It’s rare one shares a pitch with Nigel de Jong and doesn’t come out with something bleeding, broken or bruised. Somehow, Germany referee Deniz Aytekin managed to survive offering the Dutch bad boy some candy before snarfing it down himself during a DFB Pokal match between Mainz and Eintracht Frankfurt on Wednesday.
Bayern Munich has opened an 18-point lead at the top of the Bundesliga after registering its eighth straight league victory with a 2-0 result against Mainz on Saturday, and it was Colombian attacker James Rodriguez again proving the side’s talisman with his second goal in three matches.
It took just 34 minutes for new boy Michy Batshuayi to get his first goal for Borussia Dortmund. Fullback Jeremy Toljan, who is eligible to play for the USA, Germany and Croatia at the senior national level (please pick the USA, Jeremy) supplied the assist.
That didn't take long. It's a debut goal for Michy Batshuayi! Dortmund lead 1-0. #KOEBVB https://t.co/zU6cIysBKj
Manchester City winger Leroy Sané is one of the most exciting young players in the world, with the pace, dribbling and finishing to terrify any defense. He could be a breakout star for Germany at the 2018 World Cup, assuming he doesn’t break his leg first. Joe Bennett’s Leroy Sané tackle looked like it might have caused serious damage to the German on Sunday and the German national team’s Twitter account stood up for its player.
Amidst an influx of impressive young talent coming to Major League Soccer from South America, the Bundesliga is raiding the U.S. for young players. So while American teenagers may not be having any luck breaking into lineups at home, they’re finding more opportunities in the league of the world champions. To steal a line from Taylor Twellman, what are we doing?
Legendary German midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger has elected to re-sign with Major League Soccer’s Chicago Fire for an additional year on a Designated Player contract for the 2018 season. The Fire paid Schweinsteiger $5.4 million last year, but details have yet to be released concerning the new contract.
The fallout to the Jonathan Gonzalez switch from the U.S. to Mexico has been immense. We’ve covered it here and here. Simply put: The U.S. appears to be failing in its pursuit of identifying and recruiting Mexican-Americans to compete for the national team. But the possibility of a Timothy Tillman switch is proof U.S.
USMNT and Borussia Dortmund star Christian Pulisic recently sat down for an exclusive interview with ESPN FC from Dortmund’s winter training camp in southern Spain, taking time to answer questions from Raphael Honigstein ranging from the USA’s World Cup failure to how he deals with the burden of expectation as a 19-year-o
American teenager Weston McKennie entered a friendly match for Schalke against Genk at halftime on Sunday. That’s completely normal — the midfielder made 14 Bundesliga appearances in the first half of league play. What was abnormal was the position McKennie played for the entirety of the second half: center back.
McKennie, 19, replaced 35-year-old Brazilian Naldo at the heart of Schalke’s three-man defense. And although Genk scored a late consolation, McKennie impressed in a 2-1 victory for the Germans over the Belgians in Spain.
Bayer Leverkusen manager Heiko Herrlich has been hit with a fine approaching $14,500 after taking a comedy tumble during his side’s DFB-Pokal match against Borussia Monchengladbach on December 20. Bayer would win the game 1-0, but Herrlich apologized after the match for his hysterics following Denis Zakaria’s near-impingement on his personal space.
“That was stupid,” said Herrlich. “I’d like to apologize.”