Borussia Moenchengladbach. Bundesliga
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Landon Donovan made a substitute appearance in Bayern Munich's friendly against FSV Mainz tonight,
scoring just ten minutes after stepping onto the field. Then in the 90th minute, he scored again!
That makes three winter friendlies in which Donovan has scored a total of four goals for the
Bavarian giants - a strong statement that he plans for this stint in Germany to be much different
than previous ones.
American Sal Zizzo made a rare appearance for Hannover 96 in last night's friendly
against visiting AC Milan. The Bundesliga side put in a surprisingly strong performance against the
star-studded Milan team, especially on defense, but was unable to hold off the Rossoneri for
good.
With his team down 2-1 in the second half, Zizzo came on in the 66th minute, replacing Jan
Rosenthal at right midfield where he immediately got into the mix.
Today at Bayern Munich's 3 PM practice, a new face showed up alongside coach Juergen Klinsmann, a
face familiar to many American fans. Yep, that's right, the LA Galaxy's Landon Donovan is in Munich
to train with Bayern for a weeek or two to "stay fit." Hmmm.
Could Donovan, who last left Bayer Leverkusen in 2005 after playing in seven league and two
Champion's League matches, be looking for for a ticket back to European soccer?
While many US fans are still crestfallen over Neven Subotic's decision to play for Serbia, perhaps
now is a good time to remember how we've benefited from similar decisions by players who chose to
play for the Stars and Stripes. I can't think of a better example than Tom Dooley
I must admit that Dooley is still one of my favorite players ever to pull on a US jersey.
Just a week after Heath Pearce's Hansa Rostock was crushed 6-0 at Kaiserslutern, a new savior has
appeared in manager Dieter Eilts. After picking up only two points in their last five matches, a
savior seems to be just what they need.
This is good news for American defender Heath Pearce, whose team is mired in 14th place and instead
of seeking promotion back to the Bundesliga, is in danger of relegation to the 3rd division.
Imagine having a stadium named after one of your club and country's greatest sporting heros, the
man who led your team to winning its first World Cup? Now imagine decades later the club changing
the stadium's name of for "business reasons?" Well, that may be in store for 1FC
Kaiserslautern's Fritz Walter Stadion.
Just a week after scoring his first Bundesliga goal, American Michael Bradley scored another this
week, just not for his team. Just when things were looking up for his new stint at Borussia
Moenchengladbach, an own goal against Energie Cottbus did not help. In the early going, a 3rd
minute header by Bradley could have put the Foals ahead early if not for a good save by Cottbus
keeper Gerhard Tremmel.
Borussia Moenchengladbach sports director Christian Ziege has just confirned that American Michael
Bradley may spend the next few seasons plying his trade at Borussia Moenchengladbach. Ziege told
the Rheinisher Post that Bradley is a "dangerous, versatile player but also a classic
playmaker.
The Rest
Toward the end of Werder Bremen's 0-0 draw with Bochum on Saturday, six members of a neo-Nazi group
began to unfurl a 10-foot long banner on which it stated: "NS-HB Sport frei". NS-HB stood
for Nordsturm Hansestadt Bremen, an extreme right hooligan group. But Bremen fans were having none
of it and began to go after the neo-Nazis, surrounding them while shouting "Nazis out!
An interesting development...
While it could be tricky to work out within Germany, a succesful bid by Disney could make
Bundesliga matches much more accesible to American audiences on ESPN.
