MATCH DAY 1! LET’S GET IT ON!

By: Chris | August 15th, 2008

Tonight old rivals Bayern Munich and Hamburg SV kick off the 2008/09 Bundesliga campaign at the Allianz Arena in Munich. Several big names from both sides will not be in the match tonight, but that doesn’t detract from the excitement of the first match of the season. YEAH BABY, IT’S GAMEDAY!

For Hamburg, we are without the talent/skills/services of our beloved Rafael van der Vaart, who has moved on to Real Madrid in a well publicized (and long expected ) move. The worst part of this situation to me is that the club directors KNEW that VDV was going to leave–sooner rather than later–and did nothing/zip/zilch/nada to replace his production. Sorry HSV fans, I don’t think that the squad that’s going to take the pitch tonight is capable of stepping up and replacing van der Vaart’s scoring. Not to say that the season is over before it starts, but they need somebody besides Olic to score some goals. I’ve already written that I feel Guerrero is too inconsistent and that Zidan is better suited to coming off the bench. There are good young players (Choupo-Moting and Christantus come to mind) but they need more seasoning; we need somebody who can step in with the first team and hit 15 or so goals, right now. OK, enough ranting. Vincent Kompany returned to Hamburg Tuesday but will likely be coming off the bench. Timothee Atouba was questionable with a stomach virus (but now is available), and Dennis Aogo is doubtful with a injury to his backside. Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and Romeo Castellen continue to recover from knee surgery and are out. Youngsters Anton Putsilo, Macauly Christantus and Sidney Sam did not travel with the club to Bavaria.

For Bayern, they are without the services of super striker Luca Toni (calf injury), reigning Bundesliga player of the year Frank Ribery (ankle surgery), as well as Willy Sagnol, Martin Demichelis, and reportedly, Tim Borowski and Marcell Jansen are doubtful. Jose Ernesto Sosa and Breno are on Olympic duty. BUT, Bayern have a wealth of talent and are by no means fielding a team of reserves tonight. Stars Lukas Podolski and Miroslav Klose are available and as deadly as ever (though Podolski had, ahem, a bit of a slump last season).

Tonight’s match also marks the first Bundesliga game for new managers Jurgen Klinsmann and Martin Jol. It’s a bit of a homecoming for BMJ, who spent a single season (1978/79) on Bayern’s bench (appeared in 9 matches). Bayern come into tonight’s match still looking for their form. They have, frankly, played played rather average football so far, losing to Dortmund in the T-Home Cup and to Inter in the Franz Beckenbauer Cup. Both defeats can be chalked up to meaningless pre-season friendlies, but their narrow victory in the DFB Cup last weekend over Rot-weiss Erfurt (4:3) has caused considerable consternation among supporters and club officials alike. Hamburg come into the match on very good form, having narrowly lost to Real (1:0) and clobbering Juventus (3:0) in the Emirates Cup, and handling Ingolstadt last weekend (3:1) in the DFB Cup. You also have to like Hamburg’s chance to steal a point based on their record against Bayern at the Allianz–2 victories and 1 draw. Not too shabby . . .

Final thoughts: I am really keen on seeing whether HSV can continue the level of play that they’ve shown so far in the preseaon against the runaway favorites for the Bundesliga. Despite having so many players out with injuries, Bayern are still one of the top clubs in Europe and are well aware of Hamburg’s success in recent years at the Allianz. My SWAG prediction–here we go again with the predictions –An exciting 1-1 draw with goals by Olic and Klose.

PROBABLE LINEUPS:

Bayern: Rensing, Lell, Lucio, van Buyten, Lahm, van Bommel, Schweinsteiger, Zé Roberto, Kroos, Klose Podolski

HSV: Rost, Boateng, Reinhardt, Mathijsen, Atouba, Jarolim, de Jong, Pitroipa, Trochowski, Guerrero Olic

NEWS

•There is news today that scoring help may be on the way. Who, you ask? Former Bayer Leverkusen striker Andriy Voronin. Voronin has suffered the double blow at Liverpool of a run of poor form and the emergence of Fernando Torres as an irreplacable superstar. Voronin was left on the Scousers bench by Rafa Benitez in yesterday’s Champions League qualifier with Belgium’s Standard Liege in order not to be cup tied, which only further fueled speculation that he is on his way out. Voronin spent much of last season injured, and if the price is right (it has not been mentioned), I say we take a flier and sign him.

•Rumors swirling in the Argentine press that HSV have signed Boca Juniors defender Luciano Monzon for the tidy sum of $10m. HSV are denying the reports. If they are true, you can guess who’s on their way out that big door . . .

And a post today would be incomplete without a birthday wish for loyal reader and football fan extraordinaire Diana, who turns a ripe old 21 today. Diana, make it a great one!