Dear readers,
sorry for the heavy delay but an impossible work schedule (10
days in a row, shift work) prevented me from delivering in time.
As a little reparation I promise you the complete recaps for
Bundesliga Round 18, the backlog game between Unterhaching and
Werder Bremen, an up-to-date table, up-to-date statistics for
all clubs as well as my trademark Bundesliga Top 5's, Bundesliga
Top Attacking Duos and Bundesliga Top 10 Strikers based on the
Margin-Based Value-Weighting within the next 48 hours.
Thanks for your understanding.
Tim
SCHALKE'S KNAPPEN ARE THE AUTUMN CHAMPS
Königsblau lands an impressive away victory at Unterhaching. Freiburg
snaps Wolfsburg's 16-game home unbeaten streak. Stuttgart manages
the first part of their self-imposed ultimatum (6 points from this weeks
games) with a lucky thrashing of Frankfurt. Borussia Dortmund grinds
out a hard-fought draw at home force Köln.
The Löwen turn around their first away game in which they're down 0-2
in over four years. Rostock exposes Bremen's pathetic defense to score
5 on Werder. Kaiserslautern go up by two twice to hand Hertha another
painful home defeat. "Croatia's Marijo Maric denies Leverkusen the
Autumn Championship." ;) Finally Bayern comes back from behind to
beat Hamburg.
12 DECEMBER 2000
UNTERHACHING 0-2 SCHALKE
Sand 26
Van Hoogdalem 60
Yellow card magnet Hajto almost scored a beautiful own goal with
a thumping header. Rraklli struck the crossbar after great work
by Zimmermann. Ebbe Sand (who else ?) fired S04 into the lead from
Böhme's free kick and against the run of play.
In the second half the Knappen won the game after another set piece,
'Haching weakly cleared a corner and Van Hoogdalem drilled a straight
shot into the top-right corner from the edge of the box.
Attendance : 10,000
WOLFSBURG 1-2 FREIBURG
Juskowiak 66 Kehl 30
Kondé 59
Kehl tapped in Iashvili's hard centre on Freiburg's 1st chance after
half an hour of play, the first Bundesliga goal for the raw diamond.
Freiburg wasted at least half a dozen high % chances before Kondé
finally headed in But's corner to make it 0-2. Juskowiak scored the
consolation with a header from Weiser's long cross.
Excellent performance by Freiburg who extend their unbeaten streak
to six.
Attendance : 11,889
STUTTGART 4-1 FRANKFURT
Maljkovic 34 (og) Gebhardt 38
Soldo 60
Ganea 76
Dundee 84
This game was must-win for VfB coach Rangnick if he didn't want to
get the sack before x-mas. Frankfurt coach Felix Magath helped the
struggling Swabians by fielding 8 defenders and after Stuttgart hit
the woodwork twice the Eintracht even opened the scoring for them,
teenage defender Maljkovic slid Pinto's cross into his own net.
Gebhardt equalized with a put-back after Hildebrand spilled Schur's
shot, already the 3rd grave mistake by the young 'keeper this season.
Eintracht 'keeper Heinen awkwardly collided with Houbtchev and had
to limp off, Bundeswehr 'keeper Sven Schmitt came on in his place.
And it didn't take long until he had to swallow his first goal, Soldo
headed in Lisztes' corner only a minute later.
Stuttgart wanted more, coast-to-coast counter attack, Dundee swapped
passes with Ganea, drew out the 'keeper and then returned the favour
to the Rumanian who only had to tap it in. The "Crocodile" claimed
the last one for himself with a whack across goal from Djordjevic's
backheel pass.
Attendance : 18,000
13 DECEMBER 2000
BOCHUM 3-2 LEVERKUSEN
Maric 40, 52 (Pen), 74 (Pen) Kirsten 67
Neuville 76
Maric scrambled his first past Matysek on the counter attack.
Vranjes accidently broke his countryman Mamic's nose and cheekbone
in a 1-on-1 situation, the Croatian international defender had to
be strechered off. Mamic's substitute Fahrenhorst dived for a
penalty, Maric converted.
Rink and Vranjes combined to give Kirsten his 5th goal of the
season in his 300th Bundesliga game. Maric won another soft penalty
for having his shirt minimally tugged by Nowotny, 'Double M' coolly
dispatched the spot kick himself. Neuville did some result cosmetics
with a beautifully curled free kick won by Neuendorf.
Attendance : 15,755
KÖLN 0-0 DORTMUND
Lottner struck the crossbar. Dortmund came alive in the 2nd half
and went close on several occasions but in the end it remained a
deserved, goalless draw.
Attendance : 41,000 (sold out)
COTTBUS 2-3 1860 MÜNCHEN
Kobylanski 6 Häßler 54
Miriuta 9 Riseth 58
Agostino 67
Kobylanski scored from the edge of the box after a nice free kick trick
by Miriuta. Helbig won another free kick which the Rumanian playmaker
beautifully curled in. Häßler did the same equally brilliant at the
other end although from an even greater distance. Riseth headed in the
equalizer from Icke's cross. Agostino punished slack marking with his
(now almost) trademark run-and-shoot, his 10th goal of the season also
being the game winner.
Attendance : 12,453
ROSTOCK 5-2 BREMEN
Baumgart 8 Krstajic 38
Schröder 42 Pizarro 74
Wibrĺn 54
Brand 78
Yasser 80
Game went up and down until Baumgart scored his 1st goal in over a
year with a header from Rydlewicz' cross. Rost made two back-to-back
World Class saves against Agali. Krstajic equalized with a stiff free kick
from 25 meters, his first Bundesliga goal. Rayk Schröder put away his
own rebound after Werder pathetically "defended" a corner.
Bogdanovic hammered the ball onto the crossbar 4 minutes into the 2nd
half. Agali flicked Yasser's throughball to Wibrĺn using his heel and
the cool Swede coolly converted. Krstajic should have been sent off for
punching Agali in the nutsack*, ref didn't see it. Pizarro pulled one
back for Werder with a header after a goalmouth scramble.
Former Werder talent Brand killed his ex-team with a hard shot across
goal from an acute angle courtesy of Yasser's beautifully weighted pass.
Werder threw everything and everybody into attack, Yasser put the final
nail in the coffin on the counter attack.
* = Krstajic has been fined 5,000 DM and banned 5 weeks, his
teammate Bogdanovic even has to look on for 6 weeks, fined 6,000 DM
by the DFB because of spitting at Hansa 'keeper Pieckenhagen. Both
players were convicted through video evidence.
Attendance : 12,000
HERTHA 2-4 KAISERSLAUTERN
Deisler 60 Strasser 21
Preetz 65 Klose 41, 70
Djorkaeff 90
Strasser gave Hertha a cold shower by tapping in Buck's cross at the
far post. Király made a great save from rising star Klose. Grammozis
again released Buck on the wing, Klose slotted in his centre with
ease.
Hertha responded after the break : Daei headed on a ricochet, Deisler
swept the ball past Koch. Dárdai whipped in a cross, Daei headed
across goal and Preetz did what he's paid for, bundle the ball across
the line. Klose killed Hertha's buzz with a beautiful solo from
Djorkaeff's excellent through pass.
To make things even worse Hertha then also lost Deisler for shirt
pulling after he had already been booked. DJ set the final point when
the ref waived play on after Sverrisson suplexed Hristov and the ball
broke to the French playmaker.
Red Card : Deisler 87 (Hertha)
Attendance : 28,146
BAYERN MÜNCHEN 2-1 HAMBURG
Élber 64, 67 Barbarez 28
Former Leverkusen striker Erik Meijer made his Bundesliga comeback
for Hamburg wearing #33. Both teams neutralized themselves in the
opening 15 minutes until Bayern gained momentum in midfield. Élber
and Paulo Sergio wasted a couple of good chances, Barbarez punished
them with a solo from Meijer's header.
Élber finally headed Bayern level almost 20 minutes into the second
half from Tarnat's huge cross, Butt helped with poor positional play.
Kahn made a tremendous save 1-on-1 with Meijer. Élber won Bayern the
match with persistant work in the box after Hamburg poorly dealt with
one of Tarnat's violent free kicks.
Attendance : 32,000
Ciao,
Tim Leidecker
http://milanmania.com
http://soccer-europe.com
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