Get German Football News was pleased to supply full coverage of the U21s last month and we will do so again in the second International break of the 2025/26 cycle. The full squad list can be found below. First – on the very same day that Bundestrainer Julian Nagelsmann confirmed his latest round of call-ups – there are several interesting talking points to discuss

Nnamdi Collins and Tom Bischof return to youth level

After a highly publicized rough outing under Nagelsmann in September, defender Nnamdi Collins is back working under Di Salvo while the more experienced Ridle Baku heads back to Nagelsmann. Bayern Munich midfielder Tom Bischof who (like Collins) has earned one senior national team cap, will also be working with the U21s this time around. Bischof actually never represented Germany at U21 level before.

In a move that did catch some criticism in the German press, Nagelsmann opted to directly promote Bischof from U20 to senior level. The 20-year-old Bischof remained unavailable for either coach in September due to an emergency appendectomy. Bischof recently made his Bayern starting XI debut and drew quite a bit of praise from his FCB teammates, meaning he could be back under Nagelsmann’s command soon.

Paul Wanner begins his journey back

In the autumn of 2024, speculation as to whether certified attacking phenom Paul Wanner would opt to play for either Germany or Austria remained rampant. A literal deluge of articles in the German press chronicled Wanner’s thought process after the then 18-year-old amassed three scorer points in two September matches for his then loan club, 1. FC Heidenheim. A little over a year later, it’s an entirely different story. 

Wanner would end up scoring just once more for Heidenheim over the course of the rest of the league campaign. This summer, despite the fact that Jamal Musiala’s injury accorded him a chance to break through for the German record champions, Wanner opted to part ways with Bayern Munich entirely. A foot injury left Wanner unavailable for selection back in September. The now 19-year-old seeks to restore his status as a hot commodity.

Assan Ouédraogo gets a shot

Former Schalke 04 star Assan Ouédraogo has overcome an injury riddled first season with the German Red Bulls, a rather tame training camp, and a clear bench role in the first three Bundesliga match-days under RB head coach Ole Werner. The 19-year-old started against 1. FC Köln on match-four and scored his first Bundesliga goal. Ouédraogo started against Wolfsburg last week and now looks to be a regular under Werner. 

Ouédraogo, like Bischoff, is still awaiting his first U21 cap. The four players from the September roster making room for Wanner, Collins, Bischof, and Ouédraogo are Hoffenheim’s Umut Tohumcu, Augsburg’s Anton Kade, Eintracht Frankfurt’s Elias Baum, and (injured) VfB Stuttgart defender Finn Jeltsch. Augsburg’s Mert Kömür – who left camp injured last time and was replaced by Wolfsburg’s Aaron Zehnter – is back while Zehnter is left off.

No. 1 Keeper and captaincy auditions continue

Jeltsch was one of two players (Union Berlin’s Aljoscha Kemlein being the other) who Di Salvo tapped to don the captain’s armband in the two September matches. The DFB-Juniors are seeking a new skipper now that Köln’s Eric Martel is no longer eligible to fill the role. An official new captain has not been named yet. The same also suddenly applies to the No. 1 keeper role. 

Werder Bremen’s Mio Backhaus emerged as the clear favorite to serve as the future No. 1 after the September international break. An unfortunate shoulder injury nevertheless now endangers Backhaus’ job at his Bundesliga club as well. Stuttgart loan-out Dennis Seimen and Burnley’s Max Weiß will seek to take advantage of the opportunity. Hannover 96 loan-out Leon-Oumar Wechsel takes Backhaus’ roster slot. 

Di Salvo’s words

The German U21s actually face a pair of tough opponents in Greece (in Jena on October 10th) and Northern Ireland (in Belfast on October 14th). Di Salvo listed the specific players on the Greek U21 side he finds himself concerned about. In a nod to the German senior men team’s laborious win over the Northern Ireland seniors last month, Di Salvo made it clear that the Irons should not be taken lightly. 

“Our upcoming opponents present a different challenge for us,” Di Salvo remarked at a DFB press event on Thursday. “Greece also won 5-0 in their opening game and have three top offensive talents in their ranks: Stefanos Tzimas, Charalampos Kostoulas, and Georgios Koutsias. Our senior national team has seen just how difficult Northern Ireland is to play against.”

The Full squad

Goalkeepers:

Dennis Seimen (SC Paderborn), Max Weiß (FC Burnley), Leon-Oumar Wechsel (GKS Tychy)

Defenders:

Hendry Blank (Hannover 96), Nnamdi Collins (Eintracht Frankfurt), Linus Gechter (Hertha BSC), Leandro Morgalla (VfL Bochum), Joshua Quarshie (FC Southampton), Tom Rothe (Union Berlin), Lukas Ullrich (Borussia Mönchengladbach)

Midfielders:

Noel Aseko Nkili (Hannover 96), Muhammmed Damar (TSG Hoffenheim), Said El Mala (1. FC Köln), Brajan Gruda (Brighton & Hove Albion), Aljoscha Kemlein (Union Berlin), Mert Kömür (FC Augsburg), Paul Wanner (PSV Eindhoven), Tom Bischof (Bayern Munich), Assan Ouédraogo (RB Leipzig)

Forwards:

Ilyas Ansah (Union Berlin), Dzenan Pejcinovic (VfL Wolfsburg), Nicolo Tresoldi (Club Brugge), Nelson Weiper (Mainz 05)

GGFN | Peter Weis

These Swabians were able to rebound with a win against Borussia Mönchengladbach on match-day two, yet were still forced to contend with a lousy news “Doppelpack” entering the final weekend of the transfer window. Newcastle’s poaching of Nick Woltemade and word of Deniz Undav’s injury all occurred within a hectic 24-hour-span. Thankfully, board-member-for-sport Fabian Wohlgemuth, sporting director Christian Gentner, and the rest of the VfB administrative team rose to the occasion in the final days before the deadline.

Though the planned blockbuster “transfer triple pack” didn’t quite materialize, it’s already quite apparent that theCannstatter scored a pair of high-utility North Africans in the form of über-enthusiastic Moroccan Bilal El Khannouss and pacy Algerian winger Badredine Bouanani. Both are already contributing on the score-sheet and off. It appears as if the VfB front office – for the third straight year no less – have rendered the summer departures moot, at least until AFCON 2025 rolls around in January. 

We last checked in with Stuttgart on a detailed level right after that madness that was the DFB Pokal victory over Eintracht Braunschweig. Prior to that, it’s worth noting that the general assessment of this club’s camp was positive. After the Gladbach win, there was another dip against Freiburg. Then came the three straight wins against St. Pauli, Celta Vigo, and 1. FC Köln. As per usual, we’ll cover everything in full detail in the tactics section below. There’s a special bonus look-in on a friendly against SG Sonnenhof Großaspach during the September international break as well. 

Essentially, things look to be largely in order with this club…..

…..except for the wholly unnecessary ditching of the “furchtlos und treu” motto.

Why? Someone needs to explain to the author why this was necessary.

VfB Stuttgart UEL Squad

Much like last year, those omitted from the European roster make big news. One might as well point out for the “nth” time that Nick Woltemade wasn’t included in Hoeneß’ Champions League roster in the autumn of 2024. The author assumes that everyone knows that fact by now. Let it nevertheless never be forgotten! Eight players from the 32-man league roster have been dropped this time. Silas, Justin Diehl, Ameen Al-Dakhil, Leonidas Stergiou, Pascal Stenzel, and Noah Darvich are all missing.

Goalkeepers:

Bredlow, Nübel

Defenders:

Hendriks, Vagnoman, Mittelstädt, Jaquez, Assignon, Zagadou, Chabot, Groiß, Nothnagel

Midfielders:

Stiller, Führich, El Khannouss, Karazor, Jeltsch, Andrés, Jovanović

Forwards:

Tomás, Leweling, Undav, Bouanani, Kastanaras, Demirović

The Silas news hits Bundesliga enthusiasts head. Most of us happened to rather like how the club stood by the Congo DR international. Diehl and Darvich unfortunately don’t adhere to UEFA’s “homegrown player” regulations. Hence, Thomas Kastanaras (yes, he still exists) is back despite not really featuring for VfB II anymore. Alexander Groiß (27) and Dominik Nothnagel (30) are interesting additions in that – as one can infer from the bracketed ages – the pair aren’t exactly “spring chickens”. 

Nice to see a pair of lower league journeymen get a shot. 

VfB Stuttgart Remaining UEL Schedule

The manner in which the schedule was finalized does leave Stuttgart with some ill-timed tough away fixtures in November, not to mention a serious challenge down south at the end of a packed January that will see them without some of their AFCON stars. It could prove the case that the Württemberger find themselves left out of the knockouts in this new format for the second straight year. Given that they faced a Champions League field last season, however, one still wants to lend them the benefit of the doubt.

Thursday, October 2nd

FC Basel (A) 21:00

Thursday, October 23rd

Fenerbahçe (A) 18:45

Thursday, November 6th

Feyenoord Rotterdam (H) 21:00

Thursday, November 27th

Go Ahead Eagles Deventer (A) 21:00

Thursday, December 12th

Maccabi Tel Aviv (H) 18:45

Thursday, January 22nd

AS Roma (H) 21:00

Thursday, January 29th

Young Boys Bern (A) 21:00

Racking enough early points before the calendar year turns shall prove essential. At least three victories and two draws are needed. Obviously, the fabulous news that they could be two thirds of the way toward meeting that first metric come sunrise on Friday morning is sure to perk up more than a few Cannstatt citizens. It should work. “Sei furchtlos und treu”…… if indeed that’s still permitted. 

Tactics Check, VfB Stuttgart

Picking up from where we left off, Hoeneß’ Württemberger went straight from the insane DFB Pokal match into a sleepy Saturday encounter with Gerardo Seoane’s slumping Borussia Mönchengladbach. Only four days after the draining extended penalty shootout, Hoeneß made only two personnel rotations. Josha Vagnoman and Jamie Leweling replaced Lorenz Assignon and Chris Führich as straight swaps in the 4-2-3-1.

With the club celebrating “100 years of the Red Stripe” with fantastic in-stadium, one held onto hopes that the players would draw some energy from the crowd. Initially, there was plenty of pace to the game of both teams. Unfortunately, when Deniz Undav succumbed to injury inside of ten minutes, a still leggy Führich had to come on in relief to play an unrehearsed position.

Lineup—VfB Stuttgart (15th minute)

Hoeneß option to dispense with the idea of having a ten, instead pocketing Führich deep into midfield. A sensible enough conservative play from the VfB trainer. Führich used to play central at Paderborn all the time, but clearly wasn’t ready for this assignment. Gladbach actually steadily took the momentum of the match away from the hosts as BMG sixes Rocco Reitz and Philipp Sander titled the scales ever so steadily in the midfield battles.

When Gladbach continued to ride the wave after the break, Hoeneß staggered with a pair of double substitutions until he had a more attack-minded 4-3-3 back on the pitch. Assignon, Lazar Jovanovic, Chema Andres and Nikolas Nartey relieved Vagnoman, Führich, Atakan Karazor, and Maximilian Mittelstädt. The late constellation produced just enough to lend the team some confidence from open play.

Lineup—VfB Stuttgart (75th minute)

The late 79th-minute 1-0 that took out Gladbach actually came off a short corner. Chema Andres signaled his Bundesliga arrival with a fine finish of a delicate Jamie Leweling cross. Granted, BMG defender Jens Castrop didn’t have much to offer on what should have been an easy marking assignment. In any event, Hoeneß’ Swabians dug out a much-needed win despite only managing 0.84 xG over the course of the entire match. After the international break, it was time for Hoeneß to test drive some of his new deadline day arrivals against Freiburg.

Lineup—VfB Stuttgart (Match Three)

A simple enough 4-2-3-1 as Hoeneß appears to envision it with his new actors in place. After the match, the VfB trainer gave a candid assessment of El Khannoss and Bouanani. The former passed his opening exam with flying colors whilst the latter did little beyond cement his status behind Tiago Tomas on the depth chart. The manner in which Hoeneß reformatted to protect his slender lead ended up not working well at all unfortunately. The late Freiburg goal flurry (covered already in a separate piece) came with this in place:

Lineup—VfB Stuttgart (78th minute)

Whether or not it was supposed to look like this or indeed what earthly purpose a late 3-4-3 of any sort served remains unclear. The Breisgauer hosts were almost invited to slice up the wings. One would have thought that Hoeneß learned something from his opening day loss away at Freiburg last season. Before pummeling the VfB trainer too much, however, one should credit him for learning three vitally important personnel lessons ahead of the next league fixture against FC St. Pauli.

Lineup—VfB Stuttgart (Match Four)

Tomas and Assignon over newbie Bouanani and slumping Vagnoman were obvious enough. Anyone following this team has to admit that Chema Andrés over captain Atakan Karazor really shocked. A bold, yet entirely correct, move. The 20-year-old’s maturity and poise is quite striking. One immediately understands why Real Madrid attached all those buyback and resale clauses. Though Andrés happens to be one of the shier of the new arrivals, he’s increasingly assertive on the pitch.

Another fine performance from the youngster helped Stuttgart get back on track with a 2-0 victory over St. Pauli in the match-day four Friday night curtain raiser. The Cannstatter did well not to let an early penalty miss from Angelo Stiller throw them off course. Demirovic and El Khannouss would eventually score to seal the result. In all honesty, Stuttgart-St. Pauli proved one of the – if not the – least competitive Bundesliga matches of the young season. The outcome was never really in doubt.

Alexander Blessin’s Kiezkicker – predicted to fade – did just that. Chema impressed with several lovely “unlock” through balls. Defensive captain Jeff Chabot, sufficiently recovered from an early season knock, held the back ranks together well. As evidenced by that wild Pokal fixture, Stuttgart just don’t seem right without Chabot running the bow-arcs and audibly directing his teammates. Nübel made the saves he needed to. Tomas, Leweling, and Demirovic all dazzled up front.

All was well heading into the opening Europa League fixture against Celta Vigo. It came as no surprise to see Chema retain his place in the starting XI against Celta Vigo, a team VfB actually beat in the pre-season. Hoeneß’ two personnel changes  ahead of the opening UEL fixture did surprise. Chabot and Tomas made way for Ramon Hendriks and Bouanani in the same 4-2-3-1. For some reason, Chabot never entered the match.

When Finn Jeltsch injured himself, Chabot remained on the bench while Luca Jacquez made his long-awaited return to meaningful action. The Swabian hosts were nearly made to pay after Nübel made a couple of early mistakes. Thankfully, Los Celestes couldn’t capitalize. At the other end, Andrés, Assignon, and Leweling came close to opening the scoring.

Stuttgart finally got the opener when Nübel redeemed himself shortly after the restart. A pre-planned blitz counter saw Nübel register the assist on Bouanani’s 51st-minute 1-0. Bouanani’s fellow new North African arrival El Khannous added the second off a corner in the 68th following a nice one-two with Stiller that also clearly came off the training ground.

Karazor – who relieved the once-again excellent Andrés shortly after the second goal – ended up gifting former Bayer Leverkusen striker Borja Iglesias the 2-1 in the 86th. Hoeneß opted to forgive his captain and hand him a start against overzealous Lukas Kwasniok’s 1. FC Köln at the RheinEnergieStadion on Sunday.

Lineup—VfB Stuttgart (Match Five)

Jaquez re-claimed his old starting role courtesy of the fact that Jeltsch remained out injured. Hendriks – who earned man-of-the-match honors in the Europa League fixture – got a go at the left-back slot he’s occasionally worked in. Fair enough as Maxi Mittelstädt hasn’t been able to take off this season. Overall, there were six changes from the UEL match. Karazor, Chabot, Jaquez, Vagnoman, Tomas, and Führich over Chema, Mittelstädt, Jeltsch, Assignon, Bouanani, and Leweling.

The cathedral city hots exploited all the new actors initially. Tom Krauß, pressing high in midfield, won a crucial ball. Jakub Kaminski eventually netted the 4th-minute 1-0 after the ball found its way to him via Jan Thielmann and Ragnar Ache. There were several nervy moments in the immediate aftermath of the first goal. Nübel had to be on hand to save more shots. When Nübel found himself beaten, Jaquez had to clear an Ache effort off the line.

Stuttgart did settle down a bit, but were only able to equalize thanks to a highly controversial penalty involving Marvin Schwäbe in the 28th. This very soft call enabled Hoeneß’ crew to remain in a match Kwasniok’s Domstädter could have easily run away with. Things got downright choppy for a very long time until Köln substitute (certified German phenomby now) shook both teams out of their torpor with about 25 minutes left.

Not long after Mittelstädt (on as a 61st-minute sub) cleared another Köln effort off the line, Vagnoman slotted home the winner for the guests in the 81st. Admittedly a nice set up from Stiller, but either team could have honestly taken all three points here. A draw would have constituted more than a fair result. So it came to pass that Stuttgart won three straight.

Anything left to mention?

Yes.

Lineup—VfB Stuttgart (September Friendly)

Hoeneß tried out a straight 4-3-3 over the September break in a test fixture at VfB II’s proving ground in Großaspach. Führich got a chance to blow off a little steam with a second half Lupenreiner, mostly thanks to the assistance of Tomas. Not too many midfield lessons to be gleaned as the Bundesliga team mostly switched over overmatched SG Sonnenhof with ease. One still wonders if something like this might work with Chema Andrés, Stiller, and Karazor, Interesting. One can’t really see it as no member of that trio usually plays that high up….yet.

Thursday tip

Stuttgart 3, Basel 1

Well. With the godawful Eintracht Frankfurt tip from earlier this week firmly in mind, one can prognosticate an easy Stuttgart win a little easier when it comes to the southern Swiss neighbors. As noted above, the first away win puts them right where they need to be. After what happened in Belgrade last season, it’s best to act on the assumption that November away fixtures against Fenerbahçe and Go Ahead Eagles might turn out unexpectedly bad. One trusts Hoeneß and crew to take care of business.

GGFN | Peter Weis

The author is pleased to report that practically all of the recent hype surrounding this club remains fully justified. The players and fans presently stand united in their belief in the journey ahead. While detractors will point out that Sunday’s 1-1 draw with TSG 1899 Hoffenheim proved about as exciting as slow-mo checkers, Schuster’s tactics have proven themselves worthy of high-speed-chess. Schuster’s team held a stable line against their richer and faster north Baden rivals. Sometimes one simply has to grind it out with a low block. It happens.

Assume that Schuster and company conserved their creative spark for a far more entertaining fixture on Thursday.

Having to do without Johan Manzambi against Hoffenheim didn’t help.

SC Freiburg UEL Squad

All 27 professionals on the SCF squad are technically registered for the competition via the “B-Squad” selection protocols. This extends the to the two players readers will not be surprised to see missing: Congenitally injured German-Ghanian attacker Daniel-Kofi Kyereh and the poor lost soul that is Maximilian Philipp. Neither Kofi-Kyereh nor Philipp have featured in any of the SCF match-day squads this season. Manzambi and young defender Bruno Ogbus were initially on the “B-list”, until the late departures of Michael Gregoritsch and Merlin Röhl allowed for their elevation.

Defenders:

Lienhart, Jung, Kübler, Beste, Ginter, Treu, Günter, Makengo, Rosenfelder, Ogbus, Schopper, Steinmann

Midfielders:

Osterhage, Eggestein, Suzuki, Höfler, Grifo, Manzambi, Tarnutzer

Forwards:

Scherhant, Höler, Dinkçi, Adamu, Irié, Matanović, Amegnaglo

Ogbus – another exciting young Swiss prospect not quite as far along as Manzambi – made three SCF first team appearances last year and registered an assist in the opening round of the Pokal. The 19-year-old has already attracted interest from EPL sides and might well become a more known name in the near future. Young French striker David Amegnaglo has scored 12 goals for SCF II in the Regionalliga Südwest.

Rouven Tarnutzer is an interesting midfield prospect who has earned four starts for the reserves thus far this season. Young defenders David Schopper and Karl Steinmann are regular fixtures for Bernard Weis’ Junioren and also played regularly last year. Record summer signing Philipp Treu – after suffering a separated shoulder in training camp – is back picking up minutes under Schuster for the first team.

SC Freiburg Remaining UEL Schedule

October and November feature’s two very winnable fixtures, even if Thursday’s encounter constitutes quite the test. Schuster’s team get set to benefit from a much lighter Bundesliga and Europa League schedule in the final two months, meaning simply picking up single points through the autumn months might end up being fully sufficient. The travel schedule also counts as a light burden for this “Border Burg”. Freiburg traditionally perform well whenever taking that quick hop across the French border. 

Thursday, October 2nd

FC Bologna (A) 18:45

Thursday, October 23rd

FC Utrecht (H) 21:00

Thursday, November 6th

OGC Nice (A) 18:45

Thursday, November 27th

Victoria Plzeň (A) 18:45

Thursday, December 11th

RB Salzburg (H) 21:00

Thursday, January 22nd

Maccabi Tel Aviv (H) 18:45

Thursday, January 29th

Lille OSC (A) 21:00

It all comes together nicely for the Badeners and their traveling cohort of fans as they cruise to the knockouts. One sincerely hopes for a better ending than the one delivered by West Ham United in the 2023/24 UEL Round-of-16. German football lovers received quite the double-whammy when, after that elimination, legendary trainer Christian Streich’s words and body language made it clear that he would be leaving us. Schuster looks poised for success in his initial European campaign. One also sincerely hopes that the affable young trainer won’t follow the “Robin Dutt” career trajectory. 

Tactics Check, SC Freiburg

It seems like eons ago that Schuster had this team set up in a totally impractical manner. Schuster’s obvious mistakes seem to stem from no real logic apart from a possible concern that the more logical formation deployed in the Pokal didn’t deliver the requisite fireworks. For whatever it’s worth, the author did agree at the time and liked his personal recommendation better. Oh well. We got this instead. Ideally, we’ve seen the last of it. 

Lineup—Freiburg (Matches 1-2)

Schuster might have been tempted to simply chalk off the stunning loss against Augsburg on opening day as his team clearly won the xG battle over Sandro Wagner’s FCA, 2.60 to 1.34. In hindsight, most of us probably could have seen that Wagner’s big 1-3 matchday one victory would prove nothing more than an aberration anyway. The three FCA goals came thick and fast in the final 15 minutes of the opening 45. Plenty of propitious bounces for Augsburg and momentary concentration lapses from Freiburg contributed to the result. SCF also saw an early goal disallowed. 

All of that notwithstanding, even the most amateur of tacticians can see what’s wrong with the graphic above. Manzambi at six? Yuito Suzuki at ten? The fact that otherwise reliable actors such as Lucas Höler and Eren Dinkçi opted not to show up early obviously didn’t help. Moreover, Manzambi’s rattling off of some promising late dribbles and Vincenzo Grifo furnishing some of his trademark set-piece artistry likely influenced Schuster’s decision to roll with the exact same XI against Köln the next week.

The 4-2-3-1 largely held its ground against the hosting cathedral city side for the opening half hour, but there were plenty of warning shots from Lukas Kwasniok’s Geißböcke as the half-hour-mark approached. Noah Atubolu bailed his team out on several occasions before Jakub Kaminski gave Köln a well-deserved lead in the 35th. Everything fell apart on that play. Köln striker Marius Bülter was given far too much space on the left. Dinkçi didn’t bother to mark Kaminski in the box at all. 

Shortly after the restart, more atrocious marking in the box enabled Bülter to head home to the 2-0 in the 47th. In full meltdown mode, Schuster’s charges allowed Bülter to all-too-easily set up Jan Thielmann’s 3-0 in the 57th. Atubolu prevented much, much worse before German Wunderkind Said El Mala added the 4-0 in the 81st-minute. Having made at least four superhuman saves between the Thielmann and El Mala tallies, Atubolu just ran out of omnipresent limbs.

A late pullback goal from Maximilian Eggestein meant nothing as the “cathedral city massacre” left Freiburg dead last in the Bundesliga heading into the September international break. Absolutely no one in the back-four – a highly experienced set of veterans – looked like top flight players again the newly promoted side. Schuster simply had to pull the plug on some of these players once the league re-convened.

Lineup—Freiburg (Match Three)

Goals in a 2-0 friendly win over FC Luzern over the September break led to Jan-Niklas Beste and Patrick Osterhage earning starts against Stuttgart. Beste displaced his friend and former Heidenheim teammate Dinkçi, who simply started the season in shockingly lousy form. Osterhage’s selection to serve in midfield (obvious, obvious, obvious) led to Manzambi moving up to the ten slot and we saw the beginnings of this (admittedly hyperbolic) “Wonder-twins” midfield project. We’ll see how long that will last. 

Captain Christian Günter also had to take a seat in favor of the younger and more agile Jordy Makengo. At least the collective defending from the back-four improved considerably. Apart from that, watching two 4-2-3-1s square off in Breisgau proved quite the hard watch. A memorable moment of magic from VfB strike Ermedin Demirovic added a small dose of sparkle to an absolute stinker. Demirovic’s 20th-minute back-heel gave Stuttgart the 0-1 lead. Freiburg couldn’t muster up a response of any sort. 

To their credit, the hosts woke up after the break. Kübler and Manzambi executed some useful incursions into the penalty area. Schuster left his original XI on the pitch until the 63rd, when he brought Derry Scherhant on for Grifo. Igor Matanovic relieved Höler in the 78th. The seeds of the magnificent story of the Stuttgart match’s finish were planted. All Germans found themselves keen to talk about Freiburg come Monday morning. At long last, the Breisgauer flexed muscle added during their highly successful summer transfer window. 

Lineup—Freiburg (80th minute)

Matanovic polished off a Lukas Kübler cross for the 1-1 in the 81st. Scherhant benefited from a fine set-up from Manzambi to net the 2-1 in the 86th. Matanovic received the chance to ice off the Schwarzwaldkuchen with a penalty conversion on the 3-1 at 90+2. A perfect “turnaround tale” written by two marquee summer transfers: Scherhant and Matanovic. These are the tales of all tales, the moments of all moments. From this point forward, one knew that Freiburg’s season was off-and-running. They took out a surging team on match-day four.

Next week against Werder Bremen, Schuster compensated for the loss of Manzambi by starting Junior Adamu atop the 4-2-3-1 whilst Höler slid back into the ten slot. Beste, Osterhage, and Makengo retained their starting places. This would be the match that produced Atubolu’s penalty save record. It also produced some of Adamu’s on-brand poor finishing until the notoriously “iffy Austrian” finally got the 2-0 over the line in the 54th. Scherhant featured again off the bench and forced an own-goal off SVW defender Karim Coulibaly on the 3-0 in the 75th. 

The center-back pairing of Matthias Ginter and Philipp Lienhart produced by far their strongest match to date. Makengo – save the handball penalty that Atubolu’s save cancelled out – actually delivered the best match the author can recall offhand. In his first meaningful shift since rejoining the Sport Club this summer, Treu looked very good off the bench. Interestingly enough, Schuster had Treu relieve Beste directly on the right wing. Treu and Kübler worked in tandem on both sides off the ball very well. 

Freiburg headed home with confidence to face Basel. 

Three personnel changes and a might tighter 4-2-3-1.

Lineup—Freiburg (UEL)

A wave of illness sweeping the SCF camp meant that neither Lienhart nor Höler could partake. Up front, that posed no problem as Manzambi’s suspension didn’t apply to the European campaign. Freiburg’s famed “Manuel Gulde replacement” Manuel Gulde took over for Lienhart alongside Ginter. Schuster put the skipper back in by opting for Günter over Makengo on the left. All of this performed serviceable enough, with Atubolu ensuring that the slight advantages the Swiss guests retained early wouldn’t result in Basel taking the lead. 

Osterhage – making his Europa League debut – calmly put away a failed clearance of a Manzambi effort in the 31st. Atubolu made a huge save at the end of the opening 45 to ensure Basel couldn’t restore parity. The second half of the famed “twin pairing”, Eggestein, snatched the 2-0 off a Grifo cross in the 56th. Eggestein could have well grabbed a brace a little later were it not for an amazing save from Basel keeper Mirko Salvi. Instead, it would be the guests with a late pullback goal. Freiburg held on for a 2-1 win. 

The formation remained fairly tight throughout, with Matanovic, Scherhant, and Makengo working on straight swaps late. Treu once again got his turn as an advanced right winger ahead of Kübler in relief of Beste. It was back to the wider 4-2-3-1 against Hoffenheim. Two personnel changes saw Dinkçi return to the starting blocks in order to take over for the still suspended Manzambi. Makengo also once again got the nod over Günter. 

Lineup—Freiburg (Match Five)

With Lienhart still stricken, Jung maintained his place in central defense. Höler recovered only enough to start on the bench. The experiment of Dinkçi working as a ten (something that didn’t actually work out all that well in Heidenheim) at least gave Dinkçi the chance to work alongside Beste again. Excitement was quickly tempered by the fact that this pairing (and indeed not much else) worked out on Sunday. Kübler was in the right place at the right time to stuff home the 1-0 in the third.

That was about all from hosts, who did have to compensate for Kübler’s loss to a concussion shortly before the first half was out. Hoffenheim’s Fisnik Asllani equalized about ten minutes later and the match settled into a midfield stalemate. The collision between Kübler and TSG defender Bernardo (27th) severely undercut the flow of the affair. Schuster’s men managed only a paltry 0.28 xG after the early opening goal. On a tight turnaround from the UEL affair, Freiburg often looked too tired to press. 

Hoffenheim proved much more adept at breaking the lines and finished with a full-time xG of 2.54. Atubolu made a few excellent saves near the end. Treu’s turn at right back proved fairly average. Jung dipped heavily as the game progressed as his 33-year-old legs deadened. Grifo, Beste, and Grifo lacked conviction and ideas beyond the middle third. Matanovic and Scherhant were better in relief, though not by much. “UEL Sandwich” matches like this one simply happen at times. 

Thursday tip:

Freiburg 2, Bologna 2

Schuster could try a few more things later in matches, such as yanking Grifo if the Germano-Italian simply doesn’t have it on the day. That would enable Beste to switch over to his natural left-hand-side and perhaps revive some of his old muscle memory opposite Dinkçi. Scherhant can always work central behind Matanovic or even aside him as part of a later re-format. The highly touted midfield pairing, not to mention the defense as a whole, did a magnificent job in individual duels against the TSG and can likely be relied upon to keep matters close until the SCF trainer can get fresh legs on. 

With Manzambi (eligible) and Höler (recovered) returning to the XI, the author feels absolutely comfortable tipping an upset for the German club. These Schwarzwälder enter on the march and should be able to run with the four-time UEFA Cup winners. Not really shifting a basic 4-2-3-1 brings with it tremendous advantages. The actors know their roles and all have some experience working them at this point. The Italians will obviously try to hit Treu’s side early and often. This could lead to a goal or two. No matter. Atubolu prevents worse and the attackers find a way to hit back.

GGFN | Peter Weis

Our GGFN preseason check-in with Eintracht heralded the Hessians as title contenders. Since then, Dino Toppmöller’s fickle crew have done their best to dispel that notion. Two league losses against Bayer 04 Leverkusen and 1. FC Union Berlin already leave this team six points off league leaders Bayern München. Given Bayern’s mostly spotless record through eight competitive fixtures thus far, it’s probably about time to cancel that prediction outright. Eintracht, as usual, are never boring. Unfortunately, true championship sides know how to be boring when they need to be.

When one considers the other Bundesliga Champions League clubs we’ve checked in with – and throw in current third-placed RB Leipzig – there’s been a healthy dose of boredom in each case. Bayern bore by virtue of the fact that so many of their lopsided victories have been non-competitive. Dortmund specialize in boring everyone in both victory and defeat each season. Leverkusen deliberately seek to bore in order to step out of the spotlight and regroup. And Eintracht?

FOR CHRISSAKE!

ALL SEVEN  MATCHES HAVE FEATURED AT LEAST FIVE GOALS!!

Eintracht never bore.

Let’s hop on it.

First, a brief flit thorough personnel:

Eintracht Frankfurt UCL Squad

A few surprises here, beginning with the fact that the SGE feels the need to nominate five goalkeepers for some reason. Odd. Aurelé Amenda has been selected for the UCL squad despite a busted transfer and no real Bundesliga playing prospects. Nnamdi Collins could have been safely pocketed on the “B-squad”, as could have 20-year-old defender Fousseny Doumbia. Timothy Chandler and Mahmoud Dahoud are also around despite not being really needed.

Goalkeepers:

Zetterer, Grahl, Siljevic, Santos, Obert

Defenders:

Baum, Theate, Koch, Amenda, Kristensen, Brown, Chandler, Buta, Collins, Doumbia

Midfelders:

Højlund, Knauff, Skhiri, Larsson, Dahoud, Bahoya, Doan, Götze, Is, Dills, Fenyö

Forwards:

Chaïbi, Burkardt, Wahi, Batshuayi, Uzun

Young midfielders Eba Bekir Is (16) and Marvin Dills (18) put down some slight accent marks in training camp. The author can tell readers absolutely nothing about 19-year-old Noah Fenyö, whom he might have seen during the pre-season scouting but honestly cannot remember. The injured Jessic Ngankam remains the only player on the Bundesliga roster omitted for now. Hugo Larsson stood on the B-List until a loan out for Hrvoje Smolcic could finally be completed.

Eintracht Frankfurt Remaining UCL Schedule

Replete with the perfect atmosphere and banners that only rhymed when the words were spoken German accent,Toppmöller’s crew got their UCL campaign off to an ideal start. Leroy Sané and Ilkay Gündogan rolled back into the Bundesrepublik with Galatasaray Istanbul. Showing little to no fear after falling behind early, Eintracht proceeded to make mincemeat out of these storied German internationals and their Turkish club. Before the first half was out, splendid stuff from Ritsu Doan, Can Uzun, and Jonathan Burkardt gave the SGE a 3-1 lead. Burkardt and Ansgar Knauff added goals later in the 5-1 win.

Looking at the remaining schedule, one must concede that this happens to be an exceptionally difficult draw. The general strength of the opponents ultimately seems irrelevant, however, as the team presently plows through all of its opponents like an autumn thunderstorm with a personal vendetta against the last leaves lingering on the trees. Leading the way, we’ve none other than “one-man-cyclone” Can Uzun. One might as well christen the 19-year-old the “Turkish Twister”. He spins like a totem top in the box and finishes from all distances and angles. Ridiculous.

Tuesday, September 30

Atletico Madrid (A) 21:00

Wednesday, October 22nd

FC Liverpool (H) 21:00

Tuesday, November 4th

SSC Napoli (A) 18:45

Wednesday, November 26th

Atalanta Bergamo (H) 21:00

Tuesday, December 9th

FC Barcelona (A) 21:00

Wednesday, January 21st

Qarabag Agdam (A) 18:45

Wednesday, January 28th

Tottenham Hotspur (H) 21:00

One can hardly wait for the re-match with Spurs! The author assures all readers that the SGE ultras have this fixture in their sights. Toppmöller promised visiting Spurs supporters that they would “feel” the force of the Eagles last time around. Even if – and this is naturally a possibility – Eintracht find themselves playing a meaningless match by the time the next calendar year rolls around, the amount of time Frankfurt fans will invest in preparing for this match shall remain the same. That constitutes a promise!

Reiterating how brutal this path is remains necessary. The DFL computers weren’t kind to Eintracht when it came to the Bundesliga schedule either. Bayern await before the October international break. Freiburg and St. Pauli complete the Liverpool sandwich. Then it’s time for Toppmöller’s Adler to host Dortmund in the Pokal before finally getting some relief against Heidenheim on All Saints Day. Whew! Never a dull moment! Expect more high scoring matches before November hits.

Tactics Check, Eintracht Frankfurt

Following their convincing opening round Pokal victory, the Hessians had no problem beating up on haplessly short-staffed Werder Bremen on opening day. Can Uzun actually made his first little bit of history against the Hanseaten and literally hasn’t stopped making history since. The 4-1 thumping of Bremen on opening day – replete with poor SVW captain Marco Friedl being mistaken for an Eintracht player by a Sky reporter afterward – was followed up by a much more impressive 1-3 away win over in-form Hoffenheim on match-day two.

Lineup—Frankfurt (Matches 1-2)

Toppmöller rolled out the same 4-2-3-1 in both fixtures. The only personnel change between weeks one and two saw Elye Wahi deputize for the injured Jonathan Burkardt up top. The team had some early defensive work to do against a much stronger adversary in Sinsheim. After Ritsu Doan did his little “Arjen Robben thing”, however, the German Eagles effectively retained control of the match. Doan had the 2-0 sewn up on a textbook counter before the half-hour-mark was reached.

The TSG fixture itself could have been sewn up much quicker had other SGE actors worked with Doan’s efficiency. Regrettably, Wahi simply hasn’t been able to parlay his strong training camp into quality performances this season. Jean-Matteo Bahoya, after a lightning quick start against Bremen, began to see his finishing touch decline in the second fixture. Uzun finally put the game to bed not long after the restart with the 3-0. Eintracht sailed into the international break tied with Bayern on points.

We arrive at the first league loss. Much went awry during the trip to Leverkusen. Toppmöller’s 4-2-3-1 remained as it was, with Burkardt (recovered from back problems) returning to replace Wahi and Oscar Højlund filling in for his GI-stricken fellow Scandinavian Hugo Larsson in midfield. Højlund’s Danish compatriot Rasmus Kristensen unfortunately succumbed to injury, meaning that the SGE trainer had to completely re-order his defensive ranks shortly after Alejandro Grimaldo gave the hosts the 1-0 lead with his first set-piece goal in the 10th.

Lineup—Frankfurt (Match Three)

What little we saw of this at least held possession reasonably well. When it became apparent that Kristensen couldn’t continue, Germans who made the mistake of following their team over the international break could only let out a collective sigh when they saw Nnamdi Collins swing out to the right back position. As embryonic a state as Leverkusen are in with respect to their wingbacks, one simply knew that Collins and Nathaniel Brown were going to struggle containing Hjulmand’s attack.

Lineup—Frankfurt (10th minute)

Collins and Brown did the best they could. In point of fact, Collins very nearly scored a wonder goal that could have led to a very different outcome for the match. Tackling rates among the young duo were nevertheless far too weak. Arthur Theate also never got settled after the positional change and managed to involve himself in most every foul that adversely affected the team. Leverkusen dominated the entire first half and took a 2-0 lead into the tunnel.

Uzun gave his fellows a lifeline with another splendid pullback goal in the 52nd. Robert Andrich’s sending off in the 59th gave the guests nearly a full half hour with the man-advantage. Not long after Andrich’s ejection, Collins’ aforementioned rocket saw Eintracht come within millimeters of a sensational equalizer. Perhaps waiting too long for Collins or someone else to try something similar, Toppmöller waited a while before reformatting for the win….

Lineup—Frankfurt (73rd minute)

….if indeed this counts as “reformatting for the win”. Players who have otherwise performed well this season simply weren’t able to make it work. Doan just wasn’t able to peel off the dribbles. Chaibi too kept getting stuck and stalled in open play and offered next-to-nothing as a set piece taker. No fluidity here as the entire team struggled to adjust.

A triple-change from Toppmöller in the 83rd (Angsar Knauff, Mahmoud Dahoud, and Wahi for Bahoya, Uzun, and Burkardt) brought a little fresh impetus from Knauff and Wahi. Dahoud proceeded to do absolutely nothing but commit dirty fouls. Grimaldo scored his second dead ball goal of the match at 90+8 and Leverkusen snatched a 3-1 home win.

Knauff’s spark off the bench led to him starting over Bahoya in the Champions League fixture as Toppmöller returned to the 4-2-3-1. Larsson was also back fit to take his spot back from Højlund. The UCL opener is covered in some detail above. The most important thing to keep in mind concerns the fact that – with the benefit of extra time and training – Brown and Collins performed much better.

Once Uzun, Doan, Burkardt, Chaibi, Knauff and Brown all made their contributions to the 5-1 Galatasaray dismantling, the time to face Union Berlin in the league came. The first of two goal-laden Bundesliga fixtures with ludicrous score-lines totally unreflective of the match itself saw the SGE lose 3-4 to Steffen Baumgart’s Eisernen at home.

Yes, there was more to that game than Baumgart’s late-match antics. Toppmöller opted to rest two of his better performing attackers (Knauff and Burkardt). Replacements Bahoya and Wahi (left and front center of the 4-2-3-1) didn’t produce the offensive goods. A very tired midfield six set-up of Larsson and Chaibi, meanwhile, served as a soggy midsection and conceded three goals on the counter.

Down 1-4, Toppmöller employed four changes late in the match. Burkardt and Knauff helped enliven the team off the bench. Doan and Koch produced some chances in the new 4-1-3-2. Uzun would eventually pull a goal back. Burkardt then snatched the 3-4 from the penalty spot on the call that left Baumgart flipping his middle finger towards no one in particular.

Lineup—Frankfurt (70th minute)

It’s rather safe to say that neither one of the late SGE tallies had anything to do with this tactical constellation. It immediately became apparent that Toppmöller had no “Plan B” for his team. Perhaps that’s why the trainer opted to try something significantly different against Gladbach on Saturday night. Larsson, Bahoya, and Wahi were all benched. Tunisian “midfield metronome” Ellyes Skhiri received a start in his first league appearance of the season. 

Lineup—Frankfurt (Match Five)

It’s difficult for one to ascertain whether the five unanswered goals scored by Frankfurt in Saturday night’s wld ten-goal affair at Borussia Park had anything to do with this set of tactics at all. Interim trainer Eugen Polanski’s Fohlenelf marked like a bunch of kids fit only for the “D-Jugend”. Failure to defend on a simple corner enabled Robin Koch to put the guests ahead 1-0 in the 11th. Polanski’s team then proceeded to immediately fall apart. 

Takeaway’s from such a blowout remain slim. As mentioned already in GGFN’s coverage of the match, Chaibi served as the player who – along with fellow “scoresheet kings” Uzun and Doan – probably made the strongest contribution to the winning team. Collins and Brown, though frustratingly weak in many one-vs-one situations, qualify for the coveted “unsung heroes” label. 

Gladbach’s late padding of the scoreline had something to do with Toppmöller’s introduction of rusty defenders (and subjects of failed transfers) such as Auréle Amenda and Aurelio Buta. Mostly, however, it had to do with the fact that the team downshifted in the interest of preserving energy ahead of Tuesday’s big UCL encounter. 

Tuesday tip:

Eintracht 3, Atletico 2

Some interesting history here as the two clubs once met in the old (and sorely missed) European Cup Winners’ Cup half a century ago. The RheinMainAdler prevailed over Los Rojiblancos in a two-legged Round-of-16 playoff back in November of 1975. Of course, when it comes to the more recent history of Eintracht competing on a European level, none shall forget the famous “White-out-crusade” undertaken by SGE supporters when Eintracht took on Barça in the 2021/22 Europa League quarterfinals. 

Eintracht ultra will once again be out in full force at the Metropolitano on Tuesday, doing their utmost to turn one of Spain’s great footballing cathedrals into their version of the Waldstadion. Best not to bet against Hessian crusaders. Also not a good idea to wager against Can Uzun in his current form. In the humble opinion of this author, UEL oddsmakers have this one all wrong. A Bundesliga club on a tear like this one won’t take their foot off the gas pedal all night. Happy viewing to all!

GGFN | Peter Weis

Mainz 05 – Bo Henriksen forced into changes

Mainz come into this game after picking up their first win of the season, a 1-4 win at Augsburg with four different scorers: Kaishu Sano, Dominik Kohr, Paul Nebel and Armindo Sieb. Kohr however will be unavailable for the visit of Dortmund after he was sent off for a second bookable offence which will see Stefan Bell return to the lineup.

Bo Henriksen will also be without Anthony Caci, who is sidelined for several weeks with an adductor-related injury, which should see Silvan Widmer step into the starting eleven.

The Dane also confirmed that Sieb would start with Nelson Weiper remaining on the bench. “He [Sieb] did an outstanding job against Augsburg,” Henriksen noted in Thursday’s press conference. “So, of course, he’ll play [against Dortmund] on Saturday.”

Henriksen has plenty of options to keep things interesting, even with their injuries and suspensions. Jae-Sung Lee could well feature at some point after returning to training, with the South Korea international making “a fabulous impression in training.”

Borussia Dortmund – Can BVB pick up their first win at Mainz since 2023

As for Borussia Dortmund, Niko Kovač won his game against Mainz last season with Maximilian Beier and Emre Can putting the Black and Yellows in a 2-0 lead heading into the break before Beier added a second, and Mainz’ Nebel scoring a consolation goal.

But typically die Schwarzgelben have struggled on their visits to Mainz having lost 3-1 and 3-0 on their last two visits to the Rhineland-Palatinate outfit.

There is some good news for Kovač and Dortmund though. Fabio Silva – who is yet to make an appearance for his new club – and Niklas Süle were a part of the squad that travelled from Brackel to Mainz on Friday afternoon, according to Ruhr Nachrichten.

Nico Schlotterbeck will also retain his place in the Borussia Dortmund defence after returning from a five-month injury layoff last weekend with 90 minutes in a 1-0 win against Wolfsburg. However, Aarón Anselmino is sidelined and so expect the same back three that started last weekend: Waldemar Anton, Schlotterbeck and Ramy Bensebaini.

With three successive wins following their Matchday 1 draw against St. Pauli, Borussia Dortmund haven’t necessarily impressed with their football, but they’ve got the job done and Kovač will be hoping to maintain consistency heading into a crucial part of the season prior to the October international break.

GGFN | Daniel Pinder

Neither side have met in German’s top division before but both sides will be brimming with confidence.

Last weekend, the visitors defeated 1. FC Heidenheim 2-1, for their first league win of the season after defeats to city rivals FC St. Pauli (0-2) and FC Bayern Munich (0-5).

The Köpenickers picked up their second league win of the season, with a spectacularly 4-3 win at Eintracht Frankfurt, thanks to a hat-trick from Scotland forward, Oliver Burke.

A win for either side at this early stage of the season will calm any nerves of relegation and have fans dreaming of European qualification.

Union Berlin

Bayern Munich

With seven wins from their opening seven games, Bayern are having their best start to a season since 2018/19 under the guidance of the now Dortmund head coach Niko Kovać – The last time they went eight from eight was under Carlo Ancelotti in 2016. 

The history books are also on Bayern’s side for Friday’s game. The Bavarians have lost just one of their last 31 Bundesliga matches against Bremen, which came at the Allianz Arena back in January of last year. 

Whilst the three points are always the most important, it could be a historic evening for Bayern themselves. Harry Kane, who seemingly can’t stop scoring, is just two goals away from becoming the fastest player from Europe’s top five leagues to reach 100 goals for a club this century. Currently on 98 goals in 103 appearances, Kane will surpass the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Erling Haaland with a brace against Bremen. Additionally, both Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka are set to make their 300th Bundesliga appearance. 

In terms of team news, there are no fresh injury concerns as Bayern are still without the likes of Alphonso Davies, Jamal Musiala, Hiroki Ito, and Josip Stanišić. Kim Min-jae remains a doubt for the game, having picked up a knock against Hoffenheim. 

Though many will have Bayern as favourties, Vincent Kompany is wary of Bremen’s attacking play: 

“They’re trying to dominate, play quick combinations through the middle – not many do that to such an extreme. That has a lot to do with the coach.”

Werder Bremen

Under new head coach Horst Steffen, Bremen have had a mixed start to the campaign. With four points from four, the Green-whites have shown signs of fabulous attacking play but also defensive frailties. Perhaps two games that highlight this the most are their 0-4 win away at Borussia Monchengladbach and their 3-3 draw with Bayer Leverkusen. 

Bremen bolstered their attacking options during the summer transfer window, particularly with the signing of Bayer Leverkusen’s Victor Boniface, though the Nigerian is yet to reach the form everyone knows he is capable of. 

In terms of team news, Bremen will be without first-choice goalkeeper, Mio Backhaus, who has had to pull out of the squad due to a shoulder injury. 

Ahead of the game, Horst Steffen provided details on how they hope to stop Bayern:

“We’re travelling to Munich with a bold attitude. We’re certainly only going to have around 30 percent possession and going to have to do a lot of defending. That’s Bayern Munich – they’re a top team in Europe. Hoffenheim showed signs of how you can do it.”

GGFN | Jamie Allen

After a difficult start to their 2025/26 campaign with successive defeats in the Bundesliga against Augsburg and Köln, Freiburg will come into this game full of confidence after wins against Stuttgart (3-1) and Werder Bremen (3-0) in their last two league games.

Speaking ahead of Freiburg’s clash against Basel, Schuster relished their opening Europa League game: “For me, it’s a derby. Just because of how close the two clubs are. For all the Swiss fans as well, it’s not a long journey. Everything points towards an exciting occasion and I’m really looking forward to it all.”

Schuster also commented on Freiburg’s improved form following their defeat against Köln prior to the international break, adding: “The international break came at the right time and we made sure to use it wisely and to work hard.”

SCF’s head coach also remained tight-lipped on how his side will line up, but stated that everyone is available: “It’s good that everyone is fit and well rested after the game in Bremen. The decision making process in a number of positions is more nuanced.”

One player that Basel will need to keep an eye on is Vincenzo Grifo. Freiburg’s attacking-midfielder was named in Get German Football News’ Team of the Week after scoring a goal and providing an assist against Werder Bremen at the weekend. The 32-year-old scored eight goals and created 11 in the Bundesliga last season, and has started the current campaign in strong fashion.

Noah Atubolu’s development has also been impressive. The German youth international replaced Mark Flekken as the club’s No. 1 goalkeeper in 2023 and after an excellent campaign last season, has already broken a Bundesliga record this season after saving five successive penalties. It’s only a matter of time before the 23-year-old is called up to the full German national team, and Julian Nagelsmann and his coaching staff will be sure to have a close eye on Freiburg’s stopper in European competition.

Xherdan Shaqiri: “We don’t have to hide”

Speaking to Kicker ahead of Basel’s cross-border clash with Freiburg, former Bayern Munich and Liverpool attacker discussed the Bundesliga club.

“If you grow up in the Basel region, you’ll naturally be familiar with Freiburg,” said Shaqiri. “In recent years, Freiburg has established itself in German football, and these days it can aim for more in the top division, which is a fantastic development.”

Unlike Schuster, Shaqiri believes it’s more of a friendly atmosphere between the two clubs. “I think we can call it a game between friends,” added the 33-year-old. “Basel and southern Germany are very closely connected, many Basel residents also go to Freiburg to watch games or even have season tickets for Freiburg. I’m definitely looking forward to the match.”

When asked about which team is bigger, Shaqiri remained neutral: “In my opinion, it will be a match on equal terms. Sure, Freiburg play in a much stronger league in the Bundesliga than the Super League, but we don’t have to hide.”

Basel lifted the Swiss Super League last season for the first time since 2017 but missed out on Champions League football after losing to Copenhagen, dropping them into the Europa League but they come into this game in relatively good form with four wins in six league games.

SC Freiburg vs FC Basel Predicted Line-Ups

Freiburg: Atubolu – Kübler, Ginter, Lienhart, Makengo – Eggestein, Osterhage – Beste, Manzambi, Grifo – Höler

Basel: Hitz – Tsunemoto, Barisic, Adjetey, Schmid – Metinho, Leroy – Salah, Shaqiri, Otele – Ajeti

GGFN | Daniel Pinder

Reliable sources such as the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and others confirm that club patron Dietmar Hopp, Wittmann, and the third subject of the TSG stadium ban, former TSG academy head Dirk Mack, were at the game yesterday. Hopp, after initially recusing himself from the Wittmann matter, did eventually take a stand against the club leadership’s decision to bar the two men from the arena.

The Heidelberg regional court ruled that Wittmann and Mack could not legally be kept out of the Sinsheim venue as it constituted a public space. The ruling did allow Hoffenheim to continue to forbid both Wittmann and Mack from entering either club headquarters or the team’s training ground. The fact that Wittmann perjured himself during oral arguments in the case ultimately ended up having no bearing on the verdict.

Historical Parallels

What to make of the TSG protests? To begin with, it’s interesting to think back some five-and-a-half years to another match between Bayern and Hoffenheim at the PreZero Arena. At that time, just prior to the pandemic, it was Bayern ultras who brought the game to a standstill when a “Huhrensohn” banner directed at Hopp was unveiled late in the fixture.

Match official Christian Dingert, like several Bundesliga referees around that time, halted the match due to the fact that protests against Hopp were considered a violation of UEFA “anti-discrimination protocols”. The game was nearly abandoned. After play resumed, players simply kicked the ball around until full-time came.

The TSG fans remained firmly behind Hopp on that day, chanting his name for nearly 15 full minutes until the solidarity gesture from the players was complete. Bayern’s Karl-Heinz Rummenigge – among others – stood beside Hopp in the center circle after the match was officially completed. Hopp enjoyed full support inside the PreZero on February 29th, 2020.

Matters are very different now. 

Editorial

From the prospective of German fans who hold the principle of 50+1 sacred, the manner in which matters have unfolded over the last 72 hours doesn’t make for a pleasant story. Dietmar Hopp promised the supporters of this club that he would return the organization back to fan control. In a legal sense, the 85-year-old has done this. On a moral level, Hopp initially did the right thing by remaining out of the board’s way when they decided to sever ties with Wittmann.

Hopp eventually did decide to become involved in the matter, and then publicly embraced the two men yesterday. It once again demonstrates that the club patron isn’t interested in respecting their desire of club management or the fans to move forward and establish their own unique identity. The matter of “TSG identity” itself proves problematic here. 

Given that Wittmann and Hopp were both involved in installing the current duo of sporting director Andreas Shicker and head coach Christian Ilzer, one wonders if this club even stands a chance of establishing its own identity all all. Hoffenheim continue along the presaged path towards sporting success this season. We arrive at quite the contradiction. 

Can the fans keep up this specific protest movement without explicitly rooting against their team? It’s quite the thin needle. One certainly has sympathy for those who have chose to adopt Hopp’s “vanity project”. Over the past 17 years or so, the fans are the ones who have leant their time and energy to this club. 

The absolute least Hopp can do for them is truly step back as he promised. His work is done. Irrespective of what Hopp and Wittmann have done to build this club up over the years, the two fabulously wealthy clearly wish to continue to enrich and control. 

Should Hopp and Wittmann remain defiant, fans paying good money to show up to the match and flash placards becomes the real “contradiction in terms” here. This isn’t the best form of protest when it comes to an issue like this. 

What is the best form of protest? Fans staying outside of the stadium themselves. One doesn’t necessarily recommend that they stay home entirely. Coming to the grounds and protesting outside is the best option. 

Make it clear to Hopp that, if Wittmann is allowed inside the PreZero Arena, it’s not worth patronizing this project by buying a ticket! Over the years, Hopp has proven that there’s nothing a billionaire can’t buy. 

Except potentially the loyalty of German football fans.

There’s a message worth fighting for.

GGFN | Peter Weis

We’ll be going into rather significant depth when comes to discussing Hjulmand’s Bundesliga debut. No one could have predicted that so much would change at die Werkself since our last check-up. Erik ten Hag got the axe despite presiding over one win, one loss, and one draw in his short three-match tenure. Hjulmand has already turned the team around so rapidly that some German footballing pundits are talking title aspirations again. 

Exaggeration?

Of course. 

Let’s dive in.

Bayer 04 Leverkusen UCL Squad

The release of Leverkusen’s UCL roster likely leaves anyone attempting to follow what’s been going on with this team still more perplexed. One has barely had a chance to get accustomed to most of the new names that arrived during training camp, let alone all the players that came in near the transfer deadline. The German club itself – in part due to UEFA rules mandating the selection of local players – had to call upon many unknown names from their youth academy.

This is the reason for the exclusion of both Jonas Hofmann and Martin Terrier; a pair of players one would have certainly thought die Werkself would have wanted to include. In Hofmann’s case, it’s really getting continually worse for the once exalted German international. Exequiel Palacios’ injury accorded Leverkusen the opportunity to call Hofmann (currently struggling with injury) back up.

What ended up happening? The club went for Jeanuël Belocian. Hofmann finds himself ignored by three successive head coaches in three months. Ouch. Perhaps reporting on that piece of news proved easier and more hard-hearted than trying to figure out who some of these totally unheard of ones are. The author will at least give it a crack below.

Defenders:

Quansah, Badé, Tapsoba, Arthur, Tape, Grimaldo, Vázquez, Hawighorst, Pohl

Midfielders:

Fernández, Andrich, Tillman, Ben Seghir, García, Belocian, Jeremiah Mensah, Maza, Buono, Culbreath, Naba Mensah

Forwards:

Echeverri, Schick, Poku, Tella, Kofane, Izekor

Ken Izekor, Jeremiah Mensah, Naba Mensah, Ben Hawighorst, Francisco Buono, Ferdinand Pohl, and Montrell Culbreath all play for the Leverkusen U19s. The reason for this is that the Westphalians dissolved their official reserve team some 11 years ago. The club is content with carrying a strong U17 and U19 team whilst the exceptionally strong Latin American scouting network always brings in new talent from across the pond.

As the 2023/24 run to “triple final” in the Bundesliga, DFB Pokal, and Europa League demonstrates, there’s often nothing wrong with this approach. In such a season, however, the lack of developed players with experience at a high level may come back to haunt them. Even by Leverkusen standards (always a bunch of U19s in the squad) seven U19 professionals is pretty damn high.

Bayer 04 Leverkusen UCL Schedule

The full European schedule for these Westphalians actually constitutes quite a rocky path. Much of the praise Hjulmand has garnered for his first league win remains fairly irrelevant in light of the tough tasks ahead. Envisioning this team punching through to the knockouts obviously isn’t impossible as gets a little easier to pick up points after the turn of the calendar year. Moreover, the Bundesliga’s random scheduling program has been rather kind to Leverkusen for the duration of 2025.

Thursday, September 17th

FC Copenhagen (A) 18:45

Wednesday, October 1st

Athletic Bilbao FC (H) 21:00

Tuesday, October 21st

PSG (H) 21:00

Wednesday, November 5th

SL Benfica (A) 21:00

Tuesday, November 25th

Manchester City (A) 21:00

Wednesday, December 10th

Sporting Lisbon (H) 18:45

Tuesday, January 20th

Olympiakos (H) 21:00

Wednesday, January 28th

Villareal (H) 21:00

Hjulmand can likely afford to rotate out some of his stronger professionals against weaker league opponents in September and October. Note that expecting a newly installed trainer tasked with proving himself in the Bundesliga following a 10-year-absence to do so counts as highly unlikely. Hjulmand’s chief task remains solidifying the XI so as to stabilize them in league play. If B04 find themselves in the lower half of the league table come Christmas, a solid European campaign probably doesn’t count for much in the minds of the club managers.

Tactics Check, Bayer 04 Leverkusen

Since our last detailed check in with Germany’s red company team…..ah hell with it. What hasn’t happened with this team? Seriously. It’s been a bloody massacre under the Bayer Cross. RB Leipzig fans participated in a “restart button” choreo. B04 supporters might as well throw up a “reboot banner”. Simon Rolfes and the Leverkusen administrative staff treated Erik ten Hag like fully faulty operating system. Turn the computer off and wipe all the data.

Phrew. What on earth does one do with a totally new team that – thanks to endless more insanity near the end of the transfer window – now features plenty of new faces that even the diehard fans of this club can’t recognize!?! Even the NordKurve probably can’t name half the starting players on their own team!! Something like this might be understandable in the context of relegation, but this is a CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SIDE!!

It is all a bit much. Perhaps we’ll simply have to take a page from Rolfes’ playbook and simply wipe the slate clean. Anything and everything that took place under ten Hag can be considered null and void. We’ll skip over the first two Bundesliga fixtures entirely and go straight to last Friday’s league victory over Eintracht Frankfurt.

Lineup—Leverkusen—Match Three

Extremely basic stuff from start to finish. The new trainer obviously had no time to tell his new team to do anything other than “do what worked for you before”. Squinting hard to find some accent marks from Hjulmand isn’t easy. One could credit the Dane for returning die Werkself to a 3-4-3 formation and making Loic Badé the new central pivot, but it was actually ten Hag’s Rogier Meijer who set this in motion during a friendly over the international break. 

If Hjulmand had a few words for his new defensive captain, it’s more than fair to say that they were the right ones. Badé turned in an absolutely beastly performance, winning nearly 90 percent of both his air and ground duels. Badé and Jarell Quansah made their contributions to the attack as well. Edmond Tapsoba was also brilliant on what is generally considered to be his weaker slant side. 

Lucas Vasquez has to work in what looked like a total of three different tactical positions: As a right wingback, a central midfielder after Robert Andrich’s sending off, and an attacking midfielder during a late push near the end. Major plaudits to the 34-year-old for a banging Bundesliga debut. Again, however, one should note that Meijer helped get him off the mark during the international break’s test fixture. 

Malik Tillman performed much better in his second Bundesliga start even if the USMNT international didn’t get his name on the scoresheet this time. Nathan Tella pushed double set-piece scorer Alejandro Grimaldo for the man-of-the-match honors and pretty much everyone else apart from the two ejected players (Andrich and Ezequiel Fernandez) had a great game. 

As Germans are fond of saying, “neue Besen kehren gut” (“new brooms sweep well”). Sometimes everything just clicks under a new coach. Note that this author has used that phrase in reference to plenty of new head-coaches who promptly fell directly on their faces not long afterwards. If memory serves correctly, the phrase once applied to the likes of (among others) Tayfun Korkut and Heiko Herrlich. 

Yeeeouch. 

Thursday tip:

Copenhagen 3, Leverkusen 1

Ahem. One swift fell swoop of the broom and now it’s time to take a closer look at the floor. Ready to find those left-behind dust-mites? That’s the bold prediction for Thursday’s early kickoff at the Parken. The author’s intuition actually doesn’t have much to do with Nathan Tella’s injury as Ibrahim Maza can fill in just fine. Aleix Garcia can also replace the injured Exequiel Palacios.

One merely has the sense that Copenhagen head coach Jacob Neestrup has done his homework in this case. Neestrup knows more than a little something about his footballing colleagues down south. That’s probably the reason the Dane opted not to take a Bundesliga job this past summer. To that one can add the fact that it almost seems physiologically impossible for most of the star players from last Friday’s match to replicate their performances again.

It just might be time for a little reality check.  

GGFN | Peter Weis