Bundesliga 2007/08 ~ Champions: FC Bayern München

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The best pictures from the opening matchday!

http://www.talksoccer.net/forum/vide...ighlights.html

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The first games of the Bundesliga season saw wins for Bayern Munich, Hamburg, Frankfurt and Bielefeld. Werder were held at Bochum, while Leverkusen and Cottbus ended goalless.

Bayern cruised to a 3-0 home victory against newly promoted Hansa Rostock. Trainer Ottmar Hitzfeld was pleased with the win but saw room for improvement.

“We fulfilled our duty today. We were warned after the Burghausen match that smaller opponents could cause us problems. We concentrated from the start, but saw with four or five counter attacks that Hansa were a very good side. We allowed our opponents too much space and that didn’t please me.”

“The second-half was also not straight forward, because the second goal took so long to come. I’m pleased that the risk of playing Luca Toni paid off. He was a constant threat, and through him, Klose came more into the game. It’s good when your strikers score in the first game.”

Rostock trainer Frank Pagelsdorf admitted that the better side won. “Bayern deserved their win. We tried really hard but couldn’t make the breakthrough. We allowed them too much space – especially out wide.”

Hamburg opened their account with a 1-0 win away to Hannover. Trainer Huub Stevens gave his verdict after the game. “It wasn’t a brilliant performance from us, but for the first game of the season we are happy. I’m happy that we have managed to beat Hannover after 19 years, but it doesn’t mean a great deal for the rest of the season. But we have our first three points.”

Felix Magath had a nightmare start to his stint in charge at Wolfsburg. They went down 1-3 at home to Arminia Bielefeld. “Our team has new players in many positions” Magath explained. “We started very nervously and were never really in the game. We missed Ricardo Costa in our defence, but I think with the return of Facundo Quiroga in our next game we will improve.

His opposite number at Bielefeld Ernst Middendorp was understandably delighted with the performance. “Our advantage was that our team is used to playing together. We only had two new players to integrate. We scored our goals at just the right times.”

Last season’s fifth place team Bayer Leverkusen drew 0-0 against Energie Cottbus at the Bay-Arena. Michael Skibbe thought his team deserved more from the game. “A win would have been a just reward for our performance today. Tomislav Piplica was immense today.”

Petrik Sander for his part sees promise for the rest of the Cottbus season. “We are proud that we have got a point here. It was a game with a lot in it, except goals.

Frankfurt’s winning start was welcomed by Friedhelm Funkel. “It made us nervous that we were unable to make it 2-0 at the end. There is always the danger of conceding a goal, but we are delighted with this opening victory.

New Hertha Berlin boss Lucien Favre said, “We were not in the game in the first half. In the second half it was better and we could have got an equaliser. We have a lot of work ahead of us.”

Werder Bremen, one of the title favourites could only take a point from their game with Bochum. A 2-2 draw saw the spoils shared at the Rewirpower Stadion. Werder trainer Thomas Schaaf commented, “The start of the season is always difficult. We saw too highly motivated teams. At 2-0 we should have closed the game, but that didn’t happen. Then in the first five minutes of the second half we went to sleep.”

Bochum counterpart Marcel Koller also saw the positives from the match. “It was an intensive opening game. We were aggressive and closed the space well. Then unfortunately came the penalty. At 2-0 at half-time I said we had to raise our game. At the end, either team could have won due to the chances created.”

Goal.com - Germany - Bundesliga Reaction: Hitzfeld And Stevens Delighted, Schaaf And Magath Distraught

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Promoted MSV Duisburg and Karlsruher SC are in for a tough comeback as Borussia Dortmund and 1. FC Nürnberg hope for home wins.

Away to UEFA Cup aspirants - MSV Duisburg and Karlsruher SC are in for tough matches when they make their Bundesliga comeback.

Biggest crowd in MSV history

The "Zebras" make the short trip to Dortmund to play in front of the biggest crowd of their club's history, KSC champ at the bit ahead of their match at DFB Cup winners 1. FC Nürnberg (both Sunday, 17:00).

78,000 fans are expected at Dortmund's Signal Iduna Park where Borussia want to push a poor 2006/07 season to the back of their fans' minds.

Watzke's gut feeling

"We have a new coach, a quality squad and played a good pre-season. My gut feeling is better than ahead of last season", BVB CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke said.

"We want to get a good start and then I hope that the party will start", head coach Thomas Doll added. But the former German international also knows that new signings Jakub Blaszczykowski, Mladen Petric, Giovanni Federico and Diego Klimowicz have caused higher expectations among the fans.

"We need patience"

"MSV will play compact and try to hit us on the counter-attack. It will be a difficult match for Duisburg. We will see an aggressive BVB, but we also need patience", Doll remarked.

Apart from Alexander Frei (recovering form a hip operation) Doll has everyone available. But the guests, who have managed just a single draw in their last 14 visits to Dortmund, hope for an upset.

Ailton on the bench

"Of course we're underdogs. The players just have to acclimatize themselves in the Bundesliga", Rudi Bommer said prior to his Bundesliga coaching debut.

New MSV striker Ailton is expected to start on the bench due to lack of fitness.

Meyer cautious

Karlsruher SC head coach Edmund Becker is in for his Bundesliga match as a coach, too.

The last Bundesliga match between both teams in the 1993/94 season had ended in a 1-1 draw. "It would not be considered a catastrophe if we would play 1-1 at home to KSC", FCN head coach Hans Meyer said in another attempt to dampen the euphoria surrounding his team since the DFB Cup win.

"It would be important to be successful in the first two matches against KSC and Hansa. But the start period is five or six matches. Only afterwards we will be able to judge whether or not we've had a good start", Meyer reckons.

Line-ups as expected:

Borussia Dortmund - MSV Duisburg
Dortmund: Weidenfeller - Degen, Kovac, Wörns, Dede - Kehl - Blaszczykowski, Tinga - Petric - Smolarek, Klimowicz.

Duisburg: Starke - Lamey, Filipescu, Schlicke, Caceres - Tararache, Grlic - Tiffert, Georgijew, Idrissou - Ishiaku.

Referee: Meyer (Burgdorf)

1. FC Nürnberg - Karlsruher SC
Nuremberg: Blazek - Reinhardt, Wolf, Beauchamp, Kristiansen - Galasek - Engelhardt (Mnari), Misimovic - Vittek, Charisteas, Saenko.

Karlsruhe: Miller - Görlitz, Eggimann, Franz, Eichner - Mutzel, Aduobe - Iashvili, Hajnal, Carnell - Freis.

Referee: Gagelmann (Bremen)

[Oliver_Kahn]

Final scores:

Borussia Dortmund 1 - 3 Duisburg
8' [0 - 1] M. Ishiaku
62' [0 - 2] M. Tararache (pen.)
64' [0 - 3] M. Ishiaku
86' [1 - 3] F. Kringe

Nurnberg 0 - 2 Karlsruhe
44' [0 - 1] T. Hajnal
75' [0 - 2] T. Hajnal



I'm fucking shocked

[Oliver_Kahn]

Their first win in 35 years at Borussia Dortmund gives MSV Duisburg reason to enjoy a spectacular comeback in the Bundesliga, and it means a painful defeat for the highly ambitious home team.


The Zebras proved better 3-1 (1-0) in an often sloppy yet contentious match. Manasseh Ishiaku was the dominant force, scoring twice (8th and 64th min.) and laying the foundation for the surprise win by MSV.

MSV stronger down the stretch

Mihai Tararache (62nd min. ) also scored for the guests off a penalty kick. BVB could only muster a consolation goal by Florian Kringe (86th min.).

While MSV fans who made the journey to the match were ecstatic over their promotion team, the fan base of Borussia was stunned. 75,700 dejected spectators watched as BVB, bolstered with seven million euros worth of new talent, played without structure and revealed gaping weaknesses.

In the absence of Alexander Frei, the host's attack was defanged, due in no small part to the guest's cutting short coach Thomas Doll's offense at midfield through physical play and numerous fouls.

Petric off the mark

Borussia was visibly shaken after Ishiaku's score, following a free kick from Ivica Grlic, which made it 1-0. And Dortmund couldn't regain their footing, missing opportunities in the first half through two free kicks from Croatian new signing Mladen Petric, who was also just off the mark on a shot that hit the cross bar (23rd min.).

----

What a comeback! Promoted Karlsruher SC pulled off a sensational 2-0 win away to DFB Cup winners 1. FC Nürnberg on the opening day.


DFB Cup winners 1. FC Nürnberg have made a miserable start to the 2007/08 Bundesliga season.

Hajnal brace

Hans Meyer's team lost 2-0 against promoted Karlsruher SC. New signing Tamas Hajnal (44/74) got both goals for KSC on their return to the top flight after a nine-year absence.

Both head coaches had three new signings in their starting eleven. FCN fielded goalkeeper Jaromir Blazek, Angelos Charisteas and Zvjezdan Misimovic. KSC's Edmund Becker chose Christian Timm, Hajnal and Andreas Görlitz.

Vittek misses sitter

Nuremberg had the first good chance in front of 45,419 fans when Robert Vittek (8) rounded KSC keeper Markus Miller only to miss an empty net.

Karlsruhe had started carefully, but Hajnal had little to do in front of an empty two minutes before half-time after Michael Mutzel had hit the cross-bar.

Mintal unlucky

FCN stepped up the pressure when Meyer introduced strikers Marek Mintal and Joshua Kennedy. Mintal was denied twice by Miller before shooting just wide (67).

Hajnal was in the right place at the right time again when Blazek was unable to hold onto Sebastian Freis' cross from the right, sealing the win for KSC.

In the second half BVB, did everything possible to make something happen but were ineffective against the disciplined and well organised defence of the Zebras.

[Oliver_Kahn]

Table after MD 1:

1. Bayern München - 3pts
2. MSV Duisburg - 3 pts
3. Arminia Bielefeld - 3 pts
4. Karlsruher SC - 3 pts
5. Hamburg SV - 3 pts
6. Eintracht Frankfurt - 3 pts
7. Werder Bremen - 1 pt
8. FC Schalke 04 - 1 pt
9. VfL Bochum - 1 pt
10. VfB Stuttgart - 1 pt
11. Energie Cottbus - 1 pt
12. Bayer Leverkusen - 1 pt
13. Hertha BSC - 0 pts
14. Hannover 96 - 0 pts
15. VfL Wolfsburg - 0 pts
16. Borussia Dortmund - 0 pts
17. FC Nürnberg - 0 pts
18. Hansa Rostock - 0 pts

Champions League
Intertoto Cup
Uefa Cup
Relegation


Top scorers after MD 1:

> Miroslav Klose > Bayern München > 2 goals
> Tamas Hajnal > Karlsruher SC > 2 goals
> Manasseh Ishiaku > MSV Duisburg > 2 goals

[Oliver_Kahn]

17.08.07, 20.30h
Karlsruher SC : Hannover 96

18.08.07, 15.30h
FC Schalke 04 : Borussia Dortmund
Werder Bremen : Bayern München
Hertha BSC : VfB Stuttgart
Arminia Bielefeld : Eintracht Frankfurt
Hansa Rostock : 1. FC Nürnberg
MSV Duisburg : VfL Wolfsburg

19.08.07, 17.00h
Hamburger SV : Bayer Leverkusen
Energie Cottbus : VfL Bochum

Bundesliga Table

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Originally Posted by Oliver_Kahn

Final scores:

Borussia Dortmund 1 - 3 Duisburg
8' [0 - 1] M. Ishiaku
62' [0 - 2] M. Tararache (pen.)
64' [0 - 3] M. Ishiaku
86' [1 - 3] F. Kringe

Nurnberg 0 - 2 Karlsruhe
44' [0 - 1] T. Hajnal
75' [0 - 2] T. Hajnal



I'm fucking shocked

Fuckin' shocked aswell.
Two totally unexpected results, especially the Dortmund tie.
Damn, that's football. A surprise package.

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Nice one mate, good work.

Bayern at the top right from the beginning.
We just have to continue like that.

Bielefeld, Duisburg, Karlsruhe and Frankfurt should eventually drop points in the upcoming week(s).

Hamburg can 'follow' us for a while, but they will eventually slip aswell.

We'll make a big step if we beat Bremen next weekend, we'll have a 5 pt lead with them.

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UPDATED:

The best pictures from the opening matchday!

Bundesliga 2007/08 - Week 1 (10-12 Aug) -- ALL GOALS & HIGHLIGHTS

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Piplica

Lahm Kukielka Hilbert

van der Vaart Böhme Hajnal Ribéry

Sanogo Klose Ishiaku

Goalkeeper:

1) Tomislav Piplica (Energie Cottbus)

The Cottbus keeper was cited by Leverkusen trainer Michael Skibbe as the main reason his side didn't come away with all three points from the opening day clash. He continually denied the Werkself, and the one time he was beaten, Schneider saw his free-kick come back off the post. The Bosnian kept his first clean-sheet of the season to go with the 7 he kept last year.

Defenders:

2) Phillipp Lahm (Bayern Munich)

With all the focus on Bayern's attack and the new signings, it was one of the regular full-backs who impressed during the opening fixture. With Rostock not offering too much coming forward, Lahm was given the freedom to bomb down the right- hand side at will. The 24 year old was heavily involved in the second goal. He cut in from the right and unleashed a shot which Wächter pushed into Klose's path. With performances of this calibre, he will be virtually guarenteed his place in Ottmar Hitzfeld's starting XI.

3) Mariusz Kukielka (Energie Cottbus)

The 31 year old Polish international, who was a near ever-present last season, made a huge contribution to the opening day point gained at the Bay-Arena. With Tomislav Piplica behind him in commanding form, the former Dynamo Dresden player made a solid start to the season.

4) Roberto Hilbert (Stuttgart)

Forced to play as an emergency right-back due to injuries, the recent German international put in a highly impressive performance. He was unfortunate to deflect Kobiashvili's shot into his own net for Schalke's opener, but recovered well from this setback. He took advantage of his natural attacking instincts to press forward when allowed. It was his intelligent through-ball which set up Sami Khedira for the equaliser.

Midfielders:

5) Jorg Böhme (Bielefeld)

The experienced Bundesliga midfielder was a big influence on the game and was a major contributor to their 3-1 victory over Wolfsburg. The former Schalke man was involved in two of Arminia's three goals. He firstly played the ball into Wichniarek's path for the opening goal. He then played a long ball to Eigler at the start of the second half to double Bielefeld's lead.

6) Tamas Hajnal (Karlsruher)

Two goals from the Hungarian international helped Karlsruher to a surprise opening weekend victory over last season's Cup winners. He converted an easy chance just before the break when he poked the ball in after seeing it rebound off the bar. He sealed the victory for KSC when he was again in the right place at the right time to convert a Freis cross after 74 minutes.

7) Raphael van der Vaart (Hamburg)

Hamburg's captain and star-man van der Vaart continued where he left off last season with another top performance. Although Hamburg were limited to one goal, this did not tell the story of the whole game. He was one of numerous playes to hit the bar as HSV finally won in Hannover for the first time in 19 years.

8) Frank Ribery (Bayern Munich)

The pressure was on the Frenchman to deliver on his Bundesliga debut. He did not disappoint putting in a highly polished performance. A constant threat down both flanks and also when cutting inside. A clear sign of things to come, and Bundesliga defenders should be shaking in their boots. Ribery is coming!

Forwards:

9) Boubacar Sanogo (Werder Bremen)

Booed by sections of the Hamburg crowd last season, the Ivorian scored on his Bundesliga debut for Werder to show that he can perform at this level. He won the somewhat dubious penalty that Diego converted for Bremen's first goal. He then scored the second to give Werder a 2-0 lead. Bremen may have found a relatively cheap replacement for Miroslav Klose.

10) Miroslav Klose (Bayern Munich)

Miro started his Bayern career with a Man of the Match showing. His unselfish pass laid the first goal on for strike partner Luca Toni, before he grabbed a brace himself. His first came from close range as he reacted to a parry from the Rostock keeper. His second showed his aerial ability as he beat two defenders to head in.

11) Manasseh Ishiaku (Duisburg)

Duisburg's new 1 million Euro signing from FC Bruges made an instant impact as Duisburg shocked Dortmund at the Signal-Iduna Park. Two goals shot the 'Zebras' to a 3-1 victory. An early header was followed up with a clinical finish to put the finishing touches to a fast counter-attack.

Honourable mentions:

Sami Khedira scored the equaliser against Schalke on Friday to cap a fine display. The goal added to the two he scored in the corresponding fixture last year. Ivan Rakitic was only on the pitch for 20 minutes, but his fine individual goal rescued a point for Schalke. Luca Toni, a surprise debutant for Bayern, took only 14 minutes to open his Bundesliga account. He showed signs that his partnership with Klose will produce lots of goals this season. Stanislav Sestak scored on his Bochum debut to go some way to banish the ghost of Gekas. Veteran keeper Frank Rost also impressed as Hamburg ended their barren rum in Hannover.

Goal.com - Germany - Bundesliga Team Of The Week: Round 1

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This will be a great week, I hope.

It will def be, on paper. 4 great clashes, doesn't happen very often.

FC Schalke 04 v Borussia Dortmund
Werder Bremen v Bayern München
Hertha BSC v VfB Stuttgart
Hamburger SV v Bayer Leverkusen

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Miroslav Klose will have the perfect stage to try for his 100th Bundesliga goal on Saturday when Bayern Munich travel to take on his former club Werder Bremen.

Klose switched between the two rivals for 10 million euros in June at the end of a messy transfer saga.

The top scorer at the 2006 World Cup showed Bayern's persistence had been worth it when he struck twice and set up a third for Luca Toni in the opening day 3-0 win over Hansa Rostock.

Those goals took his tally to 99 in 210 Bundesliga games and his return to the Weserstadion on Saturday could be the platform for a celebration.

Bayern's win over Rostock last weekend had fans and pundits purring approval at the club's new determination to play attacking football.

But the first real test of the theory comes at Werder, who finished last season a place above Bayern in third.

"We got the start we wanted against Rostock but we won't assume we've won the title after one match," Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge told the club's official website.

"We know we have a good team, but I'm warning everyone not to get big-headed or arrogant."

Werder drew 2-2 with Bochum on the opening weekend and followed that up with a 2-1 win over Dinamo Zagreb in a tough Champions League qualifier on Wednesday.

Tiredness is likely to be a factor, especially considering the club's injured list, which includes sen