TOUR EVENT
The 86th North Derby gathered a full house on Saturday at the Bremen Weserstadion. However, the fans, “Bremen” left the match in frustrated feelings, comprehending the incredible - the third consecutive defeat of the recent leader. Moreover, from the Hamburg which closed the table! The gap from the leading “Schalke” has grown to 7 points. And to top all the troubles now, Thomas Schaaf’s wards also went around Stuttgart. The hopes of the "Bremen Town Musicians" for gold were wrapped in thick fog. But the “Hamburg” under the Dutchman Hub Stevens, it seems, recalls the sweet taste of success thanks to the second victory in a row. The Hamburgers have not yet got out of the relegation zone. But they left the last place.
HERO TOUR
Rafael van der Warth dealt with the “Bremen”, shipping the autumn champion on goal in the end halves. The Dutchman from Hamburg held his first ball from a penalty awarded for Jensen's foul against Jarolim. And then he ran away from the center of the field to a rendezvous with Wiese and outwitted the Bremen goalkeeper. Due to injuries and disqualifications, van der Warth played early: in the current championship, he went to only 14 matches. But, when Raphael is in shape, it is difficult to stop him, what the Bremen defenders once again believed.
TOUR FAILURE
Macedonian Oka Nikolov - reserve goalkeeper of “Eintracht”. The main one is Marcus Prell, but he is now injured. The match with “Stuttgart” turned out to be a nightmare for 32-year-old Nikolov: four goals conceded in his field. At the end of the game there was a moment when it seemed that fortune would finally spare the Balkan: he fended off a penalty from Hitzlsperger. However, the German national team player on the finishing hit the target.
TOUR SENSATION
Defeat of Bavaria from Alemannia. Strictly speaking, the Munichers have recently accustomed to their misfires. However, the victory over “Arminia” in the previous round could be interpreted as the beginning of the Bavarian renaissance. But no. The champion is again a bit - in Aachen. For the modest “Alemannia”, who has not won at home since September, three points will be an excellent help in the struggle for survival. Ottmar Hitzfeld has to puzzle over how to revive a withered team for a Tuesday champions rendezvous with Real Madrid.
TREND
Kevin Kuranyi is in great shape . Forward “Schalke” is unstable: it can wilt for a few months, and then abruptly take on the first roles. Now the 25-year-old Gelsenkirchenz has a white streak. In five games of the second round, he scored five goals, including two on Saturday, “Wolfsburg”. It is no coincidence that Joachim Leo returned Kevin to the German national team. In her recent match with the Swiss, he excelled too.
CM. ALSO
Rafael van der Warth’s amazing trick and almost virtuoso performance trick in the second half of the match against Werder Bremen will outweigh perhaps two of his goals on the scales of other aesthetes. And it will be remembered for sure longer.
TOUR DIGIT
“Nuremberg”, having defeated on Sunday, “Energy”, increased the unbeaten run to 11 matches. Thanks to this, the team climbed to fifth place and is just one point behind the Bayern owning the champion title. If the wards of Hans Mayer were too peaceful, they would be located even higher. Indeed, in their liability there are only two defeats.
Sergey NIKOLAEV