Topic: Bundesliga Thread

[peachybum]

Quality managers like Benitez and Klopp have gotten relegated coaching small shite teams in a top division. Kompany is still the coach that got Burnley up after coaching Dycheball out of the system of a bunch of plodders in one preseason and made them a possession based team that dominated. I can see why someone would take a chance.

[rafathegaffa83]

Kompany is still the coach that got Burnley up after coaching Dycheball out of the system of a bunch of plodders in one preseason and made them a possession based team that dominated. I can see why someone would take a chance.

See now that would make sense if he was going to a team that viewed him in that way. A side that viewed his approach within the sense of a larger project. But he's going to a team that are looking to hire him because a) they are desperate for anybody and b) he speaks German. Bayern have gone from thinking they could get Alonso to trying (and failing) to woo back Nagelsmann and Tuchel, and had Ralf Rangnick prefer managing Austria than go to Bavaria. I think had Alonso left Leverksuen this summer, then you could talk yourself into thinking Leverkusen might be interested in Kompany. But I doubt even two weeks anybody thought Kompany would be considered in the frame for the Bayern Munich job, including Vincent Kompany.

Bayern's PR machine are now trying to sell it as they're being interested in Kompany as part of a project. But I'm not sure what that is. This is a team that is built to win-now. Neuer, Kimmich, Davies, Müller and Sane are all out of contract next summer. A significant number of their squad will 28 or older next season: Neuer (39 in March), Kim (28 in November), Dier (31 in January), Guerrero (31 in December), Kimmich (30 in February), Goretzka (30 in February), Coman (28 next month), Sane (29 in January), Gnabry (29 in July), Müller (35 in September), Kane (31 in July). This is a team that realistically needs a manager to come in who can immediately get buy-in from an older core, who know that next season is their last chance to win something together. Instead, they're going to managed by someone whose sole honour as a manager is winning the Championship with Burnley only to rigidly stick to his guns when his players were ill-equipped to compete in the PL.

I'm not sure the Klopp comparison works as well here because Dortmund were an economic basket case when he took over. They weren't a side expected to automatically win the Bundesliga and compete for the CL. Even the Klinsmann, Rehhagel and Kovac appointments made a bit more sense than this one. It's a massive, massive risk that just smacks of desperation instead of any long-term planning.

[exiledintheUSA]

Kompany will probably spend silly money on some of Pep's squad players - help those c*nts balance the books.

[Kopenhagen]

Pretty staggering appointment. I suppose they like his philosophy and hope it translates. He seems to have a lot of respect in dressing rooms, too, which ogres like Tuchell can never maintain. I guess it's a hit and hope. They'll surely look to lure Xabi or Klopp next year or something.

I guess United will try hard for yesterday's man, Pochettino, whom they hilariously could have appointed in 2022 but decided they were experts on Dutch football instead and gaslighted themselves into thinking Ten Hag was the only choice, etc etc etc.

[Tokyoite]

Bizarre appointment, if true. Imagine being Thomas Muller, Neuer or Kane and being told Kompany will be your manager lol

[stoa]

A Bayern supporter I know said he's just happy they have a manager now. That might have been the plan all along. Mess up everything so supporters will be happy with whomever they appoint...

[gazzalfc]

Bizarre appointment, if true. Imagine being Thomas Muller, Neuer or Kane and being told Kompany will be your manager lol

And imagine being them and having Craig fucking Bellamy as assistant coach

[Caligula?]

Vincent fucking Kompany 

Burnley should have sacked him around January/February and they might have had a chance of staying up. And now he's going to Bayern.

[AndyMuller]

Makes no sense at all.

Imagine if that was us hahahaha.

[afc tukrish]

And imagine being them and having Craig fucking Bellamy as assistant coach

Might be able to help them with their collective golf games...

[Red-Soldier]

This is the funniest appointment there's been, in a while!

[Andy82lfc]

It's fucking mental, almost as mental as some trying to make out he's a good choice and deserving of it.

[JRed]

That’s Harry Kane not winning a trophy at Munich either then!
Reckon he’ll be off to Celtic next to guarantee a trophy.

[Boston Bosox]

Tonight 7.30 P.M.

Bochum vs. Fortuna Düsseldorf: relegation play-off

[Samie]

Kompany has been offered a 3 year deal. 

[Boston Bosox]

Bochum

Luthe , Passlack , Ordets , Schlotterbeck , Bernardo , Osterhage , Bero , Asano , Stoger , Wittek , Hofmann ,
Subs
Antwi Adjej , Broschinski , Daschner , Gamboa , Loosli , Losilia , Paclencia , Oermann , Thiede ,

Fortuna

Kastenmeier , Zimmermann , Kother , De Wijs , Iyoha , Klaus , Engerhardt , Tanaka , Sobottka , Tzolis , Vermij ,
Subs
Appelkamp , Johannesson , Daferner , Hoffmann , Niemiec , Quarshie , Uchino ,

[Original]

Kompany has been offered a 3 year deal. 

Absolutely bananas that like

[disgraced cake]

It's one of the mad appointments of the modern day I'd say. Not sure if they've scraped the bottom of the barrel, I think they've absolutely fucking destroyed it beyond a point of recognition, let alone repair.

[Boston Bosox]

Fortuna lead
P. Hofmann, (Own Goal 13 minutes)

[afc tukrish]

Fortuna lead
P. Hofmann, (Own Goal 13 minutes)

Snippy, snide game, this...

[Boston Bosox]

2-0 Fortuna

F. Klaus, (64 minutes)

[Boston Bosox]

3-0 Fortuna

Y. Engelhardt, (72 minutes)

[disgraced cake]

Must be the most humiliating way to get relegated ever this play off format

[Boston Bosox]

Huge Advantage for Monday's 2nd Leg for Fortuna

[thejbs]

And imagine being them and having Craig fucking Bellamy as assistant coach

Didn’t Rafa once single him out as the player he expected to become a manager? Even though, they didn’t get on.

[rafathegaffa83]

Burnley should have sacked him around January/February and they might have had a chance of staying up. And now he's going to Bayern.

According to Bild. Burnley want €20m to let him go

[Kopenhagen]

Bayern can sign Ten Hag now if they don't want to pay Burnley that ludicrous sum.

[stoa]

The new Bayern way is clearly to sign Kompany for 18 million now, ten Hag gets sacked on Monday and they sign him in winter after sacking Kompany...

[Egyptian36]

Surely this is a joke ?

[rafathegaffa83]

Tavolieri reporting a fee of €15m has been agreed between Burnley and Bayern. Imagine paying €15m for a manager you're not really into whose club were considering sacking a few months ago. Also seems to be suggestions according to Plettenberg that not everyone at Bayern was on board with Kompany, but Eberl has pushed for it. For example, Uli Hoeness wanted Hansi Flick back, which is hilarious given that means Bayern would have considered bringing back their last three managers.

[RedSince86]

Hopefully Bayern going back to that early 90's era.

Be the best thing for the Bundesliga.

[Boston Bosox]

Last Matches
Kaiserslautern´s last 2. Bundesliga clash was against Eintracht Braunschweig and the game finished in a 5-0 win. The match was played at Fritz Walter Stadion, with Marlon Ritter (3), Daniel Hanslik and Aaron Opoku scoring goals.

Bayer Leverkusen most recently played an away Europa League clash against Atalanta which was a 3-0 loss at Aviva Stadium.

Confirmed Lineups
Kaiserslautern (confirmed lineup): Julian Krahl, Ben Zolinski, Boris Tomiak, Jan Elvedi, Jean Zimmer, Tymoteusz Puchacz, Filip Kaloc, Tobias Raschl, Marlon Ritter, Kenny Prince Redondo, Daniel Hanslik.

Bayer Leverkusen (confirmed lineup): Lukas Hradecky, Odilon Kossounou, Jonathan Tah, Edmond Tapsoba, Jeremie Frimpong, Alejandro Grimaldo, Robert Andrich, Granit Xhaka, Jonas Hofmann, Florian Wirtz, Patrik Schick.

[Boston Bosox]

PREVIEW
Almost nobody will give second-tier Kaiserslautern a chance ahead of this surprise DFB-Pokal final against unbeaten Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen, which is probably fair given that no second-tier team has won this cup since Hannover in 1991/92. It’s also difficult to make a case for a Kaiserslautern as despite winning three of their last four games, they finished just seven points above the 2.Bundesliga relegation zone.

Despite their league woes, Kaiserslautern’s journey to their first DFB-Pokal final since losing 3-1 to Bayern in 2002/03 has been eye-catching as they have eliminated the then-top flight club Cologne. Boss Friedhelm Funkel also boasts plenty of personal experience against Leverkusen, as this will be his 35th touchline meeting against the German champions (W6, D8, L20), meaning the 70-year-old veteran will have then faced no opponent more often.

After winning the Meisterschale for the first time in club history before finally falling to defeat in the Europa League final during the week, this is it for Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen, who can still cement arguably the greatest feat in German football history by securing an unbeaten domestic double here. They have achieved this by putting together a run of 51 competitive games without defeat ahead of their 3-0 loss to Atalanta, with their record in domestic action during that year-long run standing at an incredible W33, D6.

If Leverkusen’s run to their first DFB-Pokal final since 2019/20 is indicative of the match flow here, then expect an absolute rout. In all five games on the way here, Alonso’s men scored at least three goals, while three of their five victories in this competition also came with three-goal margins, something which wouldn’t surprise many here given their short odds to add to their collection of domestic trophies for the season.

Players to watch: Richmond Tachie could yet claim the DFB-Pokal top-scorer accolade if he can build on his three-goal haul with a brace here, although the former Dortmund man scored exactly once in all six of his scoring appearances for Kaiserslautern. The man he’s trying to catch is Leverkusen’s Amine Adli (DFB: G5, A3), who enters this having also made goal contributions in his last three domestic appearances (G2, A1).

Hot stat: Leverkusen scored exactly two goals before half-time in each of their last three domestic matches.

[Boston Bosox]

17'
0 - 1
Absolutely fantastic goal! Granit Xhaka (Bayer Leverkusen) hits a perfect volley from far out and the ball flies into the top left corner. Take a bow.

[Boston Bosox]

Leverkusen Win 1-0

[mobydick]

Ref fucked the game. The first yellow for Kossounou was harsh, the second card, he got the ball first and then the man, debatable, in England hardly a card.
After that it was a case of keeping the result for Leverkusen. Well played

Well done Leverkusen, a fantastic season. 

[Boston Bosox]

CONFIRMED line-ups

Düsseldorf: Kastenmeier (c) - Zimmermann, Oberdorf, De Wijs, Iyoha - Engelhardt, Tanaka - Klaus, Sobottka, Tzolis - Vermeij
Subs: Niemczycki, Uchino, Hoffmann, Quarshie, Bergmann Jóhannesson, Appelkamp, Niemiec, Daferner, Mustapha
Out: Siebert (thigh)
Coach: Daniel Thioune

Bochum: Luthe - Oermann, Ordets, Schlotterbeck, Wittek - Losilla (c), Bero - Passlack, Stöger (c), Daschner - Hofmann
Subs: Thiede, Gamboa, Mašović, Römling, Loosli, Osterhage, Elezi, Paciência, Asano
Out: Antwi-Adjei (injured), Bernardo (unknown), Broschinski (injured), Esser (knee), Förster (hip), Kwarteng (knee), Riemann (not included), Tolba (knee)
Coach: Heiko Butscher

[Boston Bosox]

You can never say never in football, but Fortuna Düsseldorf will enter the second leg of this relegation play-off tie with one foot already in next season’s Bundesliga after they produced a stunning display to win the opening clash 3-0 on Thursday. Getting off to a quick start thanks to a Bochum own goal in the 13th minute, Düsseldorf never looked back as they now seem certain to return to Germany’s top-flight for the first time since 2019/20.

Their chances of sealing promotion here only continue to grow with a glance towards their recent home form, as Daniel Thioune’s side finished their 2. Bundesliga campaign by winning their last six outings at Merkur Spiel-Arena in succession. Four of those additionally witnessed Düsseldorf keep a clean sheet in the process and the home fans will hope that their backline can again produce another solid showing here in order to push them over the line.

As for visiting Bochum, they remain in the middle of a nightmare which will only seemingly end in relegation to Germany’s second tier this season. Falling into the Bundesliga’s bottom three on the final day of the campaign after another heavy defeat, their preparation was seriously hampered as first-choice goalkeeper Manuel Riemann was dumped from the squad, a decision which ultimately backfired for manager Heiko Butscher after their dismal showing in the first leg.

Butscher will have spent his weekend looking to build at least a little confidence in the away dressing room, but with one win in 11 on the road (D2, L8), a comeback looks unlikely to materialise. Maybe inspiration should be taken from Bochum’s 1989/90 squad instead, the only other previous time that they’ve entered the relegation play-off as the Bundesliga side which ultimately ended in victory over two legs against 1. FC Saarbrücken!

Key battle: After netting a hat-trick during his last home appearance, Düsseldorf’s Christos Tzolis has scored 22 league goals in 31 such appearances this season, six of which have acted as match openers. Bochum defender Keven Schlotterbeck will be tasked with stopping him here, whilst he’s also struck five league goals himself this term, four coming via his head.

Hot stat: Both teams have scored in just two of the last seven overall H2Hs, whilst both of those matches also witnessed at least one red card.

[Boston Bosox]

Goal
Bochum
18'
0 - 1
Philipp Hofmann (Bochum) celebrates a beautiful goal. He rises above the defence inside the box and scores with a bullet header from the free kick. The ball goes low into the middle of the goal and the goalkeeper didn't have a chance to save that close-range header.

[Boston Bosox]

Goal
Bochum
0-2
66'
Kevin Stoger showcases his great technique and produces a beautiful lofted cross into the box. Philipp Hofmann (Bochum) meets the cross and gets himself onto the scoresheet with a header into the middle of the goal. It's 0:2.