New season, but still some things remain. Bayern Munich managed to ensure that Jürgen Klinsmann and his new-fangled ideas stayed firmly rooted in California, they managed to Dutchify their club by appointing Louis Van Gaal and signing Edison Braafheid to keep that old grump Mark Van Bommel company, heck, they even managed to nail Franck Ribéry to the treatment bench long enough to (seemingly at least) distract Real Madrid and co from their relentless pursuit.
Yet, one round of league games in, the feeling persists that no matter how things change, one thing always remains the same. Bayern-Dusel. Put simply, Bayern-Dusel refers to the good fortune collected by the Bavarian giants on innumerable occasions over the last half-century. Germans are not like, say Italians, when it comes to a good conspiracy theory, but this is one aspect of Bayern’s incredible success that seems almost inarguable, despite no concrete evidence to suggest that such “gifts” are anything more than coincidental.
Hoffenheim were the latest victims, as Van Gaal’s side not only managed to slope away from the Rhein-Neckar-Arena with a scarcely deserved point on the balance of play alone, but also left knowing that they had been in receipt of the first piece of Bayern-Dusel of the season.
And a huge one at that. Just ten minutes had elapsed when Josip Šimunić rose to meet Sejad Salihović’s whipped free kick from the left with a smart header. The ball flashed across the face of Michael Rensing’s goal, clipped the inside of the far post and was at least a foot across the goal-line by the time the keeper had instinctively clawed the ball away. Television replays showed as much from pretty much every angle, but referee Babak Rafati & his assistants were unmoved, and Šimunić was denied a goal on his league debut.
Bayern seemed set to capitalise on that almighty piece of good fortune when in the 25th minute, one of their own debutants, Ivica Olić, was on hand to steer home a cut-back from another, Danijel Pranjić, and give the visitors the lead, after Hamit Altintop’s pass- intended for Pranjić or otherwise- had cut Hoffenheim open.
The lead lasted just a quarter of an hour though, Tobias Weis and the returning Vedad Ibišević combining to give Chinedu Obasi the chance to rifle home an equaliser from just inside the box. It was deserved, and not just because of the refereeing aberration which had preceded it.
Hoffenheim’s season last term could well have been the prototype for the phrase “it’s a marathon, not a sprint”, and this game proved something of a microcosm of the same theory. The home side bossed almost all areas in the first half with the incision of Salihović and the mobility of Ibišević & Obasi causing Bayern untold problems. But after the half-time break it was the old guard of the visitors who found the going easier, as Hoffenheim wore themselves out by the hour mark. Both Alexander Baumjohann & Mario Gómez might just have pinched the points for Van Gaal as a birthday present too.
Elsewhere, Wolfsburg were busy picking up where they had left off last season with a solid and powerful victory over Markus Babbel’s transitional Stuttgart side. Zvjezdan Misimović & Grafite, two thirds of last season’s deadly attacking trio, doing the damage to a Stuttgart side “in need of new faces” according to keeper Jens Lehmann. Aliaksandr Hleb should help in that respect, as should Russian Pavel Pogrebnyak, who made a decent impression on debut.
And speaking of things staying the same, Werder Bremen showed that they had spent the summer with their fingers in their ears as defensive solidity was discussed, with a 3-2 home reverse to a Frankfurt side against whom they had ran in ten unanswered goals in two meetings last season. Mesut Özil, Marko Marin, Marcelo Martins Moreno, Boubacar Sanogo & Markus Rosenberg may all offer attacking power, and an abundance of M’s, but defending like the type seen at the Weserstadion on Saturday will surely render this useless as the season progresses.
More solid were Jürgen Klopp’s Dortmund who, in front of a marvellously full Signal Iduna Park, picked up a 1-0 win as richly deserved as the plaudits Klopp is currently getting. It may have taken an own goal from Köln’s Marvin Matip a quarter of an hour from the end, but Dortmund had peppered Faryd Mondragon’s goal for much of the match, with only poor finishing- new signing Lucas Barrios was particularly culpable in this respect- and some excellent goalkeeping from the Colombian keeping Die Geißböcke in the contest. Klopp and his side are being tipped by many for a Champions League charge this season after a strong end to the last campaign, and on this showing they will be a force to be reckoned with.
Likewise Hamburg, who may have surrendered Martin Jol to Ajax, and Olić to Bayern, and a lead away to newly-promoted Freiburg, but who look strong enough to mount a title challenge if the likes of Marcus Berg, Eljero Elia & Zé Roberto can settle in quickly.
Schalke have been written off in many quarters, as has their week one match-winner Kevin Kuranyi, but Felix Magath is well-drilled in building strong sides- as proven at Wolfsburg last season, and Kuranyi’s brace away to Bundesliga newboys FC Nürnberg ensured that Die Königsblauen got off to a perfect start under their new coach.
For the capital city, there was a familiar scoreline to enjoy, as Hertha picked up a narrow 1-0 win over Hannover at the Olympiastadion thanks to Gojko Kačar’s late strike. Hertha were supremely adept at picking up such results last season, allowing them to remain in the title picture until the end, but a repeat of such heroics this term seems unlikely without further strengthening to a squad which looks pretty sparse at present.
So week one is out the way, and Bayern and their dusel host Bremen and their defence this weekend at the Allianz Arena whilst the other standout fixture sees Dortmund travel to Hamburg on Saturday. And expect yet more talking points this weekend too, don’t you just love Germany?