Two Down, One to Go for Bayern
March 10, 2005
The final 10 games of the Bundesliga season begin Saturday, but the highlight match is on Sunday when league-leader Bayern Munich travels to Gelsenkirchen to play Schalke 04, who are even on points. There has been lots of talk coming from both sides before this match -- mind games to psyche out the opponent.
Munich's vice president, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, told Sport-Bild that Bayern will always be better than Schalke 04. And comments like those from Schalke manager Rudi Assauer, that Schalke would be the richest German team in 15 years, are cannon fodder for Rummenigge.
"As long as Schalke is standing in the line for bank loans and Bayern is in line to withdraw deposits," the legendary Bayern striker said, "I can only grin about such statements."
Those are strong words coming from a side that hasn't won in Gelsenkirchen since 1998. Schalke striker Ebbe Sand knows that no matter the outcome on Sunday, the Royal Blues will finish the season on top.
"Bayern definitely have the better players," the Danish international told kicker magazine, "but we have the better team." And may the better team, or better group of players if you're a Munich fan, win.
Saturday offers a helping of desperation
Before the Bundesliga's best two teams clash on Sunday, Saturday sees the league's worst teams scrambling to improve their slim chances to remain in the top division. The bottom four clubs face each other when cellar-dweller Freiburg (16 points) take on Nuremberg (15th place, 25 points) and Bochum (16th, 19 points) travel to Rostock (17th, 17 points).
Nuremberg still stand close to the relegation zone, but coach Wolfgang Wolf has the league's top scorer in Marek Mintal (19 goals) who single-handedly has outscored Freiburg (18 goals total). Freiburg's punchless attack is complemented by a defense that can best be compared to a sieve. Volker Finke's team has let in a league-high 50 goals.
Bochum have a little more oomph up front (29 goals) but their defense has let them down also, having given up 50 goals as well. Rostock won their first game under coach Jörg Berger last week. Now, Berger believes his team can make up the ground necessary to avoid relegation. Board chairman Manfred Wimmer was more realistic after the victory: "It was a sign of life, nothing more."
Click below to read about the other weekend games.
Hot fight for UEFA Cup spots
The most competitive game on Saturday is most likely to take place in Leverkusen where Klaus Augenthaler's kickers host Hertha Berlin. Only one point separates the two sides. Hertha lie in fifth, Leverkusen in seventh. Leverkusen are now out of the Champions League and can concentrate on league play. They have been particularly good against Berlin, having won eight of 10 home matches. Berlin might be pleased with one point, something they are quite good at, with 10 draws, tops in the league.
Bremen return to Bundesliga play after their 7-2 drubbing at the hands of French champions Olympique Lyon in the Champions League. The task looks easy -- a home game against 14th-place Mainz. Yet, in the first leg, when Jürgen Klopp's boys stood for Spassfussball, or fun soccer, Mainz beat the reigning champions 2-1. After last week's loss at Bayern, Thomas Schaaf's side may only be playing for third-place, which they are currently holding onto by one point ahead of Stuttgart.
Another UEFA contender are Hamburger SV. Bielefeld present no threat to Hamburg in the table, but Uwe Rapolder's side is strong at home. The most impressive win was the comprehensive 3-1 over Bayern Munich on Feb. 13. HSV, on the other hand, have won five of seven matches in the second leg.
Former high-flyers meet
After the 13th match day, Wolfsburg (8th place, 34 points) and Hanover (10th, 32) were sitting pretty in the standings. Wolfsburg were in first, Hanover fifth. Since then, the high-flyers have plummeted back to earth -- and reality. The dreams of extra revenue from international play are long past, but the early success has taken the two teams far away from the relegation fight. Many of the players on both sides are competing for spots in the next season. Wolfsburg's team manager, Thomas Strunz, plans to part ways with eight players.
Kaiserslautern rest in ninth place and have been playing inspired soccer since a miserable start. One of the bitterest early losses was to this weekend's opponent, Borussia Mönchengladbach. Lautern lost 2-0, but one of the goals was an intentional handball strike by Gladbach striker Oliver Neuville. Kurt Jara's squad probably hasn't forgotten that piece of injustice.
Finally, on Sunday, Stuttgart play at BVB Dortmund. Stuttgart coach Matthias Sammer gave up his coaching duties at BVB after last season but still commands a great deal respect from the Dortmund fans. Stuttgart could increase the pressure on Bremen with a win. Dortmund have experienced a renaissance of late. The crisis-ridden first leg is more or less forgotten. Still hanging over the club management's head like a black cloud is the miserable financial situation that threatens to cost them their soccer license