Bundesliga 19/20

[Shwafta]

Sorry, I didn’t mean to piss in your cornflakes. I’m just annoyed because the first sport to come back has no drama.

To be honest, I have difficulty caring about any foreign league soccer. I’ve tried becoming a fan of various teams in different countries and it always ends up feeling forced. So all I want from these leagues is solid competition. For 7 looking like 8 years that’s been absent in Germany.

PL has the advantage of cultural and language affinity, and has the most competition at the top. But I’m not even that big of a PL fan.

And I can’t possibly care who gets relegated. I mean if I were German and it affected my team, sure, but these teams mean nothing to me. With the best teams leveraging international fan bases and UCL money, plus FFP rules, it gets harder and harder for teams outside the elite to compete, which makes the pro rel carousel a sad hamster wheel.

Over the last ten years, four clubs have been PL champions and only one back-to-back, and that doesn't include Liverpool, Tottenham or Arsenal who have all either come down to the wire, or at least had legitimate title hopes well past the new year at least a few times.
That diversity lends legitimacy to the competition to me when I'm watching a game in October. For the BL, I just don't have any sense of intrigue while watching. Pro/rel does not really interest me unless it's decision day or a big club is in trouble. Who gets Europe spots is something I can easily wait to read about next season when the Euro tournaments start.

Alright, then that's the answer I needed from you; I wasn't saying that in a "i'm mad at you for saying that >:C" sense, more just wondering why those other aspects of a league don't interest you. For me, it's always so interesting seeing who escapes relegation, who fights to get to europe, etc. There are always surprises at all levels. And at the end of the day for me, I just want to watch fun soccer games, regardless of who wins the league. I find Bundesliga's style of play to be fun to watch.

 

[mgarbowski]

Alright, then that's the answer I needed from you; I wasn't saying that in a "i'm mad at you for saying that >:C" sense, more just wondering why those other aspects of a league don't interest you. For me, it's always so interesting seeing who escapes relegation, who fights to get to europe, etc. There are always surprises at all levels. And at the end of the day for me, I just want to watch fun soccer games, regardless of who wins the league. I find Bundesliga's style of play to be fun to watch.

How do you say “chacun à son goût” in German?

 

[mgarbowski]

Well this is interesting.

17 games so far and home teams are 3W-4D-10L without fans.

 

[Shwafta]

How do you say “chacun à son goût” in German?

Exactly, I think that's what it boils down to.

Well this is interesting.

17 games so far and home teams are 3W-4D-10L without fans.

I pointed this out on the dortmund subreddit, it's actually quite crazy. I'm sure a bunch of those games would have been different with fans. It looks a lot more like the clubs that should win on paper, are winning.

Then again, two matchdays isn't the biggest sample size, but I have a hunch we'll keep seeing this happen for the rest of the season, as well as in other countries.

 

[Gotham Gator]

See Klassiker at 12:30. Then, a potential American debut in the Bundesliga at 2:30.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1264956969972117505

 

[Schwallacus]

Shwafta

All in all, seemed like an exciting back and forth game with BVB getting a decent amount of chances but not putting them away. I wasn't able to see the whole game as I had to unfortunately attend to other work matters, but the opinion tends to be that it was exciting? From what I saw it was, but I also only saw about half the match. Seemed to me that BVB came out very strong and dominated early, then Bayern put on a strong press and held BVB a bit better. I'm surprised Sancho didn't start, any news on that?

I'm also angry Kimmich shaved his stache, but I guess I can forgive him with a beautiful chip like that.

 

[Shwafta]

Shwafta

All in all, seemed like an exciting back and forth game with BVB getting a decent amount of chances but not putting them away. I wasn't able to see the whole game as I had to unfortunately attend to other work matters, but the opinion tends to be that it was exciting? From what I saw it was, but I also only saw about half the match. Seemed to me that BVB came out very strong and dominated early, then Bayern put on a strong press and held BVB a bit better. I'm surprised Sancho didn't start, any news on that?

I'm also angry Kimmich shaved his stache, but I guess I can forgive him with a beautiful chip like that.

Boateng should have seen red + penalty but VAR somehow didn't look at it. Other than that, BVB was the stronger side but just couldn't do anything about it.

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I have no idea why this is not a red + penalty. DOGSO handball, clear as day.

 

[mgarbowski]

Boateng should have seen red + penalty but VAR somehow didn't look at it. Other than that, BVB was the stronger side but just couldn't do anything about it.

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I have no idea why this is not a red + penalty. DOGSO handball, clear as day.

Wow. It took a couple of looks but in the end it's pretty clear and egregious. He moves his body and his arm into the path of the ball.

 

[JayH]

Boateng should have seen red + penalty but VAR somehow didn't look at it. Other than that, BVB was the stronger side but just couldn't do anything about it.

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I have no idea why this is not a red + penalty. DOGSO handball, clear as day.

Yeah I called this live and we were shocked this wasn’t ruled both a HB and RC. A true game changer.

 

[Gotham Gator]

They didn’t even stop the game to have a look.

I suppose one could make the argument that he was turning his back and the arm was where it was to brace his fall. I even think there is something to that effect in the new handball interpretations.

 

[Shwafta]

They didn’t even stop the game to have a look.

I suppose one could make the argument that he was turning his back and the arm was where it was to brace his fall. I even think there is something to that effect in the new handball interpretations.

Yeah but he didn't need to do that whole body flip thing in the first place, and you can see he pulls his elbow outwards. That was clearly intentional, especially after he takes a nice good look at the ball before doing it.

Would have completely changed the game. I'm surprised, because usually the German refs are pretty good, especially with VAR.

 

[Schwallacus]

Boateng should have seen red + penalty but VAR somehow didn't look at it. Other than that, BVB was the stronger side but just couldn't do anything about it.

bvb-bayern - Streamable

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I have no idea why this is not a red + penalty. DOGSO handball, clear as day.

That's not a red, but should've been reviewed. The arm did go out but you can't say it was blatantly stretched out full swing. As Gator mentioned, the turning of the back helped his cause. Usually refs are far more lenient when a defender turns his back.

Yeah but he didn't need to do that whole body flip thing in the first place, and you can see he pulls his elbow outwards. That was clearly intentional, especially after he takes a nice good look at the ball before doing it.

Would have completely changed the game. I'm surprised, because usually the German refs are pretty good, especially with VAR.

You're not going to turn your back when a 19YO Wunderkind poacher is about to blast a ball towards your face from 5 feet away? You must have brass balls or a face made of metal to not turn your face/body away from danger.

 

[Shwafta]

That's not a red, but should've been reviewed. The arm did go out but you can't say it was blatantly stretched out full swing. As Gator mentioned, the turning of the back helped his cause. Usually refs are far more lenient when a defender turns his back.

You're not going to turn your back when a 19YO Wunderkind poacher is about to blast a ball towards your face from 5 feet away? You must have brass balls or a face made of metal to not turn your face/body away from danger.

I'm not saying he shouldn't turn his back, that's fine. I guess I wasn't clear, but I meant the arm outwards part of it. If you ask me, that's an unnatural position as it could have been avoided.

 

[Gotham Gator]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1266427934178508802

 

[Shwafta]

So I know we're like 8 MD's too early for this but...
1) We were so wrong about Augsburg.
2) We were soooOOOoooOOOooo wrong about Bremen, and honestly I'm kinda surprised. Then again, they rely on a 41 year old Pizarro so idk what I expected really. Rashica I thought would have been way better than he is.
3) We were pretty accurate with the Mainz/Paderborn/Frankfurt, Dusseldorf predictions.

Finally, I just want to point out that Schalke is hovering around 6-11th place... Pretty much what I predicted for them.


Looking towards the final matchdays, and seeing the performances after the return, here's my prediction for how it will end up:

1. Bayern
2. Dortmund (This will come down to Dortmund vs Bayern. If Dortmund can win it, I think they'll take the title. Otherwise, it's going to Bayern.
3. Leverkusen
4. Leipzig
5. Monchengladbach
6. Wolfsburg
7. Schalke
8. Koln
9. Hertha Berlin
10. Freiburg
11. Hoffenheim
12. Augsburg
13. Frankfurt
14. Union Berlin
15. Bremen
16. Mainz
17. Dussleldorf
18. Paderborn


Gonna be a really weird relegation battle this year.
Mainz run-in (bold = within 3 places):
Leipzig - Union Berlin - Hoffenheim - Frankfurt - Augsburg - Dortmund - Bremen - Leverkusen

Dusseldorf run-in:
Koln - Schalke - Bayern - Hoffenheim - Dortmund - Leipzig - Augsburg - Union Berlin

Bremen run-in (game in hand):
Frankfurt - Freiburg - Monchengladbach - Schalke - Wolfsburg - Paderborn - Bayern - Mainz - Koln

Mainz faces four teams in the relegation struggle zone. Dusseldorf are about to get rammed up the back, so Bremen has a really good chance to catch up if they pull their shit together.

Am I good or am I good?

 

[Gotham Gator]

How pissed off must Dortmund be to see the penalty given in today’s game. Paderborn got one for the same basic action that Bayern committed against Dortmund on Tuesday, and a milder version at that.

 

[Shwafta]

Word of advice, never ever choose to support Hamburg SV. You will wanna die almost every single time a game ends, you will just sell your soul to the devil. By the end of a season, you won't even feel pain when they choke in the 90th+4 minute, either to lose or tie a game. There has never been, and never will be, a shittier, more mentally broken, badly managed, badly operated club like Hamburg SV.

If you're looking to choose a team that won't break your heart constantly, and isn't one of the "good ones", do me a favor and don't for the love of god choose Hamburg SV. Choose Frankfurt, choose Freiburg, choose Koln. They know what they're doing. I plead, don't choose Hamburg SV or you're getting ready for some of the worst soccer you'll ever see. Period.

 

[Gotham Gator]

Word of advice, never ever choose to support Hamburg SV. You will wanna die almost every single time a game ends, you will just sell your soul to the devil. By the end of a season, you won't even feel pain when they choke in the 90th+4 minute, either to lose or tie a game. There has never been, and never will be, a shittier, more mentally broken, badly managed, badly operated club like Hamburg SV.

If you're looking to choose a team that won't break your heart constantly, and isn't one of the "good ones", do me a favor and don't for the love of god choose Hamburg SV. Choose Frankfurt, choose Freiburg, choose Koln. They know what they're doing. I plead, don't choose Hamburg SV or you're getting ready for some of the worst soccer you'll ever see. Period.

Very funny.

While we are on the subject of the 2 Bundesliga, how about Stuttgart! They’ve essentially secured promotion, which means their coach, Pellegrino Matarazzo, will be only the second person born & raised in the states to coach in a Top 5 European league.

 

[Schwallacus]

Word of advice, never ever choose to support Hamburg SV. You will wanna die almost every single time a game ends, you will just sell your soul to the devil. By the end of a season, you won't even feel pain when they choke in the 90th+4 minute, either to lose or tie a game. There has never been, and never will be, a shittier, more mentally broken, badly managed, badly operated club like Hamburg SV.

If you're looking to choose a team that won't break your heart constantly, and isn't one of the "good ones", do me a favor and don't for the love of god choose Hamburg SV. Choose Frankfurt, choose Freiburg, choose Koln. They know what they're doing. I plead, don't choose Hamburg SV or you're getting ready for some of the worst soccer you'll ever see. Period.

To be fair Heidenheim has to play 1st place and guaranteed promoted side Arminia on the last day, whereas HSV are facing 12th spot Sandhausen. Sucks that they blew it in a game that could've guaranteed a promo/playoff, but not all hope is lost... yet. Will be an interesting final day!!

 

[Shwafta]

To be fair Heidenheim has to play 1st place and guaranteed promoted side Arminia on the last day, whereas HSV are facing 12th spot Sandhausen. Sucks that they blew it in a game that could've guaranteed a promo/playoff, but not all hope is lost... yet. Will be an interesting final day!!

A team like this does not deserve to play in the Bundesliga lmao. I'd much rather see Heidenheim, with their excitement to play first-league soccer!