German Sport

> Bundesliga Match day 12: Leverkusen wins again

> German footballers humiliated by Austrian side

> Germany defeated in first home game under new coach

> Chief coach Urs Fischer leaves FC Union Berlin

Bundesliga

The Bundesliga, Germany’s premier football league, was founded in 1963 and comprises 18 teams. Seasons run from August to May, with games being played on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Some 56 clubs have competed in the Bundesliga since its founding. Bayern München (Munich) has won 32 of 60 Bundesliga titles, including the last eleven.

Season 2023/24

Match day 13: 01 December – 03 December

Results

Bayern München (Munich) X–X FC Union Berlin (match postponed due to heavy snowfall)

Darmstadt 98 0-1 FC Köln (Cologne)

RB Leipzig 2-1 FC Heidenheim 1846

Borussia Mönchengladbach 2-1 1899 Hoffenheim

VfL Bochum 3-1 VfL Wolfsburg

VfB Stuttgart 2-0 Werder Bremen

FSV Mainz 05 0-1 SC Freiburg

Bayer Leverkusen 1-1 Borussia Dortmund

FC Augsburg 2-1 Eintracht Frankfurt

Bundesliga table after 13 matches played

1 Bayer Leverkusen 35 points

2 Bayern München (Munich) 32 pts *

3 VfB Stuttgart 30 pts

4 RB Leipzig 26 pts

5 Borussia Dortmund 25 points

6 1899 Hoffenheim 20 pts

7 Eintracht Frankfurt 18 pts

8 SC Freiburg 18 pts

9 FC Augsburg 17 pts

10 Borussia Mönchengladbach 16 pts

11 VfL Wolfsburg 16 pts

12 VfL Bochum 13 pts

13 Werder Bremen 11 pts

14 FC Heidenheim 1846 11 pts

15 FC Köln (Cologne) 9 pts

16 SV Darmstadt 98 9 pts

17 FSV Mainz 05 8 pts

18 FC Union Berlin 7 pts *

* After 12 matches played

Matchday 14: 08 to 10 December 2023

German footballers humiliated by Austrian national side

22 November 2023: The German national football team has now played four international matches under its new coach Julian Nagelsmann. They won their first match against the USA and drew against Mexico. A promising start was then followed by two defeats. Against Turkey on Saturday (18 November) and yesterday (21 November), against Austria. After the Austria game, the national coach spoke of an embarrassment and team captain İlkay Gündoğan added: "It can't get any worse than this."

Games played under Julian Nagelsmann

14 October: USA vs Germany 1:3

18 October: Mexico vs Germany 2:2

18 November: Germany vs Turkey: 2:3

21 November: Austria vs Germany: 2:0

After the defeat in Vienna, Nagelsmann was honest enough to admit that the German footballers don’t play as a team. At the moment, seven months before the start of the European Championship in Germany, it is difficult to predict what the German team will look like.

Nagelsmann was harsh but accurate in his criticism of his players when he accused them of ‘slow play’ and ‘absurd ball losses’. As a result, he said, they had to defend too often and were not good at it, at least not good enough. The German coach added that the team had an abundance of top players who are good at ball control and attacking play. “But maybe we need one less top talent and one additional worker,” Nagelsmann pondered. BACK TO TOP

German footballers defeated in first home game under new coach

19 November 2023: On 18 November 2023, in Berlin, in their first home game under Julian Nagelsmann, the German national football team played well but not well enough against a passionate Turkish side. In the first 15 minutes, the Germans dominated and especially after Kai Havertz's goal five minutes after the kick-off it looked as if the hosts were in control of the game. But the German footballers underestimated the Turkish level of emotion. Loudly supported by thousands of Turks living in Berlin, the Turkish national team equalised in the 38th minute to make it 1:1. Shortly before the final whistle it was 2:1 for the guests.

After the break, it was again the Germans who went on the offensive and were rewarded with a goal four minutes after the kick-off thanks to the interplay between Florian Wirtz and Niclas Füllkrug. Unfortunately, as in the first half, the goal did not spur the German players on. On the contrary, it was the Turkish side that increased the pressure and it was only thanks to the German goalkeeper Kevin Trapp that the guests did not score. However, after a handball by Kai Havertz, Trapp was unable to prevent Turkey's Yusuf Sari from converting the penalty.

The German national team has now lost its first home game under Nagelsmann. In the sold-out Olympic stadium in Berlin, however, it was the Turkish fans who were the most passionate. Turkish international Salih Özcan raved about the atmosphere, which made for a real home game for Turkey. "The clash is always special, I think," said Özcan. "We felt good, we took the fans with us, we enjoyed it and it feels indescribably beautiful."

The German national football team played with commitment, but was not always well organised in defence. The Turkish professionals capitalised on this. Coach Julian Nagelsmann has a lot of work ahead of him.

"As a team, we had a good level of emotion," said Nagelsmann on television. "But individual players didn't always have the same level of emotion as their opponents. That's where we have to improve, because we don't have time to waste." The groups for EURO 2024 will be drawn on 2 December in Hamburg.

"We conceded three goals - again. At this level, that's too much," said Germany captain Ilkay Gündogan. "We weren't aggressive enough. We made it too easy for the Turks to pass the ball back and forth. Then you run behind a lot - and of course that shouldn't be our benchmark."

On Tuesday, 21 November, the German team will play against Austria in Vienna. BACK TO TOP

Football trainer of the Year leaves Union Berlin

16 November 2023: The coach who led the football club FC Union Berlin to the Bundesliga, Germany’s top tier of football, and to three European competitions, is leaving the club. The board of Union Berlin announced yesterday (15 November 2023) that after 14 games without a win, it has been mutually decided that a new start, a new face was required. Now, Urs Fischer and Union Berlin are going their separate ways after more than five years together. According to the club, Fischer and club president Dirk Zingler have reached an amicable and constructive agreement.

After five successful seasons with promotion to the Bundesliga and three qualifications for international competition, Union are relegation-threatened this season. During Urs Fischer's time at FC Union, the club celebrated some of the greatest successes in its history. Following promotion in May 2019, Union established itself in the Bundesliga. After qualifying for the Conference League and the Europa League, Union managed to qualify for the Champions League, the most important club competition in European soccer, at the end of last season.

Urs Fischer took over as head coach of the professional men's team of 1. FC Union Berlin in July 2018 where, alongside his long-standing co-coach Markus Hoffmann.

After gaining promotion to the Bundesliga in their first season together, the team then confidently stayed in the top flight. In the following three seasons, Fischer then led the team to seventh, fifth and fourth place in the Bundesliga, thus qualifying for the UEFA Conference League, Europa League and ultimately the Champions League competitions for the first time in the club's history.

Fischer therefore goes down as the most successful coach in Union’s history. He has repeatedly received awards for his work in Berlin and was voted ‘Coach of the Year in the summer of 2023 by assorted football magazines, players as well as his fellow coaches. Fischer was in charge of Union Berlin’s first team in a total of 224 competitive matches.

Following the decision to leave Berlin, Urs Fischer said: "The last few weeks have cost a lot of strength. We've tried a lot, and the team has put in a lot of effort, but it hasn't paid off in terms of results. I am very grateful for the confidence I have always felt here. Nevertheless, it feels right to make a change now. Sometimes a different face, a different way of addressing a team helps to spark a development." BACK TO TOP

In your opinion: Please comment

Contributing news stories

Please email the German Brief Editor if you wish to suggest or contribute a news story. Alternatively, you may use our input form.