Germany coach Joachim Loew has criticised the lack of speed in the Bundesliga compared to the Premier League. Loew is concerned the lack of speed and sharpness in Germany’s top flight will hinder his team’s bid to capture the World Cup crown in South Africa. “The fact that the play is much faster in England is not ideal,” Loew told German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung.

Well, well, well… Since when did Loew start to explain himself? — especially, when he has absolutely no reason to do so, and especially by stating the obvious. For God’s sake, of course, British football is the fastest. Always has, always will be. Grass is green by the way.

The Nationalelf, however, is the second most successful team in the history of World Cups, having finished as either winner or runner-up seven times. Italy — Mr. Come-what-may-we-slow down-the-play attitude has 4+2. The Father of all the rush and kick boasts with 1+0.

So Joachim Loew is being irrationally critical of … the Bundesliga? What reason he may have had or what/who his target really was — I don’t know.

Come on, Bundesliga is only a cover name, a collective noun for all the 1) players 2) coaches 3) clubs 4) fans out there so as long as he actually bids to help the Germans lift the 2010 FIFA World Cup, a bit of a constructive criticism, better yet some constructive analysis, might have come handy instead of pointing the finger at technically no one.

So what I get from his complaint is that somebody should do something. Thank you, Mr. Loew for coming, you will be noticed.

Anyway, ball possession per player as an average is close, or below 1.0 sec in two leagues in Europe: the EPL and the Bundesliga, which is notoriously led by Hertha Berlin. If you take the extra effort, you will find that Hertha are the fastest playing team in Germany with their 1.1sec average. It got me thinking. Is is possible that there are a bunch of evil geniuses at the German FA?

In athletics, it is not unheard of that a pacemaker (sometimes called a rabbit) leads a running event for most of the time to ensure fast pace and possibly world record and also to avoid excessive tactical racing. Bundesliga and excessive tactical racing in the same sentence is a contradiction in terms, which leaves us with to ensure fast pace. Joachim Loew, master of puppets.

It should also be noted that while rabbits are usually not required to finish a race in front, they actually can and sometimes even try and go for it. This is exactly what happened with Steve Ovett (OBE, Olympic champion and world record holder) in 1981 at the Bislett Games, which he eventually lost.

Hertha making history in the Bundesliga — that most certainly would qualify for a world record. But the question still remains: are they the ‘rabbit’ or tucked in behind the rabbit?

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

Let’s face it, sleep-deprived patents should rightly be treated with Friday-night Bundesliga games and word is, it is also highly popular among self-loathers, too. To falsify my hardly existing expectations – hello, it was S04 playing after all – Wolfsburg vs. Schalke was yet another typical, entertaining game, the bittersweet essence of the Bundesliga. Judge rules: clean cut 7.

I could ramble on for ten pages (front&back) about the shortcomings of the league truly represented by this game, but there is this one thing: you may never know what’s coming.

Two weeks ago, in the limelight of publicity I predicted Wolfsburg to be the champion. I know it’s a long shot and may be seen as a sign of idiocy an impulsive buy near the register, but sometimes you have to bet big – the house takes you long term.

Please, hear me out.

1. Bayern and Hamburg are still have (int.) cup-games to come yet, while VW don’t.

2. The Last German Striker (aka Klinsmann) doesn’t really enjoy the support of Hoeness, and it is never a good thing. Actually, it is a very bad thing.

3. Alain Migliaccio – the agent of Ribéry, a kind guy as he is informed us that both Barca and MU are eager to have Scarface on board. True or not, you can’t put the tooth paste back the tube and the player himself is not too hasty to confute the news with the anything can happen-type of statements. I can hardly wait to hear Kahn saying something clever about too many foreigners.

4. Bayern need a dozen of chances to… well, usually to equalize these days.

5. Motivated sellers only can win on a slowing market. Bayern seem to play leisurely with their crowns night-gowns on, have only Podolski as a third striker, and an invisible Schweini with a quite visible contract signed.

Leverkusen are known as Neverkusen for a reason, Hoff are peacefully going down with their stomach already full and HSV want to win with the least possible effort done. I am seriously serious: who the hell can take Hertha seriously?

Defiance, however, is a great motivation. Well, the earmark of defiant behaviour is that one steps up rebelliously, agressively and with irracional force against any higher power, which reminds me that Wolfsburg have Felix führungstrainer Magath.

6. His name brings us to football fitness and condition. Ob Felix Magath auch die Titanic gerettet hätte, weiß ich nicht – auf jeden Fall wären alle Ãœberlebenden topfit gewesen! – as we read somewhere, so again, I have nothing against FC VW. On the other hand, Toni, Klose, Dr. van Bommel, Lucio, ZéRoberto, van Buyten and Oddo are already over thirty, listening to the tunes of Side B.

7. Fixtures – not too bad either. Hertha, HSV and Schalke are already done, the other derbies will be home games (11-1-0, 32-10).

8. The virgin section: may the Force be with Klinsmann, may Rangnick do all the math he needs, may Favre increase the moral up to the skies, may Labbadia and Babbel come out as the rookie of the year, and may Martin Jol do all the Godfather-impressions he wants, it is only Magath who has already got the Bundesliga job done.

9. Last season – as I recall, but might be both wrong and too lazy to look it up – Wolfsburg were the champion of the spring season, and this year they had an other go on the wasserstart-thing, while BM have started the new year with the sinking steps of a Holstein cow ready for calving.

10. Were it 2007 and was I praying for VfB Stuttgart, would anyone listen?

Ready to be judged.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

The German league has traditionally been reluctant to adopt new models and introduce upgraded elements from — let’s say — European football. If you have a look at the Bundesliga league table, you must realise that the top 6 clubs are led either by young, ambitious coaches with a scientific approach, or by foreign trainers mostly from Holland – the home of total football.

I believe it all started with the appointment of Rudi Völler as national coach, who practically came without any experience, and was later (to be honest as a result of a disastrous showing at Euro 2004) succeeded by Jurgen Klinsmann — another rookie.

Credit must be given to the DFB (German Football Federation) for taking an unprecedented risk, even though it was urged by international progress of football. It by far did not mean to leave the good old German virtues behind, but Klinsmann subsequently embarked on an aggressive program to revamp the management of the team.

He brought fellow German striker Oliver Bierhoff on board helped diffuse public relations duties of the previous combined post away from the actual coaching aspect of the position and also — big surprise — Jogi Löw, and they created a youth movement to breathe life into an aging squad.

Klinsmann and Löw had met at a coaching school years ago and the instant Klinsmann was appointed he called on Löw to serve with him. Klinsmann brought in a new attacking philosophy and used Löw, a far more talented tactician, to implement his ideas. The charismatic and highly influential Klinsmann and the tactically smart and also well-liked Löw formed a formidable team and their performances silenced the critics. Even Franz Beckenbauer, previously a strident critic of Klinsmann’s, declared his desire to see him continue as coach. There was also widespread public support for Klinsmann due to his team’s spirit and attacking style of play.

The experiment was seen as a clear success and Bundesliga clubs were all ready to follow. I can hardly remember top teams scoring and also conceding as many goals as these days (HSV 14:11; Hoffenheim 16:12; Stuttgart 12:8; Leverkusen 18:11; S04 11:7; BVB 13:11). Do or die.

Amazingly, head coaches have a combined eleven years of Bundesliga experience. Well, basically it is just Armin Veh (3 years), Rangnick (5) and Klopp (3), the other guys are simply virgins, however and fortunately, not too shy ones. And this is happening in a league, which always had distrust in innovations, being too obsessed with hierarchical structures and models, in a league, where even fans initiated campaigns Gegen den modernen fussball (~against the modern football), in a league, where Friedhelm Funkel, Christoph Daum or Felix Magath alone has more experience than the top six together.

The case of Ralf Rangnick (Hoffenheim) is especially interesting. Owing to an appearance on a sports show on German TV in December 1998, in which he explained the tactics of a game extensively on a blackboard, he is until today – mostly dismissively – nicknamed the ‘Football Professor’. I am curious to see, if the joke is going to be on him at the end of the season — I hardly think so.

Last year it was Toni and Ribéry, now it is Zaccardo, Andrea Barzagli, Khalid Boulahrouz, Henrique, Thiago Neves, Alex Silva — a couple of fresh recruits, who could fit into any other league, still were happy to join Bundesliga. Or the other way around, Bundesliga was happy to extend a warm welcome by overcoming its aversion towards (future) stars.

The attitude to the game is definitely changing in Germany, you surely have to give that. Management by vision is the key word here. The forerunners are doing well and as long as they continue to develop (why wouldn’t they?), hopefully they can make the breakthrough in the Bundesliga very quickly.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

In the last few years, the Bundesliga has raised its profile in a very professional manner. Both the economy and its partners have come to appreciate it as a strong brand that, for all its economic appeal, has never lost sight of its genuine potential offering fans a fascinating competition and great emotions. There is no doubt the Bundesliga is one of the world’s most attractive football leagues, however, there are a lot more still to come yet.

The Bundesliga is well set up, with a sound financial background and professional organisation, it has the highest attendance figures and best stadium atmosphere across Europe. Its new stars have made it even more popular. Total income in licensed football has almost reached a record € 2 billion, corresponding to an increase of just under 15 per cent compared to last year, and a sensational 37 per cent compared to the 2003/2004 season. It is not exaggerated, therefore, to claim that professional football in Germany has leapt into completely new financial dimensions in recent years.

Finance
Professional football may be a sport with all the facets of excitement and drama, but it has long since developed into a high-growth branch of industry. The establishment of modern management structures has professionalized the clubs in Germany, which to a certain extent are managed like business enterprises. This is a sound basis for further growth. Werner Wenning, CEO Bayer AG Leverkusen

It is remarkable to see what good husbandry practices clubs have applied when managing their finances over the past years. The enterprise ‘Professional Football’ remains a success story with record turnover, reduced liabilities and a constant growth in jobs reflecting the sound financial management of the clubs. An increasingly professional management ensures that the business model, with which exciting matches and fair competition stand and fall, remains stable. None of the clubs that have been part of the Bundesliga since its formation in 1963 had to file for bankruptcy during any season.

The increase in revenue on the one hand and the restraint in expenditure on the other have led to a hitherto unheard of result after tax for the period under review. All Bundesliga clubs and twelve of the 18 clubs in the Bundesliga 2, in other words 83 per cent of all licensed clubs, were in the black in the 2006/2007 season. As at the balance sheet date, 15 of the 18 Bundesliga clubs reported positive equity capital.

In absolute terms, the English professionals receive about € 1.3 billion in salaries, more than twice what their Bundesliga colleagues get to see, which amounted to a grand total in expenditure of € 530 million. This accounts for a 39.3 per cent share of total revenue. It’s almost becoming a tradition that the Bundesliga has the most favourable indicators here compared to the leading European leagues. According to a survey by Deloitte & Touche, Spain’s Primera División comes in top in this category with 64 per cent, followed by England’s Premier League (63 per cent) and French Ligue 1 (59 per cent).

Probably the best-served fans in Europe
Football and the Bundesliga — it’s become a social event, no less.
Franz Beckenbauer

The Bundesliga is a well-established, if not the most important German sports brand with a clear-cut profile. It has been fascinating millions of fans since 1964; no other league is as well-known or popular. The stars of the clubs set an example in particular to the very young fans, who feverishly follow their idols in the stadium, passionately cheering their favourite club on. For almost 45 years the Bundesliga has been a social event, casting its spell across different generations. The Bundesliga has long since advanced to an important element of both German society and economy. Almost everyone has heard of the Bundesliga. This is not an opinion, it is a fact: following awareness scores of 96 per cent in 2002, 98 per cent in 2005 and 99 per cent in 2006, 99.5 per cent of the public aged 14+ claimed to be aware of the Bundesliga.

Despite the high demand for tickets, prices have risen only moderately over the past years. The Bundesliga has by far the most affordable ticket prices of all European top leagues. Supporters of the English Premier League pay an average of € 48 per match, 2.6 times more than a Bundesliga fan with his € 18.63.

The Fan-Arbeit 2010 initiative is a fan-related project, which has become more and more demanding over the past years. To meet these requirements, the DFL has for some time now supported the professionalisation of this segment. The DFL licensing regulations require that the clubs nominate a fan representative.

The Bundesliga is steeped in history. In recent years, the DFL has joined forces with the German Football Association (DFB) to set up a Media Library in honour of this history, containing many moving pictures. Over the next couple of months, the world’s largest digital TV archive for all things football will come into being. In future, all Bundesliga fixtures recorded since 1963, and all international matches and DFB Cup matches will be stored digitally in one central place for future generations. Bit by bit, over 24,000 hours of historic football material will be entered into the archive, each Bundesliga season adding a further 612 fixtures and around 1,000 hours, including moving images and photos. The size of the archive will make it unique in the world.

Youth system
The youth academies of the league are a kind of elite school for the best, and an excellent institution which is bearing fruits. Numerous excellent players from these academies have managed to go professional already. Joachim Low

Managing young players’ development responsibly and consistently is a key element in the strategy to maintain or, ideally, enhance the quality of professional football played in Germany. Over the 2006/2007 season, the Bundesliga’s clubs and joint stock companies invested a total of almost € 44 million in their respective youth/amateur football departments and youth academies.

Since 2002, it has been obligatory for German clubs applying for their professional football licence to maintain their own youth academies. Regular checks and visits are carried out in order to verify that every club meets (and continues to meet) all of the established criteria, e.g. field a sufficient number of teams, maintain adequate training pitches and provide good-quality standards in terms of sporting, medical, and educational care.

I believe it is a necessity as well as wise prevision. Real quality players are hardly available for Bundesliga clubs and it is always better to bring up Schweinsteiger-likes than buy them. It also has the obvious advantage that each and every German international play home-soil – a living proof that hard work, meticulousness, young players and home-grown talents can lead to success.

Editor: Also see Cherie’s excellent comparison of youth football training between Germany and the US.

Brand management
As a comparatively young league, the MLS can learn a lot from the know-how and experience of German professional football. The DFL prides itself on its Europe-wide reputation of a benchmark organisation in many areas. The clubs are financially sound, attendances are on a constantly high level, clubs are negotiating winning sponsorship deals, and licensing is successful. Don Garber, Commissioner Major League Soccer

For more than a year now, international activities have been part of the DFL’s strategic brand management drive. The commercialisation of the Bundesliga rights and licenses is one of German professional football’s key sources of income. It is only logical then that the DFL dedicates a great deal of time and effort to this particular area that comprises the marketing of media rights, as well as joint sponsorship, merchandising, and licensing. Looking back on 2007, it is fair to say that the overwhelming majority of the DFL’s activities were crowned by success.

This includes cooperation with the Major League Soccer (MLS) in the United States, the media market with the world’s highest turnover. While in the beginning, joint activities focused on know-how transfer in areas such as TV production, rights and licensing distribution, as well as marketing, plans for the future include exhibition matches and training camps. The objectives are to bolster the current rise of soccer in the US, improve the Bundesliga’s marketing options in the mid to long term, and further increase its positive brand image on the ground.

The Bundesliga “comes to town”: German league teams go abroad and play high-profile international friendly matches, closely co-ordinated with their local partners and cooperating with the media on the ground. This will add positive emotional value to the brand that is the Bundesliga. The media will accompany the players and club officials as they join their foreign hosts and take part in match-related events. It has not been always so, but clubs now actively embrace this approach, making the Bundesliga the only top league in Europe with a joint, unified foreign markets policy.

However, fairness demands to admit that, when it comes to revenues from international rights marketing, the challenge remains to bridge a considerable income gap between the Bundesliga on the one hand, and the other European top leagues on the other. This area represents a major challenge, as the Bundesliga has significant ground to make up compared to other leagues — especially the English Premier League — who have systematically invested in this area for many years.

No-one will dispute that the German clubs’ record in the European club competitions (UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup) has been less than satisfactory in the last few years. A critical analysis of this fact has yielded a number of possible explanations, one of the most frequently cited being that, compared with the earnings realised by other major European league clubs from the sale of the domestic TV broadcasting rights, German teams invariably lag behind. However, the efficiency gains realised from the central marketing of broadcasting rights (and the applied distribution key guided by the principle of league solidarity) form an asset that all of the Bundesliga clubs benefit from in no small measure.

On the whole, the Bundesliga is making excellent progress, which has been speeded up by the 2006 World Cup, the league is on the right track. With regard to attendance figures, infrastructure, finances, as well as safety and security, it does not have to fear any comparison with European competitors. Of course, it doesn’t mean there is no room for improvement. However, when it comes to administering the professional game, the DFL has proven it is firmly in the driving seat looking for the best possible solutions.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

Jurgen Klinsmann. Master of diversion – so everybody be cool, keine Panik!

A year ago, it was all about The Bayern Munich revolution led by the General, birds chirping, sun rising, set to conquer the world, or at least to grab the UEFA Cup – again, thank you Felix. Now there is Californication, a man with a super secret action plan and a clear message from Bremen with love.

Sure, a coach needs time and patience until his theories incarnate into a Wundermannschaft. Sir Alex himself was a game away from being fired — some twenty years ago in a black November. Everybody is innocent until proven guilty, so let’s give Klinsmann the benefit of the doubt, hoping that his project is far from reaching its climax. However….

Project code 3-5-2
Without being too Ralf Rangnick — once cynically nicked as the Football Professor by propitious colleagues and fans, who were laughing their asses off seeing him tossing magnets on a board — I simply cannot understand the system applied at Munich. I can remember the Squadra Azzurra playing the same system under Zoff, as well as Brazil winning the World Cup in 2002. Unfortunately, the only parallel to be drawn is between Roque Junior and Lucio….

Using a format so old-fashioned might even be a stroke of a genius – I don’t know. What I do know is that it requires three central defenders while Bayern have only one: Demichelis. Good-old Lucio is not the same as he ever was. He still leads ferocious attacks with eyes closed / mouth wide open but it does more harm than good, not to mention his error level at the back. Van Buyten is more medicine than defender — comes in handy in an emergency, but shouldn’t be exposed to (lime)light. Bayern conceded twenty-one goals last season. It is September, and the counter is up to nine, which also means that Lahm and Lell simply can’t live up to the double expectation of being a fullback and a wingback at the same time. Bastards.

It leaves the midfield with three more spots to be filled. Schweini gets the ball, ready for some action. Squints at right — it is van Bommel. Squints at left — and, what do you know, it is Ottl. Or Borowski, maybe Zé Roberto on a lucky day. The lineup is jam packed with defenders, how the hell is the guy supposed to be constructive? No wonder he had to blow off some steam and went berserk attacking the perimeter board. He got left behind.

Licence to kill
Eat, or be eaten, it has always been the Bayern way. They have never looked for the joy in the game, instead they’re in it for the sheer triumph of victory at all cost. Every given fixture is only the opportunity to take scalps and fight for points with an evil desire to possess. This is the spirit you need for twenty Bundesliga titles, to put intolerable pressure upon those having the bad faith to cross you.

Not with this team, not with this lineup. I saw no signs of team-spirit in the Super Cup (it was silverware after all), not against HSV or this weekend. I didn’t even see a decent attack. I saw a team without a captain squirming in its own squeeze.

If Mesut Özil can pull out an amazing performance against Munich then why, why is Toni Kroos being left to shrivel on the bench? To avoid yet another Deisler-story? Or is it just an other act of the Klinsmann—Hoeness power play? I can not figure any argument good enough to keep him sidelined without giving him the opportunity to play twenty-some minutes at least.

Bayern made it through the transfer season without bringing quality players on board, instead reconstructing the players’ quarters to be the performance centre on suggestions by Klinsmann, even featuring statues of Buddha. To optimize the karma of the players. Or something. Anyway, the new winds of the Far East truly touched Klose and he ended up as the Holy Cow of the club — maybe a Brahma sanctuary is also hidden somewhere, while all the prayers of the world wouldn’t help Podolski to get a spot. As long as all the strikers are fit, the situation is ok, but an injury would leave Klinsi with no proper substitute.

Tomorrow never dies
Messiah, Ribéry is your name. The very minute he returns, things will be different. However, I cannot see Bayern playing with the same system, so why on earth was it introduced in the first place? Is this the strategic vision of management, a term said to be almost inseparable from Klinsmann?

Breno, Altintop or Oddo may also help to set the rusty machinery in motion. Better yet, to fire up the locomotion. Don’t forget, the world Bundesliga is not enough, they have to make it to Rome somehow.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

Get all the updates on the latest England-Germany match here.

Football has developed quickly in many countries because it used to be part of the politics of the pursuit of power and the ideologies it serves. Rapidly, it became the expression of nationalism, patriotism and chauvinism, even before the international federations were established. More than most sports, it lends itself to tribal feelings: the collective effort, the team colors, the speed, the physical aggression. Coaches sometimes nicknamed The General like Ottmar Hitzfeld or Rinus Michels – off the top of my head. Michels said once:

Professional football is something like war. Whoever behaves too properly is lost.

It has often been misquoted in the form “Football is war.” Michels often emphasized that the quote was taken out of context as he did not intend to equate war with football. (Of course, I am not suggesting that he should be blamed for the phenomenon).

The countries’ individual national identities or obsessions are also mirrored in the choice and variety of images they use when reporting on a football match. Tabloids are never slow to dig into their chest of war clichés. Reports which appeared in the English tabloids during Euro ’96, typified by the Daily Mirror’s headline ‘Achtung! Surrender’ (24 June 1996) received widespread criticism.

Nevertheless, the fat was in the fire. A 17-year-old boy walking across the Richmond Green to catch up with friends, completely unprovoked, was punched in the face and knocked unconscious. Why? Because he wore a Germany football T-shirt.

The Sun at another time decided to send a brass band to the German team hotel at night before the World Cup qualifier against England in 2001. On the other hand… it was never proved that Germans had anything to do with the mysterious food poisoning of Gordon Banks a day before the World Cup quarterfinal against West Germany, but eyebrows were seriously raised.

So make no mistake, the Germans are not any better either. Anyway, it seems they cannot get rid of their obsession with leader figures, with generation icon Kaiser Franz Beckenbauer, the Emperor a patent example.

However, there is nationalism, and there is football nationalism, which to be honest, may also
contain darker, more aggressive feelings, especially when sporting combat is loaded with historical memories as it is clearly the case when England and Germany face each other. Fortunately, like everything else, forms of patriotism change over time.

Kevin Keegan making history at Hamburger SV? Nonsense. Who would have ever thought that Markus Babbel would once shake the Kop and Ballack gets cheered in London? If Inzaghi was born offside, than Jurgen Klinsmann was airborn(e). Being so, he arrived at Tottenham as a loathed villain, still left a conquering hero. Nonetheless, there is someone who used to spend even more time in the air than the blonde bomber.

Born in Germany, Bert Trautmann was brought up as one of the Hitler Youth and subsequently became a paratrooper during the Second World War. Trautmann was sent to fight in Russia and spent three years fighting mission impossible, earning five medals including an Iron Cross. Later, he was transferred to the Western front and was captured by the British as one of only 90 of his original 1,000-man regiment to survive the war. He became a POW in Lancashire. Having been released he refused an offer of repatriation and started to work in the agriculture while playing as goalkeeper for local non-league football team St. Helens Town.

In October 1949 he was signed by Manchester City after impressing them in a friendly. The decision of the club triggered huge protests, 20.000 people attended the demonstration and got abused by fans for a long time. He just couldn’t care less and devoted his entire fifteen year career playing for City (1949 — 1964). Unbelievable as it may sound, he broke his neck during the FA Cup Final against Birmingham and stayed on the pitch!

As a former handball player, Trautmann was adept at throwing the ball long distances, an attribute he used to start attacking moves (particularly after witnessing Hungarian goalkeeper Gyula Grosics use such tactics) and confessedly had great influence on Gordon Banks’ playing style.

He went on to make 545 appearances and won Footballer of the Year award in 1956. He became OBE (Order of the British Empire) in 2004.

Bert Trautmann lives near Valencia, Spain. He helped establish the Trautmann Foundation, the goal of which is to improve Anglo—German relationships through his example, through football.

I achieved many things in life. But for me, the most important thing was the way the people of Lancashire and England accepted somebody, who had been their enemy.

His story never ceases to amaze me.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

Every Bundesliga team has been jointly liable to run a youth academy since 2002, moreover, it is one of the eligibility criterias to obtain the club license. The annual operation is supervised by the DFB itself. Last year, an astonishing ~ €70 million was invested in the new generations. Not in vain.

Even though young talents from Germany do not get hyped around Europe, they are clearly out there and it is naive to think that Bundesliga is lacking in funds. Here are 10 young Bundesliga players who may well be the stars of tomorrow:

Manuel Neuer (March 27, 1986)

At the age of twenty-two, it is unusual to be a regular starter in any league, but Neuer just couldn’t care less. He was one of only three Bundesliga players to play every single minute in the 2007—08 season.

His most memorable performance was against FC Porto in the Champions League when he kept Schalke in the game all night long, saving not only two penalties, but also Slomka’s ass at the end — at least for a while.

Even though he has a feeling for mishaps (being a goalie after all), he definitely seems to be a long term solution in Gelsenkirchen.

Having said that, Neuer is currently being socialised at Schalke and his idol has always been Jens Lehmann. A living proof that there is no such thing as multiple disadvantages.

Michael Rensing (May 14, 1984)

Rensing joined FC Bayern in 2000 from TuS Lingen, and went on to develop his talent in the club’s youth sides — behind now legendary Oli Kahn, may he enjoy his pension years.

Being so, Rensing has since become the first choice at Bayern. Heavy burden. However, nobody was surprised to see him coming around. His obvious talent, determination and solid performance made Herr Hoeness grant him the opportunity to prove himself worthy. No wonder, Bayern have never lost a Bundesliga match with Rensing in goal to this day. If he finds the strength to control the area, a new Munich icon is about to arise.

René Adler (January 15, 1985)

René Adler emerged as one of the new stars of the league during the 2007/08 season. It was his first full Bundesliga campaign with Bayer Leverkusen – enough to keep Timo Hildebrand out of the EURO 2008 squad, mainly due to his astonishing reflex saves. Beyond his outstanding skills, he also contributes a lot to the team, plays with passion (obsession, if you like) and already pulled some tricks like Kahn used to do. I believe he is going to be captain of Leverkusen soon — as it had always been the case before he stormed into the first team.

Adler arrived from VfB Leipzig in 2000 and lived at the home of former Leverkusen goalkeeper and 1988 UEFA Cup winner Rüdiger Vollborn for four years after joining the club, which may also have positive side effects. We are in Leverkusen, after all.

Adler was awarded Best Bundesliga Goalkeeper 2008. Without a shadow of doubt he is.

Even though German football is often generalized by discipline and will-power, without the likes of Netzer, Thomas Häßler, Möller or Effenberg they wouldn’t have much to brag about. I am not saying that Nationalelf lack the kind as of today (well, as a matter of fact I am), but it seems to be a good idea to integrate the next up-and-coming young midfield generation in the national team before 2012.

Toni Kroos (January 4, 1990)

Probably the biggest talent in Bundesliga over all. He was awarded the Golden Ball as the tournament’s best player and also won the bronze shoe after scoring five goals in the 2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup. He plays for Bayern Munich — where else, wearing number 39. What makes it interesting is the fact that Uli Honess claimed recently that shirt 10 is being saved for him until gains more experience.

At a Bayern suffering from heavy Ribéry addiction, he seems to be an excellent choice to play in the center. His moves and passes across the middle of the park show not only German efficiency, but also the true touchstone of an inspired mind. He is a 1 in 100 player with a complete game.

General Hitzfeld — a massive clean-sheet fetishist — didn’t really cut him slack last season; however, he is expected to play a more significant role in the new era. At least by me. Otherwise, I will have to say Klinsi got torn between his principles and the desire to live up to the management.

Marko Marin aka Matchbox (March 13, 1989)

Probably the biggest talent in Bundesliga over all. Er… sorry, wrong speech.

Marin is a German winger with Bosnian heritage, more importantly with excellent technical skills, pace and a wagon-load of creativity — the Belgians can surly back me up on this one (literally a close watch it was). He comes from the youth system of Mönchengladbach ~ the Ajax of Germany, and already established himself as a starter.

Even though he is considered as a winger on the first place, he has good field vision and can contribute a lot to the flow of the game — just like his idol Dejan Savicevic could. Yes, a little bit inconsistent, but it is almost a requirement at such young age, especially for instinctive players like him. Yet another season or two, and he will be able to decide when to dribble, when to pass and bang, there is your Littbarski. Playing in an ardent team like Borussia may also help him to bulk up a bit.

I can’t help but add two more names here: Deniz Naki and especially Marcel Risse. I have seen them throughout the U19 European Championship this year (won by Germany) and was impressed right away. Naki is a both-footed offensive midfielder/second attacker with remarkable individual skills — the guy wiggles through defence like a drunk snake, you may never know what comes next.

Risse is a different story. A prodigious talent, an instant get — if you ask me. He is only 18; however, the maturity he plays with amazed me most. Fast, powerful, focused, sharp and equipped with live ammunition – not afraid to use it. Of course, Bayern Real Madrid have already approached him but were rebuffed. What to say — a wiser decision than firing Skibbe. Talking about Leverkusen….

Patrick Helmes aka Moppel (March 1, 1984)

A striker of no pretension – a morsel of cross, a stray ball is enough for him to get by if midfield service is not available. Helmes is a clinical finisher, who can actually dribble and has decent ball control — the kind of player Miro Klose used to be before changing to the dark side.

Helmes is a Cologne local hero, ex-captain of the team and had an enormous role in finally getting back to business, namely, to Bundesliga 1. Funny thing, he would have made it anyway since Leverkusen have been keen to sign him for years.

He was included in Löw’s provisional Euro 2008 squad but was eventually left out like the above mentioned Marko Marin.

Mesut Özil (October 15, 1988)

The king has died, long live the king. In other words, Özil has played in the place of suspended Lincoln for the first time at Schalke in Bundesliga.

Özil, a recent call up for the German U21 team, is a playmaker/attacking midfielder. I am not quite sure he is as talented as the guys already mentioned but there is definitely something about him.

Take his transfer for Bremen, for instance. He was offered three different contracts by S04 — only to deem all of them unacceptable without even having a look. You can’t miss his lawless aptitude on the pitch either. In one moment he stands splurgely with arms akimbo than pulls off a winner. Besides, he plays with a bit of pride and a touch of arrogance. But what do you know; Toni Schumacher started his career as a backroom boy….

Over the last decade, Bundesliga has become a showcase for young South American talents in addition to the ever-present German ones — it does not apply to Hertha, they believe in mediocrity. But it is just not the case with Bayern and HSV. Even though Martin Jol has some German connections, he must have the Bundesliga confused with the Premier League, and HSV ended up as the biggest spender this year. However, he seems to be a man with a plan.

Thiago Neves (February 27, 1985)

A Brazil international who made himself known to the world when accomplished a hat-trick in the 2008 Copa Libertadores final. Neves, an excellent player for the position of a No.10, is seen as an adequate replacement for the outgoing Rafael van der Vaart. He has accurate passing skills and samba-feet, but not shy to shoot ground-air rockets from downtown either.

Upon his arrival, it also should be noted that he chose the Bundesliga deliberately over EPL (Man. City) and La Liga (Atletico M.). Considering that Giovane Elber is still the highest scoring foreign player in Bundesliga history netting 133 goals — his task is given.

Alex Sandro da Silva (March 10, 1985)

“Alex Silva is a great central defender, whose particular strength is his dynamism. He’s a young player, but one with a lot of experience in the Brazilian top flight and the Copa Libertadores. He will lend even greater stability to our defence” – says HSV sporting director Dietmar Beiersdorfer, and who am I to doubt it? He has an other good reference, being the younger brother of Benfica central defender Luisao.

Both Silva’s and Thiago Neves’ most recent achievement was a bronze medal with Brazil at the Olympic football tournament in Beijing. The next may be the reload of the grand HSV of the early ’80s.

No list of young talents can be complete without drawing a comparison with Maradona, or at least proclaiming someone a prodigy. I will respectfully skip the first proviso and also shift the responsibility of labeling Levan Kenia a prodigy to Klaus Toppmöller, former coach of Georgia.

Levan Kenia (October 18, 1990)

Already capped six times by Georgia (as the youngest player ever), he has attracted interest from a number of clubs and finally Schalke general manager Andreas Müller was delighted to have lured him to Gelsenkirchen. Until turning 18 Levan will only have the permission to play with the youth side and is expected to join the first squad next season.

Levan is a great talent, technically perfect and has great vision. To be honest, he comes with a little flaw, but seriously who couldn’t cite absolutely left-footed geniuses by the dozen?

He is exactly what Schalke need since Ivan Rakitic, with due respect, will never be more than an overrated, spoilt talent always ready for a beer.

The Bundesliga is definitely on the up. It might be wisdom or simply the result of tight budgets in some cases but German football has re-discovered the beauty of bringing young talents on board. No doubt, the new young and wild generation is ready for the kick take off.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

Raphael Honigstein is a German journalist and author who works as an English football correspondent for German media as well as his more prominent role as a German football correspondent for English media (you may remember him from his work at the Guardian, Sky or Setanta).

We caught up with Raphael Honigstein to ask him a few questions about football club ownership in Germany, prevalent footballing tactics, the future of the Premier League and more.

SoccerLens: In the Bundesliga, 51 cent of clubs must be owned by members. When do you expect the ownership regulation to be canceled?

Raphael Honigstein: It will be canceled when Hoffenheim establish themselves as a major club, maybe in five years or even less. Other clubs will want to compete and will force through the rule change to attract investors.

SL: Are you for it?

RH: I’m a little torn on this particular issue. There’s much to be said for the democratic club structure. It safe-guards accountability and transparency and it also makes sure that money doesn’t leave the club in the form of dividends to share-holders even if the clubs are officially plcs like Bayern or Dortmund. Ideally I’d like the Bundesliga to grow organically and from within, the way Bayern, Schalke, Bremen and Hamburg have been able to do.

SL: What do you think the possible consequences will be?

RH: Professional football is ultimately about attracting money in order to attract players and if, say, Adidas were to up their stake in Bayern from 10% to 60%, with a cash investment of 1 billion Euros, I don’t think too many Bayern fans would mind. The “fit & proper” test will have to be quite stringent, though.

SL: The Magath-experiment – the adoption of new club models in Bundesliga is the necessary way of development or is it just Wolfsburg-extravagance?

RH: I’m not sure it’s either necessary or extravagant. Wolfsburg didn’t have good enough technical directors and manager’s in the past to fulfill the owners’ ambitions. Entrusting the whole operative business to one singular man smacks a little bit of desperation, and also impatience. It’s a calculated risk, though, because Magath has already shown at Stuttgart that he knows how to handle these responsibilities. I don’t think it’s the way forward, however, because it’s still, on balance, advantageous to separate powers. The Bundesliga/continental system of coach plus technical director basically works quite well. Crucially, it avoids “conflict of interest”-type George Graham situations that we regularly see in England. There might be in-fighting or politics but ultimately, the club is still quite stable because not everything hinges on man. And don’t forget that it’s hugely expensive to start again from zero, with new players and staff, once your Magath-type dictator is getting fired.

SL: Today’s most fashionable way of playing is considered to be 4-2-3-1. Regarding the evolution of playing systems, what is your assumption for the near future? If we accept that most thing is cyclical in history, can we ever watch 3-4 forwards again?

RH: The one-striker system turns football’s first ever tactics — everybody forward apart from one defender – on it’s head. Up until a year or two ago, there was nothing cyclical about the history of football tactics, teams basically became more defensive, at least in formation, with every generation. I’d be surprised if we were to move away from four at the back: it’s simply the most efficient, balanced way to compress space. But beyond that things will become more fluid. If you look at Man United for example, you could argue that they played with four strikers but no centre-forward last season. A 4-2-4-0 if you will. I think we’ll see more attacking midfielders like Cristiano Ronaldo who can move up into forward positions but the fox in the box-type player is probably on his way out.

SL: It might just be me, but the last person I heard talking about doping in football was Toni Schumacher… On what level do you think it is present in international football these days?

RH: I think it does happen, mostly in a grey area, just on the legal side of things. Think Juve’s painkillers and anti-depressants or Chelsea’s blood-spinning. I’m also sure it was pretty rampant in the 70s, 80s and early 90s as well.

SL: If one says ‘sustainable growth’ and ‘Premier League’ – how does a football expert react?

RH: The amazing thing is that most marketing experts will tell you that football rights — and Premier League clubs in particular — are still undervalued today. Football as a product blows nearly everything out of the water and that’s why revenue will only go up further. Especially when and if clubs will be able to deliver live matches via the internet to millions of Asian fans for, say, 1 dollar per game.

SL: You know PL and Bundesliga inside-out. Gabor Kiraly used to be in Berlin for 7 years and after a 1-1 draw in San Siro, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said live on TV that Kiraly is better between the posts than Oliver Kahn.
Later on Kiraly joined Crystal Palace and came second behind Petr Cech among the goalies in the first year. He is at Burnley now and in the preseason edition of FFT one of the fans named him to be the player the club should get rid of. Why couldn’t he make it in England?

RH: I think Kiraly is basically an excellent shot-stopper but in England, especially in lower divisions, it’s all about coming for crosses and controlling the area. I don’t think he was neither strong nor athletic enough for this role. And the fact that his long trousers looked like dragging him down in the rain didn’t help either.

SL: There are more and more Hungarian players in England. Is anybody in the scope of your interest? (e.g.: Zoltan Gera – Fulham, Peter Halmosi — Hull City, Akos Buzsaky — QPR, Krisztian Nemeth – Liverpool) Maybe Tamás Hajnal (BVB), or Szabolcs Huszti (Hannover)?

RH: Gera is seen as one of the best buys this season and I’m certainly looking forward to seeing more of him. Apart from him, Hajnal is the most exciting Hungarian player for me right now.

SL: Who looks best equipped to break the big four’s domination of the Premier League? Can ambitious rivals make it through?

RH: Yes, I think so. City will be a force; Spurs are not far away either.

SL: What motivates you in blogging/writing?

RH: I think you want to share your thoughts and opinions with people. It’s really a great privilege to be able to do so with the help of big media companies.

SL: If you were to write a motto for football, what would that be? What do you think the essence of the game is?

RH: That’s a tough one. Maybe “Winning with Integrity”.

SL: I have recently read that Ben Welsch attended the preseason trainings of Swindon Town and could even play a couple of minutes against Steaua. Should you have a similar chance, which team would you play for and who would you try to nutmeg?

RH: I stopped playing in 2002 after my third cruciate ligament and often dream about playing again. I’d like to nutmeg David Beckham, no matter what shirt I’d be wearing.

Raphael, thank you very much.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

The Topper Harley-like power dive of the Bavarians ended three meters below the surface of the Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion, due to the critical loss of the right wing. Gomez was all happy to take good advantage of it and still wearing his Halloween hangman costume showed no hesitation to carry out the sentence. However, he may never have succeeded if it weren’t for self-nominated robicarlos Ludovic Magnin, who provided excellent box to box play.

Expectable as it was, the Reds could have only been defeated two ways in Bundesliga — either with an out of bunker strike as Frankfurt t(r)ied, or with kamikaze attacks from the very beginning hoping to score before you die – knowing the inconsistent defence the VfB have, no wonder the young&wild opted for version B.

Were there ominous signs? No doubt. Nimbus was maintained in Belgrade, but two goalless draws in the League atop with a poor UEFA performance against PL also-ran Bolton made pundits shake their heads in disbelief. But not executive director Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, who has always been against the return of Hitzfeld, the grandmaster of rotation.

But this time it backfired louder than a Trabant (ultimate symbol of inefficient DDR industry). Bayern conceded almost as many goals as in the whole season thanks to the red-carpet walkthrough laid by the now pushover midfielders — release can only be given to the all-time youngest BM starter Tony Kroos. I am shocked to hear myself say that the absence of Dr. van Bommel caused emergency in the midfield, without his license to kill they marched into battle unarmed, were highly disorganised and uninspired, moreover, were constantly fleeing from duels. This match also raised the sensitive question of whether a team that relies heavily on individuals and suffers from Ribéry addiction can be considered as TEAM with capital letters.

Hitzfeld’s other great mistake was to have been deceived by the midweek illusion of Podolski — granting a first half permission to leave for Stuttgart defenders. He meant danger only for home fans sitting in sector D by sending random ground-air rockets at them — leaving Schafer’s net to be the best cover. By the time Miro got on board it was all over, not as if average onlookers had been able to see the spark of Bayern’s determination to pay back for the last season fiasco for the die Schwaben, since they were playing hands down from the beginning.

All in all, we can report both a well-deserved victory for Stuttgart to continue their march up the table in fine style and two incoming vehicles in Bayern’s rearview-mirror — hunting season is back.

P.s.:Talking about pay-back time, BM players can take vengeance on Magath (was called Saddam behind his back in Munich) with the Wolves visiting the Allianz Arena in the next round. The Reds have two weeks to regroup and give them a tough tour in the Colossium.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

According to unconfirmed sources Master Yoda was thought to have been seen pal around with Herr Doll, one of the few survivors of the Eastern Empire, minutes before kick-off time and we are likely to be given credit for the story.

Particularly, because the other possibility is that our preview became known among miners of the Ruhr—area and words from the street sneaked into the dressing room right into the left ear of Dolly making him forget about diamonds and other gems. Miners have a soul for football anyway; Kevin Keegan or Josef Masopust can surely back me up on this one.

In one way or another, the starting line-up of Borussia was a 4-1-4-1 system, which hasn’t been seen so far, to give BVB both the initiative and the power to surprise (the proud sponsor of the UEFA will be delighted to read this — yet another brainwashed fan).

Meanwhile Bayern showed three changes to the side which sealed a dramatic win against Red Star Belgrade in midweek. Ernesto Sosa, sidelined for two months after ankle surgery, got back at Hamit Altintop’s expense; half-fit, but fully passable Lahm was replaced by Christian Lell and considering that ridicuously expensive bench warmer Podolski took no advantage of being in the squad in Belgrade – Luca Toni reverted.

The Buckley, Valdez, Tinga trio occupied the centre circle taking possession more often than not, BVB players saw stars (er… not exactly BM players I mean) and everybody wanted to show off against Bayern, especially because of former Borussia coach Hitzfeld. After a dispiriting first half, the home side had some clear-cut openings so the weary Bavarians were lucky to get away with a goalless draw in the end.

Without Mr. Frenchman they were roughly as creative as Hulk, Luca was daydreaming about far beaches and high jinks and Klose was only close this time. Dortmund is not out of the woods yet, however, they are getting better dodging incoming visitors (Rostock, HSV) and stopped conceding three golas per match.

Hitzfeld seemed satisfied after the game claiming he was very happy with the point since ‘The game in Belgrade cost us an incredible amount of energy, so we were only operating at about 70 percent of our potential’ and Martin Demichelis went further on with ‘I could tell my team-mates had exhausted their reserves of energy in the UEFA Cup.’

By the end of the press conference we got more tired of the snivelling than players from the Serbian tour as if it had been more than a simple away game against a rather average opponent. We popped up the question of ‘Ãœbermanschaft’ Bayern playing life and death derbies in the CL but were shushed and warned that we were not welcome in the open bar any more.

As a protest we were about to leave when Thomas Doll stormed in citing sonorous phrases about grave injustice and went on thundering about gilt-edged chances. Fortunately, he spared us the results like this are not sufficient for a top team speech, which would have been a bit of a hypocrisy. Still, I can’t resist to add: we are not obliged to believe BVB is a top team, are we?

Having overcome 2. Bundesliga leader Mönchengladbach 3-1 in the DFB Cup (Luca 2, sub Klose 1), the Reds are facing yoyo team Franfurt on Saturday, who is to be found among top five worst offences while BM have conceded only four and scored the most goals thus we are expecting a seriously one-sided game. Funkel doesn’t like to watch his squad to lose so he usually puts nine men behind the ball with the only Amanatidis left in front. If they can score from one of their rare chances it’s fine, if no, well, it’s just as good.

They seem to have recovered from the shock they suffered when visiting Bavaria last time with a goalless draw against KSC, but they need to ask for a second opinion to make us think they are not as bad as we may remember. However, recently chicken Frankfurt should show their true colours by turning into Eagles to grab a point from the Arena. Should they focus on defence, and D-fence only, we can not see it happening. Key players like Streit, Meier and Takahara must play the ball forward to avoid being trapped in the penalty area, which would come with the inevitable consequence of bagging five again.

Truth to be told about the home side, the only problem they may have is that the bar was raised three notches – by themselves. Victory has become the bare minimum, now they have to win with style, break every record at hand and score, score and score. High expectations and excessive pressure with living legends leading the club won’t make things any easier. Does this team have the guts?

PS: Beside Bayern Munich, Eintracht is the only club having members in each of Germany’s World Cup winning teams. Glorious past at both sides – let’s see what the successors got.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News