Bundesliga, Week 1: Five Takeaways From Opening Weekend

Aug 27, 2012 - The first matchday of the 2012-13 Bundesliga season is in the books and what a fantastic first round we had. Whether it was the title favorites playing like champions, clubs not performing as well as they should, or big wins by newly promoted sides, the first weekend had something for everyone.

Oh. It had everything except scoreless draws. We don't do that in the Bundesliga.

The new guys sure know how to score

The transfer market has always been away for clubs to strengthen their side, but this summer looks like it was goalfest for the Bundesliga clubs. There were 22 goals scored in the Bundesliga this weekend, and players at new clubs scored 11 of them. Without looking up the stats for Europe's other major leagues, I'm thinking that this percentage is quite high.

The highlight of these goals must be Bas Dost's last minute goal in Wolfsburg's big win over Stuttgart at the Mercedes Benz Arena. Dost made the estimate €9 million move from Heerenveen to Wolfsburg, and it was believed that Magath's side got a steal at that price. If we judge forwards on goals, then Dost looks like he's going to be a great signing. He already has two goals in two matches, and Magath's rebuilt Wolfsburg side looks like they'll be quite good this season.

Nice debut, kid

Dani Schahin has spent his entire career in the lower divisions of German football. The 23 year old began his professional career with the Hamburg reserves before moving on to second division side Greuther Fürth in the 2.Bundesliga (including a six month loan to Dynamo Dresden in the 3.Liga).

While both clubs were promoted, Schahin left Fürth this summer for Fortuna Düsseldorf, and the playoff winners must have seen something that Fürth didn't. Schahin came on as a second half substitute in the 60th minute, and he made every second of those thirty minutes count. Just eight minutes after coming on the pitch, Schahin unleashed a rocket into the far corner that the goalkeeper had no shot at saving. He got his brace in the 79th minute with another great shot into the back of the net.

Fortuna may end up on the relegation heap at the end of the season, but for one day Dani Schahin brought joy to an entire city that has waited fifteen long years to be back in the Bundesliga.

article source: http://www.sbnation.com/2012/8/27/3271082/bundesliga-2012-review-week-1

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POLAND VS. RUSSIA | UEFA 2012

POLAND VS. RUSSIA LIVE 2:45 AM GMT+8 @ 12BET.COM

PROBABLE LINEUPS

POLAND Tyton Piszczek, Wasilewski, Perquis, Boenisch Murawski, Polanski Blaszczykowski, Obraniak, Rybus Lewandowski

RUSSIA Malafeev Anyukov, Igna'vich, A.Berezutskiy, Zhirkov Shirokov, Denisov, Zyryanov Dzagoev, Kerzhakov, Arshavin

After their 1-1 draw against Greece in the opening game of Euro 2012 on Friday, Poland will be without first-choice goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, who received his marching orders after bringing down Dimitris Salpingidis in the box. Przemyslaw Tyton will be named as his replacement versus Dick Advocaat's side after impressing with his penalty stop from Giorgos Karagounis' spot-kick to earn his team a point.

• Poland are still awaiting their first ever victory at the finals of a European Championship. Their record currently reads two draws, two defeats. 

• Following his strike against Greece, Robert Lewandowski now has 15 goals in 43 international appearances. 

• When the sides last met in August 2007, late strikes from Jacek Krzynowek and Jakub Blaszczykowski earned the Poles a 2-2 friendly draw in Moscow.

• The goal conceded by Poland when Greek substitute Dimitris Salpingidis netted a second-half equaliser in the opening match was the first the Poles have conceded in their last five matches.

• Russia's impressive 4-1 win over Czech Republic means they are now 15 games unbeaten, leaking in only five times along the way.

• Following his double in Friday's win, Alan Dzagoev (pictured right) has now netted five goals in his last three competitive international appearances.

• Russia's win over the Czechs was an exact role reversal to how they started Euro 2008 when they lost their opening encounter 4-1 to Spain before then going on to win their next three fixtures. Spain then knocked them out of the competition with a 3-0 win in the semi-finals.

• If Advocaat's side win against Poland, they will be through to the quarter-finals regardless of the result between Greeze and Czech Republic.

Source: goal.com/en/match/71165/poland-vs-russia/preview

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Eintracht Frankfurt secure promotion to Bundesliga

Armin Veh's side have become the second club to have secure a place in the top tier of German football in 2012-13, following in the footsteps of Greuther Furth

Eintracht Frankfurt have assured themselves of a place in the Bundesliga next season after a 3-0 victory at Aachen on Monday.


A Mohamadou Idrissou double and an own-goal from Seyi Olajengbesi gave Eintracht the three points, allowing the club to move to the top of the 2. Bundesliga standings.


The Frankfurt-based club, who had been relegated to the second tier of German football last season, have now joined Greuther Furth in securing promotion to the Bundesliga.


Fortuna Dusseldorf currently lie in third position, which gives access to the promotion playoffs, but they are trailed by St. Pauli and SC Paderborn.  


Kaiserslautern are currently the only Bundesliga side who already know that will play in the country's second division next season.

 

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Low has the best Germany squad of all time, claims Beckenbauer

'Der Kaiser' won the World Cup as both a player and a manager but he believes that his country now has more top-class players at its disposal than in any other era

  

Franz Beckenbauer has claimed ahead of Euro 2012 that Joachim Low is in possession of the best Germany squad in the nation's footballing history.


The Bayern Munich legend lifted the World Cup as a player in 1974 and then as a manager in 1990, but he is of the opinion that neither group had the same strength in depth as the current panel.


"We have always had a high level of quality in the national team squad," Beckenbauer told Bild am Sonntag. 


"But Jogi, he now has the best squad of all time. He has 23 players at the top level and we have never had that before."


Beckenbauer pointed out that Low deserves much of the credit for cultivating and nurturing such a talented collection of players.


"There was a glitch in our development during which our national team lost respect abroad," he argued. 


"But Jogi has succeeded in restoring our reputation with a cultured brand of football meshed with our own traditional virtues."


Consequently, Beckenbauer believes Germany are capable of ending Spain's reign as European champions this summer.


"The Spanish are still hungry and it should be a final between Germany and Spain - but then we win," he stated. 


"But there are certainly a few teams that can win it: Netherlands, Italy, France, Portugal and England."


Germany, who finished as runners-up to Spain in Euro 2008, have been drawn in the same group as Netherlands, Portugal and Denmark.

 

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FC Augsburg Vs FC Schalke 04 football liga match preview

GERMANY-BUNDESLIGA I: 12BET odds FC Augsburg Vs FC Schalke 04 4/22 9:30PM GMT+8  

Promoted Augsburg had been the first favourite to relegate at the beginning of the season and most of the time it looked like they would go back to 2. Bundesliga again. But the no-name side did not give up, displayed great discipline and fighting spirit and made it out of the dark. The FC Schalke still stand on the 3rd position, but after defeats in Nürnberg (0:4) and in the big derby against Dortmund (1:2) last week, their direct Champions League position is in danger, as Mönchengladbach lie just a point behind them. Now the team had been bothered by a gastropod-intestinal disease during the week.

Probable starting XIs:


Augsburg: Simon Jentzsch, Paul Verhaegh, Jan-Ingwer Callsen-Bracker, Sebastian Langkamp, Matthias Ostrzolek, Daniel Baier, Hajime Hosogai, Marcel Ndjeng, Ja-Cheol Koo, Axel Bellinghausen, Torsten Oehrl

Schalke: Lars Unnerstall, Benedikt Höwedes, Joel Matip, Christoph Metzelder, Sergio Escudero, Jermaine Jones, Marco Höger, Jefferson Farfan, Raul, Chinedu Obasi, Klaas Jan Huntelaar

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1 FSV Mainz 05 Vs Wolfsburg football liga match preview

GERMANY-BUNDESLIGA I: 12BET odds 1 FSV Mainz 05 Vs Wolfsburg 4/21 2:30AM GMT+8 

Possible line-ups


Mainz: Wetklo - Pospech, Kirchhoff, Noveski, Zabavnik - Polanski, Soto - M. Caligiuri, Zidan, Choupo-Moting - Szalai

Wolfsburg: Benaglio - Träsch, Russ, Ochs, Rodriguez - Polak, Jiracek - Dejagah, M. Schäfer - Helmes, Mandzukic

 

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Swans face Sigurdsson battle

Jenkins admits decision will ultimately rest with Hoffenheim 

Swansea chairman Huw Jenkins has admitted it will be difficult to secure the services of Gylfi Sigurdsson beyond the summer but he is hopeful a deal can be agreed.
The Icelander has been a revelation since joining the Welsh side on loan from Hoffenheim in January, scoring seven goals in 15 appearances.
Sigurdsson, who previously worked with Brendan Rodgers at Reading, has said he would be happy to stay at the Liberty Stadium and Jenkins believes that puts Swansea in with a good chance of keeping him.
However, Jenkins knows there will be interest from elsewhere and persuading the German club to sell the 22-year-old could be tricky.
He told Radio Wales: "He's done a great job for us and is still only young. Our aim is to keep our best players. We've always tried to do that over the years and it will be no different with Gylfi.

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Bayern president Rummenigge: Real Madrid will be a tough nut to crack

The former West Germany international has paid tribute to Los Blancos boss Jose Mourinho for turning a collection of individuals into a "great team"

Bayern Munich president Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has acknowledged that Real Madrid will prove "a tough nut to crack" in the eagerly-awaited Champions League semi-final tie between the two sides. The Bavarians host Los Blancos in the first leg at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday night and the former West Germany forward is well aware of the enormity of the challenge facing his club, admitting that he believes the Liga leaders to be on the same level as reigning world, European and Spanish champions Barcelona.

"It will be incredibly difficult against Real Madrid," Rummenigge is quoted as saying by MARCA. "We are awaiting one of the two best teams in the world, the leaders of the league in the strongest country in the European football. "Jose Mourinho has turned a handful of individuals into a great team. They will be a tough nut to crack."

However, Rummenigge remains hopeful that Bayern will be able to spring a surprise and set up a 'home final' at the Allianz Arena against the winners of Barca's semi-final showdown with Chelsea.

"All of Spain is secretly dreaming of a Clasico in Munich," he argued. "But with two good games, we can make it so that Bayern takes part in this particular 'Clasico'."

Bayern's clash with Madrid is scheduled to kick off at 20.45CET.

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Hoeness claims Dortmund have 'no world class players'

The president of the Bavarians believes their rivals are only more hungrier than themselves, while hinting that the Champions League is the main priority for the rest of the season

  

Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness has claimed that Borussia Dortmund have no world class footballers in their ranks. The German champions have received widespread praise for nurturing a string of young stars such as Mats Hummels and Mario Gotze, but according to the 60-year-old, they should not be mentioned in the same breath as some of their more established contemporaries.

"At the moment, Dortmund have the hungrier players, but they are not world class," the president told Sky.

Hoeness also dropped Bayern's biggest hint yet that their focus is on the Champions League rather than pipping Borussia Dortmund to the Bundesliga title or lifting the DFB Pokal. The Bavarians have seen their bid for first in the league falter in recent weeks as Saturday's goalless draw with Mainz means they now lag eight points behind BVB with only four matches remaining. 

However, they also have a domestic cup final to look forward to on May 12, also against their bitter rivals, but Hoeness appears to have only one objective on his mind for the rest of the campaign. 

"At the beginning of the season, if you asked me what I would prefer to win between the Bundesliga and reaching the final of the Champions League in Munich, you can guess what I would have answered with," added the official. 

Bayern look to gain the upper hand in their Champions League semi-final first leg against Real Madrid, with the match at the Allianz Arena starting at 20.45CET on Tuesday. 

 

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Borussia Monchengladbach Vs FC Koln football liga match preview

GERMANY-BUNDESLIGA I: 12BET odds Borussia Monchengladbach Vs FC Koln 4/15 9:30PM GMT+8 

Borussia Monchengladbach have won their last three games against Koln, scoring a total of 12 goals in the process. Gladbach claimed their second DFB-Pokal in 1974, beating the Billy Goats in the final. Marco Reus (pictured) has scored 15 Bundesliga goals this season, with 11 of these coming at Borussia Park.

Koln have won 41% of their league games with Frank Schaefer in charge, while Stale Solbakken has the worst points-per-game ratio (0.97) of any coach the club have had. The Billy Goats have lost ten games on their travels this season, the joint-most in the Bundesliga along with Wolfsburg. The visitors have won just two matches in 2012, and have picked up just one point in their last five fixtures.

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Comeback Stuttgart claim win

Harnik hits brace as hosts beat Werder Bremen

Stuttgart came from behind to beat Werder Bremen 4-1 and consolidate their place in fifth place in the Bundesliga. The visitors, who could have climbed into sixth with victory, went ahead after 25 minutes with Markus Rosenberg on target. But the hosts battled back and were level ten minutes later with Christian Gentner firing home. Top-scorer Martin Harnick then put Stuttgart in charge with a brace either side of the interval. German international Cacau sealed the win in the final minute as Stuttgart registered their third successive victory.

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Bundesliga liga match preview FC Schalke 04 Vs Borussia Dortmund

GERMANY-BUNDESLIGA I: 12BET odds FC Schalke 04 Vs Borussia Dortmund 4/14 9:30PM GMT+8

Probable Lineup:


Schalke 04: Unnerstall, Howedes, Matip, Papadopoulos, Fuchs, Jones, Hoger, Farfan, Raul, Draxler, Huntelaar

Borussia : Weidenfeller, Piszczek, Subotic, Hummels, Schmelzer, Bender, Gundogan, Kuba, Kagawa, Grosskreutz, Lewandowski

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VfB Stuttgart Vs Werder Bremen football liga match preview

GERMANY-BUNDESLIGA I: 12BET odds VfB Stuttgart Vs Werder Bremen 4/14 2:30AM GMT+8

Stuttgart : Sven Ulreich, Cristian Molinaro, Georg Niedermeier, Serdar Tasci, Gotoku Sakai, Julian Schieber, Christian Gentner, Tamas Hajnal, William Kvist Jörgensen, Martin Harnik, Vedad Ibisevic

Werder Bremen: Tim Wiese, Lukas Schmitz, Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Francois Affolter, Aleksandar Ignjovski Midfielder, Zlatko Junuzovic, Naldo, Clemens Fritz, Marko Marin, Claudio Pizarro, Markus Rosenberg

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Want to watch VfB Stuttgart vs SV Werder Bremen?

GERMANY-BUNDESLIGA I: 12BET odds VfB Stuttgart vs SV Werder Bremen 4/14 2:30AM GMT+8 

Stuttgart continued their charge towards European qualification by beating relegation-threatened Augsburg 3-1 in Bavaria. 

Bremen have only picked up three points out of a possible fifteen and sit in 8th place in the Bundesliga, while Gladbach are in poor form, having lost two out of five games and lie in 4th position in the table.

Now this two rival will  face each other for the win. This is kinda exciting  game and if you are looking for a place to watch VfB Stuttgart v SV Werder Bremen, then here's how to do it. Just check out www.12bet.com and they will be doing the live preview of the match. 

Watch the game on 04/14 at 02:30 am GMT+8. 

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Borussia Dortmund Vs Bayern Munchen football liga match preview

GERMANY-BUNDESLIGA I: 12BET odds Borussia Dortmund Vs Bayern Munchen 4/12 2AM GMT+8 

Borussia Dortmund have triumphed in their last three games against Bayern Munich.  BVB are on a 23-game unbeaten streak in the Bundesliga.  Dortmund managed to turn an eight-point deficit into a seven-point lead over Bayern Munich from Round 6 to Round 24.

Bayern Munich are on a nine-game winning streak in all competitions (including the penalty shootout victory over Borussia Monchengladbach in the DFB Pokal). The Bavarians can overtake Dortmund at the top of the table on goal difference if they win on Wednesday. Werder Bremen are the last team to beat Bayern Munich four times in a row. This happened between 1991 and 1993.

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Nurnberg VS Schalke 04 football liga match preview

GERMANY-BUNDESLIGA I: 12BET odds Nurnberg VS Schalke 04 4/12 2AM GMT+8 

Possible lineups:


Nurnberg: Schafer, Nilsson, Maroh, Pinola, Chandler, Simons, Balitsch, Feulner, Didavi, Pekhart, Mak.

Schalke 04: Unnerstall, Escudero, Papadopoulos, Metzelder, Uchida, Hoger, Moritz, Draxler, Raul, Farfan, Huntelaar.

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Werder Bremen Vs Borussia Monchengladbac football liga match preview

GERMANY-BUNDESLIGA I: 12BET odds Werder Bremen Vs Borussia Monchengladbach 4/11 2:AM GMT+8 

Possible Lineup:

Werder Bremen: Tim Wiese, Clemens Fritz, Francois Affolter, Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Lukas Schmitz, Tom Trybull, Zlatko Junuzovic, Aleksandar Ignjovski, Marko Marin, Markus Rosenberg, Claudio Pizarro

Borussia: Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Roel Brouwers, Martin Stranzl, Dante, Filip Daems, Håvard Nordtveit, Roman Neustädter, Patrick Herrmann, Juan Fernando Arango, Marco Reus, Mike Hanke

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