2013-14 German Bundesliga Thread: Bayern Champs Again

[ATL Boy]

Dortmund beats Braunschweig 2-1, kind of bittersweet for me because it was Bicakcic who gave up the PK which led to the winning goal

[cgf]

My Eiserne concede another second half goal but continue their role, brandy continues to look like a nuasance and Nemec slotted home two nice headers. Has continues to play hero behind our backline, keeping Dusseldorf from equalizing late from point blank range, I still laugh that Hoffenheim let him go in favor of Wiese.

Kreilach in midfield has been that Karl replacement I've wanted since the winter and actually brings more moving forward as we're a very fluid attacking side in possession. Kohler deserves some love to as he's often unheralded but has played a key role in the three wins in a row Union have slapped on the board. Gotta keep working on that backline and keep experimenting with the Kreilach, Ozbek, Mattuschka trio that we've seen from time to time in midfield, but this season looks like another in which we can improve on our finish last year. Promotion is still just a dream, but we'll be in the mix.

[cgf]

So I was answering a pm for Next Coming and it got me thinking about Hoppenheim, especially since they're rumored to be trying to bring Merkel to Germany from Udinese, but I actually think they'll be one of the surprise young teams who blast their way into Europe soon, maybe not this year, but I could really see it next year if Gisdol is good as the murmurs suggest.

Two other young lads I like is Ricardo Rodriguez & Roberto Firmino(had a huge weekend.)

I can't say I'm very high on firmino as he's always struck me a lot as guy who had a lot more talent than he knew how to use, but that's not uncommon for young players, especially Brazilian kids accustomed to the wide open Brazilian fields. Gisdol is getting a lot of hype around him as the next Streich/Tuchel/Klopp young German coaching star, so I wouldn't be too surprised to see him "get it" this year, the way being reunited with Favre has turned Raffael into a serious threat.

It's Firmino's team mate Kevin Volland that I would watch hoffenheim for when I actually watched them though. That kid has an amazing future ahead of him, one that could see him as the starting striker for title winning German national sides as he's got ridiculous talent and a very Klose or Kruse like appreciation for how to move around up top to drag defenders out of place and then to knife back into dangerous positions. With salihovic that is a trio of very capable creative players for Gisdol to build his attacks around, and there is a lot of young talent on d if Fabian Johnson ever decides he wants to dominate as much as he has the ability to, and one of the young German CBs, Sule, Thesker, Akpog...something...is soon ready to partner vestergard in front of Casteels.

Not sure if Modeste/Derdiyok will be enough and if they'll gather enough creative talent to let Volland lead the line, but an attack featuring the likes of Volland, Salihovic, Firmino, Grifo, Merkel?, and that crafty Norwegian they brought could be really dangerous under a good coach that can also organize that young defense in front of their equally young keeper.

[Foye]

Schalke is going after Podolski. Not sure if he is a good fit.

[Maex]

Schalke is going after Podolski. Not sure if he is a good fit.

Why the fit? "Not sure if he is good." Check.

[Foye]

Schalke is going after Podolski. Not sure if he is a good fit.

Why the fit? "Not sure if he is good." Check.

Well, I wouldn't say he is bad.
You know that he will give you 15 goals a season and double digit assists in all competitions combined if he gets the minutes.

He did it in Germany and he did it in England. There is no question that he is dangerous in front of the goal but his playmaking abilities and workrate could certainly be better.

[Foye]

Ahaha Croatians.singing Stuttgart, Stuttgart auf Wiedersehen.

Cant believe what Im watching.here. This Rijeka.team is so pathetic yet Stuttgart manages to lose the game. They play without effort, heart, hustle and anything soccer is about.

[ATL Boy]

Ahaha Croatians.singing Stuttgart, Stuttgart auf Wiedersehen.

Cant believe what Im watching.here. This Rijeka.team is so pathetic yet Stuttgart manages to lose the game. They play without effort, heart, hustle and anything soccer is about.

Take it from someone who follows the Croatian league: Stuttgart should be embarrassed. The only relevant team in Croatia is Dinamo Zagreb whose been absolutely dominating the Croatian league for the past decade (I'm not sure but I think that they won the Croatian league 7 straight times). That being said, factoring in pay rolls, Stuttgart shouldn't be losing to Dinamo let alone Rijeka (Croatian word for River). Stuttgart has a fighting chance at home thanks to Ibisevic's goal but this is embarrassing.

[Foye]

Ahaha Croatians.singing Stuttgart, Stuttgart auf Wiedersehen.

Cant believe what Im watching.here. This Rijeka.team is so pathetic yet Stuttgart manages to lose the game. They play without effort, heart, hustle and anything soccer is about.

Take it from someone who follows the Croatian league: Stuttgart should be embarrassed. The only relevant team in Croatia is Dinamo Zagreb whose been absolutely dominating the Croatian league for the past decade (I'm not sure but I think that they won the Croatian league 7 straight times). That being said, factoring in pay rolls, Stuttgart shouldn't be losing to Dinamo let alone Rijeka (Croatian word for River). Stuttgart has a fighting chance at home thanks to Ibisevic's goal but this is embarrassing.

The funny thing is that Bruno Labbadia always leaves out his better players without knowing it. He wants to start his best 11 but then I see guys like Maxim, Koka Rausch, Abdellaoue and Traore on the bench while Molinaro and Cacau make them play 9 vs. 11.
Yesterday again both goals they got against were from Molinaro's side. Just like in the DFB Cup final. A single sprint is enough to get past Molinaro.

[Point forward]

Molinaro is trash. Maybe Labbadia's Italian blood prevents him from benching a "fellow" Italian.

[Next Coming]

Roberto Firmino's breakout season.

[cgf]

It is really impressive how Bruno manages to prevent a team that has Leitner, Maxim, Genter and Didavi from being fluid and creative.

[Foye]

It is really impressive how Bruno manages to prevent a team that has Leitner, Maxim, Genter and Didavi from being fluid and creative.

Leitner was terrible. The more I see from him, the less I want to see from him.
He has shown no creativity yesterday. All he did was passes to his neighbour and to the flanks. No risk passes at all which is why they didn't create any chances. He still has decent potential but I'm not a fan.

I'm a huge fan of Maxim. Whenever he enters the pitch for Stuttgart you immediately see that they get more dangerous. No clue how this guy is not a starter currently.
Also Traore is ok. He is flawed but there is no reason whatever to start Cacau over him or Maxim.

Didavi was very good in 2nd leg 11/12 but I don't know what to expect from him after he has basically missed the full 12/13 season and still isn't ready.

Roberto Firmino's breakout season.

Might be, yes. Hoffenheim's offense seems very fluid. Volland and Firmino of course are the most important guys. So far it seems like Modeste is a good addition, too. He was a 15 goal scorer at Bastia last season...
don't know why Bordeaux decided to sell him for only 3 mil. Could be a bargain.

[cgf]

It is really impressive how Bruno manages to prevent a team that has Leitner, Maxim, Genter and Didavi from being fluid and creative.

Leitner was terrible. The more I see from him, the less I want to see from him.
He has shown no creativity yesterday. All he did was passes to his neighbour and to the flanks. No risk passes at all which is why they didn't create any chances. He still has decent potential but I'm not a fan.

I'm a huge fan of Maxim. Whenever he enters the pitch for Stuttgart you immediately see that they get more dangerous. No clue how this guy is not a starter currently.
Also Traore is ok. He is flawed but there is no reason whatever to start Cacau over him or Maxim.

Didavi was very good in 2nd leg 11/12 but I don't know what to expect from him after he has basically missed the full 12/13 season and still isn't ready.

Roberto Firmino's breakout season.

Might be, yes. Hoffenheim's offense seems very fluid. Volland and Firmino of course are the most important guys. So far it seems like Modeste is a good addition, too. He was a 15 goal scorer at Bastia last season...
don't know why Bordeaux decided to sell him for only 3 mil. Could be a bargain.

Yeah Labbadia has really neutered Leitner, he's so much more incisive with the youth national teams where he's played as a ten and not a ball playing double pivot. I think we agree on Maxim, and I'm a big Didavi fan if he can make a full recovery. He was simply massive for see club in that final season, playing clever passes and sneaking into dangerous areas around the goal. Stuttgart should be so much more dangerous with ibisevic and harnik as the goal scorers, Maxim, Leitner/Genter and Didavi as the creaters, and Boka or Kvist as the holder.

As for hoffenheim I really hope they do bring Merkel back to Germany, that kid still has unreal potential as a box to box midfielder, and he doesn't seem to be making the breakthrough in Italy.

[ATL Boy]

Molinaro is trash. Maybe Labbadia's Italian blood prevents him from benching a "fellow" Italian.

That's exactly what I said when Mancini kept playing Balotelli for City even though Mario was awful in his final year and had an awful attitude. It annoyed the heck outta me seeing Dzeko on the bench week in and week out while Balotelli was (undeservedly) starting.

[Foye]

Bremen conceding only 1 goal in 3 games. Is this real life?

Dortmund with a perfect start so far after a 1-0 victory over Bremen yesterday.

[ATL Boy]

Great win for Dortmund yesterday. We're gonna challenge for the Bundesliga crown

[Maex]

Bayern game against Nürnberg was quite interesting today. They played with: Neuer - Boateng, Dante, Alaba - Lahm, Schweinsteiger - Robben, Götze, Thiago, Ribery- Mandzukic.

Lahm was more or less a second midfield player with Schweinsteiger. Martinez wasn't in the team and from time to time Schweinteiger played a third center back. Götze and Thiago played, which means Kroos and Müller at the bench.

Nürnberg was very good in defense, well organized and a strict task allocation (e.g. double Bayern's wide players Ribery and Robben). This caused Bayern a lot of problem, they had troubles to get a goal and looked sometimes a bit shaky in defense.

Bayern was clearly the better team, but Nürnberg was a good fighting opponent. Than Pep changed Müller and Kroos for Thaigo and Götze, which both didn't have a really good game (basically caused by injuries and little playing practice). Alaba missed a penalty.

But it showed again, why most former coaches said, that Müller has to play, no matter what. Once again he totally collapsed the opponent defense. I do think that there is just no answer to Müllers style of play. You can't really cover him and if you try to do it, your defense will collapse. Was a matter of time until Ribery scored.

Robben scored the second one with a stunning individual performance:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dh67a0J8Pw[/youtube]

In the end Bayern won 2:0 and had a passing quote of 90% (by 724 passes) and 81% ball possession.

Stand out player was again Ribery. Showing again why he should be voted as the player of the year next Thursday.

[Foye]

Mainz with another victory to make it three in a row.

I was at the game, Nicolai Müller with another stunner. Love this guy.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uodRWXF_XKI[/youtube]

[Maex]

I was at the game, Nicolai Müller with another stunner. Love this guy.

My comunio man!