Since 2016-17, Hoffenheim have taken more points from Bayern than any other team. On Sunday, Sebastian Hoeness did it againRarely a day goes by on which the name isn’t in the sports pages, or is writing itself large over news reaction and discussion shows on television. “I don’t believe at all that the name opens doors,” said Sebastian Hoeness, the new head coach of Hoffenheim, in an interview with Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung last week. “Decision makers at this level [just] evaluate your work and something like that doesn’t influence them in one way or another.”The nephew of Uli and Dieter’s son, the 38-year-old boss made his home debut in charge of the Sinsheim side on Sunday and couldn’t have wished for a...
Hoffenheim ending a major run of invincibility underlined how the perception of Bayern has changed under Niko KovacThis Sunday was the Bayern Munich squad’s traditional drop-in to Oktoberfest. It’s an iconic scene with the players and their families, who dress up in traditional Bavarian outfits of lederhosen and toast the moment. The atmosphere is often heady. On one occasion, the story goes, Pep Guardiola spontaneously decided that he and his charges should commandeer a private jet to fly off and watch Juventus take on Roma in a Serie A top-of-the-table clash in Turin.This time, the mood was slightly different. Manuel Neuer “could be happy”, wrote Süddeutsche Zeitung’s Lisa Sonnabend. “He can have a drink on Sunday at the Oktoberfest, because...
There has been plenty of entertainment but it has been an unusual and not always satisfying season in GermanyThe clock, since you asked, kept on ticking. As the curtain fell on Hamburger SV’s unbroken presence in top flight since the Bundesliga’s formation in 1963, it was alone in maintaining steady hands (give or take it being digital). With the home side’s winning position futile, as Wolfsburg completed an eventually emphatic victory over Köln 170km to the south, any façade of holding it together began to crack.Pyrotechnics rained down from the ultras in the Nordtribüne and a heavy police presence took over the pitch in lines, with horses and dogs for company. Some of those waiting to see if the famous...
The Austrian could not be doing more to remain as manager, with his side now looking as if they have put in a shiftOn other weekends, it would have been a cause for glumness. Yet even in falling a place below bitter rivals Schalke, from second to third, it felt as if it had been a fairly successful day for Borussia Dortmund. They emerged from Saturday evening’s Topspiel at RB Leipzig not only with a point – and having maintained a three-point lead over their hosts in the race for Champions League qualification – but with the satisfying feeling of having put in a shift.They can be few things that their coach, Peter Stöger, cherishes as much as this. Many...
A 5-0 thrashing at Dortmund could have been worse, even with a dubious VAR decision, and there are already fears of a situation spinning out of controlJörg Schmadtke rushed out to the Sky truck in the TV compound to pore over every possible angle – and to check his eyes weren’t deceiving him. By that point, the Köln sporting director had already been on the Signal Iduna Park pitch, shoulder to shoulder with the coach, Peter Stöger, protesting to the referee, Patrick Ittrich, over the award by VAR of Borussia Dortmund’s second goal. Before any more fingers start pointing at Effzee about an anarchic end to a chaotic week, we should add that this was a reasonable moment for both...