French star Franck Ribery has spoken about his future with Bayern Munich and the club’s current status in comparison with the elite clubs across Europe. Ribery had a an impressive first season and a decent second season with the Bavarians yet has only made nine appearances in the league this season due to injury.
The Frenchman is hungry for success and wants to win trophies before he retires. Injuries have plagued his season and limited his contribution to the club’s cause. Ribery appeared on the verge of a move to Spain during the summer when Real Madrid were reportedly interested in his services. He mentioned his good relationship with France’s all-time leading scorer Thierry Henry who wants him to join the Spanish giants Barcelona. Ribery admitted he is undecided on whether he will remain with Bayern but stressed it will be a very difficult decision.
Considering the fact Bayern have surged to second place in the Bundesliga while missing the Frenchman for much of the season, the Bavarians are probably willing to cash in on their prized asset and use most of the funds from his sale to rebuild the squad into a more complete one. Ribery believes Bayern remain a big club in Europe yet he feels they are behind Spanish giants Barcelona and Real Madrid as well as English elite sides such as Manchester United and Chelsea.
It does seem as if Ribery wants to move in order to get further exposure in the Spanish la Liga or English Premiership while challenging for domestic and European honours. For the German powerhouse Bayern Munich, the sale of the Frenchman could bring in a hefty amount of cash which can be used to redesign the club by signing a number of talented players. This would help Bayern offload an injury prone albeit talented player in Franck Ribery who apparently is leaning towards a move away from Germany. This summer will be a busy one for the French star who will be in South Africa for the World Cup and who might be involved in a major transfer move.
I’m a native German writer and an enthusiastic fan of Eintracht Frankfurt. Whenever I got the opportunity to visit a game in the Commerzbank Arena, I take this opportunity. Last match-day I visited the match against Cologne.
Stadium: Commerzbank Arena ( Eintracht Frankfurt)
Attendance: 45,100
Ticket-Price: Main stand – 23 Euro (32 US-Dollars/ 20 GBP) – reduction for students
Travelling to Frankfurt was very exhausting because it was snowing all the time and the highway was full of traffic jam. Normally it takes one and a half hour to reach Frankfurt from my university but on this day it took three hours.
Because of this, I took of my seat in the Commerzbank Arena at least fifth teen minutes after the match had started. I hoped desperately that my team would indemnify me for this horrible journey.
Frankfurt had to compensate the injury of Swiss midfielder Pirmin Schwegler, who was one of the best players in the team this season. Frankfurt was undefeated since six games. Cologne must relinquish national-team striker Lucas Podolski, but played a lot better in the last two games against Dortmund and Wolfsburg than in the first half of the season.
In the first half the two teams showed their worst football, no highlights. In the second half cologne introduced its new midfielder Soran Tosic, who had played for Manchester United. He provides cologne much more offensive pressure and even Frankfurt shaped its game more offensively than in the first half. In the 59th minute of the game Maniche scored the goal giving lead for cologne and my state of mind was worse.
Eintracht-coach Michael Skibbe introduced the two midfielders Ümit Korkmaz and Caio to increase the pressure. After the substitutions Frankfurt played much better and was the dominant team on the field. Defender Chris scored the equaliser in the 76th minute for Frankfurt after a corner and I celebrated this very extensively. The equaliser gave my team the initial spark to go for winning the game. Frankfurt got several chances to score another goal but missed all of them. Cologne was only in the position to defend the draw.
In the 84th minute my worst nightmare became true! After a cologne free-kick, Eintracht-defender Marco Russ deflected the ball in his own goal. 1-2 for cologne!! Frankfurt wasn’t able to turn the game after this shock.
This result made me very sad because Eintracht Frankfurt played better than cologne – but that’s football. I watched an uneventful first half but a very dramatic and powerful second half. Unfortunately my team didn’t bring the match to a favourable conclusion.
Immediately after Hamburg’s loss against Borussia Dortmund, the club officials announced the transfer of dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy, who played for the Spanish club Real Madrid. Van Nistelrooy singed a contract till june 2011.
Hamburg won the competition of signing Van Nistelrooy against Galatasaray Istanbul and several Premier-League teams, who would pay much more wage than the German club. Van Nistelrooy said that Hamburg was his first choice because of the club perspectives and his personal ambitions to play for a top team. The Premier-League teams like West Ham United had to deal with relegation this season.
With signing Van Nistelrooy Hamburg hopefully solves its injury problems, especially its striker problems. Paolo Guerrero is seriously injured with a cruciate ligament rupture; Markus Berg and Tunay Torun are talented but they aren’t a contributory factor for winning the title. Mladen Petric is currently the only player, who’s the condition to play at top level.
Because of that Hamburg needed to sign a striker to stay in touch with the top teams like Bayer Leverkusen, Bayern Munich, Dortmund and Schalke.
My Opinion:
It is a good move to sign a 33-year old striker, who only was a member of the reserve squad in the past months? – I think I would negate this for nearly every striker in this situation, but not for “Van the Man”……. I think his variety, his statistics and his character suggest that Hamburg made a good deal in signing him. He played very successful for all of his teams and was always appreciated by his teammates and fans.
Van Nistelrooy is a type of player Hamburg desperately needed. Hamburg need a player who scores goals inside the penalty box and this ability made Van Nistelrooy so famous in Manchester and all across Europe. The interaction with Eljero Elia, Piotr Trochowski and Malden Petric will be successful, if…….
Van Nistelrooy overcomes the aftermath of his knee injury form November 2008. This fact is maybe the dark horse of the deal – Will he be still in the right condition?? I HOPE SO!
The Bavarian club achieved a great result after returning from the trip to Bremen with all three points to climb to the top of the Bundesliga standings. Their tenure at the top could be short lived as Bayer Leverkusen will take over the top position if they can win or just tie in their match against TSG Hoffenheim.
Even if Bayern are displaced from the first sport, the last several rounds have seen a remarkable turn in the fortunes of the prestigious club. Since crushing Juventus 4-1 in Turin in the decisive Champions League match, the Bavarians have scored a remarkable 15 times in just four games. As impressive as the score against Juve was, it was the manner Bayern went about dismantling the Old Lady which spoke volumes about the change in fortunes for the German club. Bayern put in a stunning display highlighted by attacking prowess, sheer grit, unwavering passion and unmatched efficiency.
The triumph against the Bianconeri set the club on the right track but also signalled the club’s intent to qualify in the Champions League and challenge for the German title. After a shaky and inconsistent start to the season during which Louis van Gaal was heavily criticised for his tactics and choices, the Bavarian giants have been dismissing their opponents and scoring at will.
The club’s schedule will be both friendly and relatively easy to negotiate prior to the Champions League encounter with Italian side Fiorentina. Bayern will be expected to win the four official matches assigned before the first leg clash against la Viola. The key will be to remain focused on taking the challenges one match at a time without looking far ahead into the schedule.
The following cautious remark might surprise some but van Gaal must be aware of the threat posed by la Viola with players of the calibre of Adrian Mutu, Alberto Gilardino and Stevan Jovetic all capable of scoring goals. The Gigliati are managed by the charismatic and highly influential Cesare Prandelli. The European tie should be evenly balanced with Bayern slightly edging this one due to current form and the players at the Coach’s disposal.
The questions remain whether Bayern can win the league title and make it to at least the semi-finals in Europe. Can van Gaal make sure the club will emerge once again as a force in Germany and Europe?
American international Ricardo Anthony Clark has joined Eintracht on loan until the end of the season. The 26 year old defensive midfielder is the first US player ever to join the team. He played for Houston Dynamo in the MLS in 2009 and scored seven goals in 97 games.
Clark was signed to replace the injured defensive midfielder Zlatan Bajramovic, who suffered under a heel injury and will be out for several weeks. Eintracht coach Michael Skibbe said that Clark has to do some workouts and practice to be in good condition to play in the Bundesliga. Clark was scouted by Frankfurt at the match between the US-team and Denmark.
Skibbe attests Clark good dribbling-skills and that he’s a hard-running player, because of his conditional residue, causes by the break in the MLS, Clark will be a part of the team in 2 or 3 weeks. If Clark is able to answer Skibbe’s expectations, his contract will be extended for several years.
German newspapers rebrand Clark as a “bad boy” caused by his kick against the head of FC Dallas player Carlos Ruiz. Clark was banned for nine games. During the Fifa Confederations-Cup Clark was sent of after fouling Italian “bad boy” Gennaro Gattuso.
Despite all that coach Skibbe believes in Clark’s talent and that he will be a factor for the team. Houston Dynamo GM Oliver Luck congratulates Frankfurt for signing Clark and wishes his former player that he will reach his objectives. A few years ago Oliver Luck was GM of the American Football-Club Frankfurt Galaxy, which played in the same stadium like Eintracht Frankfurt.
Ricardo Anthony Clark was born on February 10, 1983 in Atlanta, Georgia. Frankfurt is his first team in Europe. A few months ago, Clark was focused by the Serie A-club Livorno Calcio, but the deal failed. US-coach Bob Bradley advises Clark to look for a club in the Bundesliga.
There were many signs in the past few months, which showed the upcoming ending of Torsten Frings career in the national team. Now after a conversation with national-team coach Joachim Löw, the national-team career of the defensive midfielder of Werder Bremen is definitely over!
Löw explained his fromer key player Frings, that he wouldn’t be a member of the team for the world cup 2010 in South Africa. Löw warranted his decision with Frings current personal capability and Löw’s planned rejuvenation of the team. Frings was sorely disappointed after the conversation and told german newspapers that he feels in good shape and the he will be still a boost for the team in South Africa.
Löw’s rejection is the end of several discrepancies between these two personalities. In autumn 2008 Frings criticises Löw for his behaviour towards the “veterans” in the national team like Ballack, Klose or himself. Frings said that Löw didn’t appreciate his merits for the team. After these statements Frings wasn’t appointed by Löw for the world cup qualifying-matches.
Instead of Frings, Löw called up Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Simon Rolfes, Sami Khedira and Thomas Hitzelsperger. Löw’s explanation for his call-up was always Frings average performances in the Bundesliga.
But many experts and journalists thought that there were interpersonal problems between the two men.
Frings played his last game for Germany in February 2009 against Norway (0:1 loss). Frings played as a starter for Germany at the world cup 2006 and the Euro 2008. He showed his best performances during the world cup 2006 in Germany, where he played the defensive midfield-position next to Michael Ballack, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Bernd Schneider.
He’s still the captain of Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga.
My Opinion:
Sure Frings is in the autumn of his career and he will never be in the constitution like he was during the world cup in 2006. Since two years he played not outstandingly for Werder, but his perfomances are still OK, and I think well enough for the national team.
I think Löw’s behaviour towards him is wrong!
– No call-up for average or bad performances??
Think of Miroslav Klose or Christoph Metzelder! Löw said during Klose’s crisis that Klose will still be one of his strikers because of his merits for the team. Metzelder was sitting at the stands in Madrid, but Löw appointed him, by saying that he is important for the team because of his experience.
I can´t see any difference between Frings and several other players, who showed some average performances in the past. Rolfes is still injured and Hitzelperger played badly for his club, I think that Frings is still a player for the national team because of his experience and his team play especially with Michael Ballack.
Löw decision was coined by his personal reluctance towards Frings! Hopefully it will be not a bad decision for the team!
On behalf of all of the bloggers on Bundesliga Talk, I’d like to wish you Happy Holidays during this special time of the year.
During 2009, Bundesliga Talk has continued to grow in popularity thanks to bloggers such as Chris Murphy, Florian Kolling, Joe Ashmore and many others.
Next year will be even bigger for this site.
Enjoy the holidays and we look forward to your continued loyalty and healthy debate.
French star Franck Ribery has spoken about his future with Bayern Munich and the club’s current status in comparison with the elite clubs across Europe. Ribery had a an impressive first season and a decent second season with the Bavarians yet has only made nine appearances in the league this season due to injury.
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