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CHAMPIONS LEAGUE REBOOT
Bundesliga bought ads in Atlanta, Washington and Dallas newspapers for George Bello, Kevin Paredes, Ricardo Pepi and Justin Che—who all joined Bundesliga clubs in the January transfer window. Bundesliga has attracted a large number of young talents from the US, and it intends to expand further in the American soccer market. FC Koln boss Ste en Baumgart missed his side's game against Freiburg because of Covid-19, but he was still kicking every ball while watching from his living room. In a hilarious video posted to TikTok, the Koln coach is seen screaming at his players on the television at the top of his lungs. And they could probably hear him from the stadium as the Bundesliga outfit recorded a precious 1-0 win over Freiburg without their manager on the sidelines. Borussia Dortmund left-back Raphael Guerreiro wants to sit down with the club to discuss a new deal in the near future. The Portuguese left-back expressed his love for BVB, but also stressed the financial significance of a new contract. Since he is 28 years old at the moment, it’s likely to be the last big contract he pens in his career. Guerreiro's current deal expires in 2023.
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THE UGLY
Outspoken Bayern Munich forward Thomas Muller has found himself front and centre in an odd war of words surrounding the club’s rumoured interest in Borussia Dortmund star Erling Haaland. The Norwegian’s incredible goalscoring form has continued into the 202122 campaign, with the 21-year-old continuing to turn heads across Europe. Haaland looks certain to be at the centre of a transfer tug of war this summer, with his release clause at Signal Iduna Park dropping to €75m in June. That price is well within the budgets of Europe’s superpowers, as Real Madrid, Manchester City and Paris SaintGermain all monitor the situation with interest. However, despite his links to City via his father, and previous comments hinting at a desire to play for Real Madrid in future, Bayern remain the logical move for the former RB Salzburg striker. Haaland’s phenomenal numbers have expanded his profile into a world-class forward, while Robert Lewandowski’s advancing years possibly open up a gap that needs filling at the Allianz Arena. But, despite his club looking to keep themselves in the running to sign Haaland, Muller o ered a tongue-in-cheek response when asked about the chance of teaming up with him in Bavaria next season. As part of an interview with Bild, Muller was asked if he would be excited by the prospect of feeding assists to Haaland, to which he responded with his preference for feeding his horses and rabbits. Muller’s remarks appear bizarre when read out of context, but the club are unlikely to be pleased by his cryptic answer on the situation, as they aim to keep pace in the race to sign the prolific striker.
FAR LEFT: Thomas Muller horses around with Erling Haaland
ABOVE: Haaland reacts during a Bundesliga match
TOP (OPPOSITE PAGE): St. Pauli look set for promotion to the Bundesliga
BOTTOM (OPPOSITE PAGE): Stuttgart seem set for relegation
GOING UP
St. Pauli, the left-wing kings of the German second tier, look well placed to clinch a return to the top flight for the first time since 2011. Timo Schultz’s side face a promotion battle in the second half of 2021-22, but he will be confident the goals of Austrian star Guido Burgstaller can secure their place back in the big time.
GOING DOWN
VfB Stuttgart again find themselves in deep relegation trouble, after being relegated to the 2. Bundesliga as recently as 2019. Pellegrino Matarazzo’s struggling team are mired in a scrap to avoid the drop, with Greuther Furth likely to have already slipped to an immediate return to the second tier as the other automatically relegated side.
Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski (2.6), Bayer Leverkusen’s Patrik Schick (2.1), and Borussia Dortmund’s Erling Haaland (2.1) are the only three players in Europe's big five leagues who are averaging more than two shots on target per 90 mins this season (500+ mins).
TOP 6 BUNDESLIGA WINTER SIGNINGS 2022
Jonas Wind of Denmark in action during the FIFA World Cup 2022 qualifying soccer match between Israel and Denmark
VfL Wolfsburg have signed Denmark forward Jonas Wind for €12 million from FC Copenhagen. The club identified the 2021 Denmark Footballer of the Year as Wout Weghorst’s replacement, who joined Premier League outfit Burnley for €14 million.
Eintracht Frankfurt loaned in Ansgar Knau from Borussia Dortmund for the rest of the season. The highly-rated 19-year-old is primarily a winger, but he can also operate as a right-back or a right wingback. Frankfurt paid a €400,000 loan fee to BVB for Knau .
Bayer Leverkusen pulled o one of the best winter deals in Germany as they landed Iranian striker Sardar Azmoun on a meagre €2.5 million transfer fee. Sardar Azmoun had built an impressive goalscoring resume at Zenit Saint Petersburg and was out of contract at the end of season.
Borussia Monchengladbach signed Marvin Friedrich from Union Berlin for €5.5 million, which is actually half the 26-year-old center-back’s market value. While their midfield has lost Denis Zakaria to Juventus for only €8 million, perhaps Friedrich’s arrival can return some of the defensive strength they so desperately need.
Germany U-21 international Julian Chabot moved to FC Koln from Sampdoria as the club’s defensive recruit. It’s a loan deal (€0.3m) with option to buy (€2,7M), which could become an obligation upon reaching certain condition.
Augsburg were actually one of the highest spending clubs in Bundesliga as they spent a total of €16 million to acquire Ricardo Pepi from FC Dallas. The 19-year-old center-forward attracted quite a lot of attention during his years in the MLS and USL1, in which he managed to score 27 goals in 73 appearances across all competition.
Marvin Friedrich celebrates after the German Bundesliga soccer match between 1. FC Union Berlin and SC Paderborn 07
