Bundesliga This Week
It is the third week in the Bundesliga and things are slowly starting to take shape. Bayern are looking dominant once more with two wins out of two, Dortmund are in freescoring mode after scoring their 20th goal in all competitions and Gladbach have started surprisingly poor with two straight defeats.
Stocker’s influence at Hertha could be key against Dortmund
Hertha Berlin have had a decent start in the new campaign with a win and a draw to their name already and a main reason for this start is Swiss midfielder Valentin Stocker. The former Basel-man has already impressed scoring Hertha’s goal in a 1-1 draw last Friday with Werder Bremen. It may come as a surprise that Stocker isn’t at a bigger club after being a constant threat in the Champions League with Basel against teams such as Chelsea and Manchester United, but he is certainly enjoying his time in the German capital and it seems he is becoming an ever important player for Pal Dardai in his first full season in charge of Hertha. This weekend sees Dardai’s side travel west to face top of the table Borussia Dortmund at Signal Iduna Park, which is a tough test for any side. Stocker could continue to shine and prove to be Hertha’s most threatening prospect when the two teams meet on Sunday. Stocker is always a threat on the counter, with breakaway speed and so many different variants of pace; he has potential to cause Dortmund’s defence a few problems.
Marquee-signing Vargas could boost Hoffenheim’s chances at Darmstadt
The amazing story of Hoffenheim continues, a club arisen from an amateur side playing in Germany’s fifth tier to top light regulars, have now announced the signing of Copa America hero Eduardo Vargas from Napoli. The village club are looking to aim even higher than ever before for that elusive spot for Europe qualification, the signing of Vargas, shows definite signal of intent by manager Markus Gisdol. Vargas, was joint top-goalscorer for Chile in the Copa America and named in the team of the tournament. Hoffenheim visit new-boys Darmstadt at the Merck-Stadion am Böllenfalltor and Hoffenheim’s new boy is set to steal the media attention. Fantastic work rate and killer passing ability is Vargas’ known forte and it could easily tear apart the Darmstadt back four. However, Darmstadt are no push-overs with two draws so far this season. Including an impressive draw away at Schalke last time out, Hoffenheim won’t go to the Hesse region knowing a win is a guarantee, because it certainly isn’t. TSG have started with two defeats so far, including a heartbreaking last minute defeat at home to Bayern last Saturday.
Freekicks favour Leverkusen and Bremen
A freekick in any position near to the goal net for any team is a good opportunity to score a goal, but when it comes to Leverkusen’s Hakan Calhanoglu and Bremen’s Zlatko Junuzovic they really know how to find the back of the net. The pair managed to score 5 freekicks each last season to really enhance their reputations as the Bundesliga freekick kings. Turkish midfielder Calhanoglu has already opened his freekick account of the new season with a stunning strike from 25 yards at Hannover last weekend. The 31-year-old Junuzovic strikes a freekick with such curl and bend with accuracy, most opposition goalkeepers struggle to come anywhere near his perfectly struck efforts. While Calhanoglu can strike a freekick from anywhere or so it would seem. After a freekick from the halfway line against Dortmund for Hamburg, his reputation has grown. The 21-year-old can strike the ball with all sorts of pace and curl to beat a keeper with ease. Leverkusen face champions Bayern at the Allianz of Saturday with the prominence of Hakan Calhanoglu, Bayern’s defensive players will think twice before risking a freekick. While Junuzovic’s Bremen are at home to bottom-placed Gladbach. Both Bayern and Gladbach could be the latest victims of a freekick providing the chance is given.
Main image credit:
