Matchday 32: Cloud Nine And Seven

English speaking BVB fans are on cloud nine. Their German speaking counterparts are on cloud seven. But maybe there’s a way to bring the two together for the big party on May 14th. Roman Weidenfeller will volunteer as a translator. A 2-0 victory over Nuremberg clinched Dortmund’s seventh German championship and the first title after nine years, thanks to Leverkusen doing, what Leverkusen does best.

Cologne 2-0 Leverkusen. It has been 14 years since Cologne last beat Leverkusen, but when a title is on the line you can pretty much expect the unexpected from Leverkusen. In such a case, Stefan Kießling hits the post, Michael Ballack’s tap-in header is miraculously saved by Michael Rensing, Cologne’s first shot on goal is in the back of the net, Renato Augusto’s strike hits the post again and then Cologne seal the victory with a free kick that Rene Adler fails to punch away.

Dortmund 2-0 Nuremberg. Nuremberg still had the Europa League in sight and made life fairly difficult for Dortmund in the first half. Eventually ten minutes were enough for Dortmund’s versatile offense to storm into a 2-0 half time lead; Lewandowski and Barrios with the goals and Mario Götze with his 15th assist of the season. When was the last time an 18 year old had such a productive Bundesliga season? All that was left to do for Dortmund in the second half was to wait for good news from Cologne, which duly arrived. The obligatory beer showers followed and a half shaved head was thrown in for good measure to kick off the two week long party marathon.

Hanover 0-1 Mönchengladbach. Gladbach’s new coach Lucien Favre has managed to inject a good dose of Hertha styled 1-0 football into his team. After effectively shutting down Dortmund, Gladbach claimed their second high profile scalp against a top of the table team. Gladbach were quick to get behind the ball and neutralize Hanover’s counter attacks. It still took a wonder goal by Marco Reus though, to finally beat Ron-Robert Zieler. Gladbach now has a realistic chance to stay in the league again, with games against Freiburg and Hamburg coming up. Two teams that have nothing to play for anymore and at least one very much looks like not really caring anymore either.

Bayern 4-1 Schalke. The first of two 4-1 thrashings for Schalke this week and the first of two average performances by Manuel Neuer. The fact that Bayern and Schalke started to negotiate a potential transfer around the same time is pure coincidence though. After all, his team mates played even worse. In the fun back and forth race for third place against Hanover, Bayern take the lead again and hope to defend it for the remaining two matches.

Hamburg 0-2 Freiburg. Good news for Hamburg fans, there are only two matches left this season and then this Hamburg side will be history. Bad news for Freiburg fans, as their promising team will be history too, since their best players and their coach have been poached by bigger and badder teams already – or will be, in case of Cisse.

Hoffenheim 1-2 Stuttgart. It wasn’t a trademark Stuttgart second half of the season, which usually turns a relegation threatened side into Champions League hopefuls. But Stuttgart at least is playing well enough again, to make sure their renovated stadium will see Bundesliga football next season, while maintaining bragging rights over their new neighbors / youth academy spin-off team.

Bremen 0-1 Wolfsburg. Bremen dominated but struggled to create and convert chances. It would be interesting to take Mesut Özil’s transfer fee and compare it with the money Bremen lost this and will lose this season due to their creative underperformance. Maybe risking to lose a player on a free transfer sometimes isn’t so risky after all. Felix Magath did a good job stabilizing Wolfsburg’s defense. Their counter attacking football isn’t that impressive yet and following his Schalke stint, I wonder whether attractive football is more of an accidental outcome of Magath’s football philosophy rather than an intended one.

Kaiserslautern 2-0 St. Pauli. Kaiserslautern put the finishing touches on their league survival and St. Pauli’s relegation. Maybe St. Pauli can pull of one last hurrah and beat Bayern at home. Hanover would like that. One point for Frankfurt against Cologne would still seal St. Pauli’s fate though.

Mainz 3-0 Frankfurt. Mainz have been stumbling towards their second stint in the Europa League but took a big step with their emphatic victory over rivals Frankfurt. Whether the team is back to its’ early season form remains to be seen though, as Frankfurt keep going further and further down spiral and don’t count as a benchmark. Appointing Daum has done little to nothing for Frankfurt and relegation currently looks the more likely scenario at the moment. At least they can look forward to playing against Cologne – easily the worst away team of this season.

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Category: Bundesliga