Stickied German Football

Dirk said:

even Bayern Munich can claim that because they were no founder member of the Bundesliga, this was the other well known Munich Club, 1860 Munich, nichnamed "Die Löwen (the Lions)" (who played in the Cup Final 1965 against West Ham United). Before the foundation of the Bundesliga Bayern Munich wasn't even considered a big club (only 1 German Championship in 1932.

Click to expand...

I know man, I lived in Munich for 2 years and spent many a weekend travelling up and down the country to see them on away trips. Most def one of not the biggest club of the Buli Zwei (which I still look forward to more than the top division). Sechzig!

Re Mkhitaryan. Not sure he'll be a success. He does seem to be brill when things are going his side's way (like last season) but when Dortmund were not great in Klopp's last season, he was particularly bad and certainly wasn't one of those players trying to revolt in a sinking ship. Not sure if a huge challenge like United is what little Henrikh needs at the moment...

Finally, I can confirm that getting a ticket for the nordderby is IMPOSSIBLE. Went up to Hamburg last November and it was impossible to get tickets. Was quite disappointed but hey a weekend in Hamburg is always great no matter the circumstances.

Mario Götze back in Dortmund.
kicker.de reports that both clubs have agreed to a 26 Mio € Transfer fee (3 years ago Bayern paid 37 Mio €)
His record at Bayern: 114 Matches: 36 Goals / 23 Assists. Not too bad concerning that he was under Guardiola after his injury only a substitute.

Hopefully he will regain his confidence again at his old club. It's the right move for him to leave Bayern and to stay in Germany.

2013 - Borussia Dortmund sign Henrikh Mkhitaryan to replace the outgoing Mario Gotze
2016 - Borussia Dortmund sign Mario Gotze to replace the outgoing Henrikh Mkhitaryan

I'd say Dortmund look the strongest they've been in years. Dembele looks a phenomenal talent.

Let's see how Thomas Tuchel will integrate all of them in the team. At least Dortmund spent the money they earned from Gündogan, Mkhitaryan and Hummels.
I like Tuchel's coaching-style, he's a good motivator like his predecessor at Mainz and Dortmund.

They will be reaching a CL spot that's for sure. But will they be a thread for Bayern? I really really hope it. No one wants a fifth consecutive Bayern Title (ok, n one except Bayern Fans ).

For my HSV I expect a Midfield Place between 9-12. Some improvement from last season and maybe in 2-3 years back in Europe?

@the others: Do you have a favourite Bundesliga Team? If yes, where would you rank them in the new season?

1860 just beat Werder 2-1 today which is good news. No idea who will be promoted in the Zwei now that Red Bull have gained promotion. Stuttgart must be favourites to go straight back up but I can see Nürnberg winning the league. Going back to 1860, the squad is good I guess so I reckon a midtable finish. Would be surprised if they finished in the top 6...

mistermagic said:

. No idea who will be promoted in the Zwei now that Red Bull have gained promotion. Stuttgart must be favourites to go straight back up but I can see Nürnberg winning the league.

Click to expand...

I am pretty sure that Stuttgart will return to the 1.Bundesliga after the season. They are too big for the 2nd. After the formation of the Bundesliga in 1963 Stuttgart played only 76 Matches in the 2nd but 1730 in the 1st.

They have a new coach, the dutch Jos Luhukay who is very experienced and has coached for example Gladbach, Berlin and Augsburg.

The second direct promotion team could be Hannover 96, Nürnberg or maybe Kaiserslautern.

For the 3rd Promotion Playoff Spot maybe even my Lower Saxonian Club Eintracht Braunschweig is one of several contenders.

apropos Lower Saxony: I am very excited that we will see the traditional Lower Saxonian Derby between Eintracht Braunschweig (die Löwen (Lions)) and Hannover 96 ( "little" HSV) again.
Although actually Wolfsburg is the "in" club in Lower Saxony, the Derby between Eintracht and 96 is the fiercest one. All 3 clubs are direct neighbours in the 2nd largest Federal State of Germany. Wolfsburg doesn't have the fan-base like the two others.
I studied in Braunschweig and visited the Derby many times and it was always something special and I really look forward to it again.

Dirk said:

I am pretty sure that Stuttgart will return to the 1.Bundesliga after the season. They are too big for the 2nd.

Click to expand...

So are Leeds but they'e been down there for a decade.

Been listening to podcasts on Hannover's state and it looks a right mess. Doubt they'll go straight back up.

And there's only one Löwen and it isn't Braunschweig!

mistermagic said:

So are Leeds but they'e been down there for a decade.

Click to expand...

Don't compare Stuttgart with a chaos club like Leeds

Been listening to podcasts on Hannover's state and it looks a right mess. Doubt they'll go straight back up.

Click to expand...

We will see. I never listen to podcasts from "experts".

And there's only one Löwen and it isn't Braunschweig!

Click to expand...

Braunschweig (Brunswick) is the City of Heinrich der Löwe (Henry the Lion) hence the nickname of the club.
FYI: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_the_Lion

Doubt you could argue that Stuttgart is anything but a chaos. They had it coming and ultimately, I reckon it'll do the club more good than harm. I do hope they go straight back up though. Massive club they are.

I imagine Stuttgart will go straight back up together with Nürnberg.

I'm not sure about Hanover though. It seems they try to fix their issues but they were just so horrific last season. And now that Zieler went to Leicester I doubt that they will have a reasonable chance to go back to the BuLi.

Personally, I'd love to see St. Pauli getting promoted again...probably the most likeable club in the world.

c2daw said:

I imagine Stuttgart will go straight back up together with Nürnberg.

I'm not sure about Hanover though. It seems they try to fix their issues but they were just so horrific last season. And now that Zieler went to Leicester I doubt that they will have a reasonable chance to go back to the BuLi.

Personally, I'd love to see St. Pauli getting promoted again...probably the most likeable club in the world.

Click to expand...

Nah. That's what they want you believe. They're just after cash like everybody else.

mistermagic said:

Nah. That's what they want you believe. They're just after cash like everybody else.

Click to expand...

May be, but they have great fans supporting their team in a dignified stadium, in a charming quarter of probably the nicest city in Germany. And they at least pretend to support good causes

c2daw said:

Personally, I'd love to see St. Pauli getting promoted again...probably the most likeable club in the world.

Click to expand...

They are likeable (but I deny it that I ever have said it ) and they are something of a "Cult club" for foreigners and if they would gain promotion (very doubtful but let's imagine it nonetheless) I would look forward to the city derbys again.

c2daw said:

May be, but they have great fans supporting their team in a dignified stadium, in a charming quarter of probably the nicest city in Germany. And they at least pretend to support good causes

Click to expand...

Charming quarter

I'd also have Stuttgart down as favourites to come back up.

Hoping Freiburg can avoid a relegation battle this time around - while also hoping Leipzig get it all wrong and finish miles adrift at the bottom.

yellow said:

I'd say Dortmund look the strongest they've been in years. Dembele looks a phenomenal talent.

Click to expand...

If they don't sell any more important players they could indeed be a threat for Bayern this year. Talked to a friend who supports BVB lately, and he said he hasn't been as excited for the season to start since years.

Dembélé is a beast in the making.

yellow said:

I'd also have Stuttgart down as favourites to come back up.

Hoping Freiburg can avoid a relegation battle this time around - while also hoping Leipzig get it all wrong and finish miles adrift at the bottom.

Click to expand...

Yes, Freiburg is a very likeable club and "Red Bull" Leipzig not. (yes, I know they were forced to rename but we all know who they really are). I don't like these "artificial clubs" and I really hope that they go down again to 2nd BuLi (for me they could vanish completely)

c2daw said:

If they don't sell any more important players they could indeed be a threat for Bayern this year. Talked to a friend who supports BVB lately, and he said he hasn't been as excited for the season to start since years.

Click to expand...

It will be interesting to see how all the new players are integrated in the team. It's no easy task but Thomas Tuchel is a good one and I am sure he will master this task asap.
If they can play as a team right from the beginning then this new Borussia could really be a thread for Bayern (at least I hope so because Bayern winning a 5th consecutive title is something I don't want to see. Let Carlo Ancelotti win the CL with Bayern and he will be immediately more respected than Pep Gorgonzala who never made it past the semis with Bayern in 3 years (for me he is still a "Spanish trojan horse" (only joking) )

Vanni said:

Dirk - I used to ''support'' Hamburg when I was still a little angry kid. Then HSV were replaced by Stuttgart , and after a year or two, the latter were in turn replaced by St Pauli

How do you HSV fans see St Pauli? Is there a big rivalry thing going on or not? I'm only asking because someone once told me there was no rivalry* as such between the two sides.

*bitter rivalry as in say Liverpool/Man U, Celtic/Rangers, Real/Barca and, erm, Luton/Watford.

http://onefootballforum.co.uk/index...r-it-oakeys-predicta.6249/page-26#post-460138

Click to expand...

You replaced the HSV? With Stuttgart and then even with St.Pauli? How dare you?

Seriously: I don't have a problem with St.Pauli Supporters. Some HSV Fans are a bit different in this but not me. Rivalry between both clubs? Not so intense as for example Schalke 04 vs Dortmund which is the fiercest one in Germany.
You can't have an intense rivalry with a club who played only 8 Seasons with your club in the top flight /s
The biggest rivalry has the HSV with Werder Bremen, the so-called Nord-Derby (Northern Derby). Many HSV Supporters were deeply disappointed that Bremen wasn't relegated last season and secured their stay in the Bundesliga in the last match (after they mocked us the 2 years before when HSV was 2-times in the Relegation Playoffs)

Dirk said:

Charming quarter

Click to expand...

Yeah, I didn't get it either.

Any Hertha BSC Berlin fans here? If yes, my deepest condolences, it must be even worse to be a Hertha Fan than a HSV Fan .
I just watched this horrible Europa League Qualifier against Bröndby. After the 1-0 in the first leg in Berlin there was some optimism that Berlin could advance to the playoffs and maybe play in a European Competition for the first time for nearly 7 years.
But we won't see European Football in our Capital this season because of the stupidity of the Berlin Defence. 3-times Teemu Pukki (who once played for Schalke?) because of 3 individual mistakes.

yellow said:

I'd also have Stuttgart down as favourites to come back up.

Hoping Freiburg can avoid a relegation battle this time around - while also hoping Leipzig get it all wrong and finish miles adrift at the bottom.

Click to expand...

Saw Freiburg earlier this year at Bochum, they looked really impressive despite losing 2-0.

Went to Fortuna Dusseldorf v Heidenheim the day after and Dusseldorf looked absolutely awful, can't believe they managed to stay up.

First Matchday in the 2nd Bundesliga is played.

Stuttgart played their first 2nd League match since 1977 against St.Pauli before a full capacity 60.000 crowd (the match was shown live in German Free TV). The 2-1 win was a bit lucky because especially in the first half St.Pauli was the better team and led 1-0.

The 2nd relegated Team, Hannover 96, with the best performance of the whole matchday. A very convincing 4-0 away win at Kaiserslautern should give them confidence.

My Lower Saxonian Team, Eintracht Braunschweig, also with a 2-1 home win against newly promoted Würzburger Kickers. It was a good performance of the Eintracht. Next match will be against St.Pauli at the Millerntor. That's a cracker!

I was going to post something similar but the board was down.

I agree, Stuttgart didn't look good at all and I felt both of their goals came out of nowhere (poor defending on the equaliser though). Hannover routing Lautern 4-0 is a big surprise for me.

Yesterday, Stuttgart saw that promotion isn't a no-brainer. The Swabians lost at Fortuna Düsseldorf 1-0 . The "Fortunen" highly motivated with some big chances and Stuttgart clearly not ready at the moment. They'll need their time to adapt to 2nd Bundesliga Football

Last year's Relegation/Promotion Playoff Finalist Nürnberg again with an 1-1, this time at home against Heidenheim. They aren't in top form either at the moment.

The teams from Lower Saxony: Today Eintracht at St.Pauli. St.Pauli played very good last week at Stuttgart and lost only through some bad luck. Eintracht with a convincing victory. But playing at the Millerntor is never easy. I expect a draw
Tomorrow Hannover 96 at home against Fürth. Let's see if the 4-0 victory last week at Fritz Walter Stadium (aka Betzenberg) was an indicator of a good season for a last year poor Hannover team or if it was only an one-off. I hope they will win because I want the 96ers back in the Bundesliga. I can't stand that Wolfsburg is the only club from LS in the Bundesliga.


btw: Sunday is the German "Supercup" between Borussia Dortmund and Bayern München. Dortmund are playing in this match although they aren't the actual 'Winner of the DFB Cup , that's Bayern. But they can't play against themselves
Will it be Carlo Ancelotti's first trophy in his first official match? Or will the "Schwarz-Gelben" win at home?

Hoping Dortmund can stop Munich tonight. Should be an interesting encounter, whichever way it goes!

Gotze winner?

yellow said:

Hoping Dortmund can stop Munich tonight. Should be an interesting encounter, whichever way it goes!

Gotze winner?

Click to expand...

Better would be that Dortmund stopps Bayern in the Bundesliga. I think most fans of the Bundesliga want another Champion this year (unless Bayern Fans, of course ). I'll watch this one although I am no friend of these "Supercup" Matches but I am interested to see how the new players at Borussia will fit already. Götze should be familiar but Schürrle for example must deliver, even in these meaningless matches. After the World Cup he was seldom in top form.

btw: Braunschweig won at St.Pauli, very convincingly, with 2-0. I am over the moon.
Maybe today a win from the other Lower Saxonian Team in the 2nd Bundesliga and both are on top of the League

Indeed, that would be excellent, and a testament to the progress made under Tuchel so far.

I am very intrigued to see how Ancelotti uses Lahm, whether its back as a traditional RB in the back 4, or continue as a deep midfielder. I am also interested by the progress of Renato Sanches as he has incredible potential if given enough game time.

Ideal scenario for me: Dortmund wins the Bundesliga and Bayern the Champions League (ok, the most ideal scenario for me would be that HSV will win the Bundesliga ).
If Bayern wins the CL Carlo Ancelotti would already be more popular than PipGorgonzola ever was, who failed 3-times in the semis against Spanish clubs (Shame upon him who thinks evil upon it. ).

For me Lahm is more valuable as RB than in the Midfield. The Defence with him, Hummels and Boateng would be one of the best in the world (unfortunately). But I am intrigued, too, how Ancelotti uses Lahm.

Congratulations to Jerome Boateng: Germany's Footballer of the Year 2015/2016



Votes:

Top-5
Jerome Boateng - Bayern München - 163 Votes
Thomas Müller - Bayern München - 95
Robert Lewandowski - Bayern München - 90
Toni Kroos - Real Madrid - 68
Manuel Neuer - Bayern München - 54
Further Votes:
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Borussia Dortmund, 35), Henrikh Mkhitaryan (Borussia Dortmund, 35), Robert Huth (Leicester City, 16), Mario Gomez (Besiktas Istanbul, 13), Claudio Pizarro (Werder Bremen, 13), Philipp Lahm (Bayern München, 12), Joshua Kimmich (Bayern München, 11), Julian Weigl (Borussia Dortmund, 11), Mats Hummels (Borussia Dortmund, 8), Aytac Sulu (Darmstadt 98, 5), Leroy Sané (Schalke 04, 4), Jonas Hector (1. FC Köln, 3), Mesut Özil (FC Arsenal, 3), Sandro Wagner (Darmstadt 98, 3), André Hahn (Bor. Mönchengladbach, 2), Benedikt Höwedes (Schalke 04, 2), Lars Stindl (Bor. Mönchengladbach, 2), Arturo Vidal (Bayern München, 2)

**********************************
Boateng follows Kevin de Bruyne who won last year. In fact he is the first Defender since Jürgen Kohler who won in 1997.
Well deserved. One of the best defenders in the World.

********************************
Interesting the votes for Coach of the Year. Pep Guardiola, who won the Double and was again in the semi-final of the Champions League only on third place:

Top-5
Dirk Schuster - Darmstadt 98 - 256 Votes
Thomas Tuchel - Borussia Dortmund - 134
Pep Guardiola - Bayern München - 54
Ralph Hasenhüttl - FC Ingolstadt - 35
Martin Schmidt - Mainz 05 - 22
Further votes:
Joachim Löw (Nationalmannschaft, 19), Julian Nagelsmann (Hoffenheim, 18), Christian Streich (SC Freiburg, 18), Andre Schubert (Bor. Mönchengladbach, 18), Pal Dardai (Hertha BSC, 17), Jürgen Klopp (FC Liverpool, 17), Bernd Hollerbach (Würzburger Kickers, 10), Peter Stöger (1. FC Köln, 9), Markus Weinzierl (FC Augsburg, 9), Niko Kovac (Eintracht Frankfurt, 5), Ewald Lienen (FC St. Pauli, 4), Bruno Labbadia (Hamburger SV, 3), Markus Kauczinski (Karlsruher SC, 2), Ralf Rangnick (RB Leipzig, 2), Bernd Storck (Nationalmannschaft Ungarn, 2), Bernd Schröder (Turbine Potsdam, 2)

Manchester City could probably do with him right about now.