Die Fußball-Bundesliga 2015/16

[Tom 14011]

Everyone keeps tellling me Leitner of BVB is going to be class but I've seen nowt of Stuttgart this year - where he's on loan.

[Tooj 17]

Aye he looks quality technically, that's another reason I rate Hoffman so highly though, as Leitner was ahead of him in the pecking order but the fact that they have loaned him out to give Hoffman a chance says a lot for me.

[Tom 14011]

Aye fair one!

 

I haven't seen a great deal of Dortmund this year so far. I've mainly caught Hertha & Bayern.

 

I'll keep an eye out for him.

[Tooj 17]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63LwQt5n2A0

 

[aimaad22 4086]

Thats class! Still dont know why he wants to go to Bayern though. Incredible team with a top stadium that sells out every game. And they nearly won the top prize in European football last season.

[Tom 14011]

That goal is insane.

[Monroe Transfer 0]

Thats class! Still dont know why he wants to go to Bayern though.

Guardiola.

[aimaad22 4086]

Guardiola.

 

Klopp isnt too bad you know.

 

Of course you can understand people wanting to be at Bayer, Real Barca etc. But they've build up something very special at Dortmund and they are arguably even stronger than last year the way Abumeyang and Mikhtaryan have settled in. Personally I'd take a lot more satisfaction from being in a team like that than simply joining up a star studded squad thats already been winning stuff for ages.

[Tom 14011]

€

[aimaad22 4086]

€

 

Oh yeah

[Tooj 17]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/24429252

 

Pep.

[Tom 14011]

The special tracksuit looks very ''Military''.

 

Very ''POW Guard''

[Tooj 17]

There was a great piece on 5 Live Sport Specials this week about how Germany football reacted to the humiliation of Euro 2000/5-1 to come to the heights of where we see them today.

 

@@Meenzer

 

Thomas Tuchel made an appearance as well and I found that really informative.

[Tom 14011]

Iplayer?

 

I like how they basically FORCED the Bundesliga clubs to invest in youth and sort out their books.

 

It's a shame we're too far gone, too much of - ironically - an 'international' capitalist concern.

[Meenzer 15347]

Iplayer?

 

Podcast, even!

 

Cheers Tooj, had missed that.

[Tooj 17]

What did you think of it? @@Meenzer

 

Think we've decided on going to a Union Berlin match btw.

[Park Life 71]

The special tracksuit looks very ''Military''.

 

Very ''POW Guard''

Christ that's a bit scary.

[Kitman 2204]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/24429252

 

Pep.

 

 

for a minute there i didn't think they'd have a picture of Schweinsteigers other half but it's ok they did :whew:

 

Strangely they didn't picture Ribery with his......

[Tooj 17]

http://bundesligafanatic.com/borussia-dortmunds-struggle-with-squad-depth/?utm_source=feedly

 

Borussia Dortmund’s Struggle with Squad Depth

Despite the great progress and development under Jürgen Klopp, over the last three years, Borussia Dortmund have struggled to build themselves a full squad capable of playing at a consistently high level in all competitions throughout the season. Since losing the likes of Mario Götze, Shinji Kagawa, Ivan Perisic and Felipe Santana, they have always replaced those who’ve left, but have they done more than directly replace the lost parts? This year their lack of experienced squad players may be about to haunt them.

Borussia Dortmund have had another of their consistently confident starts to the season. They picked up their first loss of the season on Saturday against Borussia Mönchengladbach with a relatively strong squad of players, but after Mats Hummels picked up a red card and more injuries came along. The fact that the result came after yet another European match midweek meant that the question over BVB’s lack of true squad depth has come back into the limelight.

Heading into the games against Hannover 96 and Arsenal after the international break, Dortmund are without the injured/suspended – Sven Bender, Jonas Hofmann, Sokratis, Sebastian Kehl, Nuri Şahin, Marco Reus, Mats Hummels and Ilkay Gündoğan. Here we have eight players who would normally start, or make an appearance, week in/week out for BVB. So they’re being replaced, but of course it’s important to consider the quality of those replacing these injured players.

The likes of Eric Durm, Oliver Kirch, Koray Günter and Marvin Ducksch have all been called upon in recent games. And at this rate they are also expected to be called upon again in the near future. Durm, Günter and Ducksch are all under the age of 21 and have had just seven first team appearances between them. The standard that BVB have set themselves requires that their squad to be able to replace those injured/suspended players with squad players who have similar levels of quality and experience. This replacement strategy is something they’re currently unable to implement at the same level as the likes of Bayern, for example.

At the moment, Dortmund have to use players from their admittedly impressive youth set-up in their first team. They would usually – as in Hofmann’s case – bring these players into the first team setup gradually over a season. Being forced to add younger players to the first team is not only hindering their performances as a team, but could also arguably hinder the development of these young players by putting too much pressure on them too suddenly.

For BVB, it is not a question of deficient squad depth, more a question of lack of squad quality. The position that is most concerting right now is the centre of midfield, arguably Dortmund’s most important position. BVB play with a style that requires great depth in the centre of midfield, since their players cover so much ground during games.

With the 3 biggest names in that position all out injured, the likes Kirch/Hofmann/Großkreutz may have to be put in uncomfortable positions for the time being. Even with the likes of Bender, Reus, Hummels and Hofmann expected to make quick returns, the next two weeks could be a real test for Klopp’s team and could go one of two ways in my opinion.

Their back-up players could come out and prove themselves with impressive performances, proving that their squad players are in fact up to scratch. Or, these players could be overwhelmed by the occasion, further casting doubt over Dortmund squad depth and possibly forcing them into the inevitable quick shop in the January transfer window.

Either way, it will be hard to make Dortmund look bad, as they always find a way to look classy. But this certainly is one of their hardest challenges in recent times, especially with a game against Bayern next month and expectations of another good European campaign. Yes, I am already thinking about the Dortmund v Bayern game but Dortmund’s expectations and standards are now higher than they have been in years.

Let me know what you think about BVB’s squad. Who would you bring in, if anyone?

[Tom 14011]

I would bring back Kagawa if I was Klopp.

 

Man United don't seem interested.

[Tooj 17]

He said he tried in the summer but Kagawa wanted to fight for his place.

[Tom 14011]

Fair play to both of them I suppose.

 

I'm not sure if BVB have a problem with squad depth per se - or if that's just a hideous amount of injuries. There's one thing for sure - they can't compete with Bayern on a financial level so it's a poor comparison.

 

Maybe one day they'll be able to but I really doubt it.

[aimaad22 4086]

Aye. You cant have 8 top players injured and expect the same quality on the bench.

[Tooj 17]

http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/bayernmunich/id/1552?cc=5739

 

Bayern Munich dictated and dominated play for nearly the entire match, but an injury to Dante and Jerome Boateng's misread of a lofted pass late in the first half saw Mainz ahead on a Shawn Parker goal. Thomas Tuchel's men would weather the die Roten storm for 50 minutes before Arjen Robben equalized. Thomas Mueller shot Bayern ahead two minutes later, also adding a penalty strike to his total later in the match. Mario Mandzukic got on the scoreboard as well as Munich closed out the second half in devastating fashion. Bayern Munich remain Spitzenreiter; also able to equalize second-placed Borussia Dortmund's goal differential.

Pretty much everyone has called the Mainz match a "tale of two halves", which it certainly was. So, I'm going to go one better and say Mario Goetze was the difference-maker here. Now you might say, "Susie! Other people have said that, too!" but if you know how I feel (and if you're on Twitter, you do) about Goetze and his pro-Nike antics since joining Bayern Munich, you'll understand that my praise -- while still grudgingly given -- is absolutely merited.

But, I won't call him "Super Mario" just yet.

That being said, I've got to hand it to Goetze, he played a heck of a second half. Finally starting to come back to full fitness, the Mainz match and his performance against Sweden for the DFB have begun to show the merits of his inclusion in Bayern Munich. He released Robben for the opening goal, and a scant two minutes later the two teamed up again to provide for Mueller. He'd close out an excellent showing with a pass to Mandzukic for his strike past Christian Wetklo.

"The more I play, the fitter I'll become. I'm not bothered about my position. I can play as a wide midfielder, an inside forward, a playmaker, or up front. Fortunately, I'm very versatile," Goetze told Bayern's official website. And if that's the case, Bayern won't have to worry about injuries to Xherdan Shaqiri -- out six weeks with a ruptured hamstring -- and Franck Ribery -- doubtful for the Plzen match with a sprained ankle.

Another "G"-man for Bayern, coach Pep Guardiola, also proved to make a difference in the second half. Sitting in the Suedkurve, I would puzzle at David Alaba's inclusion for the injured Dante. "Diego Contento is playing center back?! So, now we have two right backs [Philipp Lahm and Rafinha] and two left backs [Alaba and Contento] on the pitch," I remarked, puzzled, to my friend. At the time, it made more sense to me for Jan Kirchhoff to come on as a direct replacement. And it would seem to play out as Boateng misread the ball that led to Parker's opening goal minutes later, with Contento -- now playing center back -- not near the area.

Goetze for Rafinha to begin the second half would be a genius move by Guardiola -- shifting Alaba and Lahm into their regular wing-back positions as it strengthened the wide play that Mainz would have oodles of trouble trying to cover, and space that was not granted in the first half suddenly became available all over the pitch.

The fluid, interchangeable play of the entire midfield and forward units -- with a much better positional understanding that was shown the first half -- was a pleasure to watch live. Mueller and Robben could be found switching sides, or at times, both marauding one side of the pitch together. Bastian Schweinsteiger and Toni Kroos alternately slipped back and forward into holding or attacking roles, while Goetze was used wide -- and up top -- with Mandzukic doing the same.

It gave me shakes trying to figure out what formation was happening at any given time, but these are shakes I'll gladly weather with a performance like that. I've said before that you may call Guardiola's 4-1-4-1 whatever you wish, but good luck trying to keep up with it throughout an entire match. And also, not-so-grudgingly anymore -- that's the brilliance of the whole thing. It might make a good drinking game, too: Take a drink every time a player switches positions.

OK, maybe not.

There is still a catch. Defensively, this system needs the back four comprised of players with a great understanding of each other. I am of the opinion those four positions should remain as stable as possible, which is an impossibility if Guardiola is to keep everyone happy. But, then again, while Boateng had a leg up on all the center backs pre-season, Dante has finally started to truly grasp what the coach wants. And as Rafinha was shaky in his first couple of outings as right back in Lahm's stead, he has pleasantly surprised all with his great performances of late. In the end, perhaps, it will just take minutes on the pitch for all to become accustomed.

Here's hoping the offense can keep churning up goals while that happens.

[Tooj 17]

Team Borussia Berlin (sixth level of German football I think) are playing on the Sunday when I'm there as well. Might have to pop along too.

http://www.tebe.de/index_en.html