Bundesliga Team Of The Week: Matchday Six

26.09.10 Bundesliga Team Of The Week: Matchday Six

This weeks team of the week is an impressive one. After some big weekend results, some of the leagues less recognizable players have forced themselves into the limelight.

In goal, I have Schalkes Manuel Neuer. If not for him, Schalke could have been 40 down at half-time against Gladbach. He made two excellent saves to deny Marco Reus, and he kept his side in the match. Hes been on excellent form, despite his side struggling to maintain consistency.

At right-back, Ive got Mainzs Niko Bungert. The right-back had a good game, and kept his flank under control. Danijel Pranjic and Toni Kroos had little success against the defender, and he even looked good going forward. It also helps that he was on the winning side away from home against the reigning league champions. Mainz have looked excellent, and their players are putting in top performances.

In the center of defense, Ive got veteran defender Sami Hyypia of Bayer Leverkusen. Hyypia opened the scoring for his side in their 14 away thrashing of Stuttgart, and looked composed and confident in defense. Despite having relatively no pace anymore, he still manages to contain tough strikers and keep his back-line in check. His experience is vital for Leverkusen, and he looked well in charge.

Next to Hyypia, Ive got Dortmunds Neven Subotic. Dortmund continued their impressive form with a 13 win away to St. Pauli, and Subotic was very composed at the back. Despite having little to deal with, he did his job efficiently and effectively. His partnership with Mats Hummels continues to grow, and looks like it could be a defensive pairing that leads Dortmund to a Bundesliga title.

At left-back, Ive got Gladbachs Filip Daems. The Gladbach captain stepped up with confidence to slot home from the penalty spot to put his side 10 up, and had a strong ! game def ensively as well. He will be disappointed that his side could not hold on to their 20 advantage for 90 minutes, but he had a good game and kept his back-line in check.

On the right wing, Ive got Mainzs Lewis Holtby, who is spending a year on loan at the club from Schalke. Holtbys skill down the wing created Mainzs opener, when he skipped past Pranjic at left back, and slid an excellent low cross in for Sami Allagui who put it away with aplomb. In hindsight, Magath will rue his decision to let the young star go, because Schalke could certainly use him.

In the center of midfield, Ive got Frankfurts captain Chris. The Brazilian tackled effectively and bossed the midfield, and scored his sides second just minutes before full-time. His experience in the center of the pitch, and his high work-rate, give Frankfurt a real defensive option when battling a team with a strong creative threat.

Next to Chris, Ive got Leverkusens Hanno Balitsch. The battling midfield man was brought in in the summer from Hannover 96, as cover for Simon Rolfes whenever he is injured. Balitsch completed ninety minutes against Stuttgart, and even got himself on the scoresheet. A good performance from the midfield man, and hell be looking to keep that kind of form up to get himself on the team-sheet at Leverkusen more regularly.

On the left wing, Ive got Dortmunds Kevin Grosskreutz. The young winger hit an excellent brace against St. Pauli, and does look to be fulfilling the promise and living up to the expectations so many saw for him. Hopefully, he can remain consistent and press Joachim Loew for a place in the national setup, because he does look a promising player. It also goes to show the depth Dortmund have, where players like Grosskreutz can step up and deliver when necessary.

Up top, Ive got Wolfsburgs Grafite. The Brazilian striker was restored to the starting lineup, and repaid the faith of his manager with a brace that won the match for his side against a tough Freiburg team. Grafite and Dzeko look! quite u nstoppable up top for Wolfsburg, and with a player as creative as Diego sitting in behind them, theres no reason why Grafite cant continue scoring like he has been lately.

Next to Grafite, Ive got Werder Bremens Hugo Almeida. Almeida could and should have had a hat-trick against Hamburg, but missed out on it after a poor decision from the linesman. Either way, a great performance and a brace that grabbed all three points for his side against Hamburg.



International Soccer Clubs & Leagues News | Video | Commentary

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mr. Hodgson Or: How We Learned To Stop Worrying And Blame The Manager

Image
The manager has risen from club secretary to official face of the club since the creation of football teams worldwide. He has moved from the man that kept the record books to man that is larger than the football team he manages. Commentators and pundits refer to Fergusons United or Wengers beautiful, passing football. He even has books written about him. The Manager by Barney Ronay, an excellent book that discusses the rise of the manager into the modern game, unearths some of the origins of the managers image and attempts todiscuss what kind of person the manager really is. While the book wasnt ever intended to be an academic study of the merits of various tactical thoughts of managers, it does address some of the often listed character traits ofsuccessfulmanagers. When all these traits are put together, to many the manager appears to be a father figure, a scary headmaster, a politician youd like to have a beer with, or somecombination. Yet despite all this popularity, he is little mo...
Keep reading

England World Cup camps need to lose doomsday siege mentality

Image
One day last week, near the junction of Maude Street and Rivonia Road, in the Johannesburg suburb of Sandton, a line of smiling young men in shirts and shorts strolled along the pavement towards their hotel. Wesley Sneijder, Arjen Robben, Robin Van Persie, Dirk Kuyt, Mark Van Bommel and the rest of the Dutch squad waited at the lights until there was a break in the traffic and then ambled across the road. These were some of the best known players in the world, superstars of the game, walking along city streets on their way back from training and looking as though they did not have a care. There was no security with them. None to speak of, anyway. There were no photographers running in front of them and taking their picture. There were no girlfriends tottering along beside them. None of them wore headphones. They did not insulate themselves. They seemed at one with their surroundings. It was only a snapshot of the way the Dutch are living their lives at this World Cup but ...
Keep reading

How an American Influence Is Rubbing Off On Manchester City

Image
Manchester Citys match day experience is becoming more and more American with each new season. While Maine Road was what you could expect a typical British experience of what it was like to see an English football match in the 80s, the City of Manchester Stadium experience seems as American as apple pie. In previous seasons, City have tried to focus on improving the match-day experience. Theyve added buskers, i.e. public performers, around the ground to add to the atmosphere. And recently theyve adopted American entertainment methods such as turning down the house lights before kick-off and trying to get everyone excited for the big match. Theyve also been a pioneer in English football in their usage of American social media sites such as Facebook, Foursquare, Flickr and others to create a bond with supporters. And now for their first home match in the league for the 2010-11 season, against Liverpool tonight, theyre set to unveil two new features. Both of them have a uniquely American...
Keep reading