Bundesliga 13/14

Bayern against Hoffenheim today:
Neuer - Alaba, Dante, Boateng, Lahm - Martinez - Ribery, Schweinsteige, Götze, Müller - Mandzukic

Now that looks like a great lineup. Great to see Martinez as a midfielder in his first start this season. With less and less injured players it looks more and more like Guardiola really is trying to combine the best of Bayern last season with his idea of football. I'm really looking forward to the game today, Hoffenheim is a really exciting attacking team, that surely won't park the bus.

Hoffenheim's line-up:

Casteels - Salihovic, Süle, Abraham, Beck - Rudy, Strobl - Firmino, Herdling, Volland - Modeste

Hertha - Schalke should also be an exciting game. Max Meyer again starts as the number 10 behind Szalai with Draxler on the left and Boateng on the right. Amazing that he already made the prefered position of Draxler and Boateng his own.

Leverkusen with heavy rotation in Braunschweig, their whole starting attack (Son, Kießling, Sam) is on the bench, Lars Bender as well.
Leverkusen's line-up:
Leno - Boenisch, Toprak, Wollscheid, Hilbert - Can, Rolfes, Castro - Hegeler, Derdiyok, Robbie Kruse

The games right now:
Braunschweig - Leverkusen
Hertha - Schalke
Hoffenheim - Bayern
Nürnberg - Freiburg
Hamburg - Gladbach
 
at halftime:
Braunschweig - Leverkusen 0:0
Hamburg - Gladbach 0:1 Max Kruse scores
Hertha - Schalke 0:1 Szalai
Nürnberg - Freiburg 0:0
Hoffenheim - Bayern 1:1 Süle scores after Neuer fecked up after a corner, Mandzukic scores the equalizer, deflects a freekick by Ribery
 
Braunschweig - Leverkusen 1:0
Surprising win by last placed Braunschweig, maybe a bit too much rotation in Leverkusen's team.

Hertha - Schalke 0:2
Draxler with the last minute second goal.

Hoffenheim - Bayern 1:2
we played shit and grinded out the win, 3 strange goals heavily influenced by luck and defensive errors. A lovely assist for the second goal by Ribery, Müller scored and Schweinsteiger fecked up a huge chance after another brilliant pass by Ribery. Hoffenheim could have scored a few times as well though. Very weird game.

Nürnberg - Freiburg 0:3
Baumann supposedly had a great game after his shockingly bad performance last week, first win this season for Freiburg. Hopefully they continue to get results, really want them to stay in the league.

Hamburg - Gladbach 0:2
Max Kruse with two goals. Gladbach seem to find some form now after a bad start, they really could give Schalke a fight for the 4th CL spot.
 
Max Arnold scores for Wolfsburg away at Frankfurt. 10 minutes to go and Wolfsburg now 2-1 in the lead. Arnold is another incredibly gifted 19 year old German attacking midfielder. He now scored 3 goals in 4 starts this season (he was already impressive in a few games at the end of last seson) and npw took over the number 10 role and pushed Diego out wide. Really impressed with him. He is the standout youth talent in Wolfsburg and won the German youth championship twice in the last 3 years. Wolfsburg had a great academy for years but really failed to include their talents into the first team, looks like that's changing with the new manager and director of sports.
 
Given that the 11th playday and with that nearly a third of the season is now nearly over, I thought I give a little of a summary coupled with some prognoses about current Bundesliga season. For anyone who follows the league aswell: feel free to add things or correct me when you see things differently. This shall also serve as some basis for a discussion so that maybe others get interested in the league.

The Big Two:

In the German media and a lot of the forums is often the mention of "Spanish circumstances" in the Bundesliga meaning two clubs overshadowing the rest. And to some point it can´t be denied that pretty much any expert names only two clubs as potential title candidates: The big German giant Bayern Munich and the little one Borussia Dortmund. Both in finances and squad strengths they pretty much outclass the rest and so it is no surprise that they also currently lead the table.

Current leader Bayern Munich is still to some point a side in transition under new coach Pep Guardiola. Eventhough not every tactical change logically works perfectly yet due to the enourmous individual quality of their mega squad they still won most games in a commanding manner. Not even a plague of injuries in the CM, which would probably break the necks of any other team, could stop them. They also field (like pretty much always) the best defense of the league (7 conceded goals).

The best offense of the league is on the other hand the one of runner up Dortmund (31 goals). Infact the only offense with more goals than them in European top leagues is Barcelona with 34 goals and one more game played. Borussia Dortmund had to replace the departed Mario Götze and the choice for that was in the end the Armenian playmaker Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who after being injured for the majority of the pre season has now settled in nicely (3 goals/ 4 assists). As a whole Dortmund´s squad has won quality, be it with the transfers of the rapid Aubameyang (7 goals/2 assists) and the resolut Sokratis or the additions of the promising youngsters Hofmann and Durm. That they were able to fully replace the longterm injured Piszczek and Gündogan is in my eyes a testament for that.

It has become clear very quickly that even small slip ups by both team could have big consequences in the title race. These slip ups like Munich´s draw vs. Freiburg or Dortmund´s loss in Gladbach were far and inbetween, though. I expect a close race this year between the two with Munich remaining the favourite and Dortmund being their sole serious rival. It is also not unlikely that the direct duel in Dortmund on the 23rd November could decide the winner of the first season half.

The Third:

At first I wanted to include Bayer Leverkusen in the first group because they are not far off and actually tied Dortmund for a while on the second place. In the end I decided against it, because while their development in the last years is impressive and they are quite comfortably the third strongest German team I don´t think they really have the quality to keep track of the big two until the end of the season. Their second suit is simply not good enough. They still can become very uncomfortable for the other two as proven in the draw vs. Munich earlier in the season. They won´t win the title (like always), but I expect them to finish third with a rather big distance to the rest of the league.

The Pack:

In times when the football of Bayern and Dortmund did not make football fans drool all over the place, the Bundesliga often prided itself as the most competive and unpredictable league in Europe, which basically meant that any team besides Bayern was equally bad. Still the unpredictability remains a reality in the biggest group of my summary, which basically spans from the 4th place way down the table and has to be a nightmare for everyone who likes to bet on German football. In the last playdays the group has stretched somewhat and given a little indications where the journey of the clubs could go.

The 4th place is occupied by Borussia M´Gladbach, which is still under the leadership of one of the most rated coaches of the league: Lucien Favre. This is a team with a lot of light and shadows or better said a home and away statistic. They won every single home match (only Dortmund managed to do the same), but lost four of their away matches. They had a good transfer window. Especially Max Kruse (Freiburg) and Raffael (Kiew) brought them a lot of offensive power. A clear candidate for the International places, maybe even the CL qualification.

Next is VFL Wolfsburg. Not much to say about them tbh. Solid team with one of the biggest budgets in the league. Managed to land a big coup on former Bayern DM Gustavo, who gave them some stability and structure, but also managed to get himself sent off two games in a row. Good chances for a Euroleague place.

I decided to put Schalke 04 (6th) and Hamburg (12th) together, because they share a lot of similarities. Both are big clubs with massive fan followings. They also have both a large amount of exciting talents: Draxler, Goretzka, Meyer, Ayhan, Kolasinac, Lasogga, Tah, Zoua etc.
A lot of potential and a lot of incompetence. I can´t believe that Jens Keller is STILL coach of Schalke. He is simply not cut out for a job on that level. He has zero charisma and I have yet to meet a Schalke fan who is actually happy with him. In that matter Hamburg reacted quicker and fired Torsten "I´m a lot like Jürgen Klopp" Fink after a dissapointing start. His successor Bert van Marwijk stabilized the club, but I still doubt that it will be enough for a top 6 placement. Schalke will very likely finish there, probably on 4th again. They have too much quality for not getting in the CL again.

After that follows this years surprise team, the freshly promoted Hertha BSC Berlin. A very exciting and good organised side, who managed to impress me even in losses like in the 2-3 vs. Bayern last week. They really make the opponents work on the pitch. Their biggest problem is probably their status as "capital club", which basically means that if they have a little bit success the media gets completely hysterical and puts huge pressure on the team. They do have the right manager for that, though. The very calm Luhukay acts as a very good balancer to that.

The next team is TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, the closest thing to a sugar daddy club Germany has. Their season can be described in one sentence: Good offense, bad (the worst in the league actually) defense. They are usually entertaining to watch because their games are back and forth and their offense around the Brazilian Firminho and Kevin Volland (biggest German striker talent IMO) is very fluid. Will probably finish midtable.

9th placed VFB Stuttgart was the club to first fire their manager in this season. Labbadia had to go after just three playdays. Just like in Hamburg the manager change helped, but it will remain to be seen how they will react to the spanking by Dortmund on Friday. Stuttgart is probably one of the more boring sides to watch in the Bundesliga and there is not really anything that stands out in their team. Mediocre team, which will probably finish exactly there, in the midtable.

The next two teams Hannover 96 and FSV Mainz 05 play tomorrow and can improve their current positions. Both teams started out well, but collapsed after that. Both teams have horrendous away statistics (Hannover has yet to score a single goal away from home) and will both probably not finish above 8th, although both have really good managers. So quite a few similarities there.

The team that concludes this category is Werder Bremen, a team that used to be so fun to watch. Really leaky in the back, but they could let off fireworks in the offense on their day. Well, that is in the past. Now they have the second worst offense in the league and play like their manager Robin Dutt speaks: slow as hell. Its really a shame, because they used to be a rival of Bayern Munich at a time but years of wrong decisions on the transfer market and not having the same fan potential as other clubs cost them greatly. They could actually get in the fight of relegation like last season if they are not careful, but I doubt it personally.
 
The danger zone:

I start this part with two examples, why modern football can be brutal. Eintracht Frankfurt (14th) and SC Freiburg (16th) both played really good football in the last season, finishing 5th and 6th respectively. In a way they paying the price for that in this season. Both have not the squads to play on a high level both internationally and in the league and while Frankfurt is doing well in the EL, their league performance suffers because of it. They lost their home strength from last season. Freiburg is struggling alltogether, also because they have lost a large amount of their key players. Kruse, Makiadi, Caliguri and Flum all left in the summer leaving Freiburg with big gaps to fill. I admit that I have a soft spot for both teams, because of their classy fan support and excellent work done there. They both belong in the Bundesliga. Frankfurt will make it, but Freiburg will have to really work for it.

The 15th place is currently taken by FC Augsburg, an underdog in the league since they got promoted 2011. They have a tiny budget and are written off every season as one sure candidate for relegation. They still managed to stay in for the third season now, mostly because they are really freaking hard to play at home, so it is unsurprising that their home record is way better than the one away. I actually think that they will go down this season or at least have to take part in the relegation matches at the end of the season, also because their record transfer Bobadilla (1,5 Mil €) is still out for a long time.

1. FC Nürnberg is at the top of the league: in terms of draws. Problem is that they are also the only team to not have won a single match so far, placing them at the 17th place. They probably took too long to get rid of the overchallenged manager Wiesinger and now they are trying to catch up. Hot candidate for a relegation this season.

The second promoted team and last placed Eintracht Braunschweig just celebrated their first home win in the Bundesliga since 28 years ago. I really like their manager Thorsten Lieberknecht and would like to stay in the Bundesliga but I can´t help but feel that they are simply out of their depth in the highest German league. They fight well, but I don´t see enough quality.

Soo, that has gotten rather long (my god, has that gotten fecking long, lol). I even had to split up the post, because I exceeded the character limit for one post. I don´t expect anybody to read all of this scribble and I also spoilered it so that the scrolling would not take 5 minutes. I bolded the respective teams, so read what may interest you. This is supposed to give a little bit of rough insight of especially the teams outside the big two, which normally dominate this
thread for obvious reasons.
 
Twigg said:
How far off are we from matching the Bundesliga and La Liga giants?
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I wouldn't say were miles off even though it might appear that way at times. We're not that much behind in terms of personnel but a fair bit behind when it comes to quality of football. The squad we have is a very good one. Add two midfielders to it and I don't see much between it and the very best squads but it's the quality of football that we lag in.

That's why what I really want to see first and foremost from us is an improvement in our general football and system. Then if we make the right signings well be right up there with the best. As I've said often, it's not a very long road to being the best for us, it's just getting some things absolutely spot on. There wasn't much between us and bayern awhile back but they've refined their football system while we've regressed, they've added some top players. So we have to do something similar.
 
amolbhatia100 said:
I wouldn't say were miles off even though it might appear that way at times. We're not that much behind in terms of personnel but a fair bit behind when it comes to quality of football. The squad we have is a very good one. Add two midfielders to it and I don't see much between it and the very best squads but it's the quality of football that we lag in.

That's why what I really want to see first and foremost from us is an improvement in our general football and system. Then if we make the right signings well be right up there with the best. As I've said often, it's not a very long road to being the best for us, it's just getting some things absolutely spot on. There wasn't much between us and bayern awhile back but they've refined their football system while we've regressed, they've added some top players. So we have to do something similar.
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I agree. And I've got to say our quality of football has improved over the last two or three games, goals aside we're looking shipshape.
 
I really hope it doesn't become like la liga with every slip being so pivotal. Hopefully we start seeing both the top 2 in Germany drop points more frequently in the future as it makes for a more exiting title race with more twists and turns. Obviously you don't want the situation in England either where the top teams are lacking a bit of quality.
 
Twigg said:
I agree. And I've got to say our quality of football has improved over the last two or three games, goals aside we're looking shipshape.
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To a degree yes. But Norwich were shockingly bad. It was like a training match and our tempo was still slow as hell. Although you could argue we had so much control we didn't need to lift it. And when Fulham pressed us in the second half we fell to pieces. It was really ugly football. And when you consider the ability we had on the pitch it's quite amazing. It will take Moyes a bit to weed out these flaws but it's important we see intent and progress over the course of the season.
 
amolbhatia100 said:
I really hope it doesn't become like la liga with every slip being so pivotal. Hopefully we start seeing both the top 2 in Germany drop points more frequently in the future as it makes for a more exiting title race with more twists and turns. Obviously you don't want the situation in England either where the top teams are lacking a bit of quality.
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I think it might happen for a few years. The rivalry looks really big, both teams show again improvements and huge determination, so they keep pushing each other again and again. The same happened in Spain when Ronaldo arrived at Real and the media fueled the rivalry between Barca and Real, it got even crazier with Mourinho arriving. Barca in their treble winning season only finished on 87 points, that's less than City and United in their title wins in the last 2 years. I'm not sure if the difference in quality between the top teams and the rest in the Bundesliga is that much bigger than in previous decades, after all last season for the first time ever 7 Bundesliga teams reached the knockout stages in European competitions and this season it looks like for the first time ever four German teams will reach the knockout stages in the CL, so there is quality in the 2nd tier and also in midtable teams. Since Klopp combined incredible workrate with individual quality and Bayern followed that example, almost every game is played with a very high intensity by the top 2, that's why the superior quality turned into those incredible point records in the title wins by Dortmund and Bayern in the last 2 years. Without it they drop off significantly, see Bayern in 11/12 and Dortmund last season. If Guardiola vs Klopp becomes as big a rivalry as Guardiola vs Mourinho was (certainly on a more respectful level of course), I think the determination will continue to be crazy high.

Something similar could have happened in England when Mourinho joined Chelsea the first time btw. His Chelsea finished on 95 points in his first sesaon without a second team pushing them to the title, at Real he only finished on 92 points in his first year. Imagine him meeting a peak United and not one in transition with Ferguson making sure that his team showed the same determination in every single game?

Longterm I think the Bundesliga won't have as big a gap as La Liga though, the financial gap is maybe big but nowhere near as big as in Spain (Bayern having twice the revenue of Schalke in comparison to Real having five times the revenue of Atletico is a massive difference) and we continue to have a fair distribution of TV money, so our small teams are still capable of building very good teams. Also right now it looks like the Bundesliga managers are better in finding solutions to contain Bayern than the European teams are. We've won 8 consecutive games in the CL, which is crazy, especially because it includes away wins at Juve, Barca and City and a CL final.
 
Balu said:
I think it might happen for a few years. The rivalry looks really big, both teams show again improvements and huge determination, so they keep pushing each other again and again. The same happened in Spain when Ronaldo arrived at Real and the media fueled the rivalry between Barca and Real, it got even crazier with Mourinho arriving. Barca in their treble winning season only finished on 87 points, that's less than City and United in their title wins in the last 2 years. I'm not sure if the difference in quality between the top teams and the rest in the Bundesliga is that much bigger than in previous decades, after all last season for the first time ever 7 Bundesliga teams reached the knockout stages in European competitions and this season it looks like for the first time ever four German teams will reach the knockout stages in the CL, so there is quality in the 2nd tier and also in midtable teams. Since Klopp combined incredible workrate with individual quality and Bayern followed that example, almost every game is played with a very high intensity by the top 2, that's why the superior quality turned into those incredible point records in the title wins by Dortmund and Bayern in the last 2 years. Without it they drop off significantly, see Bayern in 11/12 and Dortmund last season. If Guardiola vs Klopp becomes as big a rivalry as Guardiola vs Mourinho was (certainly on a more respectful level of course), I think the determination will continue to be crazy high.

Something similar could have happened in England when Mourinho joined Chelsea the first time btw. His Chelsea finished on 95 points in his first sesaon without a second team pushing them to the title, at Real he only finished on 92 points in his first year. Imagine him meeting a peak United and not one in transition with Ferguson making sure that his team showed the same determination in every single game?

Longterm I think the Bundesliga won't have as big a gap as La Liga though, the financial gap is maybe big but nowhere near as big as in Spain (Bayern having twice the revenue of Schalke in comparison to Real having five times the revenue of Atletico is a massive difference) and we continue to have a fair distribution of TV money, so our small teams are still capable of building very good teams. Also right now it looks like the Bundesliga managers are better in finding solutions to contain Bayern than the European teams are. We've won 8 consecutive games in the CL, which is crazy, especially because it includes away wins at Juve, Barca and City and a CL final.
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It's strange as a spectator. You don't want there to be no great teams and at the same time you don't want a 5 point gap to feel like a lost cause. During our rivalries with Chelsea and earlier with arsenal despite it still being two teams battling for the title, you felt teams could lose points and later make it up. Obviously what's arguable is whether the teams involved in those title races weren't as good and hence there was such a situation. But it does make for a better title race for me.
 
Yeah, completely agree. Just tried to explain why I think we'll probably see the more boring version of a title race the next years. I always enjoyed the close title wins way more, even if it means that my team played really shit in lots of games that season.
 
Balu said:
Yeah, completely agree. Just tried to explain why I think we'll probably see the more boring version of a title race the next years. I always enjoyed the close title wins way more, even if it means that my team played really shit in lots of games that season.
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My favourite title race was one with arsenal 02-03. The football was of a really high quality, the lesser teams pulled shocks, the players of the two teams despised each other and we got a fabulous "title decider" at the end which had everything (except deciding the title). My favourite season in league football.
 
amolbhatia100 said:
My favourite title race was one with arsenal 02-03. The football was of a really high quality, the lesser teams pulled shocks, the players of the two teams despised each other and we got a fabulous "title decider" at the end which had everything (except deciding the title). My favourite season in league football.
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The Arsenal vs Leeds match is one my all time favorite ones. Absolutely nuts that match, Kewell with that amazing goal, Viduka being unstoppable, Ian Hart scoring another FK at Highbury ....
 
Really tough to say what season I enjoyed the most. Probably 79/80, Hamburg were a European top team at the time and Bayern didn't win a title for 6 years, Breitner and Rummenigge were incredible and with two games to go both teams were top of the table with equal points and an equal goal difference. Hamburg fecked up against Leverkusen and we went on to win the title, it was also the first Bayern title I celebrated by drinking ( a lot) :lol: . I was still a kid in the 70's when Bayern were successful in Europe, totally different experience. Hamburg also went on to feck up the European Cup final that season.

If we go solely by title decider in the end, you can't top Bayern's title win in 2001 though. What we did to Schalke was way more cruel than what City did to United in 2012 .
 
kouroux said:
The Arsenal vs Leeds match is one my all time favorite ones. Absolutely nuts that match, Kewell with that amazing goal, Viduka being unstoppable, Ian Hart scoring another FK at Highbury ....
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That was nuts. Bolton too! After that every match of arsenals against Bolton reminded me of that one.

But my favorite was our game against them at highbury. Probably my favorite game of football. Arsenal were frighteningly skillful and quick in attack in those days and we put in such a classy and ballsy performance. We were so brilliantly organised and passed it slickly and purposefully. Then arsenal got lucky with the Henry/cole goal to equalize and we hit right back with the goal from giggs. What a match it was. Ruud's goal was sublime too. Good times :drool:
 
Sphaero said:
The Big Two:
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Sahin really really deserves to be mentioned in that post for Dortmund, he's like a new signing who stepped up big time in the league and in the CL with Gündogan missing.

The Third
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I'm not sure Leverkusen are comfortably the 3rd strongest team. In a one off game or a CL knockout tie, I'd fancy Schalke over them every time. They're more consistent beating weaker teams though, which helps a lot in the league.

The Pack:
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Still think you're really harsh on Schalke, as chaotic as they are, they don't deserve to be mentioned in the same sentence as Hamburg. That's a different level of incompetence. Agree with the rest of your post, or at least it's way too difficult to judge all the midtable clubs right now. They really are very close to each other and a lot depends on how good some of the young German players develop that are already part of the core of the teams. Max Arnold's development for Wolfsburg will be more important for them than Diego not being a crybaby or Gustavo not being constantly sent off, imo. And you can make similar cases for almost any team in the league right now. It's really amazing watching all the teams being built around young German players, especially if you look back 7-8 years when every club had to buy several average foreign players to at least play decent football.
 
Balu said:
Sahin really really deserves to be mentioned in that post for Dortmund, he's like a new signing who stepped up big time in the league and in the CL with Gündogan missing.
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Yes, Sahin´s contribution was very important for Dortmund in this season. I was focusing more on the "real" new players, who came in the summer, in my summary to not make it larger than it already was. A lot of players actually would have deserved individual mentions. For example, if I would single out Sahin I would also have to mention Kevin Großkreutz, who is often written out of the squad of Dortmund, but whose versatility and football intelligence make him extremely valuable for them. He can not play one single position truly outstanding but is capable of playing a lot of positions at a good level. The speed he got used to his new role was special and helped Dortmund a lot.

On Bayern´s side Philipp Lahm would deserve a shout, because he did not only deliver on his usual RB position but also for me impressively and surprisingly in the CM. He played his role there so naturally that you could believe he was a fulltime CM to begin with.

Like I said, additions like these are very welcome, also for the reason that I did not follow some clubs enough to give real indepth reviews about them.



I'm not sure Leverkusen are comfortably the 3rd strongest team. In a one off game or a CL knockout tie, I'd fancy Schalke over them every time. They're more consistent beating weaker teams though, which helps a lot in the league.
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In terms of squad strength there is not much between Leverkusen and Schalke, the latter has probably even a little bit more individual quality, which could decide a direct duel for them. However, Leverkusen has for me the third best package in the league at the moment. Their setup, tactics and use of the player material they have is simply superior right now. This comes mostly down to environment and the person who stands on the sideline. With a quality coach and a bit more calm in the club Schalke could be a completely different team and at least on eye level with Leverkusen.


Still think you're really harsh on Schalke, as chaotic as they are, they don't deserve to be mentioned in the same sentence as Hamburg. That's a different level of incompetence.
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It was more convenience on my part to put them together, because they do have a lot of similarities. I do agree that the extend of the incompetency at Hamburg is even greater. When board members publicy meddle in the work of the manager and director of football (as much of a joke the guy is) or club legends always openly complain about the status of the club without probably much insight, then you know you have a big problem.


Agree with the rest of your post, or at least it's way too difficult to judge all the midtable clubs right now. They really are very close to each other and a lot depends on how good some of the young German players develop that are already part of the core of the teams. Max Arnold's development for Wolfsburg will be more important for them than Diego not being a crybaby or Gustavo not being constantly sent off, imo. And you can make similar cases for almost any team in the league right now. It's really amazing watching all the teams being built around young German players, especially if you look back 7-8 years when every club had to buy several average foreign players to at least play decent football.
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Definitively. The high involvement of German talent in the Bundesliga and even playing ground in a large part of the league is very exciting. Although the latter has also to do with the inability of clubs like Schalke, Wolfsburg or Hamburg to use their full potential. On paper the three teams would form a group together with Leverkusen to fight for the two remaining CL spots. Thankfully football is not always decided on paper which results in at least half the games on every playday being nearly impossible to predict.
 
Guardiola seems to be very surprised about the quality of the teams in the Bundesliga and the way they play. There is no easy matches.

If you compare Bayern and Dortmund you might look at the schedule of the matches, too. In the last 6th matches Bayern has to play the 2nd, 9th, 12th, 13th, 15th and 18th. Dortmund has to play the 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 8th and the 11th. (table without the two matches that still have to be played today)
 
The table doesn't really say that much though atm. The 6th and 14th are a mere 5 points apart, so some the numbers might even be the other way around by the time Dortmund and Bayern have to play these teams.
 
do.ob said:
The table doesn't really say that much though atm. The 6th and 14th are a mere 5 points apart, so some the numbers might even be the other way around by the time Dortmund and Bayern have to play these teams.
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Yes, but you see the tendency. Dortmund has to play 5 teams of the first half of the table, Bayern 5 teams of the second half.
 
Well, to be fair, there's not much difference in quality between 5th and 15th right now. The only real difference in the remaining games in the first half of the season is, Bayern still have to play Braunschweig and Dortmund Leverkusen. The other games are equally tough for both clubs, imo.
 
Laphroaig said:
Köln - Union tomorrow! Big game.
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Köln wins 4:0. They look more and more like the favorite for promotion. I'd love to see Union Berlin in the Bundesliga, but I doubt they'll have anything to do with the top 3 at the end of the season.
 
Reus with a beautiful free kick goal right before HT. 1-0 Dortmund.
 
Ribery also scored a great freekick. 2-0

@Sphaero
I thought Reus was injured and out for 2 weeks? Didn't he cancel for the games with the nationalteam?
 
Balu said:
@Sphaero
I thought Reus was injured and out for 2 weeks? Didn't he cancel for the games with the nationalteam?
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No? Did not hear a thing about an injury. The only injured for Dortmund are Kuba, Gündogan, Piszczek and now Subotiv (fell on his knee, did not look good at all :/)
 
Probably my mistake, no idea where I read/heard that.
 
Wtf are Leverkusen and Dortmund doing? Bayern games are really not exciting enough in comparison to all the other crazy Bundesliga games this season.
 
Balu said:
Wtf are Leverkusen and Dortmund doing? Bayern games are really not exciting enough in comparison to all the other crazy Bundesliga games this season.
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Bayern are going to win the league by at least 10 points.
 
Beautiful goal from Olić that.

VFL should consider selling him to Real Madrid for 100mln quid.

Hummels lucky to stay on the pitch, should've been sent off just a minute ago but Reus and Lewandowski had a go at the referee and, as idiotic as it may sound, they've switched his focus on them and they both got yellows instead of Hummels :lol:
 
charleysurf said:
Bayern are going to win the league by at least 10 points.
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Tough week for Dortmund so far, especially if they loose today. They play Bayern and Napoli at home after the international break, those 4 days will probably determine what they can achieve this season. If we can win at Dortmund, then I agree, we'll probably walk the league. I don't believe that will happen though.
 
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