Stuttgart Open With Win, Hertha Beat Frankfurt

Borussia Mönchengladbach 1-3 VfB Suttgart

Life in the Bundesliga began with a home defeat for Borussia Mönchengladbach as 2007 champions Stuttgart beat them 3-1 with goals from Hitzlsperger, Marica and Gomez.  Rob Friend scored a consolation for the Föhlen.

The visitors opened the scoring with fifteen minutes on the clock through new captain Thomas Hitzlsperger.  Mexican Ricardo Osorio ran through the midfield before releasing Hitzlsperger on the left.  The German midfielder wasn’t closed down and let fly from 24 meters and slipped under keeper Heimeroth, who really should have done better.

Stuttgart then hit their hosts with two further goals before half-time to spoil their return to the Bundesliga.  First on 26 minutes Ciprian Marica fired in after good work from Jan Simak.

Then with a minute to go before the half-time whistle Mario Gomez opened his Bundesliga account for the season.  Simak again was instrumental feeding the international striker, who beat Brouwers before firing in with his left foot into the far corner.

Rob Friend finally gave the home fans something to shout about on the hour mark though with their first goal od the season.  Brouwers headed on a throw-in to the Borussia striker, who slotted home when through one-on-one against Jens Lehmann.

In the end the win was fully deserved for Armin Veh’s side and Borussia will look to open their account next week against Hoffenheim.

Eintracht Frankfurt 0-2 Hertha Berlin

The capital club opened their Bundesliga campaign with a win against Eintracht Frankfurt and for once Marko pantelic wasn’t on the score sheet.

Just when it looked like the first half was going to end goalless, Pantelic and Raffael combined superbly to open the scoring on 43 minutes.    A one-two between the Brazilian and the Serb split open the Frankfurt defence and Raffael scored from a tight angle to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.

Hertha’s lead was doubled on the hour mark with Patrick Ebert getting in on the scoring act.  A counter-attack following a Frankfurt corner saw Pantelic playing the ball into the run of Ebert, who clipped the ball past keeper Nikolov.

The second half saw Hertha cleverly close the game out to claim a valuablr three points.

source: goal.com

Bundesliga Round-Up: Schalke Cruise, Werder Held

Schalke 3-0 Hannover

Wolfsburg 2-1 FC Köln

Bayer Leverkusen 2-3 Borussia Dortmund

Karlsruhe 1-0 Bochum

Energie Cottbus 0-3 1899 Hoffenheim

Arminia Bielefeld 2-2 Werder Bremen

Schalke 3-0 Hannover

Schalke’s early form continued as they started the season with a 3-0 home win over Dieter Hecking’s Hannover at the Veltins Arena.

The Königsblauen made the dream start to the game even without their summer signings Farfan and Engelaar.  With less than two minutes on the clock a Rakitic corner was headed past Robert Enke by Schalke captain Marcelo Bordon with Vinicius well beaten in the air.

With the home fans still celebrating, Schalke then added a second on eight minutes.  Another corner, this time from Pander, saw Bordon beat Vinicius once more and when the ball fell to Kuranyi, the German international fired home with aplomb.

The result was put beyond doubt on 64 minutes with a third goal for Fred Rutten’s side.  Ivan Rakitic brought the ball into the centre from the left and Kuranyi grabbed his second of the afternoon with a well placed header.

Wolfsburg 2-1 FC Köln

Felix Magath’s Wolfsburg were made to work by Köln and had to come from a goal down before securing an opening day win.

The Geißböcke grabbed the first goal of the game at the Volkswagen Arena against Felix Magath’s Wolfsburg.  With 20 minutes gone, Radu won the ball after a cross from Umit Ozan and played the ball back into the centre.  Novakovic was on hand where it mattered to head past a helpless Diego Benaglio.

Three minutes into the second half and the home side were level.  Ashkan Dejagah left Pierre Wome standing before laying the ball off to Sascha Riether.  His shot was only parried by Mondragon and Christian Gentner was on hand to slot home the equaliser.

The home side then got themselves in front with twelve minutes left through Zvejezdan Misimovic.  Dejagah fed the Bosnian midfielder and he tricked keeper Mondragon with a clever effort to five the Wölfe a 2-1 lead.

Bayer Leverkusen 2-3 Borussia Dortmund

The Bay-Arena witnessed five goals but it was the visitors who left the happier after a 3-2 win.

The eager fans inside the stadium only had to wait four minutes to witness the first goal of the season, but the home fans were disappointed to see it fall to the visitors.  Pole Jakub Blaszczykowski crossed from the right and his ball found Valdez in the six yard box.  The Peruvian was quicker to react than Friedrich and slotted home past Fernandez in the Bayer goal.

Bayer fought back though and got themselves back on level terms on 21 minutes.  Kiessling played through a clever pass to strike partner Helmes and the former Köln forward beat the offside flag before coolly slotting the ball past the out-rushing Roman Weidenfeller.

Poor defending from the home side on 36 minutes led to a second goal for Dortmund.  Valdez broke down the right and looked up to cleverly find Florian Kringe running in from deep.  With two defenders taken out of the game, the midfielder kept his cool to fire past an isolated Benedikt Fernandez in the Leverkusen goal.

Dortmund keeper Roman Weidenfeller had to go off just before half time after a nasty cut to his knee caused by his own studs.  Marc Ziegler came on to replace him.

Four minutes into the second half and Borussia Dortmund scored their third of the afternoon.  A Tamas Hajnal corner saw Neven Subotic head home from close range with all the Leverkusen attention on Nelson Valdez.

Leverkusen pulled a goal back with seven minutes left through Stefan Kiessling.  Sascha Dum crossed and Kiessling headed home from close range to give the home side hope.     BVB however held on to claim an impressive away win on Jürgen Klopp’s first game in charge.

Karlsruhe 1-0 Bochum

Karlsruhe opened their account with a home win after a solitary goal from Christian Eichner secured a 1-0 victory at the Wildparkstadion.

KSC opened their Bundesliga account for the season after half an hour through Christian Eichner.  New summer signing Antonio da Silva provided the pass and the left back tried his luck from distance and found the bottom corner of the Bochum goal with a left foot shot.

That goal proved enough to down Bochum and claim all three points.

Energie Cottbus 0-3 1899 Hoffenheim

Hoffenheim made the perfect start to life in the top flight with a 3-0 away win over Energie Cottbus.  The result was never really in doubt and all those predicting a relegation struggle for the Sinsheim club may just be changing their opinions.

The newly promoted side made the ideal start to the Bundesliga campaign with a goal after 17 minutes against Cottbus.  A lapse in concentration in the Cottbus back line allowed the minnows to score.  Ba flicked the ball with his head to Ibisevic, who through on goal beat Cvitanovic before firing home from close range.

The new boys then added a second ten minutes into the second period to double their lead against last season’s relegation candidates Cottbus.  Ibisevic turned provider this time with a long pass to Demba Ba.  The Senegalese striker easily beat Igor Mitreski before beating Tremmel in the Energie goal.

Hoffenheim’s dream start to life in the Bundesliga continued on 76 minutes with a third goal.  Ibisevic grabbed his second of the game after an assist from Teber.

Arminia Bielefeld 2-2 Werder Bremen

Last season’s runners-up were held to a point by Arminia Bielefeld at the Schüco Arena.

A weak first half from Werder was rectified on the hour mark when Swede Markus Rosenberg opened the scoring.  Hugo Almeida knocked on a Frings corner with his head to Rosenberg who chested the ball over the line from close range.

Bremen however couldn’t keep their lead with Bielefeld’s top-scorer from last season, Artur Wichniarek equalising after 74 minutes.  A long ball from inside their own half saw Jonas Kamper head on to Wichniarek, who drilled home past Tim Wiese to make it 1-1.

Six minutes later however and Werder had their noses back in front with Rosenberg again on the score sheet.   Bielefeld lost the ball cheaply in midfield and Sanogo laid the ball off to the Swedish striker, who stroked the ball home from 18 meters.

The lead lasted only one minute though with Wichniarek grabbing his second of the game.  Tesche got to the bye-line before passing inside to the Polish target man, who converted with ease.

source: goal.com

Bayern start with a draw

Goals from Jose Paolo Guerrero and Piotr Trochowski completed a remarkable comeback as Hamburg drew 2-2 with champions Bayern Munich in the opening match of the new Bundesliga season on Friday.

Bastian Schweinsteiger put the hosts ahead against the run of play in the 12th minute before Lukas Podolski added a second from the penalty spot four minutes later.

But a 25th-minute strike from Guerrero and a penalty converted by Trochowski in the 57th minute earned Hamburg a deserved draw.

The result means Hamburg remain unbeaten in four visits to the Allianz Arena while Jurgen Klinsmann’s first match in charge of Bayern ended without the desired win.

source: sportinglife.com

Bundesliga Weekend Preview: Round 1

Friday 15th August (all times local)

20:30 Bayern Munich – Hamburg

Saturday 16th August

15:30 Schalke 04 – Hannover

15:30 Wolfsburg – 1.FC Köln

15:30 Bayer Leverkusen – Borussia Dortmund

15:30 Karlsruhe – VfL Bochum

15:30 Energie Cottbus – 1899 Hoffenheim

15:30 Arminia Bielefeld – Werder Bremen

Sunday 17th August

17:00 Eintracht Frankfurt – Hertha Berlin

17:00 Borussia Mönchengladbach – Stuttgart

Bayern Munich – Hamburg

The action gets underway on Friday with champions Bayern Munich opening the defence of their title at home to Hamburg.  The match sees both trainers making their Bundesliga bows with the pressure on them already before the season has even started.

Jürgen Klinsmann is expected to win the Bundesliga and challenge for the Champions League this season and anything less will have all the doubters who questioned his appointment out in force.  That said he does possess the strongest squad in the league and will have few excuses to fall back on.

Bayern have a few key players out injured for this opening day clash and HSV represent a potential banana skin for the Bavarians.  Last season’s match at the Allianz Arena ended in a 1-1 draw.  Ivica Olic gave Hamburg the lead before Zé Roberto salvaged a point for Bayern with the equaliser.

New HSV trainer Martin Jol faces a tough task in replacing Huub Stevens, and that task has been made even more difficult with the loss of Rafael van der Vaart to Real Madrid.  The Dutch boss does have €15 million to spend but it seems unlikely that any new signing will be in place before the clash with Bayern on Friday.

Hamburg will gain confidence from the fact that they were unbeaten in both their games against Bayern last season (both 1-1 draws) and that both of those were achieved largely without van der Vaart (limited to 12mins as a substitute).

Schalke 04 – Hannover

Another new trainer takes charge of his first Bundesliga match at the Veltins Arena with Dutchman Fred Rutten on the bench for Schalke as they take on an ambitious Hannover side.

Former Twente Enschede coach Rutten has been chosen to replace former trainer Mirko Slomka and will be expected to mount a serious title challenge this season as well as reproduce last year’s success in the Champions League.

There should be a Bundesliga debut for summer signing Orlando Engelaar as the Königsblauen look to get their season off to a positive start at the Veltins Arena, but Jefferson Farfan is injured.

Schalke were in action in midweek beating Atletico Madrid 1-0 in their Champions League qualifier, so may be a little more match-ready than their opponents.

Hannover however will provide a tricky test for Schalke on this first weekend of the season.  Dieter Hecking has strengthened his side during the summer with forwards Jan Schlaudraff and Mikael Forssell as well as centre back Mario Eggimann.  They managed a 1-1 draw last season at the Veltins Arena on Round 31 when Schalke were in the middle of a good run of form.

The loss of experienced full back Michael Tarnat with a thigh injury is a blow, but Christian Schulz should deputise admirably.

Wolfsburg – 1.FC Köln

Wolfsburg surprised many people last season by pipping both Bayer Leverkusen and Stuttgart to a Uefa Cup spot and the Wölfe are looking to achieve even more this season.  They welcome newly promoted 1.FC Köln to the Volkswagen Arena on Saturday with the intention of proving that last season was no flash in the pan.

The summer has seen the arrivals of Italian World Cup winners Andrea Barzagli and Christian Zaccardo and both should make their Bundesliga debuts on Saturday.  Captain Marcelinho will however not be around having just completed a move to Flamengo.    Zvejezdan Misimovic though is no bad replacement.

Christoph Daum will lead Köln out on their return to the top flight hoping to give a good account of themselves.  The ‘Geißböcke’ (Billy-goats) will be hoping not to be eaten by the Wolves.  The loss of Patrick Helmes to Leverkusen is a blow, but new signing Mannaseh Ishiaku is injured and won’t be able to lead the line with Novakovic.

There should also be debuts for Petit, Geromel and Pierre Wome.

Bayer Leverkusen – Borussia Dortmund

Two more trainers take charge of their first games with new clubs as Bayer Leverkusen host Borussia Dortmund at the Bay-Arena.  Bruno Labbadia is in the hot-seat for Bayer, while Jürgen Klopp will be in the opposite dugout for BVB.  Both will be looking for a positive start.

Leverkusen expect to have the exciting Brazilian duo of Henrique and Renato Augusto on show and Patrick Helmes could well also make his Bundesliga debut for the club.  The Werkself will have to without highly rated keeper Rene Adler, who has suffered a shoulder injury in training.  Benedikt Fernandez will deputise.  Bernd Schneider is still on the road to recovery following a back operation.

Dortmund fans again start the season with high hopes and will want to avoid defeat in their first game of the season.  Trainer Jürgen Klopp may hand Dortmund league debuts to Tamas Hajnal, Neven Subotic, although forward Alexander Frei and Tinga will be missing through injury.

Karlsruhe – Bochum

Two mid-table sides from last season clash at the Wildparkstadion as Karlsruhe welcome VfL Bochum.  Last time round KSC finished 11th, while Bochum were two points behind in 12th.

Edmund Becker has lost the services of key players Tamas Hajnal and Mario Eggimann but debuts will be given to Antonio da Silva and Sebastian as replacements.  KSC began with a surprise win on the opening day last season against Nürnberg, which set up a fine season, and repeat of that would suit them this weekend.

Andreas Görlitz is out injured, so former Bayern Munich II full back Celozzi will fill-in.

Marcel Koller has admitted that his current squad is his strongest yet, and that prognosis will be put to the test on Saturday against Karlsruhe.  Old boys Paul Freier and Vahid Hashemian look set to make their ‘second’ debuts for the club.

Energie Cottbus – 1899 Hoffenheim

Newly promoted Hoffenheim start their Bundesliga adventure with an away trip to Cottbus, who clawed themselves clear of relegation last season.

Following the sacking of Petrick Sander last season, Bojan Prasnikar took the helm at the Stadion der Freundschaft and steered them clear of the drop-zone.  There could be debuts for defenders Savo Pavicevic and Cagdas Atan, while Emil Jula could also start up front.

Hoffenheim have a great chance to make an instant impression by winning their first match in the Bundesliga, but will have to do without the services of new Brazilian striker Wellington.  There should be debuts for Ozcan in goal, full back Andreas Beck and midfielder Luis Gustavo.

Forward Chinedu Obasi is still in China with the Nigerian Olympic squad.

Arminia Bielefeld – Werder Bremen

Last season’s runners-up Werder Bremen travel to Bielefeld to take on a side they had particular joy against last year.  Thomas Schaaf’s side sealed a mammoth 8-1 win at the Weser Stadion, but were held to a 1-1 draw at the Schüco Arena in the return.

Werder are without Diego, who is in Beijing, so either Mesut Özil or Hunt could deputise.  Per Mertesacker is out injured with Sebastian Prödl the likely stand-in alongside Naldo.

Bielefeld are many people’s tips for relegation so will want to show against Werder that they are worthy of their place in the top-flight.  There could be debuts for Lamey in defence and Sadik in attack.

Eintracht Frankfurt – Hertha Berlin

Two teams looking to qualify for Europe this season clash at the Commerzbank Arena on Sunday with Eintracht Frankfurt taking on Hertha Berlin.  Both sides have strengthened their squads in the summer and will be looking to settle quickly this season.

Friedhelm Funkel however doesn’t start the season with the optimal conditions with an injury crisis on his hands already.  Keeper Markus Pröll is out, as is Christoph Preuss, Benni Köhler, Zlatan Bajramovic, Umit Korkmaz and Aleksandar Vasoski.

There could be Eintracht Bundesliga debuts for both Habib Bellaid and Nikos Liberopoulos, who looks to have got the nod ahead of Martin Fenin.

The only major loss for Hertha is that of key defender Arne Friedrich, who is injured, while there could be debuts for Marc Stein and Brazilian midfielder Cicero.

Borussia Mönchengladbach – Stuttgart

The final match of the opening weekend sees last season’s second division champions entertaining VfB Stuttgart.

Föhlen trainer Jos Luhukay may have to do without striker Oliver Neuville who is not fully fit.  A place on the bench could be the best he can manage meaning Rob Friend will play as a lone striker supported my Marko Marin.

Armin Veh has Khalid Boulahrouz unavailable so Serdar Tasci, called up to the German squad this week, will partner Delpierre in defence.  Striker Cacau has an adductor problem so Ciprian Marica will join Mario Gomez in attack.

source: goal.com

Bundesliga Betting: Managerial changes could lead to a Klose title race in Germany

Bundesliga 1 kicks off on Friday with a corker of a match: champions Bayern Munich v Hamburg, live on Setanta Sports 1. Three of the title contenders have new coaches and two of them, Jurgen Klinsmann and Martin Jol, take charge of Bayern and Hamburg respectively for their first league games in this fixture. Schalke also have a new coach in Fred Rutten and neutrals will be hoping the managerial changes will make the Bundesliga 1 title race much closer this season.

Bayern walked Bundesliga 1 last season and are at just 1.63 to retain the title. One notable absentee from their line-up will be Oliver Kahn, who has retired. Michael Rensing will have to try his best to replace him. Other than the change of coach and goalkeeper, there’s been little personnel change at Bayern over the summer. The club have had a £19.7 million bid turned down for Stuttgart’s ‘Super’ Mario Gomez, so Klinsmann is trying to improve the squad, probably more for the Champions League rather than the domestic league.

Gomez had a poor Euro 2008 but has a good scoring record in Germany, although Glenn Hoddle’s comments about Andy Cole needing a few chances to score applies to Gomez too. Franck Ribery misses the start of the season through injury and Klinsmann did lose his first competitive game in charge of Bayern, 2-1 to Dortmund in the Super Cup, but with players such as Ribery, Lukas Podolski and Luca Toni in their ranks, it’s little surprise they’re such strong favourites.

Hamburg will be severely weakened following playmaker Rafael van der Vaart’s move to Real Madrid from Hamburg. He was as important to Hamburg as Matt Le Tissier used to be to Southampton. They have a few decent players in their squad including Croatian forward Ivica Olic, Dutch midfielder Nigel De Jong and Czech Republic international David Jarolim, and Jol is also reunited with ex-Spur Thimothee Atouba. Hamburg won the Emirates Cup but pre season is, well, pre season. Hamburg are way out at 26.0 to win the league. However, if you believe Jol will work wonders at Hamburg, odds of 4.5 to get a top 3 finish are attractive.

Werder Bremen have stuck with Thomas Schaaf as their coach and look to have kept hold of Brazilian playmaker Diego for another season at least – although he is currently in China for the Olympics. Bremen have finished runners-up for the past two seasons but have also lost key players to Bayern in each of those seasons. Klose was transferred before last season and Tim Borowski this summer – it’s not just in England where the big teams ‘nick’ the best players from the other clubs. Bremen have been quiet in the transfer market so far and it’s important that the excellent Torsten Frings stays fit. Much will also depend if forwards Swede Markus Rosenberg and Portuguese Hugo Almeida can continue where they started this season – in a 9-3 victory at fifth-flight club Eintracht Nordhorn in the German Cup, Rosenberg scored four goals and Almeida bagged a hat-trick. It’ll be trickier against top-level defences, of course, and Bremen are second favourites at 8.4.

Schalke have strengthened over the summer by signing the giant Dutchman Orlando Engelaar and Peruvian international forward Jefferson Farfan. Farfan tasted title successes at PSV and his versatility (he can play on either flank or down the middle) will be vital if Schalke wish to catch Bayern. Croatian playmaker Ivan Rakitic should get better with age and experience and Halil Altintop is coming off the back of a good Euro 2008 with Turkey. Kevin Kuranyi remains the figurehead of the team and new coach Rutten will he hoping he links well with Farfan. Schalke are third favourites at 9.6.

Rather like with Lyon in Ligue 1, there’s a dominant force in Bundesliga 1 and few expect Bayern to be toppled. All the likes of Hamburg, Schalke and Bremen can hope for is that it takes time for the Bayern players to get used to Klinsmann’s management. A slim chance, though, as he coached many of the players when he was in charge of the national side. Still, Bundesliga 1 had more goals and shots than any other European league last season, so fans of German football won’t be short of entertainment.

source: betfair.com

On The “Growing” Bundesliga

In recent years, many Bundesliga fans have criticized the DFB for having an anti-capitalist attitude towards club ownership.  Such fans attribute the recent poor performance of Bundesliga sides in European play to an alleged lack of money available for teams to use to attract the most talented footballers in the world.  Indeed, the Bundesliga does have rules that prevent wealthy investors from holding a majority stake in any club.

However, it is naïve to think that the Bundesliga is lacking in funds.  A May 2008 CNN report found that the Bundesliga’s operating margin (operating income/revenue) was 18% in 2006/2007, approximately three times that of the English Premier League1.  Of course, the Bundesliga’s superior profitability is in part due to the fact that its players are, on average, paid less.  Still, the Bundesliga’s wealth largely stems from its teams carrying minimal debt while regularly attracting more attendance on average than any other league in Europe.  Based on the aforementioned figures, it’s impossible to say that the Bundesliga is unable to afford the talent that is regularly brought to the English Premier League, La Liga and Serie A.

No Challenge

Yet, in spite of their riches, Bundesliga teams routinely ignore the wealth of transfer options available to them.  Admittedly, transfers are not entirely controlled by transfer fee and salary.  Prestige and culture, for example, certainly do play significant roles; just ask Ronaldinho why he recently chose to leave Barcelona in favor of AC Milan instead of Manchester City.  For most South Americans, Spain and Italy are particularly attractive, as both countries offer far more cultural familiarity than Germany and England can provide.  However, it’s a wonder how a young Eastern European talent such as Luka Modric could leave his homeland of Croatia for a middle-table English club (Tottenham Hotspur) without ever being seriously linked to any Bundesliga side.

This is not to say that German clubs never spend their wealth: after placing fourth in the Bundesliga in the 2006-07 season, Bayern Munich finally flexed their financial muscle, spending €37 million on foreign talents Luca Toni and Franck Ribery.  As a result of Bayern’s winning the domestic double, manager Uli Hoeness promised fans that Bayern would sign at least one major star every year from then onward.  However, aside from the January signing of centre-back Breno from Sao Paulo, Bayern have yet to sign a foreign player this year.  Elsewhere in the Bundesliga, the most liberal spenders have been Schalke, who recently signed 28-year-old Orlando Engelaar for a reported €5.5 million and 23-year-old Jefferson Farfan for a reported €10 million.  But where are the young and rising foreign superstars?  Aside from a few exceptions (including Hamburg’s 18-year-old Nigerian striker Macauley Chrisantus) there is little potential in the Bundesliga for developing foreign superstars.

Go West, Young Man

To the managers of Bundesliga clubs, my message is this: if you ever want to see the Bundesliga become the top league in Europe, spend money on talented youth.  The solution to your woes is not to sign established “good, but not great” players above the age of 25 (ex: Engelaar and Wolfsburg’s Andrea Barzagli), and it certainly isn’t to spend €5-10 million on second-rate South American youths that are unwanted in Spain and Italy (ex: Werder Bremen’s Carlos Alberto).

Judging from the quality of the young and talented Dutch national team, a good rule of thumb would be to make a pass at any young midfielder or striker from either Ajax or PSV.  Once there is an abundance of developing stars in the Bundesliga, foreign marketability (and with it, revenue) will spike, and a new age of prosperity will finally come.

source: goal.com

Return of the hit-men

Forwards accounted for more than half the goals scored in the Bundesliga last season – a ’striking’ statistic. Strikers notched 433 goals between them in 2007-2008 – 50.3 percent of the total in the top flight, the highest ratio for four years. bundesliga.de discusses the “return of the frontman ” with coaches Thomas Schaaf (Bremen) and Friedhelm Funkel (Frankfurt), and Stuttgart forward Cacau.

“Going for the win”

All three are in agreement on one point – the individual talent of the strikers has been a major contributing factor. “The top teams all have at least two very good front players”, says Cacau, who himself bagged eight in the season just ended: “FC Bayern and Werder Bremen actually have three or four.”

The first five places on the top scorers chart are all filled by ‘classic’ forwards: Luca of FC Bayern München (24 goals), Stuttgart’s Mario Gomez (19), Kevin Kuranyi of FC Schalke 04 (15) and Hamburg’s Ivica Olic and Markus Rosenberg of Bremen (14 each).

According to Funkel, this is down in part to the fact that, “The forwards are simply making more of their chances, as well”. Schaaf, whose team totalled more goals from strikers – 44 – than any other, throws an interesting consideration into the pot: “Maybe teams have generally been going for the win more this season than in the past.”

“Inject greater offensive spirit”

Eight of the top nine scorers in 2007-2008 are forwards. The only midfielder to inveigle himself amongst the frontmen is Bremen playmaker Diego, who scored 13. Says Funkel, “It’s the coach’s task to inject a greater offensvie spirit into his midfield. Having just four midfielders among the 21 top scorers is a terribly low return.”

For his part, Schaaf is certain every club would love to have the kind of attacking midfield motor available at Bremen: “Every team is on the lookout for the goal-hungry midfielder with a good shot on him, who can effectively double-up as a forward.”

A matter of balance

On the question as to whether an attack-minded team can simultaneously stand secure at the back, Schaaf has no doubts: “It can certainly be done. It’s a matter of finding the right balance in your game, the proportionate ratio.” It has to be noted, however, that this balance was conspicuously absent at Bremen latterly. The Bundesliga ‘goal factory’ also conceded, proportionately, the most goals to strikers (67 percent).

For Schaaf, the explanation is simple: “It’s important to have constancy with regard to personnel. And it’s not just a question of the quality of players, but also of their interaction on the pitch. When players get injured, this often presents a major problem.”

source: bundesliga.de

Bundesliga Team Of The Season

Favourites Bayern Munich won the 2007/08 Bundesliga title, but there were many players who caught the eye during an action packed and exciting season in Germany. Mathew Burt runs the rule over those who enjoyed a particularly good campaign and selects his Bundesliga Team of the Season.

Adler

Westermann   Bordon   Demichelis   Schäfer

Diego   Zé Roberto   Rolfes   Ribéry

Toni   Gomez

Goalkeeper:

1)  Rene Adler (Bayer Leverkusen)

Last season Adler as widely regarded as the up-and-coming talent in the goalkeeping department, and this season he has lived up to that forecast by becoming the best keeper in the Bundesliga.  The youngster has pulled off some amazing saves this season and rescued points for the Werkself when opposing teams probably deserved a share.

Such has been his rise this season that he has been called up into Joachim Löw’s squad for this summer’s European Championship finals with Valencia’s Timo Hildebrand missing out.

Defenders:

2)  Heiko Westermann (Schalke)

Westermann started the season as back up to the settled back line of Rafinha, Bordon, Krstajic, Pander at the Veltins Arena, but by the end of the campaign was a first-choice and had earned a call-up to the German European Championships squad on the back of a superb season.

He joined during last summer from Arminia Bielefeld and grabbed the attention though his dynamism, strength in the tackle and willingness to get forward down the flanks to provide crosses for the likes of Kevin Kuranyi.

3)  Marcelo José Bordon (Schalke)

Club captain Bordon has been an absolute rock for Schalke this season as they have once again been forced to act as bridesmaids as somebody else wins the Bundesliga.  The centre back has led by example and been awesome in defence, while also being a constant danger going forward as his five goals this season testifies.

There has been no shortage of desire on the part of the Königsblauen captain with the only real down side coming with an apparent falling out between him and fired trainer Mirko Slomka.  Nonetheless, Bordon has been one of the best defenders in the league this season.

4)  Martin Demichelis (Bayern Munich)

Alongside Luca Toni and Franck Ribéry, Argentine Martin Demichelis has arguably been Bayern Munich’s best player this season.  It was believed that Lucio and Daniel van Buyten would be the preferred central defensive partnership, but with injury ruling the Belgian and Valerien Ismael out of the start of the season, Demichelis partnered Lucio and never relinquished the jersey.

He read the game superbly and was on hand on numerous occasions to sweep up the danger and look like he had been playing the role for his entire career.  It is a huge achievement that Demichelis has usurped Lucio as the clubs best defender.  One minus point was his refusal to play in midfield, which brought him a suspension from Hitzfeld, but otherwise it has been a flawless season from him.

5) Marcell Schäfer (Wolfsburg)

Felix Magath worked wonders at Wolfsburg this season taking them from a team close to relegation to one that qualified for the Uefa Cup ahead of Leverkusen and Stuttgart.  One of the major plus points has been the emergence of Marcell Schäfer as a quality full back.

Signed from 1860 Munich, the youngster quickly settled into life at the Volkswagen Arena and was a near ever-present in a successful Wölfe campaign.  He chipped in with six goals as four assists, and has made himself a prime candidate for German cap next season.

Midfielders:

6)  Zé Roberto (Bayern Munich)

Bayern spent a lot of money in the summer, but one of their most important moves was to bring back midfielder Zé Roberto from Brazil.  He was surplus to requirements under Felix Magath, but Ottmar Hitzfeld wasted no time in recruiting the talented Brazilian to his rebuilding project at the Allianz Arena.

Alongside Mark van Bommel, Zé Roberto filled the defensive role in midfield and shone for the entire season.  His tackling, passing, running and contribution to attack were priceless making him one of the club’s top players as they stormed to the league title and won the German Cup.  Bayern will get one more season out of him, and on the basis of this season, that could prove a god-send.

7)  Simon Rolfes (Bayer Leverkusen)

Simon Rolfes has emerged as a top quality midfielder this season in a young and dynamic Bayer Leverkusen side.  For a while the Werkself were looking like a genuine title contender and much of that came down to the work rate and contribution of Rolfes in midfield.

He was an ever-present in Michael Skibbe’s side scoring eight goals along the way.  He even went through the entire season without picking up a single yellow card and was rewarded for his season’s achievements with a place in Joachim Löw’s provisional squad for this summer’s European Championships, where he will serve as a back up to the likes of Torsten Frings and Michael Ballack.

8)  Diego (Werder Bremen)

The Brazilian has consistently been one of the league’s best players since his arrival at the Weser Stadion from Porto and this season has been no exception.  A little off form at the start of the season due to the Copa America, Diego’s return to form coincided with a return to form for Werder Bremen as a whole.

The mercurial playmaker became the Bundesliga’s highest scoring midfielder with 13 goals to go with the 11 assists he provided for his team mates as Werder became the league’s highest goal scorers with a mammoth 75 goals.

9)  Franck Ribéry (Bayern Munich)

Not so much a revelation, but Ribéry was the absolute star turn in his first season in the Bundesliga.  He arrived as Bayern’s all-time record signing, but come the end of the season, there was nobody involved with the club, who didn’t believe that the club had got their monies worth from their €25 million outlay.

‘Super Franck’ looked to be on a different level at times as his dazzled with his direct attacking and scintillating skills.  He had opposition defences quaking as they struggled to cope with him all season and was manna from heaven for Luca Toni and Miroslav Klose who were the main beneficiaries of his ability.

Forwards:

10) Luca Toni (Bayern Munich)

The goals speak for themselves this season for Luca Toni.  ‘Il Bomber’ enjoyed a fantastic debut season for the Bavarians firing them to the league and Cup double and very nearly the Uefa Cup too.  24 Bundesliga goals in 31 appearances beat the previous best debut season from a Bayern striker (Roy Makaay) and made him one of the most prolific hit-men in Europe.

He shared to accolade for Uefa Cup top scorer with Pavel Pogrebnyak of Zenit.  There was a period towards the end of the season when Toni literally couldn’t stop scoring and he deserved won the prestigious ‘Torschützenkanone’ awarded to the Bundesliga’s leading goal scorer.

11) Mario Gomez (Stuttgart)

Last season’s Player of the Year in Germany didn’t have such a successful season in terms of league position as the Swabians relinquished their league title, but he certainly had a better year in terms of personal achievement.

Gomez scored 19 goals in just 25 matches giving him an almost identical strike rate to Luca Toni.  The fact that he didn’t receive the dazzling service that the Italian got makes his achievement even more remarkable.  After recovering from injury, the VfB striker scored 12 times in the second half of the season to put a more positive spin on an otherwise disappointing season for Stuttgart.

Squad Players:

There are as usual only eleven spots in the Team of the Season with numerous players missing out, who have had super seasons for the respective clubs and they make it into the ‘squad’ in recognition of their season’s work.

Schalke keeper Manuel Neuer has seen his reputation and value both increase with some superb displays between the posts for the Königsblauen this season.  The 22 year old was highly impressive in the Bundesliga and was a vital cog in the Schalke team that reached the quarter finals of the Champions League.  He looks set to go head-to-head with Rene Adler for the number one spot in the German national team in the coming years.

Werder Bremen’s German international Per Mertesacker has another highly impressive and consistent performance.  His performances even drew speculation that Bayern Munich would be looking to bring the tall, elegant centre back to the Allianz Arena.

Christian Lell of Bayern Munich got better and better as the season progressed and finished up as a key player for the Bavarians in their ‘double’ winning campaign.  Another full back to impress throughout the 2007/08 season was Gonzalo Castro of Bayer Leverkusen.  A regular starter for Germany in the Euro 2008 qualifiers. Castro should consider himself very unlucky to have lost out on a place in the finals squad.  Based on league performances, I believe he merited a place.

Andreas Wolf of Nürnberg didn’t deserve to be relegated with his high level showings this season.  There will no doubt be a number of Bundesliga clubs more than willing to sign him up for next season

In midfield Schalke’s Jermaine Jones really came to the fore this season as he made himself an important cog in the Königsblauen midfield and even broke into the German national side due to his high level of performance.  Tamas Hajnal of Karlsruhe was a revelation for the Baden side who took the league by storm in the first half of the season.  Hajnal secured a move to Borussia Dortmund on the back of his performances.

Many fans of the Bundesliga will no doubt be screaming for the inclusion of both Rafael van der Vaart and Mladen Petric in this ‘Team of the Season’ and they haven’t been forgotten.  Van der Vaart was superb in the first half of the season, but fell away a little in the second as HSV dropped out of the title race and had to settle for a place in the Uefa Cup.  That said 12 goals and 10 assists is still a fantastic contribution in what is in all likelihood his final season with the Hanseaten.

Croatian forward Mladen Petric impressed straight away at Borussia Dortmund and is already being tracked by the likes of Juventus, who have quickly come to appreciate the quality of the former FC Basel man.

Despite playing for an under-performing Hertha Berlin, Serbian striker Marko Pantelic still managed to bag 13 goals and cement his reputation as an out-and-out goal scorer.  Hertha found it very difficult to win without him in the side.

Many viewers were surprised that last season’s Bundesliga top scorer Theofanis Gekas didn’t get as much action as expected at Bayer Leverkusen, but that was largely down to the form of Stefan Kießling.  The young striker hit nine league goals as well as another seven in the Uefa Cup.  Deservedly won a call-up into the German squad for the summer’s European Championships.

Finally Stanislav Sestak enjoyed a fantastic first season in the Bundesliga and did well to cope with the burden of replacing Gekas.  The Slovakian number nine hit thirteen goals as Bochum achieved Bundesliga football again next season and contributed nine assists as well.

source: goal.com

Bundesliga Team Of The Week: Round 34

Mathew Burt runs the rule over the best in Germany over the final round of matches in Week 34 of an exciting and eventful Bundesliga. Bayern Munich were crowned champions at an emotional Allianz Arena, where both Oliver Kahn and Ottmar Hitzfeld were given a fine send off.

A 2-0 defeat to Schalke saw Nürnberg relegated and Arminia Bielefeld saved. Wolfsburg sneaked into the Uefa Cup after beating Dortmund and Hamburg joined them in Europe next season with a 7-0 mauling of Karlsruhe.

Neuer

Cherundolo   Bordon   Mavraj   Schäfer

Fink  van der Vaart   Ribéry

Fenin   Guerrero   Toni

Goalkeeper:

1)  Manuel Neuer (Schalke)

The young Schalke goalkeeper may have missed out on a place in the German squad for the European Championships to Rene Adler, but the youngster put in a superb display against Nürnberg.  He was dominant in the area and lightning quick with his reactions.  He is definitely going to be gaining a full cap some time soon.

Defenders:

2)  Steven Cherundolo (Hannover)

The  American full back had a storming game against Cottbus.  The right back fully utilised the opportunities to him to get forward and join the attack and provided assists for three of the four goals for Dieter Hecking’s side.

3)  Marcelo José Bordon (Schalke)

In the crunch game of the weekend both sides had to win to secure their targets.  Nürnberg wanted safety while the Königsblauen wanted to pip Werder into second.  Schalke duly won 2-0 with both goals coming from captain Bordon, who has been increasingly impressive in the past few weeks.  One with his head and one with his right foot showed that he is a real danger in the opposing penalty box as well as a dominant force in his own.

4)  Megim Mavraj (Bochum)

The young German defender impressed on his first full appearance for Bochum as they went down to a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Hansa Rostock.  Didn’t look out of place in Marcell Koller’s back line and got forward to excellent effect in the first half to head the home side in front.

5)  Marcel Schäfer (Wolfsburg)

The Wolfsburg full back has enjoyed a fine season and capped it with another good outing against Dortmund at the Signal Iduna Park as Felix Magath’s side clinched a 4-2 win to secure qualification for the Uefa Cup next season.  Schäfer was a constant threat down the left flank and got in on the scoring by firing in his side’s third goal of the game.

Midfielders:

6)  Michael Fink (Eintracht Frankfurt)

Michael Fink was the go to guy for Frankfurt as they ended a desperate run of form with a 4-2 win over Duisburg at the Commerzbank Arena.  He laid on three assists and tormented the Zebras defence for 90 minutes.  Fenin and the Eintracht forwards lapped up the service provided by wide man Fink.

7)  Rafael van der Vaart (Hamburg)

In what could be his last appearance in the Bundesliga, the Dutchman put in a virtuoso performance as HSV ran out 7-0 winners over Karlsruhe.  He opened the scoring after 23 minutes from the penalty spot and then took control of the creativity for Huub Stevens’ side.  He laid on three assists for Guerrero and Olic to bid a special farewell to the home crowd inside the HSH Nordbank Arena.

8)  Franck Ribéry (Bayern Munich)

The Frenchman ended the season the way he has played all season long.  He was a constant thorn in the Hertha defender’s side and was literally unstoppable at times.  He set up the second goal for Luca Toni before firing the third himself into to left hand corner following a Schweinsteiger corner.

Forwards:

9)  Martin Fenin (Eintracht Frankfurt)

The young Czech striker went off the boil somewhat after his debut in which he scored a hat trick.  However on Saturday against Duisburg he looked extremely dangerous.  He scored twice himself to take his season’s total to six and laid on a fine assist for partner Amanatidis for the opener.

10) Paulo Guerrero (Hamburg)

The season finished with a bang for Peruvian striker Paulo Guerrero as he bagged a hat trick in Hamburg’s 7-0 thrashing of Karlsruhe.  It took him less than 50 minutes to score his three goals and he showed the hunger and goal scoring instinct that has been missing in recent weeks.

11) Luca Toni (Bayern Munich)

‘Il Bomber’ finished the season on a real high after bagging a hat trick against Hertha to take his season’s total to 24.  The party atmosphere inside the Allianz Arena was aided by two Toni goals inside the first half an hour as he good his head to great balls from Ribéry and Schweinsteiger.  The third came in the second half with his right foot after an assist from Podolski.

Honourable mentions:

As always there are only eleven slots in the team of the week, so some players who played well for their club haven’t made it.  They do however get an honourable mention.

Manuel Castro made up for the disappointment of missing out on selection for the Euro 2008 tournament with a brilliant game against Werder for Leverkusen and was unlucky to lose.  Torsten Frings also played well to prove to Jogi Löw his own readiness for the European Championships.

Bayern Munich were presented with the Bundesliga trophy after beating Hertha Berlin 4-1 in a game in which Philipp Lahm also shone.  Oli Kahn, Mark van Bommel and Bastian Schweinsteiger also deserve praise.

Wolfsburg secured Uefa Cup football with a 4-2 win over Dortmund with Marcelinho and keeper Diego Benaglio in fine form.  Ivica Olic grabbed a brace against Karlsruhe to take his season’s tally to 14.

Ten Lessons from the 2007-8 Season

Ante up to win

Bayern Munich took the league title with relative ease because they got out their checkbook and spent big in the off-season.

The motors behind the club’s 20th or 21st league championship, depending on how one reckons it, were striker Luca Toni and playmaker Franck Ribery, who cost the Bavarians more than 30 million euros ($47 million) in transfer fees.

Toni led the league in goals, and Ribery provided most of the creativity in an otherwise lackluster midfield. Had Munich not splashed out big for them in the summer of 2007, they likely wouldn’t have been celebrating in the spring of 2008.

Bremen have the best coach

Thomas Schaaf didn’t take the title, but he did get second-placed Werder Bremen back in the Champions League.

In doing so, he had to compensate for the loss of his best striker, Miroslav Klose, who left for Bayern. And Werder’s biggest off-season signing, Carlos Alberto turned out to be a total bust who refused to play because of insomnia (!) and was shipped back to Brazil after a number of disciplinary problems.

Nonetheless, Schaaf had the men in green playing, as usual, the most attractive attacking football in the league.

Wolfsburg’s isn’t bad, either

A lot of fans shook their heads when former Bayern coach Felix Magath agreed to become both coach and manager at perennial also-rans Wolfsburg.

But despite completely revamping the squad, Magath led the Wolves to fifth place and a spot in the UEFA CUP — the best finish in club history.

Magath got the blend between veterans and youngsters spot on this season, and with a bit of experience, the team could do even better next time round.

Success sometimes isn’t enough

Under coach Mirko Slomka, Schalke went further than ever before in the Champions League, and the team qualified for that competition again this season. So what did he get in return?

Fired — six rounds before the end of the season. That made him the latest victim of Schalke’s frustration at failing to win a league crown in half a century.

Hans Mayer can sympathize. In 2007, he won the German Cup with Nuremberg in 2007 — the club’s biggest triumph in four decades.

In February he was given the axe. Foolishly, as it turned out. Nuremberg were relegated on the final day of play.

When in doubt, blow your top…

With so much injustice in the world, it’s no wonder that coaches have hissy-fits ever now and then. And Dortmund’s Thomas Doll threw a pretty good one in April.

Annoyed by media questions about why one of the league’s biggest clubs was hovering just above the drop zone, Doll turned on reporters with a diatribe regularly, if oddly, punctuated with the phrase, “I’m laughing my a** off.”

Surprisingly, Doll’s outburst worked. Dortmund went on an undefeated streak to avoid going down, and Doll himself became a minor star on YouTube.

…Or just be incoherent

Hertha Berlin’s season was similar to Dortmund’s, a tedious journey mostly through the bottom half of the table.

But Berlin’s coach Lucien Favre, who’s from Francophone Switzerland, took a different tack. When pressed by journalists, he would simply stare as though he hadn’t understood the question and then mumble answers that seemed to have been translated from the French by Babelfish.

Monsieur Favre’s strategy worked, too. The normally bloodthirsty media in Berlin let him complete a disappointing season in relative peace.

Aging stars are NOT the answer

If you’re a small club whose main goal is to stay up, the last thing you want to do is bring in a long-in-tooth striker whose glory days came years ago for a bigger Bundesliga club.

Case in point 1: Duisburg. The Zebras brought in former Bremen great Ailton to pep up their attack. But the Brazilian showed up with some excess weight and was let go in winter, having scored only one goal.

Case in point 2: Hansa Rostock. Rostock brought back Victor Agali, whose greatest triumphs were with Schalke, to provide a strong presence in the middle of the box. But he lost his sense of the goal, only scoring once the entire season.

In the end, both Duisburg and Rostock went down.

Don’t always play hurt

Rostock keeper Stefan Waechter learned this lesson against Cottbus in late April.

Wächter tore ligaments in his knee late in the tight match. With the game tied at 1-all, and Rostock having used up their three substitutions, the keeper bravely stayed between the posts.

But his injury rendered him so immobile that he was unable to reach a rather ordinary, added-time header.

The 2-1 loss to a fellow relegation candidate was the beginning of Hansa’s eventual demise.

Keep your head down

The unluckiest player this season had to be Bielefeld keeper Rowen Fernandez.

In the second-to-last round, with Bielefeld leading Dortmund 2-1 in the final ten minutes, a free kick whistled past Fernandez’s ear, ricocheted off the post, hit the keeper square in the face and bounced back into the goal for the equalizer.

Had Bielefeld won that match, their relegation worries would have been over.

But all’s well that ends well — Bielefeld were saved on the season’s final day.

We’ll miss Ollie Kahn…maybe

For twenty years, “King Kahn” has amused German football fans on and off the pitch.

Whether he was being pelted by bananas by opposing supporters (a reference to his allegedly simian appearance), or verbally and physically abusing rivals and sometimes his own teammates, Bayern’s number one has never been boring.

As Kahn himself once said, when asked if he had any pets, “The only animal I keep in my home is me.”

But now Kahn is retired, and the Bundesliga won’t feel the same without him. Maybe better, maybe worse, but in any case different.

souce: bundesliga.de

Bundesliga round-up

Nurnberg were relegated on the final day of the season as they lost 2-0 at home to Schalke, while Hamburg and Wolfsburg qualified for Europe.

Nurnberg needed to better Arminia Bielefeld’s result against Stuttgart but they fell to a Schalke side striving for second spot and automatic qualification to the UEFA Champions League.

Marcelo Bordon was the star for Schalke as he netted a brace, opening the scoring after 19 minutes and then doubling his tally on 61 minutes.

Arminia Bielefeld played out a thrilling 2-2 draw at Stuttgart, whose defence of their title ended with a disappointing sixth-placed finish.

Robert Tesche’s opener for Arminia after nine minutes was cancelled out by Mario Gomez’s penalty on 73 minutes.

Stuttgart took a 2-1 lead through Manuel Fischer after 85 minutes but Christian Eigler equalised only a minute later.

There was an intriguing tussle for the two Uefa Cup spots as four teams started the day on 51 points.

Hamburg were the most convincing winners as they crushed Karlsruhe 7-0 to climb up to fourth place.

Rafael Van der Vaart set Hamburg on their way with a penalty after 23 minutes and Paolo Guerrero then scored a quick-fire hat-trick with goals on 34, 43 and 49 minutes.

Piotr Trochowski made it 2-1 in the 57th minute and Ivica Olic polished things off with two further goals, after 78 and 89 minutes.

Wolfsburg produced an impressive performance to defeat Borussia Dortmund 4-2 and take fifth spot.

Sascha Riether (3) and Marcelinho (6) gave Wolfsburg a flying start before Alexander Frei pulled one back after 25 minutes.

Marcel Schafer restored Wolfsburg’s two-goal cushion on 62 minutes and Grafitu (76) made sure of the points after Dortmund had briefly threatened a comeback when Frei struck his second after 68 minutes.

Stuttgart in sixth will enter the Intertoto Cup but there will be no European football for Bayer Leverkusen after they slipped from fourth down to seventh with a 1-0 loss to Werder Bremen.

Markus Rosenberg netted the crucial goal to keep Werder second and ahead of Schalke.

Champions Bayern Munich brought their triumphant season to a close with a resounding 4-1 victory over Hertha Berlin.

Luca Toni did the early damage as he broke the deadlock after just three minutes and then added a second on 28 minutes, before Franck Ribery got in on the act after 32 minutes.

Toni completed his hat-trick after 61 minutes before Valeri Domovchiyski salvaged some pride for Hertha six minutes from time.

Already-relegated Hansa Rostock climbed off the foot of the table with 1 2-1 win at Bochum.

Enrico Kern (40) and Fin Bartels (77) found the target for Rostock after Mergim Mavraj had put Bochum ahead in the 36th minute

Duisburg’s miserable season ended with a 4-2 defeat at Eintracht Frankfurt to ensure they slumped below Rostock.

Ioannis Amanatidis gave Frankfurt an early lead (13) and Martin Fenin made it 3-0 at the break with goals on 15 and 38 minutes.

Claudio Niculescu (59) and Markus Daun (86) scored for Duisburg in the second half but Marcel Heller’s strike on 78 minutes staved off any chance of a recovery.

Arnold Bruggink (24), Jiri Stajner (45), Vinicius Bergantin (59) and Hanno Balitsch (90) scored for Hannover as they beat Energie Cottbus 4-0 in a clash between two sides in mid-table.

source: skysports.com

Bundesliga Weekend Preview: Round 34

So the Bundesliga reaches the final weekend with Bayern Munich preparing for their title winning party at the Allianz Arena. However elsewhere, there is still lots to play for with four teams in the hunt for the two Uefa Cup places.

Down at the bottom either Arminia Bielefeld or Nürnberg will be relegated on the final day of the season to join Hansa Rostock and Duisburg, who are already down.

This season’s Bundesliga has provided plenty of drama, excitement and fantastic football even though it has at times been a bit of a one-horse race.  Bayern Munich will duly celebrate their title win with a party at the Allianz Arena, but Schalke and Werder behind them are still battling it out for the runners up spot.

Bayer Leverkusen, Hamburg, Wolfsburg, and Stuttgart are all on 51 points and will all believe they can grab one of the two available Uefa Cup places.  Then at the bottom of the table Bielefeld and Nürnberg know that one of them will be relegated by the time their respective matches finishes.  Bielefeld holds a slight two point advantage but anything could happen.

The final weekend looks set reproduce the drama and excitement of the rest of the season.

Saturday 17th May (all times local)

15:30  Nürnberg – Schalke

15:30  Bayer Leverkusen – Werder Bremen

15:30  Bayern Munich – Hertha Berlin

15:30  Stuttgart – Arminia Bielefeld

15:30  Hannover – Energie Cottbus

15:30  Borussia Dortmund – Wolfsburg

15:30  Hamburg – Karlsruhe

15:30  Bochum – Hansa Rostock

15:30  Eintracht Frankfurt – Duisburg

Nürnberg – Schalke

This really is the last-chance saloon for Nürnberg as they look to stage the great escape and keep their place in the Bundesliga.  This season has been an unmitigated disaster for last season’s Cup winners and few would have predicted this kind of fall from grace.

The bringing in of new trainer Thomas von Heesen did not have the desired effect as the new man at the helm has struggled to stop the downward spiral of ‘der Club’.  They now face a last-day make-or-break match with Schalke, who themselves still have a lot to play for.

Last weekend’s defeat to Hertha Berlin did the Franken no favours so they have to win on Saturday to have any chance of overhauling Bielefeld and saving themselves.

Schalke sit third and trail second place Werder Bremen by two points, so the Königsblauen are going to have to win and rely on Bayer Leverkusen beating Werder at the Bay-Arena.  Another year has past without Schalke winning that elusive title, but finishing second, combined with their Champions League quarter final appearance, would put a more positive light on their season.

Bayer Leverkusen – Werder Bremen

Even though it is the last game of a very long season for both these sides, the three points are still extremely important.  For a long while, Michael Skibbe’s up-and-coming young side were being touted as potential title contenders, but a slump after Christmas has seen them have to settle for a Uefa Cup battle.  A few weeks ago they slipped out of the top five altogether, but now have one game to secure one of the two spots in Europe next season.

Four teams sit on 51 points at the moment but it could be argued that both Stuttgart and Hamburg have slightly easier matches and maybe hold the advantage.  To miss out on Europe would be a huge disappointment to Bayer, and no doubt the calls for trainer Michael Skibbe’s head that were recently heard would resurface.

Werder will also be wondering what could have been after finishing neck and neck with Bayern Munich at the half way stage.  A poor run of form directly after the winter break allowed the Bavarians to open up a lead which they have only extended since then.

Finishing second will still be a positive achievement for Werder and will spare them the qualification rounds in next season’s Champions League, which considering the trouble they had against Dinamo Zagreb earlier this season maybe just as well.

Bayern Munich – Hertha Berlin

So the 2007/08 Bundesliga season comes to an end on Saturday and the biggest party will be at the Allianz Arena where champions Bayern Munich will receive the league trophy.  Receiving the “salad dish” at the end of the season is not a new experience for the Bavarians (this is the 20th time since 1964), but the feeling of joy will not be diminished because of that.

Alongside the celebrations, tributes will no doubt be paid to retiring legends Oliver Kahn and Ottmar Hitzfeld.  ‘Titan’ Oliver Kahn is hanging up his gloves after a glittering career, while ‘the General’ Ottmar Hitzfeld is calling it a day as Bayern trainer to take on the Swiss national team job.

Both men have given an immense amount to the club and will no doubt be honoured in the suitable way.

Hertha play a rather second fiddle role really this weekend.  The points are an irrelevance to them as they are safely ensconced in mid-table, and don’t expect too many crunching tackles to be flying around from the Berlin players.

Germany has been awarded an extra Uefa Cup place courtesy of the Uefa ‘Fair Play’ rankings, and as it stands Hertha would be the beneficiaries of that place so will want to avoid any unwanted yellow cards.

Stuttgart – Arminia Bielefeld

Another game of immense importance takes place at the Gottlieb-Daimler Stadion where both VfB and Bielefeld need the points for wholly differing reasons.

The Swabians are still in with a chance of rescuing a largely disappointing season for them by finishing in one of the Uefa Cup spots.  At one stage it looked like they would be more likely to be fighting to avoid the bottom three than breaking into the top five, but a return to form aided by the goals of Mario Gomez has seem them within 90 minutes of qualifying for Europe.

It is still quite a climb down from last season’s title win though.  On paper they face one of the easier opponents, but Bielefeld will be fighting for their lives as they look to maintain their two point lead over Nürnberg, that would secure their Bundesliga survival.

However the worst defence in the league will have to tighten up considerably if they are to stop Super Mario Gomez from adding to his 18 league goals this season and troubling Luca Toni for the leading scorer’s crown.  What odds on a Gomez hat-trick?

Hannover – Energie Cottbus

With Hannover definitely out of the European race and Energie Cottbus definitely safe from the drop, both sides can relax a little at the AWD Arena in their final league outing of the campaign.

A win for the home side could see them finish as high as but Dieter Hecking and the Hannover fans are already looking to next season, where they will once again try to break into the top five and bring European football to Niedersachsen.

It will be a case of huge relief amongst the Cottbus players and fans after they secured their top flight survival last weekend.  The celebrations afterwards were akin to actually winning something, and any hangover from that would be understandable.

Borussia Dortmund – Wolfsburg

Could this be Thomas Doll’s last game in charge at Dortmund?  His reaction after the final whistle could be very revealing with the pressure still hanging over his head despite BVB being safe and knowing they have achieved Uefa Cup football next season.

However, finishing way down the table and only having a losing Cup final appearance to shout about is not considered good enough by a demanding home crowd.  Granted the financial clout is not the same as the “big boys” but it seems Doll is the one who is going to take the rap, even though the board are insisting they retain faith in him.

Felix Magath has no such worries as he has taken Wolfsburg to the verge of snatching one of the two available Uefa Cup places.  Last weeks 4-0 demolition of Stuttgart was a tremendous to watch as shows that the project that Magath started at the beginning of the season is already bearing fruit and next season could be a huge one for the ‘Wölfe’.

Rumours abound of the players coming in next season with the highest profile of them being Italians Barzagli and Zaccardo.  That however will have to wait as Saturday is all about getting the three points and qualifying for Europe.

Hamburg – Karlsruhe

In spite of their recent poor form, Hamburg still find themselves in the race for a Uefa Cup spot and will have a great chance to secure it when the face Karlsruhe at the HSH Nordbank Arena on Saturday.  KSC themselves are not the side they were earlier in the season with the fairy tale dying out but they will still look to make things difficult for the home side.

Taking HSV into Europe will be a wonderful parting gift from out-going trainer Huub Stevens, who is leaving at the season’s end to take over at PSV Eindhoven back in his homeland, where he can be closer to his wife.

Saturday’s game could also be the last time we see Rafael van der Vaart in a Hamburg shirt with a transfer to Italy or Spain still very much on the cards.  If the rumours are true, then Vincent Kompany could also be saying farewell at the HSH Nordbank Arena this weekend.

Karlsruhe would dearly like to finish the season on a high after enjoying a very successful season back in the top flight, in which they have won numerous admirers for the effort and style.

Bochum – Hansa Rostock

Bochum are safe and Hansa are already down so the two sides can just go out and play without the pressure that is on the teams still with something to play for.

Bochum have achieved their main aim of staying in the Bundesliga and have shown signs this season that last year’s 8th place finish was no fluke and they are likely to be around in the top division for a while yet.

For their part Hansa have only a return to the second division to look forward to, but they will want to say farewell with a win, especially for their long suffering, but ever loyal fans.

Eintracht Frankfurt – Duisburg

The final match of the final round sees Eintracht Frankfurt looking to end their own awful run of results against already-relegated Duisburg.

Friedhelm Funkel’s side have lost six of their last seven matches and drawn the other, so are long overdue a win.  Facing an already relegated club may well provide that win to give the fans at the Commerzbank Arena a positive result to take into the summer.

The Zebras however will return to second division after just one season in the Bundesliga.

source: goal.com

Fans Flock to Bundesliga, Occasionally Get Violent

The season isn’t even over, but Germany’s soccer league has already set a new attendance record. The larger, traditional clubs lead the way in attracting fans. The only problem is: supporters don’t always behave.

You don’t need to win to put bodies in seats, as Borussia Dortmund showed this season. The traditional working-class club has the highest attendance in the Bundesliga despite languishing in the bottom half of the table.

A total of 1,158,646 yellow-and-black fanatics turned up for Dortmund’s 16 home matches thus far — an average of 72,415 per game. Two other clubs, Bayern Munich and Schalke, have also already broken the one-million attendance mark.

All told, 11,636,578 fans have gone to stadiums to watch first-division matches this season. That represents an increase of almost 120,000 fans over last season, and the figure will rise when the 2007-8 campaign concludes on Saturday, May 17.

The statistics have the management of the German Football League, the DFL, very pleased indeed.

“We have the highest average attendance in the world,” DFL Chairman Christian Seifert proclaimed after the figures were released.

Value for money

Part of the reason for the league’s popularity is tradition. Clubs like Dortmund and Schalke are able to pack their massive stadiums even in lean years because they are seen as integral parts of the working-class Ruhr Valley region.

But another major factor is affordability. The average ticket price is just under 19 euros ($29) — a fraction of what fans in England, Spain and Italy pay to watch their favorite teams.

“With that, we have the most affordable product of all the top leagues,” Holger Hieronymous, the DFL’s Chairman for Game Operations, told the dpa news agency.

So while the Bundesliga’s sides, with the possible exception of Bayern, may not measure up to Real Madrid or Manchester United on the pitch, at least their supporters don’t have to break the bank to follow them live.

Out of hand

The only black mark on the 2007-8 season has been misbehavior among a small minority of fans.

On April 5, a match between Frankfurt and Nuremberg almost had to be abandoned because Nuremberg supporters threw flares onto the pitch.

More seriously, on May 3, a security official in Bielefeld suffered a fractured skull and jaw after being attacked by Bochum hooligans.

“We have to take another look at our security procedures so that the situation doesn’t become like in Italy,” Frankfurt chairman Heribert Bruchhagen told dpa. “We’re not going to capitulate before a bunch of total idiots.”

Bruchhagen’s opposite number at Bayern Munich seconded those sentiments.

“We have to remain vigilant and avoid offering a platform to hooligans,” Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said.

The German Football Association, the DFB, has banned Bochum supporters from the standing-room portion of the stadium for that team’s final home match of an otherwise successful season for German soccer.

source: Deutsche Welle

Bundesliga Team Of The Week: Round 33

Mathew Burt runs the rule over the best in Germany over the midweek matches in Round 33, which saw Hansa Rostock and Duisburg finally relegated but the race for Uefa Cup places hot up.

Wolfsburg trounced Stuttgart 4-0, while Bayer Leverkusen got back into contention with a 2-1 win over Rostock. There are now four teams trying to secure just two European places. Werder Bremen thrashed Hannover 6-1 at the Weser Stadion to cement second place behind champions Bayern Munich.

Adler

Fritz   Naldo   Demichelis   Krstajic

Azaouagh   Borowski   Frings   Rolfes

Podolski   Sestak

Goalkeeper:

1)  Rene Adler (Bayer Leverkusen)

“Thank god for Rene Adler” were trainer Michael Skibbe’s words at the final whistle as his side celebrated a 2-1 win over Hansa Rostock.  The Werkself scored two penalties to put them in front, but relegation threatened Hansa really put the pressure on the Bayer goal, but just couldn’t find a way past possibly the ‘Goalkeeper of the Season’.  He pulled off some tremendous saves in the dying minutes to seal an important three points in Leverkusen’s bid for a Uefa Cup berth.

Defenders:

2)  Clemens Fritz (Werder Bremen)

Werder’s right full back was on good form against Hannover and did his chances of making it into Joachim Löw’s final squad for the European Championships this summer no harm at all.  Secure at the back, Fritz could often be seen as an additional wide midfielder as Bremen tore Hannover to shreds in the second half.

3)  Naldo (Werder Bremen)

The classy Brazilian defender strode forward to set up Hugo Almeida for Werder’s opening goal in their 6-1 thrashing of Hannover before he beat Vinicius to the ball to head in the Green and Whites second of the game after just 27 minutes.  Adept at the back, and a danger going forward, the Brazilian was on top form on Saturday.

4)  Martin Demichelis (Bayern Munich)

Demichelis underlined why he is possibly Bayern’s best defensive player this season, and potentially the best defender in the league.  His ability to read the game and deal with the danger quickly and without fuss against Duisburg led to Bayern having an easier time of it than they may have thought against a side close to the drop and fighting for their lives.  Solid and dependable.

5)  Mladen Krstajic (Schalke)

Krstajic was the match winner for Schalke against Eintracht Frankfurt heading in the only goal of the game with a flying effort after 65 minutes.  Rakitic’s corner found the Serb in the middle and he scored a potentially vital goal in the Königsblauen’s bid to finish second.  With regard the Champions League next season, the goal could well be worth millions.

Midfielders:

6)  Thorsten Frings (Werder Bremen)

Frings has had a torrid season with injuries but he looked back to his majestic best on Saturday against Hannover.  Biting in the tackle and driven, the midfielder enforcer allowed his team mates to attack and will have given German trainer Yogi Löw a timely reminder of his form.

7)  Mimoun Azaouagh (Bochum)

A day after signing a new permanent deal at Bochum, U-21 midfielder Mimoun Azaouagh put in a ‘Man of the Match’ display for Bochum to show the fans just what they are getting.  He scored the away side’s first goal himself against Karlsruhe, before turning provider for Dabrowski.  He was the creative force in the Bochum midfield as they triumphed 3-1 over KSC.

8) Tim Borowski (Werder Bremen)

The Werder midfielder was given a fine send off by the home fans inside the Weser Stadion on Saturday.  Borowski will join Bayern Munich next season and his commanding display highlighted just what Werder will be missing.  He capped an impressive display with a goal and a 6-1 victory.  Werder’s loss will be Bayern’s gain.

9) Simon Rolfes (Bayer Leverkusen)

After two successive defeats, Leverkusen needed to get themselves back on track and midfielder Rolfes helped them do that against Rostock with a top performance.  He kept his nerve before half time to stroke home a penalty to put the Werkself in front.  Rolfes was the key man in the Bayer engine room and deserves a large slice of the credit for their win (alongside keeper Adler).

Forwards:

10) Lukas Podolski (Bayern Munich)

With both Luca Toni and Miroslav Klose out injured, the responsibility for getting the goals fell to Podolski, who was partnered by Jan Schlaudraff.  The youngster didn’t disappoint (as he has done at times this season) scoring two early goals to send Duisburg down into the second division.

11) Stanislav Sestak (Bochum)

He may not have hit 20 goals and finished top of the goal scoring charts, but Stanislav Sestak has gone a long way to make Bochum fans forget about Theofanis Gekas.  The Slovak hit his 13th league goal of the season against Karlsruhe to cap a fine debut season in the Bundesliga.  He has quickly become a fan’s favourite and will be looking forward already to a second successful season for Bochum.

Honourable mentions:

As always there are only eleven slots in the team of the week, so some players who played well for their club haven’t made it.  They do however get an honourable mention.

Anthar Yahia (Bochum) was a rock at the back against Karlsruhe as was Per Mertesacker for Werder Bremen.  Petri Pasanen was on form at full back in a fine display for Thomas Schaaf’s side.

Another defender to impress was Marcelo Bordon of Schalke.  Stiven Rivic was on top form for Cottbus as they secured their top flight status, while the whole Wolfsburg’s team deserve a mention for their display against Stuttgart.

source: goal.com

Bundesliga Round-Up: Wolfsburg Stun Stuttgart, Cottbus Safe

The penultimate weekend of the Bundesliga season saw plenty of excitement and emotion as every single game was played on the same day. Champions Bayern Munich condemned Duisburg to relegation with a 3-2 win.

Wolfsburg’s dreams of a Uefa Cup spot were done the world of good with a stunning 4-0 win over fellow aspirants Stuttgart. Werder Bremen trounced Hannover 6-1 to maintain second place. Energie Cottbus beat Hamburg to secure their place in next season’s Bundesliga, while Nürnberg will have to go down to the wire in their bid to avoid the drop.

Duisburg 2-3 Bayern Munich

Schalke 1-0 Eintracht Frankfurt

Hansa Rostock 1-2 Bayer Leverkusen

Werder Bremen 6-1 Hannover

Karlsruhe 1-3 Bochum

Arminia Bielefeld 2-2 Borussia Dortmund

Wolfsburg 4-0 Stuttgart

Hertha Berlin 1-0 Nürnberg Energie

Cottbus 2-0 Hamburg

Duisburg 2-3 Bayern Munich

Bayern were victorious against Duisburg and condemned the Zebras to the second division next season.  The Bavarians did however concede two goals, which is a blow to their bid to beat the record for the lowest number of goals conceded in a season.

With the MSV Arena basking in sunshine, champions Bayern Munich got off to the perfect start with the opening goal falling after just three minutes.  A Schweinsteiger cross was cleared only as far as Ottl by Tararache, and the midfielder took two steps forward before rifling a shot into the bottom left-hand corner.

On 18 minutes Bayern grabbed their second of the game and it was like a training ground exercise.  Van Bommel was allowed to waltz down the right unchecked before crossing into the centre.  Lukas Podolski stood fully unmarked and headed past Tom Starke with ease.

Then with just 20 minutes on the clock, the game was over as a contest and the Zebras were staring relegation in the face.  Starke managed to parry a shot from Sosa only as far as Podolski, who stroked the ball into an empty net.

The home side did pull a goal back three minutes into the second half through Tararache.  He wasn’t dealt with satisfactorily by Ottl and fired home a fine shot from 22 meters into the left-hand corner.

Six minutes late and the deficit was further reduced when the Zebras scored a second.  After keeper Tom Starke had twice denied both Schlaudraff and Podolski, Duisburg broke up field and scored with a fortuitous goal when van Bommel saw a clearance ricochet off Daun and past Oliver Kahn.

Schalke 1-0 Eintracht Frankfurt

The Königsblauen kept up the pressure on second place Werder Bremen with a 1-0 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt

The crowd inside the Veltins Arena had to wait until the 65th minute for the opening goal, but were relieved to see it fall to the home side.  Ivan Rakitic fired in a free kick which was met by centre back Mladen Krstajic’s head with no Eintracht defender in sight.

The runners up spot will now be decided next weekend on the final day of the season.

Hansa Rostock 1-2 Bayer Leverkusen

Hansa have been relegated and Bayer have reclaimed a Uefa Cup spot with this 2-1 win for the away side.

The Werkself opened the scoring five minutes before the end of the first half with a penalty from Simon Rolfes.  Arturo Vidal won the ball on the right hand side and drove into the penalty area, where he was fouled by Lukimiya to hand Bayer a spot kick and give Hansa a real uphill task in the second half.

Leverkusen’s second of the afternoon fell on 58 minutes again from the penalty spot.  This time it was full back Gonzalo Castro who stroked the ball home after Hahnel had pulled down Bulykin in the area.

Hansa pulled a goal back on 67 through Menga before young Leverkusen substitute Jens Hegeler was sent off on his Bundesliga debut.

Werder Bremen 6-1 Hannover

A second half blitz from Werder saw them defend second place and inflict a massive defeat on local rivals Hannover with a 6-1 thrashing.

It was the home side that scored the opener at the Weser Stadion with Portuguese striker Hugo Almeida scoring after 14 minutes.  Naldo won possession in midfield and strode confidently forward through the Hannover defence.  Faced with keeper Enke he squared the ball unselfishly to Almeida, who had an easy task to stroke the ball home.

The provider of the first goal then scored the second after 27 minutes to put the home side in control.  Diego sent in a free kick from the right and Naldo got up ahead of Vinicius to nick the ball past Enke and into the net.

Thomas Schaaf’s side sealed the three points with a third goal after 73 minutes with midfielder Tim Borowski scoring in his final home game for Werder before his summer move to Bayern.  Diego’s free kick saw Ismael and Lala get in each others way and Borowski took advantage to volley home from close range.

The second half then turned into a complete rout.  Diego missed from the penalty spot on 80 minutes but in the follow up the Brazilian was able to get the ball back into the area where Ivan Klasnic rose to head home Werder’s fourth.

Two minutes later it was 5-0 with Markus Rosenberg latching onto a Klasnic pass before he prodded the ball home.  Then on 87 substitutes Özil and Hunt combined well to score the sixth of the afternoon for the Green and Whites.  Hunt applied the finishing touch to a move that completely by-passed the Hannover defence.

Into injury time, and Hannover scored a consolation goal through Szabolcs Huszti.  The away side were awarded a penalty after Frings fouled Stajner, and the Hungarian saw his effort saved by Wiese, but he managed to head in the rebound.

Karlsruhe 1-3 Bochum

Bochum ran out victorious in this game thanks largely to two goals within the space of three minutes at the start of the second half.

With the first half seemingly destined to finish goalless, Mimoun Azaouagh popped up late on to score.  Buck looked to play the ball but struck referee Gagelmann.  Azaouagh was the one to profit as he picked the ball up in his own half, before racing to the KSC penalty area and lashed the ball into the back of the net to hand Bochum the lead.

Then two goals within the space of three minutes early in the second half put the away side firmly in control.  On 47 minutes Dabrowski headed home an Azaouagh corner, and then Stanislav Sestak finished off a fine counter attacking move begun by Epalle to stun KSC.

The home side did manage a goal but it proved too little, too late.  Mario Eggimann fired home a right footed shot after Lastuvka had pushed away an effort from Timm following a corner.

Arminia Bielefeld 2-2 Borussia Dortmund

Bielefeld have done their survival hopes a world of good with a home point over Borussia Dortmund, although they will be kicking themselves that they didn’t win

The home side took the lead after 24 minutes via the penalty spot after BVB keeper Höttecke hauled down Wichniarek in the area as he looked to latch onto a long ball.  Thorben Marx stepped up to convert the spot kick with confidence.

Four minutes later though and the visitors were on level terms.  The Arminia defence was by-passed well by Blaszczykowski and Federico and Delron Buckley profited by firing in from the left hand side.

The goals kept coming and the home side got their noses back in front on 34 minutes with Wichniarek the scorer.  The Pole played the ball to Halfar and then carried on his forward run.  The resulting cross found him in the middle and he headed well past Höttecke into the left hand corner.

Just when it looked like a home win was on the cards Frei struck a free kick that bounced up and hit Rowan Fernandez on the head before going in for a tragic own goal.  Minutes earlier Robert Kovac had been sent off for the visitors.

Wolfsburg 4-0 Stuttgart

Felix Magath’s dreams of Europe are still very much alive after a stunning display saw his side beat Stuttgart 4-0 at the Volkswagen Arena.

After dominating proceedings during the opening quarter of an hour Wolfsburg were rewarded with a goal from Marcelinho on 16 minutes.  VfB keeper Raphael Schäfer made a real hash of a long-range effort from namesake Marcel Schäfer, and could only parry the ball to Marcelinho, who stroked the ball home from a tight angle.

Things then went from bad to worse for the visitors on 18 minutes when captain Fernando Meira was shown a straight red card for lashing out at Grafite, who went down rather theatrically.

1-0 became 2-0 after just 22 minutes when Edin Dzeko curled in a superb effort from the edge of the box after being fed by Grafite.  If the first goal was his fault, there was nothing he could have done to stop Dzeko’s effort for the second.

Ten minutes into the second half and the chances of VfB rescuing a point were reduced to minimal when Ricardo Costa headed in an Ashkan Dejagah corner to put Felix Magath’s side 3-0 up.

The rout worsened for ten-man Stuttgart on 75 minutes when second half substitute Dejagah got himself on the end of a cross from Makoto Hasebe before heading superbly past Schäfer to put the Wölfe 4-0 up.

Hertha Berlin 1-0 Nürnberg

A solitary goal from Raffael at the Olympiastadion was enough to see Hertha home and inflict further misery upon Nürnberg.

The Hertha playmaker sprinted onto a through pass beating Pinola before beating Klewer.  The defeat means that ‘der Klub’ are ever nearer being relegated and their fate will be decided next weekend on the final day of the season.  They have to beat Schalke and pray that Bielefeld don’t beat Stuttgart.

Energie Cottbus 2-0 Hamburg

Energie Cottbus have secured their top flight status with a 2-0 win over Hamburg, who are hanging onto their Uefa Cup spot by a thread.

Despite Hamburg having the better of the first half with regards possession and territory; it was the home side who took the lead on the half hour mark.  Stiven Rivic fired the Lausitzer in front with their first real effort on goal.  He latched onto a quick ball from Rangelov and proved too quick for Timothee Atouba to stop.

The second and decisive goal for Cottbus arrived on 84 minutes with Dane Sörensen the scorer.  A free kick deep in their own half saw Sörensen latch onto the ball and score from close range and send the home crowd into ecstasy.