Nik and Jasmine are back to discuss the DFB Pokal final, the relegation play offs and the insanely fast spinning coaching carousel. Nik’s Werder Bremen has sacked its coaching staff, Sandro Wagner makes a surprise return to the Bundesliga and Erik ten Haag is making some of the same mistakes he made at Manchester United according to Jasmine.
The final day of the Bundesliga season has come and gone - Dortmund and Frankfurt fans will be happy, the Freiburgers less so. There’s still a bit to look forward to, what with relegation playoffs in store to determine the makeup of the first and second division as well as the DFB Pokal final as well. Nik ropes in Eric Bruehl for a chat about all that and more.
The Bundesliga's final day looks like a potential doozy, what with five teams set to scramble for four places in Europe, a Heim vs. Heim battle to beat the drop, and a thicket of permutations in the 2. Bundesliga, where another five clubs still hold out hope of promotion. Matt, Nik and Terry talk all the possibilities over, along with what's already certain - HSV are headed back to the top flight, and things in Leverkusen will never be the same as Xabi Alonso and Florian Wirtz get set to move on...
After keeping their challengers at arm's length for weeks, FC Bayern München have done it - the Rekordmeister added another league title to their robust tally. Matt is back in the TF house and was ready for a good chat with Nik about Bayern, the logjams in the race for Europe, the fluid situation at the bottom of the table (and the top of the 2. Bundesliga), and a few oddball odds and ends from elsewhere in German football.
It's been a while. Enough time, in fact, for Nik and Terry to have criss-crossed Europe enriching their lives in all kinds of ways. But what about the Fußball, huh? It turns out that the boys' clubs - Werder Bremen and Borussia Dortmund - have been on a bit of a heater since last they podded which is always worth a chat. They also check in on the teams battling to get to 16th place and a chance at redemption.
This Bundesliga season has been a resumption of regular service - Bayern are back on top and, Leverkusen aside, the rest of the 'top teams' have struggled for consistency. That's let an unlikely challenger in FSV Mainz 05 rise all the way to THIRD. In this episode Matt (in his own funk over Hertha BSC's dismal year in the 2. Bundesliga) talks with his Mainz fan pal Tom Ziemer about what's made the vibes so good for the zero fivers in their first full year under coach Bo Henriksen.
If there's been one certainty since Rasenballsport Leipzig entered Germany's top tier, it's that the club will do everything it can to compete for a top-four place. This season, all that looks under threat. With just one win in their last six, the Red Bulls are in danger of tumbling out of the UEFA Champions League places. On this episode, Nik and Terry try and figure out how much rope coach Marco Rose has left. Also on the agenda: BVB's Jekyll and Hyde week in the Bundesliga and UCL, Hertha BSC...
What with BVB hiring a familiar face and Werder Bremen getting the short end of the refereeing stick, Nik and Terry had plenty to talk about. Not that they leave it there, either - Bayern's coming date with Leverkusen comes under their lens, as does the recent play of Davie Selke(!)
With Terry's BVB taking on Nik's Werder Bremen this past weekend, it's fitting that those two take the reins for the week. The fellas discuss where Dortmund stand in their interim coach phase, what lessons we can draw from the latest wrangle over TV money, and how some Bundesliga refs will adjust to being mic'd up going forward. (And because Matt wasn't around to put a stop to it, a bit of snooker talk too.)
Each englische Woche, the Bundesliga's term of endearment for the 10-day run of three match days in rapid succession, we get a chance to take stock of each team's form. A few teams pass their test with flying colors and come out with new confidence; an English week without points can be enough to send another team into deep crisis. Matt and Nik zoom in on the sides for which the gauntlet was particularly telling then look ahead to Champions League action where the Swiss cheese model is nearing f...
You didn't think we could go more than a few episodes without fretting over Borussia Dortmund, did you? Well after first going down at the Westfalen to a Leverkusen side that's been rounding into form, BVB followed it up with a loss in Kiel in which they trailed 3-0 before halftime...so we pretty much have to. Matt checks Terry's temperature on his schwarzgelben , and hears from Nik about a police costs ruling in German court that could have some serious repercussions for the country's football ...
With the Winterpause in its waning days, Matt and Nik take stock in modest moves made by the likes of FC St. Pauli, FC Heidenheim and Werder Bremen, as well as consider the rather more blockbuster potential comings and goings between Germany and England. They also consider what it might mean that most of the top 15 best supported clubs in Germany are in the 2. Bundesliga.
It's always a story when FC Bayern München lose in the Bundesliga, especially when it's to a team outside the league's blue bloods. The Rekordmeister 's defeat in Mainz opened the door to Bayer Leverkusen to get back into the title chase, and next week's date with RB Leipzig could do the same for the soda cans. What Matt, Nik, and Terry want to talk about though is the string of big names about to be out of contract at Säbener Strasse this summer. Is the club really set up for a successful chang...
It's always a pleasure when a Borussia Dortmund-FC Bayern München match-up lives up to the hype, so this pod finds Matt, Terry and Nik in a fairly buoyant mood as they talk about what the result might mean. The gang also mull over RB Leipzig and FC Heidenheim's recent stumbles and unpack the implications of the Bundesliga's new domestic TV deal - will it be another windfall for Dunlop?
Prior to the season, the names Bayer 04 Leverkusen, RB Leipzig, and Borussia Dortmund were the hottest picks from pundits looking for candidates for answer to the age-old question: WHO'S GONNA CHALLENGE BAYERN THIS YEAR? A few months on, all those tams are in the top five, but it's clear we need add another name to the ranks of Spitzenmannschaften : Eintracht Frankfurt. Nik and Terry dig deep into what's making the Eagles soar, as well as touch down in the 2. Bundesliga to bring you up to speed ...
TSG 1899 Hoffenheim were a sensation when they came up to the Bundesliga under Ralf Rangnick a decade and a half ago, and gained renewed relevance under Julian Nagelsmann's reign a few years later. In more recent years, the club's trajectory has one toward irrelevance. Pellegrino Matarazzo saved them from relegation and then led them to Euurope last season - now he's out. Matt, Nik and Terry work out whether his sacking will make a difference and look at St. Pauli's innovative co-op stadium owne...
It didn't happen overnight, but Dino Toppmöller has Eintracht Frankfurt in blistering form. After they tore VfL Bochum apart 7-2 on Match Day 9, the Bundesliga's bottom side hit the panic button: they hired Dieter Hecking to coach the team. Matt, Nik, and Terry talk about how the vastly experienced (but perhaps a little rusty) trainer might fare, how a ticket price row has roiled FC Bayern München fans, and more.
Do you need Artificial Intelligence to tell you FC Bayern München are favorites to win the Meisterschale this season? You do not, but Opta's lil' smartbot can't keep its mouth shut, Matt, Nik and Terry were game to talk about it, and one thing led to another... Anyway, the gang also take on VfL Bochum's woe and their quest to end it by firing their coach and sporting director, FC St. Pauli supporters ire at their club's mode of transport down to Dortmund, and more.
First it was Jürgen Klopp taking over as Global Head of Soccer at Red Bull, then Thomas Tuchel saying yes to an offer to coach England. It could hardly have been a more exciting week on Europe's coaching carousel for German football. Matt, Nik and Terry try to figure out whether Tuchel and England are really a match made in heaven, whether their disappointment in Klopp meant they'd gotten a bit too parasocial with a football coach, and whether all the coaches getting out of day-to-day club manag...
Bayer's visit to Bayern wasn't a goal fest, or even a very open game thanks to Leverkusen's defensive focus, but it was engrossing stuff. Best of all, it keeps things close at the top of the Bundesliga table. Matt and Terry welcome roving reporter Marie Schulte-Bockum back to the pod to talk about the Toppspiel, the ongoing issues in Hoffenheim and, of course, her beloved FC Schalke 04. Side note : Apologies for the sound quality on Matt's track - his 'clean' track got lost and didn't get the se...
SC Freiburg and 1. FC Union Berlin are on the upper rungs of the Bundesliga table after four rounds, both guided there by new coaches. As Matt, Nik and Terry discuss, however, that's about all their circumstances have in common. Borussia Dortmund, meanwhile, suffered the first big setback of the Nuri Sahin era, though 'big' doesn't really capture the scale of their 5-1 loss in Stuttgart. As it happens, they're not alone among Ruhrpott clubs to hit the skids this past weekend...
We do try to avoid jumping to conclusions, but sometimes a blowout result forces the issue. FC Bayern München's 6-1 shellacking of Holstein Kiel has Matt, Nik and Terry on the former's 'Bayern are back' hype train, and left them just as convinced that Kiel have no real shot at staying in the 1. Bundesliga. The gang also address Dortmund's umpteenth search for a stable defense, the good doctor of German refereeing, and an 80th birthday for an all-time great.
The football media went gaga for the Germany attacking duo they dubbed 'Wusiala' after a big win over Hungary this international break. Naturally that means speculation over whether FC Bayern München can afford the W(irtz) to go along with the (M)usiala, so Matt, Nik and Terry threw their hats into that ring too. The gang also turned their attention to the latest crop of German coaching exports in England, where Fabian Hürzeler is leading the way...
After going 462 days without, reigning champs Bayer 04 Leverkusen tasted defeat on Saturday - surrendering a 2-0 lead while doing so. Matt, Nik, and Terry try to work out what it means going forward, as well as if it's a sign that Nik's title prediction has some serious legs. The gang discuss the new UEFA Champions League format (and the best away trips) now that the draw is done, and have some quality Old Man Time talking about the inimitable Thomas Müller, Rekordspieler of FC Bayern München....
Matt, Nik and Terry are back and ready to Talk the Fussball for a 13th season! Episodes will be hitting you at midweek this year and the pod will be widening its focus past the borders of the 1. Bundesliga from time to time. This week it's all about setting the table after the opening games of the new campaign with a special focus on the title race to come. Defending champs Bayer 04 Leverkusen and perennial contenders FC Bayern München are in the mix for sure, but how seriously should we take RB...
After a rollicking 2. Bundesliga season, there was lots of heartbreak for Germany's second tier sides in the relegation/promotion playoffs. Fortuna Düsseldorf blew a big lead to fail to go up to the top flight and at the other end Wehen Wiesbaden couldn't hold off Jahn Regensburg, who'll take their place in the league next year. Listen in as Nik, Maik and Jasmine wrap up all the stories from the second tier and below!
With just one more match day to go, a lot has become clear in the various races for promotion and relegation in Germany's lower leagues - but not everything. Nik, Jasmine and Maik take you through all the celebrations, permutations and more as the 2. Bundesliga, 3. Liga and more head into the final stanza.
A new Bundesliga champion? Check. A German side in the UEFA Champions League final? Check. It's been a magical season for fans of German football...as long as you're not a fan of FC Bayern München. Matt, Nik and Terry recorded too early to chronicle the Rekordmeister 's frustrating exit from the UCL, but did chat about their difficulties finding a new coach. They won't be the only club on that market this summer, though Union Berlin are likely to be shopping in a different part of the trainer st...
Just three games left in the 2. Bundesliga season and precisely nothing has been decided thus far. FC St. Pauli have the inside track on promotion, but would be glad to seal their not-yet-assured promotion with a win away to their old rivals HSV. Nik and the gang (both Jasmine and Maik this time) weigh up the promotion race, watch the coaching carousel go by, and remark on the return of Max Kruse to the football pitch at the amateur level in Berlin.
It is just us or can you feel a fresh wind blowing through the Bundesliga? Leverkusen's title win last week was restorative on the home front; this week FC Bayern München and Borussia Dortmund helped the league show out across Europe. Matt and Nik revel in the good vibes, as well as check in on the teams battling to beat the drop...and the one that isn't battling much at all!
