HERTHA HANG ON TO THE TOP DESPITE BAYERN GALA PERFORMANCE

Hamburg swoop on Freiburg. Bochum come from behind to rescue a point
from the claws of struggling Lions. A lone Dundee strike helps the
VfB to three points over Rostock.

Kaiserslautern need a favourable ref decision to come from behind
and beat Schalke. Hertha needed an average performance to see off
a shockingly poor Werder.

Bayern did some reparation for everything that went wrong this season
and they did it in style with a 6-2 romping of old enemy Dortmund.
Controversial decisions have both Sunday games end in draws.


3 NOVEMBER 2000

LEVERKUSEN			1-0			FRANKFURT
Ballack 79

Brdaric centred when clear through on goal instead of shooting so
Kutschera could clear. Leverkusen played too statically and immobile,
the Eintracht had little trouble in adjusting to their attacks. Ex-
Bayer-keeper Heinen made a fabulous save against Brdaric's point-blank
header.

Ballack went close on several occasions before curling in the game
winner with a free kick. During the week it has been revealed that
Rudi Völler will most likely quit the job of coach at Leverkusen to
fully concentrate on the national team -- the current plan also sees
him as GM of Bayer at the same time though. [TL]

Attendance : 22,500 (sold out)


4 NOVEMBER 2000

HAMBURG			5-0			FREIBURG
Mahdavikia 12
Präger 21
Hoogma 35
Bester 45
Tøfting 76

I missed this match due to illness - it was the first time since 1996...
:-(((( Someone else didn't miss this game, in fact he had his first
start in the Bundesliga since 1995: Marinus Bester, who is one of the
few HSV-fans in the team, played in the years between at amateur level
and worked as tv-journalist.

As Yeboah is out of form (mostly due to his many appearances in front of
a court in Frankfurt) and Barbarez has to play AMC for Cardoso Pagel
surprised everybody with Bester in the starting 11. I was not at all
impressed by his former appearances (he came on as a sub in a few
times), but this time he seems to have had an outstanding game.

Freiburg was not all bad this afternoon, but they showed some very weak
defending and got thrashed by a HSV side who did not more than
necessary. The first goal came after some chaos in the SCF-penalty area
after a Ketelaer throw-in when Barbie passed the ball back to Bester who
send it back into the area right to Mahdavikia who scored from 8m.

After a corner Bester narrowly missed the goal with a header. Later he
played the ball to Präger who volleyed it home from 18m. Sellimi
backheeled the ball to Ramdane, but his shot from 9m was denied by a
reflex of Butt. Hoogma tapped the ball in from 5m after a Ketelaer
freekick from the right side.

Kobiashvili sent Sellimi through with a great pass (helped by some crap
HSV defending), but he missed alone in front of Butt. Bester then made
his first Bundesliga goal since 1992 (he played for us back then, too) -
he headed in Präger's cross. In the second half Butt saved a
Kobiashvili-penalty, Töfting scored a 22m-freekick and Kientz missed a
5m-header. [SM]

Attendance : 35,328


BOCHUM			1-1			1860 MÜNCHEN
Drincic 62						Agostino 53

Last years VfL topscorer Achim Weber was in the stands because of
constant internal bickering so it was his replacement Marijo Maric
who had the first chance when he forced Jentzsch to make a fine save
from his dangerous header. Häßler crashed a distance shot against
the post at the opposite side.

Aussie Agostino scored his 7th of the season after a solo ride
courtesy of a great opening pass by Max and sloppy, half-hearted
defending by Bemben. Substitute Drincic equalized with a left-footed
shot into the right-bottom corner after great work by Bastürk. [TL]

Attendance : 15,591


STUTTGART			1-0			ROSTOCK
Dundee 35

Dundee headed in Gerber's cross. Wibrån had a good chance for Hansa
but he nailed his shot into the heels of Schneider. Dundee should've
put Stuttgart up 2-0 but was denied by the post at 54'. In the end it
was a deserved victory for Stuttgart, their first without conceding
a goal this season.

News: Stuttgart has debts in the area of 30 million DM. [TL]

Attendance : 15,000


KAISERSLAUTERN			3-2			SCHALKE
H Koch 67 (Pen)						Sand 37
Klos 72							Waldoch 56
Marschall 87

After 4 wins in a row team boss Andy Brehme's streak hit a snag
midweek in Gladbach where his boys crashed out of the cup 1-5
against the 2nd division side. This game was payback. And it was
Djorkaeff who showed the teams' new attitude installed by Brehme
right away when he went out and hit the post after only 45 sec.

Sand headed in Böhme's corner against the run of the game assisted
by a goalkeeping error from young man Weidenfeller (20) who was
between the posts for the injured Georg Koch. Schalke even doubled
their lead when defense boss Waldoch flicked in Böhme's free kick.

'Lautern got back into the game thanks to a mistake by ref Steinborn
who let himself fool by the most blatant dive this season by Hristov
(the 1,92m striker who is similarily built to Inter's Vieri went down
like a sack of cement with no contact whatsoever), Adonis pulled one
back from the penalty spot.

The Red Devils now blossomed in their attacking play and were rewarded
when Reck punched DJ's corner straight to Klos, the defender fired him
the ball through the braces for the equalizer. In a moment of pure
"Betze magic" the FCK even went on to score the game winner, substitute
Marschall headed in DJ's pinpoint cross. [TL]

Attendance : 41,500 (sold out)


HERTHA				4-1			BREMEN
Alex Alves 12						Pizarro 71 (Pen)
Preetz 45, 49
Beinlich 79

After 10 minutes of equal play Hertha used the first chance Werder
offered them: Wosz badly abused Tjikuzu on the wing and pulled the
ball back for Rehmer who blocked Bode and let it rebound to Alex
Alves, the Brazilian star didn't hesitate and shot high into the
net.

Werder keeper Rost made a phenomenal save from Beinlich's deadly
free kick to prevent the visitors from losing this game in the very
first minutes. Hertha's n°10 pulled an arse muscle after half an
hour and had to leave the game but Hertha didn't really need him,
René Tretschok came on in his place.

Just before the halftime break Alex Alves plugged the ball through
to Beinlich on the wing and as Werder's non-existant "defense" looked
on Preetz pleasurely put away his centre. Werder played without any
power in the first half, just as an indicator Hertha won 66% of all
1-on-1 duels.

Barely 5 minutes into the 2nd half "Der Lange" added his 2nd when he
finished a counter attack (!) in Hertha's own stadium from Alex Alves'
through pass. Werder's only chance in this game decisivly came through
a Hertha player, Van Burik almost scored an own goal from Krstajic's
cross but Király (even though he had zero to do) was still awake and
parried.

Still Werder pulled one back after Rehmer hauled down Bogdanovic in
the box (50-50 decision), fellow substitute striker Pizarro scored
from the penalty spot. Alex Alves missed an open goal on the counter
attack (he still had a magnificent game) but then Stefan Beinlich
gave Werder the kiss of death with an absolute gala performance:

Paule received the ball from Sanneh, literally went "through" Stalteri
and Baumann and to finish the action he rounded the 'keeper before
putting the ball into the empty net with his weaker right foot --
World Class goal ! World Class player !

Fabian Ernst, Werder's best field player this season, then got his
marching orders, Hartmann had him sent off via a spectacular dive
after Ernst had already been booked to finish this inglorious scene
by the Green And White in style. [TL]

Red Card : Ernst 87 (Bremen)
Attendance : 40,097


5 NOVEMBER 2000

BAYERN MÜNCHEN		6-2			DORTMUND
Salihamidzic 7, 83					Herrlich 2
Élber 10							Addo 71
Scholl 39, 59
Paulo Sergio 63

Bayern started mired in the same sump as in recent games except for the
Derby: No spunk in the attack and sloppy in the back. Fink's hospital
pass set up Herrlich for the 0-1... Herrlich had gone four games without
a goal. But then that was the end of the passive Bayern. Something
magical happened, and we were treated to a slugfest the likes of which I
haven't seen as a member (since 1994).

Bayern went fanatically all out for the next 30 minutes, producing two
goals and unluckily missing a third. From a corner Élber mishit but
Salihamidzic kneed it in for the 1-1. Then we got two headers (!) from
the run of play (!!), one of them by Scholl (!!!). Salihamidzic went
bananas for the next 20' or so and beat any of his opponents to any
loose ball.

He got past Reina's slide and then beat the young Metzelder to the goal
line before hitting a cross on the dead run right to the forehead of
Élber for the 2-1. Scholl ran down the left and crossed it in for Élber
to hit the bar. Then, Sagnol took the overlap pass from Salihamidzic and
crossed it perfectly to Scholl who headed it pass the helpless Lehmann.

We needed that one because during this phase of about 25' to 35'
Dortmund were dangerous for the equaliser: Kahn saved brilliantly with a
flying fist to keep Reina's long shot out, and then with his foot to
stop Reina again, who was clearly better going forward. Bayern went
into the half the clearly better side and with a 3-1 lead. But would it
be maintained or would Dortmund rediscover the tenacity they've shown in
recent years in Munich ?

As it happened, Dortmund did show spirit, never giving up, but it was a
hopeless effort, for although Bayern continued the laziness at the back,
there was so much firepower up front that it didn't matter. After
several yellow cards got dished out, Scholl got the overdue 4-1 curling
a free kick over the wall and into the upper left corner.

The 5-1 was pure music, a free kick by Tarnat saved by Lehmann to the
post, with the rebound sent overhead by Salihamidzic to Paulo Sergio,
who sidefooted it over his head and into the goal, remniscent of his 2-1
against Eindhoven in last year's CL. Dortmund still didn't give up, and
had a nice counterattack finished by Otto Addo for the 5-2.

But then on another corner Élber was pushed into Lehmann by a defender
trying in vain to stop Salihamidzic from heading the ball into the net
for the 6-2. Heinrich was shown the red card after an unnecessary and
brutal foul around midfield right after the 6-2. All in all, my most
satisfying game as a member. Only a similar destruction of 1860 Munich
in a derby could top this. [BS]

Red Card: Heinrich 84 (Dortmund)
Attendance: 62,000


UNTERHACHING			0-0			KÖLN

Breitenreiter headed against the crossbar. Rraklli got Sichone
sent off with a nasty dive -- the only spot of color in an
otherwise very pale game. [TL]

Red Card : Sichone 38 (Köln)
Attendance : 9,500


WOLFSBURG			1-1			COTTBUS
Kühbauer 60						Vata 38

Vata headed in his first ever Bundesliga goal from Miriuta's cross.
Kühbauer played a give-and-go with Maric before volleying home a
mighty equalizer.

O'Neil scored what should have been the game winner and ref Stark
also signaled it that way first but his assistant told him that the
ball didn't cross the line.

Ironically Miriuta handballed on the line as the ball went "in" which
should have resulted in a red card and a penalty but the ref had by
then already allowed play to continue. [TL]

Attendance : 15,210

Ciao,

Tim

[BH] = Bert Handschumacher
[SM] = Sven Mischkies
[BS] = Bruce Scott
[TL] = Tim Leidecker

tim@milanmania.com
http://milanmania.com
http://soccer-europe.com