GOING UP
This season’s Bundesliga title race is
shaping up to be a good one, with
as much as five teams involved.
Bayern Munich will be looking to
keep hold of their crown and extend
their record reign, but will have
to fight off the likes of Borussia
Dortmund and the strengthening RB
Leipzig. Monchengladbach and Bayer
Leverkusen also find themselves within
striking distance and should not be
overlooked.GOING DOWN
Werder Bremen’s woes have continued
into 2020, with just one Bundesliga win
in the first month of the year in as they
slip down into the relegation zone.
Manager Florian Kohfeldt’s position
looks to be in real danger, as the club
potentially faces a first top flight
relegation since 1980.GOING UP
GOING DOWN
estimates have stated that the 24-year old
will not play again this season, due to both
the severity of the injury and setbacks in his
comeback.
Javi Martinez and Kingsley Coman have also
endured injury problems, with Flick and the
Bayern medical staff having to continue
to monitor their rehabilitation and make
changes to their return dates. Forward
Serge Gnabry has now joined the list of
injured players at the club, after the former
Arsenal picked up an Achilles injury in
January. Gnabry has been eased back into
first team action, with Flick still concerned
over his fitness, and he could be rested
again to help deal with the problem.
Bayern are fortunate that other key players,
including Manuel Neuer, Thiago Alcantara
and Robert Lewandowski, have remained
relatively injury free so far this season. It
was thought reinforcements could arrive in
the winter transfer window but only Alvaro
Odriozola, on loan from Real Madrid, was
brought in, so Flick is left hoping matters
improve quickly.
FC Hollywood are likely to be pushed all the
way by RB Leipzig and Borussia Dortmund
in the title race, and they face a tough test
in the Champions League against Frank
Lampard’s Chelsea.
THE UGLY
Football is always filled with nonsense
stories involving players splashing the
cash on off-the-field activities. However,
RB Leipzig’s first team squad opted for
something a little more orthodox as a team
bonding exercise following the return of
Bundesliga action following the winter
break.
Players flew out London celebrity barber
Sheldon Edwards [HD Cutz] to give eight
of the squad a fresh haircut ahead of
their game against Eintracht Frankfurt on
January 25. Chelsea loanee Ethan Ampadu
is reported to have organised the grooming
session at their team hotel, the night before
the game.
But their new looks did not have the desired
effect as Julien Nagelsmann’s side slipped
to their first defeat since October 26, and
allowed Bayern to leapfrog them at the top
of the table.
The club’s Head of Sport and former
manager, Ralf Rangnick, launched a
stinging criticism of the players, labelling
them as decadent, and hinting that it was
unprofessional to invite a non-club staff
member into the hotel so close to an
important game.
He also quipped that he would have bet
€100,000 on the story not actually being
true, but conceded that he would have lost
his money due to the player’s excessive
behaviour.
The players involved acknowledged their
poor performance in the Frankfurt defeat,
but stopped short of apologising and
agreeing with Rangnick’s comments. This
has led to rumours of increased friction,
at what certain players have viewed as an
overly aggressive response from the non-
nonsense former boss.
Nagelsmann has opted for a damage
limitation approach to the situation as he
looks to build bridges between the squad
and Rangnick. The former Hoffenheim
trainer played down the significance of the
incident, stating that the players had not
broken any club protocols, but confirmed
that he had spoken to those involved about
their future focus.TOP OPPOSITE PAGE:
Erling Braut Haaland
BOTTOM RIGHT
OPPOSITE PAGE:
Serge Gnabry
BOTTOM OF PAGE:
Ethan AmpaduDID^ YOU^ KNOW?
Ethan Ampadu^ is^ a^ versatile^ player^
who played^ primarily^ in^ the^ midfield^ as^
a club^ youth^ team^ player,^ but^ is^ also^ a^
strong^ defense^ candidate^ who^ is^ good^ in^
tackles,^ wins^ the^ ball^ well^ and^ has^ good^
anticipation.Florian Kohfeldt