The Challenge Facing McClaren at Wolfsburg

The former England boss, Steve McClaren, was linked with a move to the Bundesliga last Summer when Hamburg were deciding who would replace the Ajax-bound Martin Jol. How much truth their was behind the rumours is moot. Hamburg poached Bruno Labbadia from Bayer Leverkusen and McClaren stayed at FC Twente for another season to deliver the Eredivisie championship and fulfil the dreams of the people of Enschede. At least the ones that support their local team.

Having secured his place among the modern greats, a new and exciting opportunity awaits him in Lower Saxony as he attempts to put 2008/09 champions Wolfsburg back on course after a disappointing season.

His first challenge will be the disposal of top scorer Edin Dzeko. Many thought that the Bosnian would leave the Wolves with former coach Felix Magath at the end of their Championship winning season. However, for whatever reason, his preferred club AC Milan never ponied up sufficient dough to persuade the board to part with him and Dzeko agreed to sign a new contract. Nearly one year on and the consensus is that he will leave for a handsome fee. How much of that fee is made available to McClaren will depend on how much new blood he can bring into the squad.

The basis of the championship-winning squad is still there. Zjvezdan Misimovic, the playmaker, Grafite, Dzeko's strike partner (frequently linked with a move away) and Swiss international 'keeper Diego Benaglio form the basis of an experienced squad, more than capable of mounting a title challenge.

Wolfsburg (the club) are ambitious. Back by Volkswagen money, they have ambitions to become a regular Champions League club and take their place among the powerhouses of German football such as Bayern Munich, Werder Bremen, Hamburg, Borussia Dortmund, Schalke and Stuttgart.

So the target for McClaren will be unambiguous. Champions League qualification at least with a tilt at the title as a bonus. One advantage McClaren will have is that his team will not have to juggle a European campaign next season after finishing a disappointing eighth in the Bundesliga.

The pressure will be on as expectations will be high. The last coach Armin Vey, himself a Bundesliga-winning coach with Stuttgart in 2007, was sacked half way through the season when it became apparent that he was not able to emulate the achievements of the previous campaign. However, one can argue that the post championship hangover is past now and the first Englishman to coach a Bundesliga club will have a clean slate to work with. I just can't wait to hear his accent.

Bundesbag Finale - Bayern crowned Champions and Hannover escape the drop

Of course, we already knew the fate of the Bundesliga title before coming into the last round. However, there was the formality of ensuring that the most freakish of results did not take place before Bayern Munich lifted the trophy at the Olympiastadion, Berlin.

The Bavarians left nothing to chance and dispatched an already relegated Hertha Berlin. It was Ivica Olic who opened the scoring. The Croatian has been magnificent this season in both league and cup. As the Bundesbag has pointed out in the past, his brief spell on the sidelines earlier in that campaign can be linked to Bayern's dodgy form at around the same time. He is not able to manipulate the ball with the same skill as Arjen Robben or Franck Ribery, but he is an incredibly focused player with tremendous industry. These attributes can, at times, overshadow his fantastic ability. When Bayern signed Olic, along with Mario Gomez, in the Summer it was thought that the Stuttgart striker would be the more important signing. Not so. For me, Olic is a colossus and as instrumental in Bayern's success as Robben who scored the second and third goals to cancel out Adrian Ramos' equaliser for Hertha.

As for the Berliners, one can only imagine how shell shocked their fans are. This time last year they were challenging for the title and securing a place in Europe. Now they are bottom with nothing to look forward to next year other than a local derby against Union Berlin. You'd imagine that they will bounce straight back but it doesn't seem to work like that in the Germany. Kaiserslautern were relegated in 2006, less than a decade after winning the Bundesliga, yet it has taken them until this season to gain promotion back into the top flight. It may be some time before we see Hertha on these web pages again.

Meanwhile, in Mainz, Schalke, almost out of deference to the new champions had to rely on their keeper Manuel Neuer to stop them going down to the home side. Neuer saved a penalty and the game finished 0-0. Schalke's disappointment is not as severe as the last time they finished second in 2007. Back then they had the title wrenched from them by Stuttgart on the last game of the season. This year, their fans could not have expected to be in contention so late into the season. Riven with financial problems and breaking in youngsters, this was supposed to be a season of transition under Felix Magath. Next year, expectations will be higher and the Royal Blues will also have the rigours of Champions League to contend with.

As will Werder Bremen who have snuck into the third spot at the death. Claudio Pizarro scored his 15th goal of the season to take the lead against Hamburg. Ruud van Nistelrooy made things a shade more interesting and equalised but the point was enough for Werder who, had they started the season as strongly as they finished it, would surely have pushed Bayern very hard for first place.

The point may have proved enough for Hamburg to grab a Europe League spot and salvage something from their wretched season. Denied a dream final at their home stadium by Fulham, their coach sacked amidst rumours that he'd lost the dressing room (usually the last place you look) the Northerners have had yet another anti climactic season. Worse still, in their dying breath, they could not prevent their local rivals from going to the Champions League on the last day. Whoever their new coach is next season, he will have to face a new challenge from even closer because the People's Republic of FC St Pauli are coming to the Bundesliga. The self styled social utopia from the Rieperbahn district of the city would like nothing more that to stick it to those herberts in the suburbs. Hamburg's world has become a little more complicated.


The award for comeback kings has to go to Stuttgart. As the Bundesbag never tires of reminding you, it tipped the Reds to qualify for Europe as early in the season as November when they were languishing in the bottom three. And of course it was right. A 1-1 draw with Hoffenheim settled matters on that score. It should also, very briefly,be observed that Jen Lehmann has retired to go and live on his helicopter farm.


But whither Leverkusen, you ask? For so long, leaders of the Bundesliga the Werkself broke the all-time league unbeaten record. But they can look to a March and April from Hell for where it went wrong. In this two months they only won twice and lost five games. They couldn't even manage to beat a disinterested Borussia Monchengladbach side this weekend and have slumped to fourth. Next season, attention must be given to enhancing their talented squad with more experienced players. They also need a more regular goalscorer to support Stefan Kielßling in attack and a replacement for the fantastic Toni Kroos must be found, assuming he goes back to Bayern.

Rounding off the European qualifiers are Borussia Dortmund who are rewarded for a solid season with fifth place.

At the bottom, it's a miracle for Hannover 96 who have survived the drop to the second division. Nine goals in the last two games has yielded them the six points they needed to escape the relegation zone. Their final game was a sechs punkter at fellow basement dwellers Bochum, who had sacked their coach Heiko Herlich in a desperate attempt to stop their atrocious form which had seen them gain only one point from the last nine games. Goals from Arnold Bruggink, Mike Hanke and Sergio Pinto sealed a 3-0 win and sent the home team down. Coach Mirko Slomka's team can count themselves lucky they they hit form just as their rivals were losing theirs. Nurnberg's four game losing streak cam to an end against Koln but it was not enough to pull them out of the mire. They, at least, have another chance of redemption via a two legged play off with the third-placed .2 Bundesliga team, against Augsberg.

However, the 96ers deserve their luck. Any group of players that had suffered such personal tragedy as they did, following the death of their team mate and goalkeeper Robert Enke was always going to struggle. Indeed, for a while it did appear that the squad had given up. Not so though. Rousing victories against Schalke and 'Gladbach gave them their shot and now, at least, their loss has not been compounded by the considerably less important matter of relegation.

That's it for this season. Results and tables here. The Bundesbag will be back next season, albeit on another website. More information on that will become apparent on Twitter over the next few weeks. Until then, enjoy the World Cup. Come on England!

Bundesbag Vodcast - Final Weekend Preview

Bundesbag Week 32 - Bayern leave a crack in the door

On the surface, the Bundesliga title race wide open. However, scratch away at the veneer and in reality, the latest round of results have only delayed the inevitable.

League leaders Bayern Munich travelled to Borussia Monchengladbach with the Wednesday's Champions League semi final on their minds. They looked subdued and nervous. 'Gladbach on the other hand were determined, organised and up for some party pooping. On 60 minutes they took the lead with a cracking strike from the excellent Marco Reus.

Meanwhile, in Berlin, second placed Schalke were looking for a win to keep themselves in the hunt. One can imagine the tension inside the Olympic Stadium as the Gelsenkirchen club looked for a goal while the home side, Hertha, struggled for their Bundesliga lives. Eventually a goal came, from Heiko Westermann of Schalke. The relief for Felix Magath's players was a copious as the despair for Hertha who need more than a miracle if they are to avoid a local derby with Union Berlin in .2 Bundesliga next season.

Back in Monchengladbach, Bayern managed an equaliser through Miro Klose which keeps them top on goal difference. Had they lost then the climax to the season may be even more interesting. As it is, the Munich club know that two wins will see them home. Their final two games are against Bochum, who are terrible, and Hertha who are even worse. Schalke, in the meantime, have two extremely difficult games against Werder Bremen, who are fighting for a Champions League spot and a truculent Mainz team. Advantage very much Bayern's, then.

Immediately below the top two, a cracking sprint to the final Champions League spot is taking place between Bayer Leverkusen in third but level on points with Bremen and Borussia Dortmund in fifth place, only a point behind on 56. Werder needed a last minute penalty to beat Koln, Bayer were comfortable 3-0 winners over Hannover 96 and BVB had to fight off stiff resistance from Nurnberg to win 3-2. Outsiders for the Champions League are Stuttgart who have now won 6 (SECHS) games in a row after their 2-0 win at Bochum.

Left relying on scraps from the Cup finalists are Hamburg whose only other path to European competition is by winning the Europa League. Of course, to do that they'll need to beat Fulham at the Cottage this Thursday but losing 5-1 to Hoffenheim is hardly ideal preparation for the trip to London. The Hoff are finishing the season strongly and ruthlessly exploited the Northerners shambolic defending. Vedad Ibisevic and Chinedu Obasi scored a brace each with Sejad Salihovic rounding off the punishment. Tolgay Ali Arslan was sent off at the end for Hamburg who most assuredly would have sacked coach Bruno Labbadia had it not been for the forthcoming semi final this week.


Elsewhere, in the totally meaningless game of the weekend, Mainz went 2-0 down at home to Eintracht Frankfurt thanks to some atrocious defending. They fought back to 2-2 only to concede again with a wonder strike from Umit Korkmaz. The home side rallied again and Aristide Bance scored an equaliser with a bullet header, his second of the day. A great advert for the Bundesliga when two teams put on a show for the crowd with only pride at stake.

Finally, with all the relegation dog fighters losing, it was left to Freiburg to capitalise on Sunday afternoon and capitalise they did with a hard fought 1-0 win at a raucous Europa Park. Cedric Makiadi's solitary goal against his old club was enough to move Robin Dutt's team up to fourteenth with a three point gap over Nurnberg and Bochum on 28 points. They must travel to Koln next weekend and then host Dortmund on the final day.

Koln will have a say in the relegation battle as they also play a Nurnberg side who also play Hamburg. Bochum will play Munich followed by what could be a fraught encounter with Hannover, assuming of course the 96ers are not relegated by then after their next match against 'Gladbach. As for Hertha, they have Leverkusen and Bayern and will surely be relegated.

That's it. Results and tables here. Follow the Bundesliga on Twitter here.

Bundesbag Vodcast - Week 32 Preview

Bundesbag Week 31 - Brace yourselves!

To be honest, it could have been double figures. That's how many chances Bayern Munich had against Hannover 96 on Saturday. The visitors came to the Allianz looking to limit the damage and their plan backfired horribly, for them. By the end of the game Bayern were playing liquid football, using flicks and tricks, not to deliberately embarrass or humiliate their opponents but to stamp their authority on the Bundesliga. The final score was 7-0 and it is almost impossible to see any other team than Bayern winning the title.

Coach Louis van Gaal started Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben and it was the Dutchman who controlled the game. He was immense, scoring a fantastic hat trick. The first to goals were of superb quality while the third was from clearance. Ivica Oic and Thomas Muller scored the remainder, each bagging a brace, The Croatians importance to the Bayern squad cannot be underestimated. While not the most naturally gifted player in the squad, he brings balance to the team along with tremendous industry. Muller has the potential to be an international star which is why the Bundesbag is going to break from tradition this once and describe Bayern's win as a (Thomas) mullering as opposed to a (Gerd) mullering.

For Hannover, the result must leave a chasm in the squad where their confidence used to be. But they must remember that they still have a chance as the relegation scrap is wide open. More on that later.

Of course, one person who'll be keeping his head while the Bundesbag loses it's is Schalke coach Felix Magath. His team bounced back from two consecutive defeats with a 3-1 win against mid-table 'Gladbach. The game feature an absolute net-burster from Ivan Rakitic from maybe 30 yards. It also feature yet another dreadful mistake by Schalke 'keeper Manuel Neuer to let Bobadilla in for the equaliser. The Royal Blues retook the lead with a header from Jefferson Farfan after a controversial corner (the ball seemed to come off Kevin Kuranyi's haad) before Rakitic scored his second from the penalty spot and kept his team two points behind the leaders.


Immediately below and the wheels are coming off Bayer Leverkusen's wagon, not for the first time in their history. Despite taking the lead against Stuttgart, they lost Tranquillo Barnetta after accruing two yellow cards before 20 minutes were up. Christian Gross' players took full advantage of the extra man and Cacau scored a brace. The Werkself are still third but only on goal difference and their Champions League hopes are slipping away.

In fact, they could already be out of the top three were is not for a last minute equaliser from Vedad Ibisevic of Hoffenheim which denied Borussia Dortmund a 1-0 win. The Hoff haven't won a game since February and the pressure is mounting on coach Ralf Rangnik. For BVB, it betrays, perhaps that lack of ability to finish off teams when it matters. Werder Bremen capitalised by moving above the Ruhr giants on points and look to be peaking at the right time after beating champions Wolfsburg 4-2. The Bremen club are a could bet to be in the Champs League next season.

To the bottom then and while Hertha are not actually relegated, they soon will be. In fact it's pretty impressive that they have managed to survive this long. However, a 2-2 draw at Eintracht Frankfurt is only sufficient to keep the respirator on. The Berliners can score a maximum of 29 points. Hannover are above them on 27 and Freiburg, Bochum and Nurnberg all have 28. Realistically, those are the relegation candidates. Freiburg beat Nurnberg 2-1 in a sechs punkter while Bochum, who looked to have done enough to stay up a few weeks ago are right back in it after losing to Koln last Friday.

The Billygoats 2-0 win came courtesy of a brace from Zoran Tosic, the on loan Manchester United youngster. He had a cracking game and United fans should welcome him when he returns to Old Trafford next season. He was also the seventh player to score two goals or more the weekend stat fans. Koln are pretty much safe and will enjoy Bundesliga football for the third season in a row next season.

Finally, the importance of Hamburg's Europa League tie against Fulham was heightened even more after they lost at home to Mainz. Aristide Bance scored the only goal. Qualification for Europe next season through the league is looking increasing unlikely. It may be that the German Cup winner's spot will go to the sixth placed team as the finalists are Bayern and Bremen who will almost certainly have already qualified. Even so, the Red Shorts are in eighth place. Another route would be by winning the current Europa League competition. This makes the forthcoming Semi Final a season breaker for Hamburg and a must for all fans of English and German football. But you knew that already.

That's it. Results and tables here. Follow the Bundesbag on Twitter here.

Bundesbag Vodcast - Week 31 Preview

Bundesbag Week 30 – Mirko’s revenge

After Schalke’s defeat against Bayern Munich last week, the perfect restorative would have been a trip to lowly Hannover 96. Indeed, as I pointed out in the Bundesbag Preview, if Felix Magath’s team did could not beat the 96ers then they did not deserve to win the Bundesliga. Well, guess what? They lost.

It proved to be a bad day for defender Heiko Westermann and ‘Keeper Manuel Neuer and a great day for Hannover coach Mirko Slomka who took the Gelsenkirchen club to a Quarter Final of the Champions League before getting sacked for not producing the results in the League.

The carnage began after 17 minutes when Westermann failed to deal with a speculative cross and headed the ball into his own net. Schalke were frequently undone by the high ball with Neuer tempted the footballing Gods with some unconvincing attempts to claim the ball in the penalty area. On 39 minutes, Hannover striker Didier Ya Konan latched on to another long one and from distance, threaded the ball through Neuer’s legs, embarrassing the German national keeper and putting his team 2-0 up.

I have no doubt that there is a German equivalent to the “hairdryer treatment” and am equally convinced that Felix Magath gave it to his players at half time. The Royal Blues came out of the tunnel anxious to make amends. For his part, Magath made some changes and brought on Rafina who proved to be instrumental in Schalke’s revival.
It was the Brazilian‘s run and pass to Kevin Kuranyi that set up Edu who verily rifled the ball home and began the comeback. Then Jefferson Farfan elicited a foul in the penalty area from which Ivan Rakitic scored the equaliser. Happy days for Schalke... or were they?

Despite the visitors renewed vigour, Hannover were not out of it. Arouna Kone was unlucky to hit the post and eventually the home side’s work was rewarded with a magnificent goal.

You won’t have read the name Hanno Balitsch in the Bundesbag much. The 29 year old midfielder is one of those journeymen who do a heck of a lot of work for damn all appreciation. However, last Saturday he grabbed the headlines for one of the goals of the season. He picked up the ball in the middle of the park, passed it wide to Sofian Chahed, continued on his run and picked up Chafed’s cross just behind him on the edge of the D. He gave it a bit of a flick and caught it immaculately on the half volley whereupon it flew passed the hapless Neuer and into the top left hand corner.

Had that been scored by Arjen Robben or Franck Ribery it would have been beamed around the World within hours of it being scored.

Neuer capped off a poor display by hesitantly going up field in the dying seconds to provide an extra man only to be bamboozled once again by Ya Konan. The match finished 4-2. So flushed with self righteousness was Slomka that he got himself sent to the stands by the referee which, if anything, only served to enhance the sweet taste of revenge over his former bosses.

For Schalke, the writing is on the wall. Two straight defeats means that their chances of grabbing the Bundesliga trophy are diminishing. Things could have been far worse for them however as Bayern Munich were held to a 1-1 draw by third placed Bayer Leverkusen.

Bayern took the lead after Franck Ribery was upended by Gonzalo Castro in the box. Robben made no mistake from the spot. Leverkusen hit the post three times. On the final occasion Arturo Vidal managed to pick up the rebound and equalised. Late in the game, Toni Kroos should have scored the winner for the Bayer club but shot inexplicably wide. The youngster is on a season long loan from Bayern and is due to return to Munich at the end of the season. Just saying.


So, despite the shenanigans in Hannover, Schalke are still only two points behind Bayern in the table. It’s also worth bearing in mind that, as Manchester United fans will know, Bayern are still in the Champions League and have to negotiate a very winnable tie against Lyon. If, the Konigsblauen can get their act together then it is entirely possible that Bayern will drop points and the title may yet head to the Ruhr.

Elsewhere, Borussia Dortmund kept the pressure off Leverkusen by losing 1-0 at Mainz. Werder Bremen kept the pressure on Dortmund with a 4-0 pasting of Freiburg. Koln do not know the meaning of the word pressure after winning 2-0 at Hoffenheim. The lights are almost off for Hertha because they lost to Stuttgart 1-0. Frankfurt’s European hopes are fading fast. They lost 2-0 to Borussia Monchengladbach. Wolfsburg’s European hopes are rising as they won 2-0 at Nurnberg.

Finally, Hamburg’s season is hanging by a thread. Seventh in the table going into this weekend, subject to dissention by their striker Ruud van Nistelrooy, another striker Paolo Guerrero banned for the rest of the season for chucking a plastic bottle at a fan last week, Bruno Labbadia is feeling the heat. European football is a must next season and if that was not pressure enough, the team have to get past Roy Hodgson and his mavericks at Fulham to get to the Europe League Final, a match that they are hosting in May.

So it was with much trepidation that the Red Shorts travelled to a raucous Rewirpowerstadion and try to take points of a Bochum side desperately trying to keep the bottom three at bay.

It was a decent game. Not one for the purist but full of blood and thunder which Hamburg eventually won 2-1 thanks to a late goal by van Nistelrooy who took advantage of some brilliant work by Ze Roberto (just the kind of player you need in a crisis). Honourable mentions should go to Zlatko Dedic who scored a cracker for Bochum. The Bundesbag would also like to alert you to Lewis Holtby, again for Bochum. This 19 year old is a quick thinking, attacking midfielder on loan from Schalke with an eye for a cunning pass. His Dad’s an ex-RAF Evertonian and the lad dreams of playing at Goodison. He needs a bit more composure in front of goal but looks like a typical David Moyes player to me.

That’s it. Results and tables here. Follow the Bundesbag on Twitter here.

Bundesbag Vodcast - Week 30 Preview from the Bricklayer's Arms in London

Bundesbag Week 29 - Bayern take the high ground

Despite the broo ha-ha surrounding the new TV deal this season it's nice to know that Sky Deutschland have not wrested complete control over the Bundesliga schedule. Case in point: Schalke v Bayern Munich. A top of the table clash with a significant points and psychological blow going to the victor. So what were the main TV games this weekend? Koln v Hertha and Hamburg v Hannover.

Part of the reason for this is the Europa League matches that get moved to Sundays which resulted in the same teams being screened on the Sabbath. Hamburg have been on the telly for two or three weeks in succession. Their latest was a 0-0 snore-fest which even I couldn't be bothered with. In addition, the Bundesliga is, Bayern's semi-dominance aside, a very open league which makes it difficult to pick the big games which helps explain why the match wasn't chosen for the Saturday late afternoon TV slot. This is a good thing and should be encouraged. However, the small price to pay is that, sometimes, the best games don't get seen by a national or international TV audience.

Be that as it may, it was refreshing to watch such an important game in it's traditional Saturday afternoon slot. And what a crucial game it turned out to be with Bayern leaving the Arena Auf Schalke with three points and a 2-1 victory. The damage to Schalke was done within a two minute period in the first half when Franck Ribery opened the scoring. The Home side momentarily lost their composure and a poor defensive clearance from Rafina allowed former Royal Blue, Hamit Altintop to put Tommy Muller in to score an easy second.


Bayern's defense is not great but few would have bet on Schalke clawing two goals back. However, Felix Magath's team rallied and found a goal from the head of Kevin Kuranyi only five minutes after Muller's strike. Then, after Altintop was sent off for a second yellow the come back looked on. But Schalke's players lacked the tactical breadth to beat down Bayern's two banks of four. Indeed, so comfortable were the Munich club that coach Louis van Gaal could afford to take Ribery off and rest him for the trip to Old Trafford on Tuesday.

As the second half progressed the Schalke supporters lost heart and resigned themselves to the inevitable. This is a club that has become used to crushing disappointment and Magath is going to need everything ounce of his motivational ability to lift his players and the city of Gelsenkirchen if their long wait for a Bundesliga crown is to end in May. To add insult to injury, Marcelo Bordon was sent off in the final minutes.

At least Schalke are still in the title race. Whereas it's probably safe to say that, barring a comeback to end all comebacks, Bayer Leverkusen are out of it. They found themselves on the wrong end of a five goal thriller with the admirable Eintracht Frankfurt. Having gone a goal down from a penalty by Selim Teber, Bayer took a 2-1 lead with a brace by Stefan Kießling. However, as the Bundesbag repeatedly points out, this season's Frankfurt are a good side and seem to revel in messing up everyone else's season. The Brazilian midfielder Caio equalised before Maik Franz settled matters in the 89th minute with his sixth goal of the season. Leverkusen had to play almost half the game with ten men after Daniel Schwaab was sent off.

That was Leverkusen's third defeat in a row which does more than leave them thinking about what might have been with regards to the championship. It also leaves them looking worriedly over their shoulder at a rampaging Borussia Dortmund who quite fancy that third Champions League spot for themselves. They beat Werder Bremen 2-1 in front of a packed Westfalon and have established a four point gap between themselves and Werder in fifth place. More tantalisingly, BVB are only one point behind the Bayer club in third. Jupp Heynckes' team have to play Bayern next week and Stuttgart the next. It is very likely that the Werkself have further to fall.

Elsewhere, Stuttgart still have an outside chance of a Europa League spot with a 2-1 victory over 'Gladbach. Mainz midfield dynamo Andreas Ivanschitz had a game to forget on Saturday after getting sent off after four minutes. His team proceeded to lose to Nurnberg 2-0. Speaking of sendings off, just about the only thing that happened worth reporting about the Hamburg v Hannover game was Jiri Stajner's red card for the visitors and Hamburg striker Paolo Guerrero chucking a bottle at a fan. Freiburg and Bochum played in a relegation six-pointer but both teams had to settle for a point after a 1-1 draw. Wolfsburg's exhilarating yet fruitless attempt to rescue their season continued with a 4-0 (gerd) mullering of Hoffenheim.


Finally, we could be in for a thrilling climax to the relegation battle this season. Hertha travelled to Koln and won 3-0. Two strikes by Rafael and one from Cicero. Koln's only response was to have two players sent off. That's two wins in three now for the Berliners and while they're still bottom, the gap between themselves and 16th place is only three points. With five games left to play the relegation play off spot is not beyond reach. If Friedhelm Funkel's player could pull survive this season with their Bundesliga skins intact, it would be nothing short of a miracle. A miracle of Berlin if you will.

That's it. Results and tables here. Follow the Bundesbag on Twitter here. The Bundesbag will return with a preview vodcast on Saturday morning.

Bundesbag Vodcast - Week 29 Preview

Bundesbag Week 28 - Kuranyi catches the eye

If I'd eventually got round to writing a Bundesbag last week the theme would have been on missed opportunities after Bayern Munich's defeat at Frankfurt. While the leaders unbeaten run was coming to a halt, the door was open for Bayer Leverkusen and Schalke to walk through. As it happened they both declined. This week they were given another chance by Bayern which one of them grabbed with both hands. Consequently the Bundesliga has a new leader.

Louis van Gaal took a risk by keeping Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery on the bench for the game against in-form Stuttgart at the Allianz. Bayern's best forwards are injury prone and van Gaal clearly feels that the Champions League game against Manchester United should take precedent over a League match. At first it looked like his gamble would pay off after Ivica Olic put the home side ahead. However it all started to go wrong for the Bundesliga leaders just before half time when a shot from distance by Christian Trasch was deflected into the back of the net to level the score.

At half time, van Gaal lost his nerve and stuck Robben and Ribery on. But Stuttgart had their tails up and went looking for a second goal. They didn't have to wait long. In the 50th minute Cacau crossed the ball over to an unmarked Cyprian Marica at the far post. The Bayern defence mistakenly thought that the ball had gone out of play. They were wrong and their error cost them the game. No matter how hard they tried, they could not break down Stuttgart who claimed their first win in Munich since 1999.

The result may have cost more than three points for the Munich club as it looks likely that Robben will have to miss the game against Manchester United with a calf strain. Without his attacking prowess and given the situation with Bayern's defence it would be a major surprise to find the Bavarians in the semi-final of the Champions League.

So once again, the opportunity to capitalise fell to the two other title challengers Schalke and Bayer Leverkusen who played each other, coincidentally, at the Bayarena. While the home side had most of the possession they fell victim to a classic away performance inspired by Jefferson Farfan and Kevin Kuranyi. Farfan's running and pass to Benedict Howedes set up the cross for Kuranyi to score Schalke's first goal after 11 minutes. The Peruvian claimed the assist for the second goal with a sweet cross again to Kuranyi who is being talked up in the German media for a possible return to the German national squad. The game ended 2-0. Leverkusen are dispirited and Schalke are top of the League. With six games left they are tantalisingly close to the title and their fixture against Bayern next week couldn't be better timed. Could this finally be Schalke's year? We'll have a better idea next Saturday.

Elsewhere, Wolfsburg made up for their humiliating defeat at home to Hertha last week with an impressive 2-0 win at Mainz. Edin Dzeko supplied the goals with two beautifully taken strikes. Fulham manager Roy Hodgson will need to instruct his defenders to pay particular attention to both Dzeko and Grafite this Thursday when the two meet in the Europa League (a tie that either side can win). Meanwhile Hertha followed up on their win at Wolfsburg with a creditable draw with Borussia Dortmund. Eintracht Frankfurt polished off Bochum 2-1. Freiburg's 1-1 draw with Hoffenheim will not help them ease their relegation strife. However, Koln's 4-1 demolition of Hannover certainly will. Fellow strugglers, Nurnberg thought they might get a point at Werder Bremen after pulling a 3-0 lead back to 3-2. Unfortunately for them they conceded a fourth in the dying seconds after their goalkeeper Raphael Schafer went up front for a set piece.

Finally, it's all going very wrong for Hamburg. They had no answer to Borussia Monchengladbach's 43rd minute goal by Roel Brouwers. 'Gladbach coach Michael Frontzeck has drilled his defence well and when the Hamburg attack did find a way through they were either found wanting or were thwarted by an over eager linesman. Paolo Guerrero came on as a sub with 25 minutes to go and will give coach Bruno Labbadia options for the remainder of the season. However, he chose to use the Peruvian as a substitute for Ruud van Nistelrooy who looked far from happy with the decision and headed straight for the tunnel. The defeat puts Hamburg sixth, out of the European places and Labbadia in hot water if they finish the season like that. Questions will almost certainly be asked about his tactics and man management skills. For 'Gladbach it was a well deserved win and should see them safe for another season.

That's it. Results and table here. Follow the Bundesbag on Twitter here. I hope you are enjoy the Bundesliga preview vodcasts. There will be another one on Friday morning.

Bundesbag Vodcast - Week 28 Preview

Bundesbag Vodcast - Week 27 Preview

Bundesbag Week 26 - Trouble at mill

When your title hopes are on the line, the last thing you need is the visit from a team only one place below you in the table. Or perhaps, that's exactly what you need to give you a much needed kick up the backside and get your championship challenge back on track.

Either way, Bayer Leverkusen, after having lost their first match of the season last week were feeling the pressure when Hamburg came knocking. Indeed, they had a nervous start and the visitors dominated the early exchanges with some nice intricate passing, Ruud van Nistelrooy played in the withdrawn striking role while Mladen Petric marauded up front. However, as is often the way, the first goal came against the run of play. Leverkusen scored it thanks to a fantastic run and shot from Stefan Kießling and a crucial slip from Hamburg defender Joris Mathijsen who failed to cover the ground in enough time to stop him.

Ten minutes later however, came a horrific defensive mix up between Bayer's goalkeeper Rene Adler and his team mate Sami Hyypia who between them managed to botch a straightforward clearance to allow Ze Roberto the chance to put the ball in an open net, which he did. But Hamburg couldn't capitalise on their good fortune and were forced backwards by a determined home team in the second half. Eren Derdiyok scored a second from a corner. Then Kießling struck once again, this time after some great work, initially from Tranquillo Barnetta. It looked like we were in for a tasty finish when David Rozenhal pulled one back for Hamburg, only for Gonzalo Castro to cap off an excellent performance with a long range strike.

That win was required for Leverkusen as their title rivals managed maximum points at the weekend. Schalke beat Stuttgart on Friday in Gelsenkirchen despite the away side having the majority of the possession and more shots on target. Bayern Munich's home victory against second from bottom Freiburg was far from convincing. In fact it was the visitors who took the lead thanks to Cedric Makiadi. They held on until the 76th minute when Arjen Robben took control of the game with another fantastic free kick and a penalty to make it 2-1. Robben is rapidly becoming the central figure in the Bayern team, much like Franck Ribery was when they last won the Bundesliga title two seasons ago. Will their Champions League exploits take their toll though?

All that leaves the top three within three points of each other and Bayern on top. Those three look to be the only realistic championship contenders left. Immediately below them in the table are Borussia Dortmund on 45 points, eight adrift of the Bayer club in third. They thumped local rivals Bochum 4-1. In fourth are Hamburg whose coach Bruno Labbadia has already acknowledge that for them, it's all about a European place.

Elsewhere, Mainz' brilliant season continues with a 1-0 win against Koln despite having Aristide Bance sent off for an innocuous elbow. Wolfsburg hammered 'Gladbach 4-0 at Borussia Park with two goals from Edin Dzeko. Werder Bremen head coach Thomas Schaaf stressed the importance of his striker Claudio Pizarro after the game against Hoffenheim as it was his goal that divided the two sides. Hannover have achieved back to back wins with a 2-1 defeat of Eintracht Frankfurt.

Finally, just when you thought it couldn't get any worse for Hertha, it did. I wryly commented on last Friday's Bundesbag Vodcast that after Nurnberg's great results against Bayer and Bayern the Bavarians would probably lose at the bottom club. Indeed, were it not for some last ditch defending and some good luck they would have lost. The Berliners peppered the Nurnberg goal in the first half an hour and found a way through after 36 minutes. 'Fanis Geikas doing what he is being paid to do. However after a not uncharacteristic failure to defend a set piece, the home side conceded an equaliser from Albert Bunjaku. With around 56,000 in the stadium urging the home side on, Hertha pushed forward for a desperately needed winner. Unfortunately for them they over committed and got caught out by that pesky second phase clause in the Offside rule. Angelos Charisteas scored for Nurnberg in the last minute. His goal has transformed Nurnberg's prospect for survival this season while at the same time surely ending Hertha's resistance to the inevitability of relegation.

The Hertha players were crestfallen. Sky Deutschland's cameras caught Coach Friedhelm Funkel tearing up his notes in disgust. His job is now in doubt. The home crowd took it badly with around 100 invading the pitch and doing a bit of damage which now has the German media up in arms and led to some serious words from the DFL. Hard to see Hertha coming back from this.

That's it. Results and tables here. Follow the Bundesbag on Twitter here. See you on Friday evening/Saturday morning for the Bundesbag Week 27 Preview Vodcast. Also, if you haven't already, check out my guest post on Pitch Invasion about Bundesliga club ownership.

Bundesbag Vodcast - Week 26 Preview

Bundesbag Week 25 - Hope for Hannover, Leverkusen Lose

Last week I posed the question 'could Leverkusen go through the entire season unbeaten yet still not win the Bundesliga'? This week, the question was emphatically answered - no!

The Bayer club are now officially in the collywobbles. Despite their much vaunted unbeaten run, Jupp Heynckes men have only won one game in their last five. They have failed to beat lowly Koln and even lowlier Bochum. Now they have been beaten 3-2 at Nurnberg who were languishing in the relegation zone prior to the match. The home team took an incredible 3-0 lead with two goals from Eric Maxim Choupo-Motim and another from Mikael Tavares. Leverkusen looked like the stuffing had been painfully extracted from them yet more out of casualness than desire they managed to bring the score back to 3-2. However, they knew that only a win would suffice and could not rouse themselves to a finale.

Nurnberg recorded a famous victory which may not save their season but could certainly have ruined their opponents. Leverkusen play Hamburg next week and if they fail to win it's hard to see them recovering themselves in time to restore their old position on the top of the Bundesliga. That being the case, the only teams that could stop Bayern Munich from becoming champions would be Schalke and Bayern themselves.

The Bavarians were missing Arjen Robben and Martín Demichelis for their match against Koln. They also left Franck Ribery on the bench presumably to rest him ahead of tonight's big Champions League game against Fiorentina. However, they needed the Frenchman's skills after Lucas Podolski popped up to score his first goal since 1425 against his old club. Bayern hit the woodwork twice and found an equaliser through Bastian Schweinsteiger. It was a cracking game and Koln deserved their point. Bayern looked weak at the back with Demichelis missing, Badstuber replacing him and young full back Diego Contento still finding his feet. If better teams than Koln can exploit these weaknesses the title may yet be denied the Munich club.

Which could mean that the championship could arrive at an even unlikelier destination at Gelsenkirchen where Schalke recorded a mightily impressive 4-1 win at Eintracht Frankfurt. The Royal Blue's record against Frankfurt is excellent. Nevertheless, this was an impressive result. The goals came from young Joel Matip and young Benedikt Howedes followed by young Ivan Rakitic and not so young Kevin Kuranyi, a striker transformed into a complete centre forward who deserved his goal following some excellent unselfish play for Rakitic's goal where he squared the ball instead of blasting it into the side netting which he most assuredly would have done last season. Amazing what a haircut will do for a man.

Elsewhere, Hertha's un-improvement continued with a 1-0 defeat to Hamburg. Wolfsburg's re-improvement continued after beating Bochum 4-1. Dortmund got back on the horse with a 3-0 victory over their Borussian rivals (whatever that means), 'Gladbach. Stuttgart took a 2-0 lead against Bremen, only to piss it up against the wall and concede two. The Hoff lost again, this time to Mainz, 1-0. Look out for Bance's goal as it was a cracker.

Finally, a milestone for Hannover in that they finally won a football match. This was thanks, in large part, to some outrageously bad defending by Freiburg's Papiss Cisse coupled with the most atrocious miss by the same player that would have rendered Landon Donovan mute. Still, a win is a win and Hannover have something to build on.

That's it. Results and tables here. Follow the Bundesbag on Twitter here.

Bundesbag Week 24 - Bayer Neverlosen

Now that Bayer Leverkusen have broken the Bundesliga record for consecutive unbeaten matches, the question is not 'can they go through the season unbeaten' but 'can they go through the season unbeaten and still not win the Championship'?

It would be a matter of cosmic irony if the team that bears the unkind nickname Bayer Neverkusen for their spectacular ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory achieved an invincible season but did not win enough games to beat Bayern Munich over 34 weeks. The Bayer club have drawn 11 matches so far this season, more than anyone else in the Bundesliga. The latest was against Koln, a game they really should have won. The 0-0 draw was an inauspicious way to notch up the record-breaking 24th unbeaten game, especially given that it was against their closest rivals.

The door then was once again open for Bayern to walk through and claim top spot in the table and this time they did just that with a hard fought win over Hamburg. Only one goal could separate these two evenly matched teams and it took a goal of superb quality from Franck Ribery to settle matters. The Frenchman was in his customary position bombing down the left flank when he cut inside and rifled home a shot from distance. As the Allianz Arena erupted with one part joy and two parts relief you could just about here the sound of a pendulum swinging back toward the Bavarian club.

Franck's strike wasn't the only corker last weekend. Once again Stuttgart's Cacau was making a late dash for the Golden Boot after scoring a brace in his team's comeback victory against Frankfurt. His first was a header from a corner. However, the second was a sweet strike with very little back lift. After having been down 1-0 against a resilient Eintracht team it is a sign of how far Stuttgart have come under coach Christian Gross.

Another gem from the Week 24 highlight reel came from Aristede Bance of Mainz who scythed his way through the Werder Bremen defense and unleashed an unstoppable corker that flew past reserve 'keeper Christian Vander. It was a goal good enough to win any game of football. Which is a shame because Mainz lost 2-1. Hey ho.

The victory for Bremen puts them back in contention for a Europa League spot for next season. Mainz are settling down into a nice comfortable mid-table position just underneath Hoffenheim. The Hoff have had a mediocre season but will be heartened by a hard fought win in the capital against Hertha. Demba Ba and Vedad Ibisevic rolled back the months to November 2008 when they were top of the league and anything seemed possible.

Elsewhere, Bochum's revival under Heiko Herlich may be unspectacular but there is real daylight between them and the bottom three after a 0-0 draw with Nurnberg. Monchengladbach could only manage a point against a frankly poor Freiburg team.

Finally, the champions Wolfsburg are showing signs of recovery albeit at the wretched Hannover 96. They finally broke down the home side's resistance with a goal from Zvjezdan Misimovic. That's three wins in a row for the Volkswagen club. Too late to get back in contention for Europe methinks. They'll just have to win the Europa League I guess.

That's it. Results and tables are here. Follow the Bundesbag on Twitter here.

Oh yes, I nearly forgot that Schalke beat Dortmund but you don't want to know about that...

Bundesbag Week 23 - Quadrophenia

I wonder, when Stuttgart striker Cacau sat down on Saturday morning for his bowl of Cheerios if he realised that he was about to triple his Bundesliga goal tally for the season? The naturalised Brazilian German international had scored a grim total of two goals up to the weekend and couldn't have conceived that by Saturday afternoon his total would be up to six after scoring four goals in Koln.

Cacau's first strike was from a perfect cross from Timo Gebhart. His second a long range thunderbolt. Number three was a less convincing bundle over the line at close range and the fourth was a shot from just in side the penalty area. His efforts contributed to a 5-1 pasting of Koln and acted as the perfect preparation for Stuttgart's epic encounter with Barcelona in the Champions League where Geghart and Cacau combined once again to earn their team a creditable draw that could so easily have been more.

The Red and Whites continue to climb the Bundesliga table and are now officially in mid table on thirty one points, just 9 points off a Europa League spot (it's a glass half full week). However, you didn't come here to read about some mediocre Bundesliga club did you? You want to know what's going on at the top. Well your going to find out anyway because this was the weekend where Bayer Leverkusen may have jumped the shark.

The weekend started well for the leaders after the news came in that the Bavarian derby had ended in an unlikely draw between Nurnberg and Bayern Munich. Thomas Muller put Bayern in the lead in the first half but his team mates (minus Franck Ribery) couldn't press home their advantage. In the second half, Nurnberg responded with an equaliser from 19 year old Ilkay Gundogan. The result left the door wide open for Bayer to take a two point lead at the top, a relative chasm in the scheme of things. The only problem was that they had to win at the Weserstadion, home of Werder Bremen and they almost managed it too.

The first two goals were down to goalkeeping errors. Tim Wiese's despairing dive at Eren Derdyok's free kick was so late, it could have been attributed to a points failure. This was nothing compared to Leverkusen keeper Rene Adler's howler for the Bremen equaliser. Again, this was from a free kick from Naldo which was comically spilled by the German international for Claudio Pizzaro to pounce on the loose ball and score.

Leverkusen regained the lead on 57 minutes with a glorious long range swinger from Toni Kroos and from there the rear guard action commenced. Bremen pushed the visitors further back until finally, in the 94th minute, Per Mertesaker who had made his way into the six yard in typically leisurely fashion met a cross with his head and ruined Leverkusen's day.

After the game Bayer coach Jupp Heynkes said he wasn't that fussed about the result. Let's hope for his sake that this is true. To the objective eye it's hard not to imagine that his young squad could be knocked back a touch after failing to press home their advantage.

Elsewhere there were two goal less draws to tell you about: Mainz drew a blank against Bochum as did Hamburg against Frankfurt. There was more than an element of good fortune in Borussia Monchengladbach's two goals against Hoffenheim so nobody felt too bad for them when the Hoff clawed their way back to a 2-2 draw. Hertha looked anything but the bottom club as they dismantled a poor Freiburg team 3-0. Schalke's challenge to the title took a beating after two magnificent goals from Grafite as Wolfsburg stuck it to their old manager Felix Magath.

Finally, the demise of Hannover 96 takes on a more tragic narrative after they were thumped 4-1 at Borussia Dortmund. The team shirts still sport the commemorative Number 1 on the from in honour of Robert Enke. At the risk of sounding disrespectful, I wonder if it's time to remove them in the hope that this will represent a moving on of sorts. One can't help but feel the the squad is still burdened by grief and that some sort of change, however symbolic, maybe what they need.

Bundesbag Week 22 - The return of the horse faced killer!

You don't need to be an expert Bundesliga pundit to figure out that if fit, Ruud Van Nistelrooy will score goals for Hamburg. And sure enough, the moment RVN spent any meaningful amount of time on a football pitch, he scored. Twice in fact. The 33-year-old warhorse came on as a sub at Stuttgart with the score at 1-1. Twelve minutes later it was 3-1, the Dutchman scoring both goals and was being mobbed by most of his teammates and all of the subs bench.

The first goal was a beauty. A first-time shot from a through ball from Tunay Torun was classic Van Nistelrooy. I wonder if Hamburg coach Bruno Labbadia will utilize the injury-prone veteran as an impact player for the rest of the season before putting him through a full pre-season in the Summer. Of only mildly less significance was the scorer of Hamburg's goal Marcus Berg. The Swedish under-21 star was a big money signing last Summer but has struggled. Hopefully the young fella can get look forward to a decent second half to the season.

The win puts Hamburg into fourth place behind Schalke, who despite predictions from a certain ill-informed German football blogger have not fallen away from the title challenge yet, are still in decent form. They beat Koln 2-0 with goals from Joel Matip and Jefferson Farfan. Felix Magath's team are keeping a watching brief over the top two, Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen who are neck and neck on 48 points.

The Leverkusen club seem to be victims of the maiden tied to the railway tracks narrative in the media. Helpless, as the steam train that is Bayern Munich comes hurtling along the line. The assumption is that Leverkusen will be crushed under the weight of their own history and choke while Bayern will do likewise and clinch top spot along with the title in May. The Bundesbag is less certain and remembers how bad they were in the early part of the season without Robben and Ribery.

Both teams won their games to keep the pressure on themselves. Bayer were pretty convincing against Wolfsburg (who are awful) and Bayern swatted Dortmund like a fly after they had the temerity to open the scoring at the Allianz with Mo Zidan. However three goals from van Bommel, Robben and Gomez put Jurgen Klopp's team back in their box. That's the third defeat in a row for BVB which has put the brakes on their upward journey through the table. Surly they'll get back to winning ways this weekend against Hannover who are on their third head coach now and plummeting out of the league. Like a horse stuck in quick sand, the more they struggle the worse they get and they were soundly beaten at home by Werder Bremen 5-1! At this time the 96ers are even worse than Hertha.

Speaking of the Berliners, such is their plight that they really need wins rather than draws. Nevertheless, Friedhelm Funkel has injected some steel into their veins and the bottom club are proving very hard to beat. They went a goal down to Mainz only to equalise and hang on for a point. Berlin are four points away from second from bottom Nurnburg, who lost to 'Gladbach on Friday and five points off Hannover in the relegation play off spot. This must be their target and something tells me they could pull it off.

Elsewhere, Bochum's progress under Heiko Herlich continued against the wayward Hoffenheim with a 2-1 win. Ibisevic scored for the Hoff for the first time in weeks.

Finally, more praise for Eintracht Frankfurt who snatched a dramatic injury time winner and beat Freiburg 2-1. The scorer was new signing, attacking midfielder Halil Altintop who has slotted straight into the Frankfurt team. He has rewarded his coach Michael Skibbe's good judgement with a couple of seminal performances and clearly relishes being the centre of attention after spending so much time on the periphery at Schalke. Frankfurt are seventh and official Europe League contenders.

That's it. Results and tables here. Don't forget to follow the Bundesbag on Twitter here.