Euro 2020 - Day 4

The score line said there were no goals in this game.  Spain [world #6] completely dominated Sweden [world #18] in possession - they had the ball 85 percent of the game and took 17 shots on goal [five of which were on target].  They completed over 900 passes [!].  They were all over Sweden from the opening whistle.  That is Spain’s game – the Tiki-Taka – short passes, high possession, and most of all, patience.  They feel that if they’ve had the ball 70 percent of the time, they’ve had a good game.  They put their opponents to sleep, passing the ball in and around their opposition.  They want to pull their opposition out of their positions to exploit any cracks in the defense.  The defense must be well-disciplined to stay where they are and not let Spain force open any cracks in the defense.  When Spain lose the ball, they get it back as quickly as possible.  Their idea is simple – the other team can’t beat you if they don’t have the ball.  Keep the ball, wear down the opponent mentally and physically, and wait for the other team to make a mistake.

At the 16:11 mark, ESPN commentator Jon Champion told us that Spain had already completed more passes than North Macedonia, Turkey, Finland, and Slovakia had completed in the entirety of their games combined [Slovakia and Finland won their games].  Yet, despite the overwhelming numbers in time of possession and shots on goal, Sweden held Spain to a goalless draw.  This is the same Spanish team that demolished Germany 6-0 in November 2020.  I don’t believe in “moral victories,” but Sweden must feel great about their performance.  Their discipline on defense was extremely well done.  They didn’t get frustrated and held their ground.

Spanish team captain Sergio Busquets tested positive for COVID eight days ago.  Since then, the players had been training individually.  Their final friendly before the Euro tournament against Lithuania had to be played by the U21 team.  The national team were finally allowed to get together only last Saturday.  All the players got vaccinated for COVID on Friday night.  For some it was their first jab – for others, their second.  The Spanish soccer federation pleaded with the Spanish government eight weeks ago to get the players vaccinated for COVID.  The government ended up sending the Army to Spain’s training camp near Madrid to administer the vaccines.  The reason the team hadn’t been vaccinated sooner was because, at present, the government has allowed that only people over 40 could get the jab.  The vaccinations for the teams happened only by a special government decree.

Spain first scoring opportunity came at 15:22.  Koke [Atletico Madrid] made a great delivery into the 6-yard box where Dani Olmo [RB Leipzig] headed the ball toward the goal.  Swedish goalie Robin Olsen [Everton] made a fantastic save to keep the ball out of the net. Koke’s pass had drawn out Sweden’s back four.  It was a great ball from Koke, but an even better save from Olsen.  Olsen stayed on top of his toes, didn’t get caught leaning the other way.  It was a wonderful save.  Otherwise, Spain would have been on the scoreboard.

At 37:27 Spanish forward Álvaro Morata [Juventus] was able to split two Swedish defenders as he received a pass from Jordi Alba [Barcelona] as he found himself one-on-one with Robin Olsen. Olsen came off his line, held his ground and Morata’s shot went painfully to the right of the goal.  It was another missed opportunity by Spain.  After ensuing goal kick, Sweden got possession deep in Spain’s half.  Alexander Isak [Real Sociedad] had a chance with one defender and the goalie between him and Spain’s goal.  But his shot went to defender Marcos Llorente [Atletico Madrid], who directed the ball against his own goalpost and into the arms of Spanish goalie Unai Simón [Atletico Madrid].  That’s how to beat Spain – if they aren’t paying attention, all their brilliance in ball possession can be negated in a second.  Robin Olsen was HUGE in the first half.

In the second period, Spain were a bit lethargic while Sweden seemed to have more energy.  I got the feeling that the longer the game was 0-0, the better it was for Sweden.  Sweden’s next scoring opportunity came at the one-hour mark.  Isak played the long pass to Marcus Berg [Krasnodar]. Who relayed it to Emil Forsberg [RB Leipzig], who found Isak streaking toward Spain’s penalty area.  When confronted by three Spanish defenders, Isak passed the ball back to an open Berg inside the six-yard box, but Berg couldn’t capitalize.  It was great work from Isak to create an opportunity out of nothing, but it went for naught.  I think Spain breathed a collective sigh of relief when Isak came off for a substitution in the 69^th minute.

Spain brought on some fresh legs in Mikel Oyarzabal [Real Sociedad] and Gerard Moreno [Villarreal] in the 74^th minute. Sweden’s defense remained unyielding.  Sweden were content to endure wave after wave of Spanish attacks.  Swedish players began to cramp up in the Spanish heat [89 ℉ at kickoff], and 4 minutes of stoppage time were added.  But despite the heat and Spain’s overwhelming time of possession, Sweden held Spain to a goalless draw.  As in the first half, Robin Olsen was enormous.  

Sweden earned a draw against the top team in their group.  If they can beat either Poland or Slovakia, they will probably advance to the knockout stage of Euro 2020.  Spain’s next game is against Poland on June 19^th.  Sweden face Slovakia on the 18^th.

Euro 2020 - Day 2

After a year’s delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Euro 2020 got underway yesterday in Rome with Turkey clashing with Italy.  As I expected, Italy won, 3-0.  Turkey made them work for it in the first half, but the wheels came off for Turkey after Italy grabbed the lead after a Turkish own goal.  It was the only match played yesterday.

Tournament play began in earnest in Group B.  The first match was Denmark vs. Finland in Copenhagen.  Fans are finally back in the stands.  Twenty-five thousand fans were in attendance [stadium capacity 40,000].  It was a party atmosphere in Copenhagen.  The first half was very physical.  Bodies from both sides were flying all over the place.  It was a well-played, physical game.  Denmark was the better team, but Finland refused to go away.  Then at 42:10, it happened - Denmark midfielder Christian Eriksen collapsed onto the pitch.  His teammates and Finnish players both knew immediately it was something serious.  The party atmosphere had suddenly gone quiet.

Quickly, as the medical staff attended to Eriksen, his teammates formed a circle around him to shield him from view.  The medical staff began to perform CPR on Eriksen.  It quickly became a situation where you hope for the best and fear the worst outcome.  After approximately ten minutes Eriksen was placed on a stretcher and taken to the hospital.  As he lie on the stretcher, Eriksen was conscious.  Players on both sides were clearly distressed.

Eleven minutes after Eriksen’s collapse, UEFA suspended the match..  There is good news – at 1:51pm CDT ESPN announced that Christian Eriksen had spoken with his teammates by phone from the hospital.  A couple of minutes later, the Denmark-Finland match resumed.  They picked up from the moment Eriksen collapsed to finish out the first half.  As it happened, ESPN commentator Efan Ekoku opined that he didn’t know how this match could continue today.  I’m not the king of UEFA, but if I were they wouldn’t have resumed today.  There’s enough fluff in the schedule to allow the players a couple of days to get their heads together.  I’d seen what happened to Borussia Dortmund after their team bus was attacked by a bomb years ago.  The game that was to be played that day was postponed 24 hours, but the players were clearly not in that game [which they lost].  I feel the same for the Danish team today.  After such a traumatic thing happened to their teammate, those players weren’t ready to continue today.  Apparently, the players had two options – finish the game today or resume it at 2pm tomorrow.  They chose to finish today after speaking with Eriksen.

What about the rest of the game?  After a five-minute halftime, play resumed.  The score was still 0-0.  Denmark continued to dominate the game as they had in the first half.  Finland attempted only one shot on goal the entire game, but they made it count.  Forward Joel Pohjanpalo [Union Berlin] made a very impressive header while diving for a cross from teammate Jere Uronen.  The resulting goal celebration was a subdued one.  Denmark's Yussuf Poulsen won a penalty when he went down under slight contact in the 73rd minute and midfielder Pierre Emil Hojbjerg stepped up to take the spot kick.  This kick would normally be taken by Eriksen.  Hojbjerg took the kick, but it was easily saved by Finnish goalie Lukáš Hrádecký [Bayer Leverkusen].  Denmark threw everything they had at Finland, who absorbed every shot the Danes took at them.  The final score – Finland 1, Denmark 0.  Finland’s next game is against Russia on the 16^th.  Denmark’s next game is against Belgium the following day.

I recorded this game on DVR as I slept in today.  When I woke up I got the news about Eriksen.  As I watched the replay from earlier today, although I knew of what happened to Eriksen it was still hard to watch.  I imagine it is gut-wrenching for his family to watch him being worked on by the Danish medical staff while 25,000 people were watching in person.  I knew what was coming and I still has watery eyes.

As the Denmark-Finland match was finishing, the Belgium-Russia match got underway in St. Petersburg.  A telling sight occurred right before kickoff.  As both teams assembled on the field waiting for the whistle, all players from the Belgian side and the Spanish referee took a knee.  The Russian side pointedly did not.  Whether this was a nod to the current racism problem in European football [especially in Eastern Europe] or if it was in tribute to Christian Eriksen, I don’t know. Several Belgian national team players have been or are current teammates of Christian Eriksen.

Once a game of football broke out, Belgium was comfortably the better team.  They possessed the ball for 66 percent of the game, playing mostly in the Russian zone.  Belgian forward Romelu Lukaku [Inter Milan] scored the opening goal only ten minutes into the match.  It was his 61^st international goal.  In the 25^th minute there was a nasty head-to-head collision between Belgian defender Thomas Castagne and Russian midfielder Daler Kuzyaev.  Both players had to be substituted off the field as neither could continue.  Thomas Munier [Borussia Dortmund] came on for Castagne while Denis Cheryshev replaced Kuzyaev.

When play resumed Belgium’s defense started to press the Russians higher up the pitch.  The tactical change yielded immediate dividends.  The Russians didn’t have an answer.  Belgian midfielder Thorgan Hazard [who also plays for Borussia Dortmund] put a shot on goal at the 34^th minute.  Russian goalie Anton Shunin made the save, but his deflection came straight to Thomas Munier who put the ball in the back of the empty net.  It was a gift of a goal.  Belgium led 2-0 going into halftime.

As the second half resumed, so did Belgium’s dominance of Russia.  Russia threatened a couple of times, but the Belgians had no trouble with Russian pressure, such that it was.  Belgium made two substitutions at the 72^nd minute.  Eden Hazard [Thorgan’s older brother] came on for midfielder Dries Mertens, while Thomas Vermaelen replaced defender Jan Vertonghen due to an ankle injury.  Midfielder Yannick Carrasco also made way for Dennis Praet, who got his first major tournament experience.  At the 88^th minute, Lukaku put the game away with his second goal of the game.  Final score – Belgium 3, Russia 0.

The Belgians are the highest ranked team in the world.  They thoroughly outclassed the Russians today.  The best comment I heard today about the state of play was that Belgium was playing their game in 3D, while Russia was stuck in 2D.  Tried as they did, they never got on the scoreboard.  The Russians are great hockey players, but this isn’t hockey.  The Russian fans didn’t like seeing their team outclassed, but too bad.  The Russians found out the difference between playing Saudi Arabia in the World Cup and the Belgians in Euro 2020.  The best thing that can be said about the Russians is they didn’t cheat.

Unfortunately, I did not see today’s first game, a 1-1 draw between Wales and Switzerland.

Matchday 18 Match of the Week - FSV Mainz vs. RB Leipzig

The Rückrunde [second half] of the Bundesliga began this week.  Bayern Munich is at the top of the standings with 39 points, leading RB Leipzig by four.  At the other end of the table, Mainz sits in the relegation zone with Schalke, both teams with a paltry seven points.  It’s been a difficult season for Mainz. They are on their fourth head coach of the season, Bo Svensson.  This has been their worst season in recent memory.  But Mainz have shown some signs of life as of late.  Last week, the fought Borussia Dortmund to a 1-1 draw.  On Matchday 14 they led Bayern Munich 2-0 at the half before Bayern woke up to beat them 5-2.  On the other hand, Leipzig tend to struggle against teams in the top one-third of the table [they lost to Borussia Dortmund 3-1 on Matchday 15], while they are ruthless against the lesser teams like Mainz.  For different reasons, this game was a “must win” for both teams.  Leipzig won the first meeting between the two teams on Matchday 1 in Leipzig, 3-1.  But Mainz made them work for it.  Could Mainz return the favor to open the Rückrunde?  Mainz have lost the last three meetings with Leipzig to an aggregate score of 16-1, while Leipzig have lost just one of those nine meetings with Mainz (W6, D2, L1), with their sole defeat coming at the Opel Arena in April 2018's 3-0 loss.  Mainz have lost their last four home games.  It hasn’t been an easy season for them.

Leipzig drew first blood at the fifteen-minute mark when American Tyler Adams scored his first Bundesliga goal after thirty-eight games.  Leipzig midfielder Marcel Sabitzer launched a rocket at the Mainz goal, only to see it hit the crossbar.  But Mainz left Adams unmarked and tapped in an easy rebound.  Given their recent futility against Leipzig, one wouldn’t blame Mainz for thinking “here we go again.”  Only three minutes later Mainz striker Robin Quaison headed a ball just over Leipzig’s goal, so it was clear that Mainz weren’t going to go away quietly.  At twenty-four minutes, Leipzig conceded from a set piece for the first time this season: Leipzig defender Marcel Hastenberg had committed a hard foul against Mainz midfielder Leandro Barreiro, resulting in a free kick from Mainz.  Moussa Niakhate smashed the ball home after Dominik Kohr - making his Mainz debut - had seen his header saved by Leipzig goalie Peter Gulacsi.  It was only the fourth time Mainz had scored from a set piece.

Halstenberg made up for his hard foul by scoring at thirty minutes.  He had plenty of time to take a deflection from the Mainz defense, and tucked the ball away in the back of the net.  There was nobody marking Halstenberg.  It was an easy goal.  Leipzig led 2-1, but Mainz pushed back.  They had two corner kicks in rapid succession, the second of which resulted in another goal from Moussa Niakhate, a defender (!).  With his second goal of the game, Niakhate became Mainz’s leading scorer of the season [3].  Until today, Niakhate scored twice in eighty-one Bundesliga games.  He doubled his tally today.  For a team that has been weak on scoring from set piece plays, Mainz scored twice from set pieces.  Perhaps Bo Svensson has had the team working on them in practice.  The score remained tied at 2-2 until halftime.  Mainz just refused to go away.

Once play resumed in the second half, Leipzig almost caught Mainz napping but failed to score.  Four minutes in, Danny DaCosta [newly arrived on loan from Frankfurt] streaked down the left side of the Leipzig defense, getting almost to the touch line.  He found Leandro Barreiro, who beat Peter Gulacsi to the ball and tipped it into Leipzig’s net for a 3-2 lead.  It was Barreiro’s first Bundesliga goal, and it was a beauty.  That goal came from nowhere.  Mainz had scored three at home for the first time this season but continued to push on for more, while Leipzig boss Julian Nagelsmann made early changes to try and rescue the game. Leipzig began to pile on the pressure with midfielder Christopher Nkunku forcing a fine save from Mainz goalie Robin Zentner with a curling strike just after the hour mark. Mainz never sat back, though, and continued to make life difficult for Leipzig.  Mainz striker Karim Onisiwo almost headed beyond Gulacsi while Stefan Bell also fired a shot narrowly over the crossbar as Mainz held on to record just their second win of the season.  Mainz are still in the relegation zone, but if they keep playing like this they won’t be there for long.  Leipzig need Schalke [a huge underdog] to beat Bayern to stay within reach of the top. Otherwise, they’ll drop to seven points behind the record champions.

I would be lying if I said I thought Mainz had a chance in this game.  They proved a lot of folks wrong today.  When the match started, I figured Leipzig would run Mainz out of the building, but that didn’t happen.  There was no “luck” involved here – Mainz were the better team today.  Mainz worked hard today.

 

Hinrunde 2020-21

In normal years, the Bundesliga season is split evenly into to two halves, with a month-long winter break in the middle.  The first half is known to Germans as the Hinrunde, while the second half is known as the Rückrunde.  This year the Hinrunde is only thirteen matches since the season began a month late [thanks, COVID].  There have been some welcome surprises in the Hinrunde [hello Union Berlin, Wolfsburg and Leverkusen].  There have been some major disappointments [Schalke, Hoffenheim, Dortmund].  The usual suspects are at/near the top of the table [Bayern Munich, RB Leipzig]. The winter break is only a couple of weeks this year. That isn’t much time for all the tired athletes to recover from a busy 2020 schedule. 
 

Here’s my take on the 2020/21 season so far:
 
FC Schalke 04

Hinrunde 2019-20 5^th – 30 points [8W, 6D, 3L]
Hinrunde 2020-21 18^th – 4 points [0W, 4D, 9L]
Key Additions – Jean-Clair Todibo [loan – Barcelona], Gonçalo Paciência [loan – Eintracht Frankfurt], Kilian Ludewig [loan – RB Salzburg], Mark Uth [end of loan - FC Köln], Vedad Ibišević [Hertha Berlin]
Huub Stevens [interim coach since 18 Dec 2020]
Key Departures – Weston McKennie [loan – Juventus], Alexander Nübel [Bayern Munich], Sebastian Rudy [loan – Hoffenheim], Michael Gregoritsch [end of loan – Augsburg], Daniel Caligiuri [Augsburg], Guido Burgstaller [St. Pauli], Jonjoe Kenny [end of loan – Everton]
David Wagner [coach – fired 27 Sep 2020]
Manuel Baum [coach – fired 18 Dec 2020]

Where to begin about Schalke’s troubles? During the first half of the 2019-20 season [what the Germans call the Hinrunde] Schalke were playing decent football.  By the time of the Christmas break, they were in fifth place in the Bundesliga. They didn’t play all that great on offense, but their defense kept them competitive.  During the second half of the season [the Rückrunde], the wheels began to fall off.  On January 17, 2020, Schalke defeated Borussia Mönchengladbach, 2-0.  They haven’t won a Bundesliga game since.  They dropped from fifth place to twelfth, finishing only five points above the relegation playoffs. 
 
To start the current season, they lost to Bayern Munich 8-0. The following week they lost to Werder Bremen 3-1, a team who avoided relegation last season by the slimmest of margins [more away goals than Heidenheim].  After that second week, Schalke fired coach David Wagner and replaced him with Manuel Baum.  Things didn’t improve under Baum, and he too was fired.  Huub Stevens is the interim coach [again]. They also fired technical director Michael Reschke.  To add to their coaching woes, they have a toxic locker room.  Vedad Ibišević is such a bad fit his contract will terminate at the end of the calendar year.  Midfielders Amine Harit and Nabil Bentaleb were suspended for a time, and both players have been barred from training with the team.
 
In the past, Schalke’s youth academy has produced top talent like Manuel Neuer, Leroy Sané, and Julian Drexler. All these players left Schalke for other destinations, but the youth academy has come up dry on developing and fielding new talent. Their scouting has been Bundesliga-focused, and they signed players from mid- to lower-end Bundesliga teams.  When you fill you team with such players, you become that mid- to lower-end team. 
 
One look at the “key departures” above tells another story. The team is deep in debt to the tune of €200 million, and it looks like that figure will grow to €250 million.  They are more reliant on broadcast revenue, transfer fees and regular participation in European competition than most.  They spent much money on players who didn’t produce.  They invested over €100 million on infrastructure improvements.  This was BEFORE the COVID pandemic. The Bundesliga suspended its season for two months due to the pandemic.  With no football, there was no TV money. They had to loan out Weston McKennie to Juventus, and let go of Daniel Caligiuri, Guido Burgstaller, and Alexander Nübel on free transfers because they couldn’t afford the players.  Schalke requested their season-ticket holders to refrain from asking for a refund on their tickets they couldn’t use.  .Schalke is one of the few clubs that aren’t managed by football professionals.  They take the Bundesliga’s 50+1 rule seriously, and outside investors are unable [or unwilling] to put money into a club they can’t control. Schalke is the second biggest club in the Bundesliga with 153,000 members. Every one of them is uttering a collective “WTF, Schalke?”

FSV Mainz 05

Hinrunde 2019-20 14^th  - 18 [6W, 0D, 11L]
Hinrunde 2020-21 17^th – 7 [1W, 3D, 9L]
Key Additions – Jan-Moritz Lichte [interim coach since 28 Sep 2020]
Key Departures – Florian Müller [loan – SC Freiburg], Achim Beierlorzer [coach – fired 28 Sep 2020]

Theatrics weren’t restricted to Schalke.  In September, Mainz suspended forward Adam Szalai for a day.  Coach Achim Beierlorzer told Szalai that he should look for another team.  Szalai’s teammates didn’t like it, and they went on strike for an afternoon. They refused to train following Szalai’s suspension.  Like Schalke, Mainz started the season with two straight defeats.  Mainz fired Beierlorzer the day after Schalke fired David Wagner. Mainz are always flirting with relegation but somehow manage to survive.  This may be the year they go down to 2. Bundesliga.

Arminia Bielefeld

Hinrunde 2019-20 n/a 2. Bundesliga last season
Hinrunde 2020-21 16^th – 10 points [3W, 1D, 9L]
Key Additions – None
Key Departures – None

Arminia Bielefeld finished ten points clear of second-place Stuttgart in 2. Bundesliga last season.  They’re off to a shaky start in their first top-tier season since the 2008-09 season.  They’re playing just well enough to stay clear of automatic relegation, but if the present trend continues, they’ll be in the relegation playoff at season’s end. Arminia Bielefeld are one of those teams that, once promoted to the top tier, don’t stay there awfully long.

Relegated 2000-01, promoted 2002
Relegated 2003-04, promoted 2004

Relegated 2009-10, promoted 2020

FC Köln

Hinrunde 2019-20 15^th – 17 [5W, 2D, 10L]
Hinrunde 2020-21 15^th – 11 [2W, 5D, 6L]
Key Additions – Marius Wolf [loan – Borussia Dortmund], Ondrej Duda [Hertha Berlin]
Key Departures – Mark Uth [end of loan – Schalke], Jhon Córdoba [Hertha Berlin]

FC Köln’s record hasn’t improved since last year.  They were fifteenth at the same time last year, and they’re still in fifteenth.  FC Köln were relegated to 2. Bundesliga after the 2017-18 season but gained promotion back to the first division after one year in the second division.  They have made relegation a habit [see below]. There have been some bright moments. On Matchday 6 they gave Bayern Munich all they could handle in a 2-1 loss. On Matchday 9 they defeated Borussia Dortmund 2-1, and on Matchday 13 they drew with third-place RB Leipzig 0-0. On other days they remember they’re FC Köln.  They lost to newly promoted Arminia Bielefeld and were hammered 4-0 by Bayer Leverkusen on Matchday 12.  The quality is there, but the consistency is not.  They will probably survive another season in the top division.

Relegated 2002-03, promoted 2004
Relegated 2004-05, promoted 2006
Relegated 2006-07, promoted 2008
Relegated 2012-13, promoted 2014
Relegated 2018-19, promoted 2020

Werder Bremen

Hinrunde 2019-20 17^th – 14 [3W, 5D, 9L]
Hinrunde 2020-21 12^th – 14 [3W, 5D, 5L]
Key Additions – Tahith Chong [loan – Manchester United], Ömer Toprak [Borussia Dortmund], Kevin Vogt [loan – Hoffenheim], Michael Lang [loan - Borussia Mönchengladbach]
Key Departures – Claudio Pizzaro [retired], Davy Klaassen [Ajax], Nuri Sahin [Antalyaspor], Fin Bartels [Holstein Kiel].

Werder Bremen barely escaped relegation last season by having more away goals than their 2. Bundesliga opponents, Heidenheim.  They have just as many points now as this time last year. The only reason they aren’t in a lower position is because the teams behind them are awful.

TSG Hoffenheim

Hinrunde 2019-20 7^th – 27 [8W, 3D, 6L]
Hinrunde 2020-21 11^th – 15 [4W, 3D, 6L]
Key Additions – Sebastian Rudy [loan – Schalke], Jacob Bruun Larsen [Borussia Dortmund], Ryan Sessegnon [loan – Tottenham], Mijat Gaćinović [Eintracht Frankfurt], Sebastian Hoeneß [coach]
Key Departures – Kevin Vogt [loan – Werder Bremen]

Under new coach Sebastian Hoeneß, Hoffenheim started the season with two wins, including a 4-1 victory over Bayern Munich.  Ever since then they have been incredibly average.  They’ve recorded only nine points out of thirty-three points up for grabs. If this keeps up, Sebastian Hoeneß’s first season with Hoffenheim might also be his last.

Hertha Berlin

Hinrunde 2019-20 12^th – 19 [5W, 4D, 8L]
Hinrunde 2020-21 14^th – 13 [3W, 4D, 6L]
Key Additions – Jhon Córdoba [FC Köln], Alexander Schwolow [SC Freiburg],
Key Departures – Salomon Kalou [Botafogo], Vedad Ibišević [Schalke], Per Ciljan Skjelbred [Rosenborg], Marko Grujić [Porto], Ondrej Duda [FC Köln]

The pressure is on Hertha Berlin.  They lost key players, and their scorers aren’t scoring.  For their troubles, they are barely above the relegation zone.  Their loss to SC Freiburg on Matchday 13 didn’t help.  Freiburg are happy to be where they are.  Hertha aspires for European football.  That’s a worthy goal, but this isn’t the year.

SC Freiburg

Hinrunde 2019-20 – 8^th – 26 [7W, 5D, 5L]
Hinrunde 2020-21 – 10^th – 14 [4W, 5D, 4L]
Key Additions – Baptiste Santamaria [Angers], Ermedin Demirović [Alavés], Keven Schlotterbeck [end of loan – FC Union Berlin], Florian Müller [loan – Mainz]
Key Departures – Alexander Schwolow [Hertha Berlin]

Freiburg find themselves where they always seem to be – in the middle of the pack.  They’re a little bit off last year’s pace, but they don’t appear to be in any danger of relegation.  They’re happy to be where they are since they have tasted relegation before.

Relegated 2002-03, promoted 2003
Relegated 2005-06, promoted 2009
Relegated 2015-16, promoted 2016

Eintracht Frankfurt

Hinrunde 2019-20 13^th – 18 [5W, 3D, 9L]
Hinrunde 2020-21 9^th – 17 [3W, 8D, 2L]
Key Additions – None
Key Departures – Mijat Gaćinović [Hoffenheim]

Eintracht Frankfurt is an enigma. They’ve lost only two games this year – to Bayern Munich and an excellent Wolfsburg team.  They got stuck in a rut where they drew six games of their last eight.  They finally got one in the win column by defeating Augsburg 2-0 on Matchday 13.  They are better than they were last year. Unless they have a collapse of Schalke proportions in the second half of the season, they’re safe from relegation. But if they don’t start turning those draws into wins, they won’t qualify for European football next year, either.

FC Augsburg

Hinrunde 2019-20 10^th – 23 [6W, 5D, 6L]
Hinrunde 2020-21 10^th – 16 [4W, 4D, 5L]
Key Additions – Felix Uduokhai [Wolfsburg], Rafał Gikiewicz [FC Union Berlin]
Key Departures – Luca Waldschmidt [Benfica]

Augsburg are consistent like Freiburg – but instead of being in the middle of the pack, they’re in the lower half of the table.  Last season their Rückrunde left something to be desired, finishing five points above the relegation zone. Their one shining moment came on Matchday 2, when they defeated Dortmund 2-0 at home.

Borussia Mönchengladbach

Hinrunde 2019-20 2^nd – 35 [11W, 2D, 4L]
Hinrunde 2020-21 8^th – 18 [4W, 6D, 3L]
Key Additions – Hannes Wolf [loan – RB Leipzig]
Key Departures – Michael Lang [loan – Werder Bremen]

BMG have fallen way off their 2019-20 pace.  They’re right in the middle of the standings, but they’re a better team than that. Like Eintracht Frankfurt, they need to convert some of those draws into wins.  If they do, they might qualify for the Europa League. The Champions League seems out of reach for them for next year, even though they have qualified for the round of 16 for this season’s tournament.

VfB Stuttgart

Hinrunde 2019-20 n/a 2. Bundesliga last season
Hinrunde 2020-21 7^th – 18 [4W, 6D, 3L]
Key Additions – Konstantinos Mavropanos [Arsenal],
Key Departures – None

Last season was Stuttgart’s second in 2. Bundesliga in four years.  This year they are playing much better and find themselves in the top half of the top tier.  Their “signature win” came on Matchday 11 when they throttled Dortmund 5-1, ending Lucien Favre’s tenure at Dortmund in the process.  They should finish well out of danger for relegation and could qualify for the Europa League for next season.

Relegated 2016-2017. promoted 2017
Relegated 2019-2020, promoted 2020

FC Union Berlin

Hinrunde 2019-20 11^th – 20 [6W, 2D, 9L]
Hinrunde 2020-21 6^th – 21 [5W, 6D, 2L]
Key Additions – Max Kruse [Fenerbahçe], Taiwo Awoniyi [loan – Liverpool], Robin Knoche [Wolfsburg], Andreas Luthe [Augsburg]
Key Departures – Rafał Gikiewicz [Augsburg], Felix Kroos [Eintracht Braunschweig], Keven Schlotterbeck [end of loan – SC Freiburg]

Last year was Union Berlin’s maiden season in the top tier.  They finished the season in eleventh place.  With the additions of Max Kruse and Taiwo Awoniyi they have shown marked improvement.  On Matchday 11 they fought defending champion Bayern Munich to a 1-1 draw in a game they could’ve won.  They drew with Stuttgart the following week, and for the second year in a row they beat Dortmund 2-1 on Matchday 13.  They might just qualify for the UEFA Champions League when they’re done this year, especially if Dortmund fall on their face. They may be in a dogfight with Wolfsburg for that fourth and final UCF spot.

Borussia Dortmund

Hinrunde 2019-20 4^th – 28 [8W, 4D, 5L]
Hinrunde 2020-21 5^th – 22 [7W, 1D, 5L]
Key Additions – Jude Bellingham [Birmingham City], Thomas Meunier [PSG], Youssoufa Moukoko
Edin Terzić [interim coach since 13 Dec 2020]
Key Departures - Jacob Bruun Larsen [Hoffenheim], Ömer Toprak [Werder Bremen], Marius Wolf [loan – FC Köln]
Lucien Favre [coach – fired 13 Dec 2020]

With the addition of more young players, Dortmund were expected to contend for the Meisterschale this year. Coach Lucien Favre was on thin ice with Dortmund management because Dortmund are always expected to contend for the championship.  Favre’s days as Dortmund’s coach came to an end after Stuttgart waxed Dortmund 5-1 on Matchday 11.  Striker Erling Haaland is second in goals scored, behind only Bayern’s Robert Lewandowski.  Haaland injured his hamstring on Matchday 10 and will be out until at least mid-January 2021.  Sixteen-year-old rookie Youssoufa Moukoko scored his first Bundesliga goal against Union Berlin, making him the youngest-ever Bundesliga scorer.  Despite Moukoko’s score, Dortmund lost to Union Berlin 2-1. Dortmund have lost to teams they normally expect to beat - FC Köln [2-1] and FC Augsburg [2-0] – on top of their losses to FC Union Berlin, Stuttgart, and Bayern Munich.

VfL Wolfsburg

Hinrunde 2019-20 9^th – 24 [6W, 6D, 5L]
Hinrunde 2020-21 4^th – 21 [6W, 6D, 1L]
Key Additions – Maximilian Philipp [loan – Dynamo Moscow], Maxence Lacroix [FC Sochaux], Bartosz Białek [Zagłębie Lubin]
Key Departures – Felix Uduokhai [FC Augsburg], Robin Knoche [FC Union], Marcel Tisserand [Fenerbahçe]

Wolfsburg are off to a good start this year.  They didn’t lose their first game until Matchday 12, when they lost to Bayern Munich 2-1.  They’re neck-and-neck with Dortmund.  They look solid for the Champions League next year.  They can’t let their guard down since only two points separate them from Dortmund.

RB Leipzig

Hinrunde 2019-20 1^st – 37 [11W, 4D, 2L]
Hinrunde 2020-21 3^rd - 28 [8W, 4W, 1L]
Key Additions – Alexander Sørloth [Crystal Palace], Angeliño [Manchester City],            
Benjamin Henrichs [AS Monaco], Hwang Hee-Chan [RB Salzburg]
Key Departures – Timo Werner [Chelsea], Matheus Cunha [Hertha Berlin], Stefan Ilsanker [Eintracht Frankfurt]. Hannes Wolf [loan - Borussia Mönchengladbach]

Timo Werner is gone, and this team doesn’t skip a beat. Leipzig and Leverkusen are level with twenty-eight points apiece, separated by a goal difference of just one. Both are within striking distance of Bayern. Leipzig just announced the signing of Hungarian playmaker Dominik Szoboszlai.  His debut with Leipzig could be as early as January 9^th.

Bayer Leverkusen

Hinrunde 2019-20  6^th – 28 [8W, 4D, 5L]
Hinrunde 2020-21  2^nd – 28 [8W, 4W, 1L]
Key Additions – Santiago Arias [Atletico Madrid], Patrik Schick [AS Roma],
Key Departures – Kai Havertz [Chelsea], Kevin Volland [AS Monaco]

One would think that with the departures of Kai Havertz and Kevin Volland, Bayer Leverkusen would be struggling this year.  So far, the team hasn’t missed them.  They are playing “lights out” football.  Were it not for a last-second loss to Bayern Munich on Matchday 13, Leverkusen would be in at the top of the standings.  They started the season by going unbeaten in their first twelve matches.  If Bayern aren’t careful, these guys could win the Bundesliga this season.

Bayern Munich

Hinrunde 2019-20  3^rd – 33 [10W, 3D, 4L]
Hinrunde 2020-21  1^st – 30 [9W, 3D, 1L]
Key Additions - Leroy Sané [Manchester City], Marc Roca [Espanyol], Bouna Sarr [Marseille], Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting [PSG], Douglas Costa [loan – Juventus], Jamal Musiala [Chelsea]
Key Departures – Thiago [Liverpool], Ivan Perisic [end of loan – Inter Milan], Philippe Coutinho [end of loan – FC Barcelona], Álvaro Odriozola [end of loan – Real Madrid]

Bayern Munich won it all last year – the Bundesliga, the DFB-Pokal, and the UEFA Champions League.  They slipped up on Matchday 2 when Hoffenheim clocked them 4-1. Though they beat FC Köln 2-1 on Matchday 6, it was a struggle.  On Matchday 11 they had all they could handle when they drew with FC Union Berlin 1-1. They struggled against Werder Bremen, another 1-1 draw.  They drew with RB Leipzig in a six-goal thriller 3-3 and barely squeaked by Hertha Berlin in another thriller, 4-3.  In a top-of-the-table clash with Bayer Leverkusen on Matchday 13, they won 2-1 with less than one minute to go in stoppage time.  For the last seven games they’ve spotted their opponents a goal but managed to not lose any of them.  They’re playing with fire. 

They are victims of their own success. Between Bundesliga play and defending their UCL title, they’re averaging a game every three days.  I don’t know if their struggles are due to fatigue, injuries, player turnover, or all the above, but Bayern have a fight on their hands to repeat their 2019-2020 success.

Matchday 7 Match of the Week - Der Klassiker!

Today’s edition of Der Klassiker lived up to its name today, with Bayern Munich edging past Borussia Dortmund in a 3-2 thriller at Dortmund’s Signal Iduna Park.  It was the clichéd “irresistible force against the immovable object” – the Bayern scoring machine [24 goals in six games] against the Bundesliga’s top defense [only two goals (none at home) allowed so far]. Commentator Derek Rae called this the game that captures the zeitgeist of German football.  The two teams began the match tied at the top of the table with 15 points each. Bayern had the edge on goal difference [+15 for Bayern, +11 for Dortmund].

Bayern were without Alphonso Davies [out with an ankle injury until January], Niklas Süle [one COVID-positive test], and Benjamin Pavard [muscle injury in training]. Dortmund defender Mats Hummels [hamstring] was a game-time decision, but he got the start.

Bayern came storming out the game immediately. Robert Lewandowski nearly got on the board in the first minute, but his shot from the left side while inside the penalty area went wide left. Dortmund’s attack showed much promise. Bayern likes to play a high line, but they are vulnerable to the counterattack.  Dortmund showed they could exploit this but couldn’t quite finish.  Jadon Sancho and Gio Reyna showed they could stretch Bayern’s defense, and Erling Haaland is always dangerous in the middle. That big Norwegian kid is good!  At the 14^th minute, only a great save from Dortmund goalie Roman Bürki from a Leon Goretzka header off a corner kick kept the game tied at 0-0. Seven minutes later Gio Reyna and Haaland found themselves on the counter, the Haaland was one-on-one against Bayern goalie Manuel Neuer.  Neuer made himself big enough to force Haaland’s shot on goal to just barely go wide-right.  It was a fantastic counterattack from Dortmund, exactly the kind of play that anyone needs to keep level with Bayern, but Neuer made the difference.

At the 24^th minute, it looked as if Bayern got on the board first.  After stopping Dortmund deep in Bayern territory, Jérôme Boateng mad a superb long outlet pass to Kingsley Coman, who passed to Serge Gnabry, who took it to the Dortmund penalty area.  He mad a cross from the left and found a streaking Lewandowski coming down the middle. Lewandowski put the ball in Dortmund’s net, but the Video Assisted Referee [VAR] had Lewandowski offside by mere inches.  It was an extremely tight call. No goal – game still tied at 0-0.

At thirty-five minutes, Joshua Kimmich injured his right knee in a collision with Erling Haaland. Kimmich received a yellow card on the play, as he injured himself while fouling Haaland, who recovered and broke away with the ball.  The big Norwegian was too big for Kimmich, who had to be helped off the field with a knee injury.  He was replaced immediately by French teammate Corentin Tolisso. Kimmich had been the hero the last two times Bayern squared off against Dortmund, scoring the winning goals in both contests. With Kimmich gone, someone else had to be Bayern’s hero. Kimmich’ departure did have a consequence.

Dortmund opened the scoring “on the cusp of halftime” [thank you, Derek Rae] when longtime BVB man Marco Reus fired high and hard into the top corner after being picked out by a Raphael Guerreiro pull-back in the middle of the box. Kimmich had shut down Reus for the better part of the first half. After he left, Reus scored. This was Reus’s eighth goal against Bayern, leading all active Bundesliga players in that regard.  Dortmund’s lead was short-lived.  Bayern didn’t have to chase the game for long.  Three minutes of stoppage time [due to the Kimmich injury] were added onto the first half.  Bayern hit back with just seconds remaining in the half from a well-worked set piece from the top of the box. After a few quick touches to change the launching point, David Alaba fired a missile past the wall and Roman Bürki to tie the game. AlaBOOM indeed. That had to be a big boost for Bayern going into halftime.  Alaba’s goal was a MASSIVE answer to Reus’s goal. Here’s a little bit of trivia – Alaba’s goal was the 100^th scored by Bayern since Hansi Flick took over as coach a year ago.

Having given up their lead so shortly before halftime, one had to wonder where Dortmund’s collective head was.  Would they bounce back early in the second half, or would Bayern show their killer instinct that has served them well these past twelve months?  We had our answer shortly after the second-half kickoff.  Bayern took the lead almost immediately after the restart thanks to a poacher's goal from Robert Lewandowski -- the Poland international cutting in front of his marker and heading expertly into the net from a Lucas Hernandez cross on the left in the 48th minute.  Hernandez had a nightmarish first season with Bayern last year, but this season he has shown top form.  He’s getting assists [not bad for a defender] and scored his first goal for Bayern last week in the Champion’s League game against RB Salzburg.  Kingsley Coman nearly made it 3-1 three minutes later, but his shot hit the woodwork.

Both sides made key substitutions.  After Bayern took the lead, Dortmund subbed Jude Bellingham for Thomas Delaney.  Bayern subbed on Leroy Sané and Javi Martinez for Kingsley Coman and Jérôme Boateng, respectively.  Bellingham breathed new life into Dortmund’s attack.  Accordingly, Manuel Neuer had to earn his pay – he was no spectator today. Bayern went two goals ahead with around 10 minutes remaining with a ruthless counter-attack from a dispossession deep in their own half. Leroy Sané fired hard and low into the far corner after cutting inside on his left foot – shades of Arjen Robben.  Bayern showed they could flip a game on its head in the blink of an eye.  Leon Goretzka forced a Dortmund turnover deep in Bayern’s end, and two passes later Sané had his goal.  Dortmund immediately struck back through Erling Haaland, who settled a lobbed Guerreiro through ball to beat the offside trap, rounded Manuel Neuer and slotted home into an empty net. Lewandowski looked to have given Bayern a fourth goal in stoppage time with a first-time lob in the area, but VAR raised its head again and denied the goal.

The win gives Bayern a two-point lead at the top of the Bundesliga [RB Leipzig in second], while Dortmund settled in third, three points behind after seven games played.

PS. After the game, Gio Reyna and Erling Haaland were asked about the difference in the game.  Without hesitation, Haaland said he had to do better with the chances he was provided.  This kid is only 20, but he's holding himself accountable.  The more I see him, the more I like him. 

 

Matchday 6 Match of the Week

This week’s Match of the Week saw league leaders RB Leipzig visiting sixth-place Borussia Mönchengladbach [BMG]. Earlier this week, Leipzig received a 5-0 thrashing against Manchester United in UEFA Champions League play, while BMG settled a 2-2 draw against La Liga champions Real Madrid after leading 2-0, also in UCL play. Last year, BMG were one of the few teams to beat Bayern Munich after Hansi Flick took the helm.  They are not a team to be taken lightly. Commentator extraordinaire Phil Bonney called today’s game.

Having seen Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich both overtake them earlier on Saturday, Leipzig came out fighting and Yussuf Poulsen was looking particularly sharp, assisted well by an enterprising Alexander Sorlorth. The Dane brought a fine one-handed save out of BMG goalie Yann Sommer with the first big chance of the game. Sorloth nearly teed up Poulsen midway through the first half, but the ball passed just beyond of the Dane's outstretched right boot, as Leipzig continued to set the tone. BMG posed a considerable threat on the break, though, and offside decisions against Breel Embolo and Alassane Plea – the latter finding the back of the net before the offside flag was raised – prevented Leipzig from falling behind.

Leipzig's Scandinavian strikers continued to spy out chances for the guests as the game entered the second half, but it was BMG, donning special edition black shirts to mark their 120th anniversary, who drew first blood. Patrick Herrmann deftly touched Plea's cross back for Hannes Wolf to score his first Bundesliga goal, against his parent club, with a well-placed finish into the far corner. It was one of the few times during the match that Plea made a correct decision.  He usually shoots when he should pass, and pass when he should shoot.  That’s the story of his time at BMG.  He did take a shot on goal at the 67^th minute, and it was a rocket – but it bounced off the woodwork.  Pity – it would have been a great score.  Leipzig brought on striker Emil Forsberg for midfielder Dani Olmo, midfielder Amadou Haidara for midfielder Kevin Kampl, and striker Hee-Chan Hwang for Poulsen.  Despite the setback, Leipzig refused to relent and Amadou Haidara tested Sommer before Sorloth saw a shot deflected over the crossbar. Leipzig continued to knock and knock on the Foals' barn door, but they could not force it down, with Wolf's goal proved to be enough. That was the story of Leipzig’s night – lots of misses by just inches.

The result lifted BMG to fourth on 11 points after six games, with Leipzig dropping to third on 13, two behind new leaders Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund.  Leipzig lost to BMG for the first time ever.

Next week – Bayern Munich visit Borussia Dortmund – a first vs. second in another round of Der Klassiker.

 

 

Matchday 5 Match of the Week

There was no Match of the Week for Matchday 4.  I didn't see a game worth writing about.  

At the start of Mainz’s match with visiting Borussia Mönchengladbach [BMG], they stood at the bottom of the Bundesliga with zero points.  hey had scored only two goals while giving up twelve. They began the season with two losses to RB Leipzig [3-1] and VfB Stuttgart [4-1] on Bundesliga Matchdays 1 and 2 respectively.  These poor results cost head coach Achim Beierlorzer his job.  Beierlorzer was the second Bundesliga coach to be fired this season [Schalke coach David Wagner got the sack earlier the same week].   Mainz replaced Four games into the new season, Mainz are already staring relegation in the face.

BMG took the early lead when team captain Lars Stindl turned in a neat knock-down from striker Breel Embolo from close range. Mainz could have been forgiven for thinking “here we go again,” but Mainz striker Jean-Philippe Mateta teed up midfielder Jean-Paul Boetius for a golden opportunity to equalize soon after – though he placed a weak shot straight at BMG goalie Yann Sommer. In a case of being in the right place at the right time, at the 23-minute mark Mateta brought them level with their next opportunity, converting the rebound after striker Robin Quaison hit the post. At the half-hour mark, BMG striker Patrick Herrmann bounced a volley onto the top of the crossbar, it was the hosts who struck next. Mateta managed to hold off four defenders before turning and driving a low shot into the bottom corner of Sommer's goal. Mainz goalie Robin Zentner then preserved Mainz's lead until the break, most notably from another Herrmann effort.  For once, the Fußballgötter were smiling on Mainz.

Zentner was given some early work to do in the second half too, turning away Herrmann's shot before defender Moussa Niakhate covered behind him to clear Embolo's shot on the rebound off the line. BMG coach Marco Rose reacted by making four substitutions, with strikers Marcus Thuram and Alassane Plea both sent on [a net addition of one striker], and the tactical tinkering eventually paid off with Thuram earning a penalty when his shot was handled by Niakhate. Fellow substitute Hofmann sent Zentner the wrong way from the spot, and the speed with which he fished the ball out of the back of the net emphasized how keen BMG were on getting more than just a point. BMG grabbed the win thanks to a flying header from defender Matthias Ginter seven minutes from full time. Mainz are still dwelling in the cellar with five straight defeats, while BMG moved up to eighth place with eight points.   RB Leipzig continue to lead with thirteen points, with Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund close behind with twelve each.