The former Bayern midfielder has solidified a baffled, lost squad of players with methods so old-school that they’re almost ingenious again
Hey Bundesliga? Si senõr, the league is on. Ten games into the 2016-17 season, there are the old, familiar, expected faces at both ends of the table – FC Bayern (unbeaten und unconvincing) at the top, Hamburger SV (clueless, rudderless, irreparable) at the bottom – but otherwise, it’s a jolly good mess of smart overachievers, former giants growing in stature, elite sides mired in inconsistency and an array of sporting disasters of varying magnitude.
Only six points separate the first seven teams. RB Leipzig, are second behind Bayern on goal difference after another exhilarating win, 3-1 over Mainz. While their twisted football fairytale (a rich, despised prince buys himself seven-league boots and runs aways from most rivals) was always likely to be off to a pacy opening chapter and Julian Nagelsmann’s TSG Hoffenheim merely re-confirmed the village club’s reputation for its highly inventive use of (considerable) resources, Hertha BSC’s staying-power was much harder to foresee.
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