Lots of cruciate ligaments
Not every footballer manages to be celebrated with chants on their debut for Real Madrid at the Bernabéu Stadium, but Raúl Asencio, 21, was able to do so on Saturday. The reason: He comes from Fábrica, as Real’s youth department is called. However, the fact that he was allowed to play was due to tragic circumstances: defenders Eder Militaowho recently recovered from a torn cruciate ligament in his left knee, now tore his right one – and will be out for the rest of the season. Asencio came because former Frankfurt player Jesús Vallejo was not to the liking of coach Carlo Ancelotti and because former FC Bayern professional David Alaba (torn cruciate ligament) is still not fit. These are not Ancelotti’s only personnel concerns: In addition to Militão, striker Rodrygo was injured and right-back Dani Carvajal, who suffered total knee damage in October (cruciate cruciate ligament, medial ligament tear and hamstring tear), is also missing. All of this now creates an opportunity for Raul Asencio, whom they call “Raúl’s Emperor” in Madrid. Because he is trained in the Fábrica by Schalke’s fever dream Raúl González Blanco – and because he hits passes over 50 meters. Javier Caceres
Nobody for RB?
Tim Kleindienst is a striker who would never have ended up at RB Leipzig because he doesn’t fit the transfer criteria of the RB universe at all. These principles, established by Ralf Rangnick, state that new recruits must be young and capable of development. The RB computer probably wouldn’t even show someone like Kleindienst, who was still deep in the second division in his mid-20s. Kleindienst is now a national striker and showed in the first half of his Gladbachers’ game in Leipzig why this is not an accident of history. He worked diligently, played confidently on the ball, and only missed the 1-0 goal because Leipzig goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi was brilliant again. Leipzig, that is the irony of the game, could have really used a small service. Because the offensive forces Lois Openda, Christoph Baumgartner and Benjamin Sesko, who more than correspond to the RB criteria, did not convert the Saxons’ superiority into goals in the second half; the score remained 0-0. Only 15 RB hits in ten games are not a good result for a top team. Kleindienst’s Gladbacher shot just as many. Martin Schneider
Wrong thought
Taking penalties is not just about the appropriate handwork or footwork. It’s also a kind of mental exercise because the shooter and goalkeeper try to get into each other’s brains. If the shooter thinks that the goalkeeper knows where he is aiming and the goalkeeper knows that the shooter knows that too, which is why the shooter thinks that the goalkeeper thinks… then it can happen that the Freiburger Vincenzo Grifo failed because of Union goalkeeper Frederik Rönnow. “He changes the corner sometimes,” said Rönnow after the 0-0 draw about Grifo, who had actually changed the corner – and missed in the same way he did recently against St. Pauli. The thinkers now have to rethink because Grifo, a formerly safe shooter, is now considered an unsafe shooter. From a penalty perspective perspective, the safest penalty saved would be if Grifo (no more hits) takes on Oliver Baumann (saves everything). The safest converted would be Harry Kane (hits everything) against Alexander Nübel (holds nothing). But is that even true if Kane scores against everyone? We’d have to think about that again. Christof Kneer
Late headbutts
In the 80s, midfielder Norbert Meier played for Werder Bremen, but those born later only know him as the coach who was banned after the so-called headbutt affair. This Meier has always had a split personality, which is why coach Otto Rehhagel gave him the nickname “Home Game Meier” in the 1980s – because he used to shine in the Weserstadion, while sometimes playing away from home as if he would rather be banned. At the weekend, the people of Bremen once again cheered for a divided personality, the Scot Oliver Burkewhich Rehhagel might call “final phase Burke.” Two years ago, the attacker had the Werder fans cheering after goals against Stuttgart and Dortmund (90+5 each), this time he scored the winning goal against Kiel in the 89th minute. In the two years in between, Werder and Burke have already given up on each other, Burke became loaned out, came back, couldn’t find a new club. By now, Bremen should know how useful it can be to have a player on the bench who can give the opponent a headbutt in the final phase. Christof Kneer
Beaten to the Club World Cup
You can really only congratulate Gianni Infantino: the FIFA boss found exactly the right time Lionel Messi – Sorry, Inter Miami – to hand over the ticket to the Club World Cup. Actually, no one had any doubt that the “wild card” that the world football association kept open would go to the club of the multiple world footballer. But it was funny when FIFA announced that Inter Miami would get the place in the starting field because they were in first place after the regular season. You have to know: This sounds normal to European ears, in the USA the regular season is a kind of preliminary round, the playoffs are crucial. And in these, Miami and Messi were promptly eliminated in the first round against Atlanta United. By the way, the playoff final will take place on December 4th, so it wouldn’t have been a problem to wait for the winner and give them a ticket to the Club World Cup. But the risk that it might not be Messi was far too great for FIFA. Because then a club would simply have qualified in sporting terms – and not the one with the greatest marketing potential. Martin Schneider
