Bundesliga review part 2. the new one :)

[Maldeika]

I wonder what the reaction to yesterday's match was with the Bayern fans.

Yesterday also shows exactly why Schalke and Leverkusen should take a long hard look at themselves. Fair enough that Leverkusen do lack quality, but the Schalke team is stronger than the one Arsenal put out against Munich. Not just yesterday, but both games.

Like you I missed Müller. Pep said he would have played him at a 0:0 or 0:1 in the first match - but he wanted to have ball control. I just think that that might be a wrong sign for him as he loves that kind of matches and he usually excels in them or makes the difference - you saw that he had to chew with that with his penalty later. I just think that you should not mess with the confidence of a guy that might be your life saviour when the theory of all of that flashy players playing together does not give any results... Robben needed 77 shots in the last two seasons for 1 CL winning goal and one 1:0 in Moscow (every other goal of him was for a 3 or more goal difference. In this two years only 2 of Müller's 12 goals have been for results with a 3 or more goal difference. And he only had about 40 shots for that.

It somehow is funny that a guy which some do not give a second glance because he looks odd and does not have the technic of the best can be that excellent especially in the top matches.

I am somewhere in the middle with my opinion. On the one hand I see that Bayern has imported some good things that they have not applied last year - like playing more variations, play more through the middle or some goal loops and through balls they have not played so often last year. You often see that Guardiola picks wrong tactics on the start of a match - but he has a great hand for the adjustments be it tactics or substitutions. On the other side I do not like that some very good stuff of the last year - like Martinez in defensive midfield, Müller as hanging striker etc. - are not played or are just played when Guardiola remarks that his plan A does not work... There is reasons why Spain has not one a World Cup until 2010, or why Portugal and the Netherlands never have - teams that played the prettiest of football.

I have problems with this "ball possession > everything else"

 

[supercrystal7]

Muller just seems to understand football so well. I was a decent player as kid never Premiership quality, but even I can nearly always see the run a player makes (of course this is much easier with a wide view rather than in the game, which makes top players great). With Muller he makes runs I would never have even thought about after seeing replays.

Apart from his brilliance in top games, there's this one passage that sums him up. Bayern last year were on the counter. It was something like 4 vs 4 and Alaba was breaking out with the ball. Muller had made a very clever run to lead away the defence and Alaba should have passed it to the other player that was not open. Instead Alaba did a poor pass to Muller, which was slightly behind him. Muller had to slow down to get the ball. At this point the counter was dead and the momentum stopped. Then out of no where Muller played a pass and made a run. Suddenly that simple pass and run he made reopened up the counter. I think this time Bayern missed an easy chance, but even if they had scored the stats would not tell the story. Muller did not get an assist here, he did not make a key pass and did not score, but it was his movement that created the chance. It's difficult to explain and I tried to do it quickly.

For me though an equally big problem with the possession is Lahm. I hear Bayern fans constantly saying things like Messi, Ronaldo etc have never troubled as before. They are right, but that is because of Lahm. It's one of the ultimate testaments to Lahm's ability that players like Messi and Ronaldo have been kept quiet (not just for Bayern, but Germany as well). This is actually why I predicted Bayern would beat Madrid in 2012. Lahm is a top player and you can play him left back or in central midfield and he is still going to be world class. The big problem is that Rafinha is not world class. Nor can you expect Lahm to suddenly be good at right back after spending a season in the middle. In every game he has played right back he has been bad this year.

 

[supercrystal7]

Bayern won against this week. It's always hard to win after a tough CL game especially when the other team parks the bus. Guess getting the win was all that matters. It was a usual Bayern game, but Boateng has been very good recently.

Only saw an hour highlights of Dortmund, but they were poor. They lack technical and creative players so badly. They still have to play most of the top 10, but since nobody else is likely to put together a run they should make top 4. Over the last couple of years they will lose at least 110 million pounds worth of talent and only get at best 45 million for that talent. Next year might really be a struggle for them especially if Schalke get a decent manager.

Schalke were decent, but lacked cohesion and any real structure. They have too many players that want to play 10 and not enough defensive or holding midfielders. They have a lot of talent, but sadly they are going to have to sell some of those players to put together a more balanced squad. Draxler (but at least he can play on the left), Goretzka, Meyer and Boateng all want to play 10. They need a strong manager in the summer to make some bold decisions. Decide who his 10 is going to be and then sell the others to invest in a defensive midfielder, winger, midfielder and centre back. With their fixtures they have a good chance of coming second.

 

[bayern blade]

Dortmund just signed Ramos from Hertha, good signing.

Course if we'd done it we'd be "weakening the opposition" :-)

 

[MCFC4EVR]

Dortmund just signed Ramos from Hertha, good signing.

Course if we'd done it we'd be "weakening the opposition" :-)

Does that mean they won't go for Dzeko?
If only Italian teams are interested can't see us getting a good price for him

 

[Maldeika]

Dortmund just signed Ramos from Hertha, good signing.

Course if we'd done it we'd be "weakening the opposition" :-)

Does that mean they won't go for Dzeko?
If only Italian teams are interested can't see us getting a good price for him

Dzeko is not the usual prize range or target for Dortmund.

 

[Rotweiss]

Dortmund just signed Ramos from Hertha, good signing.

Course if we'd done it we'd be "weakening the opposition" :-)

Does that mean they won't go for Dzeko?
If only Italian teams are interested can't see us getting a good price for him

It means exactly that in my opinion. Can't see Dortmund forking out close to £20m (I imagine you'd want somewhere close to that for him). Although Zorc did say something along the lines of "they will splash the cash" this summer if I'm not mistaken, but with Ramos coming in I reckon they won't be going for Dzeko.

 

[JoeMercer'sWay]

Dortmund just signed Ramos from Hertha, good signing.

Course if we'd done it we'd be "weakening the opposition" :-)

you started it.

 

[Alex - City Matters]

If you guys could check out my blog it would be greatly appreciated. <a class="postlink" href="http://thebundesligauk.wordpress.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://thebundesligauk.wordpress.com/</a>
Any advice and constructive criticism would be welcome, but bear in mind I am only 14 :)

 

[bayern blade]

Dortmund just signed Ramos from Hertha, good signing.

Course if we'd done it we'd be "weakening the opposition" :-)

Does that mean they won't go for Dzeko?
If only Italian teams are interested can't see us getting a good price for him

Dortmund are after another forward but it is apparently Hoffenheim's German U21 international Kevin Volland.