Vfb suffer horrible loss

In a match that cost Armin Veh his job, Vfb lost to Wolfsburg 4-1 at Volkswagen Area. The scoreline hides the fact that although die Roten were missing Ricardo Osorio, Pavel Pardo and Sami Khedira from last weekends lineup they took the lead seventeen minutes after the opening whistle as Martin Lanig scored from close range, coming off a Mario Gómez shot. However midfield weakness and poor tactical planning to deal with who I feel is one of the most valuable players in the Bundesliga, Zvjezdan Misimović. The Bosnia and Herzegovina international was a whirlwind of action and stretch and prodded the Vfb defenders incessantly. While die Roten held them back through the break through Jens Lehmann and a ample serving of good fortune it wasn't long till the home side broke through. With the restart Wolfsburg hungered for the tying goal and got at the fifty-first minute when Grafite latched onto a rebound of Zvjezdan Misimović shot and drove it behind Jens. The pace of the match slow slightly for the next ten minutes and Wolfsburg padlocked Vfb's forward assaults to perfection. Six minutes past the hour-mark Brazilian striker Grafite continued to terrorize Vfb picking his second goal of the match. It is speculative in-nature but the response from the club at this stage certainly added to the contention that they lack focus with a series of defensive blunders and a managerial change was needed. Only three minutes after the go-ahead goal Misimović's Plavo-žuti mate Edin Džeko scored and added his second with five minutes to play.

Following the match Armin Veh said:

"We were very disciplined throughout the first half and everything was very orderly. We went into the break in the lead and confident. We ruined things for ourselves with the mistakes we made. It was clear to see that we are not mentally in good form at the moment. We lost our shape and had nothing in reserve after we went 2-1 down. We are in a difficult position at the moment and need to remedy that."

Thomas Hitzlsperger comments were one-hundred per-cent accurate when he said:

"We played exactly as we had set out to do in the first half. We closed down the spaces early on and put together a couple of good moves ourselves. The lead was a bit lucky maybe but we were playing well at the time. We lost the plot once they equalised and made simple mistakes which Wolfsburg punished. The way this game went is typical of our current situation - we can't pull ourselves together once we've conceded."

Joachim Löw not giving Jens Lehman a send-off

With his retirement from international Football, many assumed that Joachim Löw would give Jens Lehman a final appearance in the upcoming friendly against England. However this isn't going to happen as Löw informed the 'keeper that he wasn't going to be brought back for die Mannschaft.

Löw stressed the younger players need valuable playing time:

"Our group of young keepers needs the experience of these international matches. Obviously, a final appearance in the England game would have been a nice gesture towards Jens. Even more so, because Jens spend five years in Arsenal, and every fan remembers his heroic deeds in the Berlin Olympiastadion during the 2006 FIFA World Cup quarterfinal against Argentina. All this considered, our team goals had to be given priority.”

He added:

"Jens has done much for German football. During our four years working together, he has always been an important sounding board. I have been impressed by his leadership and his professionalism throughout. He was able to focus to the point, whether during practice sessions or in the games. I have met few players, who were able to contribute in such a positive and effective way."