The popular CEO cooled his rift with the president as VfB’s exciting side assembled by Sven Mislintat registered a first home winIt was a weekend for calm and reflection, a weekend in which, as the end of Holocaust Memorial week, Bundesliga clubs paid tribute to those persecuted for their sexuality and gender identity by the Nazis, with captains wearing rainbow-coloured armbands. VfB Stuttgart wore a specially produced shirt, the normally red central hoop on white replaced with a rainbow one.In the bare stands at Cannstadt the club’s chief executive, Thomas Hitzlsperger, stood with the short and a rainbow club scarf on, the face of the club’s stance, posing for a photo he later published on his Twitter account. It might...
Defeats for Dortmund, Leverkusen and Leipzig opened up yet another clear path to the Bundesliga titleThey did what they always do, and it was rarely in doubt. Schalke resisted as best they could, had their moments and were several steps forward from the meek strugglers who have filled the royal blue shirts for a large part of this season. Bayern Munich, however, were always going to get it done, and not just because this was their 10th straight win over the Gelsenkirchen club. Even if the late goals by Thomas Müller and David Alaba added a slightly unfair sheen to the scoreline for the champions, their total superiority couldn’t have been clearer. Related: Ilicic puts Atalanta in title race and...
The Serbian forward instantly rediscovered his scoring touch for Eintracht Frankfurt after a miserable stay at Real Madrid on the same night the captain David Abraham bade farewellIt felt like not just a goal but a release, a way of making a longed-for expression – of frustration, of indignation, and of relief. Luka Jovic’s first goal back at Eintracht Frankfurt had taken three days and, in on-pitch terms, 10 minutes to arrive and it was worth it, unhesitatingly smashed into the Schalke net from his compatriot Filip Kostic’s delivery. Related: Antonio Conte outsmarts Andrea Pirlo in great leap forward for Inter | Nicky Bandini Related: Fifa dismisses Atlético's appeal against Kieran Trippier's 10-week suspension Related: Messi sent off as Athletic...
The serial Bundesliga champions were two goals up and strolling before they were taken apart by Marco Rose’s team Few would have blamed Marco Rose for being self-congratulatory or even a bit smug. That is not really the Borussia Mönchengladbach coach’s style, so he went for plainly, patiently and concisely explaining his tactical plan that worked to perfection for the benefit of viewers after the match. A plan, by the way, that worked on not just any opponents, but on Bayern Munich.Any time Bayern stumble it’s a shock, and particularly so in the thus far imperious Hansi Flick era. There are, however, degrees of shocks and if any team was going to not just wrestle the champions to the floor,...
Coaches whose ideas were considered almost extinct have re-emerged as teams battle fatigue and a lack of training timeFor football, this was the year evolution went backwards. It began with further victories for the high press, with Hansi Flick’s Bayern Munich surging to the Champions League and the Bundesliga, and Jürgen Klopp’s side giving Liverpool their first league title in 30 years, but it ended with a widespread reversion to a more cautious style.A dozen years ago, Pep Guardiola led the rise of press-and-possess football; recently, the pressing element has come to be prioritised – and then Covid-19 arrived. There are those who will dismissively point out we had pressing in the 80s. And we did – we’ve had it...