Illuminati-R-Us

That kind of thing yes. In Germany, the standard thing to say is, "the Cup has its own laws", and it does. Upsets occur at satisfying frequency, even higher up the ladder. At some time in the 90s, Hertha's farm team, listed as amateurs and playing in the third league (which was regional, not national at the time), but not their bigger brothers, reached the Final against Leverkusen, and, being Hertha after all, lost.

Of course they did.

It has to be said, though, the Cup is getting less magic by the year. Bayern won 5 of the last 10 plus eight of the last 10 Championships), Dortmund two, Frankfurt, Schalke and Wolfsburg one each. Bayern are up against far-East fourth-Leaguer Energie Cottbus tonight, and their coach put their chance of an upset at 0 %, "exactly". Romanticism is alive, but the really big guns are getting immune pretty fast.

In England the money for staying in the top league means many teams write off the cups as a distraction and put everything into staying up, and the top teams are so focussed on Europe that some don't bother much about the cups. Of course when the cups gave entry to European competitions . . .

Rangers 3 - 1 Bacon pornographers

We scored our traditional early goal and that was that. Legia Warsaw next, no idea how good they are.

Played 18, won 14, drawn 2, lost 2.

Hertha! So far . . .

Fucking dodgy VAR penalty.

Heid the Ba wrote:Fucking dodgy VAR penalty.

Just what the world needs - more of those.

Bayern got a penalty at home when they needed it, you’re shocked aren’t you? Ref missed it and the VAR official called it.

That is fucking incredible

Bayern München 2 - 2 Hertha BSC

Played 19 Won 14 Drawn 3 Lost 2

Yes it is incredible, I didn’t see all of it but I saw enough.

While I am a card-carrying member of the ABB Fanclub (Anyone but Bayern) I have to admit I have a soft spot for their coach, Niko Kovac. He grew up in a tough Berlin neighbourhood and made it to the Bundesliga (Hertha, Leverkusen, Bayern) and the Croatian National Team through lots of grit and hard work. He and his brother were part of the team that threw out England of the '08 Euro Cup qualification. Remember the "Wally with a brolly" headline? That was him. He politely and professionally ignores the antics of his bosses (Hoeness and Rummenigge) at Bayern. It's true, the matches against Liverpool last season showed they were not top-notch anymore in Europe, he won two national titles with a Bayern team whose makeup he cold not influence and which had a lot of players on the descending arm of their career. I like him and his Berlin accent, which he tries best to bury under Hochdeutsch. He is always impeccably groomed but he never loses his don't-mess-with-me proletarian bearing. He is a true Berlin boy: Parents from someplace else, grew up poor, kicked himself up and went into the great wide world to be successful.

Also, you just have to love Thomas Müller, right?

Errm. Sorry.

Arneb wrote:Errm. Sorry.

Are you? Are you really?

I don’t think he is, so just for that and article in the Grauniad about Union.

But... but. OK, I'll admit it, it was the kind of Sorry tennis players say when the ball drops on the opponent's side. And I LOVE Union. Not when they play Auld Auntie, bit this no Old Firm type relation.

Hertha BSC holding Bayern to a draw is freakin' fantastic! They won't like that! lol It reminds me of my first trip to Berlin after unification when Arneb, I and my cousin were having a beer together. My cousin explained that during the 1949-89 era, no one took Bonn seriously as the West German capital and so Munich claimed that culturally it was the "real" capital. But then came 1990 and no one could credibly claim that Munich was the capital of anything other than one of the states. So it's not just the fact that Bayern Munich regularly thrash any English side they encounter - there are other reasons to raise a glass at this!

God dammit!

Partick Thistle 3 - 2 Ross County (a.e.t. - league cup)

Played 20 Won 14 Drawn 3 Lost 3.

Sorry chaps.

Aye, that’s a sair yin. Fuerth then Rangers today, we should win, Fuerth will no doubt Fuerth.

Heid the Ba wrote:AFuerth will no doubt Fuerth.

1 up at the 75th. Plenty of time to Fürth up.

Fürth don't always Fürth!

SpVgg Greuther Fürth 1 - 0 SV Jahn Regensburg

Played 21 Won 15 Drawn 3 Lost 3.

Fifth of the table until tomorrow, when Darmstadt and Osnabrück can still pass us with a win. At least we're one point clear of that hole which is Bielefeld.

Fuerth win! We’re a goal up at half time and easily the better team so the potential is there for us to Fuerth.

East Fife 0 - 3 Rangers

Straightforward and no stress, just what we need before another midweek Europa Cup game and the first Old Firm game next weekend.

Played 22, won 16, drawn 3, lost 3.

Could be long season for Union, my random game generator is showing it.

Oh indeed. 0 - 4 in the first home game is hard to swallow. Must habe been an emotional affair. Discounting Hertha, Leipzig is the only other East German Bundesliga club, and it is an epitome of commercialization, being entirely run by a soda company - which bends the Bundesliga's ownership rules to the breaking point.