I could write a match wrap-up (we won, but it definitely wasn't pretty at times, but at least it can no longer be said about us this season that if the other team strikes first, we lose!), but I'd rather just take a moment to thank the universe, God, the Lords of Kobol, etc, for Mario Gomez.
Not to diminish anyone else's contribution today, but I feel like Mario deserves some love. He's always getting picked on and I just want to say that I never expected to love him as much as I do, but he's pretty brilliant. So here's to Mario! May the cannon ever be yours!
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Thank god for Robbery!
Thanks to great performances from Arjen Robben (two goals on PKs) and Franck Ribery (a brace for him, too), we are back where we belong: the top of the table! What did we learn from this week's match?
*Toni Kroos has really stepped up in the absence of Bastian Schweinsteiger (who, btw, may be back to face Cologne later this month, just before the Christmas break!) and is helping to direct the flow of the match, even when he's playing more forward in the number ten spot. With Alaba playing out of position next to Gustavo in DM (you'll remember that Tymo was (unfairly) handed a three-match ban for a challenge and thus had to miss today's match), Kroos has proved he can be both an offensive threat (his shots from distance are really something) and a defensive roadblock. In short, he's apparently learned from Basti the secret to being everywhere on the pitch at once. I'm pretty sure I actually saw him dissolve and re-form on the other side of a couple of defenders today (Leo Messi, you're not the only one with superpowers!).
*Thomas Muller gets fouled an awful lot, but you'd think that teams would realize that fouling Muller in the box is a very bad idea. In the past few years, Bayern has scored more than a few goals off of PKs awarded because of fouls on Thomas. The commentator on ESPN3 commented that he's "enthusiastic" and he always has a "cheeky grin" on his face. To that, I say: If you look up "overenthusiastic" in a German dictionary, there will be a picture of Thomas Muller, grinning like a maniac. But he really does take one for the team more often than most and he had some awesome chances today, too. And his ability to play both on the wing and in the ten spot give us a lot of versatility.
*Why is it that teams get away with certain things against us (really? It's now okay to INTENTIONALLY ELBOW a player from the opposing team, Pizarro?)? I hate chippy football, regardless of who is doing it, but stuff like that is just ridiculous. You don't get to elbow Badstuber in the chest because you feel like it.
*I'm sure there will be all sorts of people talking badly about Mario Gomez because he didn't score today. But he was onside and the call was bad. And he then let Franck take the following shot, giving Franck the brace. Want a German lesson? "Das war nicht Abseits." Now you can all yell "That was not offsides!" at the linesman with me. And I love that, after the match, Mario was talking to the linesman, explaining how he had stayed onside.
We head to England on Wednesday to take on Manchester City. Good news is that we've already qualified for the elimination stage of the Champions League and, if we beat City, they will be out of European competition for the year. Our boys on the German NT got their draw for the European Championships next summer and we're in the "Group of Death" (to give you an idea, Brooks Peck over at Dirty Tackle gave the group four Mario Balotellis, which is a pretty scary idea) with Netherlands, Denmark, and Portugal. The good news is that Germany plays better when challenged (anyone else remember that loss to Serbia in the World Cup?) and it means that we'll get to watch Basti run circles around Cristiano Ronaldo early in the tournament! It also means action from Arjen Robben and former skipper Mark van Bommel in the group stage. Olic and Pranjic will be facing Ireland, Italy, and reigning champs Spain in their group. And Ribery and Tymo will face off when France and Ukraine join England and Sweden in Group D.
We'll see you back here on Wednesday post-Man City!
*Toni Kroos has really stepped up in the absence of Bastian Schweinsteiger (who, btw, may be back to face Cologne later this month, just before the Christmas break!) and is helping to direct the flow of the match, even when he's playing more forward in the number ten spot. With Alaba playing out of position next to Gustavo in DM (you'll remember that Tymo was (unfairly) handed a three-match ban for a challenge and thus had to miss today's match), Kroos has proved he can be both an offensive threat (his shots from distance are really something) and a defensive roadblock. In short, he's apparently learned from Basti the secret to being everywhere on the pitch at once. I'm pretty sure I actually saw him dissolve and re-form on the other side of a couple of defenders today (Leo Messi, you're not the only one with superpowers!).
*Thomas Muller gets fouled an awful lot, but you'd think that teams would realize that fouling Muller in the box is a very bad idea. In the past few years, Bayern has scored more than a few goals off of PKs awarded because of fouls on Thomas. The commentator on ESPN3 commented that he's "enthusiastic" and he always has a "cheeky grin" on his face. To that, I say: If you look up "overenthusiastic" in a German dictionary, there will be a picture of Thomas Muller, grinning like a maniac. But he really does take one for the team more often than most and he had some awesome chances today, too. And his ability to play both on the wing and in the ten spot give us a lot of versatility.
*Why is it that teams get away with certain things against us (really? It's now okay to INTENTIONALLY ELBOW a player from the opposing team, Pizarro?)? I hate chippy football, regardless of who is doing it, but stuff like that is just ridiculous. You don't get to elbow Badstuber in the chest because you feel like it.
*I'm sure there will be all sorts of people talking badly about Mario Gomez because he didn't score today. But he was onside and the call was bad. And he then let Franck take the following shot, giving Franck the brace. Want a German lesson? "Das war nicht Abseits." Now you can all yell "That was not offsides!" at the linesman with me. And I love that, after the match, Mario was talking to the linesman, explaining how he had stayed onside.
We head to England on Wednesday to take on Manchester City. Good news is that we've already qualified for the elimination stage of the Champions League and, if we beat City, they will be out of European competition for the year. Our boys on the German NT got their draw for the European Championships next summer and we're in the "Group of Death" (to give you an idea, Brooks Peck over at Dirty Tackle gave the group four Mario Balotellis, which is a pretty scary idea) with Netherlands, Denmark, and Portugal. The good news is that Germany plays better when challenged (anyone else remember that loss to Serbia in the World Cup?) and it means that we'll get to watch Basti run circles around Cristiano Ronaldo early in the tournament! It also means action from Arjen Robben and former skipper Mark van Bommel in the group stage. Olic and Pranjic will be facing Ireland, Italy, and reigning champs Spain in their group. And Ribery and Tymo will face off when France and Ukraine join England and Sweden in Group D.
We'll see you back here on Wednesday post-Man City!
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Time to dust off those blogging shoes....
Hey everyone, remember me? It's been awhile, but I come bearing gifts.In the last week, we have seen the return of Arjen Robben, suffered a defeat against Borussia Dortmund, and qualified for the knockout stages of the Champions League thanks to the three men you see in the picture to the right. Things will only get crazier from here on out. We have important games against Werder Bremen and Stuttgart swiftly approaching, the (meaningless) game against Manchester City, which Toni Kroos insists we won't just "roll over" (though I would gladly roll over for Herr Kroos) and the possibility of us drawing Manchester United in the early stages of the Round of 16. To this I say, tut tut and may FC Basel steal away any chances of the satanic club from qualifying!
Where was I going with this? I'm not sure. So we lost 0-1 to Borussia Dortmund, which kind of sucked. But revenge reared it's ugly head in the form of Thomas Vermaelen yesterday in BVB's game against Arsenal. Sven Bender is out for the rest of 2011 with a broken face. Number of times I watched the lesser Bender twin get completely Verminated: 7. Götze came off early as well, but I don't care enough to be informed to be quite honest. Should be interesting for the Ruhrpott Scum Derby this Saturday. Draw or Die! We're 2 points ahead of BVB and Gladbach, 3 or so ahead of Schalke and we face a relegation-zone team on Sunday. BRING IT ON. Wir holen die Meisterschaft und den Europacup und den Pokaaaaal den holen wir noch einmaaaaaaal. Clap clap clap clap.
We've had to deal with the loss of Schweinsteiger (who, by the way, can drive a car again), but I feel we've coped nicely. Tymo is suspended in the league so I believe a Gustavo-Alaba partnership will be our answer for the games against Mainz and Bremen. Or we can all petition for the use of Kroos there. Or our underrated Croatian superstar, Danijel Pranjic. (I sense my co-bloggers clutching at their hearts). By the way, if you google Croatian Superstar, one of the results is Pope Benedict XVI.
This is where I talk about how Ribery is in the form of his life, Robben wants to stay in Munich ("Ich möchte am allerliebsten in München bleiben."), Marco Reus would look better in red dancing to 'Ai Se Eu Te Pego,' Schalke sucks, and today is Thanksgiving. Fill in the blanks yourself, it's turkey time!
(I couldn't find pictures of any Bavarian turkeys. Funny how I just found pictures of Hamit Altintop. So I shall leave you with Papa Bayern serving himself some wurst.)
Monday, November 14, 2011
oh, uh?
as far as blogging consistency goes, I bear a rather strong resemblance to the sort of stereotypical absent parental figure that would create great issues for a whiny television character. I hope none of you are getting a complex.
I apologize for my absence - senior year and GREs have eaten up both my time and my sanity, and yet onwards I march.
I think we're all going a little stir crazy during the international break, as per usual. I can't speak to the Germany vs Ukraine match, on account of the fact that I didn't watch it, but I've been told that the Bayern players who were there put on the strongest showing on the pitch. Yes, allow that smug, arrogant, uniquely Bavarian feeling to wash over you, my friends.
But wait! It's not over! A recap of what you might want to watch tomorrow:
Ukraine vs Austria (2 PM EST)
Germany vs Holland (2:45 PM EST)
France vs Belgium (3 PM EST)
as for myself, I shall be either a) taking a nap and hoarding precious amounts of sleep or b) watching the United States vs Slovenia.
have a good week, Bayern fans!
Thursday, November 3, 2011
German phrases you never wanted to learn...
Schluesselbeinbruch: clavicle fracture (or, if you want to piss Chary off, collarbone break).
Unless you've been living under a rock, you probably already know that Bastian Schweinsteiger fractured his clavicle in the 50th minute of yesterday's CL match against Napoli. He'll be in the hospital until tomorrow and in two weeks, he'll be allowed to start jogging and work his way back to training. He's expected to be out at least 6 weeks and likely will not play again this calendar year.
Clearly, this is a blow to the team and to all of us, but mostly, I'm heartbroken for him. He lives and breathes the team and it's clear that it's harder on him to be out and not playing than it is for us to miss him. And I think it's fair to say that, if something goes terribly wrong in the next few weeks, he'll be hard on himself. But we can all hope for quick and uncomplicated healing.
As for the rest of the match...the first 45 minutes were not bad at all. Mario Gomez scored a(nother) hat trick and passed Michael Ballack to become the all-time German scoring leader in the Champion's League (well deserved, Mario!). We had some moments of flair and brilliance (I'm starting to wonder if Toni and Franck and Basti are able to bi- and tri-locate sometimes).
And then the second half started and things went...not well. Let's be honest: it was a disaster on many levels. Holger should not have been sent off. The ref...yeah. I'm not even going to go there.
All said, we won, we top the group, and it puts us in good position to win the group and make the Round of 16. This weekend, we take on Augsburg. I, for one, am hoping that Toni Kroos will take Basti's spot as playmaker in DM. I have faith in Toni.
Mia san Bayern, mia san mia. AUF GEHT'S BAYERN!
Unless you've been living under a rock, you probably already know that Bastian Schweinsteiger fractured his clavicle in the 50th minute of yesterday's CL match against Napoli. He'll be in the hospital until tomorrow and in two weeks, he'll be allowed to start jogging and work his way back to training. He's expected to be out at least 6 weeks and likely will not play again this calendar year.
Clearly, this is a blow to the team and to all of us, but mostly, I'm heartbroken for him. He lives and breathes the team and it's clear that it's harder on him to be out and not playing than it is for us to miss him. And I think it's fair to say that, if something goes terribly wrong in the next few weeks, he'll be hard on himself. But we can all hope for quick and uncomplicated healing.
As for the rest of the match...the first 45 minutes were not bad at all. Mario Gomez scored a(nother) hat trick and passed Michael Ballack to become the all-time German scoring leader in the Champion's League (well deserved, Mario!). We had some moments of flair and brilliance (I'm starting to wonder if Toni and Franck and Basti are able to bi- and tri-locate sometimes).
And then the second half started and things went...not well. Let's be honest: it was a disaster on many levels. Holger should not have been sent off. The ref...yeah. I'm not even going to go there.
All said, we won, we top the group, and it puts us in good position to win the group and make the Round of 16. This weekend, we take on Augsburg. I, for one, am hoping that Toni Kroos will take Basti's spot as playmaker in DM. I have faith in Toni.
Mia san Bayern, mia san mia. AUF GEHT'S BAYERN!
Monday, October 31, 2011
Congratulations!
VOTE VOTE VOTE
Hey everyone! Becky is entered in the How Far Would You Go contest on World Soccer Shop. She is such a dedicated fan of Bayern that she is currently writing her dissertation on the theology of soccer and Bayern Munich. It’s time to assemble the Bayern coalition and vote for our girl! Click here to vote!
Thanks guys! <3
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