Just put it in the net!” – the Bundesliga Blog: 22 match of the season

“Just put it in the net!” my trainer always said to me. It’s that simple in football. “Just thump the ball into goal!” Or did your’s instead tell you: “Don’t drink too much the night before the match.”? That is probably one of the most common suggestions in football. At least in the lower-order amateur leagues in the 18-plus category. And without doubt that coach’s instruction was to be heard all over Germany last weekend, if it had not been carnival night and the federations had sensibly opted to ordain there would be no play on Sunday.

One who certainly had good reason to go drinking last week was Manfred Amerell. And not because of Carnival. I don’t wish to comment any further. The referee-scandal at the German Football Association even sidelined the topic of the extension of the German national manager’s contract from the front pages of the gutter press. Joachim Löw and Theo Zwanziger will have been quite happy by that.

All over Europe, everyone of those players who ran the risk of losing their place in their particular national squad and thus missing out on the World Cup as they were not playing regularly for their team tried come what may to change clubs before the transfer window closed in January. In the hope that at a new club they would continue to attract the attention of the national manager. Thomas Hitzlsperger chose this course of action. He was confined to the bench by Stuttgart’s manager Christian Gross and accepted an offer from Lazio Rom.

That said, Hitzlsperger has now noticed that he’s moved to a club threatened with relegation. “We could have used a different kind of mid-fielder than Hitzlsperger, namely one who is better on the ball,” quipped manager Ballardino after the German’s first game, which Lazio lost 0:1. It was Ballardino’s last match as Lazio coach. But his replacement, Edoardo Reja, didn’t even play Hitzlsperger in the first place, and the Romans won 2:0 in Parma. It seems that this spells curtains for the main whom the English used to call “the Hammer”.

van Nistelrooy happy - Hitzlsperger with problems

Torsten Frings has long since accepted he won’t be nominated for the World Cup. So he can concentrate on life at Werder Bremen. And he did a good job of it, as Bremen has once again reached the German FA Cup semi-finals. And Bremen also thrashed Hanover 96 5:1 in the Bundesliga. Meaning Bremen is back on a roll after a lousy first half to the season, with Hanover struggling to avoid a relegation slot.

The player of the 22nd week was quite clearly Ruud van Nistelrooy. When Hitzlsperger’s former employers Stuttgart were at 1:1 against Hamburg SV, the Dutch super-striker needed only two touches of the ball and 90 seconds to put the ball in the net twice for his new club. And the Hamburg officials were busy congratulating themselves on their transfer coup.

In addition to Hamburg, Leverkusen, Bayern Munich and Schalke all won, and thus stayed the Top 4. And it looks like those four will be the ones to fight it out for the championship. Bayern was once again able to count on Arjen Robben and Franck Ribéry. Ribéry prepared to goals, Robben one, and then scored one in the 3:1 win over Dortmund. Leverkusen beat VfL Wolfsburg 2:1 and Schalke had more problems than expected against Cologne (2:0).

Just as the leading quartet all won, so the bottom four all missed out on three points. Hertha dominated in its 1:1 draw against Mainz, but simply did not manage to get the ball in the net a second time. Nuremberg felt the ref was against them when they lost 1:2 at Mönchengladbach. A penalty not awarded, but a goal given against them that was never going to be one. Freiburg was unlucky to lose 1:2 in Frankfurt. And Hanover, as stated, was rubbish. The decision as to who goes down will probably be fought out between the four. And if one thing counts in that context: “Just put it in the net!”

Results Match day 22
Borussia Mönchengladbach – 1. FC Nürnberg 2:1
Bayer Leverkusen – VfL Wolfsburg 2:1
VfB Stuttgart – Hamburger SV 1:3
VfL Bochum – 1899 Hoffenheim 2:1
Hannover 96 – Werder Bremen 1:5
Hertha BSC Berlin – 1. FSV Mainz 05 1:1
Bayern München – Borussia Dortmund 3:1
FC Schalke 04 – 1. FC Köln 2:0
Eintracht Frankfurt – SC Freiburg 2:1

Table
1 Bayer Leverkusen 48 P
2 Bayern München 48 P
3 FC Schalke 04 45 P
4 Hamburger SV 39 P
5 Borussia Dortmund 36 P
6 Werder Bremen 34 P
7 Eintracht Frankfurt 34 P
8 1. FSV Mainz 05 31 P
9 1899 Hoffenheim 28 P
10 VfB Stuttgart 28 P
11 Borussia Mönchengladbach 28 P
12 VfL Wolfsburg 25 P
13 1. FC Köln 25 P
14 VfL Bochum 25 P
15 SC Freiburg 19 P
16 Hannover 96 17 P
17 1. FC Nürnberg 16 P
18 Hertha BSC Berlin 12 P