Spain wins Euros

After a forty-four year draught La Furia Roja won the Euro Championship today with a 1-0 victory over Die Mannschaft on a goal by Fernando Torres at the thirty-third minute. Spain played a masterful match and withstood expensive pressure from Germany. Now with the Euros over, World Cup qualifying a few months away...what pray tell will we do...

I'll fill you in more tomorrow ~

Euro 2008 Final Germany v Spain

Hmmm...so this is hard one for me as you know I am strong supporter of German Football and anything else Der Kaiser related.

At the start of this tournament, my odds on bet to advance to the finals were the rather predictable Germany v Spain match we have today. However the route has been anything but predictable as Germany hasn't looked nearly as strong as I thought they would and Spain obliterated the Russian squad (and anything else in its wake). Along with the stunning disguise of San Mario and Faroe Islands squads as Italy and France left this Euro full of surprises

For this final match I can't help but side with German team simply "knowing how to win" and thus casting my chips on them. Spain has looked daunting at times but I think Joachim Löw's German squad with Michael Ballack will take a firm grip of the helm. For German fans, Michael Ballack's return to strength from a training injury is a key mix but I do not doubt for a moment he will be up to the challenge. In this star-studded affair watch for the continued growth of Bastian Schweinsteiger and Lukas Podolski to offset the speed of the Spanish assault of led by Fernando Torres which will feel the enormous loss of David Villa.

19-11 after Spain ruined the possible German - Russia final I had been hoping for...

Euro 2008 semi-final Germany v Turkey

On all accounts this should be Germany's match as they are clearly a superior squad in talent and experience. However the one thing that Turkey has shown is that they will not give up.

Turkey's situation is dire as they will likely go into the match with twelve players, yes twelve players. This put them in slightly less of a bench then the Peanuts gang (excluding Woodstock of-course) when they faced the team across town so you get the general idea. They have four players suspended, Emre Asik, Volkan Demirel,Tuncay Sanli, Arda Turan and Emre Belozoglu, Servet Cetin, Emre Gungor, Nihat Kahveci and Tumer Metin are out. Basically they need Woodstock because Germany is completely healthy and not missing anyone to suspension.

Germany will look to control the pitch and run Turkey ragged and thus force fatigue prone errors. However they cannot let Turkey gain any confidence and must keep pushing as they will not give up (and btw mes amis, just like the Charlie Brown and the Peanuts gang who never gave-up!). Turkey cannot be underestimated though and appear to be masters of overcoming adversity.

Germany to win, with my record at a dismal 18-10. I should get a bonus for a seque from Turkish football to the Peanuts gang..geez I miss that. Oh well, only four more months until the great pumpkin arrives YAAAAAAAY!

Euro 2008 Quarter-final Portugal v Germany

For the first time in quite a well, Germany appears inefficient and Portugal poised to push through. Prior to the tournament I would have expected Germany to hammer through this but now the tables have been turned. Germany looks dreadful, at best and Portugal seems untouched.

Germany is at a huge disadvantage with Coach Joachim Löw suspended for the match and Hansi Flick will take over. They will have Bastian Schweinsteiger back after his suspension and he'll be gunning hard to impress. Big players need to rise to the equation and Michael Ballack must rise to the occasion and slow the tempo down to suit the Germans.

Luiz Filipe Scolari's side is well rested and should look to attack the German flanks and they report no injuries. While some will be looking towards Ronaldo, a crucial point is the penetration of Deco and how flanking movements will spread German defenders.

Obviously this will be a tight match. Based upon the prior two matches Portugal should win however I can't believe Germany won't wake-up and play to its abilities. Therefore with Mario Gomez and Miroslav Klose coming up big, I'll go with Germany (upsets?) triumphant over Portugal.

My record stands a paltry 16-8 at this stage.

Euro 2008 Austria v Germany

Earlier this month I chose Germany to win the tournament yet now it faces elimination at the hands of Austria. The little nation that couldn't just might be able to make the impossible, possible.

Austria is an outmatched, out-manned team of upstarts who have consistently played above their ability as the 92nd ranked team in the world. There head-coach Josef Hickersberger is tactically playing one of the greatest poker games and starting at striker the youth of the Austrian, Martin Harnik and sharp-shooter, Jimmy Hoffer, who we have yet to see in the tournament. Win or lose, the man is a genius with ice water for blood.

I must tell you mes amis, I believe Germany should triumph but "should" in my life of getting off the canvas has nothing to do with will and desire. Foolish I maybe but I'm "all-in" and for Josef Hickersberger to take us back to the great miracle of Córdoba on June 21st 1978. Yes I know, wistful eyes, masking the graying temples but I have to believe. So cue up the music, let the band play because now is the time for the wall of adversity to come down. With apologies to Der Kaiser but lets go Austria.

Group B Summary June 12

The day started with a shocking 2-1 domination of Germany by Croatia and concluded with the carnivalesque 1-1 draw between Poland and Austria.











Croatia dominated in every sense of the word and the scoreline was horribly misleading. While I was certainly wrong with expecting greater initiative from the German front, this should be no surprise as Croatia has continuously impressed throughout their European qualifier. Incredibly with the victory they are now in the drivers seat for winning Group B and Germany looks to be headed for a showdown against Portugal in the quarter-finals.


















Austria and Poland tied 1-1 on a added-time penalty goal by 38 year old Ivica Vastic. The awarding of the penalty was certainly highly questionable in what I could best describe as phantom contact but such is the nature of the game and Austrian fans may argue that the Polish goal came on a clear offside and some might even note by a player only recently granted his citizenship. Regardless of the arguments a draw seems somewhat acceptable given the play of both squads. In the end it was a brilliant response for the Vienna fans and leaves Austria, the ninety second ranked team in the world still in contention for the quarter-finals.

Most importantly the lowly regarded Austrians have put forth a honorable effort that the nation can be proud of. And amongst a beautiful sport that seems some horrible hostilities amongst fans that truly is the beauty of sport.


































I was wrong on both the matches today (I'll take the loss on the draw) and my record dips to a miserable 7-5.

Euro 2008 Germany v Croatia

Germany is salivating with the chance to secure the top position of Group B and can go a long way towards the goal with a victory over Croatia today. Croatia as England knows all too well is no pushover and will look to lay-down a tight gauntlet for the piercing German attack. Croatia will to no-one surprise, come out in a tight 4-4-1-1 and look to improve upon a questionable performance against the supercharged and highly motivated Austrians.

Germany brims with confidence and like a slow building train heading downhill knows how to structure play through the tournament. Joachim Löw has the full team available and while the highlight film known as Mario Gómez misfired a few times against Poland, I expect him to get untracked today against Croatia.

Slaven Bilić's Croatia squad will have Luka Modric available and his teaming with Niko Kranjcar and Mladen Petric is crucial to their success. Ivica Olić will line-up as striker and his finishing needs to be spotless to break down the German goal.

My prediction is I suppose somewhat predictable if you read me a great deal. Germany in a tactically neat and efficient manner.

Euro 2008: Group B review

Group B is the least challenging of groups and Germany and Croatia advancing although Poland will be a pesky opponent. Co-host nation Austria has the dubious honor of being one of the lowest ranked teams to ever play in a Euro championships but has wisely invested in their development programs (unlike one large country who did not make it) and using this as part of a long-term process at improving the game. My forecast would see Germany advancing to face Portugal in the quarter-finals as winner of Group B and Croatia to face the Czech Republic in the other quarter-finals with Germany making it through the finals.

Germany
If you’re used to word associations, when you think of Germany one phrase that will come to mind is quality. Quality is synonymous with German manufactured products and so is the grade of Football. Germany, lead by Joachim Löw, will play an attacking style and are loaded with talent including the likes of Michael Ballack, Miroslav Klose and up and comer goal scoring phenom Mario Gómez. Gómez, who plays for VfB Stuttgart should be a player to watch as he is quickly emerging as one the top snipers in the world and a constant threat around the goal.

Roster
1 Jens Lehmann
12 Robert Enke
23 René Adler
2 Marcell Jansen
3 Arne Friedrich
4 Clemens Fritz
5 Heiko Westermann
16 Philipp Lahm
17 Per Mertesacker
21 Christoph Metzelder
6 Simon Rolfes
7 Bastian Schweinsteiger
8 Torsten Frings
13 Michael Ballack
14 Piotr Trochowski
15 Thomas Hitzlsperger
18 Tim Borowski
9 Mario Gómez
10 Oliver Neuville
11 Miroslav Klose
19 David Odonkor
20 Lukas Podolski
22 Kevin Kuranyi

Matches
08/06 v Poland
12/06/ v Croatia
16/06/ v Austria

Croatia
Croatia, coached by Slaven Bilić, have been training diligently in Čatež and appear very confident. Their hopes will greatly rely upon Luka Modric, Niko Kranjcar and Mladen Petric and unfortunately are without Eduardo da Silva who suffered a horrific injury at Arsenal this February. Croatia is not a team to be taken lightly as fans of England are well aware of as they destroyed England’s hopes of qualifying for the Euros.

Roster
1 Stipe Pletikosa
12 Mario Galinović
23 Vedran Runje
2 Dario Šimić
3 Josip Šimunić
4 Robert Kovač
5 Vedran Ćorluka
6 Hrvoje Vejić
13 Nikola Pokrivač
15 Dario Knežević
7 Ivan Rakitić
8 Ognjen Vukojević
10 Niko Kovač
11 Darijo Srna
14 Luka Modrić
16 Jerko Leko
19 Niko Kranjčar
22 Danijel Pranjić
9 Nikola Kalinić
17 Ivan Klasnić
18 Ivica Olić
20 Igor Budan
21 Mladen Petrić

Tournament fixtures
08/06/ v Austria
12/06/ v Germany
16/06/ v Poland

Poland
Poland is lead by miracle worker Leo Beenhakker who is long overdue for recognition on the international front. Known for the remarkable achievement of taking Trinidad and Tobago to the 2006 World Cup, with Beenhakker at the helm, Poland went through the largest qualifying pool to qualify for their first Euros in history. Offensively Poland leaves a great deal to be desired but will play a tight marking scheme that will frustrate the best of squads. Judging upon their qualification which included a victory over mighty Portugal and that they are led by Football genius Leo Beenhakker, Poland is without a doubt a threat to advance to the quarter-finals and cannot be overlooked.

1 Artur Boruc
12 Tomasz
22 Łukasz Fabiański
2 Mariusz Jop
3 Jakub Wawrzyniak
4 Paweł Golański
5 Dariusz Dudka
6 Jacek Bąk
13 Marcin Wasilewski »
14 Michał Żewłakow »
15 Michał Pazdan »
23 Adam Kokoszka
7 Euzebiusz Smolarek
8 Jacek Krzynówek
10 Łukasz Garguła
16 Jakub Błaszczykowski
17 Wojciech Lobodzinski
18 Mariusz Lewandowski
19 Rafał Murawski
20 Roger Guerreiro
9 Maciej Żurawski
11 Marek Saganowski
21 Tomasz Zahorski

Matches
08/06/ v Germany
12/06/ v Austria
16/06/ v Croatia

Austria
Co-host nation, Austria has the dubious distinction of likely being the lowest ranked team in the Euros. However don’t let that confuse as the Austrian FA (Österreichischer Fußball Bund) has invested heavily in the long-term in the development of the game, brought in some heavy-hitting consultants and done a better job at organizing the domestic sport then many larger countries (including that one which isn't at the tournament). This has already reaped rewards in overall performance including last summers U-21 World Cup in Canada. Coach Josef Hickersberger formidable task is uniting an inexperienced squad along with incorporating younger players. Key players to watch are Sebastian Prödl and Erwin “The Hoff” Hoffer who were featured at last summers U-21 World Cup, the always menacing Emanuel “the Pog” Pogatetz and the tournaments elder statesman Ivica Vastic. Naturally goals for Austria are soundly rooted with providing quality representation and honoring its supporters of one of the worlds most beautiful countries.

Roster
1 Alex Manninger
21 Jürgen Macho
23 Ramazan Özcan
2 Joachim Standfest
3 Martin Stranzl
4 Emanuel Pogatetz
12 Ronald Gercaliu
13 Markus Katzer
15 Sebastian Prödl
16 Jürgen Patocka
17 Martin Hiden
5 Christian Fuchs
6 René Aufhauser
8 Christoph Leitgeb
10 Andreas Ivanschitz
11 Ümit Korkmaz
14 György Garics
19 Jürgen Säumel
20 Martin Harnik
7 Ivica Vastic
9 Roland Linz
18 Roman Kienast
22 Erwin Hoffer

Matches
08/06/ v Croatia
12/06/ v Poland
16/06/ v Germany

Fairwell to King Khan

Bayern Munich beat Herta Berlin 4-1 to conclude their Bundesliga winning season, which was a perfect send-off to Oliver Khan and Ottmar Hitzeld who are retiring. With three goals, once again by Luca Toni and the other from Franck Ribéry, cruised to victory on this final emotional day.

With a career that started with his debut for Karlsruher SC in 1987, Khan was replaced with one minute left to a resounding ovation.

Bayern Munich wins DFB Pokal

Bayern Munich beat Borussia Dortmund yesterday 2-1 in the DFB Pokal on (once again) a Luca Toni brace, the final at the 111th minute to end the stalemate.

Bayern is in line to win the treble with the Bundesliga title a lock and in the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup. It was a great send-off the the legendary goalkeeper, Oliver Khan and Ottmar Hitzeld who are retiring this season.

Schalke 04 - Werder Bremen update

SV Werder Bremen 5 FC Schalke 04 1
Lets just say, it's been a bad week for Schalke, starting with the Champions League loss to Barcelona and the Derby-like drubbing today.

The match started strong for Schalke although numerous scoring chances were squandered in the first ten minutes but after that the momentum turned in Werder Bremen's favor. Frank Baumann and Boubacar Sanogo opened-up the scoring for Bremen before Kevin Kuranyi scored for Schalke and to take a 2-1 score into the half. Two second half goals Ivan Klasnic and another from Markus Rosenberg catapults Bremen into second-place of the Bundesliga and the important Champions League spot

seven matches on Saturday

There's a host of great Football matches this Saturday that you'll want to stay up-to-date on. So before you throw on your Lafleur (hmm..maybe the Béliveau) jersey for game 2 in the quest for the twenty-fifth, remember to check-out;

Serie A
A.C. Milan @ Juventus F.C.
A clash of titans and a Juve win could lock down their Champion League visions as well as seriously harm AC. Milan will limp in without Alexandre Pato and both Kakha Kaladze and Alessandro Nesta are serving suspensions. Juventus will miss Pavel Nedved and Cristiano Zanetti in what is going to be a great clash. Looking forward to the Alessandro Del Piero show once again.

Bundesliga
FC Schalke 04 @ SV Werder Bremen
The race in the Bundesliga is incredibly tight and a Werder Bremen could send them two points above Schalke, into a Champions League spot and push Schalke into a UEFA Cup bid. A lot is on the line with this one and Schalke also has to respond in a short-week after losing to Barcelona.

La Primera División de México
América @ Chivas El Súper Clásico - it may not have the impact of some years with them on opposite ends of the table but this is a must see event (well...actually this one is in the Sunday list - but one to watch for)

Monterrey @ Pachuca exciting match to watch and to see if the magic of Ricardo Lavolpe and the goal-scoring machine, Humberto Suazo continues.

Championship League
Watford F.C @ West Brom
Watfords 3-0 debacle against Barnsley mid-week was a dreadful loss this time of year with promotion in sight. With Wolverhampton surging up the table a loss today could put them perilously close to losing their playoff position. A victory by West Brom puts them firmly in the lead with automatic promotion.

Wolverhampton @ Bristol City
The Wolves are on a mission and thundering up the table but face a massive test against Bristol City. At least four squads, Crystal Palace, Ipswich Town, Charlton and Plymouth will be watching this intently as as Wolves win could seriously harm their promotion efforts.

League One
Carlisle United @ Leeds United
Massive match with far too many complexities given the Leeds arbitration hearing is next week and the possibility of the fifteen point reduction being reversed. A victory here and a reversal of the points could see Leeds move within a point of the league title.

I'm off for the weekend..join-in mes amis Allez l'OM, allez

Bundesliga

The Bundesliga title is Bayern München's as they have an comfortable nine-point lead and will now push forward towards their goal of the treble and the culmination of their incredible turn-around from last season.

With eight matches left in the campaign the race for the European bids are wide open with at least seven teams in the running for four possible berths. Results from the weekend:

Friday
Energie Cottbus @ MSV Duisburg

Saturday
FC Schalke 04 1 FC Hansa Rostock 0
SV Werder Bremen 2 Hertha BSC Berlin 1
Arminia Bielefeld 1 Karlsruhe SC 0
clutch win by Arminia Bielefeld as they fight out of the relegation zone with a Leonidas Kampantais goal one minute into added-time.

VfB Stuttgart 1 Hamburger SV 0

FC Nürnberg 3 Eintracht Frankfurt 1
another clutch victory from a squad facing relegation.

VfL Wolfsburg 3 Hannover 96 2

Sunday
Borussia Dortmund 2 Bayer 04 Leverkusen 1
terrible collapse by Leverkusen in allowing two late goals to give Dortmund the win.

Bayern München 3 VfL Bochum 1

	GP	Wins	Draws	Losses	Goals	Against	Total
Bayern München	27	16	9	2	47	16	57
FC Schalke 04	27	13	9	5	41	26	48
Hamburger SV	27	12	11	4	37	20	47
SV Werder Bremen	27	14	5	8	55	39	47
VfB Stuttgart	27	14	3	10	45	40	45
Bayer 04 Leverkusen	27	13	5	9	47	30	44
VfL Wolfsburg	27	12	7	8	45	38	43
Eintracht Frankfurt	27	11	9	7	33	34	42
Karlsruhe SC	27	10	8	9	30	34	38
Hannover 96	27	9	8	10	38	45	35
Borussia Dortmund	27	9	7	11	41	45	34
VfL Bochum	27	8	9	10	41	44	33
Hertha BSC Berlin	27	9	5	13	29	35	32
Energie Cottbus	27	6	8	13	29	43	26
Arminia Bielefeld	27	6	7	14	26	51	25
FC Hansa Rostock	27	6	6	15	22	38	24
FC Nürnberg	27	5	8	14	30	43	23
MSV Duisburg	27	6	4	17	27	42	22

Friday
VfL Wolfsburg @ FC Nürnberg

Saturday
Arminia Bielefeld @ Energie Cottbus
MSV Duisburg @ Hamburger SV
Eintracht Frankfurt @ Hannover 96
FC Schalke 04 @ SV Werder Bremen
FC Hansa Rostock @ Karlsruhe SC
Hertha BSC Berlin @ VfL Bochum

Sunday
VfB Stuttgart @ Bayer 04 Leverkusen
Borussia Dortmund @ Bayern München

UEFA Cup: Zenit @ Bayer Leverkusen

UEFA Cup
Quarter-finals: first leg
FC Zenit St Petersburg @ Bayer 04 Leverkusen

Injuries
reviewing updates - nothing major reported.

Recent Form
While both clubs have stumbled of late each of these situations were against top quality opponents (i.e. Leverkusen vs. Bayern & Zenit vs. FC Rubin Kazan) and will be at their best for this match.

Areas to Watch
As Zenit heads to the east bank of the Rhein to face Bayer Leverkusen many will consider them as a "giant-killer" for their disposition of Marseille but in-fact they are part of one of the worlds most powerful Football federation that because of poor media coverage is rarely seen. Next season that will begin to change as the Russian Premier League is awarded more spots to the Champions League and UEFA Cup. Given this, I discount their domestic record as it is one of the most competitive in the sport and few "soft" matches. Bayer Leverkusen is tactically brilliant at times and will need to prey upon the recent weaknesses in the Zenit defence (due to the departure of Martin Skrtel and Erik Hagen) and mark Pavel Pogrebniak and Andrei Arshavin closely if they are to succeed. Critical to Bayer Leverkusen advancing, is eliminating a away-goal. As a side note Zenit is likely the most daunting opponent for Bayern if they face each other in the next round. Tactically this will be the match to watch with Zenit ending the all-Germany semi-final idea.

UEFA Cup : Getafe - Bayern München

UEFA Cup
Quarter-finals: first leg
Getafe CF @ Bayern München (Allianz-Arena, München)

Injuries:
Bayern München will be without Willy Sagnol while Lukas Podolski and Mark van Bommel are doubtful.

Getafe CF will be missing Daniel Diaz and Lucas Licht is suspended

Recent Form
Bayern München is well ahead in the Bundesliga title and has been out of sorts of late including this past weekends draw against Nürnberg.

Since defeating Racing Santander, and advancing to Copa Del Rey finals, Getafe have lost to Osasuna and Osasuna

Areas to Watch
To come out ahead Getafe will need to be at their defensive best, slow tempo and put up the all-important "away" goal. However Bayern München is certainly the favorite to hoist the trophy as well as accomplish the treble with the Bundesliga title and the DFB Pokal. Luca Toni, Franck Ribéry and company will not be deterred in their quest to send off Ottmar Hitzfeld and Oliver Kahn's perfectly in their final season.

Champions League: Barcelona - Schalke

update - lineups

FC Schalke 04

1	Manuel Neuer	(G)
20	Mladen Krstajic	(D)
5	Marcelo Jose Bordon	(D)
18	Rafinha	(D)
2	Heiko Westermann	(D)
24	Christian Pander	(D)
8	Fabian Ernst	(M)
3	Levan Kobiashvili	(M)
22	Kevin Kuranyi	(F)
14	Gerald Asamoah	(F)
19	Halil Altintop	(F)

Substitutes
9	Søren Larsen	(S)
11	Peter Lövenkrands	(S)
4	Mathias Abel	(S)
23	Benedikt Höwedes	(S)
33	Mathias Schober	(S)
21	Carlos Grossmüller	(S)
27	Vicente Sanchez	(S)

FC Barcelona
1	Víctor Valdés	(G)
22	Eric Abidal	(D)
11	Gianluca Zambrotta	(D)
5	Carles Puyol	(D)
3	Gabriel Milito	(D)
6	Xavi	(M)
8	Andres Iniesta	(M)
24	Gnegneri Yaya Toure	(M)
14	Thierry Henry	(F)
9	Samuel Eto'o	(F)
27	Bojan Krkic	(F)

Barcelona Substitutes
16	Sylvinho	(S)
7	Eidur Gudjohnsen	(S)
4	Rafael Márquez	(S)
13	Jose Manuel Pinto	(S)
15	Edmílson	(S)
21	Lilian Thuram	(S)
17	Giovanni Dos Santos	(S)

Champions League: Barcelona - Schalke

Champions League
Quarter-finals: first leg
FC Barcelona @ FC Schalke 04 (Arena AufSchalke )

Injuries
Barcelona will be without Lionel Messi, Deco and Ronaldinho and Samuel Eto'o is questionable. Defender Rafael Marquez will be back for his first match in a month.

Schalke will be without Ivan Rakitic, Gustavo Varela, Zlatan Bajramovic, Markus Heppke and Ze Roberto

Recent Form
Barcelona has one only once in the last seven matches including this Saturday's key 3-2 loss to Real sheets. An interesting player to watch Schalke has played adequately of late, earning ten points in their last four league matches but definitely eased back with their lineup against Karlsruhe this Saturday.

If there is an advantage in these two areas it definitely goes to Schalke as they are meeting Barcelona at their lowest point and susceptible. However Barcelona has definitely shown a different side in Champions League play to La Liga and cannot be underestimated.

Areas to watch
Key considerations are the roles of Barcelona's Eric Abdidal and Gianluca Zambrotta and Schalke to keep Barcelona off the score sheets. Should Samuel Eto'o not be available, an interesting player to watch is the emerging young striker, Mexican international Giovani Dos Santos.

Bundesliga

I'll post previews on Thursday including a look at the remarkable battle for Champions League and UEFA Cup berths as well as to avoid relegation. Upcoming Bundesliga action this week:

Friday
Energie Cottbus @ MSV Duisburg

Saturday
FC Hansa Rostock @ FC Schalke 04
SV Werder Bremen @ Hertha BSC Berlin
Karlsruhe SC @ Arminia Bielefeld
Hamburger SV @ VfB Stuttgart
FC Nürnberg @ Eintracht Frankfurt
Hannover 96 @ VfL Wolfsburg

Sunday
Bayer 04 Leverkusen @ Borussia Dortmund
VfL Bochum @ Bayern München

		GP	Wins	Draws	Losses	Goals	Against	Total
1	Bayern München	26	15	9	2	44	5	54
2	Hamburger SV	26	12	11	3	37	8	47
3	FC Schalke 04	26	12	9	5	40	12	45
4	Bayer 04 Leverkusen	26	13	5	8	46	8	44
5	SV Werder Bremen	26	13	5	8	53	17	44
6	VfB Stuttgart	26	13	3	10	44	16	42
7	Eintracht Frankfurt	26	11	9	6	32	12	42
8	VfL Wolfsburg	26	11	7	8	42	14	40
9	Karlsruhe SC	26	10	8	8	30	13	38
10	Hannover 96	26	9	8	9	36	24	35
11	VfL Bochum	26	8	9	9	40	21	33
12	Hertha BSC Berlin	26	9	5	12	28	15	32
13	Borussia Dortmund	26	8	7	11	39	14	31
14	FC Hansa Rostock	26	6	6	14	22	14	24
15	Energie Cottbus	26	5	8	13	28	19	23
16	MSV Duisburg	26	6	4	16	27	22	22
17	Arminia Bielefeld	26	5	7	14	25	16	22
18	FC Nürnberg	26	4	8	14	27	14	20

Results from this past weekend
Saturday
FC Bayern München 1 FC Nürnberg 1
Arminia Bielefeld 1 Hamburger SV 1
- this might be the most remarkable streak in the game right now as Hamburger once again tied
Eintracht Frankfurt 2 Bayer 04 Leverkusen 0
FC Schalke 04 0 Karlsruhe SC 0
MSV Duisburg 2 SV Werder Bremen 1
Borussia Dortmund 3 VfL Bochum 3

Sunday
VfB Stuttgart 0 Hannover 96 0
Energie Cottbus 2 Hertha BSC Berlin 1

Bundesliga

The Bundesliga heats up tomorrow in what is the closest race in all the major leagues with eight teams within nine points, three times are tied for third and five European bids available (excluding the top spot which Bayern München pretty much has sewn-up). However most of the matches this weekend are with teams from opposite ends of the table and shouldn't create any significant changes.

Friday
VfL Wolfsburg @ FC Hansa Rostock
Hansa Rostock hasn't won in five matches and this is a structurally important three points for Wolfsburg if they want to win a European bid.

Saturday
FC Bayern München @ FC Nürnberg
This is a straight-forward bottom of the table team facing one of the emergings team in all of Europe and my choice to win the UEFA Cup. Bayern München won't slip-up again as they are closing-in on the title.

Arminia Bielefeld @ Hamburger SV
Precisely the same conditions as the Bayern München - Nürnberg match with squads on opposite end of the table. Stunning as it may seem for Hamburger fans, this won't end in a tie.

Eintracht Frankfurt @ Bayer 04 Leverkusen
Leverkusen is emerging as one of the surprise teams Europe and only major slip-up was last weeks tussle against Bayern München. They need a full three points to keep up with Hamburger SV and a Champion League spot.

FC Schalke 04 @ Karlsruhe SC
Schalke is quite obviously one other Champions League surprises and have a tough match this week against FC Barcelona. Karlsruhe SC has been slipping down the table and I expect their problems to continue this weekend.

MSV Duisburg @ SV Werder Bremen
Borussia Dortmund @ VfL Bochum

Sunday
VfB Stuttgart @ Hannover 96
Hertha BSC Berlin @ Energie Cottbus

	GP	Wins	Draws	Losses	Goals	Against	Total
Bayern München	25	15	8	2	43	14	53
Hamburger SV	25	12	10	3	36	18	46
Bayer 04 Leverkusen	25	13	5	7	46	26	44
SV Werder Bremen	25	13	5	7	52	36	44
FC Schalke 04	25	12	8	5	40	26	44
VfB Stuttgart	25	13	2	10	44	40	41
Eintracht Frankfurt	25	10	9	6	30	31	39
VfL Wolfsburg	25	10	7	8	41	36	37
Karlsruhe SC	25	10	7	8	30	33	37
Hannover 96	25	9	7	9	36	42	34
VfL Bochum	25	8	8	9	37	38	32
Hertha BSC Berlin	25	9	5	11	27	31	32
Borussia Dortmund	25	8	6	11	36	41	30
FC Hansa Rostock	25	6	6	13	22	36	24
Energie Cottbus	25	4	8	13	26	42	20
Arminia Bielefeld	25	5	6	14	24	50	21
FC Nürnberg	25	4	7	14	26	41	19
MSV Duisburg	25	5	4	16	25	40	19

Germany - Switzerland highlights

Germany - Switzerland