No. 1 of the Rhine

Today is not only the anniversary of Kurt Cobain’s death, but also the end for Karlsruhe’s hopes to stay in the Bundesliga. After a 0-0 draw against Borussia Mönchengladbach, Karlsruhe was not only not able to score for the 5^th time in a row but they also missed a huge opportunity to pocket three important points against the 16^th Mönchengladbach. Last in line Karlsruhe has now scored incredible 18 goals in only 26 games. Impressed by that numbers, it slipped my mind how many goals Wolfsburg striker Grafite scored in 17 games.

Talking about goals, Robert Enke the German international goalkeeper playing for Hannover 96 received another four, bringing that to a total of 56. And yet again, he didn’t stand a chance having the worst defense of the league in front of him. He even saved a penalty during the 1-4 loss at Werder Bremen but if he wants to win the race for the starting goalie in South Africa the media not only calls for a better defense in front of him but also for international experience such as Uefa-Cup or Champions League games. Still, in my opinion, Robert Enke is the best German keeper in the Bundesliga at the moment.

But the big game today was held in Cologne, where the FC hosted the Bayer team from Leverkusen for the 48^th Bundesliga Rhine derby. Former Cologne striker Patrick Helmes who joined the rival from the right side of the Rhine at the beginning of the season and scored 17 goals until this game was treated as a traitor. But if the FC supporters want to blame anybody then it would have to be their own management who didn’t care enough to renew Helmes’ contract. The Cologne born striker showed his gratitude by scoring from the penalty spot and leading his side Leverkusen to a 2-0 victory. The Geissböcke are hoping now for Helmes to return to his roots in a Lukas Podolski kind of way.