Running Commentary: Bundesliga Matchday 21
By: Jan | February 20th, 2009A running commentary of the weekend’s Bundesliga action. Feel free to share your thoughts via the comments.
I modified the format a bit and introduced timestamps. Due to the time-zone spanning super-global nature of this blog, I decided to feature a different timezone each week. In honor of one of our most frequent commenters, I’ll start with Singapore Standard Time (SST, i.e. CET +7h).
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Friday
[00.45 Sat] The 133rd Revierderby will kick off this Bundesliga weekend and was it ever more meaningless? Schalke could sink into an even bigger crisis, Dortmund could sink even further back into mid-table mediocrity after what looked like a promising season so far.
Tucker over at the Dortmund Offside has the latest on his team’s difficult injury situation. Porter over at the Schalke Offside is looking for revenge, or rather: he’s quoting people looking for revenge.
[05.50 Sat] Schalke 1-1 Dortmund. Kevin Kuranyi sent in his submission for goal of the season and now scored two goals in the last two matches. He was also guilty of giving away a great chance to score a potentially match winning second goal – just for the old times sake! Schalke were mostly in complete control of the match and it took Dortmund 50 minutes to register their first real chance. It then took Dortmund just 20 minutes to turn the match upside down, equalize and almost run away with an unlikely victory. This result helps neither of the two teams and both could lose more ground depending on tomorrow’s (today’s in Singapore) matches.
This derby won’t take a prominent place in football’s history books, but this Kuranyi goal will make it into the odd YouTube football compilation video in the future.
***
Saturday
[00.25 Sun] It’s a snail race at the top of the table. Bayern lose against Cologne (1-2). Hertha lose against Wolfsburg (same scoreline). Hoffenheim can only draw against Stuttgart (3-3) but go top on goal difference (+18). Bayern are denied a regular goal. Hertha are denied a regular goal. Wolfsburg score an irregular goal. Bayern would have liked a penalty (up for discussion). Hoffenheim miss a last minute penalty. Not a bright day for the Bundesliga’s referees. Hamburg could take advantage tomorrow against Leverkusen, but the way things went so far I would now expect them to lose, just to make it even more close.
[00.30 Sun] And here’s another one for statistic freaks: Christoph Daum had never managed to win against Bayern Munich in Munich until today. Took him 23 years.
[01.05 Sun] Stuttgart – Hoffenheim aftermath: Mario Gomez scored his 23rd and 24th goal in his 31st game for Stuttgart this season. Demba Ba scored a hat trick; an English hat trick, not a German one which requires three consecutive goals.
[01.30 Sun] Things remain close at the bottom of the table and miserable in the mid-table section. Cottbus beat Bremen 2-1 with a last minute goal and book their second consecutive home win, climb up the table and are determined to once again defy all odds and stay in the Bundesliga one more season. Bremen drop down to 11th and are trailing the Europa League spots by a full nine points – the same goes for the relegation play-off spot…
Borussia Mönchengladbach keep feeding this season’s highlight reel with another great Alexander Baumjohann goal. More importantly though, they for once also got a full three points by beating Hanover 3-2. Karlsruhe lost against Frankfurt (0-1). Bielefeld and Bochum shared the points (1-1). Gladbach remain at the bottom of the table, but the relegation play-off spot is only two and safety three points away now.
[01.50 Sun] Bayern fans probably expected an easy win against Cologne and a tough away game against Bremen next week. It could end up being the other way round.
[05.00 Sun] Prior to their match against Bremen, Cottbus were looking for volunteers to help clear the pitch and stadium of snow. In return Cottbus offered a warm drink and a free ticket for the match against Bremen. 30 people showed up to help out, which bumped the attendance number for the match from 14750 to 14780.
***
Sunday
[22.45] A headband on wednesday. A shoe on Saturday. Jens Lehmann is on a roll and should soon own a complete set of football equipment.
[02.00 Mon] Leverkusen 1-2 Hamburg. Another week, another table topper. Hamburg register their first big win away from home.
[02.10 Mon] Patrick Helmes keeps chasing Vedad Ibisevic with this stunning goal from nothing.
[02.15 Mon] Leverkusen tried to pass the ball to victory again. Hamburg tried their luck with long balls and both approaches proved to be equally effective in the first half (1-1). After taking the lead again, Hamburg were granted more space and started to pass the ball around a bit more as well. The resulting counter attacks and chances were all woefully wasted though. They unnecessarily kept the game open until the end.
[02.35 Mon] Man of the match: Marcell Jansen who scored both goals for Hamburg. He seems to be on his way to his old Mönchengladbach self again, which earned him his €12m move to Bayern.
Cameo of the match: Jerome Boateng, came on after 60 minutes, didn’t perform too well, got booked twice and sent to the showers after 86 minutes. It’s not his season.
Category: 1. Bundesliga, 1. FC Cologne, 1899 Hoffenheim, Arminia Bielefeld, Bayer 04 Leverkusen, Borussia Dortmund, Borussia Mönchengladbach, Eintracht Frankfurt, Energie Cottbus, FC Bayern Munich, FC Schalke 04, Hamburger SV, Hannover 96, Hertha BSC Berlin, Karlsruher SC, Matchdays, VfB Stuttgart, VfL Bochum, VfL Wolfsburg, Werder Bremen
Tags: 1. Bundesliga, 1. FC Cologne, 1899 Hoffenheim, Arminia Bielefeld, Bayer 04 Leverkusen, Borussia Dortmund, Borussia Mönchengladbach, Eintracht Frankfurt, Energie Cottbus, FC Bayern Munich, FC Schalke 04, Hamburger SV, Hannover 96, Hertha BSC Berlin, Karlsruher SC, Matchdays, VfB Stuttgart, VfL Bochum, VfL Wolfsburg, Werder BremenSubscribe
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Comments
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Why, thank you.
I am actually trying hard not to laugh out loud at my part of the world! 
Because of my (annoying) brother who is in the same room as I am.But to be honest, this is much appreciated. Whenever you are watching the matches, just remember there is someone who has to watch the matches at often unreasonable timings.
Let me give an example. I actually only had a few hours of sleep only for me to wake up and eventually realise how poor Germany did against Norway. This was in the friendly in Duesseldorf. For someone watching the match in Singapore and only having a few hours of sleep prior to kick-off (it began slightly after 3.30am here), I was surprised I managed to last through the entire match.Never mind. Ah, the Revierderby. I think it was just a few weeks ago, I happened to be watching an episode of football rivalries on pay-TV here and it was featuring the Reiverderby. As I was watching, I then realised it was the same thing as what you used to post here – http://bundesliga.theoffside.com/teams/forbidden-cities-the-story-of-the-revier-derby.html
No harm ‘re-learning’ about the Reiverderby all over again.
Posted from
Singapore
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Jesus, Kuranyi scored. Is it Friday the 13th again?
Posted from
United States -
“Let me give an example. I actually only had a few hours of sleep only for me to wake up and eventually realise how poor Germany did against Norway. This was in the friendly in Duesseldorf.”
The way the players don’t give *#!$ at the moment, I suggest you only do this once more this year, for the big game against Russia.
Posted from
Germany -
Juliet, it is not Friday the 13th.
Jan, thanks for the suggestion. I still can’t believe I actually scarifice my sleep and in the end…whatever. Anyhow, thanks for the video to the Kuranyi goal.
Because actually the 133rd Reiverderby was not shown here. I am still pissed at it. I mean, this time must be an exception to the ‘rule’ considering the Friday match is always guaranteed a timeslot here. It has been the case since the beginning of the season without fail. In the end what do I get here for this matchday? A repeat of the Hertha-Bayern match instead. As much as that has become one of my favourite matches for this season so far, in all respect, nothing like a derby match to get me excited.
It’s funny the previous edition of the Reiverderby was shown here. That actually made me realised for the first time after watching the match, of all the fuss surrounding the derby after reading about it. This time, I depend on the commentary from the kicker website.
Posted from
Singapore -
You’re not the only Singaporean who’s pissed as well. I stayed up all night just to realise they were showing Bayern – Hertha instead. I was looking forward all week for this. *sigh* Of all games, they decided not to show the biggest game in Germany. By the way Diana, do you realise they are no longer showing ‘ repeats ‘ of Bundesliga games anymore? They used to show 2 Saturday games on the Sunday and now they don’t anymore?
Posted from
Singapore -
I noticed too myself, Ashiq. Usually matches on Saturday and Sunday will now air on Monday or Tuesday. I always check the TV listings whenever I am channel-surfing. I am realistic, considering there’s also the Premier League, the La Liga also on the Football Channel as well. Maybe it is the way how it is being scheduled. But at the rate this is going for this matchday, I think there will be no Bundesliga matches on here for this week. I had been checking the TV listings umpteen times and even on the StarHub website a few times. It will be a first time if it is really the case since StarHub got the TV rights at the start of the season. If what the TV listings had been telling me is true.
There are the once-in-a-bluemoon chance where you can get to watch a live match on SuperSports or SuperSports Plus, apart from the Football Channel. I think it was on SuperSports last week where the Hertha-Bayern match was shown live.
Anyhow back to the main issue. I was like thinking in my head when I realised the Reiverderby will not be on here: ‘The most biggest match for this matchday is not on the Football Channel?’. Up till the wee hours of this morning, I was hoping that there will be the last-minute of scheduling but, nothing. I am lucky considering I often do stay up on Friday and so there are the occasional times I do watch some Friday night action if I cannot get to sleep. The last time I watched a ‘Friday match’ was actually when Hamburg hosting Bayern…the time when the season resumed and the match which HSV won eventually. The previous matchday between Hoffenheim and Bayer Leverkusen, I wanted to watch but I forgot. As a VfB Stuttgart supporter myself, I want to know how Hoffenheim is doing ahead of them facing my side later today. In the end I watched the repeat of that match in which Hoffenheim was thrashed by Leverkusen.
But at least there is the weekly highlights programme. Being a VfB Stuttgart supporter, most of the time I have to depend on the weekly highlights on how they are doing. Other than that, it will be striking a lottery if there is a Stuttgart match on. Live or not.
But come to think of it, it is worth the wait to have some Bundesliga action here on our TV screens here. I would had never expected it in the first place. I had been following the Bundesliga since the end of the 2006 World Cup (but only through the Internet) and when I realised the current season will be on here (this was weeks before the season began), I was screaming like a fan girl for a while.
Whatever they say about patience is a virture.Posted from
Singapore -
‘And here’s another one for statistic freaks: Christoph Daum had never managed to win against Bayern Munich in Munich until today. Took him 23 years.’
Whoa. And by the way, I had read somewhere that the match against Bayern will be his 150th match in charge as Cologne coach.Posted from
Singapore -
Wer wird deutscher meister? H-H-H HSV! Sorry everybody. I’ve been sick in bed for 2+ days now and just woke up to the good news!
Posted from
United States
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