1. Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga Discussion Thread

[Pinarius]

Eight victories in a row for Dortmund in the BL - it's time, the other teams are getting their "Arsch hoch", when they play against the BVB.

[grinder]

As if Hannover where not giving everything they had today... Did you even watch the game? They fought tirelessly in the second half, despite being behind 0-2. Dortmund was just too good, really impressive after two not so glorious games.
If Bayern wants to to be Champions, they should beat the top teams. So far they lost twice against Gladbach, once against Dortmund, and if I am not mistaken, also once against Hannover. Not a good record.
Beating only the smaller teams is simply not enough (or so I hope, the season is still a long one and much can happen).

[pchalk]

they stomped all over schalke this weekend. really shouldv been a much higher goal count. hildebrand had his work cut out for him. he still is a top class keeper

[grinder]

You should not overrate this game imo. Schalke could have easily equalized in the first half, when they were still playing. After some of their later performances I would not rate them that high anyway. They were abysmal against Gladbach, and played also really bad (similar to Bayern in Basel, same tired and uninspired midfield-passing) in the two matches against Plzen.

[Pinarius]

Last evening, everybody could have seen what I meant the week before as the resistance of the players from Mainz was really weak. Especially, how the Nr. 14 (a former 60-player of course) "reacted" at the 2nd BVB-goal.

[grinder]

Yeah, OR Bayern could just get their act together and utilize all the quality in the squad. But, no. As soon as no goal is scored in the first half hour they loose track completely and play like some lower midfield squad.
Leverkusen didn't put up much of a fight in the first half either. Plenty of time to score. Missed that chance -> lost track in second half -> lost game -> most likely lost title.
Trying to blame Dortmund's opponents for not trying hard enough is laughably silly. Dortmund (in the current form, with the Polish wing of doom at it's prime) is just much harder to play/defend against, than Bayern with their never changing "pass to Robben/Ribery and hope they have a moment of genius".

[Pinarius]

The very same team, that sucked so much in the CL and became last in a very mediocre group, wins 9 matches in a row in the BL (even without their best player) - that is indeed laughable.

[grinder]

So it's all a conspiracy huh?
Every team in the league wants to see Bayern fail, so they sacrifice points against Dortmund. Yeah sounds entirely plausible.
That is nothing short of insane, man. Dortmund winning would not even be much of a problem if Bayern wouldn't screw up so much. They went into the winter break with what, eight point lead? And now they are seven points behind. Absolutely their own fault, and noone elses.

[=Bright=]

Can't wait until Bayern gets hammered at the Westfalen Stadion.

// Somebody should change the tags of this thread. "Bayern wird niemals Meister" is more accurate.

[Pinarius]

Bayern München doesn't deserve it this season, that's clear and I never said they would. After the 1st injury of Schweinsteiger they were mostly disappointing, especially in the awy matches. But Borussia doesn't deserve it either after their pathetic performance in the Champions Leauge. And I I stand to my impression that not all, but many teams don't give their best against Dortmund.

[=Bright=]

Did Bayern give thier best against Dortmund?

[grinder]

I don't see how CL has anything to do with the display in the BL anyway. The group phase was at the beginning of the season, when Dortmund had to overcome several problems:
Sahin was gone, and the team had not yet found a way to replace his important game-opening passes.
Kagawa was not himself after his injury at the Asia cup.
Barrios was injured, and Lewandowski was not yet in the form he is in now, due to little playtime in the last season.
If you paid attention, Dortmund struggled in the BL as well, in this phase of the season.
But =Bright= has found the quintessential weakness in your nice little dream-scenario anyway.

[Pinarius]

I don't see how CL has anything to do with the display in the BL anyway.

The Champions Leaugue is a like shop window for European football clubs. Borussia Dortmund and Leverkusen failed to dress it. The embarrassment would be complete, if Bayern won't win against Basel next week. The title 'national champion' simply loses a lot of its value, when you suck that much against other teams of Europe.

[=Bright=]

to be fair, Leverkusen fared pretty well. They were in a group with Chelsea and Valencia and displayed pretty well against Barca in the first leg. The 1-7 was a debacle that could have happened also to other teams (Nicosia for example)

[pchalk]

yea and basel's success against bayern in the first leg is hardly an isolated incident either. they have a stacked team this year

[grinder]

Did I try to hide the fact that Dortmund failed in the CL? No. All I'm saying is, that their form from the beginning of this season has not much to do with their form right now. You have to admit, that the loss of Sahin, and with him the very anchor and engine of their game was a very though thing. Trying to learn a new playstyle during Champions League is not going to end well.
Considering this, I think they didn't even play bad in most matches (in fact they dominated most of them, until going 0-1 behind). They just lacked that little extra self confidence and killer isntinct you just need in CL.
Speaking of form... If Bayern had been in that current, devastating form durinig the group stages, I have my doubts they had qualified either. Just saying.

Edit: You see, what Hoffenheim offers today... THIS is not trying.

[pchalk]

wow this is a good weekend for me. Eintracht Frankfurt 5-1 win. Bayern 6 goal lead of Hoffenheim. even FSV won. yes i know they are eintrachts rivals but i still like seeing teams from frankfurt win

[Pinarius]

Looks good for the BL-teams compared to the ones from Serie A (only Milan is left). http://www.5-jahres-wertung.de/APD/Online/5JW.php And Ribery's former club Olympique Marseille shouldn't be a insurmountable obstacle for Bayern (although they often had their problem with French teams in the past).

[=Bright=]

Bundesliga certainly deserves 4 CL-spots. It's La Liga that doesn't. A two-horse race deserves only 2 CL spots, not 4. Serie A also deserves 4, with Udinese, Roma, Lazio, Napoli (and Inter maybe?) fighting for the 3rd spot.

[Pinarius]

mal was lustiges zur Abwechslung: