Die Lausitzer end Wolfsburg run

Wolfsburg's remarkable unbeaten run during the Rückrunde came to shocking conclusion losing 2-0 to relegation threatened Energie Cottbus. For the Lausitz side, it was the performance of the year that could save them relegation but equally it could cost Wolfsburg the Bundesliga championship. The loss leaves Wolfsburg holding a two point margin over Hertha BSC but without question will be remembered as a lost opportunity.

Committed to unbreakable defending, Bojan Prašnikar's forces nullified Wolfsburg's advances, limiting them to a few unfilled chance before the break. After Edin Džeko was denied from point blank range by Energie 'keeper Gerhard Tremmel, the hosts took the lead with eighteen minutes remaining. Off a short corner play Partizan product Ivica Iliev sent a high lob cross to the far post that Bulgarian international Dimitar Rangelov nodded-in with Wolfsburg a casual defenders a casual observer to the mark. With four minutes remaining a long ball found Dimitar Rangelov to the left and after holding off Wolfsburg's challenges he dispatched the ball to Dennis Sørensen on the right. The Danish international played-in Ervin Skela who then drove the ball in from a tight angle ball to make it 2-0.

96 drop 3-1 to Energie Cottbus

If not a better example of the competitiveness and parity in the Bundesliga, only two matches into the Rückrunde and clubs at the bottom of the table are continuously upstaging the upper tier clubs. This past weekend Borussia Mönchengladbach, at the bottom of the table came within minutes of defeating first place 1899 and Karlsruhe upended Hamburger SV. I make reference to this because it seems obvious that the "relegation fight" has begun and 96 ran into determined Energie Cottbus who sent Hannover 96 home with a 3-1 loss.

Die Lausitzer, lead by Bojan Prašnikar, play a tough brand of Football and came out ready to challenge every assault. While the opening half didn't have a great deal of attacking surges, 96 had an assortment of close misses. Seven minutes in, Jiří Štajner close range header was saved and Cottbus dodged the first bullet of the day. Just before the half hour Mario Eggimann header off a set piece came close but once again Lausitzer was free and clear. Finally with six minutes left Cottbus made 96 pay for their missed chances and the dangerous combination of Ivica Iliev and Dimitar Rangelov gave the home side the lead with the Bulgarian international, Rangelov, heading in a well placed cross from the center of the box. Following the goal, Lausitzer' defending took on an entire new tone and shut down most of 96's efforts till the later stages of the match. The situation took a bad turn seven minutes past the hour when Leon Andreasen was shown his second card and 96 was forced to play a man down. Prašnikar's side poured on the pressure immediately with Emil Jula heading Daniel Ziebig's cross off the bar before Dimitar Rangelov doubled the margin from close range. Stanislav Angelov made it 3-0 with sixteen minutes left off off a poorly defended set piece. Hecking's eleven did not give up and Frank Fahrenhorst added a goal with eight minutes remaining off a corner but it was not nearly enough and die Roten lost 3-1.

So there it is, 96 is still without a win on the road and with only one draw, the clubs position is entirely based upon results in the Niedersachsenstadion. That puts a lot of pressure on next weeks match as after the weekend results, 96 is only four points over the drop and needs a victory as Stuttgart comes to town. Time to raise our voices in support!

1899 Hoffenheim starts off right!

Bundesliga leaders 1899 Hoffenheim started off the season right with a 2-0 victory over a very motivated Energie Cottbus. In a surprise move, Ralf Rangnick started Boubacar Sanogo at striker and even though he had problems connecting early, the coach and general manager Jan Schindelmeiser are pleased. Most concerning, beyond problems to fighting off der Lausitzer' high energy defending, Timo Hildebrand was injured on the hour mark and was forced to leave.

Boubacar Sanogo had close chances go off course early but 1899 took the lead before the half hour when Selim Teber cross into the box found Demba Ba to send in for a one goal lead. Der Lausitzer continued to play efficiently and came close to scoring six minutes into the new half when Marvin Compper gave up the ball to Timo Rost but the veterans attempt struck the cross bar. Bosnian international Sejad Salihović, Ba and Sanogo continued to search for openings and as the match progressed they continued to gain confidence and in one of their first times playing together. Finally with twenty-seven minutes left added the second goal as Ba's back heel to Sanogo worked like a charm and the Côte d'Ivoire striker scored.

A very good start to Rückrunde and although there many aspects to work on it counts for three points.

1899 Hoffenheim heads to championship

A sold-out Rhein-Neckar-Arena will greet 1899 Hoffenheim as they head forward in the second half of the season with hopes of winning the championship. The season restarts against Energie Cottbus, who sits in the the drop zone.

Ralf Rangnick will hand the goalkeeping responsibilities to Timo Hildebrand, who has shown he is healthy and ready to lead. With only two practices with the club Boubacar Sanogo may be held back but the manager has reserved that decision for later.

Beyond Vedad Ibišević who is out for the year, Chinedu Obasi will miss to injury und Carlos Eduardo is suspended.

Energy Cottbus, who lost to Leverkusen on Wednesday in the Pokal, are likely without Dimitar Rangelov who was injured late in the match. He will undergo a late match fitness test to decide if he can play but they are also without Polish international Mariusz Kukiełka.

"We must give our all"

Discussing the Energie Cottbus match Markus Babbel sounded the war-drums:

"I watched Cottbus's last two games, against Karlsruhe and against Monchengladbach, on video. If we think that we only have to turn up there to collect all three points then we have another thing coming. The team have made a positive development lately. Cottbus know that they are in the relegation battle and that's exactly how they'll approach the game. That means we will have to go into the match with the same amount of determination and aggression as they do. They are not a bad side, many are surprised by that. If any of our players invest only 70% or 80% it will make the game very difficult for us."

Die Roten are without Mario Gómez, Ludovic Magnin, Pável Pardo and Yldiray Bastürk with Matthieu Deliperre in the squad list but questionable whether he will be used in the starting lineup. After a successful 3-1 victory over Borussia Mönchengladbach and no new injuries Lausitzer manager Bojan Prasnikar is unlikely to make changes to his lineup.

Wolfsburg climbs up the table

Wolfsburg supporters will look back on the last forty-eight hours with great fondness as they defeated Heerenveen in the UEFA Cup 5-1 and followed-up on Saturday with a 3-0 thrashing of Energie Cottbus on the strength of Grafite's first Bundesliga hat-trick.

It was however the visitors at Volkswagen Arena that nearly scored first at Emil Jula, formerly of Oţelul Galaţi who rattled the post only five minutes into the match. In a controversial moment die Lausitzer had Marco Kurth's goal disallowed four minutes after the half-hour as Dimitar Rangelov was nabbed for obstructing Wolfsburg 'keeper Diego Benaglio. Only two minutes later Savo Pavićević was adjudged of fouling Edin Džeko in the area and the spot was pointed to. Energie Cottbus supporters will certainly be upset by these two calls, particularly with the penalty as it was far from deserving and significantly impacted the match. However Grafite easily converted to give Wolfsburg the 1-0 lead. The match was evenly played well in both ends of the pitch and it went to the break with the dubious one goal margin. Ten minutes after the break Bosnia and Herzegovina international Zvjezdan Misimović played a perfectly weighted through ball to Grafite, who subsequently out-maneuvered the onrushing keeper and deposited the ball into the net. Grafite's great afternoon concluded with his final goal at the eightieth minute as Andrea Barzagli's long pass was flicked on by Edin Džeko and smashed into the net, bringing the match to its final scoreline of 3-0. Wolfsburg will naturally be pleased with the result but die Lausitzer supporters should be proud of their performance. The scoreline was not indicative of the play and the two calls thirty minutes into the match had a massive impact upon the outcome.

Wolfsburg returns to the pitch next Saturday against high-flying TSG Hoffenheim.

Energie Cottbus match preview

Less than forty-eight hours since the victory over Heerenveen in the UEFA Cup, Wolfsburg faces Energie Cottbus at Volkswagen Arena. With the Bundesliga race so close and this appears to be the year of the upset with TSG Hoffenheim on top of the table and FC Köln now sixth in the table, all matches are key. While Energie is at the bottom of the table and they will have Dimitar Rangelov back from injury, they cannot be overlooked. Fatigue is a definite factor with Wolfsburg and die Lausitzer' defensive tactics and counter-attack ready approach suit this situation perfectly. Wolfsburg is reporting no injuries and will need to attack early and then lock-down the match defensively or the visitors will be very difficult to wrestle a draw away. Once again, watch for the emerging talent of young striker Edin Džeko, working close with play-maker Zvjezdan Misimović.

I will report on the match as it concludes.

Die Königsblauen with 10 men

After losing Orlando Engelaar to a straight red-card seven minutes after the break, die Königsblauen scored twice late in the match to defeat Energie Cottbus at the Stadion der Freundschaft.

The match was without significant scoring opportunities before the break as the Lausitzer mid-field of Marco Kurth, Ervin Skela, Timo Rost and Stiven Rivić put on a defensive clinic and up to that point were the collective "man-of-the-match". Schalke was noticeably frustrated and the fifty-second minute Orlando Engelaar objected to linesman Norbert Grudzinski call and in a fit of rage he reacted with a hand-gesture that you can guess and was shown a straight red-card and will likely attract further disciplinary action. A few minutes after Fred Rutten brought in Jefferson Farfán for Halil Altıntop in a move that would pay off later. However playing a man down the home side started to push for the winning goal and came close with twenty-two minutes remaining with Emil Jula's effort. Finally with ten minutes remaining die Königsblauen broke through at Farfán's free-kick was flicked-in by Heiko Westermann. With a 1-0 lead, the hosts were looking for a tying goal but were susceptible to the counter and Schalke began to threaten on the counter-attack. As regulation time was winding down Daniel Ziebig was called for bringing down Kevin Kurányi in the area. Jefferson Farfán stepped up to the spot and after Gerhard Tremmel saved his attempt, he jumped on the rebound and drove the ball into the net. Considering die Königsblauen played nearly half of the match handicapped a man-down it was a great performance and something they can build upon.















Schalke begins a wild nine-day stretch now where they meet Racing Santander in the UEFA Cup followed up by Bayern on Sunday and Leverkusen the following week.

Schalke 04 dominates KSC

Die Königsblauen answered Fred Rutten's call to arms with a definitive 3-0 defeat of Karlsruher SC. The victory ends a twelve year winless streak at Wildparkstadion keeps Schalke four points behind Bayer Leverkusen (who coincidently maintained the Werder Bremen "new blogger curse").

Schalke came out looking like a completely different squad from the weekend and were motivated to impress from the start. Kevin Kurányi and Halil Altintop nearly scored within the first few minutes minute with KSC 'keeper Markus Miller doing everything he could to keep the net free of goals. However die Königsblauen broke through with Levan Kobiashvili's cross re-directed by Kevin Kurányi to Marcelo Bordon and into the goal fifteen minutes after the start. Four minutes later Kevin Kurányi re-directed Mladen Krstajić's perfect cross to make in 2-0. KSC didn't lay down and started to affirm better defending although they were not able to launch a significant attack. The match took at turn for the worse after the break when a altercation with Maik Franz got him an early shower and KSC was playing a man-down. With twenty-two minutes remaining Kevin Kurányi's to Jefferson Farfán was headed home for the third and final goal.

With the short week of preparation Schalke faces Energie Cottbus on Saturday.