The Monday Bulletin: Snow chaos in Munich, Undav for Germany, Kovac in trouble and HSV keeper turns internet meme
Hello and welcome to the ninth edition of the Gegenpressing Monday Bulletin. This newsletter hopes to provide a vital source of information for any serious Bundesliga fan, as we round up some of the most intriguing aspects of the matchday thanks to snippets of insight from our writers. Let us know what you think of the format and the talking points in the comments section below.
This weekend’s results
Darmstadt 0-1 Köln
Bayern vs Union Berlin (postponed)
Leipzig 2-1 Heidenheim
Gladbach 2-1 Hoffenheim
Bochum 3-1 Wolfsburg
Stuttgart 2-0 Werder Bremen
Mainz 0-1 Freiburg
Leverkusen 1-1 Borussia Dortmund
Augsburg 2-1 Frankfurt
Snow chaos in Munich - What comes next?
There was simply no way that Bayern Munich were going to host Union Berlin at the Allianz Arena on Saturday. Up to 50cm of new snow fell from Friday night to Saturday afternoon. The airport shut down and all trains were cancelled in and out of Munich. The situation in and around the Bavarian capital remained problematic all the way into Monday morning. In fact, this Gegenpressing writer was also impacted. Hopes of covering the Bayern game were dashed early on Saturday, so where plans to travel to Hamburg on Monday morning as flights continued to be canceled. With all that in mind, the Bayern bosses had no choice but to cancel the game at the Allianz Arena. How does the process work? Ultimately, the Deutsche Fußball Bund (DFB), the governing body of the Bundesliga Deutsche Fußball Liga (DFL) and the host club make the decision in unison. The DFB, represented by the referee team on the ground, determines whether the field is playable. By all accounts, the field was actually in good condition. But with public transport closed and snow covering both the roof of the stadium, most of the lower bowl seats, and the walkways to the stadium, the club had no choice but to cancel the game. When will the game be played? Although both teams have been eliminated from the DFB Pokal, this week isn’t a possibility. The DFB doesn’t like to have Bundesliga games conflicting with the Pokal. Furthermore, the situation in Munich hasn’t improved much by the time of writing. As a result, the game will most likely take place in January, right after the winter break.
Deniz Undav for Germany? Stuttgart have option to buy
Serhou Guirassy has stolen all the headlines at the start of the season. But slowly but surely the focus is shifting to his partner in crime, Deniz Undav. For the first time this season, Guirassy and Undav started together on Saturday against Werder Bremen, and the impact was devastating. Although the game ended just 2-0 for Stuttgart, the xG was 3.91 versus 0.68. Both Guirassy and Undav scored but had several opportunities to increase their goal tally. The goal on Saturday was Undav’s eighth in just ten games this season. On loan from Brighton, the 27-year-old has now scored every 68 minutes for his club and is now the top-scoring German in the Bundesliga. In a country desperate for a productive goalscorer, Undav’s run seems to come just at the right time, and the Stuttgart star made it clear that next summer’s Euros are his ultimate intention. “It is my goal,” Undav said after the Werder game on Saturday. “Let’s see what happens.” Indeed, Julian Nagelsmann already has Undav in his notebook and if he continues his current form, plans to call up the Stuttgart striker for the friendlies in March. But what about his future in Stuttgart? While the Swabians have no control over Guirassy’s plans, the club does hold an option to make Undav’s loan from Brighton permanent for €12m. A fantastic deal, given his current goalscoring prowess.
Bayer Leverkusen 1-1 Borussia Dortmund: Bundesliga talking points
Victor Boniface scored his first Bundesliga goal since October to rescue a point against Borussia Dortmund and preserve Bayer Leverkusen’s unbeaten start to the season. The visitors took an early lead through Julian Ryerson, who finished neatly following good hold-up play from Niclas Füllkrug and defended solidly in the face of dominant Leverkusen possession. Florian Wirtz thought he’d drawn the Werkself level just before half-time, but his spectacular effort, which went in off the bar, was ruled out for a narrow offside in the build-up. In the second half, the host’s pressure eventually paid dividends when Patrik Schick, returning as a substitute after a long injury lay-off, squared the ball across the six-yard box for Boniface to tap home.
Niko Kovac in trouble at Wolfsburg?
Wolfsburg’s 3-1 defeat to relegation candidate Bochum was the sixth defeat in a row on the road. A big step back for Wolfsburg after beating Leipzig 2-1 just one week earlier. The result means that Wolfsburg, with just 16 points from 13 games, are stuck in the no-man’s land of the Bundesliga table. “The problem is that we are making too many easy mistakes,” Wolfsburg head coach Niko Kovac said after the game. “Those easy mistakes are getting punished in the Bundesliga. Also, we are incapable of forcing opponents into making mistakes.” Too many mistakes in defense and in attack have led Wolfsburg astray from European ambitions. “We have to start waking up,” Kovac added. The Wolfsburg coach had lamented all those things ahead of the game, but his team seems to be incapable of responding to the head coach’s demands. A dangerous development; after all, a head coach not reaching the dressing room is often one of the main reasons for a coaching change. Furthermore, there is no obvious development under Kovac in sight. After a poor start to the season last year, Kovac managed to guide the club to an eighth-place finish. But at the same time unnecessary draws and defeats cost the club a spot in Europe. The Wolfsburg bosses hoped that the results last year would lead to the next step in the club’s development this year. But as it stands, that step in the right direction has been lacking.
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Unfortunate Daniel Heuer Fernandes turns internet meme
It will probably be the own goal of the 2. Bundesliga season. Down 1-0 in the Hamburger Stadtderby against St. Pauli, Hamburger SV goalkeeper Daniel Heuer Fernandes played the ball out of the back to Stephan Ambrosius; he passed the ball to Guilherme Ramos, who played the ball back to his goalkeeper. But the pass wasn’t clean, and when Fernandes tried to smash the ball up the field, it slipped over his foot and, instead of sailing out of danger, smashed into the top netting of his own goal. “We simply tried to play the ball out of the back, like we always do,” Fernandes said in an interview with Kicker (Monday edition). “While being positioned next to the goal, I signaled that I was open, and then the ball was passed a bit awkwardly towards my back. Just before I tried to clear it, the ball bounced, and I smashed it into the goal. Of course, that is extremely unfortunate, but it happens in football, and I can’t turn back the clocks.” The positive; two goals down, the team coached by Tim Walter showed character and managed to make up the 2-0 deficit. “That shows that we never give up and the power we can develop,” Fernandes said. “But unfortunately, we weren’t able to show it until the second half.” Although the result wasn’t optimal, and the goal unfortunate, Fernandes has now secured a place in the history of the Stadtderby and overnight became an internet sensation as all major football outlets ran the goal on their platforms. Perhaps not the stardom Fernandes was hoping for, but at least the HSV fans stood behind their goalkeeper, chanting his name after the game. “That was nice to hear and felt good,” Fernandes said after the game. “The togetherness between the fans and the team is something I am used to at HSV. It makes this club special.”
Great format
So who would replace Kovac? Any whispers?