Holy Roman Empire: Champions League Group Stage

In anticipation for the clash between the two sides that garner the most support from me, Chelsea and Leverkusen – there is a write up by yours truly, on the current tides at Chelsea and her current form (strengths, weaknesses, tactics etc) for the CL group stage on the Bayer Leverkusen WerkselfStryder Blog.

“Back in 2002, Bayer Leverkusen disposed of 3 of  the premier league’s regular top 4 clubs in their amazing run to the final – Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United. It is now 2011 and this time around, Bayer face the Blues for the first time in their history. This is also a special occasion to mark, as Michael Ballack makes his way back to the Bridge in their first match-up…”

More after jump

This Fence is Too Mainstream for Me

After surveying the UEFA fixing habits bandwagon, and hopping off, then jumping back on, then hovering for a while, I think I am ready to commit.

G-"yo, so you getting me the trophy this year or what?" Big P-"Dont worry dawg, I got yo back"

Having overslept on the day of the CL draw, I ran out of my room and the first thing I hear is – my fears had come true – “Chelsea is drawn with Leverkusen” straight from my brother’s food filled mouth.

Bollocks.

When I hear who else was drawn in that group (Valenica and Genk), I think, Bollocks, once more. I have had my run ins with the lovely ladies of luck, coincidence, fate, and the rest of them intangible persons floating around in the universe, pulling the strings and tampering with our lives – but I can quite assure you (yes, take it from me, average human) that a draw like this is completely bollocks. Unless improbable coincidence is Michel Platini’s middle name.

For Chelsea, in pot 1: drawing Leverkusen because of Michael Ballack, drawing Valencia because of Juan Mata, and Genk for.. oh I dont know, chelsea’s recent purchase of Thibaut Courtois. Oh and perhaps because Leverkusen met Genk only a few months back. Whatever it is that is UEFA’s agenda, sure they want to give exciting matches with lots at stake – but come on. Manchester United tendencies of getting drawn into a sail-easy group is an even more credible paranoia than Fergie Time. Yes, believe it or not, its more credible than something proved scientifically*

How about.. setting up sides to meet each other in the knockout stages, another Barca-Arsenal? Another Inter-Bayern? Mayhaps setting up a manager with his previous club? Ooh drama, we like, yes, yes my pet.

Maybe I am reading too much into this. Perhaps some brilliant statistician can pull up a bunch of random numbers for me signifying that a draw like this is statistically possible and has a bla bla in a bla bla chance. Of course it is statistically possible, but I would never bet on those odds. But what do I know about betting.

Yes, I am still licking left-over wounds from a certain match against a certain bunch of catalans in stamford bridge.. where a certain bald referee was carrying out his marching orders.

And with that, I promptly remove my entangled body from the fence, and briskly walk towards the raving mad conspiracy theorists.

What? no..I dont want to share your living quarters..?!

get me out of here

Bayer Leverkusen 101

There is a completely new section in my blog dedicated to the history of Bayer Leverkusen over three decades in the 1.Bundesliga. Check out the Die Werkself tab for all sorts of information on who/what/where and why Bayer Leverkusen is.

Currently, only the 80′s section is up, but soon enough the 90′s, 2000′s and most recent season will be up as well. League standings, squads, top scorers, interviews, and significant events (which Bayer has 2 or 3 of those) are all covered under each decade.

So for now, take a walk down the 80′s and read up on Bayer’s 1988 UEFA Cup win and how it came to be (yes, a whole page dedicated to Leverkusen’s biggest and only european title – we make do with what we have). An exciting final and videos of the goals, penalty shoot-out and celebration, and an interesting picture or two.

Two games, two formations, one opponent. Part 2

In the return leg, Heynckes went with a 4-4-2 formation against the Yellow Submarines. Leverkusen needed at least 2 goals with none conceded in order to progress to the quarter finals. The first part looked at how Leverkusen executed the 4-2-3-1 against Villareal.

4-4-2 Away: Villareal 2-1 Bayer Leverkusen

This game was not as fast paced and offensively skewed as was the 1st leg. Leverkusen did not control the possession this time, instead it evened out between the two sides.

Shots: Leverkusen 14 (7 on goal) to Villareal’s 5 (3 on goal)

Offsides: Leverkusen 1 – Villareal 4

Heynckes opted for more stability in the 2nd leg, choosing a 4-4-2 to give Leverkusen a more stable midfield. Normally, the 4-4-2 formation is strong in both defense and offense, with the midfielders able to assist the attack during offense and assist the defenders during defense. This is due to the fact that players can easily cover for each other.This formation could have greatly assisted Leverkusen during this leg, but it did not, because the players somehow did not fit the formation.

Germany 1-2 Australia: A Tale of Two Halves

Löw fielded a pretty inexperienced group of youngsters, and the result was to be more or less expected. The first half drew good performances from the young Germans, and the Australians left them to take hold of most of the possession. The only goal of the 1st half came from a wonderful play by the box, an assist from Schürrle and a right on the dot goal from Gomez. The second half saw a reversal of fortunes, as Germany became more complacent and a defensive mistake cost them the first goal. And then a ‘soft’ penalty was called for Australia soon after, tipping the scale towards the Australians.

Starting XI: Wiese - Träsch, Hummels, Friedrich, Schmelzer – Bender, Schweinsteiger (64′ Kroos)- Schürrle, Müller (64′ Götze), Podolski – Gomez (Klose)

The important thing about this match, is testing the new players and seeing who deserves to say and who needs to go, so thank god for friendlies: the only way to test out partnerships, formations and new prospects. Hopefully, Löw will start fixing the squad accordingly (hopefully). The score does not matter during games like these.

• I was unconvinced by the inclusion of Träsch, but as soon as the whistle blew, he definitely convinced. Good defending, and great link up between Schürrle and Bender. Held on to the ball very well during defense and when he ran up the flanks or cut inside.
• Podolski – Schmelzer parternship is like trying to mix oil with water. Podolski – Aogo is much better. We know Low is stubborn when it comes to Podolski, and its upsetting to see that Schmelzer may not get playing time or that when he does he will not give the performances he does for his club.
• Schürrle was superb. Wonderful runs, backtracked to defend, and definitely made an impact. He was all over the field – defending and attacking (cant wait to see him play for Leverkusen next season)
• Götze definitely deserves a spot on the NT. Made an impact as soon as he was subbed on at the 64′ minute mark.
• No matter how many times Gomez may score, he is more of a burden than anything. He topples over way too easily, and again: too awkward with the ball. Football calls for a more modern striker nowadays who can play the role of both the traditional #9 and #11 – waiting for the ball to land at his feet and score, while also playing in and around the penalty box/defenders. Hes good at one role, terrible at the other.
• Low needs to cement Hummels as CB. Even though the 1st goal from Australia was mainly from a mistake of his. Träsch couldnt stop the australian, where his run drew Hummels towards him leaving a huge gap for Carney to score from. But other than that, top class marking skills. And he also has a commanding role in the back line, which adds to the importance of his inclusion. Id love to see him play as a libero – if that position ever awakened from the dead.
• Podolski should start on the bench, that was an abysmal performance. Mis-communications with Gomez, off the mark passes and crosses, and below average defending. Schürrle should start as LW instead.
• Muller, while not as slick as Özil’s playmaking, did not disappoint, and was linking up the play well. Although there were a few hiccups, during one counterattack where he lost possession and one time where i feel he couldve made the better decision: I do believe it was Bender that was running ahead while on the right of him was an open space, but instead of giving Bender the ball to play, he passed it to Schürrle who was already marked by a defender.
• Wiese really needs to work on his distributions. Really.

Germany-Kazakhstan: Player Reviews

Right before the match, the starting XI and the bench left us all scratching our heads and wondering what in the world was Jogi Löw smoking. Hummels and Schmelzer were not even on the bench. 5 minutes into the game and I thought, maybe Löw left them out, because he wanted to see them actually tested in the Australia game against much better opponents than Kazakhastan.

Two games, two formations, one opponent. Part 1

Leverkusen has switched to the 4-2-3-1 formation this season, a change from the dominant 4-2-2-2 of last season and the beginning of this season. I do believe that after the 3:6 thrashing by Mönchengladbach followed by two consecutive ties with Hannover and Nürnberg, Jupp decided to go with a different tactic and changed the formation to a 4-2-3-1.  A look at the two games against Villareal in the Europa League where two formations were utilized, and how they greatly affected the play. I chose two recent games, and luckily, two different formations were used against the same opponent.