Who has the bigger ego and bigger balls? It seems that FIFA and some national football associations carry out their fighting on the back of the women’s game, potentially leading to the worst case scenario: a tv blackout for the 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. Read more →
May Day, May Day! Neugersdorf vs Ludwigsfelde
Football on May Day at Neugersdorf – a club in an emergency situation. You have to be passionate to attend; only 130 were courageous enough to do so. Read more →
Magdeburg 6, Hamburg 4
The 2022-23 season is almost over and there are teams that seem to fit Magdeburg more than others. Hamburg for instance. The arguably biggest beast in the division. And not only did Magdeburg beat them by a scrappy goal deep in injury time on a soggy pitch but did so by keeping their act together, concentrating on what they can do best: playing football in the style of Christian Titz. This means a lot of possession, many passes. The final score of 3-2 in each of the matches maybe belies the fact that Hamburg were dominant in either. And indeed better. However:
a win is a win
stated none other than Brian Glanville once. At that is what counts: three points on the plus side and the goal difference was reduced, though the latter only minimally.
At times during the season, this seemed futile an approach but the second half of the season proved Titz right. After 17 games of the first leg, Magdeburg had 17 points; they now have 38 and look certain to stay up.
That it took that long for the team to adapt to this division no one could have foreseen and maybe there was also some naivety on the part of the sporting direction and the coaching staff. However, trust and belief as well as some re-adjustments of the squad paid off: Magdeburg are certain to stay up and can commence to spend a thought or two for the squad for the coming season.
Among supporters the mood oscillated between hope and despair almost in a weekly basis. It wasn’t easy and maybe some harsh word was uttered (shouted) at the team when the performance was not as expected. Maybe herein lies some potential: to have no expectations other than the team doing their best.
For now though, there is relief and joy in the fact that the cushion is big enough to keep Magdeburg up.
Good writing does not come by chance, so consider a little tip:Hertha’s best Pal
Hertha BSC have been struggling in the league not only recently, but throughout the season and for the best part of the last two at least. If the successful play-offs against Hamburg at the end of last season saved them from the drop, this time round, the inevitable seems inevitable (The preventable is unavoidable): Hertha will go down and need a minor miracle to escape once more. Read more →
a not so well aged post
This post has aged within a day of its conception. Read for yourself.
Just a few years ago, Rostock was the envy of Magdeburg supporters. For one, the most successful coach Magdeburg had post-1990, Jens Härtel has guided Rostock to promotion to Bundesliga 2 in 2021 and managed to stay up the following season. This happened while Magdeburg were hovering above the abyss, i.e. the relegation zone from division 3 to the badlands of the regionalised fourth division(s). At this point many were still suffering from the separation from Härtel and were longing for those days when things seemed easier, the communication was clearer.
Just a reminder: Härtel arrived at Magdeburg in 2014 and within four years took the Club to two promotions: 2015 to the third division at the first attempt and in 2018 into Bundesliga 2. In November 2018 the Club sacked him as the results were not going as planned. A few weeks later he was in Rostock. Magdeburg however went down again after just one season and had a difficult time in Liga 3 between 2019 and January 2021.
The parallels are striking: Jens Härtel has done a good job in Rostock but in November 2022 he was sacked, despite sitting in 12th place, without any urgent worries of relegation. His successor, Patrick Glöckner was briefed to keep the club in midfield and away from the drop zone. Yet, exactly this has happened and Rostock have edged closer to the bottom with each game in 2023. Their last win was in early February at Bielefeld; their last five matches were four defeats and just one draw.
Update 20 March, 2023: Glöckner has been suspended and Rostock need a new coach – their third of the current season. The international break might help to smoothen the arrival of whoever comes next and may make life for supporters of their next opponent more difficult: Rostock are playing away at Magdeburg on April, 2.
Here this little story of the joint fate of Magdeburg and Rostock comes to an end. Either club might go down at the end of the season or both stay up.
The other chapters are
Jens vs. Jahn
42 Years of Hurt
FCM I vs FCM II
Gianni Infantino’s moral compass
There is a new president of FIFA and it is the same as the old: Gianni Infantino. The vote was more or less a proclamation of a new king or emperor, less a democratic process. Though, whoever thinks FIFA acts democratically may think twice.
Afterwards, the president gave insights into his motivation to stand for election for the first time in 2016. There is only one reasonable conclusion to be drawn: Infantino has no conscience, no moral compass or standards. Worse, there are enough people on this planet and within football who think this is something normal and voted for him.
He stated that the suffering of the country (i.e.Rwanda) has inspired him in his first run for FIFA president in 2016. What he referred to is the genocide of 1994 during which an estimated 800000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed by Hutu militiae.
There are no more words needed.
image credit: “Moral Compass” by Lightspring via Shutterstock
Good writing does not come by chance, so consider a little tip:10 Minute Madness
Whatever momentum Magdeburg may have gathered over the last three games, it was all gone within ten minutes against Fürth. While the first half looked decent, if not solid, between the 65th and the 75th minute, Magdeburg gave the game and their good position away. The goal difference before was -11 which compared well with that of their relegation contenders; now it is -14 which puts them right back into the fold again.
Surely, two injuries during the first half shattered any match plan but this must be taken into consideration by the coach. This is a crucial time in the season and at half way of the second leg of the season, the international break May help to re-adjust and sharpen the focus for the task ahead. To stay up is the first and foremost task for Magdeburg.
This time of Year: PSG and the quest for European glory
There is somenthing wrong with Paris Saint-Germain and the Champions League: the Parisians simply can’t win it no matter how hard they try. It is this time of year again, when PSG crash out of UEFA’s most important tournament and find their season in ruins. Read more →
John Motson, 1945 – 2023
Some classic John Motson commentary. Two matches of football which Motson commentated on and which have engrained themselves in memory for various reasons. Enjoy.
Germany’s Wurst Nightmare, 2001
This is a classic match: for one team it was a nightmare, for the other it was the beginning of a dream that come to an end in autumn 2007. However, this match at Munich 2001 was also vindication for England for their defeat at Wembley in spring 1972. This match thus was the end of ’30 years of hurt’.
England – Argentina, 2005
The second is a match which ends in a superb climax and Motson’s voice almost topples in excitement as England beat Argentina 3-2 in a friendly match in Geneva in autumn 2005.
image credit: gordonflood, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
FIFA’s coffers
As a little note for the weekend:
According to its latest report, FIFA have recorded $5.8bn revenues in 2022, largely due to the World Cup in Qatar. According to Wikipedia the Gross Domestic Product of Guam for 2017 was estimated to have been $5.793bn; for 2022 there were no figures available yet. For 2022 the list of GDP shows that FIFA would rank somewhere between Lesotho and the Central African Republic in terms of revenues. For a non-profit organization this is a lot.
This gives this association an incredible amount of financial and political power. And it is of course not shy to use this. It has borrowed the city of Berne around CHF1.8bn over the last six years. Apparently, the towns and cities to which FIFA has leant money had found no other lenders despite their ratings being impeccable. What is not so impeccable is of course the reputation of FIFA. The organization is mired in scandal, yet the mayors seemed not to care.
At the same time global governing body of soccer has ‚only’ donated $1m to the earthquake relief fund for Turkey and Syria.
FIFA is drowning in money says this report in the German broadsheet F.A.Z.
image credit: Money Bags by 401(K) via flickr under CC BY-SA 2.0
Good writing does not come by chance, so consider a little tip: