A swarm of clutch finishes marked out the final round of games before the winter break, including drama for leaders Bayern in their win at StuttgartThe memo, it appeared, was widely received. As the Bundesliga’s Hinrunde – the season’s first half – came to a close, there was plenty to offer succour for the four weeks ahead. There were 36 goals rattled in across the nine games and a swarm of clutch finishes that owed as much to Hollywood as they did to Berlin.Augsburg, one of the surprise overachievers of the opening half, looked like finishing with a whimper as they went into the 90th minute 3-1 down at home to a revitalised Freiburg. No problem – two stoppage-time finishes...
It is left to Peter Stöger, sent packing from Köln last week, to restore confidence at Borussia Dortmund where there has been next to noneA week is a long time in the Bundesliga. On Monday, Peter Stöger and his assistant Manni Schmid cleared their desks and said goodbye to Köln’s players. By midday on Sunday, the Austrian was being presented by Borussia Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke as the club’s new coach, in a press conference that also confirmed the firing of Peter Bosz. That the Dutchman is on his way is no surprise. Dortmund’s only win since late September in any competition was at third-tier Magdeburg in the DfB Pokal in October and performances have been every bit as bad...
Peter Stöger’s name deserves to be cherished in the context of the club’s history, and it is sad that his tenure in Cologne fell apart like it didIn a way it ended just as it was supposed to, with honour. As Peter Stöger took his final bow in front of the Köln fans who had travelled to Schalke on Saturday, doffing his cap, he was given the warm send-off his work over the last four-and-a-half years has deserved. Teenage defender Tim Handwerker wasn’t the only player wiping tears from his eyes as they said goodbye to the coach. When the team coach arrived back at Rhein-Energie Stadion on Saturday evening, a throng of fans applauded Stöger off as he emerged....
For a few weeks Borussia Dortmund’s problem has clearly been confidence, but that won’t have been helped by the remarkable 4-4 draw with SchalkeThe 151st Revierderby was, and will continue to be, notable for a number of reasons. Perhaps chief among them was that it was that rarest of sights; a match which leaves both sides shell-shocked at the final whistle. “This derby will go down in history,” said Schalke’s Amine Harit, who scored the team’s second goal. It was just that, a moment to say in the future “I was there”, to always be remembered. Franco Di Santo grabbed his phone to take a commemorative selfie with Naldo, who scored the equaliser, and skipper Ralf Fährmann. The defender, who...
Max Kruse’s hat-trick brought relief at the Weserstadion, but questions over the club’s long-term – and even medium-term – plan remain“It doesn’t matter who scores the goals,” said Max Kruse on Thursday, and it sounded like he believed it. Yet even if it doesn’t quite mean everything, it means a lot. That much was evident after he retired to the bench a few minutes from the end from Werder Bremen’s emphatic 4-0 win over Hannover on Sunday, their first of the season, having hit a hat-trick – his first goals of the season. Kruse goofed around, whooping and pulling faces at the television cameras. The supporters’ relief was palpable. Not just at the result, but at their star forward taking...