Bundesliga Reflections: Hoffenheim Dream Continues

So the second round of matches in this season’s Bundesliga have been played and we have a surprise early leader of the table- the only side with two wins out of two and no goals conceded as yet. However, it is not one of the big six, but tiny Hoffenheim, who are sitting pretty at the top of the pile.
The minnows from Sinsheim, who are having to play their homes games in Mannheim until their own stadium is completed, beat fellow promoted side Borussia Mönchengladbach on Saturday to record their second win. They are the only team with the full six points thus far, the only team not to have conceded a goal, and in Vedad Ibisevic, have the joint top scorer with three goals.
The tiny village club, backed by IT billionaire Dietmar Hopp, should enjoy their time in the limelight, but they know it won’t last forever. Cottbus and Mönchengladbach wasn’t the hardest of opening opponents, but take nothing away from what Ralf Rangnick’s team have achieved so far.
Theirs was the kind of start that Jürgen Klinsmann would have liked over at Bayern, but although unbeaten, two draws has not been the ideal start for the Bavarians. Much has been made of the absences through injury of Ribéry, Demichelis, and Luca Toni (who returned at the weekend), but that cuts little ice with the rest of the league.
When you have a 24-man squad packed full of internationals, there really is little sympathy when the injury card is played. Ottmar Hitzfeld achieved instant success last season in gelling the team to his way of playing, but it looks like Klinsmann will take a little longer to do that. Taking a point against Hamburg at home and Borussia Dortmund away is no disaster, but then this is Bayern we are talking about!
The sending off of Mark van Bommel obviously changed the game against Dortmund, and the critics who didn’t want the Dutchman as the new skipper are now out in force saying “I told you so”. His second yellow may have been a bit harsh, but many believe his first challenge on Sebastian Kehl actually warranted a red card anyway.
Van Bommel’s game is all about aggression and putting the tackles in and he is never going to change that, whether he is Bayern captain or not. At least he escaped the dubious ‘honour’ of becoming the first player sent off this season. That went to Daniel Ziebig of Cottbus, who saw red in the bore-draw with Hannover on Friday.
Elsewhere, the other big clash of the weekend saw Werder Bremen held to a 1-1 draw by Schalke. Both sides will have Bundesliga title ambitions this season, so a point apiece is not bad result. Claudio Pizarro made his return to Werder after a disappointing time in England with Chelsea. He couldn’t cap his second debut with a goal but did enough to show Werder fans that they can expect goals from him this season.
Mesut Özil stepped up to the plate against his former side, and as is so often the case put one over his old side with a great performance and an assist for Torsten Frings goal. The youngster left the Königsblauen is less than amicable circumstances after they basically booted him out for being too greedy during contract negotiations.
Schalke have four points from their opening fixtures, but their attention is now very much focussed on the second leg of their Champions League qualifier with Atletico Madrid. Fred Rutten’s side have a slender 1-0 lead and know the cost of not making it to the group stages (both financially and from a sporting point of view).
Over at Hamburg Martin Jol got off to a winning start at home, but it took a last minute winner from Joris Mathijsen to settle their game with Karlsruhe, who will feel deeply unlucky. Jol decided to start new signing Mladen Petric on the bench, but in the coming weeks expect to see him forming a formidable partnership with fellow Croatian Ivica Olic.
Bruno Labbadia can breathe a little easier too after guiding Bayer Leverkusen to their first points with a 2-0 win away at Stuttgart. Keep an eye on Patrick Helmes this season. The summer signing from Köln was knocking on the door of the Euro 2008 squad before being one of the unlucky three to be cut, but he has started the season well and looks set to enjoy a free-scoring season with the Werkself.
Felix Magath must have read the riot act at half time after Wolfsburg’s poor display. The disciplinarian had no hesitation in taking off World Cup winning full back Christian Zaccardo at the break for the second match in succession. The message is clear- perform or you’re off!
1.FC Köln are still waiting for their first win and even a new mascot couldn’t help them on Sunday. The ‘Geißböcke’ (the billy-goats) presented Hennes VIII (a goat) against Frankfurt at the Rhein-Energie Stadion due to the old one suffering arthritis. However, a missed penalty from Antar in the first half saw the home side fail to take a two-goal lead and they were ultimately punished with a late Martin Fenin equaliser.
And finally, spare a though for Borussia Mönchengladbach. With Hoffenheim riding high at the top of the table, the ‘Fohlen’ are now the only club without any points after suffering two defeats. Things don’t get any easier for Jos Luhukay’s team though with Werder Bremen their next opponents.
It is still early days, but already it looks like we are set for another very eventful season in Germany.