Preview: The third part of the four-part series in the review of the 2008/09 Bundesliga season turns its spotlight on clubs ranking seventh to twelfth in the standings. Hoffenheim after their fairytale run in the first-half of the season, earning a respectable seventh place. Then there are Schalke, Bayer Leverkusen, Werder Bremen all having indifferent seasons. But then for Hannover and Cologne, it is a good achievement lying in 11th and 12th respectively. But before I continue, the first part and the second part of the review so far.
I say 'respectable seventh place' due to what happened after I came out with an entry in early May on Hoffenheim's 'slump'. Because after I came up with that entry, Hoffenheim turned the corner in their next match. Bad timing, that entry of mine. But then it is nice they ended their run of winless runs since their win in the second-half of the season at home. At the end of it, lying in seventh for a side which is playing top-flight football for the first time ever and considering only a few years ago still being in the regional leagues...it is quite an achievement for Hoffenheim. But from a football romantic's viewpoint, kind of an anti-climax end to what should be an amazing season for the club.
The club did learned how to survive being in the top-flight, despite those personnel problems, the constant accusations from fans who deemed they are not 'traditional' enough (interesting, considering Hoffenheim was founded on 1899...thus the name TSG 1899 Hoffenheim) due to how they got promoted and the doping allegations which for a period of time did shook the league as a whole. If I have to sum up Hoffenheim's maiden season in the top-flight into one sentence, that would be it. After the club top goal-scorer Vedad Ibisevic's injury while the club was having training during the winter break which ruled him out for the second-half of the season (he did trained towards the final stretch of the season, but he was not fit to play), came Carlos Eduardo being sent off in a friendly match against Hamburg (it happened in Spain) which he clashed with the Bayern Munich-bound Ivica Olic. Little did I realised, that would set the tone of what was to come for Ralf Rangnick's side when the season resumed. The club must had wished there was no winter break in between given they went on a winless streak for 12 consecutive matches after they won their match against Energie Cottbus when the season resumed. And it is kind of amazing, considering before Hoffenheim finally ended their winless streak against Cologne at home...coach Ralf Rangnick had cleared the air with owner Dietmar Hopp over what was speculated in the German press in regards to differences in player policy between the two men.
Hoffenheim coach Ralf Rangnick will still be around for next season, unless the next big misunderstanding comes about. Touchwood. For now, whether Demba Ba will still be playing for the club next season remains to be seen. Because even if the club had been insisting of late that he would not be heading his way to VfB Stuttgart (the club is looking for a replacement for Mario Gomez who had since left for Bayern Munich), will Ba listen? Unless he does. At the end of the day still, it is a pity because I have always thought that the Senegalese has one of the most coolest names in the league.
I saw this quote in the Guardian's review of the season. On Schalke, mass-selling German tabloid wrote - "They start lighting up flares when they win the toss for kick-off." If one tried to explain it in the Premier League context, Schalke is almost like Newcastle in a way. While their English counterpart got relegated from the Premier League, Schalke's season had been rather...typically Schalke. First with the usual expectations (mainly, ending the title drought given they last won it in 1958) before...almost everything just fell apart. On the pitch, and off it too. While it seemed that the club cannot always hold on to their lead in a match, there were also times where it turned out right for them.
Cue the match which would signalled the end of Juergen Klinsmann's reign as Bayern Munich coach. Coming in the wake of Bayern being knocked out of the Champions League (from the 4-0 scoreline to Barcelona in the first-leg of the quarter-final, to the 1-1 draw in the return-leg), Bayern cannot afford another loss to make the situation even more worse than before for Klinsmann. But, it was a goal from Halil Altintop which eventually sealed the final nail in Klinsmann's coffin. Ironically enough, Halil's twin brother Hamit...played for Bayern. Still that match at the Allianz Arena would also be remembered for another thing - Schalke goalkeeper Manuel Neuer running over to a corner flag. Watch the video closely in the link. It was a reference to the events from the final matchday of the dramatic 2000/2001 season where Schalke was having a good chance of ending their title drought not since 1958. To paraphrase the famous commentary from the 1966 World Cup final between England and West Germany, back then Schalke thought it was all over...until Bayern won it instead. Neuer was 15 when the club he supported went from almost winning the league title...only for Bayern to 'steal' it under their very noses. Eight years on, what better way to exact 'revenge' by taking a jab at the Bayern fans present at their home stadium?
Still, that was only one of the major better moments for Schalke this season, apart from their defensive record this season being something able to write home about. First, general manager Andreas Mueller was being made the scapegoat for the club's season. Then soon after coach Fred Rutten's future was coming under scrutiny with the club's run of results. Eventually Rutten was being released as well. Rutten's successor Felix Magath will combine like what he did when he was at Wolfsburg - the club general manager, and the coach...all at the same time. Magath was already what the German press calling him the 'sole ruler' when he was at Wolfsburg, and now he will be the 'sole ruler' at Schalke all over again. With Magath's pedigree, if he does not deliver the results, the fans will not like him. Not that I am taking a dig but, but I was being reminded of what happened when a certain Ralf Rangnick arrived at the club. He was being built up as someone to end the club's title drought but even if he was called the 'super coach' by the fans, the best he could was leading the club to a second spot in his short stint there.
From Bruno Labbadia to Jupp Heynckes...Bayer Leverkusen's season had been rather indifferent. Former Bayern Munich caretaker coach Heynckes (the veteran was roped in at that time, in the immediate days after Juergen Klinsmann got the boot...before making way for Louis van Gaal next season) will be the new man in charge in the following season but under his much-younger predecessor Labbadia, Leverkusen went from the usual initial highs (they used to top the league this season, but it was always temporary like say, for only 24 hours) to well, how people had always remembered them for. Well, that rather unpleasant nickname 'Vize-kusen' would always come into the picture. But then this time, they ended up in mid-table. Ninth. Back then it was thought that the non-participation of European football would help them to at least earn an European spot at the end of this season.
Even with Rene Adler in between the posts (he was actually tipped to have a bright future with the German national team in view of his maiden appearance against Russia last year in the World Cup qualifier), it is the same-old Bayer Leverkusen all over again. People would always point out that there is a lack of experience in the squad set-up. It may sound rather Arsenal-ish but, it did not also helped that in the second-half of the season, Leverkusen had to move to Duesseldorf as their home stadium is being redeveloped. While one can argue that in the first-half of the season Hoffenheim's record at their temporary was good, the LTU-Arena in Duesseldorf is not something Leverkusen will want to come back again. They had never won there. It is either a loss or a draw. Except only once, but that was their final 'home' match of the season. Or that is if one talk about the DFB-Pokal when Bayer Leverkusen famously beat Bayern Munich there. Still, the rather unpleasant 'Vize-kusen' nickname was confirmed all over again when they played Werder Bremen in the DFB-Pokal (German FA Cup) final in Berlin a week after the Bundesliga season was over.
Because they eventually lost to Werder Bremen then. Their opponent like them also had a rather indifferent season and while it compensated Werder's season, it was not in Bayer Leverkusen's case. That match eventually became the last for Bruno Labbadia at the club as coach. He had already hinted in a rather infamous interview with the Munich-based Sueddeutsche Zeitung which was published on the day of the DFB-Pokal final about differences with the club hierachy. Leverkusen sporting director Rudi Voeller then accused (this was in the off-season after Jupp Heynckes was confirmed as coach) Labbadia of asking his media representative of arranging to do the interview. Labbadia had since denied that was the case. He will be Hamburg's new coach next season.
I mentioned about Werder Bremen in the previous sentence. Like Bayer Leverkusen, they actually began the season full of hope. But as the season went by, their pre-season favourites tag soon went away. Issues off the pitch threatened to disrupt the season, which at one time even prompted the question of whether Werder is becoming the new 'FC Hollywood' which Bayern Munich once infamously held that nickname in the 90s. It was due to the Juventus-bound Diego and his alleged fling with German 'pop-star' Sarah Connor.
But when that was over with, Diego reminded everyone why he was a joy to watch on the football pitch. But unfortunately, that was also the time when the constant speculation about his future came into fore. The constant rumours about the Brazilian being linked with a move to Juventus, before the Italian giants eventually confirming the news. The deal did went through, and though it may be a loss from the Bundesliga's perspective to lose someone like Diego's playmaking ability given of his services to the club...everyone was saying that he has a successor already. Mesut Özil, currently part of the Germany U-21 squad in Sweden for the European U-21 Championships. Özil is actually also qualified to play for Turkey through his parents but for the Gelsenkirchen-born player who was at Schalke before he made the move to Werder, he sees his future with the senior German national team. The tournament in Sweden is his first-ever international tournament. If his performances for the club are anything to go by, Diego's departure would be more than compensated at Werder.
This season also saw changes in the Werder Bremen hierachy. Juergen L. Born, who is a former banker himself, stood down from his position as club president in view of his alleged involvement in a few of the club's past transfer dealings. Even if findings eventually showed that he was in the clear, he had decided not to return to his former post. Since he stood down, the club sporting director Klaus Allofs also took on Born's former position as well. And, coach Thomas Schaaf also celebrated his tenth anniversary this year of being the coach of the club he used to play for. Schaaf is actually a one-club man himself. Even if this season the club was almost threatening to be heading nowhere in the league standings, the club had always stood by him. Till now, he is still the most longest-serving coach in the German top-flight.
Hannover chairman Martin Kind have never always been afraid to ruffle feathers within the German footballing community. Because even before the current worldwide economic climate is affecting football, he has been a strong advocator of abolishing the '50+1' ruling. The ruling prohibits anyone from owning a club, with the exception of Bayer Leverkusen (they are founded by workers of pharmaceceutical company Bayer, though that was not the original name of the football club) and Wolfsburg (founded by a group of Volkswagen workers after the Second World War) given the two companies had been associated with the two clubs for many years. Anyhow, Kind has always been convinced the ruling held the league back in terms of competitiveness especially when it comes to the Bundesliga's recent record in the Champions League. Though Kind's proposals of footballing ownership which will still retain some of its current qualities which make Bundesliga clubs more profitable than their Premier League counterparts had been met with resistance so far, on the pitch...it is best not to talk about their away record.
Because statistically this season, it is just that bad. Unfortunately as well this season, there are also personnel situation which are beyond Hannover's control. Hannover's leaky defence is another thing. But then, goalkeeper Robert Enke has been one of the club's more positive lights this season. It was not his fault for the club's leaky defence though. At one time, the Germany international was actually heavily linked with a move to Bayern Munich. Back then when the rumours started to surface, it was in view that if Enke wants to further enhance his own career given he has been featuring for the German national team himself, a move to the Bavarian giants would suit him. Those rumours had since being cooled off though (now it is Schalke's Manuel Neuer being linked to Bayern instead).
For me, one of the best moments of Hannover this season came when they hosted Bayern Munich. It was actually in the first-half of the season. While the return-leg resulted in a 5-1 thumping by Bayern (back then, Klinsmann needed a result badly because he was walking on thin line at that time), Hannover's 1-0 win over Bayern signalled the latter's inconsistent season when Juergen Klinsmann was still the coach at the club. But from Hannover's perspective, that was a scalp for coach Dieter Hecking. And even Hecking's future at one time was being called into question (by the media) as well, and it was his chairman Martin Kind who gave him the support given for a period of time...it looked like the club may get relegated.
If the future over Bayern Munich's Franck Ribery is dragging like forever in the current off-season, look no further than what used to happen over the Cologne-bound Lukas Podolski. Hang on a minute, the Germany international will be actually back to his former club. For long during the season itself until the deal to bring Podolski back 'home' was confirmed in late January, the now ex-Bayern striker had been rumoured with moves to clubs within the Bundesliga and even abroad as well (France, Italy and England were mentioned as possible destinations in the media). It went back and forth, and it looked even at one time Cologne may not be able to welcome their prodigial son back for next season. It did ended, signalling the end of one of the most long-running Bundesliga sagas. But how about Cologne on the pitch when Christoph Daum was still the coach?
Well, from Cologne's perspective, they have a decent season. But for me, one of the highlights has to be how the now-former coach Christoph Daum reacted after the final whistle had been blown at the Allianz Arena when his side went there. Him jumping up and down on the touchline. 2-1, to Cologne. Daum might had celebrated the win (all the more appropriate, it came in the wake of the Carnival season in Germany...but the Carnival madness is more widely felt in the city of Cologne itself) given how he and Bayern Munich general manager Uli Hoeness used to be at loggerheads with each other especially on two occasions (though in one of the two occasions, it eventually cost Daum the Germany job given until he was confirmed to be taking it, came the cocaine allegations and in the end...it was a certain Rudi Voeller whom landed the national team coaching job instead) but, he once said the day after the famous win in Munich that he hoped that would be the last time Bayern had been beaten this season in the league. Well, it was not. Yes, this was when Daum's opposite number was still a certain Juergen Klinsmann.
But while Christoph Daum had been widely condemned by Cologne fans for abandoning them (he reported to have a lucrative job offer outside of Germany, and it is widely believed to be Turkish giants Fernerbache which he used to be successful during his time there) after leading the club up from the second division, the club actually never once this season being in the relegation mire. And he was actually credited for bringing Lukas Podolski back from Bayern Munich actually. Now it will be up to Daum's successor Zvonimir Soldo (the Croatian had spent a decade playing for VfB Stuttgart in his former playing days, and so German football will not be something ailen to him) to continue his work. Daum had recently approved Soldo being his successor at the club. Former Bayern assistant coach Michael Henke (he used to work under Ottmar Hitzfeld at Bayern) will be Soldo's assistant at Cologne next season.
