Bundesliga
CLUB INTEREST CLASH WITH NATIONAL INTEREST IN GERMANY AS MUNICH PLAYERS THREATEN BOYCOTT
Former World Cup holders, Germany may be heading towards internal crisis as players of one of the Bundesliga clubsides, Bayern Munich have threatened to boycott national call-ups.
The bone of contention is the cold war betweenManuel Neuer, a goalkeeper of Bayern and his opposite number in Barcelona, Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
Bayern players therefore threatened to boycott the German national team if Coach Joachim Low drops their goalkeeper, Manuel Neuer for Stegen who has become frustrated with lack of game time.
Neuer and German goalkeeping rival Marc-Andre ter Stegen have been involved in a petty war of words recently over the No 1 spot, with the latter becoming frustrated with a lack of game time.
According to Daily Mail, Bayern president Uli Hoeness has got involved in the debate, threatening to stop players from Germany’s biggest club joining up with the national team if Low decides to replace Neuer with Ter Stegen between the sticks.
‘Before that takes place, we won’t be sending any more national players,’ the Bayern president told Sport Bild after the Champions League match against Red Star Belgrade.
‘We will never accept that there will be a change here,’ he added.
However, the Bavarian president has rejected the chance to hold a conversation with Low in the future if the opportunity arises: ‘He’ll already hear what we’ve said, his ears will ring.’
Bild recently confronted German national team manager Oliver Bierhoff with Hoeness’ controversial statements, which left the former less than impressed.
When asked if he was afraid of a potential Bayern boycott, Bierhoff replied: ‘No, because a club is obligated to release its players for international duty as per FIFA regulations.’
Barcelona goalkeeper Ter Stegen believes he should be starting for Germany and claims people can’t expect him to be ‘happy about it’.
Hoeness recently shared his thoughts on the situation, backing Bayern’s goalkeeper by claiming Ter Stegen ‘doesn’t have a right to play there’.
And now Hoeness expects the German national team to put the Barcelona shot-stopper in his place: ‘You put Mr Ter Stegen in the corner and tell him clearly that it doesn’t work like that’.
A potential Bayern boycott could lead to a real selection headache for Low, who has heavily relied on the likes of Serge Gnabry, Niklas Sule and Joshua Kimmich recently in his young squad.
Low has previously dropped some of Bayern’s biggest stars from the national team, discarding Jerome Boateng, Thomas Muller and Mats Hummels, who now plays for rivals Borussia Dortmund.
Low has recently been planning for the future following a dismal defence at the 2018 World Cup, as well as struggling in the Nations League
Bundesliga
Boniface strike hands Leverkusen thrilling 4-3 comeback win over Wolfsburg
Bayer Leverkusen pulled off a stunning Bundesliga comeback when they twice fought back from a goal down as Victor Boniface netted a 93rd-minute winner in a 4-3 home victory over VfL Wolfsburg on Sunday.
Second-placed Leverkusen have nine points from four games, level with SC Freiburg and Eintracht Frankurt and two ahead of Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig, who play later on Sunday.
Despite taking home the three points, it was far from a convincing performance from the champions, with midfielder Granit Xhaka criticising his side’s defending.
“This is a huge wake-up call for all of us. We can’t continue with this performance,” Xhaka told DAZN.
“We can’t defend so naively. That’s not good enough and shouldn’t happen at this level. A top team doesn’t concede two goals in nine minutes! It was all far too easy.”
Coach Xabi Alonso opted to shuffle his pack, making five changes to the team that beat Feyenoord 4-0 in the Champions League, and Leverkusen suffered a nightmare start as they conceded from a Nordi Mukiele own goal in the fourth minute.
Leverkusen levelled nine minutes later when Florian Wirtz found space on the edge of the box and swept his shot into the bottom corner, before an unmarked Jonathan Tah scored their second with a cool header at the back post.
The lead was short-lived as the visitors equalised from a Sebastiaan Bornauw header before Mattias Svanberg went on a driving run in Leverkusen’s half and curled the ball past goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky on the stroke of halftime.
Leverkusen looked more assured after Alsonso made two changes during the break and their pressure quickly told, as substitute Piero Hincapie headed home a corner in the 49th minute.
Alonso brought on attackers Boniface and Martin Terrier with Leverkusen desperately seeking a winner and Wolfsburg quickly faded under the pressure.
The visitors suffered another blow when substitute Yannick Gerhardt was shown a red card in the 88th minute after clattering into Jeremie Frimpong from behind and then stepping on the defender’s ankle.
Sensing disarray in Wolfsburg’s ranks, the hosts surged forward and Nigerian Boniface, who started on the bench despite scoring twice in Leverkusen’s last league game, pounced on a loose ball in the penalty area and rifled home the winner.
“We knew how Wolfsburg would play and what we were up against… we really wanted to turn the game around for our fans,” Boniface said.
“We managed to do that. Now, of course, we’re very happy.”
The win will fill Leverkusen with confidence ahead of their daunting clash against in-form league-leaders Bayern Munich on Saturday.
-Reuters
Bundesliga
Boniface strikes twice for Leverkusen in 4-1 win at Hoffenheim
Champions Bayer Leverkusen cruised to a 4-1 victory at Hoffenheim on Saturday thanks to a dazzling performance by Victor Boniface that included two goals and an assist.
Leverkusen, who face Feyenoord at the start of the Champions League campaign next week, bounced back after losing to RB Leipzig just before the international break for what was their first domestic defeat in more than a season.
On Saturday they took control quickly and struck twice in the first half-hour, with Boniface twice beating the offside trap to give the visitors a 2-0 lead.
The Nigerian first set up Martin Terrier for a tap-in after 17 minutes and then scored himself in the 30th.
Hoffenheim’s Mergim Berisha, making his first appearances since a knee ligament tear last November, cut the deficit in the 37th and had another chances for a second goal a little later.
Leverkusen, however, never lost control of the game and restored their two-goal lead courtesy of a Florian Wirtz penalty in the 72nd.
Boniface then single-handedly dismantled the Hoffenheim defence with a strong run down the left, powering a shot past keeper Oliver Baumann in the 75th to lift Leverkusen to fourth place on six points.
Borussia Dortmund are top on seven points, with Bayern Munich, on six, visiting Holstein Kiel later on Saturday.
-Reuters
Bundesliga
Guinea player, Naby Keita suspended for rest of season by Bundelisga side
Werder Bremen have suspended Guinea’s Naby Keita for the rest of the season and forced him to pay a ‘substantial fine’ after he refused to play in Sunday’s Bundesliga clash with Bayer Leverkusen.
Keita made headlines over the weekend when he refused to travel with his teammates and instead went home after finding out that he would not make the starting lineup for the game which eventually saw Leverkusen crowned Bundesliga champions.
While reports claim Keita will receive a ‘substantial fine’, an official statement from the club has revealed he will serve a suspension. Keita will be not be selected for games for the rest of this season, while he will also be banned from training with the team and featuring in the dressing room.
Bremen director Clemens Fritz said: “Naby’s behaviour cannot be tolerated for us as a club. With this action, he let his team down in a tense sporting and personnel situation and placed himself above the team.
“We can’t allow that. At this stage of the season we need full focus on the remaining games and a team that is very close together. There was therefore no alternative to our measures.”
The former Liverpool midfielder joined the club as a free agent on a three-year deal in the summer of 2023, following a poor spell at Anfield.
The 29-year-old was keen to defend himself and his professionalism, taking to Instagram to share his point of view. He said: “Ever since I arrived at this magnificent club, I have always shown my professionalism.
“I have always tried to help the club and the great supporters, especially during this time of poor results. Since the start of my career, I have never had problems with my discipline and have always shown an exemplary attitude. I will not accept any person trying to tarnish my image.
“To the supporters, I have always worked hard in training to get the right result at the weekend. In training, I can only give my best.”
Keita has played just 106 minutes for Bremen since moving back to the Bundesliga last summer and now will be unable to secure any further game time during the current campaign.
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