With the Bundesliga’s restart just over a week away, it’ll be fascinating to see the differing levels of fitness on display when, for example, Borussia Dortmund hosts Schalke in the Revierderby on Saturday, May 16. After over two months off, it’s only natural that some players will have taken better care of themselves, while others might need an extra week or two to last more than 60 minutes.
The Bundesliga will be the first major European league to resume play starting Saturday, May 16. Fans of the league are nothing less than exhilarated to see its return. For those unfamiliar with the league or even the teams, don’t fear.
For a little background, the title chase is being closely contested between five clubs. If you’re unsure who to root for, this Americanized list of the Bundesliga’s top five teams will surely help.
The term “breaking ankles” is when you juke your opponent so bad, they end up on their backside. It’s an act seen lots of times in basketball and sometimes in soccer. It makes supporters and the bench go wild and adds an element of excitement to the game. Conceding a goal or basket is one thing, but losing your own ankles is on another echelon of humiliation. The Lionel Messi goal vs Bayern Munich in 2015 features one of the worst ankle breakers in soccer history. How does it compare to the time Allen Iverson snatched a pair of his own ankles?
Ten people have tested positive for coronavirus in more than 1,700 tests carried out by Germany's professional soccer league (DFL) at its 36 clubs ahead a planned resumption of full training, it said on Monday.
The DFL, which tested players and coaching staff at the Bundesliga and 2.Bundesliga teams, did not identify those who had tested positive or their clubs and said the cases had been reported to health authorities.
No decade in the Bundesliga’s 57-year history has been as thoroughly dominated by one club as Bayern Munich’s reign over the last 10 years. Apart from Borussia Dortmund’s back-to-back titles in 2011 and 2012, the rest of the 2010s were steamrolled by Bayern.
Over this period, the club routinely landed players in the Bundesliga's top 10 scorers each season. The notable examples include Arjen Robben, Thomas Müller, Mario Gómez, Mario Mandžukić and Robert Lewandowski.
Jose Mourinho has done it all throughout his illustrious career. He’s won eight league titles across Portugal, England, Spain and Italy, won the Champions League with Porto and Inter Milan and even helped underdog Manchester United win the Europa League. But only one match ever made Jose Mourinho cry.
Barcelona wasn’t always able to rebound after losing a first leg 4-0 like it did in 2017 against PSG.
Back on April 23, 2013, Bayern Munich stunned the world and dismantled Barcelona 4-0 in the first leg before securing a 3-0 win in the second leg. One of the most memorable moments of the 7-0 aggregate thrashing was Thomas Muller obliterating Jordi Alba with a pick that would be illegal even in basketball.
Muller’s pick on Alba is still one of the most savage moments in football history.
*Headphone users: Turn down your volume as the audio is quite loud*
Last month's Rhine Derby between Borussia Monchengladbach and FC Koln should've been a high-spirited event. Instead, it was played in an eerily quiet, empty stadium as the Bundesliga played out its first game behind closed doors as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
Now, the DFB (German FA) says playing in empty stadiums is the only way the competition could resume next month.
German midfielder and long-time Bayern Munich player Thomas Müller isn’t leaving anytime soon as he extended his contract with the Bundesliga giant until 2023. Müller signed the extension in true social distancing fashion.
With almost every league around the world postponed, fans either sit twiddling their thumbs or playing FIFA awaiting football’s return. The Bundesliga especially, with one of the hottest title races in Europe, is dearly missed. The question on everyone’s mind: When will the Bundesliga resume?