It's common in cricket half our team is South African. But our football team doesn't (generally) purloin talent from other nations. We're not Ireland. It appears we have lost a couple though...

Perhaps the best known is Aaron Hunt. The 23 year old currently plays for Werder Bremen, and has made a couple of appearances for the German National side.

Having spent my Wednesday evening immersed in equal parts Werder Bremen v Sampdoria Champions League playoff and Jonathan Wilson's What is a playmaker's role in the modern game?, I find it abnormally appropriate to comment on Aaron Hunt's man of the match performance in Bremen's eventual 3–1 first leg home victory v Antonio Cassano and Sampdoria.

GERMAN BUNDESLIGA – ROUND 29 REVIEW
Bayern Munich and Schalke 04 went head-to-head in Gelsenkirchen for the chance to grab the top spot of the Bundesliga. The Bavarian giants lost their first place standing last week, but got it back with a tremendous win on the road against one of their biggest rivals for the German Bundesliga crown.

With four rounds remaining and 12 points up for grabs, the Bundesliga heads into its final portion of the season with a heated race for the championship. Bayern Munich picked up a point on the road against Bayer Leverkusen and took advantage of Schalke's humilliating defeat against Hannover 96.

An actual news clip, presented by someone who stole Yoann Gourcuff's eyeliner.

• A trip which apparently went very, very well. (World Football Insider)
• Pish, who needs Ozil? (Bundesliga Talk)
• Loic Remy celebrates his move to Marseille. (Ugly Dance)
• I think this makes Napoli the Comeback Kids.

BUNDESLIGA – ROUND 19
FREIBURG 0 – 1 STUTTGART
(Ciprian Marica 41)
HERTHA BERLIN 0 – 0 BORUSSIA MONCHENGLADBACH
MAINZ 1 – 0 HANNOVER
(Andre Schurrle 4)
NURNBERG 1 – 1 E. FRANKFURT
(NUR-Christian Eigler 27; EF-Benjamin Kohler 40)
VFL BOCHUM 2 – 2 SCHALKE 04
(SCH-Vicente Sanchez 5; SCH-Kevin Kuranyi 42; BOC-Vahid Hashemian 82; BOC-Stanislav Sestak 90)
WERDER BREMEN 2 – 3 BAYERN MUNICH
(WB-Aaron Hunt 10; BM-Thomas Muller 25; BM-Ivica Olic 35; WB-Hugo Almeida 75; BM-Arjen Robben 78)
BORUSSIA DORTMUND 1 – 0 HAMBURG
(Nelson Haedo Valdes 36)
WOLFSBURG 2 – 3 COLOGNE
(COL-Kevin Pezzoni 7; WLF-Christian Gentner 22; COL-Sebastian Freis 57; WLF-Ricardo Costa 59; COL-Adil Chihi 74)
HOFFENHEIM 0 – 3 BAYER LEVERKUSEN
(Sami Hyypia 7; Toni Kroos 51; Tranquillo Barnetta 71)
STANDINGS
Bayer 04 41
FC Bayern 39
Schalke 04 38
Dortmund 36
HSV 34
Werder 28
Eintracht 28
Mainz 05 27
Hoffenheim 25
Wolfsburg 24
Stuttgart 22
M'gladbach 22
1.

Michael Ballack has probably played in his last major tournament for Germany. Chelsea's German midfielder limped out of the FA Cup final with an ankle injury sustained in a tackle with Kevin-Prince Boateng.
The ankle injury rules their Captain and inspiration out for eight weeks and means Germany manager, Joachim Low, will have to rethink his team with less than a month to the start of the tournament.

Die deutschen WM-Teilnehmer sind erst vor einigen Tagen aus ihrem Urlaub zurückgekehrt und mit deutlicher Verspätung in die Saisonvorbereitung ihrer jeweiligen Teams eingestiegen. Doch das ist alle zwei Jahre so, wenn nach einer Spielzeit noch eine Welt- oder Europameisterschaft auf dem Programm steht.

Joachim Loew has announced his squad for Germany's upcoming friendly against Denmark. Loew has chosen to rest the majority of his World Cup stars and call up younger players to the squad who will be given the chance to impress and begin to force their way into the German national team on a more regular basis.

The Jaded Genius: Antonio Cassano.

Champions League hopefuls Werder Bremen face Sampdoria in what will be the juiciest of ties during this Champions League qualifying round. Werder Bremen finished third in the Bundesliga last season, while Sampdoria nipped into fourth place ahead of Palermo and Napoli.

No Ozil? No Problem! Torsten Frings Takes Control As Samp Are Swept Aside.

After the loss of Mesut Ozil, many began to doubt Werder Bremen's chances of Champions League qualification and of league success this season without their most talented attack-minded midfielder. The young German international player has joined compatriot and German national teammate Sami Khedira at Real Madrid, where the two will grow under the wing of one of the world's best managers, Jose Mourinho.

Marin Was Instrumental In His Side's Win Over Sampdoria. Mesut Who?

Werder Bremen would have known they had a job on their hands even after their 3–1 victory over Sampdoria in the first leg of their Champions League qualifying tie. With Sampdoria scoring a late away goal back in Germany through the ever-prolific Giampaolo Pazzini, they would only need two in Italy to put the Germans out of the competition for good.

Per non sbagliare e trascorrere una serata di football divertente sono andato sul sicuro: ho visto Werder Brema contro Tottenham terminata 2 a 2. Gli Spurs hanno disputato un ottimo primo tempo, cancellando dal terreno di gioco i padroni di casa, ottenendo il doppio vantaggio grazia all'autogol di Pasanen dopo una delle solite scorribande sulla sinistra di Bale ed il raddoppio di Crouch che in impeccabile elevazione arriva in cielo e di testa infila Wiese per lo 0 a 2.

Werder Bremen looked set for a dismal season. Not only had their star of last season left for Real Madrid, but they had numerous injury problems and results weren't going their way.

With only one Bundesliga win to their name, Thomas Schaaf's team must have been dreading the visit of Hamburg to the Weserstadion.

Will Olic End His Goal Drought This Weekend And Put Bayern Munich Back On Track?

Saturday's Bundesliga action featured the highs and the lows of Bundesliga life: from Mainz taking their winning streak to seven in a row and equalling the record for best Bundesliga start of all time, to Felix Magath's Schalke stumbling to a disappointing loss at Nurnberg.

Men At War!

A war of words between Tim Wiese and Aaron Hunt has become public knowledge after the two submitted statements to the press following questions about the team's early season woes. The last thing Thomas Schaaf needs now, after everything Werder Bremen have already been through this season, is a big rift in the dressing room.

Simon Rolfes Leads His Side To A 2–3 Comeback Win Against Wolfsburg.

Great drama in Saturday's Bundesliga games, and goals to go with it. Mainz's winning-streak ended at the hands of Hamburg, St. Pauli showed they can score goals, Bayern Munich's second string proved themselves, Werder Bremen picked up the pieces, and Bayer Leverkusen confirmed themselves as a genuine title threat.

Marko Marin Returns To Haunt His Former Club.

With the champions stuttering yesterday away to Hamburg, some of the league's stronger sides had the opportunity this Saturday to take a lead over Die Roten and confirm their title aspirations. Also, the relegation dogfight got a little bit scrappier as some of the league's less fortunate sides were condemned to further defeats.