Magdeburg supporters will be smiling this week as their team cemented the top spot in the table, going into the second leg of the season with 37 points from 17 games and a goal difference of +19. The latest game, away at TSV 1860 Munich however, had the aura of a farce. Not so much because of the defending of the hosts was awful, rather their slapstick attempts to defend. Read more →
Calibrating the Compass? Rangnick at Manchester United
Since the second half of November 2021 Manchester United have caused all sorts of headlines for all the wrong reasons. The sacking Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was the latest chapter in the club’s history, a history that has been somewhat turbulent since Sir Alex Ferguson decided to retire in 2013. The parallels to the retirement of Sir Matt Busby in 1969 and the period until 1986 are striking. Read more →
Jens vs. Jahn
A short reflection on events three ago and the present: Jens Härtel was sacked after Magdeburg were defeated by Jahn Regensburg in November 2018; in 2021 Härtel beat them twice. Read more →
Red Star vs Le Mans – Match Report
Two years without a live match are a long time. Add to that some personal issues and it seems an eternity has passed. This game Red Star vs Le Mans demonstrates the end of the wait. Read more →
Joshua Kimmich and the vaccin: It is complicated
With another corona winter just around the corner, football seems to have missed something. It is clear that Joshua Kimmich will be looked at differently since stating that he is not vaccinated yet, arguing worries about the consequences. This may be a fair point but does a huge disservice to football and more importantly, to society. Read more →
Rico’s Curse
There are things which regardless of how often you try, will never work, you will always fail. Rico Schmitt, the coach of SV Meppen must have felt as though he is living a groundhog day when he faced FC Magdeburg. The away side went home with three points in the bag and hosts made long faces.
This is not a recent phenomenon; thirteen games and only two wins are a clear sign that Schmitt simply knows not how to beat Magdeburg with his teams. Among this list are those famous two games in late May and early June 2015 during the play-offs against Kickers Offenbach.
October 2021 and the picture is the same: Magdeburg take the three points from Meppen and cement their position at the top of the table.
He will keep trying …
The screenshot was taken from Transfermakrt.de
Euro Hools
The new season in the Europa League and Champions League is just a few days old and the centre stage besides the football was taken by violence. How has it come to this? Read more →
Contingency Plans
How important a player is, becomes apparent when he is missing. Magdeburg are learning this the hard way, losing two games in a row and looking very average in the process. Read more →
Bad Losers, Suspicions and Conspiracies?
A debate of racism surrounded the match between Saarbrücken and Magdeburg in late August. The evidence is thin and there is an element of whataboutism included. Not an easy debate considering all points of view. Read more →
Stats and how to bend them
In early August FC Magdeburg played St. Pauli in the German Cup and lost unfortunately. The main headlines however, focused on Magdeburg’s dominance in one particular part of the match statistics. While these are not wrong, they do give a wrong image of the game. Read more →