Sports UN » Germany

Bayern Munich appoint Pep Guardiola as head coach

Dian — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 19:35:01 +0000

Bayern Munich have announced that Pep Guardiola will become the club’s new coach when Jupp Heynckes’ contract expires this summer.

Bayern revealed that Heynckes, 67, will stay on in his post until the end of this season before retiring, at which point the former Barcelona coach will take over on a deal that runs until June 2016.

The news comes 24 hours after Bayern’s media director Markus Horwick described claims that the club had approached Guardiola to take over as “complete rubbish”, and Guardiola himself said he hoped to manage in the Premier League, with Manchester City and Chelsea among those interested in hiring him.

Bayern, though, revealed that the move had been in the pipeline since at least before Christmas, when Heynckes informed the club he would not be seeking a contract extension.

Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Bayern’s chief executive, said: “We are delighted that we have managed to get Pep Guardiola whom several big clubs wanted and contacted. He is one of the most successful trainers in the world and we are sure that not only Bayern Munich but the whole of German football will benefit from what he brings.”

Rummenigge backed Heynckes to oversee a strong end to the season, having guided Bayern to a nine-point lead in the standings ahead of the Bundesliga’s resumption following the winter break this weekend.

“As a club and as Jupp Heynckes’ friends we have to show understanding for this decision. We have to accept it and we have to respect it,” Rummenigge added. “During personal talks with Jupp we assured each other that we will do anything we can, and now even more, to have a successful second half of the season.”

Heynckes, in his third spell at Bayern after returning to the club in June 2011, guided the club to the Champions League final in May, where they lost to Chelsea on penalties.

Bayern’s chairman Uli Hoeness added: “Only someone of the calibre of Pep Guardiola was an adequate replacement for Jupp Heynckes.”

Guardiola, 41, replaced Frank Rijkaard at Barca in 2008 and during his four years at Camp Nou led the club to 13 trophies, making him the most successful coach in the club’s history.

“The signing of Guardiola shows the value of Bayern who want to be on par with the likes of Real Madrid or Manchester United,” said Bayern’s honorary president Franz Beckenbauer.

Dortmund fined 20 000 euros for fan trouble

Dian — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 19:02:42 +0000

Bundesliga champions Borussia Dortmund have been fined 20,000 euros for fan trouble in two Bundesliga home games, the German football association (DFB) said on Wednesday.

Dortmund fans threw lighters and other objects onto the pitch in the league game against regional rivals Schalke 04 in October, while Schalke goalkeeper Lars Unnerstall was hit in the back by a coin.

Fans also interrupted Dortmund’s game against VfL Wolfsburg in December after throwing paper rolls onto the goal of the visiting team and forcing the referee to briefly stop play.

The Bundesliga resumes on Friday after a four-week winter break with Dortmund in third place, 12 points behind leaders Bayern Munich.

Sven-Goran Eriksson joins 1860 Munich coaching staff

Dian — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 13:42:39 +0000

Former England and Manchester City manager Sven-Goran Eriksson has agreed to join the coaching staff at 1860 Munich, the German club has announced.

Eriksson will assist manager Alexander Schmidt as the second division club seek to win promotion.

The club’s chief executive Robert Schafer described Eriksson as “a coach of the world.”

Eriksson was only appointed technical director of Thai side BEC-Tero Sasana in September.

His new club have not played in the German top flight since 2003-04 and are currently sixth in the table.

As well as his stints in England, Eriksson has also coached in his native Sweden, Portugal, Italy, Mexico, Ivory Coast and Thailand.

But this is the first time the 64-year-old has accepted a post in Germany.

“We now have to try to use his wealth of experience for our benefit,” added Schafer.

Huntelaar signs new contract (VIDEO)

Dian — Sun, 23 Dec 2012 10:30:38 +0000

Schalke 04 striker Klaas Jan Huntelaar has signed a new contract with the club. The Dutchman announced this on his personal Twitter and Facebook pages. “I’m very pleased to announce that I have renewed my contract with FC Schalke 04until June 2015! I want to thank all the Schalke fans for their patience over the past period. From the beginning I’ve had a good feeling with the club and the fans. I believe that we can achieve beautiful things in the Bundesliga and Champions League. I’m proud that I can be part of this beautiful club”, he said in his statement.

Huntelaar started his youth career at VV H. en K, before moving to De Graafschap when he was 11. At the age of 17 he joined PSV, but played just one senior game for the club. He made a name for himself when on loan at AGOVV, where he scored 27 goals in 37 games in 2003/04. This led to interest from SC Heerenveen, and after a series of good performances moved to Ajax. He later had spells with Real Madrid and AC Milan, which weren’t that successful, but in 2010 he moved to his current club Schalke 04 for 12 million euro in an attemp to revive his career. He has been unstoppable for the Royal Blues, playing in 106 matches and scoring 72 times since joining. He also has 34 goals in 59 appearances for the Dutch national side.

EURO 2012 match preview: Germany v Italy, Another Chapter of an Epic Story

Simone — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 08:03:42 +0000

Photo mymzone.com

“The Neverending Story”, a famous fantasy novel from the 1980s, was the brainchild of German writer Michael Ende and one of its most famous film adaptions was directed by his fellow countryman Wolfgang Petersen. Perhaps, also due to their nationality, there’s no better title to introduce the Euro 2012 semi-final between Germany and Italy, a strong football rivalry from the Old World which can be compared to that between Argentina and Brazil in South America. True, England might be included as well, according to all those stereotypes which portray every clash with the Germans as a renewal of World War II. Still, no other football rivalry can recall such epic matches in the collective imagination more than the Italy-versus-Germany one.

Tonight in Warsaw the scenario will be the same as always. The Germans are the big favourites, depicted as a solid and pragmatic team to be feared,whilst the Italians are the physically inferior underdogs who magically overperform whenever they face Die Mannschaft. However, both sides have radically changed in recent years.

Germany have qualified for the semi-finals with a fantastic score, as they won all the matches they played. Moreover, they scored nine goals and conceded four and they literally outclassed Greece even without fielding regular strikers Mario Gomez, Thomas Müller and Lukas Podolski. Their victories are the fruit of a new footballing approach, far away from the memories of centre-forward Gerd Müller waiting for a ball to come in the box or of top-class players who, however, lacked creativity. In brief, this is a result of a phenomenon which involves several countries, but which Germany managed to take advantage of – immigration and multiethnicity.

Photo thesun.co.uk

Popular British magazine FourFourTwo maintained they are now a decent national team because, quintessentially, there are no German players. This statement may withhold the renowned hatred between the two countries, still it turned out to be true. Germany probably offered the most entertaining football in the World Cup in South Africa, where they smashed England – it is true that Frank Lampard’s shot crossed the line, but it is also true that the second half was a one-way match – and Argentina, before losing 1-0 to Spain just on a set piece in the final minutes. It was all courtesy to players born in Poland, like Miroslav Klose and Podolski, or originated from Ghana (Jérôme Boateng), Spain (Mario Gómez – pictured right), Tunisia (Sami Khedira) and Turkey (Mesut Özil). Meanwhile, young talents such as goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, defenders Holger Badstuber and Bats Hummels and striker Mario Götze have blossomed.

Photo morgenpost.de

It seems to read the story of Italy in the 1990s. The Azzurri boasted admirable Under-21 national teams who indeed won all but one European Championship from 1992 to 2000, fielding future stars such as Fabio Cannavaro, Filippo Inzaghi, Alessandro Nesta, Francesco Totti and, above all, current national team players Gianluigi Buffon and Andrea Pirlo (pictured left). They all formed the backbone of the national team who won the World Cup in 2006, in which they overcame Germany in a tense semi-final with Fabio Grosso and Alessandro Del Piero scoring in the last minute of the extra-time.

The Italians were accompanied with critics following the massive Calciopoli match-fixing scandal and six years later their reputation has not changed to the eyes of upright Germans, certainly because of the Scommessopoli scandal. Furthermore, the situation has become more tense due to the economic instability of the European Union, where one of the countries is a leading economy and the other is listed among the weakest ones. It’s quite easy to imagine classic banters between “lazy, stylish latin lovers” from Italy, the land of “spaghetti and mandolini”, and the “hardworkers” from Germany “who eat sauerkrauts, drink beer and wear sandals with socks”.

Leaving these stereotypes apart, this semi-final might turn to be another fascinating one, like the legendary 4-3 in Mexico City in 1970, the final match in 1982 with the famous goal celebration by Marco Tardelli or the aforementioned Italian triumph in Dortmund, where Germany had never lost before, in 2006. Joachim Löw can rely upon a promising goalkeeper, a stable defence and a creative midfield supporting a lone striker who swaps his position with deep-lying forwards but at the same time he is in the right place when it comes to finish an offensive manoeuvre.

On the other side, Cesare Prandelli shows a typical Italian national team, who has netted the ball four times so far – only one on open action – with as many different scorers in as many matches. They showed a remarkable team spirit, though, and no opponent has managed to block magician Andrea Pirlo. Indeed, they performed better as they shifted from the initial 3-5-2 formation, with Daniele De Rossi fielded as centre-back, to the classic 4-4-2 with the diamond midfield. Still, the Azzurri are not considered the favourites and the scenario cannot be compared with the one of 2006 – Germany have improved in creativity and fluidity, Italy perhaps lacks experienced players. Not secondarily, the latter had less time available to recover from the quarter-finals, they won against England after a very exhausting match and Löw made some of his key elements have a break.

But this is the umpteenth Italy-Germany. Once more, logics might not apply to such a match.

EURO 2012 preview: Germany v Greece, more than just a game

Simone — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 08:28:59 +0000

Photo euronews.in

Germany manager Joachim Löw admirably attempted to avoid predictable speculations on the match his players will play tonight in Gdánsk against Greece. “It is just football”, he said. This is a match with nothing to share with politics”.

Good effort, but it did not work.

In light of the troubled situation and the uncertain future of Europe as a political entity, the clash between Germany and Greece – that is to say, the strongest and the weakest economy in the region – in the last 8 at Euro 2012 emerges as more than just a football game.

Possibly, the non-sports aspects are even far more appealing than the merely technical ones, assuming that tonight’s match is destined to be a one-way one looking at the respective line-ups.

Many bookmakers reckon the Germans will beat, if not even hammer, their opponents and the 3-0 victory is the most likely outcome. In all fairness, the statistics show how difficult is trying to controvert such beliefs. Germany are the only side who have won all matches in the group stage against highly respectable opponents such as Denmark, the Netherlands and Portugal. Five goals scored and only two conceded is definitely an impressive score.

A very fluid offensive department, in which the three deep-lying forwards and the main striker are ceaselessly swapping their positions in the last 16 metres, can seriously threaten a defence which is seeking its balance after two dreadful performances. Moreover, Germany can rely on their team spirit, with seven players of the starting lineup coming from the same club, Bayern Munich.

Photo thesun.co.uk

Greece head coach Fernando Santos has to deal with two main absences – disqualified left back José Holebas and, more importantly, captain Giorgos Karagounis, who scored the goal which led the Greeks to the knockout stage. The back four comprised by Vasilis Torosidis, Kyriakos Papadopoulos, Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Giorgos Tzavellas is about to face as many oustanding players such as Mario Gomez (pictured right), current leading scorer of the tournament, and the likes of Thomas Müller, Mesut Özil and Lukas Podolski.

It is unlikely to figure out the Greek defenders to contain their opponents, tremendously pragmatic and concrete as traditional German football requires. The same doubts might interest the front line as well, considering the presence of a confident goalkeeper such as Manuel Neuer and the defenders who get on famously. Yet, there is still a possibility, although small, to see Greece prevailing.

The rearguard is seemingly benefitting the promotion of Mihalis Sifakis as a first choice between the posts following Kostas Chalkias’ injury during the match against Czech Republic. It might be regarded as a mere coincidence, yet the Aris Thessaloniki goalie is unbeaten and played a main role in the key victory over Russia.

More importantly, what has happened in the last couple years may emerge as a decisive factor in realising what would be the ultimate upset in European football. The crisis which has been affecting Greece is encouraging the players to literally fight onto the pitch, to win for their fellow countrymen and give them a temporary relief from a painful situation. It is not hard to understand the feelings of both footballers and fans towards this special encounter, accompanied with funny tweets imagining Chancellor Angela Merkel to impose Greece how many goals they should concede, or the two-goal advantage to award Germany before the kick-off.

It was in 2010 that the Greek financial crisis broke, jeopardising the future of the European Union. It was clear that the supranational entity itself, alongside the Central European Bank and the International Monetary Fund, had to solve the debt throughout a massive loan to the Greek state.

Among the European countries, Germany played the leading role in terms of money and many Germans claimed not to be keen to pay taxes because of Greece. On their part, the streets of Athens started to host demonstrations of civil servants as well as private employees against frozen salaries and rises in taxes.

Senior MPs Josef Schlarmann and Marco Wanderwitz, perhaps not facetiously, suggested Greece to sell some of their islands in order to turn around their accounts. Furthermore, German magazine Focus published on its front page a picture of the Venus raising the middle finger and the reply from Athens was a photo of the statue on the top of the Victory Column waving a swastika. Then-prime minister Giorgos Papandreous, son of Andreas and nephew of Giorgos, two other notable leaders of the Government, endeavoured to reassure the rest of Europe about the capability of Greece to discharge its duties. But the two countries cannot exactly say they love each other.

When Greece overcame Russia last Saturday and were guaranteed a place in the last 8, the match against Germany turned out as a really concrete hypothesis. The tension increased as the day after re-elections took place in Greece and the political parties against the austerity measures were among the favourites. In the end, the centre-right conservatives of Nea Demokratia led by Antonis Samaras, a pro-bailout party, won, although tightly, and this has apparently prevented the scenario of Greece quitting the euro zone.

Photo thesun.co.uk

The relationships between Athens and Berlin are still tense, though. And another Samaras, Celtic striker Giorgos, may become the real bogey man for Germany, at least from a footballing perspective. After two disappointing displays, the Crete-born giant was believed to have made the difference for Greece to defeat Russia.

Curiously, he will be one of the leading figures together with centre back Kyriakos Papadopoulos and strikers Kostas Fortounis and Theofanis Gekas, who have played or are still playing in German Bundesliga. Not secondarily, Greece won their first and only European title thanks to a German coach, grumpy and utilitarian Otto Rehhagel.

Speaking about that totally unforeseeable triumph, the Greeks found themselves in the awkward position of finding a new accommodation as they booked the hotel for just the group stage, as none of them could just conceive the idea of winning the tournament. Fortunately, they occupied the rooms left by Spain, who on the contrary were surprisingly eliminated just after three matches. Nowadays, midfielder Yannis Maniatis has planned his marriage on 1 July – that is to say, the day of the final match in Kiev. “I’m sure he won’t get married on that day”, team-mate Kostas Katsouranis maintained.

EURO 2012 match report: Powerful Germans make the Danish Dream vanish

Simone — Sun, 17 Jun 2012 20:47:49 +0000

Denmark 1 Germany 2

Fairy tales are emotional and reassure with their happy endings, but sometimes they are different from reality.

20 years ago Denmark won their first and only European Championship by beating Germany, in what was a footballing version of a Hans Christian Andersen’s story. This time, in the same competition, the latter triumphed 2-1 in a tender night in Lviv and reached the knockout stage by eliminating the Scandinavians and topped Group B.

Germany had already sealed their place in the quarterfinals, yet they stepped onto the pitch with higher motivation. It was them to have a flying start, with Thomas Müller firing over the bar and Danish goalkeeper Stephan Andersen saving on a close-range attempt by the striker himself.

Once again, the Group B leaders displayed a football made of balls delivered on the wings and three attacking midfielders constantly swapping their positions. 19 minutes passed when Germany deservedly took the lead. Having been assisted following a throw-in, Müller crossed from the goal line, Mario Gomez missed the ball but did not so future Arsenal forward Lukas Podolski, who netted with a precise shot.

The risk of being eliminated immediately shook Denmark, who levelled within just five minutes. The zonal marking provided by Germany on a corner kick let Michael Krohn-Delhi head into the net an aerial assist by Nicklas Bendtner. The equaliser changed the score but not the attitude of the teams, with Germany persisting in keeping the ball and attacking. Other goal chances were created as well, with the only but not irrelevant difference that they were not converted.

The Danes sharply shifted their approach to the game in the second half, for they need to win to hope to qualify for the next round. Jacob Poulsen immediately hit the side of the post with a dazzling shot at the end of a brilliant offensive manoeuvre and since then Denmark tried to add a fundamental second. On the opposite side, André Schürrle replaced Podolksi and had the opportunity to make an instant impact, but his finisher was deflected by Andersen.

Denmark had another opportunity in the last quarter-of-hour, with Bendtner shooting disturbed by a slight shirtpulling. Differently, his almost homonym Lars Bender brilliantly finished a lethal counterattack, which found the Danish back four unbalanced, and celebrated his first international goal.

With Portugal leading against the Netherlands, the Scandinavians were almost out of the competition. Defender Daniel Agger attempted to change the score once more, but he stood on a corner kick without centring the target with his header. It was the last emotion of a match comfortably controlled in the last minutes by the Germans.

Now it is time for Germany, the only team to end the group stage with three victories in as many matches, to face Greece in the last 8. The match will be appealing not just in terms of football, considering the troubled relationships between the two countries regarding the economic crisis and the future of the European Union.

Denmark 1-2 Germany (1-1 HT)

Denmark (4-2-3-1): Andersen – Jacobsen, Kjær, Agger, S. Poulsen – Kvist, Eriksen – J. Poulsen (82 Mikkelsen), Zimling (78 C. Poulsen), Krohn-Delhi – Bendtner. Manager: Morten Olsen.

Germany (4-2-3-1): Neuer – Bender, Hummels, Badstuber, Lahm – Khedira, Schweinsteiger – Müller (84 Kroos), Özil, Podolski (64 Schürrle) – Gomez (74 Klose). Manager: Joachim Löw.

Referee: Carlos Velasco Carballo (ESP).

Goals: 19 Podolski, 24 Krohn-Delhi, 80 Bender.

Notes: additional time 1 and 3. Corner kicks: 4-3.

Bookings: none.

EURO 2012 match report: Gomez Header gives Germany the Perfect Start

Matthew Wallace — Sat, 09 Jun 2012 20:42:52 +0000

Germany 1 Portugal 0

Germany made the perfect start to their Euro 2012 campaign with a hard earned victory over Portugal in Lviv this evening.

With Mario Gomez about to be replaced, he headed in Sami Khedira’s cross to score the only goal of the game and go level with Denmark in Group B after their shock win over Holland earlier in the afternoon.

Despite the pre-match predictions, the opening 15 minutes were played in a tentative manner with only a Mario Gomez header from the penalty spot and a Lukas Podolski shot from the edge of the area causing either keeper any problems. Portugal’s captain and talisman Cristiano Ronaldo was unable to convert his Real Madrid goal scoring form onto the international stage but showed a glimpse of what he can do, beating his man with a series of trademark stepovers but his cross was put behind for a corner with Nani waiting.

As the half progressed, the German side grew in confidence and were content to keep posseission and build from the back, much to the dismay of the Portugese contingent in the crowd. Gomez thought he had put his side in the lead on 23 minutes but the referee had already blown for a free kick before the ball was put into the back of the net. But despite the dominance, they couldn’t turn this into clear chances. Both Podolski and Khedira shot over from good positions and Muller dragged his shot wide without troubling the goal.

But it was Portugal who came closest to breaking the deadlock. Just seconds before half time, a corner found Pepe unmarked in the penalty area who took it down beautifully before striking a lovely curling shot, beating Neuer but hitting the underside of the crossbar and bouncing to safety. Protests about the goal from Ronaldo ensued but replays suggested that the referees assistant made the correct decision.

It was the Portugese that started the second half much the brighter side. Both Ronaldo and Nani had success down their respective wings and forced a number of corners, none of which came to anything. When Ronaldo got a chance to run at the heart of the German defence, he was superbly tackled by Jérôme Boateng as he was about to pull the trigger. Germany were not out of it and only a couple of inches separated Podolski connecting with a Mezut Özil delicate cross.

It took until the 71st minute for the Germans to break the deadlock. Sami Khedira’s cross from the right hand side was deflected onto the head of the soon to be replaced Mario Gomez. He expertly dispatched the header into the back of the net, giving Rui Paricio no chance and sending the vast majority of the crowd in Lviv into a frenzy. He nearly added to that tally five minutes later but he couldn’t get onto the end of Thomas Müller’s excellent cross after a quick counter attack.

Suddenly, Portugal looked much more of a goal threat and came close on a number of occasions but Nani, Cristiano Ronaldo and Fábio Coentrão found Hummels, Neuer or the crossbar in their way. But with just two minutes of the 90 on the clock, some good work from substitue Nelson Oliveira worked the ball into the German penalty area. His cutback found Varela who was superbly denied by Neuer down low. With three minutes of the alloted stoppage time up, Bruno Alves couldn’t keep his header down to ensure that Germany started the tournament with a victory.

Germany 1-0 Portugal (0-0 HT)

Germany: Neuer, Hummels, Badstuber, Lahm, Boateng, Khedira, Schweinsteiger, Özil (87 Kroos), T. Müller (90+4 L. Bender), Gomez (80 Klose), Podolski. Manager: Joachim Löw.

Portugal: Rui Patrício, Bruno Alves, Pepe, Fábio Coentrão, João Pereira, Miguel Veloso, João Moutinho, Raul Meireles (80 Varela), Nani, Cristiano Ronaldo, Heldér Postiga (70 Oliveira). Manager: Paulo Bento.

Referee: Stephanne Lannoy (France).

Goals: 71 Gomez.

Bookings: 13 Postiga, 43 Badstuber, 60 Fábio Coentrão, 69 Boateng.

Why Chelsea DID deserve to win the Champions League

Michel — Sun, 20 May 2012 11:50:22 +0000

Sport expresses itself in many different arts and forms. Football, soccer, calcio, fùtbol or fussball is the most followed type of sport on this planet, and probably on all the others, too. But this does not mean that this sport is the most meritocratic of all.

Not always the best side (i.e. the most talented one) wins the game, whether a Thursday night game between untalented friends or a Saturday night UEFA Champions Leauge Final, that is, or should be, the best expression of football this planet can offer. The gods of football, or the Lady luck, or destiny ( see Didier Drogba) often can influence a game. Bad refereeing can affect the result. But there is also another reason. Football, as you all know, is a sport in which the chances to radically change the course of the game are often few. In basketball, for example, you play for 40 minutes (48 in the USA) and your team has the ball every other possession in order to score. At the end, usually, the best team wins.

Not the same in football and we saw it yesterday. Football is a sport in which you can make one improbable, lucky shot and get away in the victory, is a sport in which you can score with your hand in injury time and get away with three points, is a sport in which you can score an offside goal and get away with the win. Therefore to win in these ways is intrinsically part of this sport. Yesterday the team with less quality won, the team that was playing non-football won. But did they deserve it?

They did for several reason.

The first is that they arrived against all odds to the Final. A side that was struggling this year both in the Premier League and in the Champions League and with a new manager made its way to Munich first recovering a 1-3 defeat against Napoli, then edging Benfica and finally surviving against the overall proclamed Lords of Football: the blaugranas from Barcelona. In my opinion they clearly deserved to pass against Barcelona because they were able to stop them, because the fought for the final, because they did not capitulate with a man down, because the Spaniards were not able to carry out a Plan B against the well-organized and focused Blues.

The second one is that Roberto Di Matteo did the best he could with (the little) what he had. He knew that the big boss did not trust him but instead of trying something new to impress Abraomovich he went with the “safety first” motto. Humility, sacrifice, defence and the Old Guard, who probably rules in the looker room, on the pitch. Yesterday night RDM managed once again to stop a better side, this time the German Panzers, that easily came at the end of the box but often did not know how to pass the English trenches.

The third is that die Roten missed too many opportunities to deserve the victory. It is inadmissible that one of the best teams in the World in the most important game of the year wastes so many chances. Arjen Robben, Frank Ribery, Mario Gomez, Ivica Olic and so on. They could and should have scored. Above all Robben will have several nightmares in the nights to come. The crystalline-talented Dutch was decisive, unfortunately, for the fortune of his team. He missed a penalty in the extra time and did decide not to shoot one in the final penalties. Robben probably has achieved less than expected in his career so far both for injuries and for some not exceptional performances in big games. He had already missed a crucial penalty this season against Borussia Dortmund in the game that could have reopened the Bundesliga (in the same game he also missed and incredible chance). He was also “guilty” of misfiring a great chance in the 62nd minute of the 2010 World Cup. These mistakes will probably increase the number of people who label Robben as an everlasting runner up and one who succumbs to pressure on big stages. But the Germans, as a team, failed also because with a late goal and few minutes left you should not draw back and change the way you play football, you should keep the ball and keep the pressure on the opponents and you should not relax on a corner when you know that in the other team there is a striker who came into the final with five goals in seven games. Bayern could then have scored twice in the extra-time, but we all know what happened instead.

The fourth is that yesterday the team that did not give up won against the team without the killer-instinct. Never leave your enemy agonizing and alive if you can kill him. Mentally Chelsea proved to be stronger and in these games this is not a trivial variable.

The fifth is Didier Drogba. A cheater? A diver? Probably. But diving is a illness that , unfortunately, affects all the football movement, from its unprofessional to its highest version, and not just some countries or some players (e.g. Italy, Drogba, Busquets, Ribery and Ashley Young). But Drogba is also a great striker, a great fighter, an example for his teammates, a player that had one chance in the whole game and made the most out of it. The emblem of this Champions Leauge.

The sixth is the exception. Exception to what? To the football rule. It has once been said that “Football is a simple game; 22 men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans win.” The famous quote came after Germany won the 1990 semi-final on penalties against England. But there is always the exception that proves the rule.

The last is destiny, or fate, or the gods of football. These gods are not nice, are not lovely and they think to be very funny. But the truth is that they, often, give back what they have taken before. Do you remember the semi-final against Barcelona in 2009? Do you remember the fury of Didier Drogba? Do you remember the rainy final in Moscow? Do you remember the moment John Terry slip? Well, the Chelsea fans have been chasing the European dream for a lot of time now and maybe the gods of football wanted to reward them after many sorrows.

Photo courtesy of Reuters

5 matchdays left: What will happen in the Bundesliga?

Dian — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 16:59:44 +0000

The Bundesliga is one of the most exciting leagues in Europe, and with each team having just 5 games left to play, there are still many unanswered questions in Germany. Who will win the title, who will participate in the European tournaments next year, and who will get relegated- we’ll find out within a month, starting from tonight.

The battle for the trophy:

Two teams have a chance to win the Bundesliga- Dortmund and Bayern Munich. As of now, Borussia hold the first place with 66 points, while Bayern are second with 63. But technically, if “The Black Yellows” win the clash between the two teams on Wednesday, the champion could be decided as early as tomorrow.

Fixtures and predictions:

Dortmund: Bayern Munich:
H: Bayern Munich D A: Dortmund D
A: Schalke 04 D H: Mainz 05 W
H: Borussia Monchengladbach W A: Werder Bremen W
A: Kaiserslautern W H: Stuttgart W
H: Freiburg W A: FC Cologne W

If my predictions are correct, Dortmund should have 77 points and Bayern- 76, come the end of the season, meaning that last year’s champions should be able to retain their title. When those two met earlier this season, Borussia won in Munich 0-1, the goal coming from wonderkid Mario Gotze.

Both teams deserve the trophy; they have some players in their squads who are out of this world, and we’ve seen both coaches employ very entertaining and attacking football throughout the season. And had it not been for dropping points against weaker teams, such as Hannover 96, Leverkusen and Mainz, Bayern could have already secured the first place. But if they win at Signal Iduna Park tomorrow, the last couple of weeks will become even more interesting.

European competitions qualification:

The top 3 teams in Germany qualify for the group stages of the Champions League, while the team to finish 4^th will take part in the 4^th qualifying round for non-champions. I’m pretty sure that the top 4 will look like this: Dortmund, Bayern Munich, Schalke 04 and Borussia Monchengladbach.

The battle for the Europa League places will be fierce though. The teams to finish 5^th and 6^th qualify, plus the winner of the DFB Pokal (German Cup). This year the final will be between Dortmund and Bayern though, meaning that the team which will finish in 7^th will also get a place in the second-best European tournament next season.

6 teams are fighting for these 3 spots, starting with Stuttgart, currently fifth with 43 points, and going to Hoffenheim who are 10^th with 37 points.

H/A	Stuttgart	Prediction
A	Augsburg	W
H	Werder Bremen	W
A	FC Cologne	W
A	Bayern Munich	L
H	Wolfsburg	W

H/A	Leverkusen	Prediction
H	Kaiserslautern	W
H	Hertha BSC	W
A	Hoffenheim	L
H	Hannover 96	D
A	Nurnberg	W

H/A	Werder Bremen	Prediction
H	Monchengladbach	D
A	Stuttgart	L
H	Bayern Munich	L
A	Wolfsburg	D
H	Schalke 04	D

H/A	Hannover 96	Prediction
H	Wolfsburg	D
A	Hamburger SV	L
H	Freiburg	W
A	Leverkusen	D
H	Kaiserslautern	W

H/A	Wolfsburg	Prediction
A	Hannover 96	D
H	Augsburg	W
A	Mainz 05	D
H	Werder Bremen	D
A	Stuttgart	L

H/A	Hoffenheim	Prediction
H	Hamburger SV	W
A	Freiburg	D
H	Leverkusen	W
H	Nurnberg	W
A	Hertha BSC	W

If my prediction is correct, here is how the teams will rank between 5^th and 10^th:

5. Stuttgart

6. Leverkusen

7. Hoffenheim

8. Hannover 96

9. Wolfsburg

10. Werder Bremen

This means that the teams to qualify for the Europa League next year will be Stuttgart, Leverkusen and Hoffenheim.

Relegation battle:

The teams between 11^th and 18^th can all get relegated, although we can bravely argue that rock-bottom Kaiserslautern have no chance of surviving despite hiring former Stuttgart and Bulgaria legend Krassimir Balakov as their new head coach.

But 11^th Mainz 05 and 17^th Hertha BSC are separated by just 6 points, so basically anything can happen.

H/A	Mainz 05	Prediction
H	FC Cologne	W
A	Bayern Munich	L
H	Wolfsburg	D
A	Hamburger SC	D
H	Monchengladbach	L

H/A	Nurnberg	Prediction
H	Schalke 04	L
A	Kaiserslautern	D
H	Hamburger SV	D
A	Hoffenheim	L
H	Leverkusen	L

H/A	Freiburg	Prediction
A	Hertha BSC	D
H	Hoffenheim	D
A	Hannover 96	L
H	FC Cologne	W
A	Dortmund	L

H/A	Hamburger SV	Prediction
A	Hoffenheim	L
H	Hannover 96	W
A	Nurnberg	D
H	Mainz 05	D
A	Augsburg	D

H/A	Augsburg	Prediction
H	Stuttgart	L
A	Wolfsburg	L
H	Schalke 04	L
A	Monchengladbach	L
H	Hamburger	D

H/A	FC Cologne	Prediction
A	Mainz 05	L
A	Monchengladbach	L
H	Stuttgart	L
A	Freiburg	L
H	Bayern Munich	L

H/A	Hertha BSC	Prediction
H	Freiburg	D
A	Leverkusen	L
H	Kaiserslautern	W
A	Schalke 04	L
H	Hoffenheim	L

Final standings (Prediction):

So, here is how I think the table in the Bundesliga will look like on the 5^th of May when the season ends:

1.Dortmund

2. Bayern Munich

3. Schalke 04

—————————————

4. Monchengladbach

—————————————-

5. Stuttgart

6. Leverkusen

7. Hoffenheim

—————————————-

8. Hannover 96

9. Wolfsburg

10. Werder Bremen

11.Mainz 05

12. Freiburg

13. Hamburger SV

14. Nurnberg

15. Augsburg FC

——————————————-

16. Hertha BSC

——————————–

17. FC Cologne

18. Kaiserslautern

In practice this means that Cologne and Kaiserslautern will get relegated to the second tier, while Hertha will play a two-legged playoff with the team that finishes third in the Second Bundesliga in a stay up/get relegated clash.

What will happen, we’ll find out in the following weeks. But one thing is sure- it will be very, very exciting.