Arminia Bielefeld

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Bundesliga, Matchday 18 | PREVIEW
Arminia Bielefeld - VfL Wolfsburg

In six home matches against Wolfsburg, Arminia have only ever scored two goals, making the "Wolves" a real bogey-team for the strugglers. New Bielefeld coach Michael Frontzeck drew 2:2 against Wolfsburg as Aachen coach, which heralded that teams relegation last season. Bielefeld has already conceded 38 goals this season, but did win two of their last three matches. Arminia have only bagged three goals in the opening 45 minutes of a game this season, and none in the first 30 minutes!

Frontzeck has given his team an unmistakeable order for Saturday: "we need to react in a compact manner and we must stop this series of conceding so many goals from the first half of the season."

Wolfsburg have lost their last three away games, conceding ten goals in the process. But Head Coach Felix Magath believes the teams recent DFB Cup win over Schalke will give Wolfsburg a amssive boost.

"I hope we can carry the euphoria from our cup victory over to Saturdays game, and that we can be successful against Bielefeld" he commented.

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Arminia Bielefeld 0 - 1 Wolfsburg

27' [0 - 1] Grafite

Arminia Bielefeld 0 VfL Wolfsburg 1

A solitary goal from Wolfsburg striker Grafite proved enough to get Felix Magath off to a winning start in 2008.

Brazilian striker Grafite handed the visitors the lead on 27 minutes with a well taken header. Marcelinho was the instigator when he cleverly fed Santana, before the Paraguayan’s cross found Grafite.

In the end, it was enough to take all three points.

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Martin Fenin's debut hattrick at Hertha BSC last weekend has been the talk of Frankfurt town. Now the fans can't wait for his first home game.

Not least because the usually modest 20-year-old Czech striker has promised further heroics in Friday's encounter with Arminia Bielefeld, albeit accompanied by a grin: "I'll score another one there. Or maybe two."

His chances of doing so are not bad at all, particularly in light of the fact that 14th-placed Bielefeld have the worst defence of any Bundesliga side this season - 39 goals against so far.

Funkel urges caution

In the wake of the 3-0 triumph in the capital, Frankfurt coach Friedhelm Funkel is trying to dampen any premature euphoria surrounding the club. Former Frankfurt man Andreas Möller said recently that the club will be contesting a UI Cup place this season.

"That's unrealistic", Funkel told bundesliga.de, "the team is no stronger than it was before. We bought three young players with no Bundesliga experience during the winter break. At the same time, we lost three experienced professionals in the form of Albert Streit, Naohiro Takahara and Michael Thurk. If we reach our target of 45 points, we'll have had a great season."

Fenin is only the fifth player in almost 45 years of Bundesliga play to notch a hattrick on his league debut. But Funkel is confident his spectacular start will not go to the striker's head, pointing out that, "Martin doesn't like being in the limelight. He works for the team, it's something that's already second
nature to him."

Back in one piece on Thursday from the Czech Republic's mini-tournament in Cyprus, Fenin is now looking forward to his first appearance in the Commerzbank Arena, in front of an anticipated 45,000 crowd.

Frankfurt fans hoping for Caio und Mantzios

The home supporters are also hoping to see the club's other new signings, Caio and Evangelos Mantzios, in action. Funkel is, "As ever", keeping his cards close to his chest on that score, saying only that the newcomers are definitely in the squad.

Bielefeld on four away points

For their part, Arminia have South African striker Sibusiso Zuma at their disposal again, following his return on Monday from African Cup of Nations duty.Bielefeld kicked off the season with a 3-1 win at Wolfsburg, and have since then picked up one solitary point on the road.

They have scored one goal and conceded 13 in losing their last three away games, and begun the second half of the season with two defeats.

"Basically on the right course"

Coach Michael Frontzeck is far from disillusioned, however, saying, "In Jena and against Wolfsburg, too, we were pretty compact, we didn't give much away." And he is convinced that his team are "Basically on the right course."

Against Frankfurt, Frontzeck says the players will need to master "The thin line between the right amount of defending and attacking". He has made clear to all concerned that, "If we want to survive in the Bundesliga, it will require a combined effort."

Andre Mijatovic will miss the game due to a thigh contusion, with Petr Gabriel his likely replacement in central defence. Probable line-ups:

Frankfurt: Nikolov - Ochs, Kyrgiakos, Galindo, Spycher - Chris - Fink, Köhler - Weissenberger - Fenin, Amanatidis

Bielefeld: Hain - Kirch, Gabriel, Kucera, Schuler -Kamper, Kauf, Marx, Böhme - Zuma, Wichniarek

Referee: Markus Schmidt (Stuttgart)

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Eintracht Frankfurt 2 - 1 Arminia Bielefeld

37' [1 - 0] I. Amanatidis
47' [2 - 0] M. Fenin
74' [2 - 1] A. Wichniarek

Frankfurt defeat Arminia

Frankfurt rose to seventh in Die Bundesliga with a 2-1 victory over Arminia Bielefeld at the Commerzbank-Arena.

The result sees Friedhelm Funkel's side extend their run of consecutive victories to three, while Arminia have won just one of their previous five fixtures.

Ioannis Amanatidis put the home side ahead eight minutes before half-time, with Martin Fenin (47) doubling their lead just after the interval.

Artur Wichniarek hit back for the visitors on 74 minutes, but it proved too little too late for Michael Frontzeck's men.

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Eintracht Frankfurt 2 - 1 Arminia Bielefeld // Goals - MyVideo

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Bundesliga, Matchday 20 | PREVIEW
Hertha Berlin – Arminia Bielefeld

Following their home debacle against a Martin Fenin inspired Frankfurt, Hertha recovered superbly last weekend to beat last season’s champions Stuttgart. Marko Pantelic and Raffael showed the first signs that they could be about to develop a good striking partnership, so Lucien Favre will hoping his side can give the home fans something to smile about against Bielefeld.

Steve von Bergen is available against after recovering from his knee injury, but may have to settle for a place on the bench.

Michael Frontzeck is still looking for his first win since taking over in December. Bielefeld’s last win came against Stuttgart under caretaker boss Dammeier. Consecutive defeats against Wolfsburg and Frankfurt have made the challenge in facing the new boss abundantly clear.

Personnel wise, Kucera looks set to continue to deputise for Mijatovic in defence, while Kirch will push into midfield. Christian Eigler is pushing Zuma for the lone striker’s role.

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Hertha BSC 1 - 0 Arminia Bielefeld

90' [1 - 0] D.A.C. Rafael

Hertha Berlin 1 Arminia Bielefeld 0

In a rather uneventful game at the Olympiastadion, the excitement cane at the end with new Brazilian striker Raffael firing in the only goal of the game three minutes into time added on.

With the referee seemingly poised to blow the final whistle, a long throw was headed into the path of Raffael, who made no mistake with his shot past Hain.

Not the best of games, but Hertha trainer Lucien Favre will take the three points and worry about the performance later.

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Bundesliga, Matchday 21 | PREVIEW
Arminia Bielefeld - MSV Duisburg

Important points are at stake for Bielefeld, who host struggling MSV Duisburg. "We have to win to stay afloat", said MSV coach Rudi Bommer, whose team is still waiting for a win after five unsuccessful outings.

Bielefeld coach Michael Frontzeck has lost all four matches since he took over coaching duties. That has to change. "We are focusing on our play and want to get a clear win on Saturday", said Frontzeck.

The stats show just how hard the task has been. Bielefeld scored their last home goal against Duisburg Iranian player Ali Daei found the back of the net on March 7, 1998 in a 3-3 match.

Duisburg haven't won in five matchdays and were victorious in only one of the last ten matches. MSV have not won on the road since the season opener, when they defeated Dortmund 3-1.

First leg: 0-3

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Arminia Bielefeld 0 - 2 Duisburg

8' [0 - 1] S. Schröter
48' [0 - 2] M. Ishiaku

Bielefeld 0-2 Duisburg

Duisburg moved off the bottom of the table and inflicted further misery on Bielefeld with a 2-0 win.

Bottom side Duisburg got off to a great start when they opened the scoring after eight minutes. Their first corner was not cleared by Bielefeld and the ball eventually fell to Silvio Schröter whose left-foot shot from 22 meters nestled in the right-hand corner of the net.

Three minutes into the second half and the away side doubled their lead with Ishiaku getting on the scoresheet. A great pass from Tararache found the Nigerian who scored with his right foot to put the Zebras 2-0 up.

Things are really looking bad for the ‘Arminen’ who look to be on a slippery downward spiral.

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Arminia Bielefeld's crisis went a step further on Tuesday with the news that sporting director Reinhard Saftig has been sacked with immediate effect.

The future appears very uncertain in East Westphalia with the news that Bielefeld's sporting director Reinhard Saftig has left the club.

The Arminen sacked manager Ernst Middendorp shortly before the Winter break began in December, but new boss Michael Frontzeck (pictured) has done no better, losing all of his first four league games in charge and seeing his side dumped out the cup by lower-league opposition.

With Bielefeld hovering perilously one point above the relegation zone and with the worst goal difference in the league, the board of directors took the decision to make changes and told sporting director Saftig his time was up.

Saftig had lost the support of the club's fans, and has been blamed for the continued demise which has seen Bielefeld earn only eight points from their last sixteen games. Saturday's 2-0 home defeat to bottom of the table Duisburg proved the final straw.

"We aren't satisfied with the sporting situation," explaind club president Hans-Hermann Schwick in a statement released on Tuesday. "We have decided to approach next season under a new sporting director, and since we're now in the planning stages for next season we've acted now."

Saftig's had extended his contract with Arminia Bielefeld as recently as November of last year, and had planned to stay until 2010. His replacement at the Schueco-Arena has not yet been named.

Goal.com - Bundesliga - Bielefeld Dismiss Sporting Director Saftig

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Bundesliga, Matchday 22 | PREVIEW
Hansa Rostock – Arminia Bielefeld

A real six-pointer at the DKB Arena with the two sides directly above the relegation zone meeting. Hansa are currently four points clear of the drop zone but cannot afford to drop points at home, especially to the teams in and around them like Bielefeld.

A narrow loss to Dortmund last weekend came on the back of a fine win over Frankfurt so Frank Pagelsdorf will fancy his chances against a Bielefeld side in free-fall.

The ‚Arminen’ under Michael Frontzeck are in the middle of a terrible run at the start of the year, which has seen them lose their last four league games, scoring just one goal in the process while also crashing out of the Cup to lower league opponents Carl-Zeiss Jena.

Things have to improve and they have to improve quickly if the club are to retain their Bundesliga status come the end of the season.

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Hansa Rostock 1 - 1 Arminia Bielefeld

84' [0 - 1] C. Eigler
86' [1 - 1] F. Bartels

Hansa Rostock 1-1 Bielefeld

It was honours even at the DKB Arena as Rostock drew 1-1 with Arminia Bielefeld. The game had been heading for a 0-0 draw before two goals in the final six minutes livened up the game.

The first goals arrived after 84 minutes with Christian Eigler firing the visitors in front from the edge of the penalty area to hand Michael Frontzeck what he though was to be his first league win as Bielefeld trainer.

However, Rostock didn’t just roll over and hit back on 86 minutes through Fin Bartels. Yelen fired the ball into the Arminia penalty area, where a falling Bartels shot the ball past Hain to grab a point.

Bielefeld were made to rue a missed penalty in the first half, which Wichniarek saw saved by Wächter in the Rostock goal.

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Bundesliga, Matchday 23 | PREVIEW
Arminia Bielefeld – Schalke

Following their fantastic penalty shoot-out victory over Porto on Wednesday night, Schalke return to Bundesliga action as they visit Bielefeld looking to put an end to a run of three successive defeats.

The fact that they come up against a team in free-fall will give them even more confidence of picking up a valuable three points, but they will have to avoid the dangers of complacency or a Champions League hangover as so often is the case.

Bielefeld’s point last weekend against Rostock brought to an end a run of five consecutive losses, but trainer Michael Frontzeck is still awaiting his first win since replacing Ernst Middendorp as the Bielefeld trainer.

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Arminia Bielefeld 0 - 2 Schalke

23' [0 - 1] G.A. Varela
74' [0 - 2] H. Altintop

Arminia Bielefeld 0-2 Schalke

Schalke climbed above Karlsruhe into fifth with a 2-0 win, which inflicted further misery upon a Bielefeld side in freefall.

Schalke had a goal from Gustavo Varela ruled out after six minutes after Kuranyi had been adjudged to have used a push on defender Kucera when flicking the ball on.

The Königsblauen did then score a legitimate goal after 24 minutes with Varela this time seeing his effort count. Westermann fired in a cross, which found Varela unmarked and the Uruguayan scored with a mixture of his head and shoulder.

The points were made secure with a second goal for the visitors in the second half with Halil Altintop scoring the decisive goal. Kuranyi laid the ball off following a Christian Pander free kick, and Altintop had an easy job to slot home.