Misery loves company

[ credit: Reuters Pictures ]

Last weekend was torrid for me football-wise. I left the house with a good feeling about the Bayer-KSC match at half-time (there was no stream, so I followed the match on live-ticker), fully expecting a good result. After all, we were 3-1 up at halftime. Nothing could go wrong, right, right?

But this is Bayer and it seems that the young Werkself has yet to master the dark arts of closing shop and parking the bus in front of goal. Because KSC fought their way back into the game and Bayer left Karslruhe with only one point. Needless to say, Tante Völler had a lot to say about Bayer throwing away the lead. I can’t comment further but I can see why the sporting director’s in a snit fit. I know I was when I got back home and saw that result.

Having said all that, another truism of life in general is that if you’re not doing well, pray everybody else screws up too and Hoffenheim most kindly obliged by losing away to Hertha Berlin. Therefore, the Werkself are currently topping the table on goal difference. It’s way too soon to cheer yet as that Evil Bavarian Empire [TM] has recovered their form (or more like, Franck Ribery is playing and playing well again) and are now only one point away. With Bayern on the rise, the Werkself cannot afford to slip up if they want to remain in contention for at least a European spot. I stress, European spot, not the T-word.

In other news, apparently Theofanis Gekas is unhappy with his sub appearances and now wants away from the BayArena come January. No worries though, as the club has set their eyes on yet another Brazilian (Adeilson). Cue the “Is he any good in Football Manager?” jokes.

This is slightly old news but Herr Pirmin Schwegler has followed in Tranquillo Barnetta’s footsteps and received his call-up to the senior Swiss squad for a friendly against Finland. It remains to be seen if he’ll actually play but he’s definitely garnering the right kind of attention and that first senior cap cannot be far away.  All the best, Schwegler.

The T-word und 12. Spieltag

There’s a short, short article at the Guardian about how the Werkself have quietly snuck into contention for the Bundesliga (can I say the word?!) title. Urgh. Title. I hate that word. I will refrain from further quoting Shakespeare out of context but it goes without saying that no sane Bayer fan will openly mention the T-word, not after the 2001/2002 Treble of Horror season. Bayer remains the only football club in recent history to have blown their chances at the domestic league title, domestic cup and the Champions’ League. When you take into account how Germany came in second during World Cup 2002, you will understand why Bernd Schneider now abhors the number two. I’m certainly pleased with the way the season has unfolded thus far for the Werkself but really, all it takes is a bad run and we’ll be looking at the opposite end of the table. So I’m sure fellow fans will understand why I’m keeping a tight lid on my optimism.

Another thing to fear is the January transfer window. Already rumours (and nothing more substantial) have begun to circulate regarding Renato Augusto and Inter Milan, with the Brazilian midfield magician apparently due to depart the BayArena in just a few months. I’m not too fussed about it at this stage – there’s nothing to substantiate those rumours as yet and he’s just arrived at Leverkusen – but it brings up the perennial problem of Bayer always loses its best players to other, better-paying clubs.

The Werkself might have an exciting young team at the moment but it’ll be of naught if they leave. But financial stability is a reality fans cannot run away from and Bayer no longer receives substantial funding from its parent company. It goes without saying that selling players is a way of balancing the books, especially when the club has to fund the BayArena expansion, amongst other things.

Let’s turn our attention away to happier things. Bayer faces Karlsruher SC away on Saturday. Needless to say, the Werkself is the favoured team here, with us flying high on the back of four wins and Karlsruher having lost their last five league matches.

To cap things off for the night, Adler has been chosen as part of the Team of the Month for October 2008 by the European Sports Magazine. Well done.

Yes we can.

I know the image above has nothing to do with football but this is my blog and I will celebrate if I want to. Oh wait, it does after all since President-elect Obama is a Hammers fan.

Bayer04 TV has put up an interview with Tranquillo Barnetta. Alas, my German-fu is not strong enough to enable me to fully understand the clip. The latest entry (dated 5th Nov) in Bayer’s section in the official Bundesliga site also has a short write up about the Werkself’s good run in the past few games and a mention of the upcoming away game to Karlsruher SC. In contrast, KSC has not had a fun time of it lately. This game has meaning for Bruno Labbadia as he ended his career with KSC.

This next bit of information comes under trivia more than anything else but the team will also now travel in comfort as they have a new bus. With spiffy equipment and snacks, insofar as I can decipher from the article at the Bild website. Unfortunately, we’re all stuck with these kind of frivolous updates from the Bild until my German improves. Which is not anytime soon.

I’ll end today’s entry with a mention of a past player, Andrei Voronin, who left for the allegedly greener pastures of Anfield (insert dramatic cough here), only to find that the pitch wasn’t so green and was offloaded moved back to Hertha Berlin on loan. The plot thickens however as it now seems that the grass in Liverpool is looking good again and he wants a move back.

Moving stadia is hard (and expensive) to do

[ credit: RP ONLINE ]

Bayer officials met with the powers that be of Fortuna Düsseldorf today to discuss the details of the temporary groundshare that will begin in 2009 whilst the installation of the new roof at the BayArena is ongoing. The full report from the website is here but to summarise, Bayer will introduce the “Fortuna Euro” scheme, where one Euro will be contributed to Fortuna for each home ticket sold, inclusive of season tickets. The funds will be directed towards Fortuna’s youth development and if targets are met, the final amount might reach six figures.

The club will also invest in an advertising campaign to inform the citizens of Düsseldorf about Bayer’s impending arrival. I must say I am rather amused by the sight of Rolfes getting a solo spot in the “Sechs & the City” poster. The first match to be played in the LTU-Arena will be the DFB-Pokal Round of Sixteen match against Energie Cottbus on 28 January 2009 and the first Bundesliga match will be against VfB Stuttgart a week later.

Moving on to other news, Adler has been nominated for the North-Rhine Westphalia Sports Personality 2008, under the “Newcomer” category. And in a surprising turn of events, or perhaps the team did listen to my suggestion and dressed in drag after all, Bayer has now managed to garner two paragraphs in the weekly Honigstein column, all of it flattering, especially of Rolfes and Bruno Labbadia. Granted, the original subject was about how Werder might not be so mediocre after all but we’ll take what we can and run with it.

Halloween’s a treat

[ credit: Reuters Pictures ]

The yo-yo situation between Bayer and Hoffenheim continues, with Bayer again moving to top spot temporarily (again) after their win over Wolfsburg. Barnetta (57′) marked a successful return to the team with a goal and Keißling (65′) added icing to the cake just a few minutes later.

Overall, Bayer played better, with greater possession, attacking intent and more shots on goal. They also spent large segments of the game camped out in the Wolfsburg half of the pitch, underlying their superiority. The first half was frustrating as Kadlec, Keißling, Helmes and Rolfes all testing Benaglio at various points but none managed to get their names on the scoresheet. The latter three had especially good chances but a last-ditch goal line clearance by Benaglio ensured that neither Keißling nor Helmes converted their chances and Rolfes wasted another gilt-edged opportunity later.

Bayer’s patience paid off when Barnetta scored on his return, his happiness evident as he raced across the pitch to celebrate with one of the substitutes (I couldn’t catch the face due to the poor stream (it’s either Haggui or Schwegler) and Keißling made up for his earlier miss when he scored soon after. The team took the foot off the pedal after that, with Wolfsburg creeping into the game somewhat but it still was not good enough and the Werkself can now enjoy the weekend after a frenetic seven days.

You can read a more comprehensive report from ESPN Soccernet and Goal.com has some comments from the boss and Felix Magath.  This victory also means that Bruno Labbadia has overcome teams managed by former Bundesliga-winning managers – Armin Veh (Stuttgart 2006/2007), Felix Magath (Bayern Munich 2004/2005, 2005/2006). Cristoph Daum (Stuttgart, 1991/1992) and Thomas Schaaf (Werder Bremen 2003/2004). Not bad at all. But he needs to do it again in the second half of the season.

This is unrelated to the match but if you check the official website under “Termine”, the section is now updated with matches from the Frauenschaft, Bayer II and youth teams. If I recall correctly, it used to contain match dates only for the first team, so this is definitely a step in the right direction to acknowledging the efforts of the other teams in the football club.

In other news, Rafael Honigstein writes about how mediocrity beckons for Werder Bremen. Excellent piece as usual, but as I mentioned elsewhere, I’m still waiting for the day he feels Bayer warrants a write-up. Maybe the team needs to dress in drag and do the hula. It is Halloween after all.

11. Spieltag preview

Bayer plays Wolfsburg tomorrow. Statistically, Wolfsburg is a good team to play as the results traditionally favour Bayer. However Wolfsburg are on a good run themselves, with a sound 3 – 0 win over Mönchengladbach last Tuesday and they’ll want to keep it up. The boss meanwhile, thinks the Wolves will make life difficult for the Werkself and is not quite sure of who to place on the left side of midfield as Pirmin Schwegler has deputised ably for Tranquillo Barnetta the last few matches.

I’m not going to make any predictions  because I’ve not managed to watch a Wolfsburg game yet this season. Obviously, I’m plumping for a win as it is a home game but two of our losses this season have been at the BayArena so the team needs to be wary. One factor definitely in Bayer’s advantage is the fact that Wolfsburg have been poor travellers thus far this season. Bayer has now gone 14 games without a draw (the longest run of any team in the Bundesliga thus far) and the last draw we had was indeed against Wolfsburg when they squandered a 2-0 nil to draw 2-2 at the BayArena in the 07/08 season.

In other news, Karim Haggui will be out after the weekend for an unspecified period when he undergoes operations on both groins. As stated in the report, he declined to undergo treatment earlier so as to help the team during this busy week. That’s greatly appreciated indeed. All the best for the operation and get better soon, Karim.

To end things for the day, here’s a picture slideshow of Patrick Helmes from the official Bundesliga site. It’s been quiet lately, can’t you tell?

Please sir, can I have some more?

[ credit: Reuters Pictures ]

I adore having to eat humble pie when it comes to wrong predictions that go the right way for my team. Bayer marked their 1000th Bundesliga game in style; triumphing over Werder Bremen in their home ground and scoring two goals in the process. Vidal (71′) was the first to break the deadlock and he celebrated by stuffing the ball under his jersey. The explanation for that is obvious, as he’s due to be become a father next year. At least, that’s what I’m gathering from the Bild website if I’m not getting my (very bad) German mixed up.

Friedrich (81′) scored his second goal in two games to assure the win for Bayer and condemn his former club to defeat. Incidentally, Werder saw it fit to grant him only one senior game before he moved on to 1. FSV Mainz 05 and from thence to Bayer. I can’t comment further on the match as I didn’t watch it in full (and it was a repeat at that) but what I saw was very entertaining, with Bayer putting on a better performance despite early periods of good play by Werder. Further details of the match can be found at the game report from the official website.

Critics will point out that this is a weakened Werder playing without Claudio Pizarro, Diego and Clemens Fritz and without Tim Wiese in goal. But as the old saying goes, you can only play what’s in front of you and Bayer deserved this win. So Bayer is back on top, albeit temporarily but what the heck, I’ll enjoy the view for the moment.

One more year for Schneider and match preview part deux

[ credit: Bild. de. Yes, that Bild. Shut up. ]

Huzzah, huzzah. Bayer has extended Bernd Schneider’s contract by another twelve months. That makes me a happy camper, seeing that he’s my favourite German player. His rehab is continuing, continuing -  clearly Bayer’s version of the Gary “back in two weeks” Neville saga  – and there’s no definitive date on his comeback yet. Fortunately, the team has learnt to cope without him but of course having him around would be a tremendous asset. It’s hard to predict how he’ll play when he does come back, though I wager his hours on the field will be limited the way Sir Alex Ferguson rations the playing time for Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville now.

Then, a write-up of Werder Bremen from the official site and Goal.com predicts a loss for Bayer in the upcoming match. It stings but it’s a fair prediction. Despite their woes, this is the Werder team that beat Bayern 5- 2 just a few weeks ago. As I mentioned earlier, I’m not putting my hopes up high as Bayer has yet to prove themselves against the likes of Bremen and Bayern in recent years but I’m still hoping the team will eke out a draw. What are fans without some hope, eh?

10. Spieltag preview. Of sorts.

It’s rather early for a pre-match post (so early even the official site has not had time to put one up yet) but to keep things short, the next Bundesliga match is away to Werder Bremen on Tuesday.

I’m not looking forward to this match, in all honesty. Why? Because Werder positively spanked us last year, both home and away. In fact, the 0- 2 loss to Werder was the last home game of 07/08 and it marked Bayer’s miserable season ending. Michael Skibbe was sacked soon after that. But that’s another story.

The good part is that for this season so far, on form alone, Bayer is doing better on all fronts that matter. Bayer has won more matches (doh), and scored just slightly less goals but also has a healthier goal difference. Werder have drawn more matches however, with Bayer and Karlsuher SC as the only two teams remaining not to have drawn a match for the 08/09 season thus far. But there are lies, damned lies and statistics and a five point cushion this early in the season means nothing. A win will keep Bayer in the CL spot, a loss will close the gap between the teams to just two points.

Aside from wanting a win for obvious reasons, it’s also important, IMO, that  Bayer develops the ability to beat the likes of Werder and Schalke 04. Bayer is a team with expectations of participating in at least the UEFA Cup competition each year – that’s precisely why Skibbe lost his job – so it’s important that they match title contenders within the same league at the very least. But on the other hand, I can’t say their recent record in the UEFA Cup  has been stellar either. There’s no point harping on about playing in Europe when you’re easily dominated by other teams within the Bundesliga.

My prediction? A draw. Bayer and Bremen are both high-scoring teams so it won’t be goalless, that’s for sure. I say 2-2. But there’s no harm in praying for Werder’s defence to do Bayer a few favours.

Rhine derby – 11 years and counting for 1. FC Köln

[ credit: Bundesliga Official Website ]

Based on the picture above, it’s pretty obvious that today was a good day for Bayer fans, with the Werkself winning 2 – 0 thanks to a Manuel Friedrich header (67′) and a Theofanis Gekas penalty (84′). I managed to watch the game in fits and starts on a stream. It was therefore also a bad day for Christoph Daum, the former Bayer manager who was celebrating (well, maybe not anymore) his birthday today. But at least the fans serenaded him with a song.

The first half was poorly played by Bayer, with Köln having the upper hand for long periods, though Bayer were dangerous on the break. Köln tested the Bayer defence and goal repeatedly and they stifled the Bayer attack well. There was a small fuss when fireworks were set off near Michal Kadlec, forcing the referee to stop the game for a short period but fortunately, there were no other incidents.

Bayer played better in the second half, and to borrow a cliche, the home side’s patience paid off when Friedrich headed home the first goal. I still didn’t feel comfortable with that one-nil goal margin though, seeing Bayer’s defence thus far for the season, but the penalty taken by Gekas pretty much sealed the deal. It would be fair to say that Köln has a right to feel aggrieved seeing how well they played and the score flatters Bayer somewhat but it’s the result that matters. For a more complete report, go to the official website or Goal.com.

It wasn’t a great game of football – some parts were downright dire – but derbies are wont to be like that, so  let’s focus on the positives. Three points are in the bag and the team has a short time window with which they can stare down at the rest from the lofty but definitely temporary position of first place in the table. Don’t grudge us our 48 hours or so of being top dog.