GRASS HOLES
Bayer Leverkusen are using “lawn solariums’’ to curate the pitch of Bay Arena. These
are small tents with infrared tubes that capture sunlight and utilize it to maintain
optimal pitch conditions. The tents are frequently repositioned to cover the entire
turf.NOT SO UFO
A drone alarm delayed the return
trip of FSV Mainz 05 after their
Bundesliga match in Berlin.
The airplane with the 05ers on
board was not allowed to land at
Frankfurt Airport upon its arrival.
After waiting in the air, the plane
was redirected to Nuremberg.
From there, players went back
to Mainz by bus at night. The
flights were called off after airport
officials spotted unauthorized
drones flying in close proximity to
the airport.THANKS FOR NOTHING
Mainz 05 coach Achim Beierlorzer says there is no bad blood between him and
Pierre Kunde Malong after the Cameroonian refused to shake his hand after being
subbed off against Bayern Munich. The midfielder also expressed regret over his
misconduct and apologized in a public interview.ET TU ACHIM
Mainz 05 coach Achim
Beierlorzer dressed up as
the all-conquering Roman
emperor Julias Caesar
in Mainz 05’s traditional
Carnival charity benefit.
It’s an annual event where
Mainz players and staff
bond with their fans and
celebrate the city’s culture.
Dressing up is part of the
tradition and Beierlorzer
made sure he didn’t look
out of place.WHAT A ZANKA
Fortuna Dusseldorf star
Mathias Jorgensen asks
everyone to call him “Zanka”,
even his jersey reads “Zanka”
as well. The Denmark
international reveals he
adopted the name Zanka
because his trainer used to
say he looked like Sanka from
Cool Runnings when he was 10
years old. Cool Runnings is a
hit movie based on a Jamaican
bobsled team that made it all
the way to the Olympics. Sanka
Coffie was a member of that
team.MARTIN THE SPY
Swedish media reports Wolfsburg video analyst
Martin Raschick pretended to be a journalist to
watch Malmo training at the training camp in
Marbella, Spain ahead of the Europa league tie
between the two clubs. Malmo’s staff managed to
apprehend him and escorted him out of the club’s
training facilities.THE REF IS THE BOSS
Borussia Monchengladbach coach Marco
Rose has suggested a meeting between
Bundesliga match officials and coaches
for developing a harmonious relationship
and exchanging views on refereeing calls.
Coaches have been far from convinced
with the level of officiating this season,
and have often been punished for voicing
their discontent from the sideline. Rose
himself was sent off during his club’s
DFB-Pokal Cup meeting against Borussia
Dortmund.- Eintracht
Frankfurt’s
Filip Kostic was
directly involved
in more than 3
goals for the
first time ever
in German
professional
football as
he racked up
2 assists and
2 goals in
Frankfurt;s 5-0
routing of FC
Augsburg. - As of matchday
21, RB Leipzig
(16) and Bayern
Munich (13) are
the teams in
the Bundesliga
that score the
most in the last
15 minutes of a
match. - Bayern Munich
have won
their first 3
Bundesliga
home games
against RB
Leipzig without
conceding a
goal. They have
never won the
first 4 games
while keeping
a clean sheet
against the
same opponent. - Mats Hummels
is the only
player who has
scored in each
of the past 12
Bundesliga
seasons.
DID YOU
KNOW?
PANTOMIME TIME
Hertha players took the field
against Mainz with scars painted
on their faces in protest of the
racial abuse Jordan Torunarigha
faced during the Berlin side’s
Bundesliga meeting with Schalke.
Black players drew a white line,
while players with a fairer skin
tone donned a black line on their
faces. German popstar Frank
Zander also showed support for
Torunarigha as he held up the
defender’s jersey number during
his pre-match performance. The
Hertha star has filed a criminal
complaint against unnamed
offenders in response to the racial
abuse he received.JUST A COUPLE OF
MUGS
Werder Bremen coach Florian
Kohfeldt was nearly hit by two empty
beer mugs during his side’s home
meeting against Union Berlin. The
Weser Stadium crowd was far from
impressed as they witnessed their
team succumbing to a 2-0 defeat and
plunging deep into the relegation
zone.
SPEND THEN
LEAVE
Hertha BSC spent more
than any other club in
the continent during the
European winter transfer
window of 2020. Jurgen
Klinsmann had access to
€77m in funds to bring in
reinforcements to ensure
Hertha’s Bundesliga
survival. Krzysztof Piatek
(€22m) and Lucas Tousart
(€24m) were the club’s most expensive acquisitions this window. Despite the
large transfer budget, Klinsmann stepped down as manager after only 10 weeks in
charge, citing lack of support and trust.
YOU’RE NOT
FIRED...YET
The Rheinderby
between Borussia
Monchengladbach
and FC Koln was
canceled due to
Hurricane Sabine.
Gladbach sports
director Max Eberl
called Marco Rose early in the morning to inform him of
the news. The Borussia Monchengladbach coach later told
reporters that he thought Eberl was calling him to convey
the news of his dismissal due to the odd timing of the call.HOT SHOT
New Hertha signing Krzysztof Piatek has filed a patent
application in his home country Poland for his goal
celebration style. Piatek likes to show his distinctive pistol
cheers after goals: he kneels down, forms his hands into
pistols and shoots into the air. Now the 24-year-old wants to
copyright the gesture and use it for personal branding.IDIOT CELEB
Hertha have fired famous FIFA player Ben Paul from their
e-sports team for making anti-Semitic comments on TikTok.
Paul is one of the best-known FIFA players in Germany.
Around 517,000 people follow his YouTube channel. This
not the first time Paul finds himself in a controversy, though.
In September, 2019 he was suspended from a FIFA event for
forwarding unreleased FIFA 2020 content to a friend.GRABBING A
DAY OFF
VfL Wolfsburg star
published a photo
of his newborn
grabbing his finger
on Instagram to
announce the arrival
of his third child.
Ginter also got an
unexpected paternal
leave as his team’s
derby encounter with FC Cologne was postponed due to
Hurricane Sabine.