayern with all these injuries, good thing they have a good squad.
 
A lot of shiny names with a few questionmarks around the roles they have to play. It also lacks hold-up play and maybe even a bit pace on the counter and I don't think it's good enough to actually dominate possession in Barcelona. I really hope Lewandowksi can play or maybe Ribery makes a miraculous recovery.

What about Javi Martinez, wasn't he back on the bench against Hertha?!
 
What about Javi Martinez, wasn't he back on the bench against Hertha?!
He hasn't played a single match so far this season and is in training for a week. I'm not sure you can expect him to make his first start against the best team in the world and play well. He wasn't even part of the squad yesterday, so I doubt he's anywhere close to being ready to play, let alone start.
 
He hasn't played a single match so far this season and is in training for a week. I'm not sure you can expect him to make his first start against the best team in the world and play well. He wasn't even part of the squad yesterday, so I doubt he's anywhere close to being ready to play, let alone start.

Oh yeah.. you're right. Forgot that he had a very long-term injury..