Lewandowski City, Liebchen! - 2015/16 Bundesliga Thread

[Pesky Pole]

This is pretty crazy. Ref sends off Bayer Leverkusen manager, manager won't go, referee walks off pitch in the middle of the match.

http://screengrabber.deadspin.com/referee-gets-fed-up-walks-off-in-middle-of-bayer-lever-1760416708

 

[Schnerres]

Never seen such stuff, until the reports came out earlier in the day.
But german media also reported pretty early that the ref was absolutely correct in leaving the field, as Bayers coach Schmidt didn´t follow his instructions.
Bayer complained about the positioning of the free-kick and wanted the game to be restarted 5m back to Dortmunds goal, they didn´t want a free-kick for themselves. The ref let the game on and the free-kick was placed 5m further upfield, which led to the fast-break and the goal. That decision could be criticized, yes, but not to such a degree.
You should leave the field when you´re sent out of the coaching zone. Roger Schmidt is a douchebag and smart-ass that often shows his true colors when his team is losing tough games. Same goes for Bayer´s GM (former national team player) Rudi Völler, who is also very fast in criticizing the ref in such scenarios, but when his team is favored, he says stuff like things balance themselves out over the course of the season (which is probably true), etc.

 

[Senator Donut]

FYI, Der Klassiker has been moved from Fox Soccer Plus to FX. It's not listed in my guide.

 

[Schnerres]

New FYI, Der Klassiker has been moved from Fox Soccer Plus to FX. It's not listed in my guide.

Hope for as many goals at Dortmund-Bayern as in the other matches today.
In six matches there´s 21 goals after 75minutes, not bad.

I don´t think Dortmund will make this tight until the end, but i hope they win tonight, so Bayern is at least pressured in the least bit, Pep looks bad (can´t stand him anymore) and maybe gets kicked, as soon as Bayern is out of the CL (although i hope they win ).

Edit: 26 goals after full time. That was a rush with goals flying in the conference session.

 

[The Price Is Wrong]

Anyone who didn't see Ribery's booming bicycle-kick rebound score from today's game vs Eintracht Frankfurt is missing out.

Also, Lewandowski did his best to pick a fight and get himself tossed.

 

[candylandriots]

Hannover 96 relegated, fans offered a consolation:

(Possibly NSFW)

http://www.barstoolsports.com/philadelphia/german-soccer-club-gets-relegated-local-brothel-offers-fans-a-quickie-to-ease-the-pain/

 

[Schnerres]

Hummels is thinking hard between Dortmund (go to legend status) and Bayern (win more, have more easier wins).
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3551935/Borussia-Dortmund-defender-Mats-Hummels-admits-future-unclear-m-losing-half-hour-s-sleep-night-just-thinking-it.html
I don´t know how reliable that source is, but what he is saying since weeks in german media is that he is thinking hard about his future and it´s costing him half an hour of his sleep each day and he will explain his decision when he made it and everyone will understand what made it so hard for him. Sounds a lot like Dortmund or Bayern.
BILD reported today that Bayern offered 30mil.€ as transfer sum (one year remaining on his contract) and 10mil.€ wage+possible bonuses.
Bayern should consider a higher transfer sum, if that´s the problem.
Imagine Hummels+Boateng in the middle, Alaba on the left and Lahm for another 2 years on the right (age catching up). That would be a defense.

 

[Schnerres]

And now Dortmund with a statement to their shareholders that Mats Hummels requested a move to Bayern and Dortmund will let him go if Bayern will submit a good enough offer. The money is there, they will agree on a transfer sum, the question is how much it will be. I doubt Hummels wants to join a british team, he´s bound for Bayern (his family lives there, he already came through their youth stable before Klinsmann sold him and his girlfriend, a model, is from Munich), so if Bayern has to up the money, it will happen. Could be 30-35mil.€, i guess. No release clause in his contract and one year remaining, obviously.
The third Dortmundian in the last three years: Götze ´13 for 37mil.€, Lewandowski ´14 for free and now it will be Hummels.

The need to spend the money, especially if Gündogan leaves also to City as rumored and/or Mikhitaryan surpisingly goes out as well, to improve their team. They need more depth, if they want to make a deep run in the CL and somehow stay semi-close to Bayern like this season.

 

[Dummy Hoy]

That fucking sucks.

I think it's so strange that European Football is ruthlessly capitalistic, while American Football is essentially socialist.

 

[Titans Bastard]

Hoffenheim and Wolfsburg have been bumped down a rung on the "most despised corporate-funded Bundesliga club" rankings. RB Leipzig clinched promotion today.

And I should add, it's the first club from former East German territory to play in the Bundesliga since Energie Cottbus were relegated after the 2008-09 season.

 

[MiracleOfO2704]

On the 2. Bundesliga tangent, 1860 looked in trouble a few weeks ago when they lost at Duisburg 2:1. They've since ripped off three wins in a row, all clean sheets, and mostly against good competition (Eintracht Braunsweig and St. Pauli for the good, relegation-bound Paderborn for the bad) to climb entirely out of the relegation fray with a match to go.

As far as relegation/promotion goes, everything is pretty much settled. The aforementioned RB Leipzig finished behind league champions SC Freiburg and both make the automatic jump to the big boys. 1. FC Nuremburg is locked in to the promotion/relegation match for the 1. Bundesliga, though their opponent is still TBD (lots of potential scenarios still at the bottom of the 1.Liga table). As far as the bottom 3, it'll be some combination of MSV Duisburg, SC Paderborn 07, and FSV Frankfurt 1899 fighting it out to see which two of them will take the drop automatically and which one will play in the 2. Liga promotion/relegation tie against Wurzburger Kickers.

 

[Schnerres]

70-75mil.€ gone in one day (could be 80, if there´s FIFA World XI, etc.), Mats Hummels + Renato Sanches will be with Bayern from 2016-2021.
http://www.zeit.de/news/2016-05/10/fussball-fc-bayern-73-millionen-fuer-hummels-und-sanches-10130203

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/may/10/bayern-munich-sign-benfica-renato-sanches-manchester-united

 

[Dummy Hoy]

Oh Google translate

Munich (SID) - 73 million euros for champion Mats Hummels and Super Talent Renato Sanches: Bayern tinkering with vehemence and wide open wallet to his team for the future. The German football champions pledged on Tuesday first 18-year-old Sanches from Benfica, who is considered one of the biggest talents in Europe. Shortly after enforcement has been reported even in Dortmund captain Mats Hummels after weeks of speculation.

 

[Morgan's Magic Snowplow]

Hummels was widely known but Bayern signing Sanches is a shock. All rumors had him very strongly linked to Msnchester United.

 

[PedroSpecialK]

United got Spurs'd by Bayern

 

[Vinho Tinto]

Hummels was widely known but Bayern signing Sanches is a shock. All rumors had him very strongly linked to Msnchester United.

ManU had scouts at 24 Benfica matches this season, while Bayern just twice. I think this came down to whatever salary they offered him. Renato couldn't sign his contract fast enough. Third most expensive transfer for an 18 year old player behind Wayne Rooney and Luke Shaw.

 

[sachmoney]

Has Bayern even announced who their next manager is yet? I see some rumors that it may be Ancelotti, but nothing else.

 

[Schnerres]

You can find a ton of links about Carlo Ancelotti joining on a 3-year contract. It was announced just before Christmas, so he had more than half a year to learn a passable german. Pep was really good in that department.

 

[Morgan's Magic Snowplow]

ManU had scouts at 24 Benfica matches this season, while Bayern just twice. I think this came down to whatever salary they offered him. Renato couldn't sign his contract fast enough. Third most expensive transfer for an 18 year old player behind Wayne Rooney and Luke Shaw.

I have no clue but I'd be a little surprised if United couldn't compete in terms of wages, given their financial resources. Maybe Bayern blew them away. But it also seems possible that playing for one of the best teams in the world, one almost guaranteed to win domestic silverware and go deep into the CL, beat playing for a club that - while obvious massive - hasn't competed for the league the last few seasons and may miss the CL for the second time in three years.

This is total speculation but you also have to wonder whether there is a connection to the managerial situation at United. Both Sanches and Mourinho are Mendes clients and for a while this year he seemed to be steering them in that direction together. Given that Sanches was seriously considering United by most accounts, you have to think that he was doing so under the assumption, probably given to him by Mendes as well as the press, that Mourinho would be managing the club. The player ultimately decides so maybe this is just all about Sanches and Mourinho has nothing to do with it. Or maybe its now unclear whether or not Mourinho or LVG will be managing the club next year and that helped push Sanches (and Mendes) in another direction.

 

[Zomp]

Maybe.

 

[Vinho Tinto]

I have no clue but I'd be a little surprised if United couldn't compete in terms of wages, given their financial resources.

Maybe, but their offer to SLB wasn't on the same level. They offered a more upfront, but Bayern's bonus structure was much higher. I'd be surprised if they offered less than Bayern to the club, but was even with wages. ManU and Benfica do a lot of negotiating, but no deals. The only recent deal I can think of was SLB buying Bebe.

Woodward is getting killed for this, but this is such a boom or bust deal. An 18 year old prospect is just as likely to be Anderson as he is a star. I love that he is going to be a part of Bayern's structure, but I don't see him getting any meaningful playing time under Ancelotti.

 

[Morgan's Magic Snowplow]

Maybe, but their offer to SLB wasn't on the same level. They offered a more upfront, but Bayern's bonus structure was much higher. I'd be surprised if they offered less than Bayern to the club, but was even with wages. ManU and Benfica do a lot of negotiating, but no deals. The only recent deal I can think of was SLB buying Bebe.

Woodward is getting killed for this, but this is such a boom or bust deal. An 18 year old prospect is just as likely to be Anderson as he is a star. I love that he is going to be a part of Bayern's structure, but I don't see him getting any meaningful playing time under Ancelotti.

Yeah, I've read quite a few things on various forums suggesting that Sanches is overhyped - supertalented but pretty raw both technically and tactically - and would probably benefit from staying in Portugal for another year or two. But its hard for a player to turn down this kind of move and, given the fee, it makes sense for the club to cash in.

If Sanches has to go to a big club, Bayern might be his best option. They'll probably walk the league next year again (especially with BvB losing Hummels, Gundogan, and maybe more) so there should be at least some opportunities for rotational minutes against weaker teams. I also wonder whether him coming in means that Thiago is going to follow Guardiola to City, which he has denied in the past but still seems like it could make sense for all parties.

 

[Schnerres]

I can´t see Bayern bringing Sanches in for that money without even talking to Ancelotti about him and getting at least a positive reaction.

I think Rode who was on a downward route this season (league stats: last season: 8 starts, 23 matches; this season: 2 starts, 14 matches), will be gone. He is rumored to join Mönchengladbach as a sub for Granit Xhaka who is rumored to join Liverpool and Arsenal. Same could be happening with Benatia, who had many injury troubles and if Boateng and Hummels are fit, they will be the CBs, with Alaba+Kimmich+Javi Martinez providing rotation cover and Holger Badstuber maybe coming back someday from injury. There´s not much playing time for Benatia.

Thiago could be gone. Pep said that he doesn´t take players with him. Bayern doesn´t need to send players away, but i could see them being unhappy with Thiago´s performances/injury history. When you´re really getting outperformed by stoneaged Xabi Alonso, there´s something wrong.
Then there´s the decision what´s to do with Joshua Kimmich, a young german player that was played often (more often than thought before) by Pep. But instead of his natural CDM role, he was played many times in CB role. He won´t stay there. Will he really make it in the DM? He hasn´t shown he belongs there with the big boys.
You always have the feeling that Vidal will be gone/out-of-form/jumping out of an airplane/drunk/commanding a transfer/...., so i don´t know what´s the thing with this guy. He will turn 29 these days and has three more years on his contract. Can´t think he fulfills this.
With Coman and Costa on the wings there´s enough of a (long-term) replacement for Ribery+Robben who both will be gone in two years. Same for Philipp Lahm, who won´t sign a new contract after 2018. This is Bayern´s biggest hole, finding a replacement as a RB. They probably try to find a young guy (like Sanches, Coman, Kimmich) who they can work in on the fly. Another big question mark is Mario Götze.

And due to the tough injury (rumored to take 5+months) to Ilkay Gündogan, it is said many teams are running away from him. It´s basically the same situation as last season, when he was injured, wanted to leave but added another season to his contract. Now it´s the same bullshit. He just gets injured too often and I can see him even more injured in leagues with more matches like the Premier League and LaLiga. If he´s smart, he takes another contract from Dortmund for a long-term stability, if they offer him that. Sign Gündogan, re-sign Mykhitaryan, keep Aubameyang. Then add another CB to replace Hummels (should be someone with 30+mil to work) and add some depth. With Tuchel as the coach, they are a good team and could make some noise in the CL again.

 

[Vinho Tinto]

Same could be happening with Benatia, who had many injury troubles and if Boateng and Hummels are fit, they will be the CBs, with Alaba+Kimmich+Javi Martinez providing rotation cover and Holger Badstuber maybe coming back someday from injury. There´s not much playing time for Benatia.

Benfica, Juventus, Liverpool, and Roma are rumored to be looking at Benatia.

 

[Morgan's Magic Snowplow]

Dortmund have signed Ousmane Dembele from Rennes, one of the most sought after young attacking prospects in football.

 

[Schnerres]

Dortmund have signed Ousmane Dembele from Rennes, one of the most sought after young attacking prospects in football.

He cost about 15mil.€, his contract runs til 2021, no release clause in his contract.

(Link is german kicker.de so i will translate the first few sentences for you.)
Perfect! BVB gets offensive weapon Dembelé!
He could have gone to (almost) any club in the world. But he wanted to go to Dortmund. Only to Dortmund (kicker was reporting already). Now this transfer is written in stone: Ousmane Dembelé (18) switches from Stade Rennes to BVB. The both-feet, fast, dribbling-potent attacker, in France already seen as the biggest talent since Thierry Henry, signed a contract with the Bundesliga runnerup until 2021 without a release clause. The transfer fee is said to be around 15 mil.€ as far as kicker knows. Dembelé is the 2nd incoming transfer for Dortmund after Mikel Merino (19, midfield, Osasuna).

I would guess the adjectives i used to describe Dembelé are non-existant in English, but I don´t know if ambidextrous(?) is the right word for someone who uses both feet. You understand what i mean. I looked out if he is a right of left-footer. I checked the following video for highlights:


In the first minutes, i got the feeling, he is more of a natural left-footer, as he is really dribbling with pace and using the left foot without holding back or anything. Although you see the same with his right foot, also, just not as much as with the left foot in this video, so i assumed he is a leftie. Until at 3:50 or smth, he takes a penalty with the right foot. Either he really uses both feet alike or i don´t know.

(Former World Champ Andreas Brehme, from FC Kaiserslautern, Bayern Munich, Inter Milan,.. did this also, he was a LB, who brough in beautiful crosses with his left foot, but he shot penalties with his right foot.)

 

[Morgan's Magic Snowplow]

He cost about 15mil.€, his contract runs til 2021, no release clause in his contract.

(Link is german kicker.de so i will translate the first few sentences for you.)
Perfect! BVB gets offensive weapon Dembelé!
He could have gone to (almost) any club in the world. But he wanted to go to Dortmund. Only to Dortmund (kicker was reporting already). Now this transfer is written in stone: Ousmane Dembelé (18) switches from Stade Rennes to BVB. The both-feet, fast, dribbling-potent attacker, in France already seen as the biggest talent since Thierry Henry, signed a contract with the Bundesliga runnerup until 2021 without a release clause. The transfer fee is said to be around 15 mil.€ as far as kicker knows. Dembelé is the 2nd incoming transfer for Dortmund after Mikel Merino (19, midfield, Osasuna).

I would guess the adjectives i used to describe Dembelé are non-existant in English, but I don´t know if ambidextrous(?) is the right word for someone who uses both feet. You understand what i mean. I looked out if he is a right of left-footer. I checked the following video for highlights:


In the first minutes, i got the feeling, he is more of a natural left-footer, as he is really dribbling with pace and using the left foot without holding back or anything. Although you see the same with his right foot, also, just not as much as with the left foot in this video, so i assumed he is a leftie. Until at 3:50 or smth, he takes a penalty with the right foot. Either he really uses both feet alike or i don´t know.

(Former World Champ Andreas Brehme, from FC Kaiserslautern, Bayern Munich, Inter Milan,.. did this also, he was a LB, who brough in beautiful crosses with his left foot, but he shot penalties with his right foot.)

Thanks, that is very interesting. Having watched that video, I think you are right that his left is slightly stronger but he is clearly very good with his right. And that is interesting about Brehme. For some reason I never made that connection - I know he was a left back and I can still clearly envision his penalty to win the 1990 World Cup, but I'd never quite added it up that he was actually a left footer who took penalties with the right.

Its amazing that a player like Dembele went for such a low fee, although there may be some bonuses built in that haven't been reported, when a very similar player like Martial went for over three times as much last summer. This smells like a deal that was a very long time in the making and for which no other club was ever really in the running.