Thank you both, let's hope it clicks in the coming days and we go on a run.
Bundesliga, DFB Cup, and other Bundesliga business 2014/2015
- Thread starter ManniKaltz
- Start date
Thank you both, let's hope it clicks in the coming days and we go on a run.
No Thorgan Hazard?
I've been saying this for weeks now.
And what the feck, why is Ribery playing rightback?
Ah, he comes on with 20 seconds left. Plenty of time for a goal or two.
He hasn't been outstanding or anything so far. At the moment he's only a squad player.
Xhaka was finally finding some form for Gladbach, I hope he's not seriously injured. Kinda glad that he's out for the rest of the game though, makes it less likely that Gladbach score a late winner on the counter 
Pep trying to woo the female 4th official there.
What an excellent game this was. Gladbach really do look a good bet for second place this season.
impressive performance by Gladbach. They closed the center, defended well against crosses and played some nice counters. These are matches where Robben/Ribery are missing. Neuer saved this point. Its almost impossible to beat him at the moment.
I'm happy with the draw, I hated the second half though. We completely lost control of the game and the subs and tactical decisions were awful. And I've no fecking clue why Ribery was playing somewhere deep on the right wing instead of dribbling down the left. Can someone explain that to me or did I imagine that?
Neuer with another incredible performance and I absolutely love his chips over the strikers when they try to press him
. He's a cocky bastard, but he's excellent on the ball and actually pulls it off all the time.
Neuer with another incredible performance and I absolutely love his chips over the strikers when they try to press him
. He's a cocky bastard, but he's excellent on the ball and actually pulls it off all the time.I highly doubt he will get a lot of game time as soon as Gladbach stop playing against trash in the Euro League and DFB-Cup or go out of the cup competitions.
Gladbach plays a 4-4-2 with 2 second strikers up top in Kruse and Rafael with Hrgota (who's a classic center forward) as a different option. So he probably won't get any game time in the middle apart from some sub appearances.
On the wing he's behind Andre Hahn, Patrick Herrmann and Fabian Johnson in the pecking order, maybe even behind Traore.
Chelsea shouldn't have loaned him to a team which plays with 2 strikers and has at least 2 (probably 3) wingers who are better than him.
I'd really like to see Favre managing Bayern at one point in the future.
Chelsea would know that he won't be starting every game, we're not new to loaning out players.
At his age it's enough for him to be getting a few minutes and being a training as part of a very good first team squad (which he would not get at Chelsea this season).
Do you really think he has a future at Chelsea? From what I've seen, he's a decent talent, but he's already 21 and doesn't look good enough to break into a top 4 side in one of the top leagues anytime soon.
I've no idea, the odds are certainly againt it. We're stocked in his position in the first team, the under 21s and even the under 18s!
It's even worse with Piazon, he looks awful at Frankfurt so far. One good free kick but that was it.
I think Thorgan would be a good fit in a mid table team, he certainly has talent there's no doubt about it.
Thorgan Hazard needs playing practise. But he played Thursday against Limassol and as Favre does rotate (and his squad is healthy!) he will get some playing time.
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The ones that think that Dortmund will have it easy to get into the CL ranks at the end of the season should look onto the table and look out for the teams there.
Dortmund plays Bayern next weekend - and the important matches Bayern won in the last two years. And Gladbach will be a very tough cookie the week after that as their organisation is just great.
That could mean 7 points after 11 matches.
Right now Wolfsburg, Hoffenheim, Gladbach and Leverkusen sit straight behind Bayern on 2nd to 5th. Schalke, if they win their two matches against Freiburg and Augsburg, will be 10 points in front. All of them will go for the CL ranks.
Gladbach does not only have a very good defensive organisation - they are fast on the break, too. And offer the second best passing in the league. Their bench has enough players on one level to rotate - and they do not have much injuries. In Wolfsburg de Bruyne has found his role and looks great. Hoffenheim has solved the defensive issues without loosing their offensive abilities - and they have the advantage to not be playing in the European competitions.
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The ones that think that Dortmund will have it easy to get into the CL ranks at the end of the season should look onto the table and look out for the teams there.
Dortmund plays Bayern next weekend - and the important matches Bayern won in the last two years. And Gladbach will be a very tough cookie the week after that as their organisation is just great.
That could mean 7 points after 11 matches.
Right now Wolfsburg, Hoffenheim, Gladbach and Leverkusen sit straight behind Bayern on 2nd to 5th. Schalke, if they win their two matches against Freiburg and Augsburg, will be 10 points in front. All of them will go for the CL ranks.
Gladbach does not only have a very good defensive organisation - they are fast on the break, too. And offer the second best passing in the league. Their bench has enough players on one level to rotate - and they do not have much injuries. In Wolfsburg de Bruyne has found his role and looks great. Hoffenheim has solved the defensive issues without loosing their offensive abilities - and they have the advantage to not be playing in the European competitions.
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2nd Round of the DFB - Pokal (German FA cup) today and tomorrow with not too many interesting games, but at least the draw gave us two games between Bundesliga clubs (the ones in bold are Bundesliga clubs).
Today (all times in UTC):
18:00 Chemnitzer FC - Werder Bremen -:-
18:00 Arminia Bielefeld - Hertha BSC -:-
18:00 Kickers Offenbach - Karlsruher SC -:-
18:00 VfR Aalen - Hannover 96 -:-
19:30 Dynamo Dresden - VfL Bochum -:-
19:30 MSV Duisburg - 1. FC Köln -:-
19:30 1. FC Kaiserslautern - SpVgg Greuther Fürth -:-
19:30 FC St. Pauli - Borussia Dortmund -:-
Tomorrow (all times in UTC):
18:00 1. FC Magdeburg - Bayer Leverkusen -:-
18:00 Würzburger Kickers - Eintracht Braunschweig -:-
18:00 TSV 1860 München - SC Freiburg -:-
18:00 RB Leipzig - Erzgebirge Aue -:-
19:30 Hamburger SV - Bayern München -:-
19:30 1899 Hoffenheim - FSV Frankfurt -:-
19:30 VfL Wolfsburg - 1. FC Heidenheim 1846 -:-
19:30 Eintracht Frankfurt - Bor. Mönchengladbach -:-
Mainz, Paderborn, Augsburg, Stuttgart and Schalke are the five Bundesliga clubs that embarrassed themselves in the first round and went out. Dortmund play away against St. Pauli, who aren't doing any better in the 2nd Bundesliga than Dortmund in the 1st and lost 0-4 at home on the weekend. Gladbach have a difficult away game in Frankfurt, one of the two games between Bundesliga clubs, but they should be confident about the game after they kept their unbeaten run in all competitions alive with the draw against Bayern on Sunday.
Hamburg - Bayern is probably the biggest game. Hamburg fired their manager after starting the season with 1 draw and 2 losses right before the league game against Bayern. The new manager, Josef Zinnbauer, then started the job with a deserved goalless draw, but while the club showed some promising signs in the following games, they only managed one win so far (and it seems like everyone beats Dortmund in the league these days, so it's not that special) and lost 3-0 in Berlin on the weekend. Still, it's a cup game and if Hamburg can pull of a performance similar to the league game, Bayern might again struggle to break them down. I expect a comfortable win though.
Fun fact, Benatia is suspended for the game, because of a yellow card in his last cup game for Roma, it was the 2nd one in the competition for him. I'd understand it if still ongoing suspensions for straight red cards would count after a move in a different country, but the suspension for 2 yellow cards in different games in the Italian Cup now having an effect in the German cup seems very weird. Anyway, Boateng was rested on the weekend and will come back into the team for him, so it's no big deal. Robben is back in training and could maybe play as well, not sure if he's fit enough to start though.
(God, I hope, I won't regret the comment about everyone beating Dortmund in the league on Saturday)
Today (all times in UTC):
18:00 Chemnitzer FC - Werder Bremen -:-
18:00 Arminia Bielefeld - Hertha BSC -:-
18:00 Kickers Offenbach - Karlsruher SC -:-
18:00 VfR Aalen - Hannover 96 -:-
19:30 Dynamo Dresden - VfL Bochum -:-
19:30 MSV Duisburg - 1. FC Köln -:-
19:30 1. FC Kaiserslautern - SpVgg Greuther Fürth -:-
19:30 FC St. Pauli - Borussia Dortmund -:-
Tomorrow (all times in UTC):
18:00 1. FC Magdeburg - Bayer Leverkusen -:-
18:00 Würzburger Kickers - Eintracht Braunschweig -:-
18:00 TSV 1860 München - SC Freiburg -:-
18:00 RB Leipzig - Erzgebirge Aue -:-
19:30 Hamburger SV - Bayern München -:-
19:30 1899 Hoffenheim - FSV Frankfurt -:-
19:30 VfL Wolfsburg - 1. FC Heidenheim 1846 -:-
19:30 Eintracht Frankfurt - Bor. Mönchengladbach -:-
Mainz, Paderborn, Augsburg, Stuttgart and Schalke are the five Bundesliga clubs that embarrassed themselves in the first round and went out. Dortmund play away against St. Pauli, who aren't doing any better in the 2nd Bundesliga than Dortmund in the 1st and lost 0-4 at home on the weekend. Gladbach have a difficult away game in Frankfurt, one of the two games between Bundesliga clubs, but they should be confident about the game after they kept their unbeaten run in all competitions alive with the draw against Bayern on Sunday.
Hamburg - Bayern is probably the biggest game. Hamburg fired their manager after starting the season with 1 draw and 2 losses right before the league game against Bayern. The new manager, Josef Zinnbauer, then started the job with a deserved goalless draw, but while the club showed some promising signs in the following games, they only managed one win so far (and it seems like everyone beats Dortmund in the league these days, so it's not that special) and lost 3-0 in Berlin on the weekend. Still, it's a cup game and if Hamburg can pull of a performance similar to the league game, Bayern might again struggle to break them down. I expect a comfortable win though.
Fun fact, Benatia is suspended for the game, because of a yellow card in his last cup game for Roma, it was the 2nd one in the competition for him. I'd understand it if still ongoing suspensions for straight red cards would count after a move in a different country, but the suspension for 2 yellow cards in different games in the Italian Cup now having an effect in the German cup seems very weird. Anyway, Boateng was rested on the weekend and will come back into the team for him, so it's no big deal. Robben is back in training and could maybe play as well, not sure if he's fit enough to start though.
(God, I hope, I won't regret the comment about everyone beating Dortmund in the league on Saturday)
@Balu all three portuguese sport sites reporting Bayern interest (along with Arsenal) on Benfica's youth rank star Gonçalo Guedes. Any info in Germany on this?
http://www.ojogo.pt/Futebol/1a_liga/Benfica/interior.aspx?content_id=4203733
http://www.record.xl.pt/Futebol/Nacional/1a_liga/Benfica/interior.aspx?content_id=911757
http://www.abola.pt/nnh/ver.aspx?id=509214
http://www.ojogo.pt/Futebol/1a_liga/Benfica/interior.aspx?content_id=4203733
http://www.record.xl.pt/Futebol/Nacional/1a_liga/Benfica/interior.aspx?content_id=911757
http://www.abola.pt/nnh/ver.aspx?id=509214
I've seen the name mentioned a few times, but didn't read too much into it. Wouldn't he be crazy expensive? I doubt that we would spend so much money for a foreign youth player. I don't really know anything about him, is he really that good?
Yeah the value is too high for a mere youth rank player but the kid is special. He has already played for their senior team with 17 years of age, is a permanent fixture in the portuguese national team youth ranks and was one of the best players in the Benfica team that reached the youth Champions League final where they lost to Barcelona. I don't care about Benfica but if the kid keeps evolving this way, he can be a very interesting player for our national team, that's why i´m following him. I think he will be a star (lets see of which magnitude, he has all the technical tools but i don´t know enough about his mentality). Peter Lim from Valência is also keeping close tabs with him due to his Jorge Mendes link. I just found it intriguing that all three newspapers are reporting it. When there's smoke, there's fire.
Actually - not really. The most of Bayern's transfers recently came out of the blue. And I do not know any top player or top talent some English, Italian or Spanish magazine has not told that Bayern is interested in...
Nothing wrong with a bit of Mario Kart when you're on a bus!
A few from last season:
But the way you describe him doesn't really fit in my opinion. Calhanoglus shooting is amazing, and it's not only free kicks but in open play as well. His passing on the other hand is not one of his stand out attributes.
His technique on those free-kicks is outstanding. When I talked about his passing I wasn't meaning he was an inventive or clever passer, just that he moves into good spaces that allow for him to make the simple pass an effective pass.
How close is he to become a regular in Benfica's first team? And are those newspapers talking about Bayern being interested or about a done deal? The former might be true, if he really is a special talent, the latter is a whole different story. If we believe all the newspapers, we've signed Reus for the left wing as a Ribery replacement, have a pre-contract with Draxler since last summer and if this is true another brilliant left wing talent from Portugal lined up. Somehow I doubt all those rumours are true.
Well it's not common to see all three portuguese newspapers reporting it, that's why i found it intriguing. There is always plenty of rumours about european clubs being interested in portuguese players but it's usually one source and not all the newspapers combined.
It's difficult to enter the Benfica team with two argentinian internacionals like Gaitan and Sálvio but he played in the portuguese cup and got called up for the last champions league game against Mónaco. The reports are about being interested and having scouts on Benfica games (since the youth champions League days). I asked you because i'm not familiar with bundesliga rumours since few portuguese players go there (i wouldn't call Hugo Almeida a football player and Vieirinha is about the only portuguese player there at Wolfsburg). Only time i followed closely was when Paulo Sousa was at Dortmund. With all those rumours about Draxler and Reus, i'll take these news with a pinch of salt then. There are also reports that Benfica's president wants to renew his contract and put a 82 million euros clause!
I'd rather see us sign an exciting foreign talent than one of Draxler or Reus at the moment, so I for one hope there is some truth in those rumours. I'll let you know, in case one of the more reliable German newspapers report something about it.
Thanks mate. Only german link i saw was from this http://www.tz.de/sport/fc-bayern/wi...uedes-von-benfica-lissabon-holen-4262578.html
Yeah, saw that one earlier, but it just says that 'tuttomercatoweb', an Italian newspaper, report that we're scouting him. They also say that Benfica's president wants at least 70m Euro for him, so I didn't take it too seriously.
he plays as left winger, right? Bayern just bought Sinan Kurt, who plays the same position and is just few month older. I think its fairly normal, that big clubs scout promising player all over the world. The transfer would be a terrible decision for Guedes and a questionable for bayern. Nothing is impossible, but it would be a huge surprise.
He can play as LW and FW. Is this Sinan Kurt a youth rank internacional? Gonçalo Guedes is a big talent, one of the few who held his own against Barcelona's technical side in the Champions League youth final. Was from there he started to attract the attention from the scouts. He was fairly known in Portugal for his youth rank displays.
Kurt played in all german youthteams (U15+). Bayern went through some trouble to make this transfer happen and he is highly regarded. Personally I cant tell you too much about them, because I have only seen very little from them. Its entirely possible, that Guedes is the bigger/better talent, but bayern didnt buy Sinan Kurt just for their second team. Its unlikely that they buy another lad for this role/position; its hard enough to give one lad time on the pitch. It would be impossible to integrate both of the into the first team.
Furthermore Kurt has the advantage to be german. If things dont work out, there will be clubs who take him in a heartbeat. Worst case scenario is that he loses 1-2 year
Guedes would need to move to a foreign country, learn a new language and get around in a completely new environment. The risk that things dont work out and he gets stuck between a rock and a hard place is way higher. I just dont see the benefit. I dont want to take away anything from his talent, but a move to bayern would be a big risk.
Furthermore Kurt has the advantage to be german. If things dont work out, there will be clubs who take him in a heartbeat. Worst case scenario is that he loses 1-2 year
Guedes would need to move to a foreign country, learn a new language and get around in a completely new environment. The risk that things dont work out and he gets stuck between a rock and a hard place is way higher. I just dont see the benefit. I dont want to take away anything from his talent, but a move to bayern would be a big risk.
Immobile scores, 1-0 lead for Dortmund now in St. Pauli.
Hannover lost away at Aalen and is the 6th Bundesliga club to go out against a lower league side.
Hannover lost away at Aalen and is the 6th Bundesliga club to go out against a lower league side.
Bielefeld!
Hertha out on penalties, Schieber and Wagner both miss.
Hertha out on penalties, Schieber and Wagner both miss.
Why does RB Leipzig have 4x the amount of transfer budget to any other team in the 2. Bundesliga on FIFA 15?
Red Bull have pumped in a fair bit of cash to get them promoted the last couple of years.
I believe that all of those 'Red Bull' clubs like Leipzig or Austrian Salzburg are another shite wave of sugardaddy clubs.
red bull is sponsoring them and they do everything to establish them as first league club.
I wonder how much money RedBull will be willing to spend on their German football club, because RB Leipzig's ticketing, commercial and merchandising revenues will be negligible for the first couple of years. Their 44k seater stadium, for which they have to pay rent, is not comparable to the Allianz Arena, Veltins Arena or the Signal-Iduna Park in terms of matchday revenue. Aside from RedBull there'll be only a couple of local sponsorship deals and I doubt a lot of people outside of Saxony are going to be interested in becoming a walking RedBull billboard.
Even an annual sponsorship deal of € 100M would only bring them somewhere on Wolfsburg's level and they haven't achieved an awful lot since their one championship in 2009.
To close the gap to the top so tehy can compete with Bayern, BVB and Schalke, they'd have to invest at least € 1 billion over the next five years. That's an awful lot of money, even for RedBull.
Even an annual sponsorship deal of € 100M would only bring them somewhere on Wolfsburg's level and they haven't achieved an awful lot since their one championship in 2009.
To close the gap to the top so tehy can compete with Bayern, BVB and Schalke, they'd have to invest at least € 1 billion over the next five years. That's an awful lot of money, even for RedBull.