Schlagwort-Archiv: Schalke 04

„Ich hätte nie gedacht…“

„…dass bei einem Viertligisten so eine irre Stimmung sein kann.“ So wird Schalkes Keeper Unnerstall heute in der Magdeburger Bild zitiert. Über die Authentizität des Zitats rätsele ich an dieser Stelle einmal nicht, wer die Bild kennt, wird wissen wie die zu beurteilen ist.

Der 1. FC Magdeburg ist ein Viertligist, aber er ist eben kein normaler Viertligist. Gestern Abend verlor der tief gefallene Europapokalsieger 0-5 gegen eine konzentrierte Schalker Mannschaft – zeigte aber eine ordentliche Leistung, insbesondere in der Defensive. Das klingt angesichts von fünf Gegentoren paradox, allerdings darf man den Klassenunterschied zwischen einem Champions-League-Teilnehmer und einem Viertligisten dabei nicht vergessen. Die Gegentore resultierten aus Aktionen, bei denen Schalke den Ball schnell und präzise laufen ließ und auch andere Mannschaften vor Probleme gestellt hatten.
Die über 12.000 Zuschauer ließen sich vom Spielstand ihre gute Laune nicht verderben, wohl aber vom Catering-Unternehmen. Schlechte Laune der Mitarbeiter, unterbesetzte Stände – und nicht genug Getränke zu überhöhten Preisen trübten den positiven Eindruck des gestrigen Tages nicht nur, sondern versauten geradezu die Bemühungen des 1. FC Magdeburg, Werbung für sich zu machen.

Diese Werbung hat der Club auch nötig, beendete er doch die letzte Saison auf Platz 18 und spielt nur deshalb noch in Liga 4, weil der DFB in seiner unendlichen Weisheit mal wieder eine Ligareform durchführte. Mit nur 5 Siegen und nur einem Heimsieg quälte der Verein seine Anhänger, die ihm natürlich in Scharen abhanden kamen. Letztlich führte das, sagen wir es deutlich, beschissene Abschneiden aber zu wesentlichen und wichtigen Veränderungen im Verein, die zumindest etwas Hoffnung auf schnelle Besserung bringen.
Der frühere Mannschaftskapitän Mario Kallnik fungiert mittlerweile als eine Art Sportvorstand und mit Andreas Petersen (dem Nils sein Papa) wurde ein in der Liga erfahrener Trainer aus der Region geholt. Die Mannschaft wurde umgestaltet und macht in den ersten Spielen den Eindruck vor allem in der Breite dazu gewonnen zu haben. Außerdem lässt Petersen unterschiedliche Systeme trainieren, so dass endlich auch taktische Flexibilität zu erwarten ist – etwas, das dem Club in den letzten Jahren regelmäßig abging. Natürlich bestanden die Testspiele bisher hauptsächlich aus Partien gegen unterklassige Gegner und eben der Saisoneröffnung gegen den FC Schalke 04, aus der man erst recht nicht sonderlich zahlreiche Rückschlüsse ziehen kann.
In den zwei Partien gegen Regionalligisten, den VfB Oldenburg und der Zweiten des Hamburger SV, gelangen den Magdeburgern keine Siege, aber auch dort war erkennbar, dass es eine Spielidee gibt, die da verfolgt wird.

Bis zum Saisonstart am 12.8. gegen den VfB Auerbach bleibt dann auch noch Zeit, sich noch besser einzuspielen, damit die Pass- und Laufwege pünktlich sitzen, die am gestrigen Abend noch nicht zu hundert Prozent funktionierten. Das ausgegebene Saisonziel ist der Nichtabstieg, auch wenn der Trainer seine Überzeugung, ein einstelliger Tabellenplatz sei drin, schon öffentlich gemacht hat.
Wichtig wird auch sein, dass der Verein endlich mal wieder den Landespokal gewinnt und sich die DFB-Pokal-Einnahmen sichert, auch um so den knapp bemessenen Etat zu entspannen.

Methadone

Well, last Saturday I finally was able to catch some live outdoor football. In the first game since that disappointing outing versus Werder Bremen’s reserves in December, Magdeburg only managed a draw. But in contrast to the abysmal 1-all draw against Bremen, this one saw a new and improved FC Magdeburg team. Not only did Magdeburg field two new players, Christian Reimann (formerly at Sachsen Leipzig) and Najeh Braham (formerly at Siegen), but the new manager Paul Linz seems to also have instilled some desire to play attacking football in a formerly timid squad.

The other reason why this match was somewhat superior to the Werder slump was the atmosphere the 20,000 spectators created – and maybe the opponent being Bundesliga outfit Schalke 04 helped a bit too. In all, Magdeburg’s 1-all draw was a deserved one, even though the Magdeburg goal was an own goal by a Schalke defender who put a Neumann cross behind his goalie.

This winter break has been a big joke. No snow, hardly any frost. This season, matches could have continued all winter. But I’m sure, come the end of the break in mid-February (at least for tier III and IV leagues), we will have wonderful frosty and snow-rich days…

On an unrelated note, Magdeburg have signed former Bundesliga pro Steffen Baumgart on a free transfer yesterday. Baumgart has played more than 300 matches in Bundesliga 1 and 2. He had been out of contract since January 3, when his contract at Cottbus was dissolved. Baumgart is a leader the team has been lacking, at least according to Linz. We’ll see…Saturday, the team will play Hertha BSC’s reserves in another test match.

Indoor champions

Last Saturday, the NOFV held its annual Indoor Championship at Riesa in Saxony. This is indoor footy, not futsal, of course. All Regionalliga teams from the NOFV territory were „invited“ to participate (there’s not really a way not to take part…) and so six teams competed in two groups of three: Cottbus II, Rot-Weiß-Erfurt and 1. FC Magdeburg in one, SV Babelsberg 03, Union Berlin and Dynamo Dresden in the other group. To add some spice to it, Magdeburg had lost to both Erfurt and Cottbus only recently.
In the first match, Magdeburg struggled, but was able to come away 4-3 winners over Cottbus‘ reserves. Yet a 0-2 loss to Erfurt meant that all hinged on the Cottbus-Erfurt match, and Magdeburg fans were treated to quite some drama, as Cottbus took a quick 2-0 lead. Erfurt, however, managed to equalize and eventually even win the game 4-2. This meant Magdeburg would face Union Berlin in the semi-final, while Erfurt met Dynamo Dresden.
The semifinal was a close call that had to be decided by spot kicks from 9 meters. Here Magdeburg’s goalkeeper saved some spot kicks and Magdeburg were through to the final where they once more met Erfurt. This time, Magdeburg didn’t go down easily and the match went to spot kicks as well. Again Marian Unger came to the rescue and for the first time Magdeburg were crowned NOFV Indoor Champions. Of course, indoor football is not a very good indicator for the quality of any team, as evidenced by the fact that Magdeburg’s Danny Kukulies became best goalscorer of the tournament, a player who couldn’t do anything in the open air season.
Impressions from training show that since the arrival of Paul Linz the team has trained with more concentration and also with increased intensity. Understandable, as with a new manager nobody can rely on previous merits so everyone has to prove his worth. Beginning in January, Magdeburg will play several friendlies, the highlight being the match against Bundesliga outfit Schalke 04 (January 19). Other opponents include Sachsen Leipzig (January 13) , Hessen Kassel (January 16) and Czech first flight team FK SIAD Most (not fixed yet, probably February 2).As training restarts on January 7, there are only a small number of days of training before the first match, but with the intensity of training shown so far, they should suffice.
In terms of transfer news it looks like Danny Kukulies will leave for tier IV side Tennis Borussia Berlin, and Tornieporth looks to be out of the door as well, despite hopes of getting a fresh start after Heyne had taken him out of the team for disciplinary reasons. No news regarding incoming players as of yet, only a plain denial of interest in Erfurt’s Kumbela who has been suspended by his club for disciplinary reasons (hitting his pregnant girlfriend in a nightclub, apparently).

I came here for this?!

Magdeburg played Bremen’s reserves last Saturday, and it was a step backwards, compared to the match against Wuppertal the weekend before. The referee wasn’t exactly helpful, as he called a number of fouls that would have been considered regular challenges by most other people. As Bremen were the superior side, technique-wise, Magdeburg was hurt more by this style of refereeing. They picked up a number of yellow cards in the first half, some of which appeared extraordinarily harsh. FCM were unable to string even as few as two passes together, especiall Andy Müller (as expected) and Björn Lindemann (surprisingly) excelled in losing the ball. In all, Magdeburg’s players seemed nervous and this in addition to the refereeing led to a first half that was without any actual highlight. Bremen added their incompetence in scoring to complete the picture.
In the second half, Magdeburg put up somewhat more pressure and this was rewarded with a goal in the 57th: Manai hit a freekick towards the 6-yard-line where Gerster put his head to it and the ball went in. Magdeburg’s yellow cards came back to haunt them within miutes of the goal as Gerster was sent off with his second yellow (this one well-justified). The send-off brought massive agitation as both Magdeburg players and fans were not exactly happy with that decision. During the ensuing freekick Magdeburg’s captain Kallnik sort of forgot himself in all that excitement, and Werder seized the opportunity. Amidst a disordered Magdeburg defense, they equalised with a fine long shot from Kruse. No more goals were to follow, but overall Magdeburg were lucky to come away with a point.
As feared the Wuppertal match seems to have been a fluke. It needs to be pointed out that Magdeburg were unable to adapt to the style of refereeing, although that style shouldn’t have been a surprise to them. The statistics are there for everyone to see and interpret. The ref also didn’t let the Bremen players take their freekick unhindered…
Yet, with all due respect, the standard of refereeing was extremely poor, as the actions of the referee attained more importance than those of the players. The only positive thing is that the distance to the magic #10 spot is still unchanged at 5 points.
The winterbreak better be used to attract helpful players, and maybe manager Heyne should think about why he had to answer questions as to why the team doesn’t perform with „I do not know“…
On Janaury 19th, Magdeburg play a friendly against FC Schalke 04…a good opportunity to show off any improvement…

Lineups
1. FC Magdeburg: Unger – A. Müller, Grundmann, Kallnik, Probst – Lindemann, Gerster, F. Müller – Manai – Agyemang (88th Kukulies), Jarakovic (76th Kullmann)

SV Werder Bremen II: Mielitz – Holsing, Erdem, Mohr, Peitz – Heider (50th Grundt), Kruse, Löning, Artmann – Stallbaum, Schindler

Score summary
57′ Gerster 1-0
59′ Kruse 1-1

59′ Gerster 2nd Yellow

Attendance
7,041