You could be looking at the Annual Congregation of Munich's Santa Clauses, except this photo would've been only complete if Mario Gomez joined the bench instead of looking down at them! During Bayern's 1-1 draw against Hamburg over the weekend, there was a lot of frustration and anger from all corners of the club.

If you've paid any attention to the Bayern Munich news bits over the past years, you'll know that they've got some characters running the show. Thus their public persona isn't exactly seen as the cuddly teddy bear, smiled-at-least-once-in-their-lives types. So to hear that they gave Borussia Dortmund, a direct competitor, a loan which saved them from bankruptcy in 2003 is just.

Putting footballing rivalries aside for the benefit of the greater good isn't something that happens too often, but if it's happened anywhere, it's not surprising that it would be in the Bundesliga. Praised as "a model of financial virtue and good governance," the league has rejected gluttonous spending in favor of actually turning a profit.

Rich made a comment in my previous post that got me thinking, "just how hard was our first half?"

Well, unfortunately, soccer is a bit behind on the sabermetrics such as SOS and RPI and Power Rankings or other crazy mathematic formulas/systems that determine, well, everything.

What we can figure out is our points haul from one half of the season to the other.

Just reading Simon Kuiper's excellent "The Football Men"

You would never want Bergkamp playing for your life. To achieve his great moments he appears to enter a trance, shutting out the match. "People really have no idea what goes into the making of goals like that."

The point being that Bergkamp is not consistent, drifting out of whole games at a time, but he can create moments of joy that nobody else could even imagine.

It's always a good idea to stand out from the crowd, especially in a sea of Hamburg-ers! / via Reuters

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There's a report in the Daily Mirror that Newcastle are after Dutch international winger Eljero Elia on loan. Dutch International winger Eljero Elia The 26 times capped Dutch International only joined Juventus from Hamburg last summer, but has only played three times for the Italian club. Italy doesn't seem to have suited the winger too much, and we suppose Newcastle [.

The Brazilian Football Confederation has confirmed Brazil's playing schedule for the first six months of June 2012. The South Americans will take on Bosnia and Herzegovina in Switzerland on February 28th. On May 26th they fly to Hamburg to play Denmark. 30th or 31st will see Brazil against the USA in Boston or Washington.

Video- Vincent Kompany red card vs Manchester United FA Cup January 2012 sent off Nani challenge is a post from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter

Video- Vincent Kompany red card vs Manchester United FA Cup January 2012 sent off Nani challenge is a post from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter This Vincent Kompany red card vs Manchester United ( see Kompany sent off video below) reduced Man City to ten men in their FA Cup clash against United [.

Manchester City 3 Liverpool 0 Match Zone: Vincent Kompany is best defender in Premier League

When Manchester City lured Vincent Kompany to the Barclays Premier League from Hamburg, he looked a good, solid player. A few clubs had admired him from afar Everton discussed the idea of signing him.

Wolfsburg manager Felix Magath has launched an extraordinarily unprofessional public attack on former Liverpool defender Sotirios Kyrgiakos.In an interview with German newspaper Wolfsburger Allgemeine Zeitung, Magath - who won the European Cup with Hamburg in 1983 - revealed that he was unhappy with the standard of the Greek centre-back's performances since he joined the German club the summer.

By Chris Wright

A gaggle of footballing legends turned out for the UN's ninth annual 'Match against Poverty' last night, which saw a squad of 30-odd luminaries such as Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo (who are both UN Goodwill Ambassadors), Didier Drogba, Fernando Couto, Luis Figo, Edgar Davids, Pavel Nedved and Fabio Cannavaro take on a Hamburg SV All-Stars side in front of a 24,000-strong crowd in Germany.

Wenn am 13. Dezember das Spiel "Match against Poverty" steigt, sind viele Ex-Stars mit dabei. Für die HSV-Allstarmannschaft gehen dabei Spieler wie Jörg Albertz, Sergej Barbarez, Stefan Beinlich, Collin Benjamin, Rudolfo Esteban Cardoso, Nico-Jan Hoogma, Mehdi Mahdavikia, Zé Roberto, Stefan Schnoor, Anthony Yeboah, Stig Töfting, Richard Golz und Bastian Reinhardt an den Start.

Am 13. Dezember um 19:05 Uhr steigt in Hamburg ein wahres Schmankerl, wie man in Südbayern dazu sagen würde. Etliche Fussballer, die in den letzten 10 bis 20 Jahre die großen Stars im weltweiten Fussball waren, treffen sich in der Hamburger Imtech Arena und spielen gegen einen Auswahl des Hamburger SV.

We've done this thing before, how tap-ins are only tap-ins because someone had the nous to get into the right position (e.g. Gera v Hamburg).

Note the following, then. Dempsey initially shapes towards the far post, then holds his ground in the middle, possibly in expectation of a Murphy cross.

Bayern Munich vs Werder Bremen 4-1 Highlights Video Goals 2011 Ribery Robben is a post from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter

Bayern Munich vs Werder Bremen 4-1 Highlights Video Goals 2011 Ribery Robben is a post from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter Bayern Munich vs Werder Bremen 2011 ( FC Bayern Werder Bremen 4-1 Video Below) Final score and result:- Bayern Munich vs Werder Bremen 4-1 ( Ribery*2, Robben*2/ Rosenberg) Allianz Arena, Munich- 3rd [.

Timothy Chandler and Nurnberg will look for a second straight victory when they visit Hamburg while Edson Buddle and Ingolstadt will try to break their winless streak against Braunschweig.

Mainz vs Bayern Munich 3-2 Highlights Video Goals 2011 Van Buyten is a post from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter

Mainz vs Bayern Munich 3-2 Highlights Video Goals 2011 Van Buyten is a post from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter Mainz vs Bayern Munich 2011 ( Mainz Bayern 3:2 Video Below) Final score and result:- Mainz vs Bayern Munich 3-2 ( Ivanschitz, Caligiuri, Bungert/ Van Buyten*2) Coface Arena, Mainz- 27 November, 2011 Daniel [.

Liverpool are the latest club to be linked with a move for in-demand midfielder Kevin Strootman who has been attracting interest from a number of European clubs are starring for PSV Eindhoven.
The 21-year-old only joined the Dutch club in the summer after coming through the youth system at Sparta Rotterdam and has so far impressed both for his club and for his country with some assured displays for Holland.

The Interview: Just Football meets Jonathan Pitroipa is a post from: Just Football

Jonathan Pitroipa's transfer to Rennes in Summer 2011 immediately looked a very shrewd piece of business when the Burkina Faso international took to Ligue 1 like a duck to water, instantly endearing himself to supporters with his dazzling pace and trickery down both flanks and a hugely welcome, late, point-rescuing goal against Paris-Saint Germain in a 1-1 draw early in the season.

By Chris Wright

I'm not ashamed to tell you that this flighty current German side make me go weak at the knees on the odd occasion, case in point being Mesut Ozil's lovely team goal to round-off Die Mannschaft's almost entirely dominant 3-0 win over Holland in Hamburg last night.

This looks a bit like the type of thing you'd see on the brown side of Hamburg, or perhaps an unveiling from the artistic playgrounds of Berlin, but it's came to us via Dortmund. And there's little to say it's brilliant.

Now all they need to do is combine the skull and crown and they'll take over the world.

What's this a magic show?! Nicht, just some candid shots from Germany's Euro 2012 jersey presentation session in Hamburg yesterday. Clearly, Lukas Podolski and Thomas Mueller aren't used to signing autographs on the 10-feet wall they have at home.

Reds make friendship visit

The fourth consecutive annual German Reds LFC Supporters Club (AIB) Branch meeting will take place in Hamburg this Saturday, November 5.

View the full story here: Liverpool FC

A news article on 2011-11-03 12:59:20 from: Liverpool FC

This news item has been reproduced from today's media.

Liverpool look set to miss out on the signing of Peru teenage sensation Andy Polo after his agent revealed he is set for a move to Germany.
Polo, just 17, is rated one of the best young talents in South America and has been strongly linked with a move to England following his superb displays for his club side Universitario de Deportes.

Although the game ended 1-1 it was a very disputed match. After a quickfire goal by Wolfsburg in the 65th second through Mandzukic, the wolves retreated and Hamburg pushed forward in a good fashion and the goal could not be very far. Petric equalized in the 56 minute and Hamburg seemed ready to push even harder and get the win, but that didn't happen as they seemed out of fuel.

Heiko Westermann - Hamburgs captain
Today I'm going to see a match from the Bundesliga between Hamburger SV and Wolfsburg.
Hamburg is the only team that always played in the Bundesliga from its foundation in 1963, thus earning the nickname "The Dinosaurs". Unfortunately for them, they currently are in the last place.

As someone who has always had an interest (some have called it an obsession; meh) in football around the world, Rafael van der Vaart came to my attention about 10 years ago. Another graduate of the famed Ajax academy, breaking into the first team and showing his exciting talent on the world stage.

Bundesliga blog: Cardoso is a ‘no-go' so who'll be next Hamburg boss?

Welcome to our new German football blog, courtesy of BundesligaFussball's Ross Dunbar ***It is safe to say that the Frank Arnesen revolution at the Volkspark hasn't gone according to plan with Hamburg at the bottom of the Bundesliga after eight matches.

On-loan Chelsea defender Jeffrey Bruma got a start for Hamburger SV today. The young Dutchman took advantage of the opportunity by going out and burying a diving header early in the second half. That's three goals in his last six league appearances.

Well done, lad. And, yeah, more of that please.

On-loan Chelsea defender Jeffrey Bruma got a start for Hamburger SV today. The young Dutchman took advantage of the opportunity by going out and burying a diving header early in the second half. That's three goals in his last six league appearances.

Well done, lad. And, yeah, more of that please.

Fox Soccer Plus has Brighton - Leeds United at 2:45pm. Bundesliga on GolTV: VfB Stuttgart - Hamburg at 2:30pm. MLS on Fox Soccer: Kansas City - Philadelphia at 8:30pm. All Times Eastern

Aus gegebenen Anlass betrachten wir heute einmal die Ex-Trainer des Hamburger SV. Uns interessiert dabei aber nicht, was sie heute machen oder ob sie woanders den großen Erfolg hatten sondern vielmehr, wie bescheiden die Personalpolitik in Hamburg ist. Sehen kann man das an den vielen Ex-Trainern, die unbestritten nicht alle was für ihre Entlassung konnten.

Borussia Dortmund vs Arsenal 1-1 Highlights Goals Video 2011 Champions League is a post from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter

Borussia Dortmund vs Arsenal 1-1 Highlights Goals Video 2011 Champions League is a post from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter Borussia Dortmund vs Arsenal 2011 ( BVB vs Arsenal 2011) Signal Iduna Park, September 13, 2011- Tuesday Final score and result:- Borussia Dortmund vs Arsenal 1-1 ( Perisic/ Van Persie) Ivan Perisic's late [.

Like Bayer Leverkusen striker Sidney Sam endeared himself to Chelsea fans ahead of the two sides meeting in their Champions League clash with an inflammatory Facebook post. The ex-Hamburg man posted a photo on his Facebook page of himself in front of a Chelsea shirt with his thumbs down. He helpfully captioned his photo: "Who [.

Phew! It was that time again, and as per usual things were manic. We at In The Stands struggled to keep up with all the kerfuffle and constant will-he-wont-he debacles. However, after much journalistic endeavours, we have managed to finally pin down the most significant transfers on a thoroughly exciting last day of the transfer window.

Left hand on blue. One foot in the second division. At least as long as Hamburg coach Michael Oenning can't fix his team's grave defensive problems / hasn't been fired yet.

(AP Photo/Michael Sohn)

Arsene Wenger has told Bolton they can keep Gary Cahill, if chairman Phil Gartside and manager Owen Coyle maintain their stance that his initial offer for the player rumoured to be £6m is "derisory".

The claim comes after AW and Gartside had a bust-up after the latter triggered the row by retweeting a message from a Bolton fan on his Twitter account, which accused the Gunners of ‘taking the p***' with their offer for the defender.

Arsene Wenger has told Bolton they can keep Gary Cahill, if chairman Phil Gartside and manager Owen Coyle maintain their stance that his initial offer for the player rumoured to be £6m is "derisory".

The claim comes after AW and Gartside had a bust-up after the latter triggered the row by retweeting a message from a Bolton fan on his Twitter account, which accused the Gunners of ‘taking the p***' with their offer for the defender.

Sorry to bore you with more transfer rumours, but with just five days remaining in the current transfer window rumours are all there is when it comes to Arsenal signing any new players, but then we are used to that are we not! Dutch International Eljero Elia is a winger who currently plays for Hamburg [.