Two of the Bundesliga’s biggest clubs are staring relegation in the face once more but have given themselves fighting chances“On a day like today,” exhaled Stuttgart coach Sebastian Hoeness, “I told the boys they should go out to eat tonight, and they can have a beer as well. It’s part of letting your emotions out.” It was that kind of weekend at the bottom of the table, both for the Swabians and for Schalke, two huge clubs who have spent most of this campaign looking over their shoulders and not seeing much behind them – but two teams who, after this weekend, are very much alive and kicking.When the Bundesliga coins its marketing strapline “football as it’s meant to be”...
Adi Hütter had a tough start at Eintracht Frankfurt but his team have now found their feet as Stuttgart discovered on FridayWhen the opposition is down, keep your foot on the throat. In the infancy of his tenure but already desperate for a result, Stuttgart’s coach Markus Weinzierl would have hoped for opponents without that type of focus as his team opened the Bundesliga weekend at an anxious Mercedes-Benz Arena on Friday night. Unfortunately, he and they bumped into Eintracht Frankfurt instead.Few expected this to be much of a season for last term’s DfB Pokal winners after Niko Kovac’s departure for Bayern Munich even if his replacement, Adi Hütter, was coming off a Swiss Super League win with Young Boys...
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...
Less than a month after what seemed a deeply underwhelming appointment, it has begun to seem a brighter future is possibleThe fabled ‘new manager bounce’ is one thing. Stuttgart winning away, though? That’s something else entirely and after a first victory on the road since winning promotion back to the top flight, Tayfun Korkut is earning the right to be taken seriously.As the final whistle went on Sunday’s victory at overachieving Augsburg, there was a genuine sense of achievement. Stuttgart’s players celebrated not so much, it seemed, for getting one over near neighbours in Swabia but for the sensation that maybe a corner really has been turned. It has long been received wisdom that only maintaining their strong home form...
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...