How did Karlsruhe end up in such bad financial shape anyway? I mean they still played Bundesliga for two seasons after their fall from grace, their transfer spending was pretty minimal and they had that one summer where they banked "a ton" of money from Max and Hennings and I remember reading, that they didn't have to pay off their stadium until recently.
German Football 23/24 |
- Thread starter do.ob
- Start date
He was an hot asset when Bayern signed him but you right he became an huge disappointment like Del Haye.
Oliver Kreuzer did okay that time but wouldn't be able to play today.
There were also Tarnat and Fink who were good squad players for many years.
The Leverkusen - Bayern game on the 10th ought to be fun. Perfectly poised for Bayern to crush the rest of the world's hopes.
How are Germany likely to line up at the Euros? Is he going to squeeze both Muisala and Wirtz into midfield?
How are Germany likely to line up at the Euros? Is he going to squeeze both Muisala and Wirtz into midfield?
The last games Nagelsmann opted for Musiala, Wirtz and Sane behind Füllkrug and I am pretty sure it will remain that way. You absolutely have to play Wirtz and Musiala together on the pitch.
Regarding the Bayern game, even if we lose its far from over, its not like Bayern will suddenly have a 9 point gap after it, the table is too close for that.
Is he sticking to a back 5? Muisala and Wirtz should at least make Germany interesting to watch.
Yeh I was only messing re. Leverkusen - Bayern. I've always had a soft spot for Leverkusen, one of the first games I ever went to see at OT was in 2003 in the CL against Leverkusen (group stage not the infamous knockout the season before).
I hope so, personally. I want him to mirror our line up and system. Alonso at times plays a very fluid 3-2-4-1/3-3-3-1:
Boniface
Wirtz Hofmann Frimpong
Grimaldo Xhaka Palacios
Tapsoba Tah Kossounou
Hradecky
Wirtz Hofmann Frimpong
Grimaldo Xhaka Palacios
Tapsoba Tah Kossounou
Hradecky
Grimaldo adjusts his position a little bit to Wirtz. If he drifts wide, he plays as an additional CM and if he stays central, he provides width. Could look like this for Germany:
Füllkrug
Musiala Wirtz Sané
Gündogan Andrich Kimmich
Schlotterbeck Tah Süle
Neuer
Kimmich could be ideal for that role as his profile is pretty close to Grimaldo. Schlotterbeck and Süle have a similar profile to Tapsoba and Kossounou as well and Sané could play the Frimpong role which at times was played by a left foot (Adli) for us as well. Or he could even play on the left with Musiala playing centrallyMusiala Wirtz Sané
Gündogan Andrich Kimmich
Schlotterbeck Tah Süle
Neuer
Bayern seems to be working hard on getting Zaragoza (the player, not the city) already in this transfer window. Makes sense due to their injury crisis. The Pellistri to Granada rumors give me hope that it‘ll happen.
Boey, Dier and Zaragoza would add much needed depth.
Boey, Dier and Zaragoza would add much needed depth.
Interesting, thanks for this. Didn't realise Frimpong played so high up! Wonder if Liverpool will be okay with risking Alonso not only transitioning to a new league but also having to adapt to a different squad with a different setup and play style.
That German 11 looks good going forward. How it will be defensively? Obviously some big names there at the big teams.
I forgot Rüdiger, he has to play obviously.
Frimpong plays very high up but with his pace he can still get back quickly. Sané would not be as sound defensively but he's too good to be left out.
Regarding Alonso: I read Liverpool prefers de Zerbi or Frank. Moreover, I don't think they can get Xabi. Pretty sure everything is arranged for him to take over Madrid in 2025 or 2026. But in principle, he'd be a good fit for Liverpool, IMO. Klopp is more of a possession oriented coach than his reputation so the team is already fine. He could play something like:
Nunez
Szoboszlai Salah
Robertson McAllister Thiago TAA
Konate van Dijk Gomez
Alisson
Szoboszlai Salah
Robertson McAllister Thiago TAA
Konate van Dijk Gomez
Alisson
500th win for Müller with Bayern (690 games in total), and 2 more assists. Surely Tuchel will start Zaragoza or anyone ahead of him next week.
Are you Blackwidow‘s alt account?
I guess we have a few opinions in common 
I love Müller but even I won’t give him an assist for Kane‘s goal.I guess we have a few opinions in common
Ah, kicker reported it that way initiallyI love Müller but even I won’t give him an assist for Kane‘s goal.
I sadly couldn't watch, I was attending one of the anti-AFD demos
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I just hope Davies isn't injured also.
A Bayern supporter with his priorities in order, commendable.Ah, kicker reported it that way initially
I sadly couldn't watch, I was attending one of the anti-AFD demos
So anyway, back to my favorite topic: Thomas Müller records. It's insane that he may crack 'most Bundesliga games for Bayern ever' by the end of this season, as an outfield player. He would overtake keeper legend Sepp Maier who was active at Bayern for a whopping 22 years, the only player still on more appearances (473) than Müller (460).
Stuttgart takes the lead in Leverkusen... should be an entertaining cup quarterfinal now
Stupid sexy Xabi
30 unbeaten games in a row. Crazy.
It's time Leverkusen loses a game. Best we score a late winner deep in extra time this Saturday.
Leverkusen is playing good football but they got really lucky again. Stuttgart at least deserved to go to extra time.
How many games did they decide in extra time this season?
Leverkusen is playing good football but they got really lucky again. Stuttgart at least deserved to go to extra time.
How many games did they decide in extra time this season?
Super match, super win.
Schick has been disappointing since the restart, don't know how quickly Iglesias will settle into the team. Maybe not having Boniface will be a bigger blow than thought.
Wirtz strangely looked tired in the first half but came back great in the second half with those assists.
Schick has been disappointing since the restart, don't know how quickly Iglesias will settle into the team. Maybe not having Boniface will be a bigger blow than thought.
Wirtz strangely looked tired in the first half but came back great in the second half with those assists.
We had much better opportunities than Stuttgart, though. Haven't seen the Andrich scene again so not sure if it was a second yellow but that aside, I really don't see how one could argue Stuttgart deserved it.
Same goes for the other late winners, by the way
Was it really lucky that we stopped being unlucky that late in the games? Leverkusen was a deserved winner today, but they were lucky that Stuttgart couldn't use the unusually high amount of buildup blunders (except one time).
True
I didn't say Stuttgart deserved to go through. I only said they deserved to go to extra time.
I haven't had the impression that Leverkusen put a lot of pressure on Stuttgart and had chance after chance so that their next goal was imminent.
Again I didn't say Leverkusen didn't deserve their late goals, I'm just saying if you score late in extra time it always comes also with the necessary luck.Same goes for the other late winners, by the way
No, it was a game on a very high level but in the end we had much clearer chances. Both Stuttgart goals required great finishes while we had very clear ones for the Tah and Adli goal as well as another one of one of Schick against the keeper. My ticker app says 2.3 to 0.64 xG for us.
I don't think a late winner is lucky when you had much more chances throughout the game. Actually, I think it is unlucky that you didn't score earlier. It's very annoying as a rival fan though, I know that first hand
That's not how football works though. Based on that statement Bayern should probably have won every game.
Against Bremen there were 22 to 8 shots and a xG of 1.92 to 0.43.n our favor. Even against Frankfurt Bayern hat more chances and a better xG than Eintracht.
So far this season everything is going to work out in your favor. Let's see how long this run of fortune will last.
Leverkusen definitely don't seem as strong as they were before the winter break, obviously there was going to be a bit of downturn with the absences and injuries but hopefully with the players coming back (bar Boniface) they should hopefully be back to their pre-winter break form.
Palacios is another massive miss but I think he should be back soon as well right?
Palacios is another massive miss but I think he should be back soon as well right?
Its funny how everyone predicted us to crumble when the AFCON is hitting us and now that weve won every game bar the Gladbach one (which we shouldve won by several goals) its still not good enough and people are criticising us for not being as fluent as we were before christmas. In my opinion, we handled AFCON extremely well and with the returns of Palacios and Kossunou from next week on (Palacios might be back against Bayern) our squad is basically full again except the Boniface injury.
Welcome to the treatment you receive when you lead the league. Signed, a Bayern supporter.
At least some in which you dropped points, yes. But we should have won against Gladbach and Dortmund, too. I think all things considered, we had a tad more luck than you guys or more precisely, you were unluckier than us.
It might also have to do with fitness and squad depth, by the way.
Agree. After all it's just 2 points. If you hadn't gotten the last ditch (soft) penalty in Munich, Bayern would be 1 point ahead. Small margins indeed.
Difficult one. Is it the squad depth, the training or just bad luck?
Probably a combination of all three, with bad luck being the main cause.
Gnabry and Goretzka breaking their arms, Kimmich falling awkwardly same accounts for Coman and Davies injuries. These have nothing to with squad depth or training (tiredness).
While I'm writing this, my buddy in Munich just send me a WhatsApp message that now Neuer is also injured (knee) and might not play on Saturday.
Just waiting for the message of Kane being out for season next.
I'm already excited for tomorrow.
Will Leverkusen be able to extend their run of now 30 unbeaten games?
Or will Bayern once again (like many times in recent years against Dortmund or recently against Stuttgart) shift up a gear against a close rival?
If Leverkusen win tomorrow and don't implode in the next weeks, they will be deserved champions and i will even be a bit happy for Xabi.
But oh boy i'm also ready for more Vizekusen tears, more moaning of the "neutral" fans and more "farmers league!!!" outcry if we win tomorrow (and sign Wirtz in summer)
Will Leverkusen be able to extend their run of now 30 unbeaten games?
Or will Bayern once again (like many times in recent years against Dortmund or recently against Stuttgart) shift up a gear against a close rival?
If Leverkusen win tomorrow and don't implode in the next weeks, they will be deserved champions and i will even be a bit happy for Xabi.
But oh boy i'm also ready for more Vizekusen tears, more moaning of the "neutral" fans and more "farmers league!!!" outcry if we win tomorrow (and sign Wirtz in summer)
We better restore farmers league status tomorrow, can't have a second title race in two consecutive seasons!
Keep on dreaming.(and sign Wirtz in summer)
I really don't know how all Leverkusen fans seem to be so optimistic about this.Keep on dreaming.
We already wanted Wirtz in 2019. He is one of the if not THE best young german talent and most probably player for the next decade.
It's 100% clear that we will go all-in for him.
According to all reports about him and his father and consultant the career plan seems to suggest that he wants to stay one more year at Leverkusen, than join Bayern and in 4 or 5 years move abroad.
There were even some rumors about a release clause when he extended his contract the last time.
And why shouldn't he join us?
We have one of the best squads in the world, a realistic chance to win the CL every year, he will earn a lot of money and it would be very good for his career in the national team.
The last part is a fact that is often a bit overlooked imo.
If you are german and a starter for Bayern, you are almost guaranteed to be a starter in the german national team.
On the other hand even playing for other european giants and playing great there didn't mean much in the past.
Ter Stegen has been great for Barcelona for how many years now? Neuer is injury prone and past his peak now for how long?
Yet ter Stegen never good a real chance.
Look at Gündogan. At now 33 he has arguably the first real chance to be a starter for the national team despite playing very good for City for years now.
To a lesser extend you could also mention Havertz, Pascal Groß, Gosens, Rüdiger.
Wirtz is not established in the national team yet and if he moves abroad now it could hurt his ambitions in the national team.
If he joins Bayern and plays together with Musiala and Sané in a 4-2-3-1 or only with Musiala in a more Leverusen type system i bet he will also be a regular starter for germany in he next years.
And what other clubs should he go to?
Barca has no money. Real doesn't need him and will need all their money for Mbappe or Haaland.
PSG isn't on our level, especially without Mbappe.
City is maybe the only big rival. They have the money, the Pep pull and Wirtz would basically be the perfect de Bruyne successor.
Maybe Liverpool if Xabi goes there and tries to lure him with him.
edit: wtf, is there some kind of auto-moderator that replaces Xabis last name with a F1 statement?
Sancho sub, can't get a game in the farmers league.
Damn… they are not going to buy him, wont they
You lads seem to monitor the situation closely