Dusseldorf is buzzing with anticipation!! On Saturday, 19.01.2008 at 2pm, the second annual ‚Stadtwerke Winter-Cup‘ with Bundesliga sides Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen joining Werder Bremen and hosts Fortuna for the indoor trophy.
Dusseldorf is buzzing with anticipation!! On Saturday, 19.01.2008 at 2pm, the second annual ‚Stadtwerke Winter-Cup‘ with Bundesliga sides Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen joining Werder Bremen and hosts Fortuna for the indoor trophy.
Dusseldorf is buzzing with anticipation!! On Saturday, 19.01.2008 at 2pm, the second annual ‚Stadtwerke Winter-Cup‘ with Bundesliga sides Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen joining Werder Bremen and hosts Fortuna for the indoor trophy. It’s not often that such big names in the sport converge on the city on the Rhein these days with the biggest club, Fortuna, unable to rise out of the third division since their relegation in 1999 and that nine year period has included two hard years in the tier of German football. All things considered, the ‘Blitz-Tournament’, with games lasting 45 minutes each, gives Dusseldorf to dust itself off and show the city from it’s best side For the event, a new pitch will be laid, local channel WDR will broadcast all games live and the roof will be closed for the day on the LTU Arena to create that indoor appeal. The competition will be the first chance for Fortuna’s new coach, ex-Werder man Norbert Meier, to get a look at his players in a competitive game since taking over on January 1st.
Dusseldorf – the trainer search finally ends
Former coach Uwe Weidemann saw his side make an impressive start to the ‘Regionalliga’ season, gathering 20 points in the first eight games without conceding a single goal. When goalkeeper Michael Melka eventually did have the pick the ball out of his net for the first time, the fun came to an abrupt end and Fortuna managed just two wins from the following eight matches. The coaches days were numbered and a difficult search for Weidemann’s successor was to see initially Werder Bremen youth coach Wolf Werner take on the job in April.
Now Norbert Meier has arrived to take on the task and his first goal, for the leagues sixth place side, is qualification for the new third German national division whilst keeping one eye on the top of the table and a possible jump back to second division football. The new trainer started well with two indoor tournament wins and a couple of impressive friendly wins, when against non-league opponents. The ‘Winter-Cup’ will be Meier’s first true challenge with his new side ahead of some high interest friendlies against FC Bayern Munich and Borussia Mönchengladbach in the coming weeks. The coach had claimed: “This is the chance for the players to prove they belong in the first team.” That chance will come first in the tournament opener at 2pm against Werder Bremen.
Dortmund: No Lehmann, no Hinkel, no margin for error
The Christmas and New Year period has been anything but a relaxed and peaceful time around Borussia Dortmund, who will face Bayer Leverkusen in the second semi-final at 3pm. With first choice keeper Roman Weidenfeller due to miss out for some time following a shoulder operation, a replacement looked likely in Arsenal’s German international Jens Lehmann but after much wrangling, the veteran keeper decided against a move back to the Bundesliga with Dortmund citing personal reasons. BVB then attempted to lure Andreas Hinkel away from FC Sevilla but the former German international opted for a move to Scottish giants Glasgow Celtic. The failed attempts at refreshing the squad have done nothing to improve the mood at the Signal-Iduna-Park, where all at hand had expected more than 10th spot in the table heading into the winter break.
The clubs highlights in the first half of the season are quickly counted with a heavy 6:1 drubbing of Armenia Bielefeld and a 3:0 win against Werder Bremen which did more for the losers on the night than for BVB who went on to manage just three wins from the following twelve games. Since returning to prepare for the second half of the season, Dortmund had an early exit from an indoor tournament before taking off for Marbella where they beat SC Paderborn 3:1 and won 1:0 against local side Malaga CF. Two new signing were made with defender Mats Hummels from Bayern and Antonio Rukavina arriving at the club. Following the ‘Winter-Cup’, Borussia will play a friendly against Belgian side KAA Gent before their DFB-Cup clash with Werder Bremen on January 29th.
Leverkusen: Satisfaction needs no change
Dortmund will be Werder’s first competitive opponents in the new year, Bayer Leverkusen were their last in 2007. The Green-Whites stunning 5:2 win on the 17th match day was one of the highlights of the round especially thanks to the two goals scored by Ivan Klasnic who was returning from a year of illness. The defeat in Bremen was hefty but a mere glitch on what had been a very satisfying first round of games. Trainer Michael Skibbe’s men won nine Bundesliga games, easily made it through the UEFA Cup group stage and were runners up only to Werder in the goals scored stakes (32).
The 5:2 defeat in Bremen saw Leverkusen settle into fourth place for the winter break, during which a very stable Bayer side, who are currently without the injured Lukas Sinkewicz, have resisted the temptation to get involved on the transfer market, as yet. Bayer have played just one game so far in 2008 when they beat Greuther Fürth 4:2 at their training camp in Belek (a win which included a Theofanis Gekas hat-trick within five minutes). Prior to the Bundesliga re-start, Skibbe’s men will play Alemannia Aachen and FC Köln.
Johnnie Muldoon
The tournament schedule:
14.00 : Fortuna Dusseldorf - Werder Bremen
15.00 : Bayer Leverkusen - Borussia Dortmund
16.00 : Third Place Play-Off
17.00 : FINAL
