<div><figure class="external-image"><img src="http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Football/Pix/pictures/2008/09/16/honigstein.jpg" alt="Rafa"></figure></div> Following a busy season, Raphael Honigstein of <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/raphaelhonigstein">The Guardian</a> and Footbo was kind enough to talk with me and address a few questions I had about the end of the season and the start to the silly season.
Which player(s) surprised you the most this season?&nbsp; 
a) Misimovic. We knew he could play football, but not that well, nor that consistently. He became, alongside &nbsp;Diego, the best central midfielder in the Bundesliga. Quite a step-up.
b) Grafite. Looked a little slow and ponderous in front of goal last season. Different story this time around. (probably only half the player without Misimovic and Dzeko)
c) Trochowski. In the Misimovic-mould of nearly-men in recent years, now a good reason to leave Schweinsteiger on the bench at the World Cup.
Who was the most important player to his team?
Maybe Mario Gomez. He really carried the side, especially in the second half of the season, with his goals.&nbsp;
We seem to becoming a league based on streaks: Stuttgart 2007; Hoffenheim – Hertha – Wolfsburg this year. Which was more impressive: Stuttgart’s run two years ago, Hoffenheim’s start this year or Wolfsburg’s finish?
I’d say Hoffenheim’s and Wolfsburg’s runs were equally impressive on the face of it, but then Wolfsburg had a semi-decent first half, too, and timed theirs much better. I think winning 14 out of 17 games in 2009 is unbelievably good.
All three promotion sides survived. Of the 3, who looks most likely to suffer a sophomore slump?
Michael Frontzeck has already taken two teams down, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he got Gladbach relegated as well. Köln’s chances will depend on who they can get as manager. Hoffe will be okay.
We lost our last East German team. What do you think East German football needs to do to make itself competitive? 
Actually, Union Berlin are going strong and things are happening at Leipzig. I don’t think anything in particular needs to change. You just need a few good men with good ideas and little bit of money.
 
It seems that Magath has some concerns with Schalke: aged backline and a unbalanced squad. How long do you think it will take for Magath to get Schalke contending?
That really is one of the most interesting questions for next season. Rumors are that Schalke have very little money to spend, so he won’t be able to transform the team instantly over two seasons the way he did with VfL. He will surely get them fitter. But can this squad actually play decent football? I’m not sure.
It’s a question I asked the last time we talked. With Wolfsburg retaining the “gaffer” system and Schalke now being the second club to employ it, is there any chance of more teams adopting the style? Or do you see Armin Veh folding under the pressure of both jobs only to see Wolfsburg return to the Sports Director method sooner rather than later?
I remember talking to you about that a year ago. I must admit I’m very surprised that the Bundesliga has gone down that route. Of course, success breeds copycats and Magath at Wolfsburg is getting copied. Managers have become more confident to ask for wider powers. It seems like it will be the trend for the next few years, as even Bayern are giving van Gaal more power than Klinsmann ever had. But you are right, these things can be cyclical. The first club who fires their manager and finds itself with 20 players they don’t want will think very carefully about the whole system again.
Why is Hertha’s Lucien Favre making noise about leaving?&nbsp; It would seem that Hertha’s upside is still considerably large.
He was flattered by the attention from Bayern and HSV and used it politically. His threat to walk was really a clever ultimatum: he forced Hertha to choose between him and Dieter Hoeness. Hoeness was fired two days ago.
Do you know why Christophe Daum suddenly left?
Money. And the chance to win titles and play internationally. In his own mind, Daum is on a par with Mourinho et al, so helping Köln to another mid-table finish had limited appeal for him.&nbsp;
Last year, we saw the emergence of some new young managers in Jurgen Klöpp and Bruno Labbadia. Both were fairly successful in their first campaign at the top level.&nbsp; Why then do you think so many managerial changes so far involve a merry-go-round approach rather than trying to find new blood like Dortmund and Bayer 04 did last year?
Klopp was fairly established before Borussia went for him but it’s true: the Bundesliga seems to have become quite risk-averse. Better the devil you know – it’s a consequence of the Klinsmann debacle, probably.
With the team that Bayern seems to be building this summer: Van Gaal, Prajnic, Gomez, Olic, Boumjohann, as well as Sneijder, Tymochuck and Pandev likely; It feels like a team, regardless of Ribery’s impending departure, that on-paper are good enough to win Europe.&nbsp; Do you think that we could see our first German team making a serious run at the UCL since 2002?
Hmm, I don’t know. Gomez for Toni doesn’t really change that much. I like Olic as a defensive forward (copyright Jonathan Wilson). Tymoschuk should have been bought four years ago. Baumjohann won’t feature much. Prajnic and Braafheid will be interesting although it’s never easy to evaluate the true strength of Eredivisie stars. I don’t think Pandev is really in the mix at all. Now, if they could somehow keep Ribery, they might really have a chance. But that’s highly unlikely. And&nbsp;Van Gaal is the first real big ego-manager at Bayern. That poses just as many risks as opportunities. I think this could go either way. Remember what happened when they put together the “White Ballet” in 2002/03 with Ballack, Ze Roberto, etc? Out in the groups stages.&nbsp;
Will they end up with Adler, Neuer or other?
The word on the street is that Adler’s back isn’t quite up to it. &nbsp;Neuer might yet happen. Schalke need money to pacify Magath.&nbsp;
Aside from Ribery and Diego, which player seems most destined for foriegn shores this summer?
Dzeko to Milan is more than a rumour. Barnetta wants out and might be able to find a middle-class EPL team. Petric is keen to make more money, possibly in Spain.

Interview with Raphael Honigstein

Interview with Raphael Honigstein - World Soccer Talk

<div><figure class="external-image"><img src="http://images.google.com/url?source=imgres&amp;ct=tbn&amp;q=http://web.mlsnet.com/images/2009/01/20/4psVc2a2.jpg&amp;usg=AFQjCNHHzMTmQf1D6oQj3HTQf-QGdVG9Og" alt="Daum "></figure></div>
I doubt many people expected Cologne’s visit to Allianz to produce one of the best games of the weekend, but Christophe Daum and his scrappy side went to Munich (with only one win in their last 15 visits) and shocked the Bavarians. Two beautifully crafted counters along with 45 minutes of organized defending was the formula for the Billy Goats. But one cannot look past the egregious call made 13 minutes into the game that would have changed the look of this game significantly.
However, the poor decision by the linesman should not clear Bayern of a woeful display in front of their faithful, and it should definitely not take away from an inspiring performance by Cologne. The win breaks a streak of four straight draws and sets the promoted side 10 points clear of the drop zone, which should clear them of any further worries. Meanwhile, the favorites lost their fifth game of the season (3 more than the whole of last year) and they now have allowed as many goals as bottom-dwelling Gladbach at home. Defense is a big issue, and it would seem that they might possibly be the least likely of the “group of six” to end up with the title come season’s end.
Seven Random Facts about Bayern and Cologne
1. Offsides
So Babak Rafati interprets the rule for offside differently? In his world, any pass, whether its from your own player, or glanced off say the head of a defender like Kevin McKenna, counts toward the attacking player’s position. Had Klose’s goal been allowed to stand, rightfully, how different the game might have been. Cologne were playing a simple counter attack, which could be expected of any underdog away side. But had they been forced to chase the game, especially so early on, this tactic would have had to been abandoned and Bayern would have had more organization. Thus Cologne would not have been able to exploit the bevy of holes in the Klinsmann’s defense.
Regardless, the most impressive part of this goal was that, despite the deflection by McKenna, Klose kept his concentration, adjusted his angle on the ball and finished the goal. It’s too bad it didn’t stand on it’s merit alone.
2. The Modern “M”
We call it at 4-3-3. It is closer to a 4-5-1. But the truth is that Daum has set out a modern M (without the W) in his midfield. It looks like this:
<div><figure class="external-image"><img src="http://www.eloquor.net/mod/ixp_compositions/resultats/composition-5.php?mon_champ=allemagne%2Fbundesliga%2F1.fc-Koln2.png&amp;gardien=MONDRAG%D3N&amp;Defdroit=BRECKO&amp;Defcentdroit=MOHAMAD&amp;Defcent=&amp;Defcentgauche=GEROMEL&amp;Defgauche=MATIP&amp;Mildefdroit=&amp;Mildefcentdroit=BROSINSKI&amp;Mildefcent=&amp;Mildefcentgauche=PEZZONI&amp;Mildefgauche=&amp;Mildroit=&amp;Milcentdroit=&amp;Milcent=PETIT&amp;Milcentgauche=&amp;Milgauche=&amp;Milorgdroit=VUCICEVIC&amp;Milorgcentdroit=&amp;Milorgcent=&amp;Milorgcentgauche=&amp;Milorggauche=EHRET&amp;Attdroit=&amp;Attcentdroit=&amp;Attcent=NOVAKOVIC&amp;Attcentgauche=&amp;Attgauche=&amp;Rempa=&amp;Rempb=&amp;Rempc=&amp;Rempd=&amp;Rempe=&amp;Rempf=&amp;Rempg=&amp;submitButtonName=Elf+n%B01" alt="Cologne&apos;s Modern M"></figure></div>
In our haste to define systems in a slightly rigid way, it is interesting to note that Daum is doing something completely different. And it is working. It is easy to look at Petit and say he’s a DM, but he’s not playing that Makalele type role that we have come accustomed to defining the position by. He plays higher up, breaking up play before it can get to the deeper lying Brosinski and Pezzoni. And play does flow through him, unlike a typical holder. And with him obviously capable of tracking back, the deeper midfielders do have license to get forward. Brosinski was able to get forward and was pivotal to both goals. I’ve seen Pezzoni do the same, although today he was more committed to defense.
3. Brosinski and Brecko on the right
First, you do not need to check their pockets for Franck Ribery. Few could completely nullify the diminutive Frenchman. But the two of them had an objective, which was to crowd Ribery’s space, and they did a spectacular job of it. Ribery was still a danger, but Brecko shadowed him the entire game on the wing and Brosinski covered the channel. Ribery was not the factor we have come to expect as he wasn’t able to run at the defense and he was often forced into hurrying his passes. These two showed that tenacity is enough to limit Ribery’s impact and give any team a chance.
4. The Sweet Counter
A nice counter attack is a beautiful thing. Cologne’s first goal came of a fantastic one, led by their new signing and Ribery agitator, Daniel Brosinski. Podolski was stripped of the ball by Brosinski who then threads a pass to Vucicevic through three Bayern players. Vucicevic plays two give-and-go’s with Petit in his own half and Novakovic in Bayern’s half that covers and third of the pitch and sets him free in front of Bayern’s defense. Ehret meanwhile ghosts in from the left. Oddo fails to follow and Dimichelis, who had a poor match, does nothing to stop the Frenchman’s run. Vucicevic threads a nifty pass into space and the angling Ehret gets to ball and slots it in to the far post for the first goal.
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttIcbYywzLM">Cologne&apos;s First Goal</a>
5. Speaking of Ehret 
Perhaps Klinsmann was trying to get the best out of Podolski by playing him against his former/future club. Rather than inspiring the Clownprinz, what he did was inspire <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttIcbYywzLM">Fabrice Ehret</a>, who had a blinding game. He looks to occupy Podolski’s position in Daum’s modern “M” and I don’t see Podolski being able to win the position as he doesn’t have Ehret’s tactical acumen. Ehret is a better player, at the moment, and Podolski could face an uphill battle to unseat him. It seem he’s bound for a similar situation in Cologne to the one he faces in Munich. As the saying goes, “never go back”.
6. Like for Like
Klinsmann tactic’s are going to be heavily analyzed as Bayern go into full scale crisis mode. However, it’s justified to blame them. While he set out a system that should have worked, it wasn’t. And rather than changing it, he only swapped pieces. Ribery was never moved to the center where he might have benefited from the change. He stuck to two strikers, when one or three might have caused McKenna and Geromel to change their stations. And he stuck with a back four when it was obvious that Cologne had set up shot to protect the lead.
His substitutions were all like for like with Donovan coming in for Podolski, Altintop for Schweinsteiger and Borowski for Ze Roberto. All three substitutions were like for like, rather an attempt to change the dynamics. It was either arrogance or stupidity and it did cost them the game. Not as much as the non-goal, but still.
7. Lucky
Due to the fantastic effort by the whole of the Cologne side, I find it rather hard to say that they were very lucky to win this game. While the goal-that-wasn’t isn’t their fault and they took advantage of the gift, I don’t think Daum was smart to set 10 behind the ball for 45 minutes. He got away with it, but when you defend a lead (with no care to increase your lead) for an entire half against a decent side, let alone Bayern Munich, you have to consider yourself lucky to get the full 3 points. While Bayern did pull one back late, they had a dozen build ups that should have resulted in the leveler and winner. Geromel and Mondragon were on top form, but they rode their luck to the victory.

The Set: Bayern Munich 1-2 Cologne

The Set: Bayern Munich 1-2 Cologne - World Soccer Talk

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Interview with Raphael Honigstein

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The Set: Bayern Munich 1-2 Cologne