Loading ...Aug 16 2008
Short-handed Munich Battle Hamburg to Draw
When I saw the score yesterday, I thought it a great result for Martin Jol. For him to go to München and get a point from Bayern in his league debut with Hamburger SV was a great start, I thought. It is an even better result considering the defending league championship were up two half way through the first, with Bastian Schweinsteiger and Lukas Podolski having taken control of the match.
Bayern can be forgiven a bit if they let Hamburg back into the match. The ended up playing without Franck Ribery, German Footballer of the Year, who is still recovering from an ankle injury suffered during the European Championships. München were also without Luca Toni, the league’s leading scorer last term, who has been recovering from a hamstring injury for the last month. Their starting lineup was also absent center back Martin Demichelis, a loss which have would have been big enough without his partner Lúcio picking up a knock in the fourth minute. With Breno at the Olympics and Willy Sangol out, Bayern coach Jürgen Klinsmann was without any back-ups at center half. München adjusted by having Daniel van Buyten do all the roaming while the Brazilian stayed at home.
In that context, Bayern’s 2-2 draw with Hamburger look less a capitulation and more survival. It speaks to how deep and talented Bayern is compared to the rest of the league that they were still able to compete with the team that finished fourth in last year’s Bundesliga.
This is not to say Bayern had a completely incapable side. They still had Podolski and Miroslav Klöse up top, with Schweinsteiger, Zé Roberto, Mark van Brommel in the midfield and Philip Lahm at the back. Zé Roberto helped set-up Schweinsteiger’s opener, while Podolski scored his goal from a penalty kick.
Hamburg fought back and ended with a well deserved draw. Peruvian José Guerrero pulled them within one with a great first-half goal that came amidst a very impressive performance. A symmetry-building penalty kick got them even in the second. The call that led to the penalty kick was not the kind of clear-cut, no-doubt circumstance that you hope for in a tying goal, but given how the visitors had played throughout the match, Piotr Trochowski’s goal did not yield an unjust result.
Hamburg continued the strong play they had exhibited throughout the preseason despite not playing Mohammad Zidan (presumably knowing he was to be dealt to Dortmund) and not getting the kind of dynamic play from newcomer Jonathan Pitroipa that led me to believe they would not be as hurt by Rafael van der Vaart’s sale as many believed. With Mladen Petric coming in, some of van der Vaart’s goal scoring will be replaced, but this team will be fine regardless if they play with the creativity they showed on Friday. Martin Jol has Hamburger playing with much more ambition than last season. That may just be an appearance gathered from Ivica Olic running around Bayern’s back line for ninety minutes, but Jol seems to want Hamburg to open up an attack that finished tenth in goals in last season’s Bundesliga.
We will have to wait for Bayern to get healthy to know where they stand, though there is little doubt that they are the class of the league. At least, they should be considered as such until they show otherwise. Hamburg, however, may not be in for the downturn many are expecting. Some see the sky falling without van der Vaart. Jol seems to have his players believing otherwise.
Links
Jol happy with comeback draw against Bayern
Bayern held to 2-2 draw by Hamburg
Bayern held on Klinsmann’s debut
Bayern 2-2 Hamburg: Trochowski hits equaliser
Bayern held in opener
Klinsmann: Still Work to Do
Champions Bayern held in opener
Bayern Held By HSV In Bundesliga Opener
Bayern held by Hamburg in Klinsmann’s first game
Bayern held on Klinsmann’s debut
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