The Bundesliga is back in action after an awkwardly-placed international break. RB Leipzig host a Bundesliga game for the first time but not before a marquee clash between Schalke and Bayern Munich and the Hessen Derby.
Bulls lock horns with BVB in culture clash
Following their controversial seven-year rise into the top division, RB Leipzing will play the first Bundesliga home game in their history on Saturday night. Their meteoric ascent has upset a lot of Bundesliga fans and Borussia Dortmund supporters will be the first set given the opportunity to display their angst.
A large number of BVB-ultras will be boycotting the game, instead supporting Dortmund’s amateur team in their fourth-division match against Wuppertal. Despite their protest, all 4300 tickets in the away section of Red Bull Arena were purchased in under an hour.
While there’ll be plenty to keep an eye on in the stands, the supposed battle between ‘plastic club’ and ‘culture club’ doesn’t interest Dortmund midfielder Sebastian Rode. “I don’t bother myself with how much tradition a club has,” he said in an interview published in Thursday’s edition of “Kicker”.
“Of course more fans generally stand behind traditional clubs than behind clubs like Hoffenheim for instance,” Rode continued. “But there are more kinds of clubs nowadays. In England, almost every club is controlled by an owner. That’s the case with Leipzig and the work clubs (Leverkusen and Wolfsburg) too. The attendance numbers speaks to how good of a thing it is for football fans in the east.”
Whether their most passionate supporters are there or not does not change the fact that Dortmund will be a tough challenge for Leipzig. Last season’s runners-up defeated a very stubborn Mainz team two weeks ago and have splashed the cash ahead of the new campaign. But the home side aren’t lacking in self-belief either.
“The anticipation is huge,” Leipzig sporting director Ralf Rangnick said in a press conference on Friday. “Our season really begins now.”
Schalke trying to avoid a nightmare start
Markus Weinzierl’s Bundesliga debut in he Schalke dugout a fortnight ago was one to forget. His team lacked tempo and initiative, and Eintracht Frankfurt ran them off the park en route to a 1-0 win. The challenge in his home debut will be even tougher, he’ll have to right the ship against defending champions Bayern Munich.
“It is not a happy fixture list – even when you don’t win the first game,” Weinzierl said in an interview with Funke media group earlier this week. “But we are looking forward to Bayern, will show a different side to us and see whether we can win or pick up a point.”
The task may be tricky but Weinzierl can at last call on recent history for inspiration – he is the only current Bundesliga coach to have beaten Bayern more than once. He also faces the challenge of bringing three new players to bring up to speed quickly after Schalke acquired Nabil Bentaleb, Yevhen Konoplyanka and Benjamin Stambouli at the end of August. His ability to integrate the trio could determine whether Schalke head in to matchday 3 still in search of their first point.
Reigniting the Hessen Derby
Last season’s fixtures between Eintracht Frankfurt and Darmstadt got a little heated. In December, one Frankfurt supporter threw a firecracker while another ignited a Darmstadt flag at Frankfurt’s Commerzbank-Arena. Riot police also had to take the field after the home fans tried to invade the pitch at fulltime. Eintracht Frankfurt were fined 75,000 euros ($84,550) and its supporters were barred from attending the April return fixture in Darmstadt.
This Saturday’s fixture will be the first time Frankfurt fans will be allowed to enter Darmstadt’s Jonathan-Heimes-Stadion for a match between the sides since 1982. The two teams both managed to avoid relegation last season but could be locked in a similar battle at the bottom again this season.
There’ll hopefully be less pyrotechnics from the stands this ime around but, with local pride and valuable points at stake, it looks to be a cracking game that could have huge impact on the bottom of the the table come the end of the season.
Leverkusen, Hamburg looking for a quick return on investment
Leverkusen and Hamburg both went big in the summer transfer window, with each club’s reported net spend over 20 million euros ($22.6 million). They haven’t had to wait long to find out who got the biggest bang for their buck as the pair face off against each other on Saturday.
Both failed to win in their opening match of the season, Leverkusen suffering a 2-1 loss against Gladbach and Hamburg drawing with Ingolstadt 1-1. Now each club will hope their investments can pay off quickly as they try to get their first win of the season.
Bundesliga Matchday 2:
Schalke vs. Bayern Munich (Friday, 20:30 CET)
Leverkusen vs. Hamburg (Saturday, 15:30 CET)
Wolfsburg vs. Cologne
Ingolstadt vs. Hertha Berlin
Darmstadt vs. Eintracht Frankfurt
Freiburg vs. Gladbach
Leipzig vs. Dortmund (Saturday, 18:30)
Werder Bremen vs. Augsburg (Sunday, 15:30)
Mainz vs. Hoffenheim (Sunday 17:30)
