Borussia Dortmund hadn’t won in nine Bundesliga matches, so they hired a manager who hadn’t won in 14 matches. And it worked, somehow. Dortmund beat Mainz 2-0 to win for the first time in league play since September to give new coach Peter Stöger his first victory this season.
Borussia Dortmund needed a change, this much was obvious. The club was in a massive tailspin in both the Bundesliga and Champions League. So Dortmund fired coach Peter Bosz on Sunday. But the man they replaced him with as Dortmund coach — Peter Stöger — was just fired from the one club that has been more disappointing in the Bundesliga this season: Cologne.
With Manuel Neuer still recovering from a metatarsal fracture, Christian Fruchtl out with an ankle injury and Sven Ulreich injured in the warm-up ahead of today’s match against Eintracht Frankfurt, Bayern Munich were forced to turn to 36-year-old Tom Starke in goal today.
Starke had previously announced his retirement from professional football back in May before going behind the scenes at Bayern as the club’s academy goalkeeper coordinator.
Jonathan Klinsmann, the 20-year-old son of former USMNT coach Jurgen Klinsmann, made his Hertha Berlin debut, starting for the German side against Ostersunds FK of Sweden in the Europa League on Thursday. The Jonathan Klinsmann debut was highlighted by a save of a late penalty kick to preserve a 1-1 draw for Hertha.
Donald Trump needs to hire Natalia Christoph. If anyone can broker peace in the Middle East, it’s this young woman.
Cristoph knows how to get out of tricky situations. Like a rat navigating a labyrinth to find a hunk of tasty cheese, she may not find the most direct route, but she’ll impress you in the end.
Cristoph doesn’t take the easy option or pass the buck; she takes a challenge head on and woe unto anyone who tries to get in her way.
On Wednesday, Wayne Rooney scored an incredible long-range goal for Everton against West Ham. On Saturday, Hoffenheim's Serge Gnabry showed that he watches veteran players and copies them when he dropped a ridiculous chip into the back of RB Leipzig's net.
SERGE GNABRY! FROM WAY DOWNTOWN! https://t.co/SzIeDY23Zt
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) December 2, 2017
A Cologne striker has finally scored — a role in a new movie. Peruvian Claudio Pizarro voices a character in the German-language version of the new animated Pixar film “Coco,” which is out now in a Kino near you (assuming you live in Germany).
Pizarro is an old man nearing the end of his career on the pitch. He may have found a new calling with his voiceover role in “Coco,” which is about a young Mexican boy who is transported to the Land of the Dead during Día de los Muertos. The 39-year-old voices a skeleton who desperately wants to watch a soccer match.