long time, no update

sorry about that...the first 3 weeks of school have been really hectic. as a matter of fact, I'm writing this from my desk. champions league group play started last night, without me finishing my group reviews...there's only one that matters anyway, and that's the group that bayern play in. cluj demolished roma, so as long as bayern play the way i know they can, we'll be fine...probably good enough to get back to the final this year.

in the first major example of me talking out my ass, it seems as though dvb and demichelis will be staying and playing...who knew!? i still hate those guys, but they are talented players...if they can put some hustle in their step (both) and quit it with the ego (demichelis).

so anyway, hump day is here, and with it comes the glorious realization that tomorrow is my last day this week...but right now, i need to finish some lab work and go teach a class. later kids!

sorry

for the busy weekend. school has begun. bayern munich lost friday, and i'm not even going to comment on that except to say that once we sell demichelis, we should look at selling daniel van buyten and either a) developing the cb's we have or b) splashing the cash on one. it's the only position we're weak at, especially with contento showing the way he is. most are writing off the loss as a fluke. it's like losing at cottbus - the best do it. oh well, on to better things. we're still in better position than last year, even with robben's longer-than-expected injury. remember when lvg was on the brink of getting fired last november? yea, just keep that in mind for frame of reference before you judge our early season performance. also, we're coming off a world cup summer where many bayern munich players went very far in the tournament.

also, i got a new phone. htc evo. super cool.

i'll break down group c and talk about classes tonight. have a great day kids!

Group B!

As promised, the next group in my breakdown...'B'

Lyon:

Don't know what to say. Don't know much about French football. They are an 'A' pot team, but Bayern made easy work of them last year, and the year before that, so...not looking for anything spectacular from them beyond qualifying for the knockout stages.

Benfica:

I do know that this was the name of a cycling team (is? don't know anymore). Other than that, not much. They won the Portuguese league last year (high caliber stuff, that), and they're set to get Arsenal winger Hleb on loan, so...we'll see what they can do.

Schalke:

Bundesliga runners up and constant thorn in the side of Bayern. No idea why they're a 'C' pot team, but expect them to pick apart Benfica and progress along with Lyon. I'm not wasting any more words on these schmucks.

Hapoel Tel Aviv:

Well they won the Israeli Premier League last year, ahead of Maccabi Haifa. Speaking from indirect experience (Bayern played, and destroyed, Maccabi Haifa - the previous year's IPL champs - in the group stage last year), HTA won't do anything...I'd be surprised if they won one game. Football outside of Europe just isn't what football in Europe is.

I know that was a half-ass update, but I'm busy today. Group C tomorrow!

So...

I promised a Monday update, but there was nothing interesting to say. Instead, I'm going to (starting today) analyzing the CL group draws, starting with A. 4 pots, 4 teams, and here's the breakdown:

Inter Milan:

Defending champions. They build the groups so no 'A' pot team draws another, but Inter didn't get away with an easy group this year. They got a few players back from loans, and sold a few - nothing major, but the transfer that's going to hurt them is the loss of Jose Mourinho to Real Madrid. Only time will tell how much of Inter's success last year was due to Mr. Mourinho standing at the helm. Easy passage through the group stage for Inter.

Werder Bremen:

Except for the next team, I would argue that this is the most interesting team in this group, simply for the loss of Mesut Oezil, who is joining Mourinho at Real Madrid. The team finished 3rd in the Bundesliga last season, but I don't expect that again. As for the CL...it'll be a real fight, but lately Deutsch fußball has been superior to English football, so I'll pick them to advance.

Tottenham:

Their first qualification for CL should see a quick exit from Harry Redknapp's boys, especially given their recent performances v Young Boys. I don't expect anything from Tottenham - they'll be happy to have made it, and can concentrate on performing on the international stage next year, if they qualify again. The EPL is a tough domestic scene. Spurs go home after the group stage.

Twente:

Twente, Twente, Twente...these guys are going to be a dark horse. They came from the 'D' pot, but they're by no means a pushover team. I'll be honest, I don't know much about the club, but Wikipedia tells me they did win the Eredivisie under Steve McClaren last year. The team has shown consistency since coming back from bankruptcy in the '02-'03 season, but with McClaren's move to VFL Wolfsburg, who knows what these guys will do? I do - they'll go home, barring a complete failure by Bremen, but look for them to possibly throw some wrenches into Group A by beating Bremen and/or Milan in a tie or two.

So, there's that kids. In Bayern news, Demichelis is to be sold. Scary move, considering that the management is saying no CB will be bought to replace him. Chelsea is rumoured to be looking at him, but I really don't think the Blues need him.

We play Kaiserslautern on Friday, so look for a Friday night or Saturday morning update. Join the Bayern Offside liveblog! It's much fun to talk and watch (and drink) at the same time - http://bayern.theoffside.com/

Friday's Game

Wow what a win. Schweinsteiger in the 91st minute? It couldn't have been more timely. MoM HAS to go to Ribery, who came up with a beautiful cross to Schweini, who to his credit timed his run perfectly. It looked like a goal Klose might have scored - last second, extreme angle. Kudos for the team for pulling that off.

Steve McClaren looked like he was about to have an aneurysm towards the end of that game. Mandžukić, Džeko, Benaglio, and Misimović all had good games, until they didn't. Couldn't believe Džeko wasn't man-marked on his header goal. One weakness we (FCBM) had - set pieces. Toni Kroos shows a lot of promise. Ribéry's aim was always sort of off, but that was about all that he did wrong. Holger Badstuber...geez, I dunno what we were doing letting him touch the ball in front of mid-pitch. All in all, not a bad game for us. Glad to see Ribéry on his game, but disappointed in:

A: LvG's odd substitutions; Gomez and Pranjic for Klose and Kroos? Sure, Klose disappeared in the second half, and Kroos was obviously tired, but...

B: MvB played TERRIBLY. Why not take him off? As was discussed on the Bayern Offside LiveBlog, MvB must have been playing injured. That many turnovers, play that slow, the lack of conviction...and Goal.com gave him the MoM? Wow...Olic needs to come back, or Robben needs to hurry and get fit.

Moving on from that, let me give my thoughts on our lineup after a league game. We played:

                          Butt

Lahm   Van Buyten   Badstuber    Contento

Kroos(Pranjic)     MvB       Schweinsteiger   Ribery

                Klose(Gomez)    Muller


Pray to the fußball gods that Klose magically holds his form from the WC, because Gomez didn't impress, and Olic needs to play on the wing until Robben comes healthy again. Here's what I (and most of the FCBM fans on the liveblog) think we need:

                            *GK*

Lahm   *CB*    *CB*   Contento

Robben   Kroos   Schweinsteiger   Ribery

   Klose or Gomez      Muller or Olic


Especially with Demichelis throwing a temper tantrum and Van Buyten playing like...well, Demichelis. Badstuber will be good...in a few years. But hey, lots of teams need CB/CB/GK.



In other hilarious news, there was a short discussion on the liveblog regarding talented homegrown teams. Bayern took no fewer than 6 homegrown players to the game Friday. The commenters queried which teams could do that, and could come up with no one besides Bayern and Barca, until a new member piped up and said that Arsenal, with Fabregas, Song, RVP, and Diaby, qualified for a 5+ homegrown players squad. She was promptly torpedoed. It may or may not have been my ex. Funny stuff.

In /sad/ news, Robbie McEwen was NOT picked for the Australian team for the UCI World Cycling Championships in Melbourne. WHAT A TRAVESTY. The guy is clearly on a hot streak, and with his career coming to a close, the least Australia can, and indeed, should do, is let their 3 time green jersey winner ride in a world championship on home soil. My condolences to the man...if any of you are on twitter, follow him @mcewenrobbie.

That's all kids. Wifey wants me to watch league football with her...ew, Steelers. Don't let her know I said that!

Friday Night

What a game this afternoon. Full thoughts tomorrow after I do my weekend farmer's market/grocery trip to the strip.

mid-week update!

wow kids! just had to say:

http://www.werder.de/aktuelles/news/meldung.php/18613/Mesut-Oezil-verlaesst-Werder-und-wechselt-zu-Real-Madrid

Mesut Oezil will play for Real Madrid this year...don't know where though, given the number of midfielders they have. lol