Bundesliga last month before holidays

Judging by the way the nationalelf played yesterday You would think the holidays have already started? I have played beach soccer games in Gran Canaria where the players showed more effort than the mannschaft yesterday. To be fair the English came at them fast and hard and it was a friendly and the weather was not good etc but you can not keep making excuses. The Germans played a good half against Russia in Qualifying but otherwise have not played well this year at all. I was under the impression they were out of their 10 year slump but I am not so sure now? A poor euro cup performance with maybe a few good spots, like the game against Poland was OK and a 20 minute spell againt Portugal but otherwise not that much to write home about? I have no problem with them letting in two golas, in fact i excpect them to allow 2-3 goals a game, but nothing coming forward. i could not count how many bad passes were made in the midfield yesterday? You could see what they were trying to do but they just could not pass accurately, which is something you normally do not say about the national team? Anyhow it was just a friendly and they can noly get better in 2010.

1	Bayer Leverkusen		13		9	1	3		31:15	16		28
2	1899 Hoffenheim (N)		13		9	1	3		34:19	15		28
3	Bayern München (M, P)		13		7	4	2		29:20	9		25
4	Hertha BSC		13		7	3	3		18:16	2		24
5	Hamburger SV		13		7	2	4		20:21	-1		23
6	Borussia Dortmund		13		5	6	2		24:18	6		21
7	Werder Bremen		13		5	5	3		31:24	7		20
8	FC Schalke 04		13		5	5	3		19:12	7		20
9	VfL Wolfsburg		13		5	4	4		28:21	7		19
10	1. FC Köln (N)		13		6	1	6		14:17	-3		19
11	VfB Stuttgart		13		5	3	5		18:17	1		18
12	Eintracht Frankfurt		13		3	4	6		15:23	-8		13
	Hannover 96		13		3	4	6		15:23	-8		13
14	Borussia M'gladbach (N)		13		3	2	8		14:24	-10		11
15	VfL Bochum		13		1	7	5		15:20	-5		10
16	Karlsruher SC		13		3	1	9		12:24	-12		10
17	Arminia Bielefeld		13		1	6	6		12:22	-10		9
18	Energie Cottbus		13		2	3	8		7:20	-13		9

Fr 21.11.08 20:30 Karlsruher SC - Borussia Dortmund -:- (-:-)

I think that Dede is coming back soon, next to Micheal Zorc he probably has played more for Dortmund than anyone else? Dortmund have only lost twice this season, so I will not put any money on a home team win.

Sa 22.11.08 15:30 Bayern München - Energie Cottbus -:- (-:-)

hard to beleive but bayern just may end up being the winter champion the way things are going? they should be well rested since none of the internationals really played on wednesday.

FC Schalke 04 - Borussia M'gladbach -:- (-:-)

Two young players to watch for in this game Manuel Neurer who still may become the german number one expecially after the way Adler played yesterday and Marko Marin who may of been the only player that was not crap yesterday for Germany.

VfL Wolfsburg - VfB Stuttgart -:- (-:-)

The game of the day. Stuttgart should be doing much better this year?

Eintracht Frankfurt - Hannover 96 -:- (-:-)

I would not call this a relegation battle, both teams probably will stay up but they are close to the bottom.

VfL Bochum - Hertha BSC -:- (-:-)

Hertha are having a good year, Voronin seems to be fitting in nicely. If Hertha win this game and the other results work in their favour they will be a Champions league team????

Arminia Bielefeld - Bayer Leverkusen -:- (-:-)

Was Simon Rolfes playing for England yesterday? He made some beautiful passes that kept going to English players. Really nice accurate perfectly weigfed passes. A win should keep Bayer on the top of the table
1. FC Köln - 1899 Hoffenheim -:- (-:-)

why would Loew pick Commper for the national team? Is he better than Andreas Beck or Christoph Janker??? Is it a racial equality thing? Was yesterdays game the first time the German nat team played two "African" players? It is nice to see but neither of them ( Jones or Commper) are very good.

So 23.11.08 17:00 Hamburger SV - Werder Bremen -:- (-:-)

And the game of the week and the only game on Sunday again. Next year or the year after german football will not be as oraganized and precise as it is now. Games will be played at all sorts of different times. That is assuming the Tv deal goes through? I assume this has helped the EPL get a better TV money so maybe it will work for the bundesliga? I am not sure if Diego played against Portugal yesterday or even went to Brazil? ( I know Kaka did and judging by the score won the "superstar" battle against Ronaldo). If so the Sunday kick off is helpful to Bremen. Hamburg is at home so you would excpect them to win, but I have this feeling Bremen will put on a good display since they are due a good game?

The lil darlings of Germany

Finally got to see Hoffenheim play on the weekend and according to the GOLTv commentator ( Ray Hudson, whom I find very entertaining and enthusiastic) Hoffenheim 1899 are everybody's second favourite team in Germany! According to the post's on this group I am not sure if that is true? But they just may be my second favourite team for now. I think I wrote last week that they would be my second favourite team if they scored 5 and conceded three- a la Werder Bremen- well they only scored four and only gave up one goal so a little dissapointing but good enough for me. I also wondered if Ibesivic is going to be the Next Gerd Muller? gerd muller has a phenomenal goal scoring record, he once scored 40 goals in a season in the Bundesliga playing 34 games and this is when the bundesliga was at it's peak. German top scorer: 1967, 1969, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1978, oddly enough he was only German footballer of the year twice which just may be a reflection on how good the league was back in the 70's? Anyhow, Ibisevic is probably not as deadly accurate in the box as Muller but he is not that bad either? So what are my impressions of Hoffenheim? You get the feeling that this is a tight knit group, they seem to be very supportive of each other and play a very selfless style of play. They have enough skill players who seem to have a lot of confidence i.e Defender Andreas Beck made a nice behind the back sort of move ( A move i like to do myself) kind of like Cryuff used to do, but while coming out of defence. It was not a big deal but it does show the kind of confidence this team has and as Tottenham Hotspurs have shown recently a team playing with confidence is better than a team with skilled players ( though not always). So yes i do like Hoffenheim and I hope they are succesful and become the next Bayern Munchen.

Tabelle

Pl.	Verein		Sp.		g.	u.	v.		Tore	Diff.		Pkte.
1	1899 Hoffenheim (N)		11		8	1	2		31:16	15		25
2	Bayer Leverkusen		11		8	0	3		26:11	15		24
3	Bayern München (M, P)		11		6	3	2		25:17	8		21
4	FC Schalke 04		11		5	5	1		17:8	9		20
5	Hamburger SV		11		6	2	3		17:18	-1		20
6	Borussia Dortmund		11		4	6	1		19:16	3		18
7	Hertha BSC		11		5	3	3		15:15	0		18
8	Werder Bremen		11		4	4	3		28:23	5		16
9	VfL Wolfsburg		11		4	4	3		23:18	5		16
10	VfB Stuttgart		11		5	1	5		16:15	1		16
11	1. FC Köln (N)		11		5	1	5		11:13	-2		16
12	Eintracht Frankfurt		11		3	3	5		13:17	-4		12
13	Hannover 96		11		3	3	5		13:20	-7		12
14	Karlsruher SC		11		3	0	8		9:20	-11		9
15	VfL Bochum		11		1	5	5		14:19	-5		8
16	Arminia Bielefeld		11		1	5	5		12:20	-8		8
17	Borussia M'gladbach (N)		11		2	1	8		10:22	-12		7
18	Energie Cottbus		11		1	3	7		6:17	-11		6

Fr 31.10.08 20:30 Bayer Leverkusen - VfL Wolfsburg 2:0 (0:0)

Another good result for Leverkesen I think they can keep Bayern behind thenm until the Winter break and maybe longer?

Sa 01.11.08 15:30 Bayern München - Arminia Bielefeld 3:1 (1:1)

Bayern is already in 3rd place after being mid table just a few weeks ago? Borowski seem to be starting now.

Werder Bremen - Hertha BSC 5:1 (3:0)
Did not get to see this game but I bet Diego and pizarro were back ( they were) and maybe just maybe the Werder mid season melt down is over? If they score 5 against panathanaikos I will beleive it.

VfB Stuttgart - 1. FC Köln 1:3 (0:1)

Stuttgart are really going down like a Lead Zeppelin!

Hannover 96 - Hamburger SV 3:0 (2:0)

Hamburg like to lose by this score it seems? They have conceded more goals than they scored as well. They do have a chance in the UEFA cup and i would concentrate more on that then the Bundesliga if it were my team?

Energie Cottbus - FC Schalke 04 0:2 (0:0)

got to give Schalke an A for consistency and defending, but beating Cottbus 2-0 is not a big deal.
1899 Hoffenheim - Karlsruher SC 4:1 (1:1)

k
Karlsruhe came out flying but were not good enough for a hoffenheim team that took control of the game after 20 minutes. I hope to see Hoffenheim play again soon.

So 02.11.08 17:00 Borussia Dortmund - VfL Bochum 1:1 (1:1)

i can not remeber if i picked this as my upset of the week????

Borussia M'gladbach - Eintracht Frankfurt 1:2 (1:1)

A big jump to keep frankfurt out of the relegation zone.

A somewhat rare midweek group of games see Hoffenheim clinging to a one point lead, while Bayern start to move up the table, I kind of doubt Bayern will be Christmas champions but that is kind of a curse anyhow? Hertha Berlin are another team that is quietly moving up the table. Vedad Ibisevic is the top scorer with 11 goals in ten games! So this guy must be the new Gerd Muller?!?!? Who is he anyhow? Well he has played everywhere from Switzerland to St. louis to the Mustard regions of france and of course Germany. Depending on who I talk to he may have had a father who was a professional players, he possibly broke all kinds of US college records and has played as few as two times for Bosnia or as many as 18? Well this weekend the good folks at GOLtv are showing the Hoffenheim game so I can see if he actually will be the new Gerd Muller or just another Sergei Barbarez?


Tabelle
Pl. Verein Sp. g. u. v. Tore Diff. Pkte.
1 1899 Hoffenheim (N) 10 7 1 2 27:15 12 22
2 Bayer Leverkusen 10 7 0 3 24:11 13 21
3 Hamburger SV 10 6 2 2 17:15 2 20
4 Bayern München (M, P) 10 5 3 2 22:16 6 18
5 Hertha BSC 10 5 3 2 14:10 4 18
6 FC Schalke 04 10 4 5 1 15:8 7 17
7 Borussia Dortmund 10 4 5 1 18:15 3 17
8 VfL Wolfsburg 10 4 4 2 23:16 7 16
9 VfB Stuttgart 10 5 1 4 15:12 3 16
10 Werder Bremen 10 3 4 3 23:22 1 13
11 1. FC Köln (N) 10 4 1 5 8:12 -4 13
12 Eintracht Frankfurt 10 2 3 5 11:16 -5 9
13 Karlsruher SC 10 3 0 7 8:16 -8 9
14 Hannover 96 10 2 3 5 10:20 -10 9
15 Arminia Bielefeld 10 1 5 4 11:17 -6 8
16 VfL Bochum 10 1 4 5 13:18 -5 7
17 Borussia M'gladbach (N) 10 2 1 7 9:20 -11 7
18 Energie Cottbus 10 1 3 6 6:15 -9 6

Fr 31.10.08 20:30 Bayer Leverkusen - VfL Wolfsburg -:- (-:-)

It is a good thing that Leverkuesen has a pharmeceutical company in town because the players will need some help after playing only a couple of days ago ( I really could as well after tearing a hamstring last night playing againt some hard running oafs, but i refuse to take NSAIDS or any drugs that do not come from a Chinaman or Columbian or beer bottle) . this should be an interesting game and the KDF team can prove if they are for real with a good performance.

Sa 01.11.08 15:30 Bayern München - Arminia Bielefeld -:- (-:-)

Bayern looked OK against Frankfurt but still are not that impressive, Borowski finalyl started a game and Ze Roberto played Left back. Against Bielefeld it should not matter who plays but I still think they can be beaten by the likes of a hard running well trained team.

Werder Bremen - Hertha BSC -:- (-:-)

The way Bremen is playing I can see Hertha winning this easily.

VfB Stuttgart - 1. FC Köln -:- (-:-)

Same sentence as above just replace Bremen with Stuttgart.

Hannover 96 - Hamburger SV -:- (-:-)

Hamburg are still in the running and need to win.

Energie Cottbus - FC Schalke 04 -:- (-:-)

Same sentence as above replace hanburg wit Schalke

1899 Hoffenheim - Karlsruher SC -:- (-:-)

Ah the game of the day! (For me at least.) If they score five goals and allow three i will become a Hoffenheim fan!

So 02.11.08 17:00 Borussia Dortmund - VfL Bochum -:- (-:-)

If Dortmund win and all the other top 3 to5 teams lose it will be a real tight top of the table in Germany and anybodys guess who to pick for winter champions?

Borussia M'gladbach - Eintracht Frankfurt -:- (-:-)

The commentator on GOLtv for the Bayern v frankfurt game made it known to everybody dozens of times how badly hit with injuries Frankfurt is but regardless I though they played well againt Bayern and think they will win this game.

Hoffenhiem ( bundesliga week 8 review)

I find it hard to understand that so may people are concerned about some old billionaire supporting his old team financially and taking them to the top of the Bundesliga? If I had 6 billion Euro's i would try to bring Rapid Wien back to it's former glories? Hell I would even try to bring my father's club Waldhof Mannheim back into the 1st div and whilst I was at it I would help Bremen too. Now granted Vienna and Hoffenhiem have a slight population difference but if you are including the area Hoffenhiem is in, it is not that different from Kaiserslautern. In fact Kaiserslautern has "whored" itself out to foreign military money which is worse in my opinion than some ex player with deep pockets? Or what about Leverkuesen being owned by a Pharmaceutical company!?!?!!? Yes it would be great if he put all that money into local charity like helping the poor kids who dropped out of the University of Heidelberg with their drinking problems and such but if the guy has a passion for his team and not drunken University drop outs then fair enough. I would love if someone would spend money to try to come up with a low carb beer that actually tastes like beer? And do not tell me there are some because their are none! Stella Artois light is being marketed here in Kanada and it has certain beer like qualities but it is still a "near beer". Anyhow, Hoffenhiem 1899, the team is not full of big name foreigners, it had at least 6 German players (one Austrian that i will include being half Austrian myself ;) ) starting in the 5-2 win over Hannover (they have yet to show a Hoffenhiem game here on TV yet, but hopefully soon?) and that does not include the subs. The only player's I know of are Andreas Beck who used to play for Stuttgart and the Austrian International Andreas Ibersberger, but if they brought in Tim Borowski why is that a big deal? He is building a new stadium, it can only help the local economy? Unlike, Real Madrid or Chelsea or Manchester United he has not gone overboard spending money on signing players so if the club fails in few years you will have a new empty stadium, and some empty hotels, restaurants and sports shops? But if the team keeps winning and they score 5 goals a game then I am sure people will support them. Anyhow it is crazy that he (Hopp) has had death threats ( Dortmund fans of course!) and has so many against him. Anyhow, the more interesting story was the 3-3 draw on Saturday between Bremen and Dortmund.

Tabelle
Pl. Verein Sp. g. u. v. Tore Diff. Pkte.
1 Hamburger SV 8 5 2 1 15:12 3 17
2 1899 Hoffenheim (N) 8 5 1 2 21:14 7 16
3 Bayer Leverkusen 8 5 0 3 20:11 9 15
4 Hertha BSC 8 4 2 2 10:9 1 14
5 VfL Wolfsburg 8 3 4 1 18:12 6 13
6 FC Schalke 04 8 3 4 1 12:8 4 13
7 VfB Stuttgart 8 4 1 3 13:10 3 13
8 Borussia Dortmund 8 3 4 1 16:14 2 13
9 1. FC Köln (N) 8 4 1 3 8:9 -1 13
10 Werder Bremen 8 3 3 2 22:19 3 12
11 Bayern München (M, P) 8 3 3 2 16:13 3 12
12 Karlsruher SC 7 3 0 4 7:10 -3 9
13 Hannover 96 8 2 2 4 9:16 -7 8
14 VfL Bochum 8 1 4 3 12:13 -1 7
15 Arminia Bielefeld 8 1 3 4 10:16 -6 6
16 Energie Cottbus 8 1 2 5 3:11 -8 5
17 Borussia M'gladbach (N) 8 1 1 6 8:17 -9 4
18 Eintracht Frankfurt 7 0 3 4 5:11 -6 3


Der 8. Spieltag
Bochum - M'gladbach 2:2 (0:1)

The one point for BMG has taken them off the bottom of the table, it was not that long ago when BMG and Eintrach Frankfurt were winning UEFA cups and that was back in the day when the UEFA cup was more difficult to win, sort of like today's champions league.

Bremen - Dortmund 3:3 (0:0)

Great game and to sound like an English commentator "the reason that the Bundesliga is the best league in the world!" Bremen are the most offense minded team in the world! Unfourtantely they are also the weakest defensive team in the world! Dortmund are not that much better defensively so it was odd that after the first 45 minutes and a couple of steins of Becks it was still 0-0 with few goal scoring chances? You knew it had to change but the people who had come over to watch the game and go fishing and smoke a few Silvestre cigarettes were probably thinking oh no a boring 0-0 soccer game ( actually they were saying exactly that). Sebestian Frey who has scored in every game I have seen him play in this year (including Internationals) of course scored the first goal it took almost an hour and at least 3 bottles of Becks but we had the first goal! Per Mertesaker was not playing, instead Frank Baumann dropped back to play central defense and it is not that he is bad defensively he is just not as good as Mertesaker, but regardless he was going to make the best of it and equalized for Bremen a few minutes later. Bremen made the usual offensive minded changes bringing on Almeida and Hunt, Dortmund brought on underrated and underplayed Egyptian Zidan and by the 90 th minute is was 2-2, the excellent Pizarro then gave Bremen the win in the 92 minute. Then just as I was about to get my tackle box and fill the cooler with Becks and low carb vile beer, Zidan scored to make it 3-3 with the last kick of the ball! Pizarro is a great fit for Bremen.

Köln - Cottbus 1:0 (1:0)

Cologne are having a good season.


Hannover - Hoffenheim 2:5 (0:1)

How can people dislike a team that scores 5 goals????

Frankfurt - Leverkusen 0:2 (0:1)

I know i wrote I hate pharmaceutical companies and the German pharmaceutical business is just as bad as the American, but i do like Leverkuesen as a team and they also do score many goals.

Wolfsburg - Bielefeld 4:1 (2:0)

This was my upset pick of the week?????

Hertha - Stuttgart 2:1 (1:0)

Stuttgart are going down like a lead Zeppelin! I seems Super Mario has lost confidence and the team in general is not playing like champions. Hertha on the other hand made some good signings like Voronin, Kaka ( no, not that Kaka) and Lucio ( no the other Lucio) and are doing well. I like Berlin (the city) it reminds me of New York 25 years ago except that the people are much friendlier and gay.

KSC - Bayern 0:1 (0:0)

Bayern won a game! Klose scored as well, Borowski did not start even though he is the teams top scorer? If I was Klinsmann -and this may explain why I am not a trainer- i would get rid of Toni and play Podolski up front with Klose, I would include Borowski and Kroos in the team at the expense of mindless hacker Van bommell and old timer Ze Roberto, I would play Lahm more as a midfielder than defender, play a 3-5-2 and get rid of Lucio and find a new keeper, anyone would do, like the old Wolfsburg keeper Simon Jentzch, I am sure he would cost nothing.

HSV - Schalke 1:1 (1:0)

"The game of the week" turned a bit ugly, not like English league break legs, elbow to the face ugly, but cheap fouls and diving ugly, though David Jaralim did not attack anyones genitals this game. Trochowski had a good game and scored a goal similar to the one against Wales. he may not have the dribbling skills of Littbarski or Hassler yet but he does remind me of them and his shooting is quite good as well. Hamburg fans were booing Kuranyi and he had a poor game, he has a better chance of making the Brazilian national team than the German national team now(Brazil is really lacking up front presently) and probably wished he had not chosen "die nationalelf"?
Sorry Sven, I just do not like this Hamburg team?

Bundesliga week 8

The national team had a good week in that they got two wins and at times played very well. The game against Russia started off well in the first half with a 2-0 lead but Germany then had to hang on to win 2-1. The game against the Welsh was nothing to write home about but a win is a win and the Welsh did put 8 players in front of their goal and blocked all but one of the 25 or more shots that Germany had. Not sure if Adler will now be the number one keeper choice but i am pretty sure that Kuranyi will not be the number one striker choice? Though in the past players like Effenberg, Schuster and Matthaus have been removed from the team only to be asked(begged) back? "Die mannschaft" ( I heard the guy on GOLTV say it a half dozen times so it is not just me!)goes into hibernation for the winter, though they do play a friendly against England next month. The U-21 "mannschaft" also qualified for the junior European cup.


Fixtures, Matchday 8 17.10.2008 - 19.10.2008
Date Home Away Result
17.10.08 20:30 VfL Bochum 1848 : Bor. Mönchengladbach

Christian Ziege is the new Manger of BMG -at least for the time being- and an away result against Bochum would be helpful to his coaching career. Oh and Bochum could use a win as well (then again so could every team)

18.10.08 15:30 Werder Bremen : Borussia Dortmund

One of my favourite match ups and a fingers crossed hope that GOLTV shows this game on Saturday. Dortmund now have Frei back and have a good team, Bremen are still under achieving in my opinion.

18.10.08 15:30 Hannover 96 : 1899 Hoffenheim

If Hoffenheim win and Hamburg lose Hoffenehiem will regain the title lead. Nobody seems to like Hoffehiem but money and owners and what other issues are with the team I always like to see a new team do well.

18.10.08 15:30 Hertha BSC : VfB Stuttgart

Another good game and i bet GOLTV will show this because of the Mexicans playing for Stuttgart?

18.10.08 15:30 VfL Wolfsburg : Arminia Bielefeld

Let me pick Bielefeld to win as my upset of the week

18.10.08 15:30 Eintracht Frankfurt : Bayer Leverkusen

Should be a win for Leverkuesen

18.10.08 15:30 Karlsruher SC : Bayern München

All the bayern players were off on international duty so this alone would make it a good time to beat them, add to that they are playing poorly and Karlsruher have a great chance to win? You just have to figure Bayern will start rolling soon?

18.10.08 15:30 1. FC Köln : Energie Cottbus

Cologne have done well so far and should stay up this year, Cottbus may go down.

19.10.08 17:00 Hamburger SV : FC Schalke 04

Pretty sure this will be the Sunday game on TV, tough game for Hamburg.

UEFA WCQ Pr/Review

Another great weekend up here on the Iceberg, warm sunny temps in the mid 20'sC caught a couple of big northern pikes, a few small walleyes and a couple of decent Bass. The TV coverage here for World cup qualifiers is great, Setanta shows almost every game and the others are either on GOLTV, FSC, TV5, ESPN, RAI or the Latin channels we get all the South American games as well and the CONCACAF games.



Sa 11.10.08 16:00
4 Finnland - Aserbaidschan 1:0 (0:0)
no surprise

9 Schottland - Norwegen 0:0 (0:0)
Saw this game or at least parts of it, could of gone either way, I will give the Scot fans credit for not booing Iwelumo. I guess they are not as Racist as the English?

Sa 11.10.08 17:00 7 Färöer - Österreich 1:1 (0:0)

Austria screwed this one up, they need to beat teams like Faroe islands if they want to win the group!

Sa 11.10.08 17:45 2 Schweiz - Lettland 2:1
(0:0)

Sa 11.10.08 18:15 6 England - Kasachstan 5:1 (0:0)
A win is a win, not a great performance but you could see they were resting for the Belarus game. The racist chants and booing directed to Black player was terrible! someone should fine the English FA and deduct points! Credit to the "Stans" for not giving up and scoring a goal after going down on a bad goal (no corner kick and keeper was fouled on the first goal)

Sa 11.10.08 18:30 4 Wales - Liechtenstein 2:0 (1:0)
This was a boring game.

8 Georgien - Zypern 1:1 (0:0)


Sa 11.10.08 19:00 6 Ukraine - Kroatien 0:0 (0:0)
Saw the end of this one and I can not say anything about it.

Sa 11.10.08 19:45 1 Ungarn - Albanien 2:0 (0:0)

Sa 11.10.08 20:00 Schweden - Portugal 0:0 (0:0)

Another 0-0 result!

Dänemark - Malta 3:0 (2:0)
-
5 Türkei - Bosnien-Herzegowina 2:1 (0:1)
-
Sa 11.10.08 20:15 7 Serbien - Litauen 3:0
(2:0)
-
8 Bulgarien - Italien 0:0 (0:0)

Another 0-0!?!?!?!? The Italians started some younger players finally!
-
Sa 11.10.08 20:30 2 Griechenland - Moldawien 3:0 (2:0)
-
Luxemburg - Israel 1:3 (1:1)
-
3 Polen - Tschechien 2:1 (1:0)
What is it with Poland and qualifying lately??? They seem to do so well?
-
San Marino - Slowakei 1:3 (1:2) -

Sa 11.10.08 20:40 7 Rumänien - Frankreich 2:2 (2:1) -
France came down from 2-0 down, is that a good sign that they can come back or a bad sign that they can allow two goals to be socred against them so quickly?

Sa 11.10.08 20:45 3 Slowenien - Nordirland 2:0 (0:0) -

4 Deutschland - Russland 2:1 (2:0)
A game of two half's (or is it halves) if there ever was one, Germany came out flying could of been ahead by 3 or more goals and went into the first half looking comfortably ahead.In the second half they hung on to win 2-1. Now were they taking it easy because they have to play Wales on Wednesday? Did the Russians wake up in the 2nd half? Not sure but i think a bit of both?
The good:
Adler did well he did not make too many mistakes and did not appear too nervous
Podolski scored again for Germany, Bastien played well and Gomez did not miss a clear cut goal scoring chance in front of goal. kuranyi talked himself or walked himself off the team.
The bad:
The oaf Ballack scored which means he will play until he is 40 as he is regarded as such a hero and team leader. Lahm still is shaky on defence but how can you not play him when he works so hard and is so cute and only 15 years old!?!?!?!?

5 Belgien - Armenien 2:0 (2:0) -

Estland - Spanien 0:3 (0:2) -
The record continues for Spain no loss since I don't know when?

9 Niederlande - Island 2:0 (1:0)

Up coming games

Mi 15.10.08 17:00 4 Russland - Finnland -:- (-:-)

This is a tough game for Russia the rivalry is strong and Russia will be tired from a strong second half against Germany. A draw would suit the Germans fine I am sure.
Mi 15.10.08 17:30 3 Tschechien - Slowenien -:- (-:-)

I think the Czechs are showing signs of age?

Mi 15.10.08 18:00 2 Lettland - Israel -:- (-:-)

7 Litauen - Färöer -:- (-:-)

Mi 15.10.08 19:00 9 Norwegen - Niederlande -:- (-:-)

Tough game for the Dutch

Mi 15.10.08 19:30 1 Malta - Ungarn -:- (-:-)

Mi 15.10.08 20:00 6 Kroatien - Andorra -:- (-:-)

Weißrussland - England -:- (-:-)

even with Hleb missing I think the White Russians will give the English a tough time?
8 Georgien - Bulgarien -:- (-:-)

9 Island - Mazedonien -:- (-:-)

Mi 15.10.08 20:15 2 Luxemburg - Moldawien -:- (-:-)

3 Slowakei - Polen -:- (-:-)

5 Bosnien-Herzegowina - Armenien -:- (-:-)

Mi 15.10.08 20:30 2 Griechenland - Schweiz -:- (-:-)

5 Estland - Türkei -:- (-:-)

7 Österreich - Serbien -:- (-:-)

The Austrians must win this game against those ....

Mi 15.10.08 20:45 3 Nordirland - San Marino -:- (-:-)

4 Deutschland - Wales -:- (-:-)
Germany seems to have a tough time against Wales? maybe it has something to do with a fear of Dragons?

5 Belgien - Spanien -:- (-:-)

Interesting game belguim seems to be getting better again? But Spain is the best team in the world right now!

8 Irland - Zypern -:- (-:-)

Mi 15.10.08 20:50 Italien - Montenegro -:- (-:-)

Mi 15.10.08 22:00 1 Portugal - Albanien -:- (-:-)

Since i have not made an upset call yet let me pick this one.

Bundesliga Week 7 review upcoming WCQ

Was up in the mountains in Quebec celebrating Oktoberfest and did not watch much TV. So what if everyone looked strangely at me when I tried to order schweinfleisch und bier, at least they had Bratwurst, sauerkraut and Becks. Most of the music was country music but it was still like Oktoberfest in that we were sitting in an arena on benches and a lot of "old" people were dancing poorly.
I only saw the Schalke v Wolfsburg (2-2) game and I was feeling pretty tired at the time. I think Kuranyi played in his 200th game according to the TV commentators and if so it was a good game for him. He scored two goals, the last to tie the game up with about 5 seconds left, this probably means he will be back in the starting line up for Germany on the weekend? Neuer made his return and could be faulted with one of the goals according to the TV mouthpieces but I think not. Why let a Brazilian take a penalty (remeber Zico) when you have the best German striker in the league (Not Kuranyi, Westerman!)??? There was a move towards the end of the game which gave Schalke the penalty that Rafinha missed which looked more like a Brazilian centre forward move than a german Defender on the attack. I kind of just saw it with one eye closed and and still feeling a bit "tired" from the night before but he took it really well. He has played a few times now in the advanced position and has looked really good. He Should get a call up for "die mannschaft " as a striker.

Tabelle
Pl. Verein Sp. g. u. v. Tore Diff. Pkte.
1 Hamburger SV 7 5 1 1 14:11 3 16
2 1899 Hoffenheim (N) 7 4 1 2 16:12 4 13
3 VfB Stuttgart 7 4 1 2 12:8 4 13
4 Bayer Leverkusen 7 4 0 3 18:11 7 12
5 FC Schalke 04 7 3 3 1 11:7 4 12
6 Borussia Dortmund 7 3 3 1 13:11 2 12
7 Werder Bremen 7 3 2 2 19:16 3 11
8 Hertha BSC 7 3 2 2 8:8 0 11
9 VfL Wolfsburg 7 2 4 1 14:11 3 10
10 1. FC Köln (N) 7 3 1 3 7:9 -2 10
11 Bayern München (M, P) 7 2 3 2 15:13 2 9
12 Karlsruher SC 6 3 0 3 7:9 -2 9
13 Hannover 96 7 2 2 3 7:11 -4 8
14 VfL Bochum 7 1 3 3 10:11 -1 6
15 Arminia Bielefeld 7 1 3 3 9:12 -3 6
16 Energie Cottbus 7 1 2 4 3:10 -7 5
17 Eintracht Frankfurt 6 0 3 3 5:9 -4 3
18 Borussia M'gladbach (N) 7 1 0 6 6:15 -9 3


Fr 03.10.08 20:30 Arminia Bielefeld - Karlsruher SC 1:2 (0:1)

Karlsruhe are now level with Bayern on points and will be hoping to leapfrog Bayern to avoid the relegation zone in a few weeks. Bayern's form hopefully does not reflect the form of the Nationalelf next week?

Sa 04.10.08 15:30 Bayern München - VfL Bochum 3:3 (2:1)

When Klinsmann took over the national team a few years ago, a lot of fans thought he lacked experience to be in such a high position? Well they were right, his style was fun to watch but they failed to win a world cup that was loaded with mediocre teams, he is doing the same at bayern, except they do not even play a high flying style (scoring 3 against Bochum means nothing). Instead he puts the shot putter Van Bommel as captain and decided that he did not need a creative centre midfielder they could also use a better central defender as well, oh and maybe everything through the centre from the keeper up!

VfB Stuttgart - Werder Bremen 4:1 (2:0)
Glad i missed this game! Stuttgart seems to handle Bremen easily. Four goals and Gomez did not score? To be fair Bremen had a tough game against Inter a few days before and do not have the luxury of resting players ( well they could put Aron Hunt up front!?) and this is my opinion on how they could do so poorly? So no call up for Gomez but maybe a call up for Sami Khedira?

Bayer Leverkusen - Hertha BSC 0:1 (0:0)

Leverkuesen have no excuse for at least not getting a draw, I assume that Drobny -the hertha keeper- had a great game and to be fair the goal was scored in the final minutes.

Borussia M'gladbach - 1. FC Köln 1:2 (1:1)

Cologne are now ahead of bayern in the Standings. I think the last time that happened Bayern bought half the Koln team? Or was it karlsruher?

1899 Hoffenheim - Eintracht Frankfurt 2:1 (0:0)

Hoffenhiem in the Champions league next year?????

So 05.10.08 17:00 FC Schalke 04 - VfL Wolfsburg 2:2 (1:0)
Kuranyi scored twice and will now get a call up for "die manschaft"


Borussia Dortmund - Hannover 96 1:1 (1:1)
Good result for hannover

Energie Cottbus - Hamburger SV 1:2 (0:0) Hamburg are this weeks leader but better be careful Hoffenhiem are right behind them


UEFA WCQ

Sa 11.10.08 16:00 4 Finnland - Aserbaidschan -:-

Germany's group and game you would assume the Fins would win but i am not so sure?
9 Schottland - Norwegen -:-

This game should be a draw?

Sa 11.10.08 17:00 7 Färöer - Österreich -:-
(-:-)
Die andere mannschaft" should win this game

Sa 11.10.08 17:45 2 Schweiz - Lettland -:- (-:-)

Die Andere, andere mannschaft need to win this game.

Sa 11.10.08 18:15 6 England - Kasachstan -:- (-:-)

England had a good game against Croatia and will win this game easily, but they will have a tough time against belarus on Wednesday.

Sa 11.10.08 18:30 4 Wales - Liechtenstein -:- (-:-)


8 Georgien - Zypern -:- (-:-)


Sa 11.10.08 19:15 7 Rumänien - Frankreich -:-
(-:-)
Probably the match of the day to watch.

Sa 11.10.08 19:45 1 Ungarn - Albanien -:- (-:-)

Sa 11.10.08 20:00 Schweden - Portugal -:- (-:-)

Should be interesting as well.


5 Türkei - Bosnien-Herzegowina -:- (-:-)

Ditto
6 Ukraine - Kroatien -:- (-:-)

Ditto
Sa 11.10.08 20:15 1 Dänemark - Malta -:- (-:-)


2 Luxemburg - Israel -:- (-:-)


7 Serbien - Litauen -:- (-:-)


8 Bulgarien - Italien -:- (-:-)
Sa 11.10.08 20:30 2 Griechenland - Moldawien -:- (-:-)


3 Polen - Tschechien -:- (-:-)

San Marino - Slowakei -:-


Sa 11.10.08 20:45 Slowenien - Nordirland -:- (-:-)
4 Deutschland - Russland -:-

This is possibly the toughest game for Germany, playing at home to Russia. The game is in Dortmund i think? If a lot of bayern players play, then the game will be a disaster!

Das Aufgebot:

Tor: Robert Enke (Hannover 96), Rene Adler (Bayer Leverkusen), Tim Wiese (Werder Bremen)
Abwehr: Clemens Fritz (Werder Bremen), Arne Friedrich (Hertha BSC), Philipp Lahm (FC Bayern München), Per Mertesacker (Werder Bremen), Serdar Tasci (VfB Stuttgart), Heiko Westermann (FC Schalke 04)
Mittelfeld: Michael Ballack (FC Chelsea London), Torsten Frings (Werder Bremen), Thomas Hitzlsperger (VfB Stuttgart), Jermaine Jones (FC Schalke 04), Simon Rolfes (Bayer 04 Leverkusen), Bastian Schweinsteiger (FC Bayern München), Piotr Trochowski (Hamburger SV)
Angriff: Mario Gomez (VfB Stuttgart), Patrick Helmes (Bayer 04 Leverkusen), Miroslav Klose (FC Bayern München), Kevin Kuranyi (FC Schalke 04), Lukas Podolski (FC Bayern München)

Robert Enke will play goal. Loew is not sure that Mertesaker is 100 percent yet but I assume he will play as will Lahm, not sure who else will play but hopefully Westermann and Tasci?

The oaf Ballack will play as will Schweinie, not sure who else he will pick, probably Trochowski? I do not understand why Jermaiane jones is on the team list?

Maybe Klose and Helmes? Klose and Podolski probably?


5 Belgien - Armenien -:- (-:-)
Estland - Spanien -:- (-:-)
9 Niederlande - Island -:- (-:-)