More woes for Hanover
BEFORE their Champions League last 16 duel against Liverpool on February 19 and March 13, Bayern Munich are said to be on red alert.
The Bavarians’ coach Niko Kovac is facing several serious problems causing concern among fans and within the club. The 47-year-old still claims his side won’t surrender yet.
But do Bayern have the power to strike back after they lost further ground in the Bundesliga?
A season without a title in either the Champions League, German Cup or Bundesliga would be seen as a catastrophe.
The list of crucial cases appears like a who’s who in German and international football.
Experienced players such as Mats Hummels, Jerome Boateng, Thomas Mueller, Manuel Neuer (all 2014 World Cup champions with Germany), James Rodriguez, Robert Lewandowski, Franck Ribery, and Arjen Robben have their own problems and the team lacks a leader to unite the unbalanced squad.
Due to various reasons, neither James, Leon Goretzka or Thiago give the midfield stability.
While Ribery, Robben and Neuer struggle with the after effects of long injuries break, Hummels and Boateng seem to have passed their peak. Lewandowski, Mueller, James and David Alaba are said to have difficulties with either the coach’s tactics, rotation, or are out of shape.
Sports magazine assumed Bayern have a mentality problem due to internal team turbulence.
The 3-1 loss to Bayern Leverkusen again gave proof of Bayern’s trouble when facing teams playing a fast game, having lost to dynamic sides like Borussia Dortmund (3-2) and Borussia Moenchengladbach (3-0).
“We don’t manage like in the past years to dominate the games; we lack sovereignty,” complained defender and midfielder Joshua Kimmich.
The fact is, Bayern have conceded 23 goals in the Bundesliga after 20 matches, more than in the last eight years.
Centre-back Niklas Süle lacks experience but is providing speed and a healthy physical presence, but Hummels and Boateng lack speed and seem mentally blocked, and the number of serious mistakes is rising.
None of Bayern’s stars seem ready to provide their best quality.
Who is the boss? That essential question remains unanswered. Mueller, Lewandowski, Boateng, Hummels, and James next to Neuer, Robben and Ribery have extensive experience but are far from undisputed as the squad is in a state of rejuvenation.
James is said to be considering leaving for Juventus or Real Madrid, while Robben and Ribery are departing after over 10 years in the autumn of their careers. Neuer hasn’t yet regained his best level after an eight-month injury.
The team have a motivation problem, and the atmosphere is said to be unbalanced, according to
And how serious is Neuer’s latest injury? The German international is said to be suffering from a torn ligament in his right thumb. He missed the Leverkusen game and hasn’t yet resumed goalkeeper training.
It is uncertain when he will return and fans now fear that Neuer could miss the matches against Liverpool.
Neuer’s replacement Sven Ulreich lacks game experience as he hasn’t played for more than seven months.
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Xinhau
HANOVER have been dealt another blow in their battle for Bundesliga survival as striker Noah Joel Sarenren Bazee has been ruled out for months with an ankle injury.
The club said yesterday that the 22-year-old Nigerian would have an operation this week after tearing ligaments in a 5-1 defeat at Borussia Dortmund last month.
Sarenren Bazee joins Ihlas Bebou, Linton Maina and Niclas Fuellkrug in being sidelined with long-term injuries.
Hanover, who next play at home to fellow strugglers Nuremberg on Saturday, JUST WHEN Mario Gomez had to cope with not being a starter at ailing Bundesliga club VfB Stuttgart, matters got worse for him as he was sent off for the first time in his professional career.
Gomez, 33, received his marching orders in the 89th minute of Stuttgart’s match against Freiburg for a second bookable aerial challenge in four minutes on Sunday, and his team then had to swallow a stoppage-time 2-2 equaliser.
“I was shocked after the second yellow card. I didn’t even look at my marker either time and just jumped up. That’s a normal movement,” the former Germany striker insisted.
Gomez’s fate and the late equaliser were another indication of Stuttgart’s struggles in third-last place this season.
Gomez suggested that referee Denis Aytekin had deliberately sent him off because he had been critical of the referee when the two sides met for the first time in late summer in a 3-3 draw in Freiburg.
But he then admitted that Aytekin told him he didn’t care what happened in the past, saying: “It appears that it was no revenge but I interpreted in that way. I was wrong.”
Gomez will now at least miss the crucial next Bundesliga game against fellow strugglers Fortuna Dusseldorf after the first dismissal of his professional career spanning 15 years, sparing coach Markus Weinzierl the decision whether to bench him again.
Gomez made his Bundesliga debut in 2005 at Stuttgart before a 2009 move to Bayern Munich, followed by stints with Fiorentina, Besiktas and Wolfsburg before a surprise return to Stuttgart in January last year.
He scored 10 goals as Stuttgart finished a strong seventh in their return season from the second tier, but things have not gone so well this season for Gomez.
However, he started in the first 18 matches, scoring only five times in three of those.
Weinzierl benched him for the first time in the game at champions Bayern on the last January weekend when he didn’t play at all.
And Gomez only came on as a second-half substitute against Freiburg, but was not involved in the two goals that Stuttgart scored to take a temporary 2-1 lead against he team he scored 12 goals against in 12 previous matches.
The coach later described the red card as crucial to the outcome but also admitted that “we were too naive”.
Gomez, for his part, appears to accept his new role, saying the team comes first.
“The coach has made the decision and I have accepted it. He decides the starting line-up,” sports magazine quoted him as saying.
“I will definitely not create any (problems). This is my team and the last thing I want is unrest. I am here so that we don’t get relegated, and I will do my share and accept any decision.”
This is my team and the last thing I want is unrest. I am here so that we don’t get relegated
Mario Gomez
VfB Stuttgart striker
| dpa