AROUND GERMANY
SIMPLY THE BEST
Bundesliga stars Jadon Sancho, Axel Witsel, Benjamin
Pavard, Thiago Alcantara, David Alaba and Jerome
Boateng are among the top 10 most effective players
across Europe’s top five leagues, with Borussia Dortmund
star Sancho topping the list, according to a report by the
CIES Football Observatory research group. Comparing
players operating in the Bundesliga, the English Premier
League, Spain’s LaLiga, Italy’s Serie A and France’s Ligue
1, the study measured attributes such as goals and assists,
shot and passing accuracy, strength in possession and
risk-taking.OIL JUST SCORE MORE
Erling Haaland’s goal scoring exploits since arriving in
Germany have not only aided Borussia Dortmund’s bid for
a first Bundesliga title since 2012, they have also helped
Norway’s state pension fund. As reported in German
publication Bild, Norway’s state pension fund is the largest
in the world, with its oil revenues reinvested to provide
for the future when the country’s oil reserves in the North
Sea diminish. As such, and with Dortmund a publicly listed
company on the German stock market, the fund has a
small percentage of shares in the club. Naturally enough,
the better the team performs and the more goals they
score, the better the share price.DROWNING
SORROWS
After a dismal 1-1 draw
against Fortuna Dusseldorf,
Wolfsburg players decided
to take a trip to the German
capital and wash their
frustrations away. The
Wolves stars including
Wout Weghorst and Xaver
Schlager dined out in Grace
restaurant and bar, a fancy
restaurant where the likes
of Brad Pitt, Bruce Willis,
and Sienna Miller have also
visited in the past.THIS IS FOR MUM
Schalke couldn’t get past newly
promoted Paderborn at home,
as they went on to draw 1-1 with
the visitors, but Schalke did have
something positive from the game
in the form of Ahmed Kutucu. The
Turkish international found the
net within seven minutes of his
introduction as a substitute and
made a ‘Z’ shaped gesture with
his fingers to celebrate the goal.
Kutucu later revealed he dedicated the goal to his mother
Zeynep.UP YOU GET
David Wagner became the latest victim of VAR farce when
the Schalke boss received a red card for trying to help
an opposition player to his feet. The former Huddersfield
manager decided to drag Jordan Torunarigha back up to
his feet by gently placing his hands near the Hertha Berlin
defender’s neck. Torunarigha ended up losing his temper
after being helped back up by Wagner, shrugging off the
Schalke manager before angrily throwing a water-bottle
holder to the floor. VAR decided to intervene and much to
the shock of Wagner and everyone watching, the manager
was shown a straight red for his role on the touchline.BAD, BAD
FANS
The Berlin derby
that took place
between Union and
Hertha (1-0) last
November is proving
to be outrageously
expensive for Die
Plumpe. Hertha BSC
have received record
financial penalty in
German football for
the misconduct of
their fans during the
game, which would
see them paying out a
hefty fine of €190k.“Thomas embodies FC Bayern and
represents the club excellently. In
Munich, in Bavaria and in the whole
world. That's why it's hard to imagine
FC Bayern without Thomas at the
moment.” - It's difficult to imagine Bayern
Munich without Thomas Muller, says club
president Herbert Hainer.“I feel better already, even if I believe
that I was too harshly criticized for
my performances in the first half of
the season. I have always said that not
everything in football is about scoring
goals and making assists.” - Bayer
Leverkusen star Kai Havertz believes
he was too heavily criticized for his
performances in the first half of the
season.“It’s absolutely fantastic! It’s just a
fantastic feeling that I haven’t had
before.” - New Borussia Dortmund recruit
Erling Halaand says nothing compares to
hitting the back of the net in front of BVB's
world-famous Yellow Wall at the Signal
Iduna Park.“
”
QUOTES
BY^ THE^
NUMBER
STimo Werner is
the only player
from RB Leipzig
who has started
in all of their first
21 Bundesliga
matches this
season.
Raphael Guerreiro
has scored 3 of
his 13 Bundesliga
goals against
Leverkusen -
against no other
team has he
scored as many.
Emre Can played
his first Bundesliga
game in 2100 days
when he made his
debut for Borussia
Dortmund this
season.
Jiri Pavlenka
started in all of
the 89 possible
Bundesliga
matches since
joining Werder
Bremen. It’s the
longest current
run in the
Bundesliga.