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.