The 5-1 humiliation by Stuttgart was the end for Favre and Terzic’s job is to lift the mood and lay the table for a successor“We have to analyse this game.” It was two-and-a-half hours after full-time that the Borussia Dortmund chief executive officer, Hans-Joachim Watzke, finally emerged to briefly address waiting journalists. Watzke emphasised that his late exit from Westfalen was a legacy of staying to watch Bayern Munich’s evening game at Union Berlin rather than, he implied, anything weightier. It needed saying because there was (and is) much to discuss at BVB, and those journalists were hanging around for a reason.It had been more than just a chastening afternoon chasing Stuttgart shadows, and it proved to be Lucien Favre’s...
This is the worst position Barça have been after 10 games since 1971 and no team has won La Liga from so far behindRonald Koeman spent much of Saturday night just sitting, staring at his feet, which was probably better than looking at his team. Out on the grass before him they were busy bringing any lingering hope of winning the league to an end six months early and in a way so absurd, so stupidly familiar, as to be almost funny – if you’re not their coach. One down through an eighth-minute own goal from Óscar Mingueza, another one from Pedro Alcalá had just brought them level and offered a way back, when it happened again: the moment that...
Leipzig are moving gently towards making inroads into the current hegemony as Borussia Dortmund fail to step upThere has, for some time, been a deal of irritation in parts of Germany’s football-following community over the international marketing of Bayern Munich’s clashes with Borussia Dortmund as Der Klassiker. The epithet can’t truly pretend to be equivalent to its Spanish – or even French – counterpart, being more a way of framing Bayern versus current next best than reference to some historical struggle.That Dortmund have grown into their role in the would-be rivalry is a post-2013 Champions League construct, a natural fit with BVB’s own global appeal and their consistent pitching up just shy of throwing distance from Bayern’s windows. What repercussions...
The manager appears to be feeling the strain and it will be hard for him to continue if his team go out of the Champions League “Yeah, yeah, for sure,” Zinedine Zidane said and then a familiar, knowing smile returned to his face after a few weeks in which it hadn’t been seen. Real Madrid’s coach had just been asked if this was the most difficult moment in his career. “For sure,” he continued, “but it’s like always: there have been bad moments, criticism, and today’s the same. Maybe more than before, but no problem: I’m not thinking about that. I feel like the players are going to do it on the pitch. Tomorrow is an opportunity to show that...
The irresistible bloom of this wonderful, maddening footballer fired PSG towards an emphatic victory at Old TraffordOh, Ole. As the second half kicked off at Old Trafford there were three possible outcomes confronting Ole Gunnar Solskjær as he surveyed his midfield.First, Fred would be sent off almost immediately for a second yellow card. Second, Fred would be sent off almost immediately for a straight red card. And third, Fred would be sent off a bit later for any combination of the above. Related: PSG cut Manchester United down to size with Neymar double and Fred's red card Related: I thought about replacing Fred at half-time, admits Ole Gunnar Solskjær Continue reading...