Guten Tag, the Bundesliga return is upon us, and not before time. It has been 10 weeks since German clubs tasted competitive action – that’s almost as long as the summer break.
The World Cup is finished and the Winterpause is no more. For some the break was nothing but bad news, for others it signalled a welcome return and for a lucky few it brought a belated Christmas present, but all that is now finished – Matchday 16 is GO!
By Chris Williams, our Bundesliga expert
National Disaster
No preview of the Rückrunde could ignore the goings on in Qatar. When the football got underway Hansi Flick’s side massively underachieved. For the second time in a row Germany failed to get out of the World Cup Group stage. Whilst not universal favourites, the 2014 winners were expected to punch around the Quarter Final mark.
Only Jamal Musiala and Niclas Füllkrug left the Middle East with nods of acknowledgement, the latter proving he was the striker Flick was searching for. The 29-year-old, who plies his trade at Werder Bremen, came off the bench three times – netting twice and providing one assist in his 66 minutes of action.
Bayern’s bad luck
The old saying ‘it never rains but it pours’ certainly rang true for the Bavarian club over the winter break. Sadio Mané was joined on the treatment table by Lucas Hernandez, who ruptured his ACL whilst on international duty for France.
Post-World Cup, Manuel Neuer broke his leg whilst skiing – cue the complaints of why contracted players on thousands of pounds a week can undertake dangerous pastimes.
Bayern did indeed investigate and Neuer didn’t do anything outside of his agreement with the 10-time champions, you could almost hear the ruffling of papers in Munich that day as other contracts were checked for eyebrow raising anomalies.
It is an incident that has left Bayern scratching around for a goalkeeper as the knockout stages of the Champions League loom large. Sven Ulreich has been a dutiful number two over the years, but a series of gaffs have cost the Rekordmeister in some major fixtures.
The natural course of action would have been to recall Alexander Nübel from his two-year loan at AS Monaco, but the intricacies of that deal meant the French club held all the cards – and they vetoed an early release.
As Friday’s kick off in Leipzig edges closer, Borussia Mönchengladbach’s Yann Sommer becomes the man Hasan Salihamidžić and co will look to, the Swiss ‘keeper fills the gap left by Neuer. Gladbach proved a hard nut to crack in the transfer market, the Bavarians had to stump up €8m with an additional €1.5m to follow conditionally to get their man.
Haller hat-trick
In what could be the best news story you’ll hear in all of 2023, Borussia Dortmund’s Sébastien Haller is back on a football pitch and scoring goals once again.
Unable to make his BVB debut in the summer, after a routine scan in July led to a diagnosis of testicular cancer, the 28-year-old bagged a seven-minute hat-trick in his first outing since getting the all-clear.
It may have only been during a 3×30 minute training fixture in Marbella versus Swiss side FC Basel, but it did give us all something to smile about. With 34 goals and nine assists across 43 games for Ajax last season, Haller was expected to help fill the gap left by Erling Haaland – hopefully now we’ll get to see him back to his very best and doing what comes naturally.
Leverkusen lure Mbamba
He’s one of the most highly rated young defensive midfielders in Europe, and 18-year-old Noah Mbamba has chosen Bayer Leverkusen as his next destination. The versatile Belgian had been on the radar of a few Premier League clubs, but the Club Brugge prodigy cited the Bundesliga as a place he can develop.
“I like German club football and Bayer 04 are well known for giving young players the best opportunities to achieve the top level” he said at his unveiling.
Predominantly a defensive midfielder he can play slightly higher, or on either side, of the midfield. But it isn’t just breaking up the opponent’s attack he’s good at, Mbamba also has an eye for goal.
With three goals and one assist in nine Challenger Pro League appearances this season, Leverkusen are getting a player who influences at both ends of the pitch.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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