Schlagwort-Archive: VfL Bochum

The Bundesliga and its fans – a difficult relationship

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There’s one thing my coach never tired of saying to me: “Hau den Ball ins Tor hinein!” – best translated with: “Just slam it into the back of the net!” What did yours used to say to you? What about this one: “I want to see you struggle!” Well, professionals in the Bundesliga are hearing this one a lot at this decisive point in the season: and it’s their own fans who are saying it.


The relationship between players and fans in the Bundesliga is simmering just below boiling point this season. After Hannover’s goalkeeper Robert Enke, suffering from a severe depression and trying to hide it from public view, ended up committed suicide in November of last year, Bundesliga officials, players and fans have been talking a lot about developing an atmosphere of respect, care and recognition – but these last six months have not seen these words become reality.

Whilst victory sees the players and fans dancing together, in raptures of ecstasy as goal-scorers kiss their tops and balance on the barriers around the pitch, yelling victory chants into megaphones, defeat sees the brutal opposite occur. After all, there’s a lot of money in the Bundesliga now and if success is not achieved, the fans start to see their players as nothing more than spoiled brats cashing fat pay-checks without putting in the performance.

The effects of this attitude could be seen on this 30th day of play, with only 30,000 spectators being allowed in Berlin’s Olympiastadion. Despite good-humoured Cold-War-quips about the “Eastern sector not being occupied”, the reason for the empty stands was the pitch invasion by Hertha Berlin fans after the game against Nuremberg four weeks back, which was also followed by riots. This led to the Eastern tribunes, the seats taken by the hardcore Hertha fans, being completely closed off; many fans had to content themselves with a big-screen showing of the game against Stuttgart.

Bad behaviour by fans also led to 1. FC Köln supporters being prevented from accompanying their team to Hoffenheim; at all previous away games, Cologne fans had been setting off fireworks as well as throwing handfuls of coins and lighters at players. With heavy fines having failed to prevent this kind of behaviour, more drastic measures had to be employed – 1. FC Nürnberg will also have to play away games without its supporters due to similar behaviour on their part.

Sometimes, players get involved, with HSVs Paolo Guerrero cracking after the taunts of one fan got too much. He lost his cool and threw his bottle at this particular “supporter”, but the Peruvian was still allowed in the European league starting line-up just four days later; on top of that, HSV also complained to the Bundesliga about the five-match ban he got himself for this lack of composure. It appears to me that there is a question here: how can teams demand respect from their supporters if they treat abuse of them so laxly?

Even in quiet little Hoffenheim, the Disneyland of German professional football, football’s loudmouths are gaining the upper hand. Hoffenheim’s fans just won’t tolerate mediocrity from their high-earning players and shout “Greedy bastards!” or “Get rid of Rangnick!” whilst blocking the team’s route to the bus after matches. The reason for this outpouring of bad feeling was Cologne’s 2:0 victory against TSG Hoffenheim, which seems to have saved 1. FC. from relegation. By the way, it could be interesting to speculate as to whether Hoffenheim fans are talking to just their players when they shout out “Greedy bastards”: after all, the team is kept by patrons who are not just million- but billionaires.

Now back to the Berlin fans who weren’t watching as their team played on home turf against VfB Stuttgart. This was the same Stuttgart team, by the way, whose own fans shouted slogans like “If you get us relegated, will kill every last one of you” while they were going through a rough patch in November. Now that they’re catching up in the second half of the season, though, the fans are dancing again – just as they were on the weekend after Stuttgart’s 1:0 win against the boys from the capital city.

The only fans who seem to be very happy at the moment are Bayern Munich’s. After beating Schalke 04 last week and then moving into the semi-final of the Champions League against Manchester United, the team and supporters had a 1:1 draw against Leverkusen, competitors for the Bundesliga title, to celebrate about. This game secured Bayern’s place at the top of the table, with Schalke obligingly losing to Hannover in a 2:4 shock defeat. Mirko Slomka, Hannover’s coach, used to train Schalke and so had the pleasure of ruining the championship chances of his former club. You won’t hear Schalke fans complaining, mind you, since they’re all in awe of the all-powerful coach Felix Magath. “Drop Magath!” is one chant you won’t be hearing just yet.

Results Matchday 30:
Borussia Mönchengladbach – Eintracht Frankfurt 2:0
Hertha BSC Berlin – VfB Stuttgart 0:1
1. FSV Mainz 05 – Borussia Dortmund 1:0
Hannover 96 – FC Schalke 04 4:2
1899 Hoffenheim – 1. FC Köln 0:2
Werder Bremen – SC Freiburg 4:0
Bayer Leverkusen – Bayern München 1:1
VfL Bochum – Hamburger SV 1:2
1. FC Nürnberg – VfL Wolfsburg 0:2

Table
1 Bayern München 60 P
2 FC Schalke 04 58 P
3 Bayer Leverkusen 54 P
4 Borussia Dortmund 52 P
5 Werder Bremen 51 P
6 Hamburger SV 48 P
7 VfB Stuttgart 47 P
8 VfL Wolfsburg 46 P
9 Eintracht Frankfurt 44 P
10 1. FSV Mainz 05 41 P
11 Borussia Mönchengladbach 37 P
12 1899 Hoffenheim 34 P
13 1. FC Köln 34 P
14 1. FC Nürnberg 28 P
15 VfL Bochum 28 P
16 Hannover 96 27 P
17 SC Freiburg 25 P
18 Hertha BSC Berlin 22 P

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Magath’s top-secret plan: winning the 2011-championship with Bochum

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There’s one thing my coach never tired of saying to me: “Hau den Ball ins Tor hinein!” – best translated with: “Just slam it into the back of the net!” What did yours used to say to you? What about this one: “The country’s going to the dogs! Everything was better back then!”
1958: In the old communist GDR, food rationing was finally ended, although East Germany had to wait for Helmut Kohl and the fall of communism to get their promised land. This was also the year in which Elvis Presley arrived in Germany to do his national service in the army; seemingly by chance, another music legend Michael Jackson was born. A 17-year old Brasilian named Pélé wrote World Championship history in Sweden and Schalke 04 won the German league for the seventh and last time.
1988: This is the year in which Mikhail Gorbachev declared that every socialist state should be free to develop its own societal model – if he’d only known what that would lead to… Enzo Ferrari, the greatest Italian racing driver ever died and Rihanna, the American R&B singer, was born. The Dutch won the European Championship, their only ever international title, in Germany of all places; and Bayer Leverkusen celebrated its greatest triumph as UEFA cup winners.
2008: In the US, Lehman Brothers reports bankruptcy and Barack Obama becomes the first ever Afro-American president. Even more importantly in some people’s eyes: Nicolas Sarkozy marries Carla Bruni. Spain become European Champions after beating Germany in the final and Bayern Munich take the German league title for the 21st time.
2010: Three teams, three aims – Schalke 04, Bayer Leverkusen, Bayern München, or “were champions an incredibly long time ago”, “were never champions” and “are record holders” – and the recent 28th day of play was decisive in deciding to which of these three contenders the championship might fall. Whilst Munich surprised everyone by losing their home game 1:2 to VfB Stuttgart, Schalke also surprised by winning in Leverkusen by 2:0 and taking the top-spot in the league table.
As recently as last week, Bayern were still able to pull off a convincing performance and look like they deserved to be in the cup final. Now, despite good play, they fell victim to an unlucky equaliser followed be a short but intense period of pressure from Stuttgart. This was the second league defeat in a row for Munich and as such gave Schalke and Leverkusen the chance they needed to conquer the heights of the table.

And oddly enough, it was Schalke that made the most of this opportunity. The “almost could-haves”, as Schalke are known, did not play like a top team in their cup match against Bayern, but in this championship game, they dominated the team in third place in the league, Leverkusen. Waiting to counter-attack, compact and good in one-to-ones, ready to run their opponents ragged and suffocate any signs of recovery – that’s how Magath likes to play. His team made a great show of implementing this strategy and won the game through two goals from Kuranyi. The 29th day of play will now see a duel with Bayern, and it will be interesting to see whether the lads from Schalke look better than in the cup match – if they win, it would be a sure sign that history is about to repeat itself, just as Schalke, by beating Wolfsburg, took a decisive game against Munich; and it would become even clearer than Magath has a very precise top-secret plan for exactly this sort of occasion. It doesn’t matter which team his takes the championship with – any team that follows his secret strategy is bound to win. Bochum, for example, will take the championship with him next year, and Bayern München will soon realise that everything really was better back then.
Kevin Kuranyi and his two goals have really put Germany’s coach Joachim Löw under pressure to cap him for the world championship in South Africa; then again, it was Kuranyi who left the national team by his own choice – but everything is different now. Kuranyi has scored 17 times and, compared with the lacklustre performance of players like Klose, Gomez, Podolski and Helmes, Löw is fast running out of reasons not to bring him in.
At the other end of the table, the five teams languishing at the bottom were all incapable of winning. Hannover96 were notable for a particularly poor performance, losing 1:4 to 1. FC Köln and thereby earning themselves a top spot: in the second division.
In recent years, the boys at Bremen were able to have a good laugh at the expense of their northern rivals Hamburg. And whilst HSV are, as ever, ruining their season and tearing themselves to shreds as players go public about leaving and the trainer has to take all kinds of criticism, Werder Bremen just keep on their steady course into the cup final, leaving their Nordic arch enemy standing. Quite symptomatic of this day of play: Bremen claimed a 4:2 victory against Nuremburg whilst Hamburg took a 0:1 loss to Mönchengladbach.

(Stefan Reichart / Brian Melican)

Results Matchday 28:
VfL Bochum – Eintracht Frankfurt 1:2
1. FSV Mainz 05 – VfL Wolfsburg 0:2
Bayern München – VfB Stuttgart 1:2
Hertha BSC Berlin – Borussia Dortmund 0:0
Hannover 96 – 1. FC Köln 1:4
Werder Bremen – 1. FC Nürnberg 4:2
Bayer Leverkusen – FC Schalke 04 0:2
1899 Hoffenheim – SC Freiburg 1:1
Borussia Mönchengladbach – Hamburger SV 1:0

Table
1 FC Schalke 04 58 P
2 Bayern München 56 P
3 Bayer Leverkusen 53 P
4 Borussia Dortmund 49 P
5 Werder Bremen 48 P
6 Hamburger SV 44 P
7 VfB Stuttgart 41 P
8 Eintracht Frankfurt 41 P
9 VfL Wolfsburg 40 P
10 1. FSV Mainz 05 38 P
11 1899 Hoffenheim 34 P
12 Borussia Mönchengladbach 34 P
13 1. FC Köln 31 P
14 VfL Bochum 27 P
15 1. FC Nürnberg 25 P
16 SC Freiburg 24 P
17 Hannover 96 23 P
18 Hertha BSC Berlin 19 P

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Magaths geheimer Plan: 2011 Meister mit Bochum

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„Haach de Klicker ins Goal enei!“, hat mein Trainer immer zu mir gesagt. So einfach ist Fußball. „Hau den Ball ins Tor hinein!“ Oder hat Ihrer statt dessen gesagt: „Früher war alles besser.“? Wer hat das noch nicht gehört?

1958: In der DDR werden die Lebensmittelkarten abgeschafft. Doch erst mit Helmut Kohl werden die blühenden Landschaften kommen. Elvis Presley trifft in der Bundesrepublik ein, um seinen US-Wehrdienst abzuleisten. Genau in dem Jahr, in dem Michael Jackson geboren wird. Ein Zufall? Ein 17-jähriger Brasilianer namens Pelé schreibt in Schweden WM-Geschichte. Und der FC Schalke 04 wird zum siebten und letzten Mal deutscher Fußballmeister.

1988: Generalsekretär Michail Gorbatschow betont, dass jeder sozialistische Staat sein gesellschaftliches System frei wählen könne. Wenn er gewußt hätte, was er damit lostritt… Enzo Ferrari, der große italienische Rennfahrer stirbt und Rihanna, die amerikanische R&B-Sängerin wird geboren. Die Niederlande holen mit der Europameisterschaft ihren einzigen internationalen Fußballtitel ausgerechnet in Deutschland. Und Bayer Leverkusen feiert seinen größten Triumph: Uefa-Pokal-Sieger.

2008: Das Finanzinstitut Lehman Brothers meldet Insolvenz an. Barack Obama wird als erster Afroamerikaner zum Präsident der Vereinigten Staaten gewählt. Wichtiger: Nicolas Sarkozy heiratet Carla Bruni. Spanien wird Europameister durch einen Finalsieg gegen Deutschland. Und Bayern München wird zum 21. Mal deutscher Meister.

2010: Drei Mannschaften, drei Sehnsüchte. Schalke 04, Bayer Leverkusen, Bayern München. Vor endlos langer Zeit Meister, noch nie Meister, Rekordmeister. Der 28. Spieltag hat ein Signal gesetzt, zu wessen Gunsten das Meisterschaftspendel ausschlagen könnte. Während Bayern München überraschend sein Heimspiel gegen den VfB Stuttgart 1:2 verlor, gewann Schalke ebenfalls etwas unerwartet in Leverkusen 2:0 und ist nun Tabellenführer.

Die Bayern konnten Mitte letzter Woche noch beim Pokalhalbfinale bei Schalke 04 überzeugen und verdient ins Finale einziehen. Nun unterlagen sie trotz ordentlicher Leistung, wegen eines unglücklichen Ausgleichstreffers und einer kurzen, aber erfolgreichen Drangperiode der Stuttgarter. Die zweite Liganiederlage der Münchener in Folge bot die Chance für Schalke und Leverkusen, die Tabellenspitze zu erklimmen.


Bemerkenswerter Weise nutzte diese Möglichkeit Schalke. Im Pokal gegen Bayern spielten „die Knappen“ nicht wie eine Spitzenmannschaft. Doch nun in der Meisterschaft dominierten sie souverän den Tabellendritten Leverkusen. Auf Konter lauern, kompakt, zweikampfstark, lauffreudig das Offensivspiel des Gegners ersticken – das ist Felix Magaths Spielweise. Seine Mannschaft setzte sie beeindruckend um und gewann verdient durch zwei Kuranyi-Tore. Am 29. Spieltag kommt es nun zum Duell mit den Bayern. Präsentieren sich die Schalker dann besser als im Pokal und gewinnen, wäre es die Vorentscheidung. Magath würde die Geschichte der letzten Saison wiederholen, als er mit Wolfsburg auch im April das entscheidende Spiel gegen die Münchener gewann. Und es wird klar: Magath hat für diese Fälle einen genauen, geheimen Plan. Mit welchem Team er Meister wird ist egal. Jedes Team, das seinen Plan befolgt, schafft es. Nächstes Jahr wird er mit dem VfL Bochum deutscher Meister. Und Bayern kommt zu der Erkenntnis: „Früher war alles besser.“

Felix Magath zum Spiel in Leverkusen

Kevin Kuranyi setzt mit seinen Toren weiter Bundestrainer Joachim Löw unter Druck, ihn mit zur WM zu nehmen. Dabei darf man nicht vergessen, dass es Kuranyi selbst war, der aus der Nationalmannschaft flüchtete. Doch nun ist alles anders. Kuranyi traf schon 17 mal und Löw gehen ob der Leistungen von Klose, Gomez, Podolski oder Helmes die Argumente gegen Kuranyi aus.

Am Tabellenende konnten die letzten Fünf des Klassements nicht gewinnen. Hannover 96 gab dabei eine besonders schwache Vorstellung und lieferte mit dem 1:4 gegen den 1. FC Köln ein Bewerbungsspiel für die zweite Liga.

Kräftig lachen können sie in Bremen alle Jahre wieder über den Nordrivalen Hamburger SV. Während der HSV in der Rückrunde erneut die Saison vergeigt, sich zerfleischt, Spieler Abwanderungsgedanken äußern und der Trainer in der Kritik steht, sind die Bremer dank Kontinuität ins Pokalfinale marschiert und haben mit einer Aufholjagd auf die Europa League-Plätze den Nebenbuhler hinter sich gelassen. Symptomatisch dieser Spieltag: Bremen gewinnt 4:2 gegen Nürnberg, der HSV scheitert mit 0:1 in Mönchengladbach.

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Die Ergebnisse des 28. Spieltags:
VfL Bochum – Eintracht Frankfurt 1:2
1. FSV Mainz 05 – VfL Wolfsburg 0:2
Bayern München – VfB Stuttgart 1:2
Hertha BSC Berlin – Borussia Dortmund 0:0
Hannover 96 – 1. FC Köln 1:4
Werder Bremen – 1. FC Nürnberg 4:2
Bayer Leverkusen – FC Schalke 04 0:2
1899 Hoffenheim – SC Freiburg 1:1
Borussia Mönchengladbach – Hamburger SV 1:0

Tabelle
1 FC Schalke 04 58 P
2 Bayern München 56 P
3 Bayer Leverkusen 53 P
4 Borussia Dortmund 49 P
5 Werder Bremen 48 P
6 Hamburger SV 44 P
7 VfB Stuttgart 41 P
8 Eintracht Frankfurt 41 P
9 VfL Wolfsburg 40 P
10 1. FSV Mainz 05 38 P
11 1899 Hoffenheim 34 P
12 Borussia Mönchengladbach 34 P
13 1. FC Köln 31 P
14 VfL Bochum 27 P
15 1. FC Nürnberg 25 P
16 SC Freiburg 24 P
17 Hannover 96 23 P
18 Hertha BSC Berlin 19 P

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What if…? Dream comebacks in the Bundesliga

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There’s one thing my coach never tired of saying to me: “Hau den Ball ins Tor hinein!” – best translated with: “Just slam it into the back of the net!” What did yours used to say to you? What about this one: “Can you please come back out of retirement? We need you on the team!” Well, if ever you stopped playing and your team got into trouble, it’s quite possible you’ve heard that one before.

Dream comebacks in the Bundesliga
Like Michael Schumacher, whose comeback was the event in German sport on the weekend: the seven-time champion is back on the track and raring to go – again. Yesterday was his first race for his new team, Mercedes GP, and he finished sixth in the Bahrain grand prix.
Of course, Michael Schumacher is under a tremendous amount of pressure. On the one hand, German fans and the Mercedes team are expecting nothing less than the world championship; on the other, his competitors Jenson Button, Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso are all themselves world champions and are all licking their lips at the thought of beating Schumacher, who is the most successful driver in the history of motor racing. It probably doesn’t bother him, though; after all, true champions need this adrenalin kick like we mortals need air.
Football is another sport whose fans are always happy to watch true star-players do their thing: obviously, the sheer amount of running means that age takes its toll, but that doesn’t stop fans dreaming of seeing Pélé, Maradona and Zidane working their magic one last time – wouldn’t that be fantastic?
It’s not just the fans who want their stars back, of course; there are several Bundesliga teams who are longing for the return of their great players – and several of them could really use them. Bayern München, for example, would probably like nothing better than having Oliver Kahn back: “the Titan” is without question the best German goalkeeper of recent years and there is still no-one to fill his goalie gloves. Hans-Jörg Butt, for example, will never be in Kahn’s league, especially not after the mistakes he made in the Champions League game in Florence; and despite the 2:1 victory against Freiburg, van Buyten and Badstuber in defence are certainly no dream-team – you’d need Franz Beckenbauer back ordering them around to make the Bayern defence watertight.
There are some less famous teams who could do with a helping hand from the past, too, like Borussia Mönchengladbach, who need Günther Netzer back. This midfield strategist from Borussia’s glory days in the 70s would have been just the right person to straighten out their play against VfL Wolfsburg and make the “Wolves” start worrying about goals: instead, however, the Mönchengladbachers went down 0:4. And if Netzer were to stage a comeback, it wouldn’t just help Mönchengladbach out, but would remove him from our television screens. His childish antics with co-commentator Delling are becoming increasingly annoying and ruining international games on the ARD network.
Another team that could use an old star is VfL Bochum, currently sinking into Bundesliga obscurity. If they had their old goal-machine Stefan Kuntz back, though, they’d be on the right road. He may well have earned his reputation as a striker at Kaiserslautern and in Euro 96, but back at Bochum in 1986 he was already the highest-scoring player in the league. Without him, though, Bochum are forced to suffer humiliating defeats against Ruhr-neighbours Dortmund, who won the weekend duel with a convincing 1:4.
The return of a certain Karl-Heinz Körbel would be just the thing for Eintracht Frankfurt, who suffered a 1:2 defeat against Hannover. This steely defender played 602 times for Eintracht in the 70s and 80s, holds a Bundesliga record and would certainly have held their defence together. Without him, however, Hannover were able to actually win a match and glimpse a silver lining on the otherwise dark horizon of relegation.
If FC Schalke 04 had a wish, they’d use it to request a very special comeback: not of a particular player, but of the league championship itself, which they haven’t won for 52 years: and with their 2:1 win against Stuttgart, Schalke is well on course to achieve this, too.
And what would Hertha BSC wish for? A time machine! If they could just turn back the clock to the beginning of the season, they’d be a happier team. After all, with the 1:2 home defeat against Nuremberg, their hopes of staying in the top league are shrinking fast; even a turnout of 57,000 fans was not enough to help the Herthians win a match in their own stadium. It now looks as if the Hertha coach will soon be shouting at a team that’s playing in the second division. Nevertheless, no matter which league you’re playing in, the coach’s words are always the same: “Just slam it into the back of the net”.

(Stefan Reichart/Brian Melican)

Results Matchday 26:

FC Schalke 04 – VfB Stuttgart 2:1
Borussia Mönchengladbach – VfL Wolfsburg 0:4
VfL Bochum – Borussia Dortmund 1:4
1. FSV Mainz 05 – 1. FC Köln 1:0
Hannover 96 – Eintracht Frankfurt 2:1
Hertha BSC Berlin – 1. FC Nürnberg 1:2
Bayern München – SC Freiburg 2:1
1899 Hoffenheim – Werder Bremen 0:1
Bayer Leverkusen – Hamburger SV 4:2

Table

1 Bayern München 56 P
2 FC Schalke 04 54 P
3 Bayer Leverkusen 53 P
4 Borussia Dortmund 45 P
5 Hamburger SV 43 P
6 Werder Bremen 42 P
7 1. FSV Mainz 05 38 P
8 VfL Wolfsburg 37 P
9 VfB Stuttgart 35 P
10 Eintracht Frankfurt 35 P
11 1899 Hoffenheim 32 P
12 Borussia Mönchengladbach 30 P
13 1. FC Köln 27 P
14 VfL Bochum 27 P
15 1. FC Nürnberg 24 P
16 Hannover 96 23 P
17 SC Freiburg 20 P
18 Hertha BSC Berlin 15 P

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One thing Neuner and Riesch don’t know about: Relegation

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“Hau den Ball ins Tor hinein!” – Bundesliga blog for the 23rd day of play

There’s one thing my coach never tired of saying to me: “Hau den Ball ins Tor hinein!” – best translated with: “Just slam it into the back of the net!” Of course, every country has got its stock footie-phrases – football isn’t a complicated game, after all. One of the classics in every language is: “Either we win today, or we get relegated”. Every professional footballer has heard that one at least once in his career; either that, or he has always played and will always play for a team that always wins the league cup – but there aren’t many players with that kind of luck. That makes the danger of dropping down a division a permanent – and exciting – part of professional football; the fear of losing is always audible in the background, like the moody music in a good thriller film. In a way, the fights at the bottom end of the league table are just as fascinating at the duels at the top.

This isn’t the case in other sports: just take a look at the current Winter Olympics, where Germany is experiencing quite some success, what with Magdalena Neuner winning the biathlon and Maria Riesch speeding down the mountain to victory. Then again, woe betide the “winner” of a silver medal: in these kinds of sports, “silver” rhymes with “loser” – and by the time the commentators get to the last places, there’s nobody left watching: unless there’s some exotic African cross-country skier who heroically makes it over the line three hours after the winner, of course. But you take my point: bronze for Aljona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy in the pairs’ figure skating? It’s not gold, is it? So they lost. These kinds of sports don’t focus on losers; there are no divisions to drop down.

The same can be said of American sports: American football, basketball, baseball, ice-hockey – the only interesting games are the playoffs or the finals, the only interesting teams are the winning teams. American sports have taken this method of organising leagues abroad with them, with the German ice-hockey league (DEL) working without a relegation system: teams in the divisions under the premier league simply have to wait until one of the teams in it withdraws or goes bankrupt. Now, although I like and understand the rules of these sports (and who can say that of a two-point conversion?), I have to admit that I need the adrenalin of relegation! I want to know which loser is the best of the losers! I want to see fans hugging each other and shedding tears because their team has, with one single solitary goal, kept up a better goal difference and can stay in the top league! And I want (this is the icing on the cake) the play-off between the third-to-last of the first league and the third-to-last of the second league: this is nothing less than an epic battle of life and death!


This weekend, another chapter in the relegation-thriller was written as SC Freiburg played against Hertha BSC Berlin: in this match, Germany’s weakest home side was pitched against Germany’s weakest away team, and Freiburg fought so poorly than Hertha was able to considerably improve its disastrous away record this season, winning with a clear 3:0. This puts Berlin only two points behind what they need to get out of the relegation zone; in the meantime, Freiburg will be kicking themselves for not having got their hands on a reliable striker during the winter pause. After all, just five goals spread over eleven home games is a very, very poor performance: so poor that it can only really lead to relegation.

Meanwhile,1. FC Nürnberg and Bayern München fought a rather special duel against one another: Nürnberg is threatened with relegation and Munich was playing to take the league title. Furthermore, this is a meeting of historical proportions, with the Franconia region around Nürnberg looking to teach its old enemy Bavaria a good lesson. Nevertheless, no-one would have expected this generally weaker side to be able to hold up the Colossus of Munich – but they did, putting an end to an unbroken series of nine wins on the side of Bayern München. With this surprising victory, Franconians are now hoping that there might still be time to avoid the eighth relegation from the Bundesliga in the club’s history.

Before this defeat, the expectation was that Bayern München would steal the top spot in the league table from Bayer Leverkusen. The team from the Rhine, however, have a tight grip on first place and aren’t letting go: they drew 2:2 in Bremen and stay where they are. Nevertheless, Leverkusen were on a course to victory and Mertesacker’s goal for Bremen in extra time robbed them of the points they really should have won. Leverkusen should be disappointed – and that’s not something I would have expected to be saying at the beginning of the season.

In another surprise, the return of Schalke 04 coach Felix Magath to his former field of victory at Wolfsburg ended in a disappointing 1:2 defeat to the “Wolves” of this city in Lower Saxony, with Grafite hitting form again and helping to lengthen the distance between Schalke and the top of the table to four points.

The best player on this, the 23rd day of play this season, was Cacau from VfB Stuttgart: he scored four of Stuttgart’s five goals in their demolition of Köln. That’s good news for Germany as a whole, since this striker is in the national side for the World Cup this summer and will be sure to “slam it into the back of the net!” with no questions asked.

(Stefan Reichart/Brian Melican)

Results Matchday 23:

1899 Hoffenheim   -  Borussia Mönchengladbach  2:2
1. FC Nürnberg   -  Bayern München  1:1 
1. FC Köln   -  VfB Stuttgart  1:5 
Borussia Dortmund   -  Hannover 96  4:1 
Hamburger SV   -  Eintracht Frankfurt  0:0  
1. FSV Mainz 05   -  VfL Bochum  0:0
SC Freiburg   -  Hertha BSC Berlin 0:3 
VfL Wolfsburg   -  FC Schalke 04  2:1  
Werder Bremen   -  Bayer Leverkusen  2:2 

Table

1   Bayer Leverkusen    49 P
2   Bayern München    49 P
3   FC Schalke 04      45 P
4   Hamburger SV      40 P
5   Borussia Dortmund     39 P
6   Werder Bremen  35 P
7   Eintracht Frankfurt     35 P
8   1. FSV Mainz 05  32 P
9   VfB Stuttgart      31 P
10   1899 Hoffenheim      29 P
11   Borussia Mönchengladbach    29 P
12   VfL Wolfsburg   28 P
13   VfL Bochum     26 P
14   1. FC Köln     25 P
15   SC Freiburg  19 P
16   Hannover 96      17 P
17   1. FC Nürnberg   17 P
18   Hertha BSC Berlin    15 P

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Mittelmaß – graue Maus – Bochum

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Die Bundesliga hat viele faszinierende Aspekte. Sie ist reich an Tradition und Emotion. Sie lebt von Zuschauermagneten wie Bayern München, Schalke 04 und Dortmund, lebt von Evergreens wie dem Hamburger SV, bietet Zauberfußball á la Wolfsburg oder Hoffenheim, sorgt international für Furore wie Werder Bremen.

Doch auch die Highlights der Liga brauchen Gegner. Gegner, über die man weniger spricht. Borussia Mönchengladbach zum Beispiel. Viele werden erstmal Google Maps bemühen müssen, um diesen Ort zu finden. Oder Mittelmaß wie Hannover 96 und Eintracht Frankfurt. Oder den Inbegriff der „Grauen Maus“, VfL Bochum.

Die Bochumer haben vor fünf Wochen den Trainer rausgeschissen. Marcel Koller, Schweizer mit erfolgreicher Arbeit im Ruhrpott, wurde entlassen. Die Fans forderten die Ablösung von Koller, Aufsichtsratschef Werner Altegoer und Sportdirektor Thomas Ernst. Schwache Auftritte, desolat, fast leblos, so präsentierte sich die Mannschaft. Das schwächste Glied in der Kette musste gehen.

Doch übersehen wird, mit welchen Mitteln Koller über vier Jahre den VfL in der Liga hielt. Personalkosten von 17 Millionen Euro bedeuten den viertletzten Rang in der Gehaltstabelle. Der Klassenerhalt ist immer ein Erfolg für den kleinen Verein, dem ständig droht, zwischen den Schwergewichten Schalke und Dortmund zerrieben zu werden. Doch die Fans sehnen sich nach mehr.

Interimstrainer Frank Heinemann schaffte den Aufschwung nicht. Ein Sieg, ein Unentschieden, zwei Niederlagen, am letzten Spieltag 1:4 gegen Bremen, stehen in seiner Bilanz. Nun soll Heiko Herrlich als Trainer verpflichtet werden. Der Ex-Profi und derzeitige DFB-U-19-Trainer, soll der Bochumer Mannschaft wieder Leidenschaft und Engagement einimpfen und für einen sportlichen Aufschwung sorgen. Ob das klappt? Zweifel scheinen angebracht.

Was halten Sie von der Bundesliga oder dem VfL Bochum? Schreiben Sie uns einen Kommentar in unseren Blog unter http://blog.magazine-deutschland.de/

Die Ergebnisse vom 10. Spieltag der Fußball-Bundesliga im Überblick:

Bayer Leverkusen   -  Borussia Dortmund  1:1 

Bayern München   -  Eintracht Frankfurt  2:1

1899 Hoffenheim   -  1. FC Nürnberg  3:0

Hannover 96   -  VfB Stuttgart  1:0

Borussia Mönchengladbach   -  1. FC Köln  0:0

1. FSV Mainz 05   -  SC Freiburg  3:0

Hertha BSC Berlin   -  VfL Wolfsburg  0:0

FC Schalke 04   -  Hamburger SV  3:3

VfL Bochum   -  Werder Bremen  1:4

Tabelle

1   Bayer Leverkusen      22 P

2   Hamburger SV      22 P

3   Werder Bremen   21 P

4   FC Schalke 04     20 P

5   Bayern München     18 P

6   1899 Hoffenheim     17 P

7   VfL Wolfsburg   17 P

8   1. FSV Mainz 05    17 P

9   Eintracht Frankfurt     13 P

10   Borussia Dortmund      13 P

11   Hannover 96     12 P

12   SC Freiburg   10 P

13   1. FC Köln     9 P

14   VfB Stuttgart     8 P

15   Borussia Mönchengladbach      8 P

16   1. FC Nürnberg  8 P

17   VfL Bochum      8 P

18   Hertha BSC      4 P

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Wolfsburg jetzt allein an der Spitze

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Am 27. Spieltag der Fußball-Bundesliga hat der VfL Wolfsburg seinen Spitzenplatz gefestigt. Die Wolfsburger gewannen bei Borussia Mönchengladbach mit 2:1 und profitierten so vom Ausrutscher des Hamburger SV, der in Stuttgart 0:1 unterlag. Die Wolfsburger führen nun in der Tabelle drei Punkte vor Bayern München und dem HSV.

Nach der Galavorstellung am vorherigen Spieltag, mit dem 5:1 gegen die Bayern, sind die Wolfsburger auf dem besten Weg zum erstmaligen Titelgewinn. Vom Traumsturm-Duo Dzeko und Grafite traf diesmal Dzeko. Es war sein 16. Saisontreffer, Partner Grafite kommt auf 20. Bei einem Restprogramm von noch vier Heimspielen und nur drei Auswärtsspielen stehen die Meisterchancen für die „Wölfe” bestens. Nach der begeisternden Partie gegen Bayern München wird auch die Zahl derer gestiegen sein, die dem VfL diesen Erfolg gönnen würden, denn der Verein hat aufgrund seiner Nähe zum VW-Konzern nicht den besten Ruf bei Deutschlands Fußballanhängern. Dem VfL wird unterstellt, das Geld würde hier lockerer sitzen als anderswo. Wobei Spieler wie Dzeko und Grafite ja keine zugekauften Stars sind, sondern von Trainer Felix Magath entdeckt, gefördert und geformt wurden, um in dieser Saison zuzuschlagen.

Bayern München betrieb am Wochenende Wiedergutmachung für die Champions League-Pleite beim FC Barcelona – sofern man Barcelona mit Eintracht Frankfurt auf eine Stufe stellen möchte. Die Bayern schlugen die Eintracht mit 4:0, doch die schwache Frankfurter Vorstellung muss einfach den Bayernsieg relativieren. Liberopoulos, Steinhöfer, Meier sind eben nicht Messi, Henry, Eto‘o.

Der Hamburger SV kassierte in der letzten Minute der Nachspielzeit einen Treffer des Stuttgarters Mario Gomez zum 0:1. Die flotte Partie hatte eigentlich keinen Sieger verdient, doch der HSV erlitt so einen Rückschlag bei seinem „Tanz auf drei Hochzeiten”. Für die Hamburger geht es neben der Meisterschaft auch noch um den Uefa-Cup (im Viertelfinale gegen Manchester City) und den DFB-Pokal (im Halbfinale gegen Werder Bremen).

Im Tabellenkeller war Bochum der Gewinner des Spieltags. Mit 3:0 gewann der VfL beim abstürzenden Herbstmeister 1899 Hoffenheim und konnte sich so bis auf fünf Punkte von den Abstiegrängen entfernen.

StR

 
Die Ergebnisse des 27. Spieltags im Überblick:

Borussia Mönchengladbach – VfL Wolfsburg 1:2
Bayern München – Eintracht Frankfurt 4:0
Hannover 96 – Hertha BSC Berlin 2:0
FC Schalke 04 – Karlsruher SC 2:0
1899 Hoffenheim – VfL Bochum 0:3
Energie Cottbus – Arminia Bielefeld 2:1
Borussia Dortmund – 1. FC Köln 3:1
Bayer Leverkusen – Werder Bremen 1:1
VfB Stuttgart – Hamburger SV 1:0

Tabelle

1 VfL Wolfsburg 54 P
2 Bayern München 51 P
3 Hamburger SV 51 P
4 Hertha BSC Berlin 49 P
5 VfB Stuttgart 48 P
6 1899 Hoffenheim 44 P
7 FC Schalke 04 43 P
8 Borussia Dortmund 43 P
9 Bayer Leverkusen 42 P
10 Werder Bremen 36 P
11 1. FC Köln 32 P
12 Eintracht Frankfurt 29 P
13 Hannover 96 29 P
14 VfL Bochum 28 P
15 Arminia Bielefeld 24 P
16 Borussia Mönchengladbach 23 P
17 Energie Cottbus 23 P
18 Karlsruher SC 18 P

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