Bundesliga-Blog Week 27 by Bernd Wilms

Last Saturday, the Bundesliga was back in the news for the wrong reasons. Last-placed Hertha Berlin had a dream scenario set up: 60,000+ on hand and relegation competitors Nuremberg on the ropes with a 1-0 halftime lead. In a turn of events befitting their nightmare season, Berlin squandered the advantage by surrendering two goals in the second half, including the game-winner in the 90th minute. After the final whisle, about 100 people jumped over the moat in front of Berlin’s home end, rushed the field (some wielding the poles of the flags they had been waving), and proceeded to break whatever was lying around. Five minutes later, the police came out, arrested a few people, and everyone ran back into the stands (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XfbmZd1EOY). So much for the facts.

Depending on who you listened to, this little pitch invasion carried many different meanings. For example, the evening highlight programs all mentioned and showed how the “attack” had caused physical damage, breathlessly describing “destruction” as the overturned chairs of the Berlin bench were shown. Mentioned less often was the fact that there were literally zero injuries. DFL chairman Reinhard Rauball raised more questions later that week by wondering out loud whether standing terraces, “relics” in his words, should be banned. Again, most of the frenzied reports picking up on this quote failed to acknowledge a key fact: That Saturday’s unpleasant events transpired in one of the few all-seater stadiums the league has. Apparently, when there’s a chance for hysteria, the need for facts goes out the window.

For some reason, Germany seems to lead Europe in knee-jerk reactions to any type of misbehavior by fans. Certainly, the incident in Berlin was unnecessary and dangerous. But to speak of “never-before-seen violence,” as some reporters were, is to unmask oneself as a late-comer to the game, blissfully unaware that this type of thing – and worse – happened at nearly every ground, nearly every week, until about 20 years ago. We’re all better off for the reduction in trouble, of course, but the fact that the league would publicly consider a pitch invasion to somehow be related to the existence of terracing – and grounds for its replacement with more lucrative seating – should be unnerving for any fan of the game who cares for the uniquely inclusive and tolerant football-watching culture we have in Germany.

The events in Berlin have also served to affect this week’s first match, a traditional local Rhineland derby between Cologne and Borussia Mönchengladbach (Friday, 3:30 PM). The run-up to this game includes unprecedented precautions. For example, the Federal Police has decreed that all alcohol is to be banned on trains in the area for 12 hours around the game. How this is expected to be a better deterrent against violence than simply not scheduling the game in the darkness of night is unclear, but it’s nice to see everyone at least doing something, I suppose. As for the teams, both of them look jittery after weeks of presuming themselves safe. Cologne have a pathetic performance in Mainz to atone for, having spent a full hour with a man more on the field in a 1-0 loss. Of course, Mönchengladbach were soundly and comprehensively beaten by Wolfsburg last week, so things aren’t much brighter for them. Whoever loses this game is in real danger of drifting back into the relegation battle.

Saturday’s slate of regularly timed games (10:30 AM) begins with Frankfurt vs. Bayern. The home side have more or less abandoned their ambitions of reaching higher than mid-table. A purported 5 million euro shirt sponsorship deal with Spanish automaker SEAT, however, will serve to raise supporters’ hopes for long-term success. Watch for U.S. and Houston Dynamo midfielder Ricardo Clark, set to give his debut after months as a rear-midfield playmaker. At Bayern, the star ensemble’s rotating door appears to be in full swing: Anatoly Tymoshchuk was said this week to have put in for a transfer, while captain Mark van Bommel signed on for another year much to everyone’s satisfaction. The only reasonable prediction here, as almost every week, is for Munich to win easily.

Nuremberg, last week’s big winners, face off at home against Hoffenheim. The Franconians’ resurrection in the season’s second half has been a product of goals from unlikely sources. For example, their winner against Berlin was scored by Angelos Charisteas, a pariah in some circles for his ineffective play. With top scorer Albert Bunjaku injured, look for Charisteas, Greece’s Euro 2004 hero, to get another chance on Saturday. Hoffenheim look ripe for the picking, as the continuation of their run of miserable results brought the first talk of falling into the relegation battle last weekend. The return of Germany defender Andi Beck should be helpful in relieving some of the immense pressure building up on the southwestern side. Over five million Germans watched Stuttgart’s visit to Barcelona last week, which was unfortunate given they could have spent the time doing any number of other things. Playmaker Alexander Hleb, on loan from the Catalans, admitted to a Stuttgart paper that, “most of us were afraid” (http://www.stuttgarter-zeitung.de/stz/page/) coming into the 4-0 thrashing. Redemption will be expected against Hannover, who enter the match having had their first truly positive week in quite some time. A 2-1 win in Frankfurt, lucky as it was, marked the end of the team’s several-month-long slide down the standings. The signing of Karlsruhe striker Lars Stindl, a rising star of the Second Bundesliga, will have helped to assuage fans’ fears with regards to the club’s future. And as if all that wasn’t enough, last week saw a local hospital unveil the Bundesliga’s first club-themed baby delivery room (http://www.haz.de/Nachrichten/Sport/Fussball/Hannover-96/Ein-Leben-lang-Fan-Kreisssaal-in-Vereinsfarben). Innovative - it’s just too bad that Hamburg beat them to the punch on club-themed burial plots, really.

During Thursday’s thrilling 4-4 draw with Valencia, Werder Bremen midfielder Marko Marin raised his South Africa stock considerably with a five-star performance seen on national television. Their opponents Saturday are Bochum, who looked hopeless against Dortmund last week. Their nine-point lead over the relegation places has shrunk to just four, and a continued resurgence by the bottom clubs could see their last few games become a lot more interesting than anyone had hoped for.

Freiburg were unlucky to lose in Munich last week, but it’s been precisely that type of bad luck that’s sent the club down into 17th place. It’s telling that despite the fact that Saturday’s match against Mainz 05 looks both pivotal and winnable, Freiburg haven’t yet sold out their 25,000 capacity ground. Mainz’s chances for Saturday, meanwhile, didn’t exactly improve with the loss of Aristide Bancé. The Burkina Faso-born striker, who has been a revelation this season, will miss the first of three games after getting red-carded for an elbow against Cologne.

The biggest match this week is the late Saturday clash between Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen (12:30 PM). It’s safe to say that this match will decide whether the race for Champions League qualification re-opens again. Dortmund will be without playmaker Nuri Sahin, so look for Jürgen Klopp to send his eleven out with a rare diamond formation in midfield. Leverkusen, meanwhile, find themselves so well-stocked that national teamers Toni Kroos and Patrick Helmes are expected on the bench. There will be a focus on goalkeeper René Adler, Germany’s designated keeper in South Africa this summer. Since the announcement a few weeks ago that Adler had won the starting position, the Bayer backstop has been uncharacteristically out of form, to the point where no less an authority than Franz Beckenbauer felt compelled to declare: “If he made mistakes like that for a schoolboys’ team, they’d tell him to go find another sport” (http://wm-2010.t-online.de/franz-beckenbauer-kritisiert-ren-adler-scharf/id_41060180/index). There should be no shortage of detractors calling for his replacement if this malaise continues.

In another absolutely pivotal battle, Hamburg face Schalke early Sunday (10:30 AM). HSV were pleased to have kept their dream of a hometown Europa League final alive Thursday, but here’s no denying that they’ve been anything but convincing in the season’s second half. Some observers have already begun to draw parallels to coach Bruno Labbadia’s performance last year in Leverkusen, where promising beginning led to bitterness and a finish out of the European places. Meanwhile, Schalke have graduated to the ranks of the confirmed title candidates. Nothing could indicate this more clearly than the sniping coming out of Munich, where a local tabloid declared that president Uli Hoeneß had “let slip” an agreement with Schalke local boy and standout goalkeeper Manuel Neuer (http://www.tz-online.de/sport/fussball/fc-bayern/neuer-bayern-hoeness-zusage-tz-neu-677277.html). Amusingly, this type of talk is very reminiscent of the kinds of campaigns orchestrated by Bayern against title challengers in 2004 (over Bremen’s Johan Micoud) and 2005 (over Schalke’s Lincoln). It will be interesting to see whether traditionally chaotic Schalke show themselves capable of keeping their cool under fire.

Defending Bundesliga champions Wolfsburg (remember that?) close out this weekend’s slate of games against Berlin (12:30 PM). It seems that whatever euphoria Wolfsburg’s title may have engendered has subsided, as a traditionally sparse crowd of just over 15,000 was on hand to see the Europa League match against Rubin Kazan. The focus here will undoubtedly be on Hertha, however. As mentioned above, last weekend was the unconditional low point in the capital club’s nightmare season. Sunday evening saw goalkeeper Jaroslav Drobny on local TV, alluding to a rift between the team’s European and South American contingents. The general consensus in the city is that Hertha, now nine points adrift with eight games remaining, are doomed. It certainly can’t be a good sign that the city’s politicians have spent all week publicly discussing the financial aspects of relegation.

Of course, we also shouldn’t forget that is the week of the German Cup semifinals. On Tuesday, holders Werder Bremen face a dangerous adversary in FC Augsburg, the team of the hour in the Second Division (3:30 PM). The big match is on Wednesday, however, as Schalke 04 host Bayern Munich at the Veltins-Arena (3:30 PM). Schalke’s fans will be hoping for a repeat of 2002, when their team managed a famous overtime win over Bayern to secure a trip to the final. Either way, the intensity level should be at an absolute maximum. All four teams will be eager to reach the final and win themselves a big day out in Berlin. After all, given the standings, who knows when they’ll next have the chance?

You can email Bernd at - wilmsbernd@gmail.com