If Erling Haaland leaves as expected, Craig Burley doesn't see any upside for the team. 1:06 The lead commentator for the Bundesliga is in Munich this week and will broadcast the game on Saturday. ABC and ESPN+ are on TV. The future for both clubs remains open, even though it is a chance for them to win a tenth successive title. The mood in the camp was perfect at the Thursday afternoon media conference. There is excitement at the prospect of winning the league at home against their closest pursuers. It is a special time for the coach as he prepares to celebrate his first major piece of silverware. There is a nagging, queasy feeling around Germany that this is the season that got away. The guide is for viewers of LaLiga, MLS, FA Cup, and more.
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Winning the Meisterschale is the minimum goal for any team and it only takes on more significance when lifted in a different competition. In the DFB-Pokal, they were thrashed by Monchengladbach, and in the Champions League, they were defeated by Villarreal.
Yes, Villarreal. The German champion will likely be haunted by the Spanish submarine. On Saturday, they can come up for air.
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It has become fashionable to belittle the club, but 10 in a row is something worth celebrating. This will be an occasion to remember for many of the fans who travel from far and wide because of the Pandemic. The Weissbierdusche celebrations might involve players and staff pouring beer over each other on the pitch if they win on Saturday.
The art of beer making dates back to 1293, but Marco Rose has not had time to enjoy such recreational pleasures in another week of injury and illness nightmares. The Pechvogel is the unlucky one in the casualties department.
Rose said on Thursday that it would be quicker to list players who are available than to explain who is not. Giovanni Reyna, an international from the U.S., has suffered many setbacks this term and is out for a long time. Erling Haaland has been restricted to 20 appearances and continues to play through pain.
Kobel will be out on Saturday due to an ankle injury and Witsel will be out due to an illness. The black and yellows of the Schwarzgelben might want to temporarily call themselves the Schwarzblauen. In the last few months, no Bundesliga club has taken a more severe bruise.
BVB are 13 points better off than they were this time last season. Some will argue that they should be closer points-wise to the top spot, because of the meltdowns at home against Bayer Leverkusen andRB Leipzig, and the fact that they made the odd mistake. I am not sure if it was doable because of the BVB personnel problems.
The cup eliminations against St. Pauli and Rangers were worrying and irksome.
You could be forgiven for thinking that the departure of Haaland, the demise of Hummels, and the possible transfer of Akanji mean that the team is on the way down.
Not necessarily so.
The Schwarzgelben have already signed a player, and are still looking for another. Sebastian Kehl will have a busy time when he takes over as sporting chief from Michael Zorc in the summer.
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The youth system is less discussed. On an idyllic spring Saturday last week, 17-year-old Tom Rothe was thrust into the Ruhrpott sunshine and delivered a sparkling performance capped off by a headed goal to open the scoring. Jamie Bynoe-Gittens and Lion Semic got their first minutes. Under the guidance of U-19 coach Mike Tullberg, this is a particularly able crop. The national league and cup crowns have designs on the western championship. The BVB Talentschmiede is a talent factory.
The team has always been less reliant on younger players than the other team. Some of their recent squad signings have not been a standard for the club. At times it has left the overall squad weaker than a club such as Leipzig and certainly shallower than most of their competition.
Will they try to sign Konrad Laimer again? Maybe they will try to get the post for Schlotterbeck. The summer will be spent under scrutiny for the CEO and the technical director.
Contract issues are the focus of the media. The deals of Robert Lewandowski, Thomas Muller, and Serge Gnabry are set to end in 2023. With Muller and Neuer, they are close to getting everything over the line.
On the field, better leadership is needed for the long haul. They lack a natural authority figure at the back.
It applies off the pitch as well. At times this season, Nagelsmann was left to serve as a spokesman/diplomat on all sorts of topics, while Kahn and Salihamidzic were silent. Uli Hoeness, the former president, had a way of taking the pressure off those around him.
There is a very real chance that the shield will be won for a 10th time in a row on Saturday in the match between the two teams.
We can look forward to a different close season Fernduell, which will be fascinating in determining the future prospects of Germany's big two.
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