German football is turd

Couple seasons ago, got a lot entertainment value from watching Stuttgart, but it looks like this season I'll be getting value from Xabi Alonso's Bayer Leverkusen. Really enjoying their style of football. Such a pity I won't get to see them compete in Europe's premier competition. On that note, I wish Union Berlin well, provided they aren't in the same group as Man Utd, A.Madrid or Newcastle.
Just seeing Leverkusen's group. Excuse me if I come across as discourteous it isn't my intention to undermine the likes of Qarabağ FK, Molde and BK Häcken, but I fully expect Leverkusen to qualify, and I'll refrain from watching those Group games. Admittedly, I'm largely ignorant to how those three teams play from an aesthetic standpoint, and I can't say I'm particularly familiar with them to know the challenge they can pose, so it says more about my ignorance, than any shortcomings they may have.

With that being said, I look forward to seeing the exploits of Tapsoba, Frimpong, Xhaka, Wirtz, and Boniface in the knockout rounds. Last year, the Europa League exceeded my expectations with the likes of Barcelona, Juventus, Man Utd and Arsenal all being in the competition, so although I wish Leverkusen were in the UCL they may be some interesting additions further down the line. Speaking of the UCL, Union Berlin ... what a tough group!! Braga's firepower, Real's myriad of options in midfield and Napoli's side as a collective. What a sensational group for the neutrals.
 

Weird bump? Is it because Union are, to nobody's surprise, in waaay over their heads? After their dream season last season they're back to battling relegation, and there's no guarantee for them to stay up. So of course their fans celebrate even being in the CL.
 
Weird bump? Is it because Union are, to nobody's surprise, in waaay over their heads? After their dream season last season they're back to battling relegation, and there's no guarantee for them to stay up. So of course their fans celebrate even being in the CL.
What stood out to me from that tweet was that Napoli had just one shot on target, and the wider context that it took last minute winners for Real Madrid (94th minute) and Braga (94th minute) to take three points against Union Berlin in the tough UCL group. Although, their last place position and zero points in the UCL doesn't look great, my take is that it doesn't necessarily reflect poorly on German football given the nature of how close these games actually were. I do acknowledge your pushback, and concede that football is a result based business, and if they finish last in their group, I can see why that might invite criticism of German football, even if my own perspective is somewhat different.
 
Love the fact that the fans are supportive and positive, instead of negative about the players and club like some 'fans' can be.
 
What stood out to me from that tweet was that Napoli had just one shot on target, and the wider context that it took last minute winners for Real Madrid (94th minute) and Braga (94th minute) to take three points against Union Berlin in the tough UCL group. Although, their last place position and zero points in the UCL doesn't look great, my take is that it doesn't necessarily reflect poorly on German football given the nature of how close these games actually were. I do acknowledge your pushback, and concede that football is a result based business, and if they finish last in their group, I can see why that might invite criticism of German football, even if my own perspective is somewhat different.
I see, no disagreement with your sentiment then. :)
 
Love the fact that the fans are supportive and positive, instead of negative about the players and club like some 'fans' can be.
You mean more like them being their version of top reds which you highly approve of.
 
You mean more like them being their version of top reds which you highly approve of.
More like just supporting the team and not tearing chunks out of players who play for the team really.
 
Love the fact that the fans are supportive and positive, instead of negative about the players and club like some 'fans' can be.
Most of those fans 4yrs ago will never imagine they will be watching CL football in their home stadium ever. That will be like Burnley hosting Napoli Madrid in their stadium in the next 3yrs. They would be glad to just be there. They have already exceeded expectations
 
Weird bump? Is it because Union are, to nobody's surprise, in waaay over their heads? After their dream season last season they're back to battling relegation, and there's no guarantee for them to stay up. So of course their fans celebrate even being in the CL.
Maybe people just think this kind of support is pretty cool. As I do.
 
Maybe people just think this kind of support is pretty cool. As I do.
I do too, which is why I originally found this a weird stick to beat German football with, but it was already clarified that that was not the intention.
 
Can anyone explain why there were three red cards (for basically the same foul) in the Bayern game? There's no way they'd be given in the Prem right?
 
Can anyone explain why there were three red cards (for basically the same foul) in the Bayern game? There's no way they'd be given in the Prem right?
All pretty straightforward reds for being the last man. They would definitely be given in the PL as well, because they were not for the fouls as such but for this fact. Just funny that it happened three times in the same match, but once in a lifetime such things happen.
 
All pretty straightforward reds for being the last man. They would definitely be given in the PL as well, because they were not for the fouls as such but for this fact. Just funny that it happened three times in the same match, but once in a lifetime such things happen.
That's not how we do things in the EPL. 1 of them would be a red, 1 would be a yellow and the other just a free kick.
 
Bottom of the group to Galatasaray and Copenhagen. Really turd
 
Due to their respective results against United, Bournemouth are officially 3 times as good as the German champions.
 
Due to their respective results against United, Bournemouth are officially 3 times as good as the German champions.

True but worth mentioning, the German champions currently aren't the best team from Germany!
 
Love that.

What’s with the grumpy mood in this thread?

Yeah, Union is a very likable team indeed. I lived in Berlin back in 2015 and it was always a great fun the go to their stadium,
whenever tickets were available outside the stadium.
There seemed to have been a special bond between the players and the supporters.

The fact that they reached the CL is amazing.

Maybe some German posters here can expand on it-
are Union liked by supporters of other teams, as much as one can 'like' another team from the same league as your team?
is there indifference towards them? or animosity even?

I find nothing to not like about them but I'm biased and am looking from the outside.
 
Yeah, Union is a very likable team indeed. I lived in Berlin back in 2015 and it was always a great fun the go to their stadium,
whenever tickets were available outside the stadium.
There seemed to have been a special bond between the players and the supporters.

The fact that they reached the CL is amazing.

Maybe some German posters here can expand on it-
are Union liked by supporters of other teams, as much as one can 'like' another team from the same league as your team?
is there indifference towards them? or animosity even?

I find nothing to not like about them but I'm biased and am looking from the outside.
Yep, likewise in 2013. Loved the atmosphere - probably the best I've experienced outside of my country.
 
Yep, likewise in 2013. Loved the atmosphere - probably the best I've experienced outside of my country.

Yeah. I especially like the first part of their Anthem so to speak, with the electric guitar, before Nina Hagen starts singing.

say what you want about German football as a competition, but the crowds are fantastic.
 
If German football is turd then Saudi League is a septic tank
No offense but it's a joke really
 
Union Berlin have embarrassed the Bundesliga. It's irrelevant they are coming 15th right now.
How is 2-3 to Real Madrid embarrassing? We are talking about a club that has lived until 2019 in the 2.Bundesliga. They've only had 3 years in the top flight and they don't have a foreign sugar daddy to pump them full of money. If anything they've been a credit to German football; the Spanish media and fans are raving about the club and their fans.
 
How is 2-3 to Real Madrid embarrassing? We are talking about a club that has lived until 2019 in the 2.Bundesliga. They've only had 3 years in the top flight and they don't have a foreign sugar daddy to pump them full of money. If anything they've been a credit to German football; the Spanish media and fans are raving about the club and their fans.
That's fine, but last season they passed Braga and they should have done so this season as well. They simply messed up their step up to become a higher caliber team and need to sort this out quickly (already replaced the manager and there at least seems to be a bit of a bounce). Doesn't change that they are a great club and their rise in the last years was amazing, but part of the truth also is that they massively fecked up this season.
 
That's fine, but last season they passed Braga and they should have done so this season as well. They simply messed up their step up to become a higher caliber team and need to sort this out quickly (already replaced the manager and there at least seems to be a bit of a bounce). Doesn't change that they are a great club and their rise in the last years was amazing, but part of the truth also is that they massively fecked up this season.
That's a fair critique. I was just reacting the poster who claimed that they had "embarrased the Bundesliga" which I quite frankly think is ludicrous. They did no worse in their group than we did with probably a tenth of the budget.
 
Bayern definitely need to up their game for the Bundesliga though. What worked against United won't work vs Stuttgart.
 
That's a fair critique. I was just reacting the poster who claimed that they had "embarrased the Bundesliga" which I quite frankly think is ludicrous. They did no worse in their group than we did with probably a tenth of the budget.
The last German team (Frankfurt) that played in the CL for the first time passed the group stage and at least becoming 3rd was expected. They way this went is indeed embarassing.
 
The last German team (Frankfurt) that played in the CL for the first time passed the group stage and at least becoming 3rd was expected. They way this went is indeed embarassing.
We'll just have to agree to disagree then.
 
We'll just have to agree to disagree then.
Seems so. Just out of interest, for how long are you aware of Union and their rise? Maybe the novelty factor has already worn off for us Germans but not for you - which would explain why we disagree here.
 
This thread doesn’t say “ONLY German football is turd”, it doesn’t need to resurface when we lost to the only half decent German team. We know we are also turd.
 
Maybe some German posters here can expand on it-
are Union liked by supporters of other teams, as much as one can 'like' another team from the same league as your team?
is there indifference towards them? or animosity even?

I find nothing to not like about them but I'm biased and am looking from the outside.

Well there is plenty to dislike about them but for some reason people have chosen to ignore those things and rather buy into the "likable underdog with great fans that represents true original football" brand that they're pushing. I gotta say they're effective about that. And it probably helped that it happened around the time Hertha tried to go the investor route and completely failed at that. But it's always puzzled me that part of the reason Hertha is disliked in other parts of Germany is because there is a deep-seated hate towards the capital in some circles yet Union doesn't seem to affected by that.

Anyway, I thought they were really unlucky during their CL run and actually did pretty well, all things considered....keeping in mind they were not playing in their home stadium (which is their main source of power) and were in the midst of a historic run of losses.

0:1 at Real (94th minute)
2:3 vs. Braga (94th minute)
0:1 vs. Napoli
1:1 at Napoli
1:1 at Braga
2:3 vs. Real (89th minute)

If someone had showed me those results before the beginning of the group phase I would have considered that a decent performance.
 
The last German team (Frankfurt) that played in the CL for the first time passed the group stage and at least becoming 3rd was expected. They way this went is indeed embarassing.
Union became a Bundesliga team about 5yrs ago, Frankfurt has been around for a long time

Union is way ahead of the curve for a club without sugar daddy (leipzig) I hope they stay in Buli and rebuild back
 
Well there is plenty to dislike about them but for some reason people have chosen to ignore those things and rather buy into the "likable underdog with great fans that represents true original football" brand that they're pushing. I gotta say they're effective about that. And it probably helped that it happened around the time Hertha tried to go the investor route and completely failed at that. But it's always puzzled me that part of the reason Hertha is disliked in other parts of Germany is because there is a deep-seated hate towards the capital in some circles yet Union doesn't seem to affected by that.

Anyway, I thought they were really unlucky during their CL run and actually did pretty well, all things considered....keeping in mind they were not playing in their home stadium (which is their main source of power) and were in the midst of a historic run of losses.

0:1 at Real (94th minute)
2:3 vs. Braga (94th minute)
0:1 vs. Napoli
1:1 at Napoli
1:1 at Braga
2:3 vs. Real (89th minute)

If someone had showed me those results before the beginning of the group phase I would have considered that a decent performance.

I think the last minute losses are only part of the whole story. From what I've seen they were lucky that the mazches weren't decided much earlier.

Union is a story that reads good on paper but if you actually watch them, they are boring and negative and much of their success was likely based on a good portion of luck as well. They still did a great job obviously, I just think the hype got a bit too much and people are never really critical of them and their performances.
 
This thread doesn’t say “ONLY German football is turd”, it doesn’t need to resurface when we lost to the only half decent German team. We know we are also turd.
Came here to say this. Us being utter shite doesn't make the Bundesliga good.
 
I think the last minute losses are only part of the whole story. From what I've seen they were lucky that the mazches weren't decided much earlier.

Union is a story that reads good on paper but if you actually watch them, they are boring and negative and much of their success was likely based on a good portion of luck as well. They still did a great job obviously, I just think the hype got a bit too much and people are never really critical of them and their performances.
I want to add that Union has also a problematic fan scene which seemingly no one really cares about too much.