HSV’s malaise has run deep this season, and it will need a real shift in terms of collective responsibility to avoid a season’s end as ruinous as its start“This is something that can’t be allowed to happen, but it has happened.” Just when life starts to look good again, along come Bayern Munich. Or more specifically in Hamburg’s case, a trip to Munich to face them in the Allianz Arena. Among a squad of shell-shocked players, few seemed quite as humbled as the captain, Gotoku Sakai, after Saturday’s 8-0 drubbing by Bayern. In terms of even recent historical perspective, it was hardly a coupon-buster. Starting from 2010, Hamburg’s reverses on their visits to Bayern have been by the scores of...
Their late win at Ingolstadt was the spirit of Old Bayern, as they are perceived nationally, and made it 25 points from 27 to go seven points clear at the topThere simply had to be some sort of tribute and, in the event, there was more than one, conscious and subconscious. As Bayern Munich worked to just about chisel out a win at struggling Ingolstadt – which ultimately proved to be even more valuable than it might have first appeared – it was impossible to ignore the context of the match, unfolding just four days after Philipp Lahm confirmed that he would indeed be retiring from football at the season’s close.The most ostentatious hat tip to the captain was in...
Anelka’s arrival as a consultant at the Dutch club Roda has sparked controversy at a time when players in Spain and Germany have left clubs because of perceived political beliefsThe ears of the club official sharpened when, unusually, the talk near the back of the plane turned to politics. A Premier League team were flying to the south coast and a senior midfielder had begun discussing Britain’s vexed relationship with Europe when a young player behind him inquired: “What’s the EU?”Cue considerable hilarity, along with a vague sense of relief on the official’s part that football remained a largely current affairs-free zone, somehow sealed off from the wider geo-political issues of the day. Related: Dejan Lovren: ‘I know what refugees...
AC Jimbo and co discuss what can be done to halt Leicester’s alarming slide. Plus: Hull’s renaissance continues against Liverpool; Romelu Lukaku puts Bournemouth to the sword; and Cameroon win the Africa Cup of NationsSubscribe and review: iTunes, Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud, Acast & Stitcher. And join the discussion on Facebook and TwitterToday’s Football Weekly line-up sees AC Jimbo and Barry Glendenning join forces with the continental élan of Rafa Honigstein and Philippe Auclair, and all four serve up a 60-plus-minute dose of controversy with two fierce debates taking centre stage. Continue reading...
You won’t convince many BVB fans that Leipzig are good for football but on a tempestuous night at the Westfalenstadion they were good for their teamDie Gelbe Wand, the famous yellow wall, is never less than vocal but on Saturday it spoke loudest without the aid of air or lungs. As their Borussia Dortmund prepared to kick off the Bundesliga’s game of the weekend, against RB Leipzig, the banners came out – some big, some small, maybe 100 of them, maybe more. The strength of feeling that habitually emanates from Europe’s biggest standing terrace is well known, but this was something else.They all shared similar messages. “Bullen Schweine,” “Red Bull – Feind des Fussballs!” (“football’s enemy”), and even a few...