Offside the Bundesliga: Making of Under Armour Football Boots

The young American brand and outfitter of Hannover 96 Under Armour provides a look behind the scenes of the production of their new football boots. I found it pretty astonishing that it takes about five months from the first scrawls to the finished and actual shoe. On the other hand, I never really thought about it… Anyway, watch and learn:

Gone Coachy Gone

Didn’t loyalty used to go a long way? I know, not with players who immediately leave clubs when they smell two Euros more at another one. Okay, there a few exceptions of course, Lukas Podolski for instance who returns to his love FC Cologne or Robert Enke who does not want to transferred away from Hannover but should and therefore has to. But with coaches? Coaches used to get sacked, fired or axed, as you like it, but this season might have ended an era of coaches being the weak link in the chain. Out of nowhere a huge amount of self-confidence and self esteem occurred among the trainers, letting four Bundesliga instructors leave their clubs during a running contract.

Felix Magath chose to leave Wolfsburg for Schalke at the end of the season. This became public, three weeks before the last game was played. Lucky for him, his squad didn’t let themselves be influenced as they became later Bundesliga champion. No harm done. Hamburg’s coach Martin Jol is off for Amsterdam now, after a disappointing end of the season and an argument with the management about the future of the club. Meanwhile in Leverkusen, Bruno Labbadia was also dissatisfied with his management, forcing them to release him from his contract in order to train the Redpants in Hamburg. Luckily, Bayer received around one million Euros from Hamburg for the transfer of the coach. The players will now be trained by the man who took care of Bayern Munich for the last five games of the season after Klinsmann’s dismissal. The 64-year-old pensioner, Jupp Heynckes, admitted that his short engagemt at Bayern’s sparked a fire inside him. It was a very surprising and unexpected move by Bayer and Heynckes.

And last but not least, Cologne’s coach Christoph Daum left his love, too, in order to train the guys from Fenerbahce in Istanbul. But the situation in Cologne is slightly different. Fans who feel cheated and punked by what should’ve had to be their savior, should blame their management. I don’t know whether a contract like the one they gave to Daum, has ever existed at any other club in the whole wide world where the coach has the right to step back from his engagement at two certain days a year without any declaration of reasons. But this not a big surprise for the football fans in Germany, Cologne has pretty much experience in stumbling from one ridiculousness into another. Well done FC, you proved yourself right once again!

Asianess

After the dowdy draw againt China on Friday, Germany defeated the UAE 7-2 in Dubai on their second and last stop of the Asia trip on Tuesday. As suspected, it was a better training game, the only notable aspects were Schalke’s Manuel Neuer who debuted in the German goal and showed a strong and solid effort. The other thing was the four goals by Mario Gomez who somehow hadn’t scored in 15 consecutive caps while showing his goalgetter face only in the Bundesliga. A big relief for him, indeed.

Anyway, the point of the whole two game Asia trip was to put a German foot in the Asian market, believing that they have money left to burn. While all other big European leagues have multi-million-Euro deals with media corporations, the Germans hobble after them being three to four years behind as usual. But travelling with what has to be a better reserve squad to Asia, this goal was not going to be accomplished. And rightly so! Of course, many players couldn’t make the trip because they had to play in several cup finals or had other commitments but the atmosphere before and the arguments about the needlessness of this trip were nothing but an impolite slap in the face of Asian football fans. Therefore only a few fans managed to come to the games as Germany played in front of 7000 fans in Dubai.

The German football federation DFB should have sold the trip as what it was. A Thank You for the four Asian FIFA votes in order to get the 2006 World Cup to Germany. But it’s not really the proper way to thank someone with a lethargic and spiritless performance of a B-squad not to mention to earn any Asian money in the future. You still recognize the old and grey scabs in the managements of the DFB and the Bundesliga.

Christoph Daum off to Fener

Big and surprising news this morning as Cologne FC Coach Christoph Daum unexpectedly canceled his contract to return to his second home Istanbul to coach the local club Fenerbahce. I can’t help it but this got an awkward smack of breach of trust. After a soap-opera kinda like office taking three years ago with press conferences held in hospitals, a lot of seesaws with quotes like ‘there are no pros and cons when it comes to love’ (great conclusion, though) and joyful elations in Cologne, the lost son leaves the city once again to return to his other love, Turkey. Media writes that he took this decision as he will earn 800.000 Euro more a year than in Germany bringing it to a total of an annual 3.5million Euro. Moreover, he was denied to go on a grand shopping tour in Cologne as the budget of the rather small club has shrunken after the transfer of 10million Euro man Lukas Podolski from Bayern Munich. The vacant position of the head coach has to be filled now, though the manhunt will become very competitive in the Bundesliga as four, maybe five other Bundesliga clubs are looking for new coaches:

Hamburger SV – Martin Jol leaving for Ajax Amsterdam.

Cologne FC – Christoph Daum leaving for Fenerbahce Istanbul.

Eintracht Frankfurt – Friedhelm Funkel had to resign after too much pressure from fans and the club.

Borussia Mönchengladbach – Hans Meyer resigned and retired, saying he’s too old for that.

Bayer Leverkusen (?) – Still on dispute, as Bruno Labbadia might get sacked or resigns himself in the next couple of days.

This reminds one less of a merry-go-round as there the positions get refilled, it’s more of a coconut shy where the coconuts or cans stay down.

Bundesliga Splashes

Today’s Splashes do not really come from the Bundesliga as Germany played in China while Werder Bremen defeated Bayer Leverkusen in order to win the national cup, the DFB-Pokal.

Those who are students or did not had to work or whatever had the grateful opportunity to watch the China-Germany game at 0230pm (CET) on Friday. What they saw was a really horrible game as Lukas Podolski had to equalize early to bring the 1-1 draw home. Mario Gomez wasn’t able to score for Germany yet again, maintaining his two faces, the successful Bundesliga scoring performance as well as the international failing one. ‘Two Nations, One Passion’ was the motto of the China-trip, trying to make the Bundesliga and German football more popular in Asia. This did not only come a few years late after all other big European leagues have at least one foot in Asia’s market, but the only team who showed a bit of passion in this game, was the Chinese team. While they fought bravely against the apparently jet-legged German squad, Deutschland hardly did any advertizing with their performance. The next upcoming opportunity will be on Tuesday as they’ll take on the United Arab Emirates in hot hot Dubai.

Congratulations to Werder Bremen! The only goal of the match from Mezut Özil meant another DFB-Pokal win for Bremen as they’ll thereby have the desired chance to play in the new established UEFA-Euro-League after losing the UEFA-Cup final a couple of weeks ago. While the Bremen fans bid farewell to star midfielder Diego who leaves for Junventus FC and for retiring Captain Frank Baumann, the Bayer fans had to suffer a lost final once again. Bayer Vice-kusen’s Coach Bruno Labbadia is facing rough days now as he criticized his management before the game and is linked to several other Bundesliga clubs such as Hamburger SV where he should become the successor of Martin Jol.

See highlights of the final here!

Bundesliga Splashes

Well, the Business-Punchinellos in the Bundesliga management decided before that season that it would be a great idea to bring back the 1991 abrogated relegation play-off games, meaning that the 16^th of the Bundesliga plays the 3^rd of the 2^nd Bundesliga in back-to-back matches. We now get treated with soccer-istical dainties such as Cottbus against Nuremberg. Anyway, the first match was played today, Cottbus lost 0-3 at home. Ouch! Nuremberg is getting ready to celebrate their promotion into the Bundesliga after the second leg on Sunday.

Meanwhile did Oliver Kahn interfere in the transfer politics of his old club Bayern Munich. And I’ve got to say, I share his opinion this time. He commented on Bayern’s request for Manuel Neuer, the goalkeeper of Schalke 04, saying that ‘he is a talented goalie, no more, no less’. And he doesn’t see a huge difference between him and Michael Rensing as they both have times where they play for the gallery as well as they’re fault-prone every now and then.

The next one could’ve been written by Mrs. Morissette. As Hamburg is losing their coach and are on the manhunt once again, you hear the name of Leverkusen’s coach Bruno Labbadia suddenly more often. He on the other hand is pretty much livin’ on the edge (yeah, this was Aerosmith, I know) at the Bayer club at the moment, as a loss in the DFB-Pokal final on Saturday would mean his sack. And who would Leverkusen lose to? Werder Bremen. Yes, their rival Werder Bremen who knocked the Redpants out of two semi-finals and defeated them three times in 19 days. So apparently, Werder could now help Hamburg to get the coach they want to have. Ah, Alanis…

Dances with Wolves – VfL Wolfsburg

The 46th Bundesliga season has ended last Saturday, it’s time to look back at an exciting and high-scoring season. For the next few weeks, I will wrap up the season for each individual club, point out the highlights as well as the lows.

First in line, the new and first time Bundesliga champion, VfL Wolfsburg.

Wolfsburg simply impressed with statistics. Coming from the 9th position in the tables after the mid-season’s break in winter without a single away win, they elevated themselves onto the top position by winning ten games in a row. The strikers Grafite and Edin Dzeko scored both 54 of the 80 goals in total, helping the Wolves to become the first Bundesliga champion that comes from such a low mid-season position. Helpful here, was another detail. They were a real power at home, no other European team was as successful this season as Wolfsburg. They won 16 out of 17 home games, the only draw happened against… no, not Bayern, not Stuttgart, against Frankfurt (a 2-2 in week 3)!

The city of Wolfsburg was once founded by the Nazis in 1938 as a home for the staff of the newly built Volkswagen factory. Nowadays Volkswagen plays the central role of the organization as the football branch of the club is tied 100% to the Volkswagen Inc. A key fact that helped coach and manager Felix Magath to improve the squad with 60million Euro, an aid package that is going to be expected for the new season as well, despite any recessions and crises. Felix Magath will then be doing his job in Schalke while the former Stuttgart coach Armin Veh will take over his reign.

But even traditionalists have to admit that an incredible and outstanding season by the club from Lower Saxony led them to the deserved Bundesliga title.

Highlight of the season

Without any doubts the 5-1 against Bayern Munich. The fifth goal by Grafite, a slap in Bavarian faces.

Goof-up of the season

Apart from the fact that they’re still VfL Wolfsburg and come from the city Wolfsburg (yawn) a loss against Karlsruhe is barely legal. But, believe it or not, the green goal machine was defeated 2-1 by the relegated team in Bundesliga week 6. Booo!