Who plays against whom and when?
Which game should you definitely not miss?
Leverkusen against Stuttgart, champions against runners-up. The hottest duel that German football has to offer will take place on Friday evening. Bayer did not have such a difficult time against any other opponent in the last super season as against VfB. There were two draws, each with a dramatic outcome. The games in the DFB Cup and Supercup this calendar year were at least as exciting, with Bayer narrowly winning each one. “I remember being very exhausted after every game against Stuttgart,” Xabi Alonso said this week. “They are intense games.”
This season, however, Leverkusen in particular is causing concern for its fans. The defense concedes too many goals and the midfield finds it surprisingly difficult to control the game. Alonso has to make a lot of adjustments, but his team has only lost one of thirteen games in the three competitions this season. VfB is not yet the top team from last year, but seems to be recovering after a few important departures. This is a positive development at these two clubs: even if things aren’t going perfectly, it’s good football to be expected. Their upswing has substance.
Which game can you safely miss?
Wolfsburg against Augsburg. Volkswagen is in crisis. Of course, this doesn’t elicit much sympathy from the opposing fans. They are demanding that the company also cut funding from its football club in times of austerity. “Save costs, end Wolfsburg sponsorship, preserve jobs, strengthen 50+1!” wrote the BVB fans on their banner, which they presented during the cup defeat on Tuesday. But they shouldn’t have too much hope. Those responsible at the car company know that they have to offer the qualified engineers they want to recruit more in their new place of residence than a pedestrian zone, the ugliest waterway in Germany and five large chimneys. Bundesliga football for both sexes, for example. The investment in football seems to be paying off for Volkswagen. In Wolfsburg, football is not a matter of the heart, but location marketing.
What is in focus?
The Holstein Stadium in Kiel. The Kiel fans celebrated their promotion last season with an appreciative nod of their heads (enthusiastic by northern German standards). But so far there has been little to nod in the Bundesliga. Holstein is still waiting for its first win of the season, even the first win in Schleswig-Holstein’s Bundesliga history. But there’s no bad mood in Kiel, because people on the fjord are too realistic about their own limitations, which also became obvious when the second division team in Cologne lost the DFB Cup during the week. But people in Kiel had already hoped for a little bit of the Heidenheim effect – that is, to get on one team or another with tough underdog football. Maybe it will work against the role model itself: On Saturday Heidenheim will be a guest in the north.
Leverkusen against Stuttgart, champions against runners-up. The hottest duel that German football has to offer will take place on Friday evening. Bayer did not have such a difficult time against any other opponent in the last super season as against VfB. There were two draws, each with a dramatic outcome. The games in the DFB Cup and Supercup this calendar year were at least as exciting, with Bayer narrowly winning each one. “I remember being very exhausted after every game against Stuttgart,” Xabi Alonso said this week. “They are intense games.”
