My Bundesliga Preview

[lo zio]

I don't agree.

Some people are being TOO critical of Bayern's defence nowadays and talking as if Lucio and Van Buyten are $hit players and have totally forgotten about Valerien Ismael who is good but just very unlucky with injuries since joining Munich.

Yes, Bayern does have some problems in CB position when you compare it to some of the biggest and best clubs in the world. But, their defence is not any inferior to the other ones you mentioned in my opinion. Naldo better than Lucio? Krstajic who is slow and gets sent off so often and gives penalties away constantly, better? Delpierre? Tasci who is very promising but has only had one good season, better than Lucio or Van buyten?

In my opinion, NO! Bayern's defence can be improved to match the quality of the rest of the world-class squad. BUT, it's already just as good if not maybe slightly even better than the other clubs including those you mentioned.

well, i have to say i'm one of those people u're talking about :mrgreen:

i'm too lazy to write a long post at the moment, so i'll just quote what i wrote time ago on another thread...

i'd say that's bayern's weak point. Here in italy we use to say " to build up a team u need 1 good cb, 1 good central midfielder and 1 good, and preferably tall, foward" that's the "skeleton" of a team, around them u can build up a team.
well, if i have to be honest i don't like at all bayern's cbs.

Lucio has always been very overrated, imo. he has good foot, ok, but that's not the most important prerogative for a good cb. he has no discipline, and that's what makes him a bad cb, imo. he often leaves his spot in the defence creating dangerous holes in the defensive line. that's an unforgivable mistake for a cb... that's an amateur's mistake.

About Van buyten, well, bad positioning, just decent timing, not a great technique, and he clearely doesn't speak with his "rolemate" Lucio, as they never give u the idea their movements are coordinated, wich is very important for a defensive line.... we could say that they have no "chemistry" , that they don't act as they were a "one man defence" (but that's also lucio's fault).
he could be good enough for a mid-class team, but not for bayern.

Ismael doesn't look very reliable, too many injuries... and btw he's not even a great defender.

about demichelis and ottl, i'd consider them defensive midfielders rather than cbs.

all the cbs u mentioned before (delpierre, tasci, Krstajic, naldo, meira) probably aren't really better than the bayern duo, but at least they are more coordinated. at least they don't leave their spot in the defensive line.... actually naldo and meira do it too sometimes, but with better timing than lucio.

as for ismael, he's a good cb (sure better than lucio and van buyten imo) but nothing more than just "good" in my opinion... and btw, he's really too injury prone to be considered a reliable player.
anyway theese are just my personal views and i could be wrong (but i don't think so :mrgreen


talking about demichelis and sagnol, i totally agree with u, nice points

 

[Raven Corax]

all the cbs u mentioned before (delpierre, tasci, Krstajic, naldo, meira) probably aren't really better than the bayern duo, but at least they are more coordinated. at least they don't leave their spot in the defensive line.... actually naldo and meira do it too sometimes, but with better timing than lucio.

as for ismael, he's a good cb (sure better than lucio and van buyten imo) but nothing more than just "good" in my opinion... and btw, he's really too injury prone to be considered a reliable player.

That's what I meant. I don't think Lucio and van Buyten get very good along with each other. But I do think that Mertesacker and Naldo are a duo that understands each other very well. If you compare all of them one-on-one I agree that Lucio and van Buyten are not worse than the others. But as a duo / team they just don't work that much together as they would with other teammates. Furthermore, Lucio's problem is his mentality. When he can't get a striker under control the striker does get easily the bad side out of him which he shows by unnecessary fouls, running up straight forward to score and overall small mistakes and lack of discipline... he just gets angry coz the striker's too good.
I do NOT think their defense is bad... but it has its minor mistakes which will be visible in that very good squad. And if you want to take a "bad" position of Bayern it is the CB position. You just can't find a worse position in that squad.
About my examples... I think you're right I haven't chosen the best. Especially Schalke's defense is imo not really better than Bayern's.
About Stuttgart's and Werder's: I do really think they are better when you don't compare them one-on-one. They just work together much better than Lucio and van Buyten.

About Roberto Hilbert: I don't think he's got any Italian roots. But I don't think it's that strange anyway tbh. I hear a lot of names which don't belong to their nationality.

 

[Juninho_GER]

About Roberto Hilbert: I don't think he's got any Italian roots. But I don't think it's that strange anyway tbh. I hear a lot of names which don't belong to their nationality.

I think I heard he has some roots, not just German and Italian. But I'm not sure about it.


Very nice how it is going on here. :8):

So, today were most of the matches for first Matchday. Some surprises, some normal endings.

I must say that I didn't watch a lot today (my team plays tomorrow , but I watched the channel with all the matches switch when something happens in other stadiums (don't know the English word .

Bayern seem to be a very good team with Luca Toni scoring with just 3 days in training after an injury and also the rest played very solid but their 'enemy' today was Hansa Rostock and they had a bit luck with one of the goals because the Hansa Keeper couldn't hold one shot so Klose scored because the keeper's miss.

Arminia Bielefeld surprised today with a 3-1 victory in Wolfsburg as in todays days, Wolfsburg spending almost the most money (besides Bayern) with their new team manager, former Bayern coach Felix Magath. They played fresh and Wolfsburg were just bad in that what I've seen.

Also surprisingly was the 2-2 draw in Bochum against Werder Bremen. Bremen lead 2-0 but then Bochum scored two times in just two minutes and Bremen couldn't score after this shock. :shock:

This season will be very bad for Hertha BSC Berlin fans. 11 players were sold and just 3 men joined the club. I expect nothing from them, sorry to say. Maybe they will go down in Second Bundesliga, but it's everytime nice to get surprised.

Leverkusen were also bad today against Cottbus. They had 14 chances and just didn't score. Cottbus keeper Piplica had a nice day and was player of the match for most.

 

[Raven Corax]

I think I heard he has some roots, not just German and Italian. But I'm not sure about it.

I thought I heard that, too. But I didn't see a hint at wikipedia or transfermarkt.de that's why I didn't say it :p. I thought I heard him having some spanish blood.

This season will be very bad for Hertha BSC Berlin fans. 11 players were sold and just 3 men joined the club. I expect nothing from them, sorry to say. Maybe they will go down in Second Bundesliga, but it's everytime nice to get surprised.

I feel the same... I'm sure they will relegate. The overall mentality is imo really fucked up. I don't see one true leader or someone who works his ass off in this team either.

Also surprisingly was the 2-2 draw in Bochum against Werder Bremen. Bremen lead 2-0 but then Bochum scored two times in just two minutes and Bremen couldn't score after this shock.

I saw that match the full 90 minutes and I really have to say (as a Werder fan) that this is a fair result. No team was really better than the other one. You could see that Diego (who was to slow with his response and just hold the ball too long at his own feet... BANG! Some Bochum-guy got it) and Naldo (who made imo the major mistake in the 2nd goal) had the shortest holidays from everyone on the pitch.
I also have to give Epalle big credit for running up and down the whole time on the pitch.
I was also glad to see "Boubadive" Sanogo scoring his next goal. I think he scored something like every game once now?!

 

[Juninho_GER]

Sanogo kicks asses.

In Hamburg someone who scores almost never and in Bremen he is a scoring machine. Interesting, how they can make people play good there so often.

 

[kel]

I thought I heard that, too. But I didn't see a hint at wikipedia or transfermarkt.de that's why I didn't say it :p. I thought I heard him having some spanish blood.


I feel the same... I'm sure they will relegate. The overall mentality is imo really fucked up. I don't see one true leader or someone who works his ass off in this team either.


I saw that match the full 90 minutes and I really have to say (as a Werder fan) that this is a fair result. No team was really better than the other one. You could see that Diego (who was to slow with his response and just hold the ball too long at his own feet... BANG! Some Bochum-guy got it) and Naldo (who made imo the major mistake in the 2nd goal) had the shortest holidays from everyone on the pitch.
I also have to give Epalle big credit for running up and down the whole time on the pitch.
I was also glad to see "Boubadive" Sanogo scoring his next goal. I think he scored something like every game once now?!

He started like this last season for HSV too. Scoring goals in the first four Bundesliga games and even in the DFB Pokal and CL against Arsenal but then he stopped after he missed the penalty against Schalke and also the open goal right in the next game in Leverkusen. He lost his confidence, played worse from game to game, the fans got mad at him, made him a scapegoat for the bad season, and the rest is history.
However, I still think he's a decent striker and you guys will be enjoying him and his qualities. He fits better your team and will score his goals. I reckon 10+.
His dive today was hilarious though and should have never been given a penalty for.

 

[PLF]

Sanogo is nothing but a decent player who is an impressive athlete. He's not the answer HSV wanted for a clinical striker and won't be the one Werder was looking for either. Certainly no replacement for Klose. Not even close. There is similar players to him playing as a backup striker for teams like Nancy in France. Definitely nothing special. He's a good guy though. That's what I like him.

But, I'll talk more about him when I get to the Werder Bremen post.

@Raven & lo zio, now I understand you better about Bayern's CB.

The players there aren't any worse or inferior to the duos Werder, Stuttgart and other teams have got. It's just that their coordination isn't as good and the italicized word is why I get your point now.
That's true. Although I still feel, they're not as weak as some people want to make it sound and not really inferior to defence of those other teams.

Because all the other ones also make their fair share of mistakes and miscommunication. Naldo, Delpierre, young Tasci among others are good but not world-class. Maybe they will be one day.... but for now, they're not really any better than van Buyten or Lucio or Ismael and who knows, this year, you could see these players co-ordination and understanding with each other improve.

I think I heard he has some roots, not just German and Italian. But I'm not sure about it.

If you guys find out, what exactly his roots are, I'd be very interesting in hearing about it.

Let me know when you find out then.
Thanks.

ok then, if it's not a problem for Lodda, we can continue our bundes conversations here.

I don't think Lodda would mind.

Once we get past this first round and all this 'preview' talk is over, I think he will change the title of the thread to "Bundesliga 2007/2008 season" and we can then officially consider this the new Bundesliga thread.

There's already been some fantastic deep discussion here and it'd be a shame to just leave this thread and let it rot away. I'm hugely in favour of sticking to this thread and not going back to the old one.

 

[vanzandt]

Sorry if this has already been asked..

Bayern look to have bought really well, and Toni and Klose up front could be lethal as in the game against Hansa, but;

Was it wise to let both Pizaro and Santa Cruz go?

I can see they have the option of Podolski off the bench or as a secondary striker, but what if the first choice front pair were to be injured?

Would Munich have any options to lead the line?

 

[Juninho_GER]

Sorry if this has already been asked..

Bayern look to have bought really well, and Toni and Klose up front could be lethal as in the game against Hansa, but;

Was it wise to let both Pizaro and Santa Cruz go?

I think no. Especially Pizarro scored his goals. Santa Cruz didn't but he was a very good joker.

I can see they have the option of Podolski off the bench or as a secondary striker, but what if the first choice front pair were to be injured?

Would Munich have any options to lead the line?

They have a young player from the second team called Wagner but no other strikers I think. That's very dangerous in fact Toni could injure again because he just trained 3 days together with the team and maybe isn't very fit.

 

[lo zio]

bayern won't play champions league this season, so i'd say they're ok. u can't have too much depth in your roster if u don't have to play 2 times per week.
moreover, having players like altintop and ribery, bayern could also play with just one foward (when they have injury problems) placing those 2 great assistmen behind the striker.

anyway also wagner deserves some space. i saw him playing a couple of weeks ago (maybe last week? can't remember) and he looked quite promising.

i'm pretty sure that next season, with a guarrantee spot in the champions league, bayern will buy another striker.

and the italicized word is why I get your point now.

:mrgreen:
italicized..... that's a new word for my personal english dictionary

 

[Juninho_GER]

So.. one post about today..

What a f'n mess -.-
I am shocked how bad we played against Duisburg. 1-3 in own stadium and the goal for us in 87th minute..

 

[Lodda]

Re: Bayern

It's been a very busy couple of days.

First thing I want to say is that there is no problem with me if the topic gets expanded, as long as there are no complaints from other threads.

Mladen Krstajic IS one of the most dirtiest and aggressive players in all of Europe. (Materazzi of Bundesliga)

Don't forget van Bommel. Did you see his 'pinch' on Meira in the Ligapokal?
I am always scared that he is going to do something crazy and get himself sent off.

Problem #1 is, there's no real DMF in there which just can't happen in year 2007 at a high level like Bundi!

Ze Roberto and van Bommel both have decent defensive skills but they're far from being a real DMF who is gonna break up play and win the ball cleanly without foul (Mr. van Bommel ) like a true quality DMF would.

Martin Demichelis is the answer. He's the guy who kept Hargreaves out of the team a lot of times even when not injured, and is one of the most under-rated but effective DMF's in all of Bundi and Europe.

Well, how am I going to explain this???

Hoeneß has bought Ze Roberto as a DM. He is being used as a DM, and I don't see them dropping him or van Bommel if they are both fit.

I think they are actually playing both as CMs (in PES language) with both having defensive and offensive duties.

They have played Ze and VB in all three games in the Ligapokal against the three teams that finished above them last season in the BL. I know some of the teams were under-strength, but not Schalke in the final.

One thing about Bayern is that they always believe they are 'right', no matter what analysts and journalists have to say. Just go 12 months back and see how they refused to sign a replacement for Ballack. Many people don't appreciate the role Ballack has played for Bayern, not just on the ball, but also as a figure that other teams have to pay attention to.

And while I agree with you that they may need a traditional DM for some games, I won't be surprised to see them stick with Ze and VB. And this is the reason why I put them as the 2 CMs for Bayern

The 2nd thing I don't like is the absence of one of the world's most effective but non-flashy RB's for the past 4-5 years in Willy Sagnol.

Marcell Jansen is gonna be a fantastic signing. He's already Germany's best left-back arguably and at such a young age, can become much better. I was a fan of his, before there was even any talk of him joining Bayern and while he was still at his boy-hood club, Borussia M'Gladbach.

But, he's not as good as Sagnol yet. Not even Lahm who has more experience at this highest level is as solid as Willy yet.

This is the topic that will be very hot once Sagnol is back from injury. First I have to say that I agree with you views on Sagnol. He was one of the best Bayern players for the past 7 years or so.

But we have to keep in mind that he is 30 now, and I wouldn't be surprised to see him go at the end of the season. Add to that some loss of concentration at key moments in some of the European games in the past few years.

Sagnol has a wealth of experience, but both Lahm and Jansen bring their own special qualities to this Bayern side. The way I see it is that Lahm cannot be dropped. He is a Münchner, a product of the FC Bayern system. He has all the qualities you want in a side back. His only weakness is that he is short.

So I see Jansen and Sagnol fight-it-out for the other spot, but I have a hunch (bias ??) that Jansen will get some decent playing time.

In my opinion, NO! Bayern's defence can be improved to match the quality of the rest of the world-class squad. BUT, it's already just as good if not maybe slightly even better than the other clubs including those you mentioned.

I agree. Bayern's defense would do fine for them this season. Maybe you will see a change or two for the coming season (Champions' League).

 

[Milanista]

For a player like Willy, I dont think the age of 30 will see him get worse. I think he can play on for another 3 years at a high level.

 

[Lodda]

I am shocked how bad we played against Duisburg. 1-3 in own stadium and the goal for us in 87th minute..

I can't believe it. It's like this team is cursed, and not just this season. It has happened so many times since 2002.

I have to see the highlights for this one later.

 

[Juninho_GER]

I can't believe it. It's like this team is cursed, and not just this season. It has happened so many times since 2002.

I have to see the highlights for this one later.

It was so bad today. We had just 2 chances over the whole 90 minutes.
Duisburg had with 4 chances 3 goals. -.-

 

[OPM]

craaapp.

 

[Big Boss]

Always good to see the promoted teams letting themselfs be heard on the opening day, same happened in England with Sunderland beating the Spurs, and Birmingham nearly grabbing a point against Chelsea. But for Dortmund and Nurnberg it's not the opener they were looking for to kick-off the season.

 

[Juninho_GER]

craaapp.

Yip. First matchday suxx. Next week is all or nothing for Dortmund.

Always good to see the promoted teams letting themselfs be heard on the opening day, same happened in England with Sunderland beating the Spurs, and Birmingham nearly grabbing a point against Chelsea. But for Dortmund and Nurnberg it's not the opener they were looking for to kick-off the season.

There happened almost the same? :shock:
Wow, it's interesting that it just happened in EPL, too.

 

[OPM]

it's just the same shit like last year. big enthusiasm, all the new players playing above their normal quality level, you can expect them on places between 3-7 for the first 5 or 6 fixtures, after that, bye bye! same happened to aachen and a lot of other clubs before

now the nice part is we have to play another promoted team next week, Rostock, they for sure are the weakest of the 3 teams new to the league, doesn't change the fact i am 100% certian we're gonna lose this one aswell

 

[PLF]

Re: Bayern

Sorry if this has already been asked..

Bayern look to have bought really well, and Toni and Klose up front could be lethal as in the game against Hansa, but;

Was it wise to let both Pizaro and Santa Cruz go?

I can see they have the option of Podolski off the bench or as a secondary striker, but what if the first choice front pair were to be injured?

Would Munich have any options to lead the line?

Bayern has plenty of options to lead the line and not only are some of them better than their previous options but also more varied which is very important because against different teams and different defenders, you need players with different qualities to hurt the opposition.

The man everybody on this thread seems to have forgotten about and not mentioned yet is another new signing from Alemannia Aachen, Jan Schlaudraff who was one of the league's revelations last year.

He's not good enough for Bayern's first team but neither was Roque or Pizarro and definitely not guys like Hashemian who they had a couple season back. But he will offer something neither of those 2 did. That's great agility, dribbling and ability to cause the defence problems with his unpredictability and pace.

Bayern has more than enough depth in the striker department and is no worse off than last year. Only better off. Both in terms of depth and quality.

They have 2 absolutely world-class strikers in Toni and Klose. One of the world's most promising young strikers as back up and 3rd choice in Podolski. Then they have Schlaudraf who is also a German Int'l as 4th.

And last but not least, a 5th senior squad striker in form of German/Brazilian youth Sandro Wagner.

The squad has just as much depth in the FW line as it did previously therefore. And if anything, it's stronger and more varied now as well.

Furthermore, it was really time for Santa Cruz to leave. He's been there for many seasons but proved to be one of the world's most injury-prone strikers as he was constantly out on the sidelines. When he did play, he never showed his ability on a consistent basis. Only a glimpse here and there.

I'm quite confident, this talented player will NEVER reach his potential because of these problems anyway. Plus, mentally, he's not great either. That's another reason, he'll never be as good as he could be and as he showed as a very talented youngster a few years back.

I fully support the decision for Bayern to get rid of him then. Don't think he would've proven anything with a further season at Bayern either. It's good for him and Bayern to part ways. At a club like Blackburn, at least when he's not injured (which is most of the time), he'll be getting more playing time. And a new challenge, atmosphere and environment is what he could need to rejuvante his career at least somewhat.

As for Pizarro, I wouldn't have minded Bayern keeping him. He's a good striker. Even if lazy most of the time and doesn't really care much about the teams he plays for and lacks passion. But the arrival of many new strikers, meant he was surplus to requirements as well.

The real question is, will Makaay be missed? He's still one of the world's most clinical strikers. But it was impossible to keep him after getting so many new strikers in. Because unlike Jan, he would not be happy sitting on the bench. So the move to Feyenoord is again in the best interest of both parties.

Don't forget van Bommel. Did you see his 'pinch' on Meira in the Ligapokal?
I am always scared that he is going to do something crazy and get himself sent off.

I know what you mean. He can be a real psycho sometimes.

But I didn't forget about him. The only reason I mentioned Mladen was because I wanted to make a point about how Marica was scared of him almost for much of the match and lacked bravery.

Well, how am I going to explain this???

Hoeneß has bought Ze Roberto as a DM. He is being used as a DM, and I don't see them dropping him or van Bommel if they are both fit.

I think they are actually playing both as CMs (in PES language) with both having defensive and offensive duties.

And while I agree with you that they may need a traditional DM for some games, I won't be surprised to see them stick with Ze and VB. And this is the reason why I put them as the 2 CMs for Bayern

I see what you're saying but I'm still of the opinion I had originally. Playing Hansa Rostock at home is the sorta game, Bayern can afford to play without a real DMF. But most of the games won't be like that.

You need someone like Demichelis playing in his real position (DMF) or Ottl with someone else like van Bommel supporting them as the CM who also does some defensive work.

Both Ze Roberto and Mark have decent defensive skills but not good enough to be a real DMF. I think van Bommel will be a starter when he's fit but Ze Roberto will be rotated with Ottl and Demichelis taking the place of a real DMF besides Mark much of the time when playing against better oppositions.

This is the topic that will be very hot once Sagnol is back from injury. First I have to say that I agree with you views on Sagnol. He was one of the best Bayern players for the past 7 years or so.

But we have to keep in mind that he is 30 now, and I wouldn't be surprised to see him go at the end of the season. Add to that some loss of concentration at key moments in some of the European games in the past few years.

Sagnol has a wealth of experience, but both Lahm and Jansen bring their own special qualities to this Bayern side. The way I see it is that Lahm cannot be dropped. He is a Münchner, a product of the FC Bayern system. He has all the qualities you want in a side back. His only weakness is that he is short.

So I see Jansen and Sagnol fight-it-out for the other spot, but I have a hunch (bias ??) that Jansen will get some decent playing time.

I'm not arguing the bolded part. I think he will get even more than 'decent' playing time.

Because both Sagnol and Lahm will have their fair share of injury problems throughout the season unfortunately. Not to mention suspensions or being rested, etc.

But I don't think Sagnol will lose his place in the starting line up when fit and ready to go, this year.

Yes, he's 30 but unlike Lahm, he's not a player who ever relied much on his speed anyway. He's like a Gary Neville as we mentioned before but a superior version.

I can see Jansen and Lahm being the preffered and better option next season or the one after. But for now, Sagnol can still play at least one more year at the highest level and in the starting line up of teams like Bayern ahead of great new young talents even such as Lahm or Jansen. That's how great he is.

 

[Lodda]

And about the Best Eleven:
I think I have to disagree with you, Lodda, in one spot at Werder. I don't think I'd choose Carlos Alberto over Leon Andreasen. Andreasen is a real fighter and has everything what you need for a DM. He has a good defensive instinct, has a great mentality and makes very good sliding tackles. He also has a strong shot but unfortanetely lacks passing skills. I think he will be the right man when Frings is gone and he will master this spot with bravour when the time has come.
That's why I'd put Frings on CA's spot and Anreasen at Fring's former spot.

I thought Frings was the default DM at Werder. Andreasen is a very good player, but I would choose Frings over him because of what you pointed out; passing skills.

A lot of money was payed for Carlos Alberto for him to sit on the bench. I thought one of the main reasons they got him is to take some of the heat off Diego, who was marked very heavily towards the end of last season.

Whenever Diego was marked off the game, Werder suffered. With CA, they have two possible 'playmakers', and it would be very hard for teams to mark both of them effectively.

... big enthusiasm, all the new players playing above their normal quality level, you can expect them on places between 3-7 for the first 5 or 6 fixtures, after that, bye bye! same happened to aachen and a lot of other clubs before

I was impressed with Karlsruhe since their Ligapokal game against Schalke. They have a few talented players. What they miss is a good goalscorer, and if they can get themselves one, I would fancy them to be the surprise of the season.

What happened with Aachen last season was due to internal problems with the players. A couple of the players, including Jan Schlaudraff, were sent to the reserves for "not giving their all".

now the nice part is we have to play another promoted team next week, Rostock, they for sure are the weakest of the 3 teams new to the league, doesn't change the fact i am 100% certian we're gonna lose this one aswell

I think the defeat to Karlsruhe will be a wake up call for FCN. They played well overall, but they lacked accuracy.

Charisteas hasn't found his feet yet at FCN, and frankly, he may not be what FCN needed. Maybe Hans Meyer needs to install Nicky Adler with Vittek and Saenko and see how it works out.

But I feel that FCN will bounce back.

It was so bad today. We had just 2 chances over the whole 90 minutes.
Duisburg had with 4 chances 3 goals. -.-

I have seen the highlights, but I couldn't say who was at fault for Duisburg's goals. Offensively it seemed Petric was involved in some moves. Still it must be very disappointing, especially right before the 'derby' with Schalke.

 

[lo zio]

bayern bought Schlaudraff???!!! :shock: I can't believe i didn't know it!
does anybody knows how much did he cost????
at this point i'd say bayern has too many options :roll:.

too bad we won't see Jan anymore.... or at least we won't see him playing each week

i hate when good\decent players sign for a top team just to warm the bench :roll:

 

[PLF]

The news that he was going to Bayern was official much before Luca Toni, Klose or Ribery were brought in. He was the first confirmed player for new season in fact, I believe. Before Bundesliga had even ended, we knew where he would be next year.

I hate what you said too but I don't mind this one in particular.

Because he had the choice of playing in a lesser club but being guaranteed more 1st-team football as there were several German clubs after him, some with different statures. But he chose Bayern himself. So if he wants to warm up the bench for most of the time just to get the bigger paycheck, then let him.

Plus, he's not exactly the most professional player :rolleyes: , so I have even less respect and sympathy for him.

And overall, he's not that good. He's unpredictable (has flair) and is good with ball at his feet but other than that, he's not TOO good to be backup player for a big club like Bayern for example. So I don't particularly feel bad about this.

But of course having someone like him as your #4 striker (before season starts of course because it's under-way, anything can happen and the rankings change) is a bonus. Not only is a he a decent player. He offers something different.

-------------------------------------------------

EDIT:

As for the capital club, Hertha BSC Berlin. I'm very disappointed with the lack of ambition from their president/chairman and board of directors as well. This club could be bigger than it is. It could be at least as big as Leverkusen. But it's not and seems to be getting even worse.

The club is in bad hands. Maybe a new board/take-over is what is needed. Although of course, you can't have take-overs ala Premiership in Germany due to much more restricted rules.

I don't think they will go down as some of you may seem to think so (although I agree it's a possibility), but they will for sure be disappointing if they don't bring in some new quality players. The capital club needs to be doing a better job in its top-flight national league, to be honest. I'm very disappointed with them.

 

[OPM]

1-1,5 mio €

 

[Rentalkid]

bayern bought Schlaudraff???!!! :shock: I can't believe i didn't know it!
does anybody knows how much did he cost????
at this point i'd say bayern has too many options :roll:.

too bad we won't see Jan anymore.... or at least we won't see him playing each week

i hate when good\decent players sign for a top team just to warm the bench :roll:

He cost about 1.200.000 € and is currently injured.
He was the first new signing of the club back in the early second half of the last season. Had he known then about Uli Hoeneß transfer-rampage, he would've thought twice about his move.
After all, Bremen could use him so much more ...

 

[lo zio]

He cost about 1.200.000 € and is currently injured.

just 1.200.000, pretty cheap!
thanks mate

is it a bad (long) injury?

 

[lo zio]

He cost about 1.200.000 € and is currently injured.
He was the first new signing of the club back in the early second half of the last season. Had he known then about Uli Hoeneß transfer-rampage, he would've thought twice about his move.
After all, Bremen could use him so much more ...

edit:

The news that he was going to Bayern was official much before Luca Toni, Klose or Ribery were brought in. He was the first confirmed player for new season in fact, I believe. Before Bundesliga had even ended, we knew where he would be next year.

it's really weird i didn't know it! :shock::mrgreen:

btw i perfectly understand your points PLF

 

[Raven Corax]

I thought Frings was the default DM at Werder. Andreasen is a very good player, but I would choose Frings over him because of what you pointed out; passing skills.

Well, when Baumann can play he plays at the DM position. Frings is then a "right CM". But what I wanted to tell is that I'd choose Andreasen over Baumann not Frings... he must be used.

A lot of money was payed for Carlos Alberto for him to sit on the bench. I thought one of the main reasons they got him is to take some of the heat off Diego, who was marked very heavily towards the end of last season.

Whenever Diego was marked off the game, Werder suffered. With CA, they have two possible 'playmakers', and it would be very hard for teams to mark both of them effectively.

That's a very good point but I think Werder's defense will be very weakened then. When you have two of this sort the Werder defense will get a tough day. They could make it though due to the imo best defender (with 22 years :eek of the Bundesliga Mertesacker (would like to know if you know better ones in the Buli... I just can't think of one atm) and if they don't put Wome on the LB spot because he is just sooooooo bad at defending.

I don't think they will go down as some of you may seem to think so (although I agree it's a possibility), but they will for sure be disappointing if they don't bring in some new quality players.

Well... I think it because they don't have the spirit and are not a team like it is e.g. Karlsruhe.
It seems everyone in Hertha just goes on the pitch to get his money. They don't care what happens with the club. That's why I think Karlsruhe, Duisburg and Rostock have a good chance of finishing above them at the end of the season.


Heavy OT:

PLF... do you have a favourite team (not Buli but your team)?

 

[Juninho_GER]

As for the capital club, Hertha BSC Berlin. I'm very disappointed with the lack of ambition from their president/chairman and board of directors as well. This club could be bigger than it is. It could be at least as big as Leverkusen. But it's not and seems to be getting even worse.

The club is in bad hands. Maybe a new board/take-over is what is needed. Although of course, you can't have take-overs ala Premiership in Germany due to much more restricted rules.

I don't think they will go down as some of you may seem to think so (although I agree it's a possibility), but they will for sure be disappointing if they don't bring in some new quality players. The capital club needs to be doing a better job in its top-flight national league, to be honest. I'm very disappointed with them.

Very true. Their own fans hate the manager, Dieter Hoeness. He just talks $h!t at the moment and let the club going down. With this team, they won't come to UEFA Cup or so on. Imo it will going to be worse.

 

[tobi]

Anyone here watch Bundesliga on Setanta?