There’s one thing my coach never tired of saying to me: “Hau den Ball ins Tor hinein!” – best translated with: “Just slam it into the back of the net!” What did yours used to say to you? What about this one: “So, let’s sit down and take stock.” If it was the last day of play, he might well have.

And with the 34th Bundesliga match-day now history, it’s time for all the trainers and all the teams to sit down and look back at the season. In the changing rooms after the matches, some teams were celebrating their successes, others mourning over their failures: often in the same stadium. In Berlin’s Olympiastadion, for example, the capital’s team – already unable to escape relegation – played against the champions Bayern München. Bayern went ahead and won 3:1, receiving the cup after the final whistle; Berlin could only look on.

There’s one thing my coach never tired of saying to me: “Hau den Ball ins Tor hinein!” – best translated with: “Just slam it into the back of the net!” What did yours used to say to you? What about this one: “Let’s sit down and watch three weekend’s games.” Back in the 1980s, that would have been feasible – back in the days before pay-TV, the 24-7 media society and the commercialisation of football.

There’s one thing my coach never tired of saying to me: “Hau den Ball ins Tor hinein!” – best translated with: “Just slam it into the back of the net!” What did yours used to say to you? What about this one: “I’m taking you with me to South Africa”? If he did, he was probably just offering to take you on holiday.
But we’re talking World Cup, and Germany is going mad for it – with still two months to go. The media are making things worse, speculating constantly on the make-up of the team – e.g. whether the national coach Löw will cap Kuranyi or not. Everyone in Germany has an opinion on who he should take, especially Franz Beckenbauer.

There’s one thing my coach never tired of saying to me: “Hau den Ball ins Tor hinein!” – best translated with: “Just slam it into the back of the net!” What did yours used to say to you? What about this one: “I want to see you struggle!” Well, professionals in the Bundesliga are hearing this one a lot at this decisive point in the season: and it’s their own fans who are saying it.

The relationship between players and fans in the Bundesliga is simmering just below boiling point this season. After Hannover’s goalkeeper Robert Enke, suffering from a severe depression and trying to hide it from public view, ended up committed suicide in November of last year, Bundesliga officials, players and fans have been talking a lot about developing an atmosphere of respect, care and recognition – but these last six months have not seen these words become reality.

There’s one thing my coach never tired of saying to me: “Hau den Ball ins Tor hinein!” – best translated with: “Just slam it into the back of the net!” What did yours used to say to you? What about this one: “The country’s going to the dogs! Everything was better back then!”

1958: In the old communist GDR, food rationing was finally ended, although East Germany had to wait for Helmut Kohl and the fall of communism to get their promised land. This was also the year in which Elvis Presley arrived in Germany to do his national service in the army; seemingly by chance, another music legend Michael Jackson was born. A 17-year old Brasilian named Pélé wrote World Championship history in Sweden and Schalke 04 won the German league for the seventh and last time.

There’s one thing my coach never tired of saying to me: “Hau den Ball ins Tor hinein!” – best translated with: “Just slam it into the back of the net!” What did yours used to say to you? What about this one: “If we want to win the championship, we need to win away games!”? If you’ve ever played at the top of a league, then you’ve probably heard that one before.

Teams in the Bundesliga don’t appear see things that way, though. Neither record-holders Bayern München, nor the gutsy Schalke 04, nor even title contenders Bayer Leverkusen were able to win their away games on match day 27.

Just put it in the net!” – the Bundesliga Blog: 22 match of the season

“Just put it in the net!” my trainer always said to me. It’s that simple in football. “Just thump the ball into goal!” Or did your’s instead tell you: “Don’t drink too much the night before the match.”? That is probably one of the most common suggestions in football. At least in the lower-order amateur leagues in the 18-plus category. And without doubt that coach’s instruction was to be heard all over Germany last weekend, if it had not been carnival night and the federations had sensibly opted to ordain there would be no play on Sunday.