KIEL- The soccer players from the second-profi league Holstein Kiel must have watched what the American Football team Cleveland Browns did to the Pittsburgh Steelers prior to last night’s match. The Browns outplayed the AFC North and seven-time Super Bowl champion Steelers from start to finish on Sunday night in Pittsburgh by a score of 48-37, giving the team their first playoff win in 27 years. The Browns had already entered the playoffs for the first time since the 2002 season with a victory in the last game of the season a week earlier.
The Storks from Holstein Kiel had a lot of motivation with them as they hosted the 30-time German Bundesliga regular season and 20-time German Cup champions last night. Like the Browns, Kiel took advantages of several flaws that have been exposed in the Munich team during the regular soccer team and played, toe-to-toe throughout the game and in overtime. This includes poor defense and an aging team, another common ground that Munich and Pittsburgh both have. In the end, it took a series of penalty shoot-outs and Fin Bartels (Kiel) shot into the goal guarded by Manuel Neuner (Munich) to seal the deal.
Here’s the video with some highlights:
Kiel awaits its next opponent in the third round against its second-league opponent, SV Darmstadt 98. That game is to be played on February 2nd or 3rd. The team has yet to win its first ever German Cup in its 118-year history. The team is currently in third place in the regular season standings in the second league and if it plays as successful there as they did against Munich, they could end up in the 1st league for the first time since 1963 next season. The regular season in the second league is expected to end in June.
As for Munich, despite currently sitting in first place in the regular season standings in the 1st league, the team will have to deal with several issues within the team to ensure they can fend off Dortmund, Leverkusen, Leipzig and even Union Berlin for their 31st regular season title. Unlike the Steelers, who are seeing some of their players consider retirement already in the infancy of the 8-month offseason and perhaps may have seen Ben Rothlisberger play for the last time in his career, Munich will have to adjust on the fly as their season ends in June, but have international competition, like the Champions League to contend with. It’s a question of how much is too much- something head coach Hansi Flick will have to answer and quickly.
But for now, people in Kiel and the rest of Schleswig-Holstein are celebrating. No more will they have to endure Munich’s jinx laden with beer, white sausage and pretzels. They are now celebrating the upset with their own delicacies- namely, Matjes filet sandwich, fried potatoes with bacon, a good bottle of Flensburger beer and some Danish licorice from Tom’s- all a cornerstone of Schleswig-Holstein’s delicious meal.
The Flensburg Files would like to congratulate both Kiel and Cleveland for their David-versus-Goliath upsets. This is definitely one for the books, especially if you are a sportsfan. 🙂
As the Corona-shortened season in Germany comes to end, here are some interesting highlights you will be seeing in the coming weeks this month. We’ll start with the rebirth of one of the more traditional soccer teams in Germany, the VfB Lübeck
LÜBECK- Established in 1919, the 100 year old soccer team once had a tradition of national football, competing in the first and second tiers of the German Soccer Bundesliga through the 1970s. The last time the soccer team competed in the Second League was in 2005. It faced two bankruptcies, one of which (in 2014) sent them to the fifth-class Schleswig-Holstein League. Now, after five years of climbing, the soccer team of VfB Lübeck has returned to the national stage in men’s soccer. The team of green and white won the Regional League North title in a Corona-shortened 2019/20 season, beating out the 2nd Team of VfL Wolfsburg and State Rival Weiche Flensburg 08 to finish with a record of 20 wins, four losses and one tie, with 61 points and outscoring opponents 64-24. Because there was no relegation game between them and the winner of another division of the Regional League, it has advanced outright.
Lübeck is the second team from Schleswig-Holstein to compete on the national stage alongside Holstein Kiel in the Second League. This leaves us with Weiche Flensburg and VfL Oldenburg that are waiting in line to enter the stage. While Flensburg has established an international reputation in handball through SG Flensburg-Handewitt, the soccer team has come close to making it to the national level, having lost to Energie Cottbus in the relegation round in 2018. Still, the team has a clear shot chance to finally making it when the 20/21 season starts in August.
The Stadium Altere Försterei, where FC Union Berlin plays at home. Photo taken by Christian Liebscher via wiki-Commons
FC Union Berlin advances to the German Bundesliga for the first time ever after ousting VFB Stuttgart in the Relegation Round.
BERLIN- In the end, only the strongest survived. The strongest in terms of nerves but also in coherency. The strongest is the one that makes history. This was done last night with FC Union Berlin. After a 2-2 draw against VFB Stuttgart, who had been sitting in 16th place during almost the entire 2018/19 Bundesliga season, all the iron men could have done is put the iron curtain in place- literally in front of goalkeeper Rafal Gikiewicz and let Stuttgart fire their shots- to the left, to the right and right into the goalie’s hands. And while the offense was on autopilot, a 0-0 tie was enough for Berlin to make history.
For the first time ever FC Union will play in the premier league this upcoming season, competing with the likes of Bayern Munich- fresh off its seventh consecutive title but poised to lose its top two players in Frank Ribery and Ariel Robben- the Robbery Duo- similar to the Killer Bs of the Pittsburgh Steelers in American football before Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown left the team after the 2018/19 season and its lone B- the quarterback, Ben Rothlisberger. It will be facing other teams with multiple years of experience and armed with deep pockets for 1st class players, such as Frankfurt, Dortmund, Hoffenheim and Bremen. And while Freiburg, Cologne and Augsburg may be push-overs, like it was with Hamburg SV during its time in the second tier (winning 2-0 and tying 2-2), Union Berlin will have two rivalries to contend with:
Inner-City Rivalry: FC Union Berlin will have to contend with Hertha BSC Berlin, which has been in the premier league for all but two seasons since 1997. While FC Union Berlin has had many soccer rivalries in the German capital, even during the Cold War era, this one will be the battle of the iron fists that will attract tens of thousands, and whose victories will be very close. While FC Union lost a close one 2-1 on 3rd September, 2012, the two teams finished tied at 2-2 on 11 February, 2013, the last time the two played. When the rivalry continues this upcoming season, it will be the first inner-city derby in the Bundesliga since the 2010/11 season with Hamburg vs St. Pauli.
East German Rivalry: Apart from its western city rival, FC Union will have to contend with Leipzig. But not the Leipzig that many soccer historians are accustomed to. While Union and VfB Leipzig’s rivalry attracted thousands of fans during the 1980s and 90s, the Leipzig they will be facing is one that will have a new (and fiery) head coach and a talented group that is regrouping after losing the 2019 German Cup to Munich and finished third in the regular season- meaning RB Leipzig. Even they have played three games, FC Union has yet to beat Leipzig, having lost two and tied one- but all in 2015 and 2016.
FC Union Berlin will be the sixth East German team to be in the top league in almost three decades- the others were Dynamo Dresden, Hansa Rostock, VfB Leipzig (now FC Lok), Energie Cottbus and Hertha. It is the 56th team in history to reach the top tier. And after years of toil and disappointment, the team has entered chartered waters bound to make history. The team has the largest fan club in German soccer and its culture is implanted in Berlin soccer, with a stadium that has hosted soccer games, Christmas events and concerts and crowds that come to enjoy the game and not rampage it, like in some cities. This was noticeable with last night’s relegation game with Stuttgart- it ended in celebration and with no incidences! One could blame Stuttgart for its shortcomings, which will land them in the second league for the first time in three seasons, but the timing of FC Union Berlin’s rise to the top could not have come at a better time. All it needed was unity and the team got it.
And should this unity continue in the upcoming Bundesliga season, then FC Union Berlin will be making even more history as it climbs in the rankings at the expense of those who have been there for years. Seven years ago, one wondered whether professional soccer will return to the east. With first Leipzig and now Berlin, that question has been answered.
Congratulations to FC Union Berlin on making it to the big leagues! 🙂
FC Union Berlin won the relegation based on the “Goal Away from Home” rule. This means the team that has scored more goals “away from home” wins, if the total goals scored by each team are otherwise equal. This is sometimes expressed by saying that away goals “count double” in the event of a tie. In this case, Berlin won against Stuttgart based on that rule by a score of 2-0 because of the 2-2 draw in Stuttgart.
View of Leipzig’s skyline. Photo taken in October 2017
After trying out the quiz and testing your knowledge about the German state of Saxony, here are the answers to the Guessing Quiz. Due to the length of the quiz, I decided to split the answers into general terms and those of the bridges in Saxony. To find out the results of the bridge portion of the quiz, go to the sister column The Bridgehunter’s Chronicles by clicking here. Otherwise, here are the results of the quiz about Saxony. Are you ready for the answers? 🙂
Which city in Saxony does NOT have an equivalent in the USA? Mark all that apply.
Dresden Zwickau Zittau Leipzig Meerane Waldenburg
Waldenburg can be found in Michigan and Arkansas
Dresden can be found in Ohio, Maine, New York, Missouri and Tennessee
Leipzig can be found in North Dakota under New Leipzig
Zittau can be found in Wisconsin
Which city in Saxony does NOT have a sister city in the USA?
Glauchau Dresden Freiberg Leipzig Zwickau Riesa
Glauchau’s sister city is Lynchburg (Virginia)
Columbus (Ohio) is Dresden‘s sister city
Leipzig is twinned with Houston (Texas)
Riesa’s sister is located in Sandy (Utah)
Which rivers do NOT flow through Saxony?
Elbe Mulde Saale Neisse Danube
Which city does NOT have nearby lakes/reservoirs? Mark all that apply.
Leipzig Glauchau Plauen MeissenReichenbach
Plauen is located between two reservoirs, Pöhl and Pirk. The Pöhl is between Plauen and Reichenbach yet it is closer to the former. Leipzig has the most number of lakes in Saxony, with as many as 35 lakes covering over 90 squared kilometers of metropolitan area including Altenburg (Thuringia) and Halle (Saale).
T/F: The village of Amerika (near Penig) was created in 1839 and was based on the founder’s visit to the USA.
False. There was no known reason behind the founding of Amerika except for the fact that the word also meant for over the pond. The town was centered around a factory created in 1839 bearing the name. Ironically, the town was the filming location for a 1995 movie but the name Amerika was never used there.
Saxony has one of the oldest race tracks in the country, where race cars and motorcycles convene yearly to this city……
a. Görlitz b. Hohenstein-Ernstthal c. Leipzig d. Hoyerswerda
Which of the two cities in Saxony were the site of the infamous beer war in 1731?
Werdau and Crimmitschau
Meerane and Glauchau The page on the history of the brewery conflict can be found here.
Zwickau and Aue
Leipzig and Halle
Mark the following cities that have a brewery with a check mark and circle the cities that have a liquour distillery.
Breweries can be found in Chemnitz, Leipzig, Dresden, Plauen, Zwickau and Zittau, whereas distilleries can be found in Meerane, Leipzig, Dresden and even in Aue (Saxony)
The Black Triangle, infamous for years of pollution and environmental destruction caused by strip mining, consists of three states meeting near which town in Saxony? Identify the three states and choose which city.
The three states: Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic
The city:
Bautzen
Görlitz
Zittau
Dresden
Hint: A beverage named after the region and this city, consisting of (10%) vodka, (40%) Vita Cola and (50%) Czech beer was created by the author in 2005.
Which cities are served by the ICE-train line? Which ones will be served by the InterCity line beginning in 2023?
DresdenChemnitzLeipzig Glauchau Riesa Bad Schandau
Dresden and Leipzig are served by the ICE lines connecting them with Frankfurt, Munich and Berlin/Hamburg. Chemnitz used to be served by the ICE line from 2000 to 2002. Yet together with Glauchau, it will be connected to the MDV route connecting Dresden with Cologne via Jena and Erfurt beginning in 2023.
T/F: The Leipzig-Dresden Railline, the first railroad line ever built, was completed in 1839
False.It was the third line constructed behind the Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel and Dusseldorf-Ekrath lines, both were open in 1838. Note, these are steampower-driven rail lines here.
Mark the following cities that have a professional soccer team (1, 2 and 3rd leagues) with an X, a professional handball team (1st and 2nd leagues) with a check-mark, and check-mark the cities that have an American football team.
Soccer:RB Leipzig (1st), Dynamo Dresden, Erzgebirge Aue (2nd) and FSV Zwickau (3rd) FC Chemnitz was in the 3rd league until its forced demotion due to bankruptcy in 2018. It plays in the 4th league.
Handball: SC Leipzig (men- 1st) HC Leipzig (women) used to play in the 1st league until its forced demotion due to bankruptcy in 2017. After playing for one season in the 3rd League, it has played in the 3rd league since 2018.
American Football: Dresden Monarchs, Chemnitz Crusaders
T/F: FC Dynamo Dresden is the only team from Saxony that has defeated FC Bayern Munich in a soccer match.
False. In 1973, Dresden and Munich played in the European Cup, making it the first East-West German soccer match in history. The team lost 8-7 in two games (4:3 and 3:3)
How many soccer teams does Leipzig have, including the Red Bull Team?
23 teams including the women’s teams and RB Leipzig. Also included: Inter-Leipzig, Chemie Leipzig and Locomotive Leipzig
Information about the Christmas markets in Saxony:
The oldest Christmas market known to man can be found in which city?
a. Dresden b. Leipzig c. Bautzen d. Nuremberg e. Glauchau
King Wenzel created the Bautzen market in the winter of 1384, thus making it the oldest known Christmas market in Germany.
The origin of the Stollen (the German fruit cake with raisins and powdered sugar) originated from which city?
The shortest Christmas market in Germany can be found in this city?
a. Glauchau b. Crimmitschau c. Werdau d. Meerane e. Aue
For only three hours on one Sunday in the Advent period, this Christmas market with a concert and all takes place in this small community.
Which region in Saxony was the birthplace of the Schwibbogen (Christmas arch)?
a. Ore Mountains b. Vogtland c. Lausitz Region d. Black Triangle
In fact, the first known Schwibbogen was discovered in Johanngeorgenstadt in 1740. Others were discovered in Schwarzenberg in the 1800s. Hohndorf holds the Schwibbogen festival during the second Advent every year.
T/F: Customary of a Christmas market in Saxony is the parade of miners in the villages Ore Mountains. If true, name at least one town that does host this.
True. One can find the miners parades in Annaberg-Buchholz and Schneeberg as the most popular places every Christmas but also in smaller towns in the mountains.
T/F: Räuchermänner were common but rare decorations during the East German Communist era.
True. Many of these incense people were handmade and exported to countries outside East Germany, although some tried successfully to smuggle them home to be given as Christmas gifts.
T/F: Pulsnitzer Kekse is a cake with a jelly filling that can be found at a Christmas market in Saxony.
True.In fact, a Christmas market in Saxony is not complete without this specialty that was found in the village near Dresden.
Which Christmas market does NOT have a castle setting?
a. Wolkenburg b. Glauchau c. Zwickau d. Crimmitschau e. Waldenburg f. Torgau
Who is the disco-king in this picture? Have a look in the activities below. 😉
Information on the Personalities from Saxony:
Look at the quasi-autobiography of these personalities of Saxony and guess who they are. The first and last letters of the names are given. Some research is required. Good luck! 🙂
I was born in Chemnitz, which was known at that time as Karl Marx Stadt, and started ice skating at the age of six. I won several gold medals in the Olympics and the world championship in figure skating, while pursuing a side dish career in acting and sports commentator. I was not only the face of East Germany before the Fall of the Wall in 1989 but also one of the best models of all time. Who am I?
Katarina Witt
I was born in Dresden to a family of actors and became one myself. I also love writing and conducting musical pieces and playing golf. While I used to be one of the most outspoken opponents of Communism during the 1989 revolution, I settled down and became the well-known, politically correct, sometimes stuck-up and arrogant professor of forensic medicine in a well-known but very popular “Krimi-series” playing opposite a St. Pauli junkie of a police officer. Who am I?
Jan-Josef Liefers- and yes that was me doing the disco, which I find still mega-embarassing. 😉
I was born in Leipzig but grew up in Potsdam. I started acting in 1982 and have continued this career ever since. I star in many krimi-series including a Tatort series, where the setting is my hometown of Leipzig, and I play the hot, saucy investigator who eventually dies in the arms of my detective partner in the very last episode played in 2015. Who am I?
Simone Thomalla
I was born in Hohenstein-Ernstthal in 1842. While I later became a teacher in Saxony, I started a life of crime which resulted in me losing my teaching license and being jailed many times. During my time in a prison in Zwickau, I became a librarian and was interested in reading books. It was then when I started writing, having produced several works focusing on the American Wild West, many of which had the character Winnetou in it. I continued writing until I died in 1912 and am buried in a tomb in Radebeul (near Dresden). Who am I?
Karl May
5. I was born in Görlitz in 1976 to a father who was a soccer player and a mother who was a swimmer. I followed my father’s footsteps and started playing soccer at the age of seven, having played for Chemnitz and Kaiserslautern before making my breakthrough with the soccer team Bayer Leverkusen in 2000. There, my aggressive play brought forth many championships with Leverkusen, Bayern Munich and even Chelsea in England. I even became the captain of the German national soccer team before retiring in 2012. Who am I?
Michael Ballack
I was born in 1873 in Dresden. Even though I was a housewife, I became famous for inventing and patenting the modern coffee filter in 1908. Six years later, I founded the coffee company which still exists today, producing coffee and filters for the coffee machine. I relocated the firm to Minden (Hesse), where I lived to be 77 years old. Who am I?
Melitta Bentz
I was born in a small village in Saxony in 1937, but I became famous for becoming the first German astronaut to fly in space in 1978. After working for the Potsdam Institute for Physics, I later worked for the Russian Institute for Space Education and later for the European Space Agency. I was a household name in East Germany as well as in films. Who am I?
Sigmund Jähn- I was born in Morgenröthe-Rautenkranz and a museum dedicated to my work is there to visit today.
* Mr. Jähn died in 2019 at the age of 82. Details of his life can be found here.
I was born in Dresden and learned the trade as a massage therapist and remedial gymnastics teacher. I hated corsets and many of my female clients always had problems with their posture and their sensitive areas. Henceforth, I learned another trade as a seamstress and invented the modern Busenhalter (BH), which is bra in English, in 1899. Because of its simplistic design for these sensitive areas and its sexy appeal, it has since been revolutionized and one can find them in different shapes, sizes and forms, including sports bras and bikinis. Because I was the one who made the bra in Saxony, who am I?
Christine Hardt
Which of these statements are true or false?
T/F: Richard Wagner, composer and founder of the annual Bayreuth Festspiel which takes place in July, originated from Saxony.
True. Wagner was born in 1813 in Leipzig.
T/F: Robert and Clara Schumann, a husband-wife piano duo of the 19th Century, were both born in Zwickau, but married in Leipzig.
Only Robert was born in Zwickau, yet they married in Leipzig.
T/F: Frederike Caroline Neubert, born in Reichenbach, was one of the first female pioneers in acting, having done stage performances in the 1600s.
False. Although she was born in Reichenbach, she was famous on stage a century later.
T/F: The Semper Opera House in Dresden is named after the world renowned composer, Gottfried Semper.
True. He even built the building, completing it in 1841.
T/F: The Princes is a rockmusic band that was created last year in honor and memory of Prince.
False for three reasons:1. The name Die Prinzen was carried over into English because of the English name existing for a band from Estonia. 2. The band, originating from Leipzig, specializes in a capella music and 3. The band was created in 1987, 29 years before Prince’s passing in Minneapolis. Sorry, no purple rain here.
T/F: Catherine of Bora, who married Martin Luther, originally came from Glauchau.
False. While Glauchau is predominantly religious, Catharine of Bora was from Leipzig.
After a season of records in 2017/18 and the decisions have been made for the teams winning the relegation playoffs (a heartfelt congrats to the teams that won successfully), let’s have a look at the answers to the quiz dealing with the history of the Bundesliga. As we know, Hamburg was the last founding team to relegate into the second league. But what about the history of the other teams. After doing your homework, let’s check our answers, shall we? 🙂
Guessing Quiz:
1. Who were the founding fathers of the Bundesliga in 1963? There were 18 of them.
2. Bayern Munich entered the top league later on and has been in the Bundesliga ever since. It now holds the title for being in the top league the longest without ever being demoted.
When did the team enter? 1965 When did the team win its first title? 1969
3. Another team entered the Bundesliga and has yet to also play in the second league after being demoted. It holds the second longest record of its kind. Which team was it and when did it enter the first league for the first time ever?
Bayer Leverkusen entered the Bundesliga in 1979 and has been there ever since.
4. One of the founding fathers actually had to play in the second league only once. After four years it returned to the top league and has been there ever since. It currently holds the title as the second longest tenured team even after it had been demoted before. Which team was that and how many years has it been in the league since its last demotion?
Borussia Dortmund entered the second league in 1972 and had played there before reentering the top league in 1976, where it has remained there ever since.
5. Prior to HSV’s demotion to the second league, there were two other founding teams that had been in the top league for at least three decades before being demoted for the first time. Which teams were they and when did they get demoted for the first time?
FC Cologne and FC Kaiserslautern
6. Which (current) founding team in the Bundesliga has never won any titles since the league’s creation?
Hertha BSC Berlin
7. Which two founding members of the Bundesliga has been in the top league the shortest time (and has still yet to return)?
Preussen Münster and FC Saarbrücken
8. Which German cities used to host two Bundesliga teams, one of which was a founding member of the team? Which teams are they?
Munich, Hamburg and Stuttgart
9. Which German cities used to have two professional teams in the second league competing with each other before one of the two was promoted to the top league?
Berlin and Frankfurt
10. Which team would have competed with HSV as the longest tenured Bundesliga team had it not been for the one-year exile in the second league? Hint: This team has been in the second and third tiers since 2006.
FC Kaiserslautern
11. Which seven teams have won doubles at least once (meaning the national cup and the Bundesliga title)? Hint: Four were from the former western half and three from the eastern half of Germany.
On the western side, we have Bayern Munich, FC Cologne, Werder Bremen and Borussia Dortmund.
On the eastern side we had Dynamo Dresden, Dynamo Berlin and Hansa Rostock
12. Of the three in the former East German Bundesliga (which dissolved after German reunification in 1990), which of them was the longest tenured team in the Bundesliga?
Hansa Rostock: 1995- 2005
13. Of the three above-mentioned teams, which ones defeated FC Bayern Munich once before 1990 and at least once since then?
Dynamo Dresden
Fast fact: Rostock and Bayern Munich were rivalries before Rostock’s demise beginning in 2005
14. Since when has FC Bayern Munich finished no worse than third place? Fifth place?
Bayern Munich has finished no worse than 3rd since 2007 and no worse than 5th since 1995, when they finished 6th.The worst they have finished was 12th in 1978.
15. The following teams had mascots. What were they?
Eintract Brunswick Lions
MSV Duisburg Zebras
FC Kaiserslautern Devils
Hertha BSC Berlin The Iron Ladies
Eintracht Frankfurt Eagles
Hamburg SV Dinosaurs
FC Cologne Billy Goats
Bonus: Holstein Kiel, whose mascot is the flying stork has not been in the Bundesliga since 1981.
ONE MORE THING: 1899 Hoffenheim still holds the title as the only “small town” team that is in the Bundesliga. The community of only 4,000 people marched through the ranks and entered the league in 2007 and has been there since. They play at a stadium near Mannheim.
FC Bayern Munich dethroned of top spot for the first time in almost one and a half years.
DORTMUND/LEIPZIG- Before this weekend, two questions were burning in the hearts and minds of soccer fans in Leipzig, Munich, Dortmund and Leverkusen. The first one is how long the team of FC Bayern Munich can stay on top, having conquered the top spot for 39 soccer matches and 425 days. The second one is whether the team’s closest competitor, RB Leipzig would overtake Munich, given its record-breaking debut in the German Bundesliga. After all, the team had previously set a record for winning the first six matches and being undefeated after ten matches (the three ties included) as a newcomer from the second league.
Both questions have been answered thanks to Leipzig’s victory over Bayer Leverkusen on Friday and Borussia Dortmund’s victory over FC Bayern Munich a day later. Leipzig became not only the first team since Dortmund to take over first place, but also the first East German team to reach the top since Hansa Rostock did that in 1991.
The highlights of the game in short:
Leipzig 3:2 Bayer Leverkusen
Leipzig and Leverkusen were deadlocked during much of the game, with the latter taking the lead twice until the 67th minute, when Emil Forsberg tied it up. 14 minutes later, Willi Orban sealed the deal with a shot of his own. It was then the defense and the team’s goalie that made sure the lead was never relinquished. Leverkusen had the ball for most of the game, but it shear luck and strategie that has now kept Leipzig the lone undefeated team left in the Bundesliga. Details here.
Bayern Munich 0:1 Borussia Dortmund
As expected, Bayern Munich came out aggressive and played the black and gold team as if they owned the game. However it was Dortmund that figured them out and came out attacking during the game. While the game ended in a 1:0 victory in favor of Dortmund, it was a relief for many, including coach Thomas Tuchel who explained that it was a narrow-escape. After Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored the lone goal in the 11th minute, it was up to the rest to keep the red-white-blue team in check, as it could not find any answers. Details here.
With Leipzig now holding the top spot in the Bundesliga, the question now is will they be there to stay or will Munich take revenge and reclaim the top spot? There’s still a month left until they meet for the first time on 21 December. In the meantime, there is still a lot of soccer left in this season.
This latest development in German soccer has led to a pair of questions for you to think about before 21 December:
The last time Leipzig won a national league soccer title was in 1903. But this record may fall after this season. Therefore…..
FC Bayern Munich dethroned of top spot for the first time in almost one and a half years.
DORTMUND/LEIPZIG- Before this weekend, two questions were burning in the hearts and minds of soccer fans in Leipzig, Munich, Dortmund and Leverkusen. The first one is how long the team of FC Bayern Munich can stay on top, having conquered the top spot for 39 soccer matches and 425 days. The second one is whether the team’s closest competitor, RB Leipzig would overtake Munich, given its record-breaking debut in the German Bundesliga. After all, the team had previously set a record for winning the first six matches and being undefeated after ten matches (the three ties included) as a newcomer from the second league.
Both questions have been answered thanks to Leipzig’s victory over Bayer Leverkusen on Friday and Borussia Dortmund’s victory over FC Bayern Munich a day later. Leipzig became not only the first team since Dortmund to take over first place, but also the first East German team to reach the top since Hansa Rostock did that in 1991.
The highlights of the game in short:
Leipzig 3:2 Bayer Leverkusen
Leipzig and Leverkusen were deadlocked during much of the game, with the latter taking the lead twice until the 67th minute, when Emil Forsberg tied it up. 14 minutes later, Willi Orban sealed the deal with a shot of his own. It was then the defense and the team’s goalie that made sure the lead was never relinquished. Leverkusen had the ball for most of the game, but it shear luck and strategie that has now kept Leipzig the lone undefeated team left in the Bundesliga. Details here.
Bayern Munich 0:1 Borussia Dortmund
As expected, Bayern Munich came out aggressive and played the black and gold team as if they owned the game. However it was Dortmund that figured them out and came out attacking during the game. While the game ended in a 1:0 victory in favor of Dortmund, it was a relief for many, including coach Thomas Tuchel who explained that it was a narrow-escape. After Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored the lone goal in the 11th minute, it was up to the rest to keep the red-white-blue team in check, as it could not find any answers. Details here.
With Leipzig now holding the top spot in the Bundesliga, the question now is will they be there to stay or will Munich take revenge and reclaim the top spot? There’s still a month left until they meet for the first time on 21 December. In the meantime, there is still a lot of soccer left in this season.
This latest development in German soccer has led to a pair of questions for you to think about before 21 December:
The last time Leipzig won a national league soccer title was in 1903. But this record may fall after this season. Therefore…..
RB Leipzig, Dynamo Dresden and Erzgebirge Aue, all in Saxony, are going up one league in the coming soccer season.
The German state of Saxony is celebrating this week, for despite having a week left in the regular soccer season, three teams are being promoted to the national level, one of which will make its debut in the German Premere League (1st Bundesliga). The automatic promotion only applies to the top two teams in each flight of the soccer league, with a relegation playoff match taking place between the third place finisher in the lower league and the third to last place finisher in the upper league. Dresden and Aue finished in the top two respectively in the third league, thus automatically qualifying for the second league or what Germans call the Unterhaus der Bundesliga. Würzburg can join them if the team defeats the third place finisher in the playoff match once the regular season concludes. Despite its placing in second behind SC Freiburg, RB Leipzig will enter the top tier of the German soccer league next season after its victory today. How they got there? Here is a brief summary:
SG Dynamo Dresden- The team carrying the colors of Germany will make its debut in the second tier of the German league for the first time since 2014. After finishing sixth in the standings in the third league last season, the team under head coach Uwe Neuhaus and assistant coach Peter Nemeth started the season strong and on top and never looked back for despite having 20 wins, 15 ties and two losses, the team advanced to the second league two weeks ago after tying Magdeburg 2-2. The team set the mark for being the earliest promoter with four games left in the season. Another reason to celebrate is the team being debt free for the first time since 1995. Acquiring players and coaches, combined with the construction of a new soccer stadium in 2009 contributed to the team’s financial woes. However, despite this, the team utilized a variety of players from many parts of Germany and eastern Europe to pull it off. The question is how to advance in the next stage, for the team had struggled mightily in the second league before being demoted to third league play in 2014. But with a clean slate and high quality players, it is possible that the team might achieve its next goal: the return to the Oberhaus for the first time since 1995. Whether it is in the next season or the 2017/18 season depends on the team’s developments but things are looking really good for Dresden at this point…..
Erzgebirge Aue-Located in the Ore Mountain region in southern Saxony, the 72-year old club is no stranger to the second league as it had been competing in that league for 10 out of the last 13 seasons since 2003. After being relegated in the third league last season, the team and its head coach, Pavel Dotchev made it clear that it wanted to go back. The team’s wish came true yesterday, after Aue defeated Fortuna Cologne 2-0, solidifying its second place finish and forcing third place finisher Würzburg to play in the relegation playoff game at the end of the season. This with one game left in the regular season.
RasenBallsport Leipzig-People in the city of Leipzig are celebrating its return to the big times for the first time since 1994. That was the last time a soccer team had competed with the likes of Munich, Frankfurt, Hamburg and Berlin. VfB Leipzig was the last team to compete in the Unterhaus before being demoted after the 1993/4 season and subsequentially beginning its gradual demise, which ended in the team being dissolved through bankruptcy in 2004. Other teams in Leipzig have made attempts to climb back to the national stage, such as the (now defunct) Saxony Leipzig and Loc Leipzig but with no success. However Leipzig is returning to its glory days this fall with RB Leipzig making it to the first league! After defeating Karlsruhe 2-0 today, the team under Ralf Ranick has placed the city back on the map again. The team, which is owned by Red Bull Beverages in Austria, has been the darling of German soccer, as it has marched its way through the ranks since its inception in the fifth league (Oberliga) in 2009, having advanced every season except last year, where it finished sixth in the second league. However this season, the team upgraded its talent and finished in second place with 20 wins, six losses and seven ties, two wins less than SC Freiburg but two more than FC Nurnemberg, which awaits its opponent from the 16th place finisher in the Oberhaus. Leipzig will receive new faces come this fall as Ralph Hasenhuttl will take over as head coach of RB Leipzig, while Ranick, whose storied career included creating a winner in Premere league team 1899 Hoffenheim, will continue operations as manager. In either case, after being the first of 90 German soccer teams that formed the Bundesliga in 1900 but being absent from the top league for 22 years, Leipzig is back, and with that, tens of thousands of fans will storm the stadium this fall to watch them annoy the well-established Bundesliga teams! 🙂
With these three teams already going up, we may have another one after this month if FSV Zwickau in the Oberliga North East Division maintains its course. With three games left, the team in first place has more or less locked up its regular season championship. It must participate in the relegation playoff game with the first place finisher in the western division of the Oberliga after the regular season ends. The team with the highest goal ratio in their favor after two games will advance. The team failed to achieve this last season with Magdeburg advancing to the third league. However, this team has a greater chance of achieving this goal this time around. If so, there will be four teams from Saxony moving on up, thus making the eastern German state an attractive place for people to go for soccer. More on this development to follow.
In the meantime, the Flensburg Files would like to congratulate Dresden, Leipzig and Aue for making it to the big times. Best of luck in the coming season! 😀
NAUMBURG (SAALE)- The days of the soccer team the FC Ostelbein Dornburg, located in the Jerichow District in the state of Saxony-Anhalt are numbered. The Regional Court of Apeals in Naumburg has rejected the appeal of the soccer team to reverse the decision made in September to ban the team from league plan in the Kreisliga, the district league that is part of the Soccer Federation of Saxony-Anhalt. The last straw remaining is the hearing scheduled in November in Magdeburg regarding the future of the soccer team. Teh reason behind the team’s ban from league play is the following: 15 out of 18 players are Neo-nazis with a criminal record, 59 out of 65 officials and many teams in the league have refused to play against the team due to history of violence and racist behavior. Already the team has lost its soccer field in Leitzkau, meaning they have no place to practice or even host games. If the decision in November is upheld, it is most likely that the team will be disbanded.
Yet this leads to a very important question to think and even discuss at the dinner table- let alone comment about:
Is banning a team from league play because of racial tensions an effective way to show solidarity to those wishing to live in a country, like Germany, which prides itself on multicultural issues?
And
What would be the basis for banning a team from a professional sports league? Are the actions of FC Ostelbein Dornburg justified for being banned from league play? Why or why not?
There are numerous arguments for and against such a measure that is being undertaken, but the question is, can your country imagine banning a team like this one because of right-wing tendencies. From an American’s point of view, sanctions and other financial penalties are imaginable, but banning a team from league play has not been attempted because of a different, but rather fixed structure where the leagues are owned locally and there are no elevator approaches where teams can promote itself to a higher tier. However attempts have been made to ban team mascot names on the basis of racial segregation, including California, which became the first team to ban mascots bearing Native American names, such as Redskins, and the University of North Dakota, which banned the Fighting Sioux name and is looking for a new mascot. Still, none of these measures have to do with the issue of real discrimmination, involving racial slurs and attacks on other teams, as Germany has witnessed in soccer, and in this case with the soccer team in Leitzkau. As presented in the Frage für das Forum, it is more unimaginable to take on a team with a history of racial slurs than to take on a team that carries a mascot that is considered racially motivated because of the behavior of the players towards one another. Yet despite this attempt to forcefully disband FC Ostelbein Dornburg, the question is whether other teams with a record of such violence will be next on the list, and if the team is reorganized and presented under a different name? If so, then it would be as ineffective as banning the NPD Nationalist Party in Germany, as attempts have been made over the years to do just that, despite having other smaller right-wing parties. In either case, we must find ways of showing these radicals that such slurs and violence are not to be tolerated in anyway, shape or form.
The question is, despite having such measures like this, what other alternatives do we have to draw the line? Think about it……
MAGDEBURG- It is rare in Germany that a soccer club is forced to disband by a league for violating regulations and/or unlawful conduct. The FC Ostelbein Dornburg soccer team, located in Jerichow District near Stendal in Saxony-Anhalt, became the first team in a decade to be suspended by a soccer league. According to information by German public radio station MDR, the State Soccer League of Saxony-Anhalt voted unanimously to remove the team from league play, effective immediately. The reason behind that is the team’s history of violence again other teams and the soccer officials. In addition, the majority of the team consists of right-wing extremists. In addition to its suspension, the team has also been evicted from their soccer field in Leitzkau. The town council voted unanimously to terminate the lease effective immediately. The last attempt to save the team will come with an appeal to the State Sports Association of Saxony-Anhalt. The committee will decide in November whether the suspension of the team is justified for the above-mentioned reasons. If the ruling is upheld, then the team will become the first to be disbanded by order of law but the second in three years to be disbanded in general. In 2012, FC Saxony Leipzig was disbanded due to liquidation for not having enough financial support to keep the team operating. It is hoped that the possible forced disbanding of FC Ostelbein Dornburg will serve as a signal that, especially during the time of the refugee crisis in Germany, that extremism is not to be tolerated anywhere, even on the soccer field.
THE FLENSBURG FILES 