The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Bundesliga

  • Bundesliga resumes live on StarTimes

    Bundesliga resumes live on StarTimes

    Nigerian fans are in for a feast of live football action as the German Bundesliga resumes this weekend, with leading digital television service provider, StarTimes set to beam all the actions from the pitches.

    After going on a three-week winter break, the Bundesliga, which is the league of the current world champions, Germany is set to provide high-octane football drama as the teams scramble to unseat champions Bayern Munich from the top of the table.

    In some selected matches to be shown live on StarTimes today, Werder Bremen host Dortmund, RB Leipzig welcome Frankfurt, Wolfsburg confront Hamburg while Schalke are home to Ingolstaard.

    On Sunday, StarTimes will show Bayer Leverkusen’s home fixture against Hertha Berlin and Mainz game against Cologne.

    A statement from StarTimes said they were poised to continue delivering top-notch football action from the best leagues from around the world.

    “We remain committed to giving our esteemed customers and viewers the best live football action from top European leagues and the resumption of the Bundesliga will further add value to our viewers delight”.

    Bayern starting the year in pole position may equate to business as usual but it’s all change when it comes to the teams queuing up behind them – not least in the form of second-place RB Leipzig, just three points adrift of the record champions 16 games into their maiden Bundesliga campaign. But what are the chances of the new boys from Saxony maintaining that role as Bayern’s biggest rivals through to the finish?

    “Leipzig have done very well so far and every respect to them for that. But the team I’m most concerned about, without a doubt, are Borussia Dortmund,” Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge noted at the DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga New Year reception: “We can only be happy they’re twelve points behind us at the moment. They’ve been a bit unfortunate with injuries.”

    In reality, that double-digit deficit makes a belated title bid by last season’s runners-up look somewhat unlikely. Leipzig, themselves six points clear of third-place Hertha Berlin, remain by far the Munich club’s most plausible challengers as it stands. “Leipzig are opponents who have to be taken seriously. I’m glad they’re there and they’re going to be hanging around at the top for years to come,” Bayern’s once-and-once-again president Uli Hoeneß reckons.

  • Bundesliga better than EPL — Okocha

    Bundesliga better than EPL — Okocha

    Foremost digital television company, StarTimes and DFL Deutsche Fussball Liga held an exciting interactive session with the media during the Bundesliga Legend Tour with Jay Jay Okocha, StarTimesBundesliga Legend, Tobias Ross, Manager for International Marketing–DFL, Henning Brinkmann, Manager for Sales and Marketing – DFL, Bundesliga and Jana Bernhard, Manager for Events and Promotion – DFL alongside many other dignitaries,in an unprecedented move to change the Pay TV landscape in Africa and offer surplus entertainment access to subscribers.

    The Bundesliga’s current average attendance of about 42,000 fans per match is the highest in a professional football league worldwide and only second after the American National Football League (NFL)compared to all professional sports leagues. It was a remarkable applaud when Jay Jay Okocha corroborated this statement by stating that, ‘Bundesliga is better than Premier League in terms of tactical approach, technical approach, discipline, stadium attendance and number of goals scored per week.’Bundesliga usually attracts more than 18 million spectators in total to the stadiums.

    According to StarTimes Marketing Director, Mr. Dare Kafar, ‘The BundesligaLegends Tour is a continuation of the journey that was started more than twelve months ago when StarTimes signed the exclusive broadcast right of the Bundesligafor five years in Nigeria.’

  • NFF seeks German model for Nigeria

    NFF seeks German model for Nigeria

    The Nigeria Football Federation is seeking to forge closer links with Germany in an attempt to revive the country’s soccer fortunes and hasten the national team’s development, the federation’s president, Amaju Pinnick, said on Tuesday.

    NFF wants to send coaches to German clubs and model Nigeria’s senior league on the Bundesliga, which it considers “the top model league in the universe,” as part of a plan to take Nigerian football to a new level, Reuters says.

    “Germany is not only the reigning champions of the world in football, it is also a very strong economic power,” Reuters quoted NFF president, Amaju Pinnick, as saying on the NFF website (www.thenff.com) following a meeting between federation delegates and Germany’s ambassador to Nigeria, Dietmar Kreusel.

    “We keenly desire to partner with the DFB (German Football Federation) and the German League. The NFF is presently doing a lot in the area of development of the game in Nigeria.

    “Now we are requesting support for our developmental programmes for women’s football, as well as capacity building for our referees and coaches,” Pinnick added.

    Among requests made by delegates to the ambassador were better procedures for securing visas for NFF executives into Germany for football programmes.

    Nigeria, once the powerhouse of African football, has endured a tough few years in international competition.

    Ranked 10th globally in 2006, the country is now 57th in the FIFA world rankings – its lowest since 1999.

    In last year’s World Cup, the Super Eagles reached the round of 16 for the first time since 1998 before losing to France.

    After winning the African Nations Cup in 2013, the three-time African champions failed to qualify for this year’s finals in Equatorial Guinea.

    [news_box style=”2″ display=”tag” tag=”NFF, Oliseh” count=”7″ show_more=”on”]

  • Bundesliga clubs monitoring Sunday Stephen

    Bundesliga clubs monitoring Sunday Stephen

    According to reports monitored by SL10.ng from Bulgaria, CSKA Sofia midfielder Sunday Stephen is closely monitored by scouts from Germany.

    The 26-year-old defensive midfielder was watched extensively in a friendly game by the scouts, in a 1-0 win over Shlyonsk in which he impressed.

    The representatives of the team from the Bundesliga will attend one or two more games before tabling a bid for his services to CSKA Sofia.

    Teams from Norway are also reportedly on his trail as well and a summer move is more likely for the ex Valencia, Osasuna, and Real Betis midfielder as he is pivotal to CSKA’s ambition of winning the league.

    Stephen joined CSKA Sofia from Bnei Sakhnin  of Israel last year January and so far he has made 26 appearances for the team who finished runners up in Bulgaria last season.

    The former Spain youth international, who switched allegiance to Nigeria in 2010 and made his debut for the Super Eagles in a 1-0 loss to Guinea in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier, has 18 months left on his contract.

  • UJAH CELEBRATES 13TH BUNDESLIGA GOAL

    UJAH CELEBRATES 13TH BUNDESLIGA GOAL

    SUPER EAGLES invitee, Anthony Ujah is excited after scoring his 13th goal for Bundesliga 2 campaigners, FC Cologne over the weekend.

    The former Warri Wolves and FC Abuja ace took to the social media on Monday to fraternize with friends after the Billy Goats lost out to FC Kaiserslautern in the race for the promotion play-off spot despite the win in Ingolstadt. “Perfect way to end the season. 3:0 and scored my 13th goal of the season. Thank you Lord, Good victory. “Though we didn’t reach out target but it’s important to win today for the fans and our coach,” said Ujah who is on season-long loan from Mainz 05.

    Meanwhile, Ujah’s manager at FC Cologne, Holger Stanislawski has announced that he will leave his post as head coach of Budesliga 2 outfit 1. The 43-year-old joined the club at the end of last term following their relegation from the Bundesliga but was unable to lead them back to the top flight this term.

    “This wasn’t a decision I made easily,” said Stanislawski after communicating his desire to have his contract cancelled to the club’s board. “After a tough rebuilding process at the start of the season, we set ourselves the target of finishing in the top third of the table, to improve the perception of the club and to develop young players.

    “After the winter break, it was my personal goal to finish in third place, but I wasn’t able to extract the maximum from the team in the games that mattered.”

  • Sidney Sam seals UCL spot with Leverkusen

    Sidney Sam seals UCL spot with Leverkusen

    Super Eagles prospect Sidney Sam was in action for 84 minutes as Bayer Leverkusen made sure of a top-three Bundesliga finish and a place in next season’s Champions League group stage with a 2-0 win at Nuremberg on Saturday.

    Werder Bremen’s troubles continued as they squandered a two-goal lead in the last five minutes and were held 2-2 at home by Hoffenheim in a relegation battle.

    Aaron Hunt converted a penalty awarded after only 25 seconds and Kevin de Bruyne made it 2-0 in less than half an hour for 14th-placed Bremen, only for two late goals from Sven Schipplock to stun the home crowd.

    Greuther Fuerth, already relegated, won 2-0 at VfB Stuttgart. Hanover 96 and Mainz 05 drew 2-2 and fifth-placed Eintracht Frankfurt beat Fortuna Duesseldorf 3-1.

  • Bayern Munich wins Bundesliga

    Bayern Munich wins Bundesliga

    Bayern Munich clinched the 2012/13 Bundesliga title with a 1-0 away win at Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday afternoon, MTNFootball.com reports.

    Bastian Schweinsteiger scored the only goal of the game early in the second half, sealing FCB’s 23rddomestic championship.

    The country’s biggest club side claimed the title with six games to spare, a Bundesliga record.

    Bayern, who fielded a strong line-up while still being able to rest the likes of Mario Mandzukic and Franck Ribery, should have found themselves at least a goal to the good in the first half, but were unable to convert the chances created.

    Young winger Xherdan Shaqiri struck the post with a low shot on 11 minutes, while a quarter hour later David Alaba missed from the penalty spot after Thomas Muller had been tripped in the 18-yard area.

    Early in the second half the Bavarians broke the deadlock, with Schweinsteiger flicking home a shot from Philipp Lahm’s low cross from the right flank.

    That goal was the visitors’ attacking highlight of the second half, as Eintracht pushed hard for an equaliser in the dying minutes.

    Bayern came under some real pressure and needed goalkeeper Manuel Neuer to make two fine saves to deny Srdjan Lakic and Carlos Zambrano in the 79th and 82ndminutes respectively.

    Yet 1-0 was enough for the Bavarians, who celebrated clinching the title at the final whistle but will keep their festivities understated as they have a Champions League match against Juventus on Wednesday.

     

  • Gomez: Bayern must win the Bundesliga

    Mario Gomez has stressed that winning the Bundesliga title is an absolute must for Bayern Munich this term following their lack of success in the previous two campaigns.

    The Bavarians have not won a major trophy since winning the domestic double in 2010, and Gomez has insisted that they have to keep up their current form in order to win silverware again this season.

    “The important thing is that we continue our run through to Christmas and don’t let up,” Gomez told reporters in the wake of Bayern’s 5-0 win over Hannover.

    “We’ve won nothing for two seasons, so we have to win the league. We’re on track, provided we keep it up.

    “We were on track last year as well, only to veer off course. That mustn’t happen this season.”

    Bayern currently sit atop of the Bundesliga table and hold a nine-point lead over second-placed Borussia Dortmund.