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OK, admittedly there's not too much I know about Entracht Braunschweig. And what I do know won't play out in any way, shape or form in Monday's DFB Pokal opening match.
Here's what I do know (silly as it may seem). 1) They're a founding member of the Bundesliga, and won the Championship in 1967. 2) They're the first German club to put a sponsor on their kit. (And I know this because the sponsor was Jaegermeister; the delicious nectar that flows through my veins.) 3) They were involved in the match-fixing scandal in the early 70's. But, not for nefarious reasons: Players were given 40,000 DM to perform above standards. Not to lose or draw.
Yep. That's about it. So, let's discuss what I do know.
Boateng and Rafinha have solidified the back line. It's not perfect, by any stretch, but I haven't felt this comfortable about our back four in awhile. I'm heartily glad we didn't over-pay for Contreao. I can't even complain about Holger Badstuber or Daniel van Buyten, as both showed themselves well in Audi Cup competition. Don't get me started on Contento, though...
Jupp gets the most out of Toni Kroos. (And how does he do it?!) He's always been a talent, that's for sure. (I was lucky enough to see him live at his coming out.) He was keeping Milan's goalkeeper Abbiati honest, shooting long-range with precision. His pace and foresight have always impressed me. He'll start in the 10 slot against Braunschweig.
And while I would've liked to have won the Audi Cup, I was happy to see the line-up against Barca. Especially, my first real good looks at Takashi Usami and Nils Petersen (not including YouTube). I'll reserve my opinion on Nils, as we had a bit of difficulty getting the ball to him. But, Usami? His pace and agility are ueber-impressive, but I think he needs to gain 20 lbs. to compete in the Bundesliga. To me, he had a hard time muscling in on balls delivered to him. And, this was against a Spanish side.
Finally, can I be a girl for just a moment and give my Audi Cup tournament honors to... Alessandro Nesta? Thanks, babe. I only replayed that moment 20 times, or so, on YouTube.
Hmmmmm... my starting XI? Obviously, and with great disappointment, this line-up will not feature the "Traumduo", Ribery and Robben. Breno is also out. I pick Usami over Olic only because of what I saw in the match against Barcelona. I wholly expect the engine to run up the Lahm / Mueller side only because they're comfortable with each other.
Neuer, Lahm-Badstuber-Boateng-Rafinha, Schweinsteiger-Tymoschuk, Mueller-Kroos-Usami, Gomez.
Three big guns have already gone down in the first round: Bayern's neighbors, Unterhaching beat Freiburg. Leverkusen got hammered 4 straight goals to lose to Dresden. And, Wolfsburg lost to 4th division Leipzig. (Can we have a moment of silence so I may giggle?) So, it's not out of the realm of possibility that we could lose this match. We could. But, we won't.
I'm very much looking forward to a match that actually means something. No more friendlies. It's on. Welcome to the season.
FC Bayern, Stern des Suedens, du wirst niemals untergehn, weil wir in guten wie in schlechten Zeiten zu einander stehn, FC Bayern, Deutscher Meister, ja, so heisst er mein Verein, Ja, so war es und so ist es und so wird es immer sein!
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Comments
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Posted by Ruudij on 08/01/2011
Hi susie, missed your blogs.
I also feel better about the back line, although i would have felt better if we went after another CB, such as Alex from Chelsea. Sigh.
However, i was glad to see Usami rising up to expectations and more, i had the same comment about his body build, definitely needs to puff up a little, but great skills.
Can't wait see more of the team, and Jupp's tactics.
Cheers!
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Posted by Samrin on 08/01/2011
Hi Susie,
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this. I agree on everything except Contento. He was alright mostly and didn't make that many mistakes.
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Posted by Johann on 08/01/2011
Glad to see the blog back up and Bayern back on the pitch! Hopefully this season gets off to a better start than last year!
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Posted by Miller Light on 08/01/2011
Usami is heavier than Ribbery :-)
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Posted by Susie on 08/01/2011
Miller Light---
I was trying to be nice. But, yeah, he needs to man up.
Johann and Samrin--- Thanks.
Ruudij---
Of course Alex would've been nice too. But, I've got a feeling we'll be just fine.
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Posted by Larry on 08/02/2011
Welcome back Susie. This season will be AWESOME!!!!
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Posted by Shekhar on 08/03/2011
I just hope Boateng doesn't get injured... we'll have no Pacy defenders then.
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Posted by Patrick on 08/03/2011
i was at the AUDI Cup final, was a good game, but it just showed me how good Barca is, even their B-team plays amazing. but it was nice to see my Bayern live again, its been a while. The win over Braunschweig was pure dominance, we never let them get into the game. i was very happy with what i saw and i cant wait for sunday when we play against Mönchengladbach! AUFGEHTS IHR ROTEN!!
Cheers from Niederbayern!
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Posted by Stefan on 08/04/2011
Badstuber is an absolutely useless defender he didnt play well in the Audi Cup, who are u kidding??
He was badly positioned, poor pace,poor strength & heading, bad tackling.. completely shaky whenever an opposing player attacked him. He is only decent on the ball but a defender is meant to... defend. He should have been marking for Barcas first goal he gifted 2 one on ones against milan and was shaky against Braunschweig. He is only in the team because he is home grown and is going to cost Bayern dearly this season.
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Posted by Dan on 08/05/2011
I dont agree with this guy talking about Badstuber like that , I think he is a good player but young , he is still learning a lot but you'll see with the pass of the years how good he is gonna become; I've been following player like Alex , Pepe and some others that they are the best example of what I am trying to say here , but it's true that we should have gotten another defender just in case that one of them get injured .
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Posted by Stefan on 08/05/2011
Young talented players have certain attributes that make them great players, i.e. if Badstuber was a good promising defender he would have certain attributes that make him great i.e. great tackler, great positioning, great pace, physically imposing,tenacious, great header... however he is weak at everyone of these attributes, so I do not see the potential. His only asset is that he has decent distribution on the ball, however he is a defender primarily and his defensive skills make the Bayern backline vulnerable.
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Posted by Steve on 08/05/2011
I went to the stadium to see Braunschweig game. I reckon Müller was the best player on pitch that night. It's funny how at one point, the home fans chanted: "Ohne Schiedsricht, keine Chance." Haha...
By the way, do you think that another holding midfielder is needed? I honestly can't see Tymo or Gustavo as CL winner. In an ideal world, though, playing both Müller and Kroos at the same time in their favoured position (CAM) would be brilliant, so something like: Neuer - Rafinha, Boateng, Badstuber (or someone else), Lahm - Schweinsteiger - Robben, Müller, Kroos, Ribéry - Gómez (4 - 1 - 4 - 1)
Posted by Emmanuel owusu peprah on 08/11/2011
Do guys think we can beat wolfburg n magarth? come on bayernDo guys think we can beat wolfburg n magarth? come on bayern
Posted by Donte on 09/28/2011
Grazi for mainkg it nice and EZ.
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About
Susie Schaaf is a footie-obsessed German-American with a Brazilian passport. She promises to be completely biased whilst eliciting as many chuckles from you as she can. When she’s not writing, you can find her pouring pints at her local or on an airplane to anywhere. If you’d like to swear at or praise her, she can be reached at susie.schaaf@gmail.com |
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