NOW WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT

...that the Eintracht's unbeaten streak would continue against 1860?
...that Bochum would be able to get a draw from home force Wolfsburg?
...that Freiburg would manage another "perfect game" in Cottbus?
...that Werder would completely outdo Schalke in every aspect?
...that Bayern would gift Unterhaching 3 much needed points?
...that Leverkusen would gift Rostock 3 even more needed points?
...that Dortmund would make the Bundesliga a 4 team race again?
...that Hertha would win their 3rd road game in a row?
...that 'Lautern would win in Köln after playing UEFA-Cup on Thursday?

Yeah, who would have thought?


16 FEBRUARY 2001

1860 MÜNCHEN			2-2		FRANKFURT
Max 72						Yang 22
Häßler 81 (Pen)					Kryszalowicz 58

Max volleyed over from close distance. Kryszalowicz headed onto
Heinen's huge punt upfield and Chen Yang blasted the Eintracht
into the lead with a violent stroke from 20+ meters -- awesome
goal ! 60 kept shooting blanks, Frankfurt made it 0-2 when Yang
returned the favour to Kryszalowicz with a delicate throughball,
the Pole coolly slotted the ball past the 'keeper.

Max hammered the ball against the crossbar and then finally
broke through when Agostino flicked on Häßler's corner for him
to nod in from close range. Alexander Schur then cost Eintracht
Frankfurt all 3 points with an unbelievably stupid, unbelievably
blatant and unbelievably unnecessary handball in the box, Häßler
fired the penalty high into the net and the game ended in a
deserved draw. [TL]

Attendance : 20,200


17 FEBRUARY 2001

WOLFSBURG			0-0		BOCHUM

Bochum who replaced coach Zumdick with militant 63-year-old
pensioner Schafstall in midweek won a point through Catenaccio.
Juskowiak had some of the better semi-chances for Wolfsburg but
of course bottled them... ;) Munteanu curled a 88th minute free
kick against the post. [TL]

Attendance : 12,318


COTTBUS			0-2		FREIBURG
						Dorn 50, 90

"Scoring Chance Death" Labak hit the underside of the crossbar
with a cracking shot from just outside the area. Cottbus wasted
at least another 6 high% chances in the 1st half, Freiburg
punished them right at the beginning of the 2nd: Substitute Dorn
ran onto Weißhaupt's quickly executed free kick and as Cottbus'
defense was still standing still waiting for the free kick to be
taken he buried the ball past Piplica.

Labak blew another major chance 1-on-1 with Golz. Cottbus then
won a penalty when Kondé fouled Helbig outside the area but Golz
had no problems saving Reghecampf's weakly taken spot kick (why
wasn't Miriuta shooting anyway ?). Freiburg then put the game out
of reach on the counter attack, Dorn wide-openly tapped in "Kobi's"
centre. Freiburg's defense is just plain awesome, the best in the
league at this time, unbeaten in 5 straight games. [TL]

Attendance : 14,133


ROSTOCK			2-1		LEVERKUSEN
Agali 45						Kirsten 23
Baumgart 56

Leverkusen took the lead through a learned play: Ballack flicked
Neuville's corner to the far post from where Kovac acrobatically
fired it back into the middle where Kirsten was already lurking
to eventually score, albeit with his knee. Bayer then lost Nowotny
with torn ligaments after awkwardly spraining his ankle.

Zuberbühler gifted Hansa the equalizer just before half time when
his half-arsed attempt to clear Emara's free kick was punished by
Agali who soared into the sky, towered over him and headed in with
authority. Rostock won the game with another set piece, Baumgart
(of all people...) headed in another Emara free kick.

Leverkusen had a goal disallowed because Kirsten bumped into
Pieckenhagen in the 5m area and substitute Berbatov missed an open
goal with the 'keeper already beaten 5 minutes from time. Oswald
was sent off for wasting time after already being booked. Bayer's
finishing once again sucked and without Nowotny their defense is
only half as good.

Hansa have taken all 6 points off Leverkusen this season. [TL]

Red Card: Oswald 86 (Rostock)

Attendance : 12,500


BREMEN				2-1		SCHALKE
Pizarro 17					Sand 66
Ernst 26

Krstajic launched a longball into attack, Pizarro beat the offside
trap, beautifully killed the ball and without even letting it touch
the ground lobbed it over Reck who came rushing out of his case --
fantastic goal ! Ernst made it 2-0 with a deflected shot from the
right wing. Aílton had the 3-0 on his foot but dragged his shot
inches wide after abusing donkey Hajto for the 1000th time in this
game.

Rost made an impossable, unbelievable save against a perfect Möller
free kick just before half time. Aílton struck the post a minute
before the break, again Hajto nowhere to be seen. Werder dominated
Schalke in every aspect in the 1st half. Toni kept on wasting chances
in the 2nd half as well, then Werder allowed Schalke back into the
game through too defensive play, Sand with the 1-2 after Möller split
the green-white defense with a beautiful pass.

But that was as close as the Schalker "Knappen" got as a Werder "D"
comprised of Krstajic, Baumann, Frings, Stalteri and fortunately
missing the useless Verlaat due to suspension managed to render the
best attacking pair in the league useless for large potions of the
game. 'Keeper Rost deserves an invitation to the national team, he
has been in World Class form since the beginning of 2001. [TL]

Attendance : 33,065


UNTERHACHING			1-0		BAYERN MÜNCHEN
Spizak 57

Bayern played this game in lackadaisical form, merely expecting a
break to magically appear in order to take the lead. Last year it
worked. This year, with Haching actually much weaker, it did not.
There was one noteworthy chance by Paulo Sergio in the first half,
when after a defensive mistake he found himself alone but missed
the goal from 9m out. Haching didn't do much in the first half
either so the score at half time was the expected 0-0.

In the second half Haching played like Bayern usually do, coming
out running and gunning. Several chances came to nothing as players
failed to control the ball. Kahn saved a shot well though as it was
on the other side of the Sportpark I didn't see who took it. Then
Bayern got a few breakaway chances, and it was now time for man of
the match Gerhard Tremmel to come up big several times.

Scholl had a shot, Kuffour had a wide-open diving header, but both
were superbly saved by Tremmel, who is just the next in a long line
of fine keepers in Germany. Two other shots were cleared off the
line in the 50-55' range. Then Jens Jeremies, just now touted as the
next big Bayern Libero, performed a horrible give-away, with the
receiver faking a shot before pushing the ball to his left for
Miroslav Spizak to step up and hit a low drive just inside the right
post. Perfect pay-off for such a blunder.

Bayern suddenly started to really fight, but so did Haching, who
desperately needed the points. Scholl had a free kick pushed onto the
post by Tremmel, and after that the play got more chaotic with the
chances more opportunities to chances. Haching fought it out and won
the deserved points. Bayern say now that it is the pay-off for Haching
having made them champions a the end of last season, but it was really
the pay-off for such a lazy effort by Bayern.

Team captain Stefan Effenberg, who was suspended for accumulated
yellow cards for this match, will have to lift the team's level for the crucial
European Cup match in Moscow on Wednesday. [BS]

Attendance : 15,000 (sold out for the 1st time since stadium expansion)


DORTMUND			4-2		HAMBURG
Bobic 6, 59					Barbarez 77
Addo 54						Meijer 90
Fukal 82 (og)

Reina flicked Rosický's corner to Bobic who only had to put his head
against the ball for the early 1-0. Fredi B. then also made Addo's
goal with a fine centre which the Ghanaian midfielder only had to tap
in. Rosický then fed Ricken with a World Class through pass, Lars took
Butt wide and Bobic was there to fire in the 3-0 from an acute angle.

Ex-Borusse Barbarez pulled one back with an artistically curled shot
from the edge of the box. Then it was once again Bobic who whacked the
ball at goal, Butt parried with both feet but the ball still had so
much speed and power in it so it ricochetted off Fukal and into the net.

Meijer did some result cosmetics with his 1st goal in an Elberatten
jersey, a nice turnaround volley from Ujfaluši's cross. Bobic had a
World Class game, scoring 2 goals and making the other 2, ironically
just when Dortmund's management publicly talked about signing a "big"
striker for next season. Rosický was awesome as well. [TL]

Red Card : Hashemian 70 (Hamburg)
Attendance : 64,500


18 FEBRUARY 2001

KÖLN				0-1		KAISERSLAUTERN
						Lokvenc 14

Köln was missing their 1st choice central defense of Sichone and Cichon
and it showed as Lokvenc scored the only goal of the night with a beauty
of a backheel tap from Buck's centre. Kaiserslautern remain Köln's bogey
team as they extend their unbeaten streak in Köln to 11 years. [TL]

Attendance : 36,000


STUTTGART			0-1		HERTHA
						Preetz 77

Hertha was without Deisler, Rehmer, Beinlich, Alex Alves, Michalke and
Reiss and still managed to beat an full-strength VfB in an although
terribly awful game. How fitting, the only goal came from a set piece,
Wosz swung in a corner, "Jolly" Sverisson flicked onto it and Preetz
lurked at the far post to score his 13th goal of the season with a nice
diving header. [TL]

Attendance : 18,500


Ciao,

Tim

[TL] = Tim Leidecker
[SM] = Sven Mischkies

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