Talking Fussball (Talking Fussball)

Forgive us if we're feeling woozy. It's been twelve years since FC Bayern München got off to a start this poor, and more than 20 since they went four games without a win. It's a lot to take in, especially with a Revierderby on the docket, as well as a supremely confident performance from table-toppers 1. FC Union Berlin. Borussia Dortmund: A History in Black and Yellow author Terry Duffelen returns to the pod to talk through all the action from Match Day 7. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It was not a rousing start from Die Nationalmannschaft in Euro 2020 (in 2021), as Jogi and the boys went down 1-0 to France. They pushed the ball around more or less at will, but when it came to creating chances, they weren't able to get much going. But did that have more to do with Germany or with France? Matt Hermann rings up Matthew Marshall, who's been following the tournament for PortuGOAL, and find out what kind of challenge Germany are up against when they take on CR7 and co on Saturday... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bundesliga fans were treated to a topsy-turvy match day last weekend - one which brought surprises and excitement...and a fiar bit of disappointment for Official Fantasy Bundesliga players. JT (73 points) and Flo (87 points) lick their wounds for a moment, then get down to the business of fixing things ahead of MD3. Listen in for all their tips as well as answers to your questions! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If wasn't already clear, 1. FSV Mainz 05 are up to something under first-year head coach Bo Svensson. They've crawled out of the mire they once shared with poor old FC Schalke 04 with alarming vigor, and are not just not bad anymore - they're good. FC Bayern München learned that the hard way this weekend; the Rekordmeister's loss makes goings on at both ends of the table just a little more interesting. Matt and Nik talk through developments in the relegation fight, the resurgence of the old guard of Champions League aspirants, where the coaching carousel is likely to spin for one Jesse Marsch and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When the last Aufstieg edition came out, Hamburger Sport-Verein were riding high off a derby win over FC St. Pauli and edging toward the automatic promotion places. Not so much anymore - their two losses on the trot, as well as a timely defeat for league leaders SV Darmstadt, mean there's still much to play for as the league heads into the final three rounds. Nik, Maik and Jasmine are here to chew the fat over all the action, as well as let you knwo what storues are bubbling under from the lower divisions.

Here we are, halfway through the Bundesliga season. RB Leipzig are Herbstmeister, Gladbach are number two, and Bayern are four points back in third. Matt rounds up Terry Duffelen for a good long chat about this topsy-turvy season, as well as give out the halfway awards! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With Bayer 04 Leverkusen riding high, it was high time for a check-in with one of their biggest fans Eric Bruehl. He and Nik have been busy putting together the new TORWART series on the TF Patreon, so we thought getting them together for a discussion of Match Day 8 was a natural. Matt steers things toward a discussion of Leverkusen's hot start before entering the choppy waters of FSV Mainz 05 and FC Bayern München's social media messaging around the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Bayern had a hell of a run these last 10 months, beating just about all comers - on match day two they got a taste of their own medicine. Hoffenheim took down the champs, and Augsburg did likewise to last season's runners up Dortmund. Matt and Nik talk all this over, as well as where Schalke and Mainz now stand as they look for new coaches after disastrous starts. (We get help in the latter case from kicker's Mainz beat writer Michael Ebert!) All that and a bunch more... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We're thrilled with the response to our call for new subscribers to our Patreon page over the last week...and still we're hungry for more! Here comes a taste of some of the material we've been posting in recent days. Here are portions of two Deep Dives, long-form chats with journalists and podcasters who share intimate knowledge about one particular team. In the spotlight in this episode are Werder Bremen (with Christoph Bähr of the Weser Kurier) and FC St. Pauli (with Maik Krükemeier of the MillernTon pod). Enjoy...and consider becoming a patron! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Have you heard about blind football? It's a little different from the game we all know so well, but it's a way for people with severe visual impairments to get a chance to play the beautiful game. Blind football has made deep inroads in Germany, with many of the country's biggest clubs fielding a team, as you'll find out as Nik talks to his Aufstieg edition pal Maik Krükemeier. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With Hertha BSC out of action on the last two match days, there's been a decided lack of Ha Ho He on the podcast. A full-blown in-house coronavirus quarantine kept the team away from the pitch for two weeks, leading to a pile-up of make-up fixtures that struck fear in the hearts of many a Herthaner trying to make it through a relegation battle unscathed. Matt (Talking Fussball's resident Hertha obsessive) was beginning to feel a few pangs of withdrawal, so he decided to up the Hertha dial to 11. An anyway, the team's early results are in - a draw and a win in the first of two games in hand - and now the outlook is...pretty good! Listen in as he works through his cautious optimism with Joe Gould, co-host of the Don't Poke the Bearcast, a still-rather-new show dedicated to Hertha BSC. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We're back! Now that Bundesliga sides have concluded their pre-season tours of the US and their sleep-away camps in Austria, it was simply time to start taking the season to come a bit more seriously. And the first step down that path is to take the SERIOUS title that is the DFL Supercup EVER SO SERIOUSLY. So here Matt and Terry are, counting the takeaways from FC Bayern München's earth-shattering 2-0 defeat, including the one that says hmm...Borussia Dortmund may well win the league this year. They also zoom in on RB Leipzig and Bayern 04 Leverkusen, as well as rake FC Schalke 04's chairman over the coals for some pretty egregious behavior. As a bonus treat, there's an extract of Matt's interview with Hertha BSC executive board member and digital strategy supremo Paul Keuter, whom he caught up with earlier this summer on the sidelines of the team's practice in Madison, Wisconsin. (Full interview available on https://www.patreon.com/talkingfussball) Enjoy! We'll be back with another episode prior to the season's start, and TF Fantasy will be in your ears next week as well... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Recent seasons have not always been kind to Germany's northern Traditionsvereine, but their luck may be changing in the 2. Liga. Take a glance at the table and you'll find the two Hamburg clubs in first and second, followed closely by Hannover 96 and Holstein Kiel. What's behind all the success? Find out as Nik and Maik (northerners both) talk you through all the top storylines from Germany's non-top-flight football leagues...

So we had a number of late scratches from starting line-ups last week - not least the one involving a certain Frankfurt winger. JT and Flo talk through strategies on how to make the best of these bad situations, give you their player picks and answer a number of your listener questions. Listen in and be ready for Match Day 20! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

There may well be fireworks incoming on Friday night when two teams in European competition, Borussia Mönchengladbach and RB Leipzig, square off. You'll tune in - but should you go all in on your fantasy team? JT and Flo answer that query (among many others) to get you sorted out ahead of MD3. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Boy did we ever praise Bayern to the skies last week after they put the hurt on a Bundesliga opponent for the second time in three games! But this past weekend, on the fourth match day, Borussia Mönchengladbach came to the Allianz - and if you know your recent history, that means trouble for the Rekordmeister. This time, the trouble was named Yann Sommer, who stonewalled Bayern into a 1-1 draw. Matt invites the excellent Derek Rae (ESPN, EA Sports FIFA series) on to talk the result over, to get his thoughts on the draws of all eight BuLi sides in UEFA competition, and much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Bundesliga is entering the final stretch - just seven games to go. Most importantly for all the #BLFantasy managers out there, this window is the last one to offer UNLIMITED TRANSFERS. There might not be whole lot of season left to show off your re-vamped team, but that's no reason not to re-vamp it in the first place. Listen in as JT and Flo let you know all the best bets for big points in the run-in. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What a season we've just put in the rearview mirror here on the Aufstieg edition. Wild scenes in the relegation playoffs, disappointing late-season collapses from SV Darmstadt and FC St. Pauli, and who could forget Markus Anfang's falsified vaccine passport? Nik and Jasmine certainly couldn't - and they've got plenty of other memories to share too, along with teams of the season. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Well Bayern aren't running away with the title race...but then again neither are Dortmund, Gladbach, Wolfsburg, Leipzig, Frankfurt, Schalke, Leverkusen or freaking Freiburg for that matter. No, all NINE of these teams are within two points of each other, making the 'top half' a little too literal for comfort. Listen in as Matt and Terry try to make sense of the chaos, brought on by another week of what you might call unusual results. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As of last fall, when the Bundesliga was entering the World Cup break, Eintracht Frankfurt were flying. The Eagles were in the top four and had successfully battled their way out of their UEFA Champions League group in their maiden season in the competition. These days their chances of mixing it up in the Königsklasse next season seem thin. Nik invites Brian Sanders of the Hey! Eintracht Frankfurt podcast on to find out how the wheels came off since the re-start and how they might get their mojo back in the season's nine remaining games. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We're still inside, and we're still reading. This week we have the author of one of Germany's most hotly anticipated football books, Der Schlüssel zum Spiel (The Key to the Game). Yes, in this episode Nik got old pal Tobias Escher of spielverlagerung.com on the line to talk over a few of the issues raised in his book, as well as plenty of fascinating further issues in the tactics-sphere from one of the big brains in the space. A real treat. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A week ahead of the game which is set to swallow German football (Dortmund vs. Bayern), Matt and Nik take a moment to peer at the fortunes of a few of the other teams near the top of the table after Match Day 6. Gladbach followed up their near-misses in Europe with a huge result over Leipzig, who still seemed a little zonked from their bad night at Old Trafford. Leverkusen are thinking big now that Lucas Alario is finally getting in gear, and Augsburg stayed on a positive path as well.  We also announce winners in our opening salvo of prize draws for our subscribers on Patreon. Listen in to find out the next chance to win! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

An episode where we ponder a few questions with one of football media's great ponderers. What's driven little SC Freiburg to the top four this season? Will the club start thinking bigger now that they've moved into a brnd new stadium? What makes the club so preternaturally steady? Matt and Jon Mackenzie mull over these questions and more, as well as get to the bottom of what make Jon fall so hard for the club and the city. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

There were good omens for both BVB and the Rasenballsportlers as the two Bundesliga sides head into the UEFA Champions League to face Paris Saint Germain and Tottenham Hotspur, respectively. Matt talks things over with Stefan Buczko, who as the host of the Yellow Wall Podcast has a lot to say about Dortmund especially. They move on to discuss whether or not there's going to be a Klinsi-shaped crater left behind at Hertha BSC, as well as break down the relegation fight. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Bundesliga is finally under way...and already there's so much to talk about! Matt gets Marie Schulte-Bockum of Focus Online on the line for a chat about: Bayern's stutter-start against a lively Hertha; BVB's 5-1 throttling of a poor Augsburg side; RasenBallsport's raining on Union Berlin's (already quite rainy) opening day parade; how Gladbach and her beloved Schalke looked under new management...and much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We do try to avoid jumping to conclusions, but sometimes a blowout result forces the issue. FC Bayern München's 6-1 shellacking of Holstein Kiel has Matt, Nik and Terry on the former's 'Bayern are back' hype train, and left them just as convinced that Kiel have no real shot at staying in the 1. Bundesliga. The gang also address Dortmund's umpteenth search for a stable defense, the good doctor of German refereeing, and an 80th birthday for an all-time great.

If you're a club in the bottom six places after 25 games, it's time to face it: the remainder of the season is about survival - no more, no less. This past weekend, a couple of clubs seemed to get the picture...while quite a few others did not. Matt sat down with Eva-Lotta Bohle of the 2. Bundesliga Podcast to get her thoughts on Arminia Bielefeld's recent defensive troubles, Borussia Mönchengladbach's irreconcilable differences, the shocking fragility of Hertha BSC and all the rest of the problems of the downtrodden. (Don't worry, they talk about the good teams in the league too...) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Over the past five years, sometimes it's felt like 1. FC Union Berlin could only go up. The Köpenickers' rise from little-club-that-could to European contender has been among the best in world football over that span, but now it's come to an end after Urs Fischer, the coach who took them from the 2. Bundesliga to the UEFA Champions League, decided they'd be better off without him. For a little insight on how it all went down, Matt turns to Kit Holden, who covers the Irons for Berlin's Tagesspiegel newspaper, as well as talks it out with Nik and Terry. They also get into what might be ailing the suddenly lame Borussia Dortmund and investor talk swirling around Werder Bremen and the league as a whole.

Bundesliga fans witnessed a masterclass on Sunday when Robert Lewandowski scored all four in a wild 4-3 win for FC Bayern München over upstarts Hertha BSC. Both teams were among the most active on deadline day, with some surprising faces entering and exiting the buildings at Säbener Strasse and Olympiapark.  Listen in as Matt and Nik run through all of Monday's biggest moves, all the 4-0 stompings on Match Day 3, and much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What a difference a few days can make. Eintracht Frankfurt, Bayer Leverkusen, and especially Borussia Mönchengladbach underperformed in European action this past week...but on Match Day 5 all three got good results. Matt talks with Matthew Marshall, who saw all these teams in the past few days, about where they're headed and what will seal their success or failure in Europe this season. They also address RB Leipzig's title tilt, Hertha's overdue (and ugly) first win, and much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sometimes your absolutely nail it with your line-up...and sometimes your team is a bit of a shambles. Last week our panel was composed of one of each, as Flo's boys flew and JT's just didn't. Listen in as they look ahead to Match Day 7 and strategize a bit for the coming weeks as well.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

FC Bayern München's usually indestructible Robert Lewandowski has gone and done his knee - who are you going to play up front for the next month (...or more)? Luckily JT and Flo's Karneval bacchanal has come to a close and they are back to answer that question - and many more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If you thought there was an end in sight to Germany's fan protests, think again - they're just getting started. Nik, Maik and the returning Jasmine weigh in on the wave of game-stopping events that swept across the 2. Bundesliga, Steffen Baumgart's arrival at HSV, the latest indignity perpetrated at 1. FC Kaiserslautern, and an attendance milestone that proves the Zweite Liga is Germany's #1 football league.

The 2. Bundesliga season is just five games old but there's already plenty of drama - Hamburger Sport-Verein basically melted down on the pitch last week, Arminia Bielefeld fired their coach, and Hansa Rostock fans showed their true colors when FC St. Pauli fans came to town. Nik, Jasmine, and Maik have all that and more, as well as lots of news from the lower leagues as well. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Another weekend of boffo Bundesliga action is in the books - and there's more to come in just a few short hours. Bayern and Dortmund cruised to victory ahead of their head to head match-up, while Hertha continued their surge by throttling cross-town rivals Union. Matt talks to Kit Holden (MailOnline, Tagesspielgel) this week, and the latter is sporting enough to let the former have a good gloat. (After all, it's only fair.)  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nik Wildhagen and Terry Duffelen, author of Borussia Dortmund: A History in Black and Yellow are back with part two of our three-part series on Borussia Dortmund! We left off part one with BVB hoisting the UEFA Champions League trophy in 1997 - still the biggest title the club has ever won. It seemed like Dortmund might be on the verge of a period of dominance...until reality hit. A series of blunders on the transfer market, in managerial appointments, and at the boardroom level sent the club into a tailspin. Listen in for a story of a great fall. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As we ease into our second month of isolation, what's better than spending time with a good book? Nik Wildhagen's been spending time with one written by his guest this week, Nils Henrik Smith. He's a novelist and football writer, and his latest book 11 meter - straffesparkets historie is all about the penalty kick. So put your earbuds in, tune out whatever pressure you're feeling, and just kick it as hard as you can into the corner. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A string of Bundesliga sides were in action in the UEFA Champions (and Europa) League this week. With players in need of a rest, is that going to foul up your fantasy team? JT and Flo are here to dig into that subject and many more ahead of Match Day five. Listen in and score big. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What a time to be alive - here we are into February and the top of the Bundesliga table is still something of a traffic jam! After Union Berlin and Borussia Dortmund dispatched their opponents on Saturday afternoon, Bayern Munich actually needed to win away to Wolfsburg on Sunday to stay top. Matt and Terry talk over all the action at the top, all the static off the pitch surrounding Manuel Neuer's big vent, Gio Reyna's scoring tear, and much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Bundesliga promotional machine has been in overdrive this week, pumping up fans around the world about Der Klassiker. With such a close race at the top at the moment, that's only natural - but there's a lot more afoot in the league, especially for Fantasy managers. Listen in as JT and Flo let you know which players to consider in each match, with a little extra on the big Dortmund-Bayern clash. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Bundesliga is working overtime. It's an English week, with matches on Tuesday and Wednesday sandwiched between the league's usual weekend exertions. Matt rounds up Derek Rae - one of the world's great soccer play-by-play men - to talk over what went down on Match Day 31, as well as what's in store as the season comes to a close. Topics include: Which team looks likeliest to make the league's top five into a top six, how a former Bundesliga title winning club found itself bankrupt, and what could be in store as the league prepares to move to ESPN. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Borussia Dortmund have done nothing but win since the Bundesliga restart, which has put them back in the title mix, just three points back of FC Bayern München. It's a tight race between the two biggest clubs in the division, but both teams will be turning their attention to the UEFA Champions League this week as they take on Chelsea and PSG respectively. Union Berlin still may have something to say - they racked up another come-from-behind win this week, this time at RB Leipzig. Matt talks it all over with Marie Schulte-Bockum... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Each englische Woche, the Bundesliga's term of endearment for the 10-day run of three match days in rapid succession, we get a chance to take stock of each team's form. A few teams pass their test with flying colors and come out with new confidence; an English week without points can be enough to send another team into deep crisis. Matt and Nik zoom in on the sides for which the gauntlet was particularly telling then look ahead to Champions League action where the Swiss cheese model is nearing full maturity.

With the Bundesliga on a break, the German football world turns its attention to the national team. For the last half-decade or so, that's been a pretty unappealing prospect as the team has played a lot of uninspiring football. Hansi Flick's disappointing two-year spell at the helm came to a close on Sunday, so Matt, Nik and Terry took the opportunity to talk through what's been ailing the DFB Team and how they might get back on track. The boys also examine a few winners and losers in the transfer window as well as whose fans will be happiest with their European away days this fall.

Bayer's visit to Bayern wasn't a goal fest, or even a very open game thanks to Leverkusen's defensive focus, but it was engrossing stuff. Best of all, it keeps things close at the top of the Bundesliga table. Matt and Terry welcome roving reporter Marie Schulte-Bockum back to the pod to talk about the Toppspiel, the ongoing issues in Hoffenheim and, of course, her beloved FC Schalke 04.

Side note: Apologies for the sound quality on Matt's track - his 'clean' track got lost and didn't get the settings right on the backup!

This Bundesliga season has been a resumption of regular service - Bayern are back on top and, Leverkusen aside, the rest of the 'top teams' have struggled for consistency. That's let an unlikely challenger in FSV Mainz 05 rise all the way to THIRD. In this episode Matt (in his own funk over Hertha BSC's dismal year in the 2. Bundesliga) talks with his Mainz fan pal Tom Ziemer about what's made the vibes so good for the zero fivers in their first full year under coach Bo Henriksen.

On a weekend of high spirits, we got a Dortmund-Bayern game that lived up to its billing as a Klassiker. Five goals, chances galore, and a run of play that suggested the loser may have come out on top on another day. Matt and Nik talk it all over, along with the seven-goal epic that was Leverkusen-Gladbach, the strong showing from the two Berlin sides, and a puzzling power struggle in Wolfsburg. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If you didn't know before, now you know. Bayern are going to win the league, Wolfsburg and Frankfurt are all but in next year's UEFA Champions League, and BVB are set to be out in the cold. (Or the Europa League. We're not sure which.) Listen in as Matt and Kit consider these storylines, review the Berlin Derby, and  more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

33 of 34 match days are in the books, and the seven teams who'll play in Europe next season are already known. But who plays in which competition is not yet clear...and what the five remaining Bundesliga participants in THIS year's Champions and Europa Leagues will do with all their July downtime is not clear at all. Matt and goal.com's Ronan Murphy talk all this over, as well as the drama on relegation row, the future of a few high profile coaches and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What with the UEFA Champions League and Europa League getting started this week, perhaps we shouldn't have been surprised to see a bit of a low-wattage weekend. Four 1-1 draws and only one team scoring more than two goals made for a few less fireworks, but didn't dent our enthusiasm for this week's guest. Matt sat down with his old pal Kit Holden, who's been working the Union beat for Berlin's Tagesspiegel newspaper. He's got lots to say about the Köpenickers' solid start, as well as ideas about which German sides have the best chances to put a real dent into European competition this season. In the middle of the show, Nik Wildhagen talks to Christian Woop, who's just completed a study on how the German press cover RB Leipzig - hear more of that interview on our Patreon page! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We'd like to sat we saw this coming - that Borussia Mönchengladbach would be atop the Bundesliga after the dust had settled on Match Day 7 - but we're not clairvoyant.  Mark Lovell came close, correctly picking 7 of 9 matches over on whoscored this past round, but (understandably) missed on the shocker of the weekend: Bayern's 2-1 home loss to Hoffenheim. Matt sits down with Mark to talk over that result, the attacking explosion against Augsburg that steered the foals into first place, and much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After all the love JT and Flo got over the past week, they were rearing to go ahead of Match Day 32. It's a straightforward affair in this episode, as they boys run through all the games on the hunt for difference-makers. (Don't worry though - they find time for plenty of digressions on refereeing controversies, JT's appearance on the 2. Bundesliga Podcast, and Flo's delight over Werder Bremen...) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Strange times. One week after we zoom in on the DFB's battle with the Bundesliga's most hardcore fans, we learn the league might have to do without all of their fans for a while. Yes, COVID-19 will come up in this podcast - but so will a Dortmund win guest Marie Schulte-Bockum calls meisterlich, a couple of great goals from USMNT stars, and the idea that German football (and other footballs, for that matter) needs to get a lot more feminine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Max Eberl, one of the towering figures of the Bundesliga over the last decade and a half, made a bold decision last week: he walked away. The Borussia Mönchengladbach sporting director said he was exhausted, and that he had lost any sense of joy in his work, so he called a halt to his tenure at the venerable club. His press conference was a tearful exit, not least because it was evident to all involved how much he cared for Gladbach - and how much he had accomplished prior to a patchy season this term. How did it come to this? Nik Wildhagen wanted to find out, so he called up Vollraute Abroad podcaster Manuel Breuer for a good long chat on Eberl's body of work, and what might come next for the foals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Bundesliga returned to regularly scheduled service after the international break on MD8, kicking off a six-week whirlwind stretch that will see plenty of teams play no fewer than 12 games across multiple competitions. So who got off to an auspicious start? FC Bayern München snapped their four-game winless run by beating Bayer 04 Leverkusen, Eintracht Frankfurt got a statement win over league leaders Union Berlin, and Werder Bremen really stirred the pot by putting five past Borussia Mönchengladbach. We take in all those results of course, but did you notice the big team we didn't mention? Ye,s, Matt chews the fat with Substacker extraordinare Adam Khan about Borussia Dortmund too. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bundesliga sides are about to sprint toward the Hinrunde finish, playing three games in the space of just over a week in an englische Woche. Lots of permutations to consider when there's three times the fixtures to contend with, but JT and Flo are here to help you sort out where the smart money is. As the Winterpause starts on 20 December, this will be the final TF Fantasy preview of 2021 - but look out for a Twitter spaces chat with the boys on Monday 13 December. Best of luck! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Just after it looked like the 2020 Golden Boy winner might have to stay home and quarantine, Erling Braut Haaland didn't just show up to play - he slayed. Four goals in a 5-2 win over Hertha Berlin sent Dortmund back into second, just a point back from Bayern, who had a surprisingly tough time against Werder. Matt and Nik talk the action at the top over, check in on the cellar dwellers, and hear a bit from this week's Patreon Deep Dive on VfB Stuttgart. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

At last the German second tier has returned from its looooong break - one even longer that the big boys in the top flight. Plenty to talk about after a weekend of action there in the 2. Bundesliga, and plenty more to dissect from the rungs below as well. Nik Wildhagen is back with Jasmine and Maik to take it all in. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lots of change in the second tier. We're just eight games in and already four sides - Erzgebirge Aue, SV Sandhausen, Holstein Kiel and FC Ingolstadt - have parted ways with their coaches. Listen in as Nik WIldhagen, Jasmine Baba and Maik Krükemeier weigh in on each and attempt to diagnose what could right the ship. The gang then explain why it was that fourth-tier 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig's attempt to merge with VfB Leipzig made national news in Germany. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Visitors reigned supreme on Match Day 6 in the Bundesliga - the first round of games in Bundesliga history to see EIGHT away wins. What all those results meant in practice, however, was that Bayern Munich are back in a place they feel very much at home - the top of the Bundesliga. Matt calls up the spectacular Marie Schulte-Bockum for a talk about the return of the kings, her high-flying Schalke, Dortmund's difficulties, and much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You've had a month to think things over. You've watched the Bundesliga's 18 teams make personnel moves (or stand pat) and you're wondering how to get your Rückrunde  off to a good start. Here come JT and Flo with some solid answers - listen up! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Germany's relegation playoffs may not involve teams that play champagne football, but the storylines they offer up are plenty tantalizing. After another loss (this time to Stuttgart), what can the increasingly desperate HSV do to get back to the top flight? Are Bielefeld doomed after sealing their second straight drop with a loss to Wiesbaden? And what should we look forward to in next year's second and third tiers now that we know who's playing in them? Nik, Jasmin and Maik get into it...

With FC Bayern München making sure there wouldn't be another slip-up against TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, RB Leipzig needed full points on Saturday night to stay within touching distance of the top. They did just that, picking up their first win of the season against a fellow Spitzenmannschaft (top team) in Leverkusen. But who is a Spitzenmannschaft anyway? Adi Hütter reckons his Eintracht Frankfurt side are one at the moment, and VfL Wolfsburg might be too as they spend another week in the top four. Listen in as Matt and Nik hash the issue out, along with much more after an eventful Match Day 19. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The international break is finally over and the Bundesliga is back ! There's unlimited transfers ahead of Match Day 8 so get stuck in! JT and Flo get you ready for action. For more advice for the entire pre-Winterpause period, head over to our Patreon page for a bonus TFF! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Plenty of news from the 2. Liga. Werder Bremen prevailed over Hamburger Sport-Verein in an action packed Nordderby, Schalke realized after all these years that their main sponsor had some dodgy connections, and a return to form from SV Darmstadt in a win in Dresden. Speaking of Darmstadt, their assistant coach Maximilian Hahn joins the pod for some on-the-ground insight. Listen in as he talks all things lower leagues with guest host Jasmine Baba and Maik Krükemeier. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With just one more match day to go, a lot has become clear in the various races for promotion and relegation in Germany's lower leagues - but not everything. Nik, Jasmine and Maik take you through all the celebrations, permutations and more as the 2. Bundesliga, 3. Liga and more head into the final stanza.

Some match days are bigger than others - this one was gigantic. The league leaders gave up three goals unanswered to lose in Mönchengladbach. Dortmund, up and down so much this season, got a signature win in Leipzig. Hapless Schalke rode Matthew Hoppe's goals to glory - their first three-point haul in nearly a YEAR. Suffice it to say there was plenty for Matt and Nik to talk about, and Reiss drops by to rescue Bielefeld's win over Hertha from oblivion. Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Could 1. FC Union Berlin be on the verge of something truly magical? They brushed aside their cross-town rivals Hertha for the fifth derby on the trot and are now within one point of FC Bayern München. After the Rekordmeister limped through the English week with nothing but draws, there's a chance their season could end without (gasp!) the usual multi-trophy celebration. With Union and Bayern topping the docket, who else could Matt turn to but Kit Holden? The Scheisse! We're Going Up! author joins TFD from Vietnam - the lucky guy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Here we go again. While FC Bayern München's steely efficiency saw it through in Stuttgart, Dortmund fell prey to their old troubles with smaller sides. Matt and Nik chat about those two teams' fortunes on MD9, mull over how good Leipzig really is, consider next week's Berlin Derby, and sort through Schalke's multi-layered troubles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

More of this please! We here at TF love all Bundesliga match days; just some more than others. When one comes along with this many late-game thrills, this many matches packed with goals, and this many eyebrow-raising results, you have to savor it. This week Matt speaks to Marie Schulte-Bockum about Anthony Modeste's big night of redemption, Borussia Mönchengladbach's derby win over 1. FC Köln, Bayer Leverkusen's breakout performance under the tutelage of a Hugo Boss model, and whether Pellegrino Matarazzo might be in trouble at VfB Stuttgart. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Everyone knows who the two best strikers in the Bundesliga are - but who's the third? ANd more importantly, who's going to score the most points on Match Day 9? JT and Flo are here to walk you through the answer to that question as well as many many others. Listen and learn... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If there's been one certainty since Rasenballsport Leipzig entered Germany's top tier, it's that the club will do everything it can to compete for a top-four place. This season, all that looks under threat. With just one win in their last six, the Red Bulls are in danger of tumbling out of the UEFA Champions League places. On this episode, Nik and Terry try and figure out how much rope coach Marco Rose has left. Also on the agenda: BVB's Jekyll and Hyde week in the Bundesliga and UCL, Hertha BSC's latest managerial change and more.

With just three match days to go in the 2020-21 Bundesliga season, there's not a lot of time left to rack up points - and not a lot of room for mistakes. Listen in as JT and Flo answer all your questions on whom to sell, buy, drop, put into your starting XI, and make your star man.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Yes, we know it's January already but honestly we had to wait until now to crown FC Bayern München Herbstmeister. That peculiar title ('autumn champion') usually goes to the side in the lead going into the winter break, but this season's odd calendar means the designation was up for grabs until this weekend. What happened? Well, Bayern won and all the rest of the teams in the top four lost and the Bavarians claim the crown. That turn of events naturally makes this week's guest pundit Rick Joshua pleased - he and Nik talk about the title race slipping away, as well as the tarnish on Union's big win, the last minute drama in Stuttgart, and the swaggering return of Luka Jovic. Reiss' rescue this week: Bremen's battling win to get a leg up on the rest of the back of the pack.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's the October international break people - that means one thing: All the transfers you can can eat. JT and Flo bring a blockbuster episode to let you know how best to take advantage of this rare opportunity, not to mention what players to pick in the juiciest fixtures on Match Day 8. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Plenty to talk about from the weekend - Erling Haaland did his best to match the goalscoring exploits of Thomas Meunier and fire Dortmund to victory against Freiburg, Union Berlin kept on burnishing their European bona fides ahead of a big DFB Pokal Berlin derby clash, and Robert Lewandowski made Bundesliga history for the umpteenth time. Matt rings up Terry Duffelen to make sense of it all. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Well that was a more than half decent Klassiker, wasn't it? Five goals, end-to-end action, goals from the star strikers...and a whole heal of controversy and acrimony. Matt sits down with Terry Duffelen - whose new BVB history book is out now - to talk about his team's defensive dunder-headed-ness, Bayern's penchant for a ruthless goal, and young Jude Bellingham's willingness to dredge up a refereeing scandal that the DFB thought it had buried. They also explore the issues surrounding Jesse Marsch's exit from RB Leipzig, a couple of six-goal wins and more... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

1. FC Union Berlin made it three for three in the German capital's Stadtmeisterschaft this past weekend, giving everyone another plum opportunity to gawk at the mess Hertha BSC has become. After an extra day to survey the wreckage, a crestfallen Matt hauls in Kit Holden for their traditional tête-à-tête. They talk about the derby, Union's chances of heading back to Europe next season in a crowded field of aspirants, what Bayern need to do to get past Villareal, Leipzig and Eintracht's chances in the Europa League and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sailing into the international break, we've learned a few things. Reports of Eintrcht Braunschweig's imminent demise were premature, FC St. Pauli have well and truly hit the skids, and Frank Schmidt might well remain coach at FC Heidenheim until 2037. Plenty more going on, of course - Nik, Jasmine, and Maik take you through all the big stories from the 2. Bundesliga and the lower leagues here on the Aufstieg edition. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

So Bayern went and made it a double with a win in the DFB Pokal Final, while Werder Bremen got out of their two-legged relegation playoff without a win...but a ticket to the top flight ride for another year. Matt gets together with podcast stalwarts Terry Duffelen and Nik Wildhagen for a wide-ranging chat about the future of fallen giants Bremen, Bayern's dominance (and whether it'll ever cease), and a host of other topics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If you take a look at the Bundesliga table, it's hard not to come to the conclusion that the most disappointing team of the season is Gladbach. The foals have been European challengers for much of the last decade, but this year under new coach Adi Hütter that reputation is very much under threat. Gladbach sit way down in 13th after 15 games, and a poor English week to end the first half of the season could see them fall even further. Nik rings up Vollraute Abroad podcaster Manuel Breuer to find out what's gone wrong and how to stop the bleeding. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

They said it was a one-team league. If it was, at the moment that one team would be 1. FC Union Berlin, the low-budget side from the capital that's been getting high-end results all season. (With FC Bayern München slightly adrift, someone has to take up the mantle.) This week Matt welcomes a new guest, Jake Payne of the 50 Plus Döner show, to talk over the unfamiliar order at the top, the triumphant return of Marco Rose, and a string of puzzling VAR decisions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's a familiar sight at the top of the Bundesliga: FC Bayern are first, followed by Borussia Dortmund, followed by 16 other teams. It's early days, but as yet, Germany's two heavyweights are making a good case for being the class of the division again. Top guest Marie Schulte-Bockum joins Matt on the pod to talk through the duopoly's strong start, as well as how she's feeling about whether her beloved FC Schalke 04 are prepared to mount a credible campaign to stay in the top flight. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's not every week Bundesliga fans witness Bayern slip up and lose to a side in the relegation zone - and see the Rekordmeister's main challenger win to keep the pressure up. But dang if Augsburg and Dortmund each played their parts and pulled it off. Thanks to that - and perhaps a self-inflicted case of COVID knuckle-headery on Säbener Strasse, a fresh wind of competition now blows through the Bundesliga. Matt invites AFP's Kit Holden on the pod to talk that over, along with a certain fixture that wasn't very competitive - the Berlin derby, at which Kit's 1. FC Union Berlin basically mopped the floor with Matt's Hertha BSC. Listen in as a new Stadtmeister is crowned! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This one's for the crate-diggers, truffle-hounds, and off-the-beaten-path walkers of football fandom. Nik, Maik, and Jasmine take you down to one of Germany's fourth-tier leagues, the Regionalliga West. That might sound a bit obscure, but today's Regionalliga West is chock full of clubs with fascinating histories, which the gang are ready to tell you about: KFC Uerdingen, Fortuna Köln, Alemannia Aachen and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We all had ideas about who to buy going into the season. We had ideas about who to play after the first week or two. Now, with five match days in the books, we know a few things moving forward. Bayern are such a shot (and goal) machine that it makes some of their expensive players seem affordable, Cologne's Anthony Modeste is a good value pick-up, and Freiburg defenders might be worth a flutter. Listen in as JT and Flo address these topics and much more... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What a season it's been. Record-setting exploits from FC Bayern München and Robert Lewandowski; overachievement from the likes of VfL Wolfsburg, 1. FC Union Berlin and VfB Stuttgart; deep despair for fans of FC Schalke 04. There's one more shot at redemption, not only for the three sides still in relegation trouble (including Flo's beloved Werder Bremen) but also for every fantasy manager who's just points away from their goal. Listen in for tips on how to get there from JT and Flo! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The football media went gaga for the Germany attacking duo they dubbed 'Wusiala' after a big win over Hungary this international break. Naturally that means speculation over whether FC Bayern München can afford the W(irtz) to go along with the (M)usiala, so Matt, Nik and Terry threw their hats into that ring too. The gang also turned their attention to the latest crop of German coaching exports in England, where Fabian Hürzeler is leading the way...

With all the UEFA competitions under way, the games are coming thick and fast for more than a third of the teams in the Bundesliga. And while you might wish you could copy-and-paste Christopher Nkunku's numbers from this week's Champions League game in Manchester, it doesn't quite work that way. Listen in as JT and Flo provide you with strategies for dealing with squad rotation, lopsided match-ups (there are potentially several on MD5), and more... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As you might have heard, FC Bayern München went to Dortmund and took their hosts BVB apart...but that's the way the Klassiker seems to go in recent years. Nik and Terry dig into that and other stories, including a tempestuous week for Mainz 05 that ended with a win, Cologne's persisting troubles, coming changes at the top for Werder Bremen and more.

With the Bundesliga season on ice, How much trouble is German football (and other kinds of football) in? And what can be done about it? Nik Wildhagen runs the show this week, recruiting his old TF Extra pals Matt and Terry on to talk about the big four of FC Bayern München, Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig and Bayer Leverkusen reaching out to help smaller clubs, some ominous recent words of Gianni Infantino, innovative fund drives in the lower divisions, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Five games into the 2023-24 Bundesliga season, FC Bayern München, Bayer 04 Leverkusen and RB Leipzig are - as expected - looking pretty damn good. But there are a number of surprises: TSG Hoffenheim and VfB Stuttgart are also setting a blistering pace, while 1. FC Köln, Borussia Mönchengladbach and 1. FSV Mainz 05 have yet to record a win. Matt, Nik, and Terry are ready to talk all those teams' prospects over, as well as take a look at what Julian Nagelsmann might do in his new job.

What do you do when you when the games start to come thick and fast? You plan ahead! We're heading into a week with THREE sets of fixtures in the space of ten days, so you'd better get your squad set before it begins. JT and Flo are here to help - listen in! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What's up with the points you might have earned in MD21's canceled Gladbach vs. Cologne clash? And how do you deal with all the big scorers facing off in Friday's BVB-Eintracht clash on MD22? JT and Flo are here with answers to those and many other questions! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The gap at the top of the Bundesliga is back to a slim two points! Results on Match Day 19 led us there, as did FC Bayern München's win over 1. FC Union Berlin - three points the Bavarians had to wait about two months to pick up. Speaking of two months, that's going to seem like the blink of an eye compared to the drawn-out saga we're going to get regarding who'll be Jürgen Klopp's successor at Liverpool, so Bayer 04 Leverkusen fans need to be ready to strap in. Matt, Nik and Terry take all this in along with Nenad Bjelica's future at Union, Jadon Sancho's return to playing like himself, Werder Bremen's resurgence and more.

Hey Bayern fans! USMNT fans! You of all people know that whenever Jürgen Klinsmann is around, drama is always in the room as well.  Matt rounds up Axel Falk to talk about Klinsi's losing return to the Bundesliga with Hertha BSC against Dortmund, as well as run through what might make each of the four main title challengers winners come May...or also-rans. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

First it was Jürgen Klopp taking over as Global Head of Soccer at Red Bull, then Thomas Tuchel saying yes to an offer to coach England. It could hardly have been a more exciting week on Europe's coaching carousel for German football. Matt, Nik and Terry try to figure out whether Tuchel and England are really a match made in heaven, whether their disappointment in Klopp meant they'd gotten a bit too parasocial with a football coach, and whether all the coaches getting out of day-to-day club management means the TOO MUCH FOOTBALL issue is hitting them too. A little bit on Berlin's most endangered football ground as well.

Dortmund shook off their Champions League flame-out with a big win in Wolfsburg; Bayern limped to a narrow home win over Bielefeld. The gap between the two sides is still just a point, and with a Erling Haaland back in action and scoring goals, something other than a Bayern runaway seems possible ahead of Der Klassiker. Matt gets hyped up with Adam Khan (breaking the lines, German Football Newsletter) about the big one next week, about the future of Jesse Marsch, Ralf Rangnick's big English adventure, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We're offering up something a bit special today - a small taste of what you'll find over on our Patreon page! Our resident Bundesliga history buff Nik Wildhagen has curated another season of Historic Matchday Moments, a series of shorts about some of the biggest happenings in German top flight history, doled out week by week. This week Nik speaks with Michael Pahl of the FC St Pauli museum, who gives us a window on the Hamburg club's development from a fairly sleepy football club to the international symbol of swashbuckling punk-rock progressivism we know today. You could say it all started in 1977, when they got one over on their eternal rivals HSV. We hope you enjoy it - if you do, please become a patron of the pod, for as little as $3 a month! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mark van Bommel, we hardly knew ye. No really, we only got to see you coach VfL Wolfsburg for nine games before you got the sack. Seems a bit harsh after a loss to SC Freiburg (which could happen to anyone these days), but that's the nature of the business. Matt rounds up Matthew Marshall, who's been doing plenty of ground-hopping lately, to get his thoughts on teams from around the league. According to him Mainz are back, Eintracht are sputtering, and Marco Rose might not be all he's cracked up to be... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices