German Bundesliga Week 11 Tipping

This weekend German Bundesliga will play their 11th match of the season. Last week I had 5 correct tips and 1 correct scores. Here's my week 11 tipping:

Bayer Leverkusen (2nd) vs VfL Wolfsburg (8th) - Friday: Even the distance in the league table is a bit far, the matchup in fact is quite close. Leverkusen continued the great form last match and they seemed their attacking is one of the best in the league. They continued the fast pace attack and Werder Bremen last match had no chance to fight back. At the same time, Rene Adler the new German no.1 goalkeeper keeps the excellent form and the defense seems stable. On the other hand, Wolfsburg is seeking for a stable form back again after their excellent run in 2 matches ago. Even though their attack and defense are looking solid, they are quite hard to stop Leverkusen as their recent form is not as good as them. So I believe Leverkusen will control the game. My tipping: Leverkusen win 2-0.

Werder Bremen (10th) vs Hertha Berlin (5th) - Saturday: Werder Bremen is in very poor form. Their defense is absolutely tragic even with Per Mertesacker, who came back from suspension last match against Leverkusen. Naldo is currently in very poor form and he does not do anything help to Per Mertesacker. So the opposition can go very deep easily. Hertha Berlin on the other hand is very solid this season so far. Even their attack and defense are average, they are still enough to go through the opposition. Considering the poor form from Werder Bremen, I believe Werder Bremen will be getting upset this Saturday. My tipping: Hertha Berlin win 2-1.

VfB Stuttgart (9th) vs 1. FC Köln (11th) - Saturday: Well, this mid table clash is very hard to call. Stuttgart is really relying on Mario Gomez on the attack, when he cannot perform, the whole attack lose the leadership. The midfield of Stuttgart is young, but average. They cannot provide crucial performance in the crucial moments. This is why they are stucked in the mid table so far. Köln is bit surprised for me that they are standing tough in the mid table, it proved their summer purchase was correct. The main problem is their attack, they are not really creative to create goals when the game is deadlocked. When they fall behind, it is very hard for them to bounce back. So the key point of the match is if Mario Gomez can breakthrough the game. My tipping: Stuttgart win 2-0.

Hannover 96 (14th) vs Hamburger SV (3rd) - Saturday: Northern Germany derby, but in fact the distance between these 2 teams are huge. Hannover even though had beaten Bayern München few weeks ago, it doesn't seem they can stand up tough after this. Their form is very poor and they can't get any winning formular so far. Mikael Forsell is still searching for his bes form yet, and Jan Schlaudraff does not have any helps. On the other hand, Hamburger didn't be affected by the huge loss to Hoffenheim last Sunday and they can keep the form well. Piotr Trochowski is still the man to watch. Base on the form, it is more than enough to say Hamburger should not have problems to win. My tipping: Hamburger win 3-0.

Bayern München (4th) vs Arminia Bielefeld (15th) - Saturday: Even though Bayern needs to consider the away game against Fiorentina in Champions League, even their defense have lots of problems still, they are still too good for Bielefeld. Bayern are now in the best form of the season, they won 3 league games in a row and started to climb back to the pole position. On the other hand, Bielefeld are still finding hard to get back to the form, so they are no match against Bayern. The key point of the match is Bayern must not get careless. My tipping: Bayern win 4-0.

Energie Cottbus (18th) vs Schalke 04 (6th) - Saturday: Being at the bottom of the table is not unfamiliar to Energie Cottbus. They do always have the problem in attack. They only know how to rush the ball, not create the ball. So the opposition is quite easy to stop them. Schalke 04 is very solid in defense this season, so Cottbus cannot even score against them this match. Cottbus, I believe, needs to work extra hard on scoring goals. If Schalke can score early, Schalke will have another huge win. My tipping: Schalke win 3-0.

Hoffenheim (1st) vs Karlsruher (13th) - Saturday: Hoffenheim seems they are unstoppable this season so far. Their attacks are the best in German Bundesliga so far, even better than Werder Bremen in terms of stats. As I mentioned, their attacks is so good that the others even don't have chance to hold on the ball. However, once the opposition are good enough to hold the ball, their defense is pretty vulnerable, they lost 2-5 against Leverkusen and 4-5 against Werder Bremen is the example. However, I still don't think Karlsruher will have any chance to hold on the ball as their quality of possession is not good enough. My tipping: Hoffenheim win 3-1.

Borussia Dortmund (7th) vs VfL Bochum (16th) - Sunday: The distance between these 2 teams are quite far. Dortmund so far this season are very energetic, as there are lots of young players like Mats Hummels and Neven Subotic in the team, with the lead of new captain Sebastian Kehl. However, their inexperience always leads them to lose goals or even fail to finish the game. On the other hand, Bochum is underachieving this season so far. The players fail to perform what they should perform. With Dabrowski is suspended this match, Bochum even lose the only chance to snatch a point. My tipping: Dortmund win 3-0.

Borussia Mönchengladbach (17th) vs Eintract Frankfurt (12th) - Sunday: Mönchengladbach is absolutely being over-estimated in the pre-season prediction. They have troubles everywhere because they believed the original squad is good enough to remain at the mid table. In fact, the players are always outclassed in the match and they keep losing goals and fail to score back. This is all the fault of the upper management. Even they replace the new coach, Meyer, they need time to recover. However, Frankfurt this season is not good enough as well, all the forms from the 2 winning streaks are all gone. So at most Frankfurt can only get a draw back home. My tipping: Match draw 1-1.

So this is my tipping this week!!

German Bundesliga Week 10 Tipping

This week German Bundesliga speeds up the schedule by opening the midweek entertainment. Here's the week 10 tipping:

VfL Wolfsburg (9th) vs Borussia Mönchengladbach (17th) - Tuesday: Wolfsburg last Saturday failed to win against Bayern München when they were 2-0 up. It showed the team was a bit inexperienced for protecting the lead. Andrea Barzagli and Zaccardo are not as good as when they were playing in Italy. However, their offense is quite fast to bring threats to the opposition so far. On the other hand, Mönchengladbach seemed to improve much after sacking the coach and Christian Ziege is now caretaking the team, especially in terms of defense. However, considering the better quality from Wolfsburg plus they have home court advantage, I believe Wolfsburg should not have problem to win. My tipping: Wolfsburg win 2-0.

Werder Bremen (10th) vs Bayer Leverkusen (2nd) - Tuesday: A blockbuster in Tuesday night. Werder Bremen this season so far show how fragile the defense is. They keep scoring but they keep losing goals. Last match the defense was better but the team was affected by the Champions League so they failed to win. The defense will be their key to 3 points in Tuesday. On the other hand, Leverkusen is currently on top form, especially Patrick Helmes. Their attack is so fast and furious that there are few teams which can stop them. Considering the fragile defense from Werder Bremen, I believe Leverkusen can upset Werder Bremen, at least they can get one point back home. My tipping: Match draw 2-2.

Karlsruher SC (13th) vs Schalke 04 (7th) - Tuesday: Schalke were seemed that was too heavy for them to play 2 matches in 3 days, so last week the match ended up with draw. Apart from this, it could be seen that their attacks were too simple and it was quite hard to break down the well-discipline defense. This is what Karlsruher has. They have well-discipline defense to lead them to stand tough in the midtable. However, it needs to consider that their fitness is not strong enough to hold on all over 90 minutes and they seem their attack is not as shape as last season, so if they concede goal first, they even are very hard to snatch back a draw. So the crucial point of this game is Schalke's attack. My tipping: Schalke win 1-0.

Arminia Bielefeld (16th) vs Energie Cottbus (18th) - Tuesday: A tough call, to be honest. Both teams have lots of problems in terms of attack and defense, so that's why they are fighting for survive now. The critical point of this game is the match performance. In this situation teams like them are really relying on their outstanding performance to cover their problem. Considering Bielefeld is a home team, they may have the upper hand. My tipping: Bielefeld win 2-1.

Hamburger SV (3rd) vs VfB Stuttgart (4th) - Wednesday: This is the huge match in Wednesday night. Hamburger last match showed their injury problems really hurt the team, especially in defense. They were powerless to stop Hoffenheim to score goals. At the same time, when Piotr Trochowski was forzen, the whole attacks were dead. On the other hand, Stuttgart's Gomez is currently picking up the peak form and he scored 2 goals in Sunday. So he will be the biggest threats to Hamburger this match. The key point in the match is if Hamburger can stop Stuttgart attack, and I do not believe they can. My tipping: Stuttgart win 2-1.

Hertha Berlin (6th) vs Hannover 96 (14th) - Wednesday: Hertha Berlin so far is very solid in terms of defense and attack. I believe the high rate of team work brought them to the 6th position in the table. On the other hand, Hannover even though they have team work, they fail to connect each other in terms of defense and attack. Espeically in defense, it is predicted to get worse when Robert Enke is injured. Last week Werder Bremen was just too tired to win the game against them. This time they won't be that lucky to escape from defeat. My tipping: Hertha Berlin win 3-0.

VfL Bochum (15th) vs Hoffenheim (1st) - Wednesday: Well, Hoffenheim always amaze the fans. Their attacks are so threatening that the opposition even hard to get the ball, so they keep winning. Obesi is in top form and he is the man the opposition to watch out for. His endless fitness brings lots of threats to the opposition. Even though Hoffenheim has lots of weakness in defense, I don't think Bochum is powerful enough to win them. So, Hoffenheim will still be at the pole position. My tipping: Hoffenheim win 4-2.

1. FC Köln (11th) vs Borussia Dortmund (8th) - Wednesday: Both teams are currently in the period of pro-peak form. It seemed they are dropping after the winning streak. Köln seems that the players are starting to fail to hold on the game and Dortmund is starting to fail to make comeback miracles. They key of this match is who stands up first and smiles last. My tipping: Match draw 1-1.

Eintract Frankfurt (12th) vs Bayern München (5th) - Wednesday: Frankfurt this season is totally different comparing with last season. It is because they are having a post-season slump, as last season was very good for them. However, following their 2 wins in a row, it seems the players started to gain their confident. On the other hand, Bayern this season is so disappointing in defense, Kahn's departure leads the team lost the leadership in defense, so they have lost 15 goals and there were only 2 clean sheets. However, the comeback against Wolfsburg plus a win against Fiorentina previously absolutely helped the players to gained back their confidents. Two comeback kids playing against each other this Wednesday, I believe Bayern will have upper hand by they have better quality of players and possessions. My tipping: Bayern win 3-1.

So that's it for this week!

German Bundesliga Week 9 Tipping

From this week on I would like to try to tip the German Bindesliga matches. Here's my tipping on week 9:

Bayer Leverkusen vs 1. FC Köln (Friday): This is the first match in week 9 Bundesliga and will be played in Friday. Patrick Helmes from Leverkusen is in sensational form and he is the key player to lead Leverkusen to win this game. Köln now had won 3 games in a row, and the whole team is also in sensational form. The different o this game will be the quality attack. Leverkusen so far has a very good attacking players and tactics which can score against every team in the league. Considering Köln does not have capable ability to stop the opponent's offense, I believe Leverkusen will win this game. My tipping: Leverkusen win 3-1.

Hannover 96 vs Werder Bremen (Saturday): Werder Bremen had a thrilling game against Borussia Dortmund last week proved that even their attack was sensational, the defense was terrible. This match Werder Bremen will be without Per Mertesacker due to suspension. It leads Werder Bremen does not have any leadership in the defensive line and it looks very vulnerable. However, Hannover 96 this season is terrible and they have troubles everywhere. Jan Schlaudraff and Mikael Forsell are good players in attack, but they cannot bring any huge impact yet. Plus German international goalkeeer Robert Enke is injured, it is very likely to let Werder Bremen keep scoring. My tipping: Werder Bremen win 4-1.

FC Bayern München vs VfL Wolfsburg (Saturday): Bayern last week had won against Karlsurche was definitely critical. It led them to win against Fiorentina 3-0 comprehensively in Champions League. I believe their confident is gaining back. The biggest concern is Philipp Lahm is injured and he will not be able to play for at least 2 weeks. It is likely to assign Christian Lell to play at the left back, and it maybe the weakest link. Wolfsburg coach Felix Magath returns to Allianz Arena and this team is very solid in the midfield. I believe this match is very close and Bayern will win by their match experience and qualit finishing. My tipping: Bayern win 2-1.

Schalke 04 vs Arminia Bielefeld (Saturday): Schalke are currently performing the trophy winning form and it is very hard to crack them down currently. The home game against Bielefeld should not be a problem. The only concern is the scoring ability. Kevin Kuranyi never picked up his best form both before and after his shock departure from the national team. Also, Jefferson Farfan has not picked up his best form from PSV Einhoven yet. However, Arminia Bielefeld is not strong enough to challenge Schalke 04 because the players are simply not good enough to match them. My tipping: Schalke win 2-0.

Energie Cottbus vs Eintract Frankfurt (Saturday): Eintract Frankfurt had just won their first game against Karlsurche in Wednesday at this postponed match. Frankfurt players are not confident enough to score goals and win game, even though their defense do not have huge problem. However, Energie Cottbus has the worst attacking team in the Bundesliga, they always fail to finish the attack by scoring even though they have quality possession. This is really dragging them down to the bottom of the table. I do not believe Cottbus will be able to win this one. My tipping: Match draw 1-1.

Borussia Mönchengladbach vs Karlsurhe (Saturday): Glabach has terrible start of this season and they are still struggling to fight off the relegation zone. Marko Marin shows himself he can be one of the stars in Bundesliga, but he cannot play constantly all through 90 minutes. More important is, it seems there is no one else to take Marin's job when his performance is dropping in the later stage of the game. Also, the defense of this team is not good enough to stop attacks from the opposition. From the Karlsurhe side, their performance is just OK, their attacks are really relying on Da Silva, the former Stuttgart player. Their finishing is the crucial point on deciding who will be the winner. My tipping: Karlsurche win 2-0.

VfB Stuttgart vs Bochum (Sunday): This match is pretty clear. Even Stuttgart is not as good as last two season when they won the Bundesliga, they still have a good team. Mario Gomez is the key member of the offense and Tasci is holding the defensive role. They look very solid with the leadership of captain Thomas Hitzlsperger and they are good enough to beat Bochum. Even Bochum did well in last two matches, especially equalizing Bayern München 3-3 in last 8 minutes, I do not see any point that Bochum can snatch a point even. My tipping: Stuttgart win 3-0.

Borussia Dortmund vs Hertha Berlin (Sunday): Dortmund last match has equalized Werder Bremen 3-3 in the thrilling match showed their defense is not really good. Neven Subotic and Mats Hummels are not experienced enough then leads the team to allowed so many goals, plus goalkeeper Wiedenfeller's poor performance let the team down as well. Hertha Berlin are pretty solid so far, their attacks and defense are pretty promising. So I think Hertha Berlin can able to upset Dortmund. My tipping: Hertha Berlin win 2-1.

Hoffenheim vs Hamburg (Sunday): Is there anyone predict that this match is a top table clash this week in the beginning of this season? Hoffenheim has a sensational form so far and it gains so many respects. Their attacking is so creative and fast that can compare with Werder Bremen. When facing Hamburg, which most of their defenders are injured and not fit, I believe it is not a hard job for Hoffenheim to keep scoring. However, Piotr Trochowski from Hamburg is really threatening in the midfield and he is the centre of the attack. When he performs, the whole team performs. When he is frozen, Hamburg will be in deep trouble. I believe this game will be the high scoring game. My tipping: Match draw 3-3.

Bayern Munich vs Nürnberg player-by-player analysis

Bayern Munich had bounced back with a 2-0 victory against Nürnberg in DFB Porkal Wednesday night. The main reason was Klinsmann had changed back to 4-4-2 formation. Now here's the analysis:

Michael Rensing, GK: Compare with last match, Rensing that evening did not have much threats that needed him to save. There was one great shot from the opposition that he also saved the ball well. He showed his concentration during the entired match. Also, compare with last match, he was also calm in the match as some mis-communication occured in the defense and he dealt with it well. So this was a good game for him.

Massimo Oddo, DR: Finally! This was what I was waiting for! He should have started the match. He was very effective offensively and defensively in the right flank and helped the team balanced. His great cross made Miroslav Klose to score goal. Also, during the entired game, he never stopped running and relieved the centre defense a lot. As I said before, he is the best full back in Bayern Munich and he should be the regular starter in the team.

Lucio, DC: As Bayern changed back to 4-4-2, it obviously could be seen that Lucio was far more comfortable. He did not need to fill in the space in the right flank as Oddo was there, so all he needed to do was stay in the position and made the accurate tackles and headers, and he did it well. Compare with the 3-5-2 formation, it seemed this formation could let him relieved a lot and he can play better.

Martin Demichelis, DC: As usual, his performace really matters. He made lots of crucial tackles during the game and helped the team to keep the clean sheet in the entired game. He once again showed himself that he is the most important player in Bayern Munich. Also, he had more guts to make some hard tackles, unlike last match. Good work for him!

Philipp Lahm, DL: We all can see the difference, don't we? Under the 4-4-2 formation, he was far more comfortable because he did not need to run all the way from the own base line to the other own base line! He always was in the right place in the defending, as there was Tim Borowski helped him in the left side. So, he could focus more on the defending, and assist more when the team was on the ball. Furthermore, as Tim Borowski was helping, his run to the front was more effective as he could use the left flank player to make one-two to create more space for him. So I believe Lahm is better in 4-4-2 formation.

Bastian Schweinsteiger, MR: It looked like he played at the right wing but in fact he ran from the right flank to the centre of the park. It seemed he could avoid the heavy traffic from the opposition and he played better that when he started in the middle. This run made the opposition confused and created more spaces for him to made chances. In Germany national team, it can be seen that this tactic can make him to create more chances and even score goals. So I believe he is better to put him in the flank rather than in the centre.

Andreas Ottl, MC: He replaced Mark van Bommel in this match. The main task for him this match was filling in the spaces in the midfield plus covering Ze Roerto when Bayern was in attack. He did a sensational job and the opposition barely had any chances. Furthermore, he also made some good run to create chances, epsecially his run assisted Tim Borowski to score the 2nd goal. For short term he is the important player in the squad rotation system, but in middle term, he can replace Mark van Bommel to be the regular starter.

Ze Roberto, MC: Even though the team in this match was playing 4-4-2 double defense midfielder formation, Ze Roberto did not look like he was one of the defense midfielders. When the team was on the ball in attack, he looked like he was an attacking midfielder as he always stood behind those two strikers. He again made lots of good runs and create spaces for the team. In the team was in defense, he was one of the defense midfielders to help Ottl to defend. It seemed this tactic could made Bayern Munich more balanced.

Tim Borowski, ML: He was not a left midfielder in fact. He always appeared in the middle of the park because he ran from the left side to the centre field to made chances. In the later second half, he was assigned to be the central midfielder when the team was switched to 4-2-3-1 formation. He grabbed a goal in the match and he limited lots of spaces from the opposition right side. This was his best game so far and I do hope he can play more good games.

Miroslav Klose, FC: His confident was coming back, slowly but surely it seemed. His goal in 7th minute showed his class. This was what the top striker should be. In the remaining time he made lots of runs to create chances but sadly it did not convert to the practical goals. He was substituted in the 65th minutes, but it seemed his confident was coming back.

Luca Toni, FC: Not much thing to say about him to be honest. He had chances but he all missed it. Also, he did make some runs but his stupid dribbling really killed him. I do hope he can be better in dribbling even though he is not required to do so. This is because dribbling is the most important part of the game and if his dribbling is better, he can score more than 39 goals, which was the number of goals last season.

Franck Ribery - substituted for Miroslav Klose: Congratulations that he is back!! He did make some runs and key passes before the 2nd goal was scored. After that, he was not required to make any magic runs as the team only needed to finish the game. As he was just back from injury for 2-3 months, all he needed to do now was to gain back the feeling. I do hope he can get back the feeling after the match as the team needs him more than ever later this season.

Jose Sosa - substituted for Bastian Schweinsteiger: As Schweinsteiger was tired and the team was leading 2-0, Sosa was not required to do too many things. All he needed to complete was holding on the possession and he did it well.

Lukas Podolski - substituted for Luca Toni: Podolski only had 9 and more minutes to perform after replacing Toni and he did not have sufficient time to perform himself.

Final words: This match proved Bayern Munich should use 4-4-2 formation as their primary formation. I am not objecting to use 3-5-2 formation, as this formation has its strength. However, it seems 4-4-2 formation is more balanced for the team in terms of attacking and defending. On the other hand, Massimo Oddo had proved himself that he is the best full back in the team and Klinsmann should pick him to play at the right back and bench Christian Lell, who did not play any good game so far. After Franck Ribery is back, it seemed he will be the regular starter in the left flank and Tim Borowski will be in the squad rotation system. Bastian Schweinsteiger will still be OK to be the regular starter as he performed really well, and also Hamit Altintop is still injured. All in all, Bayern Munich should keep this formation in the remaining of the season and it is the time to stick with it, that means no more experiment!!

Bayern Munich vs Werder Bremen player-by-player analysis

Bayern Munich last Saturday had the greatest defeat since Allianz-Arena had established, they were humiliated by 5-2 against Werder Bremen. My apology to upload this post late as I need a little more time to settle down my emotions. Now here's the analysis:

Michael Rensing, GK: This was the match he needed to forget. He seemed so powerless to avoid the opposition kept scoring. Even though he could not be blamed so much as the defense was tragic, I can see his weakness of his ability, which is the decision making on dealing with crosses. His timing and punching were so clumsy that led the opposition had the second chance to score, especially in 2nd goal and 5th goal from the opposition. There is one good thing however, he is still at young age and this is the process he needs to come through. Plus, this is his first defeat in his senior team career.

Lucio, DC: I can see his effort, but he was still powerless to avoid defeat. He had lots of pressure from the right side defense as there was always man short in that side. As Lell had gone to attack, there were lots of spaces left behind. Also, it seemed he was not good enough to be one of the 3-man defense. It is a bit harsh to judge him like this, but if playing 3-5-2, the demand of the central defense is very high. Lucio cannot fulfill the requirement.

Martin Demichelis, DC: He seemed OK, but before receiving the yellow card. He was too cautious after he had received the booking. It can be proved in the 1st goal from the opposition, he was not dared enough to tackle Markus Rosenberg and let him score goal. After that he did not contribute too much both in offense and defense. Still, he played too cautious and let the opposition keep scoring. He must forget this match and remember to be dared a little bit much even though he received a booking.

Daniel Van Buyten, DC: He had lots of pressure on the left side of defense. There were spaces anywhere and the opposition had lots of chances to play. Not much to say to him as he was substituted at halftime. However, he was not really get used to play in this position this match and made lots of errors.

Christian Lell, MR: Even though I am a fan of Klinsmann, this time I believe Klinsmann made a huge mistake on trusting on him. I believe he is the worst player in the field, I did not see any contribution in the right side attack, plus, as he ran away for the attack, he lost the ball easily and led the opposition to have counter attacks easily. He absolutely not deserved to have the regular starting place, both in 3-5-2 formation and 4-4-2 formation.

Mark van Bommel, MC: Yes he controlled his emotions but I believe it was a bit too much. He failed to show his passion all over the match. He failed to limit the midfield space off the opposition and allowed the counter attacks from his position. That performance was totally not satisfied and I believe Klinsmann should think about it on how to help him out or even put him on the bench.

Philipp Lahm, ML: He made lots of efforts this match, but he failed to run back after the team lost the ball. It indirectly increased the pressure to Daniel Van Buyten as there was lots of space from the left. I believe the ultimate reason was the formation. He seemed he did not get used to perform well in 3-5-2 formation as he owned the left side, which means he needs to run back and forth frequently to make this formation effective. When second half changed back into 4-4-2 formation, he looked comfortable to perform well as Ze Roberto, and Sosa later helped him lots in the left side.

Bastian Schweinsteiger, AMC: He seemed he did not have any way to break off the intense defense. He faced a very heavy traffic in this match and he did not have any way to break it through. Also, the discipline defense from the opposition made him did not have any chance to make his crucial set pieces work. Base on this match, there is a question regarding him - should we put him back to the flank for easier break throughs or still putting him on the centre field to create? This is what Klinsmann needs to think.

Ze Roberto, AMC: He is tired, no doubt. I really appreciated his restless effort in this match, but sadly he seemed to reach his limit. Obviously he has run out of gas last match and this match, he only hung on. He did not contribute too much during the match, and I could not see any magic moves from him. I did not put any blames from him but as a 34-year-old veteran, he should be rotated to keep him fit all over the season.

Luca Toni, FC: He did not perform really well this match. He had chances, but he did not convert one of them into actual goals. Yes the Bremen's defense was very tight but he still had chances to score. The point is he could not get the ball right. Again, he showed himself a stupid dribbling skills and I do believe he should not take this dribbling job. All he needs to do is score goals. This is more than enough.

Lukas Podolski, FC: Miroslav Klose's injury made him start the match. He did pulled back to the middle of the park but he could not break through the solid defense. He is the best formed striker in Germany no doubt, but if I say what he needs to improve, I guess we can all see it in this match. He needs to work harder to break through the solid defense as he will face more solid and harder defense in the upcoming season. This is also the progress the come through as he is still 23, and I believe he will be the best striker in Germany, as well as in the world.

Tim Borowksi - substituted for Daniel Van Buyten: One of the two tactical changes in halftime as Klinsmann changed back to 4-4-2 formation. He did really well in the match and scored 2 consolation goals to avoid further humiliation. I believe he can play more frequently and even start the match to rotate with Ze Roberto. He did very well in holding the ball in the midfield and controlled the flow effectively. It is such as waste to bench him.

Massimo Oddo - substituted for Christian Lell: Well, as I said, why didn't Klinsmann start Oddo? He was the best player in the match, and only two players I can praise (the other player is Tim Borowski). He did well in the right side even though second half lost 3 more goals. At least he did run the attack effectively and made an very accurate cross to Tim Borowski to score. He is definitely good enough to play at the right back and right wing back in the formation and he is the regulat starter. He definitely beats Christian Lell, and comparing with Willy Sagnol who is still injured, Massimo Oddo is better.

Jose Sosa - substituted for Ze Roberto: He did helped Philipp Lahm in the left side and both of them played comfortably. However, it was too late to put him on and his contribution meant nothing to the team.


Final word: This was the massive failure of 3-5-2 formation. The 3-man defense could not communicate well and the tackles were too soft. On the other hand, the wing backs were not really get used to this formation and found a very hard time to cope with. The advantage of 4-4-2 formation is there are more helps in terms of defense and offense. It looks more solid for 4-man defense and there is one more man on the flanks when it starts an attack. I believe Klinsmann now has a dilemma - keeping the 3-5-2 formation or going back to 4-4-2? Anyway, the players not must forget this match and start it up all again.

Steaua Bucarest vs Bayern Munich player-by-player analysis

After 524 days, Bayern Munich had celebrated the return of the Champions League with the away 1-0 victory against Steaua Bucarest Wednesday evening. Here's the player-by-player analysis:

Michael Rensing, GK: The first real test of the season. He was very busy in the evening as the opposition had lots of chances to shoot. He needed to make lots of saves in order to keep the clean sheet, unlike in the Bundesliga. He obviously was very nervous during the match as he could not make any clean saves when the shot was in threat. It was very lucky for him to keep the clean sheet as the opposition hit the post twice, especially one of them was come from his losing concentration of the incoming shot. However, I understand about it as this is the process that every young player needs to go through.

Lucio, DC: He had a fair game this match. He made crucial headers and tackles during the match, as well as had made some crucial attacking runs. His improvement in these few weeks made the defensive line became solid, this was very important for Bayern Munich because when a team is playing a 3-man defense, every defender must be very fit.

Martin Demichelis, DC: Again, he made another man of the match performance. His excellent positioning and accurate tackle did really relief the goalkeeper and the other defenders a lot. His excellent performance had already gained the trust from the team. As I said before, he is the most important member in the defensive line, his health and form do really affect the team a lot. Since his comeback from the injury, Bayern Munich only conceded 1 single goal in 3 matches, comparing with 6 goals in the 3 matches earlier, it definitely showed his importance in the team.

Daniel Van Buyten, DC: This was one of the magics of Klinsmann. He never got his best form from Hamburg after transferring to Bayern Munich 2 seasons ago, and now I can see his best form is coming back. He did a great job in this match. He made lots of crucial tackles and headers from the left side of the field. More importantly, he scored a winning header in the 15th minute of the match. I don't know what Klinsmann had told him before the match but 1 thing is very obvious, that is I started to find his best form.

Christian Lell, MR: Well, I was still confused why Lell was still in the first 11. I believe he needs to forget about this match as quickly as he can. In offense he lost almost all of the possessions, failed to cross the ball accurately, and also failed to make threats from his terrible shots. It did affect his defense performance as well, as he ran to the front, he could not go back in time to stop the counter attacks and made lots of spaces for the opposition. I think Klinsmann needs to think about his starting place, as I believe Massimo Oddo is the best right back and right wing back in the team.

Mark van Bommel, MC: This was the only change comparing to last Saturday's match. It was obviously to see he had controlled himself a lot, it might because the team had taken the early lead. Again he did lots of efforts outside the camera for limiting the midfield space but it was not enough. It was very obvious to see there were lots of chances for the opposition to have long shots to threaten the goalkeeper where he should have been there to stop that. I do believe he needs to work harder to regain the confident to the fans and Klinsmann.

Philipp Lahm, ML: Well, what I can say is he was just better than Lell. I can see he made runs in attack but there was not threatening at all. I can see he made tackles and headers but there were still lots of opposition attacks were coming from his side. This was because again, he ran to the up front of the field and he couldn't run back in time. The formation of 3-5-2 needs the wing back who has unlimited energy to run at the flank back and forth. Yes he was free in the attack but it affected his defense performance.

Bastian Schweinsteiger, AMC: He was one of the man of the match players in this match. His set pieces were accurate than successfully provided a goal for Van Buyten. He did make lots of runs in the game, as well as he worked very hard to make tackles in terms of defense. Once again, Bayern Munich must keep this player as he is the most valuable member in the team. I do believe his best is still yet to come. His performance was declined as his fitness was dropping. All in all, excellent performance for him.

Ze Roberto, AMC: Again, he was working the hardest within the players in Bayern Munich. I can see he made lots of efforts in the game in terms of offense and defense. However, it seemed he started to feel tired a bit as I can see his performance was dropping drastically in the later of the second half. Maybe this was because the opposition gave him lots of pressure, but more importantly, he failed to recover fully after the last match as his age is getting older. Klinsmann can consider about to reserve him in the next match.

Miroslav Klose, FC: Umm, it seems he failed to convert his hat trick performance in the national team to Bayern Munich. He was invisible in the match and he did not find chances for himself. Even he did not make any shots at all. So no wonder he was substitued during the halftime. I do believe his performance cannot convince anyone to grant him a starting place. It is fierce, and it is rude and cruel, but he is in the big club, he needs to pick it up as big club never waits.

Luca Toni, FC: First thing first, congratulations to his Champions League debut. However, same as a young debutant, he had a very nervous game. He could not perform like a goal scorer in Bundesliga as he missed lots of chances during the game. If he played better, he could score a goal or even two. Furthermore, he looked like a big cruiser in the ocean! He could not protect the ball and dribble the ball effectively. So, a question for you, which one is faster to make turns? A big cruiser or a little ferry?

Lukas Podolski - substituted for Miroslav Klose: Although he did not make any real contribution to the team, his performance was way better than Klose. At least he was willing to run and seek for chances. He was definitely better than Klose in terms of match forms. I believe he should gain a position in starting 11. As he keeps to play better, I believe Klose's starting place will be replaced.

Andreas Ottl - substituted for Ze Roberto: As Ze Roberto performance was dropping, Andreas Ottl was the most suitable player to replace his place. He did limit lots of space for the opposition and made some hard tackles during the game. Again, he gained the controlled the possession of the midfield well. So I believe he also deserve a starting place.

Tim Borowski - substituted for Bastian Schweinsteiger: For Klinsmann it seemed Borowski had only one purpose: that was retain possession in the later second half. He could do more than that obviously, as Ze Roberto seemed he was not able to play in full gear every match, Borowski could at least be his reliever.

Final words: This game showed the down side of the formation of 3-5-2. The wing backs were not fit and fast enough to run through that 110-yard long football field. It is a bit harsh to comment like this but hey, this is the world class wing back about. Also, generally the players were very nervous in the game, they could not perform fully just like in the Bundesliga. It is understandable because the team hadn't played the Champions League for 524 days and they needed to get back the match feeling. This is a bliss for Bayern this match as well as the oppostion hit the post twice. Also it is also a bliss that the other opposition in the group (those are Lyon and Fiorentina) can be managed well. So, after this match I feel confident Bayern can progress through to second round.

1. FC Köln vs Bayern Munich player-by-player analysis

Last Saturday Bayern Munich had battled through the tough first half and broke through 3 goals in second half to win against Köln in Cologne. The unchanged formation with last week led them to progress to the second of the league table, 2 points behind the league leader, Hamburger SV. Here's the player-by-player analysis:

Michael Rensing, GK: This is probably the most boring job in Bayern Munich. Again, he had not much chance to prove himself in terms of shot stopping, but he proved himself to be the highly concentrated and resolute goalkeeper. Köln only had 2 real chances in the entire game and Rensing did really neat and tidy to stop the goal. I believe the most important element of the good goalkeeper should be very good in concentration, and Rensing proved he did have.

Lucio, DC: He was at the right side of the 3-man defense line. He made a lot of neat and tidy header to clear most of the aerial attacks from the opposition's left flank. Even though he did not make any fancy attacks in the game, it was still enough for the team to win the game as his good performance made the defense became solid.

Martin Demichelis, DC: He proved himself to Bayern Munich that he is the best defender in the team. His position was excellent that he could able to intercept the passes easily. Also, his hard but clean tackles helped the team relieved lots of pressure. It could be proved by the last ditch tackle in the first half to prevent the opposition scored the goal and took the lead in order to keep the team clean sheet. Once again he is very reliable.

Daniel Van Buyten, DC: Same as Lucio, he was quite good in the game. He did the good job in the left side of the 3-man defense. He made lots of clean headers to clear the aerial attacks from the opposition as well. It is a good news for Bayern that Van Buyten's performance is getting better and better so the team can have more choices in terms of formation and players.

Christian Lell, MR: Fair performance for this lad. He did a fair job in the right side of the field and he could be seen that he made assists in the right side attack. I can see he is making a progress to be the good player in Bayern Munich and hope he can be one of the best players in Bayern Munich in the future. In short term, I can see he can challenge to the other similar players such as Willy Sagnol and Massimo Oddo to be one of the regular starters in the team.

Andreas Ottl, MC: I was quite surprised to be honest. I thought Mark van Bommel would replace him after his suspension, but in fact it was not. Also, it was quite surprised for me that he did a remarkable job. He controlled the flow of the centre field and relieved lots of pressure in terms of defense. At the same time, he did a great job on holding the possession in order to keep the attack to be sustainable. I truly believed that his performance this match was one of the best performances in his entire football career. Meanwhile, this performance could tell Klinsmann that he can replace Mark van Bommel to be the regular starter in the team.

Philipp Lahm, ML: He was not that shape in this game, but it was not a problem as well. He did the fair job in the left side of the field and made couple of runs in attack and made some crucial defense. Maybe he played all 90 minutes in the international game last Wednesday, so his performance was affected.

Bastian Schweinsteiger, AMC: Well, you won't think about food next morning if you ate too much last night. This is what happened in Bastian. I believed his physically fit for the match but mentally he was "full". So his performance was not as shape as the last few matches, same with Philipp Lahm. It is understandable for that as he is now the VIP in Bayern Munich and Germany national team. However, his neat and tidy set pieces assisted the team to break the deadlock in the beginning of the second half. So, good play for him.

Ze Roberto, AMC: He had a quiet game in the first half but he woke up in the second half. He had lots of breakthroughs in the second half and and assisted the team to extend the lead. It was quite a shame that he could not score the goal as he held the ball for too long and finally missed the chance. However all in all, his unstoppbale runs really helped the team to win the game.

Miroslav Klose, FC: It was a shame that he could not convert his good form in Germany national team to Bayern Munich. Many of the fans believed that he should have scored some goals in the game as he was a hat-trick hero in the Finland clash last Wednesday, but it turned out he did nothing. I won't blame him as the midfield of the team was fighting quite hard against the opposition and he had no supplies from the midfield so he did nothing. It is understandable.

Luca Toni, FC: This is what world class striker means. Two chances, two goals. Bascially he did not have lots of chances in the game before the scoreline had changed. However, he scored a half chance goal to open the score sheet in the beginning of the second half. Then, he scored the second goal 7 minutes later and led the team to win the game. It was quite shameful for him to miss chance in the later stage of the second half as the opposition were all out attack and led him got chances after chances. However, as the team was winning, it did not really matter.

Lukas Podolski, substituted for Miroslav Klose: This was definitely the turning point of the game. He proved himself he is currently on the best form. He made los of runs when he was in the field. He started the counter attack by passing the excellent through balls to Ze Roberto to lead the second goal of the game. Besides, he was more willing to pull back to the midfield to get the ball, this was the difference between himself and Klose. He definitely deserved the goal and definitely deserved the place in the first 11. Bayern Munich will regret if they sell him to somewhere else in January next year.

Massimo Oddo, substituted for Christian Lell: Congratulations to him for finishing the Bundesliga debut well. He did made assists on the right side defense as well as made some runs in right side attacks. He had not done too much work this match as the time limit and the team had already been leading 2-0 at the moment. However, he did look good for threatening the starting place of Christian Lell.

Tim Borowski, substituted for Bastian Schweinsteiger: He was substituted for holding on the possession on the midfield as Schweinsteiger's energy was declining. He did a good job for maintaining the lead. He deserved to have more playing time.

Final words: Another convincing win for Bayern Munich and it was a definite moral boosting for the team to play against Werder Bremen in the coming Saturday. One thing to remark it down is Mark van Bommel the captain was only on the bench and did not play. This showed Klinsmann was dared to change, dared to try. Also, it gave the message to van Bommel that even he is a captain, he can be stripped for the captaincy anytime. So, if van Bommel would like to retain his captaincy and regular starting place, he should have to control his emotions a bit to regain the trust.