VfL Bochum Rank: 17th Preseason Prediction: 17th What was I thinking? In the final 2007-08 standings I had grouped Bochum among a few sides that I referred to as being consistently adequate, hovering just above relegation. I was prepared to keep them there, too, except for the signings over the summer of Hashemian and Freier, […]

1-2-3 – Current ranking of Bochum, Cottbus, and Bielefeld on the "Anti-Fair-Play Table." Here Bochum has a commanding lead thanks to their 33(!) yellows in 12 games. This trio tops another table as well, but this one's about "Anti-Results." All three are currently in the relegation zone. Coincidence? Probably not considering Anti-Fair-Play cellar dwellers Leverkusen […]

0 – The number in Frankfurt's win column (still, and I'll keep on mentioning this until Frankfurt take note and do something about it) 5 – Difference in points between 1st (Hamburg) and 11th (Bayern). 6 – Number of goalscorers Hamburg and Werder Bremen have in the top 12 (ie, those who have scored at […]

Having had the time to digest Bayern's 2-5 mauling by Bremen (no need to rehash things here, if you need a refresher check out the excellent post at Deutsche Welle's Ballspiel or the video highlights at 101 Great Goals), I wanted to know exactly how bad it was for the Bavarians. No matter what your […]

1 – Number of weeks Hamburg spent at the top of the table 2 – Number of 0-0 draws after five weeks 5 – Clean sheets, tied (alongside week 4) for the most in one week 8 – Minutes it took sub Jonas Kamper to score in Bielefeld's 2-0 win over Köln 11 – The […]

While this is expected to become a weekly column, I have decided to hand out the first Weekly XI based on the cumulative efforts of the first three weeks. I will use a 3-4-3 formation for my picks. GK: Mathias Schober (Schalke 04) – The veteran backup has taken over during Manuel Neuer's injury and […]

st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } 1. Parity Okay, let’s not kid ourselves. Not any team can win the Bundesliga. But since the inception of the EPL in 1991, four teams have won the title: United, Blackburn, Chelsea and Arsenal, but United has won 11 of those titles. In that same span, five teams have won the title in […]

1st Schalke What You Know: If baseball's Chicago Cubs had a baby with the Red Sox prior to 2004, Schalke would be the offspring. What You Don’t: All things both good and bad must end. What to Expect: Yes, Campeones! I say that, bucking all trends, and knowing full well that Schalke could be leading […]

The Deutsche Presse Agentur released a poll yesterday about predictions for the upcoming season. Bayern Munich was the unanimous favorite of Bundesliga coaches to repeat as champions. The most common reason given was the quality of Jürgen Klinsmann's squad. What follows is a hasty translation of what each of the 18 gaffers had to say […]

The fixtures for the opening day of the 2008/2009 Bundesliga season have been announced. All of these matches will be played on Saturday, August 16: FC Bayern v Hamburg Schalke v Hannover Wolfsburg v Cologne Bayer Leverkusen v Borussia Dortmund Eintracht Frankfurt v Hertha Berlin Karlsruhe v Bochum Energie Cottbus v Hoffenheim Arminia Bielefeld v […]

The 45th season of the Bundesliga has come to an end with comparatively little drama or theatrics. Bayern all but guaranteed itself the title with a busy summer in the transfer market, spending 70 million Euros on Luca Toni (the league's top scorer), Franck Ribery (world class playmaker) and the rest. While this investment was […]

Relegation Crunch Time With two games remaining a total of six points is all that distinguishes the bottom five squads from one another. Three: Rostock, Duisburg, and Nürnberg technically inhabit the relegation zone with 27, 29, and 31 points respectively. Bielefeld (32 pts) and Cottbus (33) are flirting with danger, being out of immediate harm's […]