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Qatar Tribune
20 hours ago
- Qatar Tribune
Bayern are Bundesliga top favourites again despite some transfer woes
dpa Hanover Defending champions Bayern Munich are the unanimous favourites to win yet another title in the German top flight, according to the coaches from the other teams. The league season starts on Friday when Bayern host RB Leipzig, and new Werder Bremen helmsman Horst Steffen summed up a dpa survey among the 18 coaches when he said that Bayern 'simply have the best team.' Bayern have won every Bundesliga title since 2013, with the exception of 2024 when Bayer Leverkusen's Invincibles triumphed. Several coaches believed 12 months ago that Leverkusen could do it again, but Bayern emerged victorious by 13 points, and now there is a general consensus that Bayern can't be toppled. 'The points difference was already quite big last year (season). That's why I don't believe other teams can close the gap on Bayern,' Heidenheim's Frank Schmidt said. Freiburg coach Julian Schuster said he believes it will be a bit closer this time but that 'Bayern will to be at the top again in the end.' New Bayern arrivals but more exits However, whether it will be closer remains to be seen, even though Bayern didn't get their top targets Florian Wirtz and Nick Woltemade in summer, and had to be somewhat content with Luis Diaz up front, teen-aged midfielder Tom Bischof and defender Jonathan Tah. Bayern's squad appears thin up front as Thomas Müller, Mathys Tel, Kingsley Coman and Leroy Sané have left. Others need big rebuild But others have been hit much harder, most notably Leverkusen, where coach Xabi Alonso has departed along with Tah, Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong, Granit Xhaka, Lukas Hradecky. RB Leipzig also need rebuilding after a poor season in seventh place, and have lost key forward Benjamin Sesko. Third-placed Eintracht Frankfurt must do without their forward Hugo Ekitike, while the only notable Borussia Dortmund signing so far ist Jobe Bellingham, the younger brother of their former star Jude Bellingham. Farmers' League fears Several of the departing players have found a new home in the Premier League, and former Bayern and Germany defender Holger Badstuber has warned that the Bundesliga is turning in to Farmers' league for the money-laden English top flight. 'The Bundesliga is at a crossroads,' Badstuber warned in a column for the portal. 'Either show some strength in character or continue to slide. Because what is coming up is rarely convincing: our own talents are given too little trust.' A look at Liverpool's starting 11 from their league opener last week against Bournemouth shows five former Bundesliga players in the team: Wirtz, Frimpong, Ekitike, former Stuttgart player Wataru Endo and ex-Leipzig man Dominik Szoboszlai. Xhaka has joined Sunderland and Sesko Manchester United, and Werder Bremen forward Marvin Duksch has been lured to second-tier side Birmingham City.
Qatar Tribune
2 days ago
- Qatar Tribune
Leipzig in talks with Chelsea over return of Nkunku: Report
dpa Frankfurt RB Leipzig are negotiating with Chelsea to bring Christopher Nkunku back to his former Bundesliga club, The Athletic online portal reported on Tuesday. According to multiple media reports, Bayern Munich had also set their sights on Nkunku during this transfer window. However, a move to the German record champions is said to have fallen through, with Bayern wanting a loan deal and Chelsea looking for a permanent sale. France international Nkunku, 27, played in the Bundesliga for Leipzig from 2019 to 2023, winning two German Cups and being joint league top scorer in his final season there. He then joined Chelsea for a reported £60 million ($80 million) and won the Conference League and Club World Cup earlier in the year. Despite his successes, Nkunku was apparently not happy at Stamford Bridge. Instead of Nkunku, Leipzig's Xavi Simons could soon be playing for Chelsea. The Dutchman has been repeatedly linked with the Premier League club this summer, but a prerequisite is said to be the sale of Nkunku.
Qatar Tribune
2 days ago
- Qatar Tribune
Dortmund's Couto suffers minor knee injury after harsh foul in Cup match
dpa Dusseldorf Borussia Dortmund right back Yan Couto has suffered a minor knee injury after a harsh foul in the German Cup match against Rot-Weiss Essen, according to information obtained by dpa on Tuesday. Couto was left with a painful bruise after being hit by Essen's Kelsey Owusu in the final minutes of Monday's match, won by Dortmund 1-0. The club feared he could have suffered a serious injury after he had to be taken off the pitch on a stretcher. But after further medical checks, he could be available for the Bundesliga opener at St Pauli Hamburg on Saturday. Coach Niko Kovac was furious with the incident, telling broadcaster ARD: 'I have to be honest: that's not how you play. I don't want to accuse him of intent, but that's negligence. It's basically an assault. 'I hope it's not too serious. He's in a lot of pain, and we'll have to wait for the results of the examination, but I'm still hopeful that it's just a very bad bruise.' Owusu received only a yellow card for the violent tackle. A correction to a red card by the video assistant referee (VAR) was not possible because the VAR is not available in the first and second rounds of the German Cup. 'It is unforgivable when a player tackles so hard,' Essen coach Uwe Koschinat said. Dortmund sporting director Sebastian Kehl spoke of 'a clear red card.' After finishing his comments in the mixed zone, Kehl turned back to the journalists and added with a serious expression that it was 'a brutal foul.' Owusu apologized to Couto after the game, but has deactivated his Instagram account after receiving hate messages, Essen told dpa on Tuesday. The move was agreed with the third division club. Essen also disabled the comment function on Instagram due to insults and racist comments. 'What happened on social media after the game crosses every line. Kelsey Owusu is part of our team and our club. He made a mistake in this situation, but he is not an unfair player, nor should he be the target of hate speech,' Essen said in a statement. The 'racist hostility' on social media is 'absolutely unacceptable,' the statement continued.
