| 19.11.2009 |
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| There's a reason why they call the run-up to Christmas the Silly Season. It's not because everyone is going nuts about the coming holidays or getting high on the mad rush for presents, it's because of a completely different compulsion to spend obscene amounts of money on unnecessary luxury items which will be gathering dust by February: yes, it's the January transfer window. Besides giving Arab sheikhs and Russian oligarchs yet another reason to expand their collection of expensive footballers, the close-season and January transfer windows give sportswriters another excuse to drop acid and come up with far-fetched speculation which fills their column inches and justifies their existence to editors and publishers alike. (Writing about writers writing about fanciful soccer dealings also has the same effect, I might add.) The Internet is awash with rumors and half-truths right now so it would take me until the next transfer window to go through all the potential deals doing the rounds in the sports gossip pages so I'm going to concentrate on the Bundesliga pipedreams which are most prominent. Andriy Voronin to…Anyone.  The pony-tailed Ukrainian must be eager for anyone to come in with a firm bid and end his Anfield hell. Probably not as eager as the majority of Liverpool fans to see the back of him, however. Voronin is not even booed any more on Merseyside. His inclusion in the side or even on the bench is met with painful groans from the Kop faithful, and this extreme lack of love is certainly having an effect on the former Bayer Leverkusen player's confidence - and waistline. After finding a modicum of form and happiness on loan at Hertha Berlin last season, Voronin returned to Liverpool after the two sides failed to agree on a permanent deal in the summer. Now, as Liverpool slump and Voronin – rather unfairly, it must be said – has been among those blamed for it, the Ukrainian shouldn't be judged for wanting to move on. Now if only someone...actually wanted him. Eintracht Frankfurt have made noises about taking him back to the Bundesliga but recently revealed that they can't afford him. If Liverpool hadn't got hit by a plague of injuries, they may well have cut their asking price – just to get some funds in for their own transfer plans (see below). But while half the team is off having pureed horse placenta rubbed into various injuries, it's all bodies to the wheel. Even bloated, underperforming Ukrainian ones… Eljero Elia to Liverpool  Hamburg's highly-rated Dutch winger only arrived at the HSH Nordbank Arena from FC Twente this summer but if Rafa Benitez can raise some funds, the 22-year-old could be plucked from Bruno Laddabia's team and thrust into the soap opera atmosphere at Anfield. Elia has been in barnstorming form for HSV since his arrival and has managed to transfer that form to the international stage with Holland. Elia's agent Klauss Vink has confirmed that a number of Premiership clubs are already tracking the winger, and has said that there is "big interest" from Liverpool. A number of issues will need to be addressed,though, before this one is either revealed as wishful thinking from Merseyside or the real deal: Will Benitez have cash to spend? Will Elia want to become the new Ryan Babel (Dutch talent misused and abused to the point of ordinariness)? Will Liverpool be able to offer Elia Champions League football next season? So Elia will probably be staying at Hamburg then… Neven Subotic to Manchester City (or Arsenal)  Man City are like a kid who has had all his pocket money for the year given to him at once. Instead of considering over the space of 12 months what they can save up to buy, the other Manchester club runs around with change falling out all over the shop floor, buying up random players for positions they already have filled – just because they can. It can be argued that City don't need Subotic, the highly-rated Serbian international center-back, but because Arsenal have also shown an interest, they feel that they should too. Subotic would be much better suited and utilized under Arsene Wenger, who is still looking for a bit of strength at the back since Kolo Toure went to, yep – you've guessed it – Man City. Both Premiership clubs are likely to go home empty-handed however. Subotic has recently signed a new contract at Borussia Dortmund, keeping him at BVB until 2014, and the player himself has said he doesn't want to leave, rather to stay and achieve something with Dortmund. Maicosuel to Arsenal  The Hoffenheim midfielder only joined the club side last summer in a €4.5 million deal which ties him to the Bundesliga outfit until 2014. But this hasn't stopped the rumor mongers stirring up a potential love-fest between the rangy Brazilian and Arsene Wenger. Maicosuel has been earning rave reviews in the Bundesliga this term and the Gunners' French boss has reportedly been alerted to his talents. Those in the know – and those who are just good at sitting in a pub and making stuff up – say that Maicosuel would fit in beautifully at the Emirates stadium where compatriot Denilson is a regular member of the first team. These "insiders" fail to explain just where Maicosuel would fit in a midfield boasting Cesc Fabregas, Andrey Arshavin and Samir Nasri unless the Brazilian is being lined up for the role of the defensive holding player Wenger has been looking for since Gilberto departed. However Alex Song and Denilson may have something to say about that… Zvjezdan Misimovic to Arsenal  Arsenal scouts must have some kind of deal with a travel agency specializing in trips to Germany because the Gunners pop up again when the name of Wolfsburg's playmaker Zvjezdan Misimovic is mentioned. As with Maicosuel above, it seems unlikely that the Bosnia-Herzegovina star would be willing to sit on the bench at the Emirates until Fabregas gets crocked (or is sold to Barcelona). Another impressive season to date has, however, fuelled speculation that Arsenal could be poised to swoop in January, especially given Misimovic's impressive debut in the Champions League this year. But the midfielder signed a new contract at Wolfsburg at the beginning of the year which runs until 2013 and has yet to make any noises over a move. Edin Dzeko to Manchester United or AC Milan  This one is the most likely to actually turn from speculation to realization. Dzeko has made no secret of his desire to leave the Bundesliga champions after three years at the Volkswagen Arena and his continued good form has made him a target for some of the biggest teams in Europe. Manchester United, still flush with cash from the sale of Cristiano Ronaldo in the summer, and still feeling the void left by the Portuguese star's defection to Madrid, are leading the pack. United are looking for a goal scorer to take the pressure off Wayne Rooney with Dimitar Berbatov again looking disinterested and Michael Owen proving to be only a bit-part player in less important games. United could face stiff opposition from Milan, however, who may be preparing for life without Alexandre Pato. And Dzeko has gone on record so many times about AC being the 'club of his boyhood dreams' he's beginning to put readers to sleep. Wherever he goes, it looks as though Wolfsburg and manager Armin Veh are resigned to losing star striker Dzeko – but will want a pretty penny for him, which puts United in the driving seat. |
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| 10.11.2009 |
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| Robert Enke, Hanover 96's splendid goalkeeper who was in contention to be Germany's number one at the coming world cup, is dead at 32. He was run over by a train at a rail crossing near Hanover this Tuesday evening, and because of that circumstance police suspect he committed suicide. It's a tragedy in any case, and one that will surely generate a lot of digging into Enke's psyche. Not too sure where that will lead.  He was hardly a big media personality, and it's a fool's game anyway, to assume we can know the private people behind even the most loquacious public personalities. My only clear impression of Enke came from reading one particular long interview - one that actually made me like him very much. He came off as a thoughtful man who enjoyed the game that was at the center of his life, but wasn't consumed by it. A particularly affable moment came when he told the interviewer of having shared his house for a while with the famous painter from whom he'd bought it, and who hadn't been quite ready to leave. When asked if his career as a footballer was a "dream come true," he answered "No, it's just my life. I'm no dreamer. There's a lot I have to do, and a lot I can't do. On a normal training day I work less than other people, but I'm busy on the weekends and can't spend time with my wife." It's probably good Enke tried to keep himself balanced, considering how tough things went for him at times in his career. The Jena native started his career strongly, moving to Gladbach and Benfica before securing a dream move to Barcelona in 2002, but got stuck on the bench his one year there. He then spent a rocky subsequent season bouncing from Turkey back to the Spanish second division before finding a new home at Hanover. In his Germany career, Enke was first overshadowed by Oliver Kahn and Jens Lehmann, and then seemed to get injured at all the wrong times, missing key national team dates. But all these sporting setbacks pale in comparison to the tragedy he and his wife suffered three years ago, when their two-year-old daughter Lara died of a heart defect. That Enke came back and put his own heart into football after that was amazing enough for one career. A great career it was, really - Enke was an outrageously gifted shot-stopper, and one who played for a team that gave him plenty of chances to show his stuff. I only saw him twice in person. The first was a 4-0 loss at Hertha where he wasn't given much chance, but the second was vintage Enke: a 0-0 home draw to Hamburg that may well have been another 4-0 loss were it not for him. (For a taste of his efforts in that match, see the first part of this video, especially the 0:42 mark in which he stops three shots from three different players at three different angles in FOUR SECONDS. Amazing stuff.) Rest in peace, Robert. I hope you've found it. |
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| 08.11.2009 |
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Bayern defender Philipp Lahm has been a bad, bad boy. In fact, he's done the worst thing a footballer in Munich can do these days -- tell the truth about the club in public. In a newspaper interview with the Sueddeutsche Zeitung, published on Saturday before Munich's big match with Schalke, Lahm discussed how Bayern's transfer policies may have contributed to the team's descent in the table. Commercial manager Uli Hoeness was furious, promising that Lahm would regret opening his mouth and seeing to it that the defender was given a record fine. The interview had the headline "Yes, the coach is right." So what precisely did Lahm say to cause such offense? He had the audacity to question the logic of spending tens of millions on both Mario Gomez, a classic center forward best used in a 4-4-2 formation, and Arjen Robben, a winger more suited to a 4-3-3. He pointed out that teams like Barcelona and Manchester United purchase new players with a specific system in mind, rather than just going after whatever top talent is within their reach. And he opined that Bayern could well use a playmaker midfielder in the Michael Ballack/Frank Lampard mold. In short, he cogently summed up what's wrong with Bayern this year -- that the players' talents don't complement one another. What he didn't do was criticize either individual teammates or his coach. A few hours later, striker Luca Toni was so enraged at being replaced by Robben in the half-time break that he decided not to stick around for the rest of match, leaving the stadium for home. Toni was clearly in the wrong and apologized. He, too, was fined by the club, though not as severely as Lahm. Lahm's problem is not just that he stepped slightly out of line, but that he was right. Instead of going ballistic on the defender, who remains Bayern's best player, perhaps Hoeness and Co. might want to ask for his opinion, when they return to the transfer market in the winter break and try to salvage Bayern's season. |
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| 05.11.2009 |
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| You can say a lot of things about Felix Magath but one thing he can't be accused of is shying away from a challenge. After winning the league with a mid-table team full of previously mid-table players at Wolfsburg, Felix decided that trying to retain the Bundesliga title wasn't going to be stressful enough for him. Instead, he decided to take on what amounts to the most masochistic of challenges – that of making Schalke 04 German champions. So far, he's not making too bad a job of it. Schalke are fourth but only two points off the summit. Plus he's managed to get the infuriating Kevin Kuranyi scoring again – no mean feat in itself. But even this level of early season success doesn't appear to be challenging enough for the man who constantly needs to push himself. Magath, with a little help from the Schalke hierarchy and the current economic crisis, has found a new test. Felix not only wants to win the Bundesliga with Schalke but with a team shorn of all its best players!  It seems that the cash-strapped Royal Blues are looking to sell some of their stars as the club tries to reduce its wage bill. In debt to the tune of 180 million euros, Schalke are looking to offload a host of top names to lower their reported wage bill of 55 million euros. "Even if we have some breathing space now, we must - and will - considerably reduce our wage bill for next season," Magath told German tabloid Bild. "Up to the sale of goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, everything is possible." Neuer is a target for English champions Manchester United as a long-term replacement for Edwin van der Sar and while Felix is unhappy about letting his goalkeeper leave, the likes of Kuranyi and Brazilian defender Rafinha are apparently up for grabs with Magath's blessing. Magath is keen to move on at least eight top players according to Bild in a bid to ease Schalke's outgoings, with strikers Halil Altintop and Gerald Asamoah, and midfielders Levan Kobiashvili, Ivan Rakitic, Vicente Sanchez and Albert Streit all apparently up for sale. Should Felix manage to flog all his wage-heavy professionals in the summer – and if he doesn't manage to win the league this season and therefore leave for pastures more difficult – we may see a very happy Magath on the touchlines of Germany next season as he goes about his self-imposed Sisyphean task of winning the league with the Schalke under-16 squad. |
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| 05.11.2009 |
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| I’m always of two minds when watching Bayern in the Champions League. On the one hand, as a fan of German football, I want to see Bundesliga teams as long as possible in the competition. On the other, I can’t help but revel in matches where Munich’s ultra-expensive, poorly conceived squad takes a pasting as they did against Bordeaux on Tuesday. Had a couple of questionable refereeing decisions gone their way, Bayern might have been able to earn a draw. But the sad truth was that all Munich’s millions bought them against the Frenchmen was a squad that played kick-and-rush for final twenty minutes. I’ve already written more than once about how Munich need a playmaker, so let me restrict my criticism to a question. How much better would Bayern be, if they had retained the services of Ze Roberto this season? Or invested their riches in a player like this:  Cesc Fabregas scored twice in Arsenal’s 4-1 demolition of Alkmaar on Wednesday. And the Gunners not only won. They won with the sort of fun, flowing football that made fans glad that they did. Another team I have no problem rooting for is Wolfsburg, who picked up an impressive victory in Turkey at the same time that Bayern were disappointing their home fans in Munich. The Wolves looked a bit like a miniature Arsenal last year in winning the Bundesliga, and they’ve done well enough in their first-ever Champions League campaign to have an inside track on second-place in their group. With Arsenal all but assured of winning their group, that sets up the intriguing prospect that the two teams could get drawn against one another in the KO round. The Wolves against the Gunners. Sounds cool, doesn’t it? Better than kick-and-rush in any case. |
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| 02.11.2009 |
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...they go and play like they did against foundering Stuttgart. For once Louis van Gaal had a clear choice up front. You pretty much have to start newly acquired players against their former teams. Otherwise, those players throw a hissy fit and start calling you nasty names behind your back and drawing obscene caricatures of you dressing room walls. And lo and behold, there was Mario Gomez in the starting eleven on Saturday. The only problem was he didn't get enough decent balls to do any damage against his old club. Against Frankfurt in the Cup, Bayern looked as though they had their midfield creativity problems sorted out. But against Stuttgart the glaring deficiencies at the center of the pitch re-emerged. Schweinsteiger and Tymoschuck were useless and van Bommel reverted to his former, solely destructive ways. Bayern few chances in the match came on long balls into the middle or bursts of inspiration from their best player this season, youngster Thomas Müller. On the positive side, Bayern have just announced they're about to sign mega-deals with Audi and Deutsche Telekom that will bring even more euros into the club's bursting coffers. But whether they'll use the cash to sign the sort of player they need most, a big midfield general in the mold of Stefan Effenberg or Michael Ballack, is an open question. Van Gaal needs to put his foot down and insist they do. The Dutchman was hired for his tactical acumen, but there's been little of it on display this season. In fact, his record of this writing is worse than Jürgen Klinsmann's. The winter break will give him a chance to prove he has a vision for the team. He needs to insist that Bayern shake things up. Otherwise, Bayern are not going to win the title this year. And he, most certainly, will be out of a job. |
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