Well done to Xabi Alonso for rejecting Liverpool, Real Madrid & Bayern munich to try and build something bigger at Bayer Leverkusen. If he stays true to his word and stays there then he could be as big as Alex Ferguson was at Man United in the 90s. Total respect to Xabi Alonso
There’s no comparison, all it takes is for Bayern to have an off season, we were lucky that 5 of the top 6 all had off seasons and the only team that didn’t were Spurs who could be depended on to be Spursy. We were lucky to pick the perfect manager and keep Pearson’s back room staff who stopped him being the tinker man as well as being responsible for signing Kante who was pivotal to our win. You could also say we were lucky the rules hadn’t changed earlier and Big Wes and Big Rob could act like a couple of bouncers manhandling and pushing the opponents around
He will stay there for next season at least and maybe one or two more, but I doubt he'd be there long enough to create a dynasty like Fergusons. As loyal as he is he'll want to go to one of the super clubs at some point.
Some of fondest memories, are from listening to European soccer special on Radio 2, if you haven't heard it check out the theme tune on you tube. Names like dynamo Dresden, Carl Zeiss Jena, Eintract Frankfurt , BMG, Hamburg and Magdeburg took me into a new world, as I sat with my ear next to the radio in our kitchen. Those were the days
Hey, guys. I'm back after exactly 4 weeks, not writing anything about HSV (or the German Nationalteam). At least now I have the certainty that it's not me who is responsible for the very bad luck HSV has since I joined this forum and wrote about HSV. I haven't written anything for 4 weeks and HSV jumped for the first time this season out of the top3 yesterday with a 1-1 in Fürth. So I can come back and write again about HSV it has no negative effect. I'm relieved On a positive, though, the German Nationalteam played their most convincing 2 matches since 2016 during my absence here. 2 wins against 2 top teams with France and the Netherlands. We haven't won against France since 2014 until last year, now we won 2 in a row against them. Especially the one last week was very convincing and our first away win in France for a long time and fully deserved because we were the better team. And we won against the Dutch for the first time since 2019. Obviously not Thx, Phil. I'm back after 4 weeks absence Absolut richtig, Zips. That's right. He'll stay for another season and then moves on and I like it, that he does it this way and not just jump to Liverpool (or Bayern or even Real) because he also felt like his job isn't finished at Leverkusen and that he likes it so much at little Leverkusen that he wants to stay for (at least) another season and also feels a bit of gratitude that Bayer gave him the chance to coach a toptier club for this first time. He could gain way more money at LFC or Bayern but what he does at Leverkusen so far is great. Giving this club their first ever German Championship in 120 years and their first domestic trophy since 1993 (German Cup Winner).
No excuses this season, Leverkusen deserve it, well done. But how the f##k is this not a penalty !? Hummels nearly kicked Dier's head off ffs ! And handballed it :
Well damn it, missing out on the title once every ten years, Christ knows how we'll cope We'll just have to come to terms with coming second once every ten years.
Heul doch tbh although i'm very happy that we're getting a new Bundesliga champion (even a first timer) I want Bayern, like every other Bundesliga club, doing well in european competition. So I hope they'll win both ties against Arsenal (doesn't have to be 2-times a 5-1 hammering of Arsenal like a few years ago ) btw: Just read at kicker.de that it's now not "Vizekusen" / "Neverkusen" anymore but "Laterkusen" instead ---------------------------- edit: And another article at kicker.de is actually about the new away shirt of the German team and here an uproar about the shirt numbers, here especially the "4" (worn by Leverkusen's Jonathan Tah) Wirbel um Trikotnummern: DFB kündigt "alternatives Design" an For some it looks like a Nazi-Symbol, a SS-Rune. DFB is actually checking it and maybe change it. (the 44 as shirt number is actually not available anymore in the shop ) Jesus Christ
Today and tomorrow we have the 2 semi-finals in the DFB Pokal: Only one club from the 1.Bundesliga. Can't remember when this happened last time (or if this ever happened). Today the surprise team of this season, 3rd tier Saarbrücken, against Kaiserslautern. Both founder members of the Bundesliga but actually not even top of their leagues, Saarbrücken only 11th in 3.Liga (with 2 games in hand, though, and could jump to 5th with 2 wins) and FCK at the relegation spot #16 in 2.Bundesliga. One will make it to the final, though, where both will be underdogs. Saarbrücken has eliminated three 1.Bundesliga clubs in a row, first Bayern, then Frankfurt and recently Gladbach. In the other semi is of course Leverkusen the top favourite, although Fortuna is on good form, actually 1pt ahead of HSV, at the playoff spot for 1.Bundesliga. But if everything goes normally, Leverkusen will win it and also the final and therefore winning the domestic double. If....
Not anymore! It changed for the 2015/16 season. Before 2015 the runner up in the cup final would get the UEFA cup/Europa League place of the Cup winner, when he's already qualified for european competition Now the rule is that the best placed club in the Bundesliga, outside the European spots, gets the Europa League spot when the Cup winner is already qualified. So the only chance to see a 2.Bundesliga club again in european competition is when it wins the final, so for this season e.g after Kaiserlautern today also Düsseldorf wins its semi-final (or Kaiserslautern beats Leverkusen in the final). Before the change of the rules in 2015 it happened a few times that a 2.Bundesliga club played in Europe, e.g Union Berlin in 2001, Alemannia Aachen in 2004 and several others, once even a (then) 3rd tier club, Stahl Eisenhüttenstadt in 1991/92!
Just looked them up - they were from East Germany it seems so got in after losing the East German Cup?
That's right. Stahl was runner up in the last ever Cup Final 1990/91of the East German FA, called FDGB Pokal ( "Freier Deutscher Gewerkschafts Bund", horrible name for a Cup ) before the Re-Unification. They lost against Hansa Rostock (who was also the last Champion of the GDR Oberliga). In the following season, 1991/92 the Champion of the GDR Oberliga, Hansa, and the 2nd placed, Dynamo Dresden, were added to the 1.Bundesliga, the rest in the 2.Bundesliga or in one of the 3rd tier which was (back then) the Oberliga Nord-Ost (now the several Oberligen are 5th tier leagues in the German Football Pyramid) depending on their standings in the league before the Re-Unification. Stahl Eisenhüttenstadt therefore had to play in the 3rd tier league, Oberliga Nord Ost, and were also playing in the UEFA Cup as runner up in the last East German Cup Final. Still unique in German football that a 3rd tier club played in Europe. edit: Correction: Of course they didn't play as runner up in the UEFA Cup 1991/92 but in the European Cup Winners Cup which was still played back then
