A Football Report

Leverkusen welcomes a new Son

By Ross Dunbar

“With his open nature, Sonny is the face of HSV and our organisation,” admits Hamburg Chairman Carl E. Jarchow, back in 2012. Commercially, and on the park, the South Korean international was the ‘Poster Boy’ of the club and commanded promising opinions of his playing qualities, and his reputation.

Particularly for a club like Hamburg SV, boasting a great pedigree in Europe and supported by a far-stretching fanbase in Germany. Whilst the title-winning impact of Shinji Kagawa gripped the Japanese audience, and moreover, created a ripple-effect across Germany, Hamburg – a club who traditionally have explored nearby Denmark for rich talent – opened the door to South Korea, nurturing the country’s brightest talent since Park Ji-Sung.

Read More

Julian Draxler: From golden boy to Mr. Schalke

Read More

Fans as family, not customers, and the rise of Dortmund

By Anthony Lopopolo

They’re made of steely stuff, these people, and a few stories in the tabloids and the press didn’t do much to break their nerves. After all, Dortmund almost went bankrupt in 2005, and even when they lost so much – millions of dollars, sponsorships and players – the fans never died down. That’s not their way. No fewer than 70,000 attended the matches following that close encounter with the death penalty, and now, sometimes for as little as €11 per ticket, they can watch a team that’s looking destined for Wembley and has a chance to win a second Champions League title.

Read More

Dortmund’s Yellow Wall meets Real Madrid’s Dreams of La Décima

Some of the best fans in the world welcome Real Madrid & their dreams of a 10th Champions League title to Dortmund. As they did for Bayern vs Barça, KICKTV again called on our man Dan Leydon to show what happens when Galacticos face a wall of 70,000 screaming Germans.

Commanding. Pivotal. Tenacious. Javi Martinez has become the complete anchor midfielder.

By Dominic Vieira

He’s worth every cent of the €40m paid for him last year by Bayern Munich, a Bundesliga record that not even Gotze managed to smash only a few hours ago. On a night when two titans clashed, an imperious and brilliant Bavarian side thrashed Barcelona 4-0, with Javi Martinez making a name for himself.

Although the praise naturally revolves around Muller and Robben, who were the fire behind Bayern’s clinical destruction, Javi Martinez was flawless. He was omnipresent throughout the 90 minutes, constantly closing down his opponents, dominating in the air and never missing a tackle. It was a rock-solid performance that became his first win over Barcelona and has now virtually placed Bayern with a slot in the final.

In fact, it was Bayern’s second victory over Vilanova’s side, with the first being last summer’s signing of Martinez. A physical, dynamic player they much needed and were determined to make a ‘blaugrana’, but his fairly high release fee clause ruled them out of the race. For once, Barcelona did not have the financial power at their disposal and opted for a more feasible option, Alex Song.

Read More

Through Ryu’s Lens: Turkish giants take Germany

The Bundesliga’s stature in world football continues to rise, and Schalke were slight favourites to join Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich in the quarterfinals of the Champions League. But with Burak Yilmaz, Wesley Sneijder, and Didier Drogba leading them forward after a 1-1 draw in Istanbul, Galatasaray rose to the challenge at the Veltins-Arena, clinching an emphatic 3-2 victory on German soil. Ryu was on the scene to catch the Turkish giants sailing into the deep waters that await in the quarterfinals.

Interact with Ryu on twitter @Toksuede and check his Flickr. Posted by Eric.

Through Ryu’s Lens: France vs Germany, Stade de France

For the first time since 1987, the French fell to Germany. It may have been a friendly, but it happened at Stade de France in Paris, no less. The come from behind victory was a product of yet another outstanding performance from Mesut Ozil, working the strings in the final third. Just look at THAT PASS to set up Sami Khedira for the match-winner. Ryu followed the Germans from Berlin to Pair-ee, capturing Deutschland defeat Les Bleus. 

Interact with Ryu on twitter @Toksuede and check his Flickr. Posted by Eric.