Lions ready to roar again
With the Bundesliga celebrating an illustrious 50th anniversary, this weekend marked the start of the season. Well, it was for the second tier anyway and TSV 1860 Munich commenced their campaign by hosting newly promoted Jahn Regensburg.
Regensburg is a beautiful cathedral city and because it's located in Bavaria, this match qualified as a derby game with 45,300 fans flocking to the Allianz Arena on Saturday.
1860 were strong favourites to win this game (see match report), and justified this billing by running out narrow 1-0 winners. The Lions are quietly confident of earning promotion back to the top flight where they last played eight years ago. With an established core of solid professionals and six top quality new signings the exciting blend of experience and talent is fully expected to lift the team to the higher echelons of the 2nd division table.
The financial problems and boardroom power struggles of the last couple of seasons appear to have been put aside for now. This season it's all about the football and sealing a return to the big time.
"When I arrived at the club we didn't really know whether we could continue with professional football." This is what Director of Football Florian Hinterberger said immediately after last seasons' final league game with Alemannia Aachen. When asked whether he would enjoy a nice summer holiday, Hinterberger replied, "Vacation, no. There is no time, I have to work very hard to get a good team together."
Hinterberger was true to his word. Undoubtedly, he has been exceptionally astute and managed to bring in some outstanding new players.
Makos set to make his mark : Photo Tony Mayger
Another of the new recruits who starred for his sides' national team at Euro 2012 was Polish defender Grzegorz Wojkowiak, signed from Lech Poznan after playing 107 matches for the 2010 Polish league champions. Ismael Blanco is an Argentine striker who left his former employ in Poland to join the Lions as a free agent this season and 28-year old Moritz Volz, a Premier League player with Fulham for five years, has swapped St. Pauli for the Bavarian capital. Volz is a very capable replacement for right back Antonio Rukavina who departed Munich for Real Valladolid at the end of last season and will wear the number two shirt.
Attracting this type of quality player to the 2nd division of German football is no easy task. "We always have to fight to get these players. It was a little difficult but now I'm very happy that we have achieved this" Hinterberger remarked last week after the friendly against Borussia Moenchengladbach in Tegernsee.
Spanish defender Guillermo Vallori is feeling bullish about the coming season and is full of praise for his new team mates. "They are good players and good people which is also important for the stability in the dressing room." At the end of last season many of the teams' best players moved on to pastures new. That left both players and fans worrying about how they could be replaced." At the beginning of the season I was wondering what was happening but now, believe me I think it is good. I am optimistic."
With the addition of Moritz Stoppelkamp and Marin Tomasov, also bolstering the squad, the Lions are widely considered to be one of the favourites for promotion. All that remains to be seen now is whether they can handle the pressure of expectation.
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Paderborn perform for new manager Müller
1860 could have gone into this match with a lot of confidence having finally ending their terrible run of home form by destroying Union Berlin last weekend. Past results also seemed to favour the boys from Munich who have the 3rd best away form in the league. Paderborn's home form is terrible, only better than last-place Regensburg. Football, as we all well know, isn't a game played on paper and with the arrival of new manager Rene Müller for the home side after the sacking of Stephan Schmidt mid-week, nothing could be taken for granted. It can often be difficult playing against a team with a...
Halfar heals temporary wounds
It's not often that you find yourself in need of the end of a season but for 1860 München, that is very much the case. The season has been littered with off-field discrepancies, the latest saw members refuse to vote on the presidency at the club, and now more than ever the club needs time away from football.
Hasan Ismaik's latest grumbling had a bit more of a serious note to it as the club's future has been threatened. Amongst all of that, 1860 had to travel to Cologne to face a side pushing for a promotion spot that Schmidt's men also once realistically dreamt of. Four changes were made in...
Hasan Ismaik's latest grumbling had a bit more of a serious note to it as the club's future has been threatened. Amongst all of that, 1860 had to travel to Cologne to face a side pushing for a promotion spot that Schmidt's men also once realistically dreamt of. Four changes were made in...
Lethargic Lions Lose Again
After the dazzling, midweek sunshine it felt as if the unusually long winter was finally over and that summer had arrived. Unfortunately, it didn't last and Munich was yet again plunged into cold, blustery conditions as 1860 München entertained FSV Frankfurt at the Allianz Arena. Team this with the fact that Frankfurt have the lowest attendance levels in the league and it was hardly surprising that the stadium was very quiet.
Frankfurt have been somewhat of a surprise package this season. Having finished dangerously close to relegation in the last few seasons, they have been in much better form...
Frankfurt have been somewhat of a surprise package this season. Having finished dangerously close to relegation in the last few seasons, they have been in much better form...
Yet another draw for stuttering 1860
With Bayern Munich finally securing their status as football champions of Germany it is safe to say that Munich was painted red yesterday. However, in the blue half of the city things are a lot more precariously balanced. After a great set of results last week, 1860 sat in 6th position with the opportunity of reaching the play-off place still faintly in their grasp. The visitors today, Energie Cottbus, began the weekend in 7th and could leapfrog 1860 with a victory. A poor result here could be disastrous for either team, effectively ending all promotion hopes and condemning them to a mid-table...
1860 blow chance to reach Relegation
TSV München von 1860 came into this game knowing that realistically they needed a win to remain in competition for third place and a shot at promotion. In Germany, the bottom two in the Bundesliga are automatically relegated and replaced by the top two in the 2. Bundesliga whereas the third-bottom team from the first division plays off against the third-placed team from the second division in a two-legged battle for the right to play top-flight football. Oddly for English speakers, these two games are called Relegation, which is in fact more of a hint towards the meaning of the result than the...
Derby-Day Draw Disappoints
With the sun beating down on Munich from a cloudless sky I made my way with 24,000 others to the Allianz Arena. Fans of both 1860 and Ingolstadt were in a jovial mood with the underground packed and bouncing as a result of the dancing fans who were singing at the tops of their voices. After the obligatory Leberkäsesemmel from the press area (the best I've had in Munich) I made my way out to the stands just in time to see the teams taking to the field with the sounds of music ringing out around the stadium. Following a draw with Dynamo Dresden last week, Ingolstadt found themselves languishing...
Löwen will tear you apart.
I think it's fair to say that 1860 have not been the team making the headlines in Munich over the past few weeks. Bayern's exceptional dismantling of Barcelona's tiki-taka style of football in the Champions League has created an incredible buzz around the city and there was clearly still some excitement loitering in the Allianz Arena for 1860's match against Union Berlin.
Nursing a hangover the size of Gabor Kiraly I took my seat next to an old man in a knitted 1860 jumper hoping that Die Löwen could end their terrible run of results at the Allianz Arena. They could however take some comfort in...
Nursing a hangover the size of Gabor Kiraly I took my seat next to an old man in a knitted 1860 jumper hoping that Die Löwen could end their terrible run of results at the Allianz Arena. They could however take some comfort in...
Ismaik leaves 1860 on the brink
TSV 1860 München investor Hasan Ismaik has followed through with his threat to pull the plug on his financial loan to the club. Without his support, the traditional and historical club is on the verge of bankruptcy.
Ismaik is quoted as saying that he "was left with no other choice." It will be a particularly disappointing piece of news for 1860 fans. Despite dreams of a top-flight return this season fading with their inconsistency, there was a belief that it wouldn't take too long before they were back to domestic derbies against the mighty Bayern Munich.
2003/2004 was the last time the side...
Ismaik is quoted as saying that he "was left with no other choice." It will be a particularly disappointing piece of news for 1860 fans. Despite dreams of a top-flight return this season fading with their inconsistency, there was a belief that it wouldn't take too long before they were back to domestic derbies against the mighty Bayern Munich.
2003/2004 was the last time the side...
Brilliant Bartels sinks Sechzig
Goals. If you were to sum up 1860 München's problems this season in one word it would probably be the one you would choose. They have been fiendishly difficult to come by, especially of late. With the race for 3rd place seemingly over, 1860 already have one eye on next season, having announced the signing of former Cottbus man Daniel Adlung in the week.
Alexander Schmidt opted to make no changes to his starting eleven yet again this week, with Tomasov keeping his place ahead of Daniel Halfar who impressed after returning from injury last week. It also meant a start for Moritz Volz, who was...
Alexander Schmidt opted to make no changes to his starting eleven yet again this week, with Tomasov keeping his place ahead of Daniel Halfar who impressed after returning from injury last week. It also meant a start for Moritz Volz, who was...
Friend reignites 1860 dreams
As the clock struck 18:00 across Germany, millions of people were heading home with smiles on their faces, exuding happiness at the prospect of a 4-day weekend over the Easter period. 1860 München fans were probably biting their nails though, as their team kicked off away against Erzgebirge Aue. Over in Cottbus there was an equally important match beginning against VfR Aalen. Heading into the Easter weekend, Cottbus and 1860 were tied on points in 6th and 7th position, with both teams knowing they could end the day in 5th, just three points behind the holiest of grails; the third place playoff...
Tomasov wins the day
After what seemed just another week of typically turbulent tantrums at TSV 1860 München, the club returned to duties on the pitch with a Friday evening trip to SV Sandhausen. After last week's disappointing 1-1 draw with Ingolstadt, Schmidt made one change bringing in Moritz Volz at right back for Grzegorz Wojtkowiak.
Dieter Schneider's decision not to stand for re-election as the club's president has all the signs of a man who has finally grown tired of trying to be diplomatic. He said during a half-time interview that "the writing was on the wall," and as much as it pains him to leave, it...
Dieter Schneider's decision not to stand for re-election as the club's president has all the signs of a man who has finally grown tired of trying to be diplomatic. He said during a half-time interview that "the writing was on the wall," and as much as it pains him to leave, it...
1860 roar into action in the battle of the lions
When you look at the statistics of past encounters between these two teams 1860 München's trip to Eintracht Braunschweig hardly boded well for the visitors. The hosts are sitting pretty at the top of the 2. Bundesliga having only dropped points at home on two occasions this campaign. In stark comparison, 1860's form has seen them win only once in their last six matches. When you also consider there has never been an away victory when these two clubs have met in the 2. Bundesliga it was easy to understand why the odds were stacked against Alexander Schmidt's men. Luckily for 1860, football...
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