Dortmund, Bayern challenge top 2 Union, Freiburg
BERLIN, Oct 13, (AP): Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund are in the unaccustomed role of challengers as the Bundesliga’s top four all meet on Sunday.
League leaders Union Berlin host fourth-placed Dortmund while 10-time defending champions Bayern welcome second-placed Freiburg.
Union are two points ahead of Freiburg, which themselves are two points ahead of Bayern and Dortmund after nine rounds.
The surprise leaders’ success is built on mean defenses, efficiency in front of goal, and continuity - both Union coach Urs Fischer and Freiburg counterpart Christian Streich are the longest serving coaches in the Bundesliga.
Fischer took over Union in July 2018 and led the club to promotion in his first season, while Streich has been
Freiburg coach since 2011, overseeing their promotion as second-division champions in 2016 following their demotion the season before.
“You only have continuity in a club if a team achieves results that exceed expectations,” Streich said this week. “It’s not like you can say, ‘Hey, the coach should stay for many years so that there’s continuity in a club.’”
SOCCER
The 57-year-old Streich is back after missing his team’s 2-2 draw at Hertha Berlin due to a coronavirus infection. “I didn’t have a lot of fun in front of the television,” he said.
Neither Streich nor Fischer have any attention-grabbing stars, but they count on full commitment, hard work and a willingness to suffer when the players need to defend. No other teams have conceded fewer goals in the Bundesliga.
Union’s 1-0 win in Stuttgart last weekend was not the first time this season that Fischer’s team ground out a result through sheer doggedness and a little luck - Stuttgart twice hit the post. Paul Jaeckel’s late corner from a header was enough for the team’s sixth win.
Union are unbeaten in 10 games at home, though they lost each of their last three meetings against Dortmund since a win in December 2020.
Union held visiting Bayern to 1-1 in September. Dortmund will present a different challenge at Stadion An der Alten Försterei on Sunday, when the visitors will aim to play more directly following coach Edin Terzić’s and Mats Hummels’ criticism of the players’ tendency to overplay the ball.
Dortmund have dropped points in four of their nine league games, while Bayern have four draws and one defeat.
The Bavarian side is happy to have qualified for the Champions League knockout stages from a tough group with the likes of Barcelona and Inter Milan, but the focus is clearly back on the Bundesliga - particularly after last weekend’s disappointment in Dortmund.
“We ourselves are to blame for this draw, as we should have decided the game earlier or defended more consistently,” Bayern CEO Oliver Kahn wrote on Twitter after Anthony Modeste’s late leveler. “But it continues and we want to get to first place as quickly as possible!”