A WILD NIGHT IN THE GROUP OF DEATH

SORTING OUT THE TIEBREAKING CHAOS IN GROUP F

Anyone who watched Tuesday's pulsating encounter between Dortmund and Napoli were treated to the best that Europe can offer. BVB's 3-1 win leaves them and the Italian side with nine points apiece while group leaders Arsenal top the table with 12 points.

What is interesting is the three-team scenario in which all teams could finish on 12, which would mark the first time a team with that many points wouldn't go through to the knockout rounds. That's why Dortmund was looking for a two-goal victory entering this contest since they know a win on Matchday 6 in Marseille guarantees themselves qualification.                                                                                                      

That's because the three-team scenario involves a mini-table among the tied teams. So a 1-0 Dortmund victory on Tuesday coupled with a 3-1 victory for Napoli on Matchday 6 over Arsenal would have meant elimination for last year's runner-up.                                                                                                      

However, once Dortmund went up 2-0 it wasn't a disaster to concede and only go on to win 2-1. Why? As boss Jurgen Klopp said, "It was obvious that the team lost their assurance when Napoli pulled it back to 2-1. They didn't realise that the goal actually had no effect on our situation. However, they started to attack again."                                                                                                                                          

Why did it have no effect on the situation?  Well had the match finished 2-1, Dortmund would have  finished the 4-team head-to-head with 5 goals scored and 5 conceded. That meant that a 2-0 Napoli win on Matchday 6 would have eliminated Arsenal of all teams since Napoli would have scored 5 and conceded 5 in the head-to-heads and Arsenal would be at 4 apiece. With goal difference equal, Arsenal would have been out on goals scored in those matches.                                                                        

Had Dortmund won 2-1 on Tuesday, even a 3-1 Napoli win would have eliminated Arsenal. In this scenario, Napoli would have scored 6 and conceded 6 in the head-to-head and Arsenal would be at 5 apiece, but Dortmund would pip Arsenal on the basis of away goals in these games (3 to 2).  Are you following all of that?                                                                                                                              
                       
If you are not, don't be alarmed. Klopp laid out the scenarios to his team Monday, but when Napoli made it 2-1, there was confusion by the players as to whether the result would have been good enough. The answer?  At 2-1, it probably was enough since only a two-goal win by Napoli on Matchday 6 by scores of 4-2 or higher could have knocked Dortmund out.                                                                                                          
This became a moot point for BVB once Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored a third goal. But what that goal really did was make Napoli's hill that much steeper against Arsenal. As I outlined before, a 2-0 or 3-1 win would have been enough before for Napoli, but now they must beat the Gunners by three.
         
It's a bizarre situation and Arsenal must be grateful to Aubameyang for a goal that made their lives much easier.            

MLS: A 'great little league'

American soccer star Steve Cherundolo made some fans in this country upset when he called MLS a great 'little league' recently. The superstar is deciding in May whether to finish his illustrious career - one that is unsurpassed by just about every American ever to play the game- in MLS. It's definitely an interesting decision for a man dubbed the 'Mayor of Hannover' who has been with his German club his entire career and has seen it rise from the Zweite Liga into European competition.

It got this blog thinking about what is wrong with MLS and whether it could be fixed. So here are five suggestions to fix this 'little league.'

1. Stop trying to compete in the CONCACAF Champions League.

Look we get it the Champions League is the pinnacle of the sport, but that's in UEFA where the concept works. Trying to duplicate it in CONCACAF, which can't run anything properly to begin with, is a serious mistake. Making Kansas City travel to Honduras and LA Galaxy go to El Salvador during the MLS season is foolish. These games are atrocious and hurts the product of MLS, which hasn't developed enough to handle this. And MLS gets smashed apart by the Mexican teams when it counts anyway. Please make this competition stop.

2. Marketing stars doesn't work in this sport since we don't have many, if any.

So earlier this season, Landon Donovan and the LA Galaxy were set to meet Clint Dempsey and the Seattle Sounders in a star-studded matchup. Only neither one showed up. Look I get that injuries happen but stop trying to market prima donna players like Donovan, who has been around forever. Soccer is a team sport, Jason Kreis is doing wonders with Real Salt Lake on an annual basis and all we hear about is Donovan and Dempsey - who by the way are both out of the playoffs.Make the team the star like in American football if only because we can stop pretending that MLS players are world superstars. They are not.

3. Fix your ridiculous playoff system.

I know that the system seems to change every year - who can forget the Western Conference champion New York Red Bulls or the Eastern Conference champion Colorado Rapids?  But can't you idiots in charge use the away goals like every other competition in the sport? The Red Bulls go up 2-0 in Houston and have to settle for a draw so normally they would have a big advantage but no, your stupid system means that a 1-1 result in the second leg sends the tie to extra time.  I have yet to see a credible answer as to why away goals is not in use and can only assume it is because Americans running the sport are complete idiots. And don't tell me the League Cup semis don't use away goals - never use England as a model for anything except losing in cricket!

4. Add transparency to league transactions.

One of the stupidest parts about the Dempsey-to-Seattle saga was how MLS apparently told Toronto it could not sign him because the league wanted Dempsey in an American market.  Are you kidding me? Does it really matter to an American soccer fan whether Dempsey is playing in Seattle or Toronto? How is that fair to Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver then in the future since Canada stinks at football and will never produce a single player of note. I don't mind if the best players want to choose their destination, that's what happens in Europe all the time. But if MLS has a system in place for player acquisitions, the league should honor it.

5. Tell the Steve Cherundolos of the world no thanks if they want big bucks.

I love 'Dolo and he's truly a U.S. great but he isn't worth some kind of big-money deal at this point in his career. Truthfully, why he would even want to tarnish such a great footballing career with a token MLS appearance is beyond me. I would like to see less of guys my age coming over from Europe to make a few extra bucks and more of younger players - of any and all nationalities - getting a chance to play. Now that is happening in MLS to some degree but I think an emphasis needs to be put on developing talent rather than has-beens who won't be able to hack the demands of constant plane travel in MLS.

Do you have any suggestions to fix the top-flight football league in the United States? Post them below, I am sure this list is much too short.

Clash of the Titans!

After an uninspiring week of Champions League that featured beatdown after beatdown after pathetic beatdown, it's time to return our attention to domestic play this week and there is no better place to start than with the best team in all of football, FC Bayern Munich.

The Bavarians used a modest 35-0 advantage in shots to destroy Czech foes Viktoria Plzen.  Star Arjen Robben said afterward: “We played well, but Plzen didn’t make it hard for us. We’ll soon face more difficult opponents.”

Well that time is Saturday at the Allianz Arena against another team holding a Champions League place in fourth-place Hertha BSC - the team that hails from the capital of Berlin and that is also the official German club of United States-based sports information powerhouse STATS, where several employees proudly display Hertha memorabilia.

The Berliners have been praised by none other than Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, who predicts a more competitive affair than Wednesday. Hertha manager Jos Luhukay, known best among American fans for previous coaching U.S. superstar Michael Bradley, has instituted an airtight defense that has shipped the third-fewest goals in the country and features ex-Bayern 'keeper Thomas Kraft.

On attack, Hertha are dangerous thanks to the 'Tunisian terrors' - Sami Allagui and Anis Ben-Hatira - while Bayern feature European player of the year Franck Ribery and other big-name players too numerous to list.

The Bayern camp have been surprisingly respectful about their opponents this week, with Pep Guardiola saying he is 'surprised' by Hertha's strong start.

It figures to be an interesting matchup and one that should live up to its billing as more competitive than Wednesday.

Prediction:   Bayern Munich 3, Hertha BSC 0

The truth about Jermaine Jones

So the United States has said that Jermaine Jones will be available for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers this month against Jamaica and Panama. This came after the Schalke 04 madman told German rag BILD that he would be out at least a month due to knee surgery after the club suspended him from Tuesday's Champions League trip to Basel. Jones later retracted that claim on Twitter, but Schalke chairman Clemens Tonnies was said to be furious. 

In any case, it is clear that the lunatic Jones has has no future at Schalke, according to the Rheinische Post. As usual, these are troubled times at Schalke, who have six points from two European matches but just eight from seven in Germany to languish in 14th place - fitting for a club that has gone through 14 coaches in the last decade with Jens Keller currently occupying the hot seat.

Some are suggesting Jones is a scapegoat for Schalke, but here's some food for thought about what the darling of US coach Jurgen Klinsmann is doing for his club.

Jones has started five of seven league games for Schalke. The Royal Blues have surrendered 16 goals in those starts. The other two matches, you ask? Clean sheets against Leverkusen (one of the league's highest scoring teams) and Mainz. It goes without saying that had Jones started every league match Schalke would have shipped the most goals in Germany - a direct reflection on what a 'destroyer' like Jones is supposed to prevent.

No, Jones has earned his place on the bench on merit and if he is in the team this weekend, don't expect him to start. What this means for the United States national team remains to be seen, but you can be rest assured that Klinsmann will figure something out since he has masterminded some of this country's greatest footballing moments.

The Mats Hummels debate

This week's most notable Champions League clash figures to be Wednesday night's showdown between Borussia Dortmund and Napoli  Both clubs are currently on top of their respective domestic leagues with 100 percent records.

The match also puts the spotlight on Dortmund's Mats Hummels, who was dropped by Jogi Loew last week as Germany predictably cruised past Austria and Faroe Islands in World Cup qualifying. Jerome Boateng took his place in central defence.

While the German public hailed the clean sheets that haven't been happening under Loew's watch, the folks at Dortmund understandably haven't been happy to see their best defender treated as a whipping boy. Hummels was called 'Loser of the Week' by one publication and Dortmund are not happy about it.

Jurgen Klopp lashed out at Hummels' critics, cheekily saying that “The central defence worked really well against the Faroe Islands. I am delighted.”

Still, Klopp's words aside, it's fair to question Hummels not just this year but in years past as well. Just this past weekend, Hummels lost track of Heiko Westermann for a Hamburg equaliser in a match Dortmund eventually won 6-2.  Hummels didn't exactly look confident on that play, and seasoned followers remember critical errors two seasons ago in the Champions League and even in last year's campaign for the finalists. 

Which brings us to Wednesday night, when Hummels will step into a cauldron at the Stadio San Paolo against a Napoli side that has one of the best triumvirates in world football with Marek Hamsik, Gonzalo Higuain and Jose Maria Callejon combining for nine goals in three matches for the best attack in Italian football. Napoli aren't exactly hurting for confidence.

Now the BVB defence could be without captain and defensive midfielder Sebastian Kehl, meaning the spotlight will shine even more on Hummels. Whether he steps up to the challenge could determine how much faith Loew has in him down the road.

TOP OF THE TABLE!!!

If you look at your Bundesliga standings right now, you don't see the European champions Bayern Munich on top nor do you see Borussia Dortmund or even a Champions League regular like Schalke 04.

No, don't adjust your eyes, you see the capital city's beloved club - Hertha BSC!
That's right, a crowd of over 50,000 spectators starved for top-flight football watched in awe as Hertha dominated Europa League club Eintracht Frankfurt 6-1 to move to the top of the table.

Despite hitting the goalframe three times along with two goals in the first half, Hertha showed their class and cruised ahead of next week's clash with Nurnberg.

"The performance was sensational. Now we have the first three points, we can enjoy the game a little bit. But we'll be back in everyday life very quickly. We can still improve," Hertha coach Jos Luhukay said.

It was a successful top-flight debut for John Anthony Brooks, who scored with news surfacing that he has spurned Horst Hrubesch's overtures to play for the German U-21 squad in order to join Jurgen Klinsmann's powerhouse USA squad instead this week in Bosnia.

In all, it was an amazing day in the capital and one day after Hertha's arch-rival Union Berlin knocked off Dynamo Dresden on the road. Time will tell if Hertha can maintain its position as the best team in all of Germany!

Bundesliga Season predictions

Another exciting season of the best football league in the world is upon us, and it's time for the moment the world has been waiting for - the predictions.

1. Bayern Munich

And not just because the best team in the world won the season opener Friday and is already on top. Do we expect Bayern to win the league by 25 points? No?  Is it possible they could lose the league? Maybe.  But with the deepest and best squad in world football, the meisterschaft figures to be a mere formality.

2. Borussia Dortmund

Sure the beaten Champions League finalists and German Supercup champions lost Mario Goetze. And sure Bayern Munich are FC Hollywood. But Jurgen Klopp is a man who has shined after losing Nuri Sahin (who is back) and Shinji Kagawa. He doesn't sound too worried, either.

3. Bayer Leverkusen

So far, we are preserving the order of finish from last season.  This Champions League outfit added a superstar goal scorer along with the reigning top scorer in the league (who doesn't play for his national team, incidentally). The added burden of Champions League could be a hindrance, of course.

4. Borussia Monchengladbach

OK so things haven't gotten off to a good start with a shock German Cup exit before the afore-mentioned opener. However, this squad has quality if not depth and won't be bogged down by European football (or Cup football) unlike last season. Max Kruse could have a bigger impact than any transfer. Never underestimate a Lucien Favre-led team.

5. VfL Wolfsburg

If there's another team that can make a jump into European football, it's this one. No club has as many players go in and out as much as the Wolves, but Dieter Hecking should settle this squad sometime within the first two months.  We believe that Diego will be motivated after essentially being a flop the last few years and the addition of Daniel Caliguiri and Ja-Cheol Koo should boost this side after a tumult-filled 2012-13.

6. FC Schalke

Last season, the Royal Blues nearly choked away a Champions League spot before taking care of business on the last day of the season. They have a tricky Champions League play-off tie with Ukrainian outfit Kharkiv and getting through that figures to result in an up-and-down season and frankly, this won't help team morale.

7. Hoffenheim

Sure they should have been relegated last season if not for some amazing heroics. Teams that escape relegation like them seem to recover amazingly like 'Gladbach did a few years ago and 7 through 13 in the table a year ago was separated by six points so anything can happen.

8. Hamburg

This once-proud team lost Son to Leverkusen and will count on this injured Arsenal reject. Let's see how a young Cameroon star replaces the Korean.

9. Mainz

Thomas Tuchel always seems to do more with less and it wouldn't be surprising to see his side somehow sneak into Europe. Japanese striker Shinzi Okazaki should revive his career under Tuchel's pressing system.


10. Eintracht Frankfurt - Frankfurt nearly snuck into the Champions League in their entrance back to the top flight but European football figures to give them a fall back to Earth.

11. Freiburg - OK so not many players are left from last year's fifth-place finish. Still, this club made some smart buys and is one of the sharpest in the country, so they should be solid.

12. VfB Stuttgart - The Swabians didn't cover themselves in glory in Europa League qualifying. That doesn't bode well for any hopes domestically.

13. Hannover 96 - There are not many recognizable names left on Steve Cherundolo's club and a boring mid-table finish seems about right.

14. Werder Bremen - Many observers believe this club could be headed for the drop and the DfB Cup was proof of that possibility. Truth be told, there are plenty of mediocre teams in this part of the table and Bremen should survive.

15. Hertha BSC - The favorite team of this defunct blog that went out of existence when Hertha went down, only survival will do in the nation's capital. Hertha are producing top-level United States talent, and Jos Luhukay should navigate the top flight successfully.

16. Augsburg - It's hard to believe in any Bavarian club not named Bayern (see below).

17. Nurnberg - I don't know much about this club this season but this is the fifth straight season for them in the top flight so the time is ripe to go down again.

18.  Eintracht Braunschweig - Much props to this club on finally reaching the top flight but adding a Canadian 'star' doesn't seem like a good recipe for survival. Torsten Lieberknecht probably has the best name of any coach in the top flight and his club is a fascinating story.

Any comments or questions? Post them below!

Jozy Altidore interview

This past weekend, ESPN ran a Jozy Altidore interview. 

We here at this blog, however, obtained our own interview with the U.S. superstar and asked the same questions - with better results!

You could have gone a lot of places. Why did you pick Sunderland?

"Honestly I never even heard of the club but hey they are in the Premier League, right? They must be special, no?”

It sounds almost like a college recruiting visit.

"Is that a question or a statement?"

How many teams did you speak to in all?

"Zero. I let my agent do the talking.”

Where were you when you heard the deal was done?

"When you get a deal done with such a prestigious club like Sunderland, it's a moment you never forget. What was your question again?”

Sunderland is such a well-supported club whether they're in the top flight or not -- I'm not sure people realize it.

"Sunderland has everything in place to be a massive club in England. The idea of battling relegation appeals to me since I have been through that before at Hull City. Also the idea of playing in the Tyne-Wear Derby is great – reminds me of back home in the Cub Scouts when we had the Pinewood Derby.”

Did you speak to former U.S. star Claudio Reyna about playing there?

"I did actually speak to Claudio a little bit. He asked me to join New York FC - whatever that means.”

What was your first meeting with Di Canio like?

“I never actually met the boss. I was so desperate to get to the Premier League it didn’t matter if some buffoon like Martin Vasquez was the manager. The Premier League is on NBC!"

What did he say he likes about your game?

"Uh, I still haven’t talked to him. I heard he’s a fascist, do you know if that is true? I am not sure he even knows I am black. Hopefully he won’t figure that out."

You always said if you left AZ this summer, you wanted to go where you'd continue to develop. How will Sunderland help you improve?

"First of all, improvement shouldn’t be hard since I don't remember scoring for Hull the last time I played in this league.  Second, I am not sure how much Sunderland can help me compared to the tutelage I get under United States coach Jurgen Klinsmann. Did you know we are on a record 11-game win streak and I didn’t even play in most of those games?"

How would you describe the style Di Canio wants to play?

"Um, like I said, I haven’t talked to him yet. I have heard he is a like a teddy bear to his guys, though.” 

What are your early impressions of Giaccherini?

“My Italian is not good so I don’t do impressions! But seriously, Jack-A-Roni was a key player at Juventus in the Champions League and that’s where we are trying to get." (Eds. Note – Giaccherini played sparingly in four appearances as a sub in last season’s UCL.)

What did you learn last time around in the EPL that will help?

"I learned that Turkey is a long way from England! I also learned what it must feel like sometimes to be an American-born goalkeeper.

Did you know any of the Sunderland players before you came in?

"I only heard of that Jock Itch guy you mentioned before. Is that guy I head-butted still on the team? 

I know it's early, but have you started to develop any chemistry with your new teammates yet? 

“We beat Clint Dempsey's team already.  Deuce wasn’t even there. Matter of fact, I heard he’s turning tail and going back to MLS. Can you talk to my man Ives Galarcep and see if this is true?”