Previously I had reviewed the 2008-2009 season from 1st to 12th. This paer I will review the remaining teams in te bottom of the table:
13th place - Eintract Frankfurt: Ordinary can describe it all. The team did not perform well in the attacking line. Martin Fenin had a drastic season overall, he was an invisible man in the team. The other strikers could not perform well as well, only Ioannis Amanitidis had some good performance before his injury, no wonder they only scored 39 goals this season. Furthermore, the defense of the team did not do very well, as they had lost 60 goals this season. However, the home ground performance was good enough for them to get away from relegation, they had won 5 times and drawn 4 times out of 17 games. So home performance was the key of avoiding the further drop.
14th place - VfL Bochum: Same as Eintract Frankfurt, they had the problem of the attacks. Stanislav Sestak was the most important player in the team and he was the best striker in the team in fact. Diego Klimowicz even though joined the team in the winter, his effect was very limited as he did not fit in the team well. The reason why they stayed away from the relegation zone was the defense. They had the second best defense within the bottom six, which they lost 55 goals. And, they had 11 draws of the season that led them to successfully avoid the relegation in the last 2 weeks of the season.
15th place - Borussia Mönchengladbach: Previously I had tipped Gladbach would be the first team to be relegated, in fact I was wrong. Their gamble paid off in the midseason cleanup. Tomas Galasek performed very well to protect the midfield and relieved lots of pressure to the defense line. New goalkeeper Logan Bailly did a consistent job in order to try hard to stop goals, even they had lost 62 goals still. Alexander Baumjohann and Marko Marin did so well that the attack was improved a lot after the winter break. This was a great escape for them this season and they should have learn this lesson which nearly costed them a Bundesliga seat.
16th place - Energie Cottbus: Under the new league system, they had another chance to play against the third team in second division, which was 1. FC Nürnburg. However, their poor attacking led them to be beaten by 5-0 in aggregate. Lack of attacking options and the creativity led them to relegate this season. There was no one to create the attack consistently. All the hope was relying on Dimitar Rangelov. As he was injured, the whole team lost the attacking plays. Jiayi Shao should have done better, but the management did not trust him at all, so even Shao tried so hard, he only had very limited chances to play and he could not help the team which such a little playing time. I do not believe they can bounce back immediately as the other teams from second division are very competent.
17th place - Karlsruher SC: After 2 seasons in Bundesliga, the team went back to the place the belonged to. The team did not have any miracle at all, as their attack was very poor. They had recorded to be scoreless for more than 700 minutes showed that they did not know how to attack without Tamas Hajnal, who had transferred to Borussia Dortmund last summer. Josh Kennedy did not do well at all, as he was supposed to be the top striker in the team. Sebastian Freis was the only attacker did well in the team that was lacking of supplies. He did what he could but sadly it was not enough for helping the team to get out of trouble. Same as Cottbus, I do not believe they can bounce back right after the relegation.
18th place - Arminia Bielefeld: They were under the raider - for being the relegation team. They had the worst attacks in the Bundesliga, even worse that Karlsruher, scored 29 goals out of 34 games. Artur Wichniarek was the only player who could score goals but his cold streak in the last 2 months of the season directly led the team to relegate. The other players such as Vlad Munteanu should have done more and better as he was supposed to be the provider of scoring. Even they only lost 56 goals in the league, this was not good enough to cover the poor attacking. So this was the reason why they went down.
Now this is all of the review! Next time I will review the German teams in European competition.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Monday, June 8, 2009
German Bundesliga Season 2008-2009 Team by Team Review (Part II)
Previously I have reviewed the first 6 team in the Bundesliga Season 2008-2009. This part I will review the next 6 teams of the league.
7th place - 1899 Hoffenheim: There was a high hope for Hoffenheim in the first half of the season after the astonishing performance. However, the absence of Vedid Ibisevic seemed the sign of the mid-season slump. The absence of Ibisevic led the team did not have any scoring point and led the team failed the score effectively. On the other hand, the thin bench led them failed to relieve Ibisevic and the other players such as Demba Ba, and Carlos Eduardo. The inconsistent of goalkeeper also the factor as well. Timo Hildebrand could not solve the problem effectively as he had the trouble of injuries. So this could explain that why they failed to win for 12 games in a row. I believe more bench players is needed in order to keep the good performance next season.
8th place - FC Schalke 04: Schalke did very bad in this season. There was a big hope for them as Jefferson Farfan and the others joined the team in order to increase the scoring ability. However, they performed as not good as expected. Farfan had trouble in fitting in the team and he rarely scored. Kevin Kuranyi at the same time also had a rough season. Since the expel from the national team, his performance was slumping. After Ivan Ratikic took over the attacking midfielder again, he led the attacking line back to work. However, this was too late as they lost too many points. I believe, however, they can perform far better as Felix Magath takes over the team.
9th place - Bayer Leverkusen: Mid-season slump said it all. They had a young, talented, energetic, but inexperienced team. The defense was very good for them as Rene Adler performed very well all around the season. However, the strikers and the defenders always failed to perform well in the crucial moment. Tranquillo Barnetta and Patrick Helmes are the examples. Barnetta failed to perform as good as the first half of the season, fewer assists, fewer runs led him to lose the starting place. Patrick Helmes also failed to score the goals consistently and this was fatal. Stefan Kießling at the same time failed to relieve him so this was why Leverkusen kept slumping. As Sami Hyypia had confirmed to join them, I believe his experience can help the team very much in next season.
10th place - Werder Bremen: Apart from the league, they had a wonderful season as they reached UEFA Cup Final and won the DFB Pokal. However, the league performance was definitely underachieving. The best play was the away 5-2 victory against Bayern München, but, there was nothing more. The defense was too relying on Per Mertesacker, as Mertesacker was unavailable, the entired defense line lost the leadership. Diego and Mesut Özil were the most important players in the attacks. Since they were unavailable to play, the strikers could not relieve their scoring tasks. Diego is confirmed to transfer to Juventus, I believe Özil will take the essential role next season.
11th place - Hannover 96: Home court advantage said it all. They only lost 2 games out of the 17 home games led them to get out of trouble from the relegation. However, their performance of the away game was totally opposite, they only won 2 games out of 17, which was last of the league. Robert Enke played an important role of the team as he stopped lots of crucial shots all around the season that led the team to be safe in the mid-table, as well as proving himself to be the first choice national team goalkeeper. I believe the team must improve the away performance as well as purchasing more attacking players.
12th place - 1. FC Köln: The team was very solid, but only in defense. The attacking did not doing well at all as Milivoje Novakovic was the only striker who guaranteed to score goals. As he reached to the cold streak in the last 2 months of the season, there was no player who could stand up and took his job. At the same time, there were a lots of fast paced defensive midfielders to tackle and regain the possession effectively, but there was no creative attacking midfielders. So this can be explained why the team could not go further. Lukas Podolski will join them next season and see how helpful does he in terms of midfield creation.
That's it the second part. I will review the remaining teams shortly.
7th place - 1899 Hoffenheim: There was a high hope for Hoffenheim in the first half of the season after the astonishing performance. However, the absence of Vedid Ibisevic seemed the sign of the mid-season slump. The absence of Ibisevic led the team did not have any scoring point and led the team failed the score effectively. On the other hand, the thin bench led them failed to relieve Ibisevic and the other players such as Demba Ba, and Carlos Eduardo. The inconsistent of goalkeeper also the factor as well. Timo Hildebrand could not solve the problem effectively as he had the trouble of injuries. So this could explain that why they failed to win for 12 games in a row. I believe more bench players is needed in order to keep the good performance next season.
8th place - FC Schalke 04: Schalke did very bad in this season. There was a big hope for them as Jefferson Farfan and the others joined the team in order to increase the scoring ability. However, they performed as not good as expected. Farfan had trouble in fitting in the team and he rarely scored. Kevin Kuranyi at the same time also had a rough season. Since the expel from the national team, his performance was slumping. After Ivan Ratikic took over the attacking midfielder again, he led the attacking line back to work. However, this was too late as they lost too many points. I believe, however, they can perform far better as Felix Magath takes over the team.
9th place - Bayer Leverkusen: Mid-season slump said it all. They had a young, talented, energetic, but inexperienced team. The defense was very good for them as Rene Adler performed very well all around the season. However, the strikers and the defenders always failed to perform well in the crucial moment. Tranquillo Barnetta and Patrick Helmes are the examples. Barnetta failed to perform as good as the first half of the season, fewer assists, fewer runs led him to lose the starting place. Patrick Helmes also failed to score the goals consistently and this was fatal. Stefan Kießling at the same time failed to relieve him so this was why Leverkusen kept slumping. As Sami Hyypia had confirmed to join them, I believe his experience can help the team very much in next season.
10th place - Werder Bremen: Apart from the league, they had a wonderful season as they reached UEFA Cup Final and won the DFB Pokal. However, the league performance was definitely underachieving. The best play was the away 5-2 victory against Bayern München, but, there was nothing more. The defense was too relying on Per Mertesacker, as Mertesacker was unavailable, the entired defense line lost the leadership. Diego and Mesut Özil were the most important players in the attacks. Since they were unavailable to play, the strikers could not relieve their scoring tasks. Diego is confirmed to transfer to Juventus, I believe Özil will take the essential role next season.
11th place - Hannover 96: Home court advantage said it all. They only lost 2 games out of the 17 home games led them to get out of trouble from the relegation. However, their performance of the away game was totally opposite, they only won 2 games out of 17, which was last of the league. Robert Enke played an important role of the team as he stopped lots of crucial shots all around the season that led the team to be safe in the mid-table, as well as proving himself to be the first choice national team goalkeeper. I believe the team must improve the away performance as well as purchasing more attacking players.
12th place - 1. FC Köln: The team was very solid, but only in defense. The attacking did not doing well at all as Milivoje Novakovic was the only striker who guaranteed to score goals. As he reached to the cold streak in the last 2 months of the season, there was no player who could stand up and took his job. At the same time, there were a lots of fast paced defensive midfielders to tackle and regain the possession effectively, but there was no creative attacking midfielders. So this can be explained why the team could not go further. Lukas Podolski will join them next season and see how helpful does he in terms of midfield creation.
That's it the second part. I will review the remaining teams shortly.
Saturday, June 6, 2009
German Bundesliga Season 2008-2009 Team by Team Review (Part I)
German Bundesliga had ended the season 2008-2009 with surprise. Now it is 2 weeks after the season, it is a good time to review it team by team. In this part I will review the teams from 1st to 6th:
Champion - VfL Wolfsburg: I believe there was not so many people to tip them to be the champion. The main reason to win the title was the excellent home performance. They recorded 16 wins and 1 draw in their 17 homes games, which including a 5-1 astonishing victory against Bayern München. The other important reason was the improvement of the away game record after the winter break. Comapre with 1st half of the season, they played far better when they were away from home, which including the 5-0 victory against Hannover 96. Eden Dzeko, Grafite, and Zvejezdan Misimovic played an important role to lead the team to reach their first ever title. So I believe these factors were so important to lead them to win.
Runner-up - Bayern München: Bayern München again, they had a title-less season. It was drastic for them as they did not even reach to the top of the table once. Jürgen Klinsmann failed to bring the team consistency so I can say this season was like a rollercoaster ride for them. Careless loss was the biggest problem for them, especially at home, which they conceded 23 goals in 17 games. This poor record led them to erase all the good efforts in the away game form, which was the best in the league. The team still relied on Franck Ribery too much, as when he was absent, the whole team could not create. Luca Toni was the worst player in the team, even he was top goalscorer in the team but he missed a lot of chances and slowed down all the plays. Another big change is urgently needed in order to regain all the pride next season.
3rd place - VfB Stuttgart: Stuttgart was the comeback kid of this season. There was not any clue to bounce back like this before the winter break. Coach Markus Babbel took the credit for sure. He brought the team spirit and determination in order to do the nearly impossible job. Their excellent performance after the winter break ever led them to challenge the title. The other reason was Mario Gomez. The future Bayern München striker had improved a lot, which he scored 17 goals after the winter break. Compare with 7 goals before the winter break, it was very obvious to see his revival led Stuttgart improve and challenge the title. Now they have extra 30 million Euro for the departure of Gomez, I believe they will improve very well next season.
4th place - Hertha Berlin: Hertha Berlin was one of the teams who could challenge the title. However, they could not hold on in the end and led them even fail to reach next season's Champions League. The main reason was the inconsistence performance of Andrei Voronin. Hertha Berlin reached the best form when Voronin reached his best. However, when Voronin reached the cold streak, the team lost the scoring point and reached the cold streak. Marko Pantelic was unable to relieve the pressure from Voronin even he took the starting place in the end of season. The defense was very solid so they always held on and took the win with small margin or held out for a draw. As Voronin was likey to return to Liverpool, Hertha Berlin must find another good striker in next season.
5th place - Hamburger SV: "Northern Derby" was the phrase that they never forget. "Werder Bremen" was the team they hated most. The 4-game series of "Northern Derby" did kill all of their title hope. Before the derby Hamburger did very well and they were one of the teams who could win the treble (League, DFB Pokal, and UEFA Cup). However, they only failed to beat one team, that was Werder Bremen. The main reason was player fatigue. Piotr Trochowski, Jose Paolo Guerrero, and Mlaten Petric were stroke by the fatigue and their form slipped fast. Only Ivica Olic could maintain his best form but the others were too tired to relieve him. I believe they need to recruit more players in the next season in order to deal with the tight match schedule.
6th place - Borussia Dortmund: They also were one of the surprises this season. They had a young coach with a young team to lead them to reach a good performance and result. Neven Subotic did very well in the back together with Mats Hummels. Nelson Valdez started to improve and matched the style with Alexander Frei. However, they had too many draw games, which were 14 games of the season and was the second highest draw games. It showed that they failed to finish the game when they were leading. The inexperience led them to have this problem as they young guns could not hold their grip in the crucial moment. I believe they need to input more experienced players in order to stablize the team.
So this is the first part of the review. The second and third part will be coming soon!
Champion - VfL Wolfsburg: I believe there was not so many people to tip them to be the champion. The main reason to win the title was the excellent home performance. They recorded 16 wins and 1 draw in their 17 homes games, which including a 5-1 astonishing victory against Bayern München. The other important reason was the improvement of the away game record after the winter break. Comapre with 1st half of the season, they played far better when they were away from home, which including the 5-0 victory against Hannover 96. Eden Dzeko, Grafite, and Zvejezdan Misimovic played an important role to lead the team to reach their first ever title. So I believe these factors were so important to lead them to win.
Runner-up - Bayern München: Bayern München again, they had a title-less season. It was drastic for them as they did not even reach to the top of the table once. Jürgen Klinsmann failed to bring the team consistency so I can say this season was like a rollercoaster ride for them. Careless loss was the biggest problem for them, especially at home, which they conceded 23 goals in 17 games. This poor record led them to erase all the good efforts in the away game form, which was the best in the league. The team still relied on Franck Ribery too much, as when he was absent, the whole team could not create. Luca Toni was the worst player in the team, even he was top goalscorer in the team but he missed a lot of chances and slowed down all the plays. Another big change is urgently needed in order to regain all the pride next season.
3rd place - VfB Stuttgart: Stuttgart was the comeback kid of this season. There was not any clue to bounce back like this before the winter break. Coach Markus Babbel took the credit for sure. He brought the team spirit and determination in order to do the nearly impossible job. Their excellent performance after the winter break ever led them to challenge the title. The other reason was Mario Gomez. The future Bayern München striker had improved a lot, which he scored 17 goals after the winter break. Compare with 7 goals before the winter break, it was very obvious to see his revival led Stuttgart improve and challenge the title. Now they have extra 30 million Euro for the departure of Gomez, I believe they will improve very well next season.
4th place - Hertha Berlin: Hertha Berlin was one of the teams who could challenge the title. However, they could not hold on in the end and led them even fail to reach next season's Champions League. The main reason was the inconsistence performance of Andrei Voronin. Hertha Berlin reached the best form when Voronin reached his best. However, when Voronin reached the cold streak, the team lost the scoring point and reached the cold streak. Marko Pantelic was unable to relieve the pressure from Voronin even he took the starting place in the end of season. The defense was very solid so they always held on and took the win with small margin or held out for a draw. As Voronin was likey to return to Liverpool, Hertha Berlin must find another good striker in next season.
5th place - Hamburger SV: "Northern Derby" was the phrase that they never forget. "Werder Bremen" was the team they hated most. The 4-game series of "Northern Derby" did kill all of their title hope. Before the derby Hamburger did very well and they were one of the teams who could win the treble (League, DFB Pokal, and UEFA Cup). However, they only failed to beat one team, that was Werder Bremen. The main reason was player fatigue. Piotr Trochowski, Jose Paolo Guerrero, and Mlaten Petric were stroke by the fatigue and their form slipped fast. Only Ivica Olic could maintain his best form but the others were too tired to relieve him. I believe they need to recruit more players in the next season in order to deal with the tight match schedule.
6th place - Borussia Dortmund: They also were one of the surprises this season. They had a young coach with a young team to lead them to reach a good performance and result. Neven Subotic did very well in the back together with Mats Hummels. Nelson Valdez started to improve and matched the style with Alexander Frei. However, they had too many draw games, which were 14 games of the season and was the second highest draw games. It showed that they failed to finish the game when they were leading. The inexperience led them to have this problem as they young guns could not hold their grip in the crucial moment. I believe they need to input more experienced players in order to stablize the team.
So this is the first part of the review. The second and third part will be coming soon!
Monday, June 1, 2009
State of Origin 2009 Game I Preview
Australia's most furious rivals - State of Origin will start the Game I in Wednesday (3 June) at Melbourne. New South Wales had 8 debutants as they wants to bring some new breath to win their first Series in 3 years. On the other hand, Queensland bring the original strongest squad in order to win the Series 4 years in a row. Now here's the tipping:
Queensland: Queensland did not change a lot compare to the squad last season. Only Darren Lockyer is back into the Origin to replace Scott Prince. The halves combination is still very strong and the creativeness of Jonathan Thurston and Darren Lockyer will be the key of the game. Israel Folau will bring lots of threats on the right wing as his jumping and pace is one of the best in NRL. The most important player is Thurston still as he will be the second receiver of the attack and he will have more space to make passes and kicks.
Key winning point - halves combination: As I mentioned, the halves are the centre point of the Queensland attack. Thurston and Lockyer are the starting point of the attack so New South Wales must stop them. Along with hooker Cameron Smith, the 9, 7, 6 combination is really good and creative. If this combination is effective, Queensland can win this game easily.
New South Wales: Compare with Queensland, coach Craig Bellamy had recruited 8 new debutants to enter the team. The most expecting debutants will be Robbie Farah and Terry Campese. This year New South Wales also have the best backs in last 3 years as they were all outplayed by the Queensland backs, especially in the halves position. Even though Terry Campese will play an important role in this game, I still believe Peter Wallace is the most important player in the game, as he knows the way Brisbane Broncos play, which is very similar to Queensland playing style. Wallace is very good at making use the space to create attack so if there is any space left for him, he can create lots of threats.
Key winning point - forward offloading: Still, offloading is the key point of New South Wales. For a long time New South Wales have a clear advantage of the forwards as they are strong, fast, and hard to catch. They also are very good at offloading so Queensland kept chasing. So if New South Wales can play the offload, Queensland will be tired very quickly and New South Wales can score tries easily.
Tipping: I believe the match will be very very close. Actually the advantage of both sides are fading as Queensland's forwards are better and New South Wales' halves and backs are the best in the last 3 years. Playing at Melbourne is a little bit advantage to Queensland as they won the decider in 2006 there. I believe the match experience can bring Queensland through as this is one of the most important factors of the game. However, the margin will be very narrow.
My tip: Queensland win by 1 try
So happy Origin!
Queensland: Queensland did not change a lot compare to the squad last season. Only Darren Lockyer is back into the Origin to replace Scott Prince. The halves combination is still very strong and the creativeness of Jonathan Thurston and Darren Lockyer will be the key of the game. Israel Folau will bring lots of threats on the right wing as his jumping and pace is one of the best in NRL. The most important player is Thurston still as he will be the second receiver of the attack and he will have more space to make passes and kicks.
Key winning point - halves combination: As I mentioned, the halves are the centre point of the Queensland attack. Thurston and Lockyer are the starting point of the attack so New South Wales must stop them. Along with hooker Cameron Smith, the 9, 7, 6 combination is really good and creative. If this combination is effective, Queensland can win this game easily.
New South Wales: Compare with Queensland, coach Craig Bellamy had recruited 8 new debutants to enter the team. The most expecting debutants will be Robbie Farah and Terry Campese. This year New South Wales also have the best backs in last 3 years as they were all outplayed by the Queensland backs, especially in the halves position. Even though Terry Campese will play an important role in this game, I still believe Peter Wallace is the most important player in the game, as he knows the way Brisbane Broncos play, which is very similar to Queensland playing style. Wallace is very good at making use the space to create attack so if there is any space left for him, he can create lots of threats.
Key winning point - forward offloading: Still, offloading is the key point of New South Wales. For a long time New South Wales have a clear advantage of the forwards as they are strong, fast, and hard to catch. They also are very good at offloading so Queensland kept chasing. So if New South Wales can play the offload, Queensland will be tired very quickly and New South Wales can score tries easily.
Tipping: I believe the match will be very very close. Actually the advantage of both sides are fading as Queensland's forwards are better and New South Wales' halves and backs are the best in the last 3 years. Playing at Melbourne is a little bit advantage to Queensland as they won the decider in 2006 there. I believe the match experience can bring Queensland through as this is one of the most important factors of the game. However, the margin will be very narrow.
My tip: Queensland win by 1 try
So happy Origin!
Thursday, May 28, 2009
DFB Pokal Final + German Bundesliga Promotion / Relegation Playoff Tipping
This weekend there are two matches to play, they are DFB Pokal Final and the second leg of promotion / relegation playoff. So I will tip those two matches together here:
DFB Pokal Final - Werder Bremen vs Bayer Leverkusen (Saturday): Both teams have lost their last Bundesliga matches last week. Werder Bremen had rested some players and they lost against VfL Wolfsburg 5-1. Mesut Özil is expected to back in action, together with Diego and Claudio Pizzaro, the attacking of Werder Bremen should not have a big problem. Defence is the only concern however. Since Per Mertesacker is out of action, the team failed to have a leader to lead the defense and led to lot of cheap errors. Diego and Frank Baumann will have their last game for Werder Bremen at the same time so they will give their all. On the other hand, Leverkusen also lost the game, they lost against Energie Cottbus 3-0. Patrick Helmes and Stefan Kießling are the attacking duo which Werder Bremen needs to watch out for. The midfielders such as Tranquillo Barnetta and Toni Kroos will play an important role as they are the good creator in attack. I believe this match will be decided in greater defense. Both teams cancel each other out and I believe extra time is likely to happen.
My tip: Match draw 1-1
Promotion / Relegation Playoff 2nd Leg - 1. FC Nürnberg vs Energie Cottbus (Sunday): Last night Nürnberg had destroyed the hope of Energie Cottbus which they won 3-0 in Cottbus home ground. Discipline defense and effective counter attacks led Cottbus did not have any chance to fight back. Peer Kluge and Daniel Gygax were playing an important role to stop Cottbus attack and create the counter attacks. Issac Boakye is the important striker in this matchup as he had scored twice in the 1st leg. Also, the team had an excellent home game record which they only lost 1 game in the entired season. So I believe Cottbus are having the hard time. On the other hand, Cottbus must throw everything on right now as they need to score at least 3 goals in order to ask for an extra time. Emil Jula had problem on fitness and he is too easy to get defended as his pace is very slow. Jiayi Shao and Ervin Skela must perform better as both of them were getting frozen last match. I believe Cottbus cannot level the game and they will lose more goals. Nürnberg will promote to Bundesliga with a win.
First Leg: 1. FC Nürnberg win 3-0
My tip: 1. FC Nürnberg win 3-0
So this is it! Have a nice week! And to my friend, have a nice trip in China!
DFB Pokal Final - Werder Bremen vs Bayer Leverkusen (Saturday): Both teams have lost their last Bundesliga matches last week. Werder Bremen had rested some players and they lost against VfL Wolfsburg 5-1. Mesut Özil is expected to back in action, together with Diego and Claudio Pizzaro, the attacking of Werder Bremen should not have a big problem. Defence is the only concern however. Since Per Mertesacker is out of action, the team failed to have a leader to lead the defense and led to lot of cheap errors. Diego and Frank Baumann will have their last game for Werder Bremen at the same time so they will give their all. On the other hand, Leverkusen also lost the game, they lost against Energie Cottbus 3-0. Patrick Helmes and Stefan Kießling are the attacking duo which Werder Bremen needs to watch out for. The midfielders such as Tranquillo Barnetta and Toni Kroos will play an important role as they are the good creator in attack. I believe this match will be decided in greater defense. Both teams cancel each other out and I believe extra time is likely to happen.
My tip: Match draw 1-1
Promotion / Relegation Playoff 2nd Leg - 1. FC Nürnberg vs Energie Cottbus (Sunday): Last night Nürnberg had destroyed the hope of Energie Cottbus which they won 3-0 in Cottbus home ground. Discipline defense and effective counter attacks led Cottbus did not have any chance to fight back. Peer Kluge and Daniel Gygax were playing an important role to stop Cottbus attack and create the counter attacks. Issac Boakye is the important striker in this matchup as he had scored twice in the 1st leg. Also, the team had an excellent home game record which they only lost 1 game in the entired season. So I believe Cottbus are having the hard time. On the other hand, Cottbus must throw everything on right now as they need to score at least 3 goals in order to ask for an extra time. Emil Jula had problem on fitness and he is too easy to get defended as his pace is very slow. Jiayi Shao and Ervin Skela must perform better as both of them were getting frozen last match. I believe Cottbus cannot level the game and they will lose more goals. Nürnberg will promote to Bundesliga with a win.
First Leg: 1. FC Nürnberg win 3-0
My tip: 1. FC Nürnberg win 3-0
So this is it! Have a nice week! And to my friend, have a nice trip in China!
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
German Bundesliga Promotion / Relegation Playoff Tipping
German Bundesliga this Thursday (6pm local time) will have the promotion / relegation playoff first leg, which is Energie Cottbus versus 1. FC Nürnberg. Both teams are quite even and I believe it will be a tight matchup. Here's my tipping of this match:
Energie Cottbus played very well which they maintain their chance to stay in Bundesliga after beating Bayer Leverkusen 3-0. Emil Jula was in excellent form and I believe he can keep on in this match. Jiayi Shao at the same time became a man behind a hero in the recent 2 matches as he could create in the midfield, as well as relieving Ervin Skela. On the other hand, Nürnberg was basically confirmed to be at 3rd place 2-3 weeks ago. Marek Mintal, and Isaac Boakye are the important attacking duo at up front and they are very good at scroing goals, especially the defence of Cottbus are not solid. I believe this match Nürnberg will have a chance to score an away goal or even a draw to bring to the Sunday's second leg.
My tip: Match draw 1-1
So this is the tipping. Later I will tip the DFB Pokal as well as the seond leg of promotion / relegation playoff.
Energie Cottbus played very well which they maintain their chance to stay in Bundesliga after beating Bayer Leverkusen 3-0. Emil Jula was in excellent form and I believe he can keep on in this match. Jiayi Shao at the same time became a man behind a hero in the recent 2 matches as he could create in the midfield, as well as relieving Ervin Skela. On the other hand, Nürnberg was basically confirmed to be at 3rd place 2-3 weeks ago. Marek Mintal, and Isaac Boakye are the important attacking duo at up front and they are very good at scroing goals, especially the defence of Cottbus are not solid. I believe this match Nürnberg will have a chance to score an away goal or even a draw to bring to the Sunday's second leg.
My tip: Match draw 1-1
So this is the tipping. Later I will tip the DFB Pokal as well as the seond leg of promotion / relegation playoff.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
German Bundesliga General Preview
German Bundesliga had finished the 2008-2009 season after VfL Wolfsburg claimed their first ever league title. Bayern München had just barely claimed the 2nd spot in order to progress to UEFA Champions League Group Stage in 2009-2010 season. Now I will review the league generally, then I will list out some statistics:
Intense but poor season
This season was the most intense one since 2000-2001 season as Schalke at that moment just lost the title by a goal difference in last minute. As Bayern München failed to climb up to the top spot ever once, there were a lot of teams to climb up to the top, including Hamburger SV, Hertha Berlin, 1899 Hoffenheim, and the final winner VfL Wolfsburg. However, when looking at the league table, VfL Wolfsburg won the title with only 69 points. This was a very poor record as normally this level only led them to 4th to 6th position. This was because generally the title contenders played really poorly. They won the game at the same time but they all lost the game at the same time as well. So no team could have a clear lead in the top spot. At the same time, the difference between top and bottom team was only 41 points, so which meant the league was really even.
Attacking football
Attacking football kept ruling from the Day 1 to the end of season. Current champion VfL Wolfsburg had scored 81 goals overall. Their strikers, Grafite and Eden Dzeko had scored 54 goals in total and led the team to kept scoring. This was the reason why they won the title as there was no one to stop them well. The second placed Bayern München had also scored 71 goals, thanks to attacking style Jürgen Klinsmann. On the other hand, the relegated team such as Arminia Bielefeld and Karlsruher SC had 29 and 30 goals respectively, which meant their inability to score goals led them to fail to retain their spot on 2009-2010 season. Especially when looking at their goals conceded, which were 56 and 54 goals respectively, proved that their defense was not really bad. So it proved attacking football in Bundesliga could lead the team win the championship and lead the team to relegate.
Home team rules
Home court advantage was the key factor to win the title or avoiding relegation. Current champion VfL Wolfsburg was invincible in their home. They had beaten Bayern München and Werder Bremen 5-1 seperately. Furthermore, they were unbeaten in their home, and had won 16 matches out of 17, which was top of the league. This was an astonishing record and this was the biggest reason for them to win, as their away record was 8th in overall. Oppositely, Bayern München even was the best in away form, their home court record did drag them down, which they were 5th in overall. Hannover was the other example of the importance of home court advantage. They had the worst away game record, which they only scored 7 points in 17 away matches. However, their home record was very good that they had 8 wins and 7 draws at home. So, the home record led them to avoid relegation in the end.
Power shift
As Bayern München failed to defend their title this season, it showed that the power had shifted to the teams with solid, consistent, and highly attacking style. VfL Wolfsburg had played really consistently in the last month of the season and led them to win the title. Bayern at the same time they failed to do so, therefore they could not climb to the top spot ever once. On the other hand, the title contenders such as Werder Bremen, Schalke 04, and Bayer Leverkusen failed to perform consistently so that they only remained at the middle of the table. So this season was the metaphor of power shift of the league. Apart from Bayern München, who they had their quality all the time, the other team could not guaratee their chances to win the title.
Now here's some facts and statistics in this season:
Champion: VfL Wolfsburg
Champions League Group Stage: VfL Wolfsburg, Bayern München
Champions League Qualifier: VfB Stuttgart
Europa League: Hertha Berlin, Hamburger SV, DFB Pokal winner
Top Goalscorer: Grafite (VfL Wolfsburg, 28 goals)
Biggest Home Win: Borussia Dortmund 6-0 Arminia Bielefeld (16 May 09)
Biggest Away Win: Eintract Frankfurt 0-5 Werder Bremen (13 May 09); Hannover 96 0-5 VfL Wolfsburg (16 May 09)
Highest Scoring: Werder Bremen 5-4 1899 Hoffenheim (27 Sep 08)
Total Goals: 894
Average Scoring: 2.92
Intense but poor season
This season was the most intense one since 2000-2001 season as Schalke at that moment just lost the title by a goal difference in last minute. As Bayern München failed to climb up to the top spot ever once, there were a lot of teams to climb up to the top, including Hamburger SV, Hertha Berlin, 1899 Hoffenheim, and the final winner VfL Wolfsburg. However, when looking at the league table, VfL Wolfsburg won the title with only 69 points. This was a very poor record as normally this level only led them to 4th to 6th position. This was because generally the title contenders played really poorly. They won the game at the same time but they all lost the game at the same time as well. So no team could have a clear lead in the top spot. At the same time, the difference between top and bottom team was only 41 points, so which meant the league was really even.
Attacking football
Attacking football kept ruling from the Day 1 to the end of season. Current champion VfL Wolfsburg had scored 81 goals overall. Their strikers, Grafite and Eden Dzeko had scored 54 goals in total and led the team to kept scoring. This was the reason why they won the title as there was no one to stop them well. The second placed Bayern München had also scored 71 goals, thanks to attacking style Jürgen Klinsmann. On the other hand, the relegated team such as Arminia Bielefeld and Karlsruher SC had 29 and 30 goals respectively, which meant their inability to score goals led them to fail to retain their spot on 2009-2010 season. Especially when looking at their goals conceded, which were 56 and 54 goals respectively, proved that their defense was not really bad. So it proved attacking football in Bundesliga could lead the team win the championship and lead the team to relegate.
Home team rules
Home court advantage was the key factor to win the title or avoiding relegation. Current champion VfL Wolfsburg was invincible in their home. They had beaten Bayern München and Werder Bremen 5-1 seperately. Furthermore, they were unbeaten in their home, and had won 16 matches out of 17, which was top of the league. This was an astonishing record and this was the biggest reason for them to win, as their away record was 8th in overall. Oppositely, Bayern München even was the best in away form, their home court record did drag them down, which they were 5th in overall. Hannover was the other example of the importance of home court advantage. They had the worst away game record, which they only scored 7 points in 17 away matches. However, their home record was very good that they had 8 wins and 7 draws at home. So, the home record led them to avoid relegation in the end.
Power shift
As Bayern München failed to defend their title this season, it showed that the power had shifted to the teams with solid, consistent, and highly attacking style. VfL Wolfsburg had played really consistently in the last month of the season and led them to win the title. Bayern at the same time they failed to do so, therefore they could not climb to the top spot ever once. On the other hand, the title contenders such as Werder Bremen, Schalke 04, and Bayer Leverkusen failed to perform consistently so that they only remained at the middle of the table. So this season was the metaphor of power shift of the league. Apart from Bayern München, who they had their quality all the time, the other team could not guaratee their chances to win the title.
Now here's some facts and statistics in this season:
Champion: VfL Wolfsburg
Champions League Group Stage: VfL Wolfsburg, Bayern München
Champions League Qualifier: VfB Stuttgart
Europa League: Hertha Berlin, Hamburger SV, DFB Pokal winner
Top Goalscorer: Grafite (VfL Wolfsburg, 28 goals)
Biggest Home Win: Borussia Dortmund 6-0 Arminia Bielefeld (16 May 09)
Biggest Away Win: Eintract Frankfurt 0-5 Werder Bremen (13 May 09); Hannover 96 0-5 VfL Wolfsburg (16 May 09)
Highest Scoring: Werder Bremen 5-4 1899 Hoffenheim (27 Sep 08)
Total Goals: 894
Average Scoring: 2.92
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