A midweek round 24 makeup match between Eintracht Frankfurt and SV Werder Bremen finally sees all 18 top-tier German Bundesliga clubs level on matches for the first time since early February. With no teams possessing a game in-hand, the campaign at long last appears ready for an orderly finish.
With respect to the Americans participating in the Round 29 fixtures and the makeup, there’s loads to report upon. All seven US internationals logging pitch time were deemed relevant enough to merit grades. Recent goal-scorers Weston Mckennie and Timothy Chandler experienced pronounced dips while Giovanni Reyna joins Tyler Adams on the upswing.
Before getting to the action on the pitch, we’ll briefly address an issue lingering from the league’s most recent round. Few of us expected a quick ruling on the political statements issues by several players regarding the American political protests over the weekend. In a surprise move, the DFB almost immediately declared these gestures anti-racism missives. They thus allowed and endorsed under football’s general protocols.
Those of who believe football, as an international institution, must protect and encourage this particular form of speech swell with pride.
Giovanni Reyna- Borussia Dortmund
Minutes Played = 10, Positions Played = RW, RF
Grade = A+
Yes, he only played 10 minutes. Some 10 minutes it was. Some may, understandably, grow tired of discussing his mammoth potential. Fans want to see some tangible results on a scoresheet. One must emphasize that the 17-year-old phenom still awaits both his first Bundesliga start and first league league goal. I confidently predict we shall witness both before the end of the season. The long-heralded age of Gio Reyna isn’t far off now.
Were football plays tabulated differently, this American would have garnered two assists in the most recent encounter. A cheeky back-heel to Axel Witsel in the box directly set-up Marcel Schmelzer’s goal in the 89th. Less than two minutes later, he unleashed Mateu Morey in the run-up to Jandon Sancho’s third goal. Neither of theses tallies would have transpired were it not for his nifty moves.
Reyna himself had a splendid go at goal in the 87th. One really sees how much he frustrates opponents. On two separate occasions, Paderborn defenders he blew past knocked him down with cheap clogs. In my observations, this appears to be occurring with greater frequency. More physical veterans, perhaps jealous of some more graceful tricks, really go after him. It certainly makes one rethink the purported dive in the Pokal.
A place in the starting XI may come as soon as the Hertha fixture this weekend. Lucien Favre doesn’t necessarily need to turn to him, even if Erling Haaland isn’t completely match fit. We do, however, know that he fully intended to start him in the first match back from the break. The initiative demonstrated in 10 short minutes this round might lead Favre to insert him again.
Tyler Adams- RasenBallSport Leipzig
Minutes Played = 31, Positions Played = CM, RW
Grade = A
Though it was a shame not to see Adams start, it was once again a pleasure to see watch him play. If the 21-year-old lost so much as a tick from his recent fine form, it wasn’t evident to me. He remained quick and intelligent on touches. I only have him down for one mistimed pass. The best highlights came on sharp midfield passing sequences in the 64th and 77th.
In this instance, Julian Nagelsmann brought Adams on as a straight swap for Konrad Laimer in the game’s first substitution. The American thus put his work in as a leftward-slanted six, partnered with Marcel Sabitizer on the third axis. It actually came as a surprise to see him fit comfortably there after so much time away from it. This may constitute an even better position for him than the proscribed right-fullback role.
Adams brought some very attractive box-to-box play in the final half-hour of his club’s 4-2 win over Köln. Though all six goals came prior to his introduction, unrelenting end-to-end action persisted down the stretch. Adams handled his defensive responsibilities exceedingly well, always rushing back into position to win defensive tackles after the above-mentioned passing sequences. I didn’t observe outright lose a duel.
This performance accords Nagelsmann even more options. Adams’ stated favorite position is that of a deeper positioned six. The American has, until now, not been overtly used in that role this season. I suppose the Round 17 fixture technically counts, but that wasn’t an optimal example of Nagelsmann’s 4-2-2-2. Moreover, Jose “Angelino” Tasende wasn’t with the club yet.
Watching Adams work on the left with the star transfer always making himself on the overlap, I think a rather promising partnership emerges. It’s doubtful we’ll see it this weekend against Paderborn, but I think we will see it again in a more competitive match.
John Anthony Brooks- VfL Wolfsburg
Minutes Played = 90, Positions Played = CB
Grade = B-
Damn. Sometimes it all falls apart at the last possible moment. Brooks and new center-half partner Marin Pongracic were well on their way to another mutual A-level performance. Brooks had won nearly three-quarters of his duels, connected on nearly 80% percent of his passes, and even set-up Wout Weghorst for a sublime offensive chance with a precision header back across the face of goal in the 42nd. It was all proceeding so swimmingly.
Then it happened. After effectively shutting down Eintracht Frankfurt’s Daichi Kamada all afternoon long, the US International let substitute Bas Dost dominate him on a crucial aerial challenge in the 85th. Brooks barely contested the ball at all, flailing in the entirely wrong direction. Dost laid off to an onrushing Kamada for what ended up being the late-winner in the SGE’s 2-1 victory. Damn. The screwball concentrate lapse wiped out an otherwise bright match.
It’s honestly very difficult to dock Brooks (or for that matter Pongracic) too much. True, they weren’t as sharp as in the previous encounter. There remained plenty of visual manifestations of the work they both put in to hone their partnership over the break. Over the course of a dominant first half for the Wolves, their back builds were directly responsible for seven of the VfL’s eight shots on target.
A span between the 30th and 34th illustrates how they calmly get forward momentum rolling. If one cares to take a closer look at developments in the 48th, 55th, and 68th, one can also see how other players like midfielder Maximillian Arnold and fullback Jerome Rousillion slide back in perfect coordination with Pongracic’s more intrepid forward movements.
There seems no evidence that Oliver Glasner will engage in any more major defensive tinkering for the remainder of the campaign. It should be Brooks and Pongracic for the duration. One thing they appear to have exhausted, for the moment at least, are some of the better offensive set-piece designs for the pair. It may take a few extra weeks of training to reload.
Josh Sargent- SV Werder Bremen
Matches Played = 2/2, Matches Started = 1/2 Minutes Played = 99/180
Positions Played = RW, SS
Cumulative Grade = C-
The loss to Frankfurt in this week’s Round 24 makeup match snaps what little meek momentum Florian Kohfeldt’s side was able to cobble together in their tough relegation fight. That isn’t to suggest that the seven points earned in rounds 27-29 weren’t extremely helpful. The Hanseaten can still climb out of the cellar and may even be able to weather a few more losses.
To his credit, Kohfedlt has attempted to devise solutions for his disastrously depleted striking corps. He’s deployed Milot Rashica further ahead, used Yuya Osako just about everywhere, promoted Nick Woltemade from the youth ranks, and even brought in Davie Selke from Hertha BSC at enormous financial leverage during the January transfer window.
At this point we can unequivocally state that nothing much has worked out. Bremen ends the campaign where they began, heavily reliant on a still not fully formed Josh Sargent. We need to see something from the USMNT young gun if the Werderaner are to escape the drop.
Does Kohfeldt have enough tactical moves to bring something special out of the talented youngster? He’ll have to do better than this.
Lineup—SV Werder Bremen—Match 29 (4-4-2)
Kohfeldt tired out his own diamond against Schalke in the weekend fixture. What can one say about this? I find myself remiss with respect to the vocabulary. It was definitely a something. With Selke not catching form, the Bremen manager attempts to utilize Leonardo Bittencourt as a half-nine and convert Sargent to winger.
This wasn’t exactly a new approach. Kohfeldt just dusted off the tactics from the seventh round and had Kevin Vogt step into Nuri Sahin’s role. Fullbacks Marco Friedl and Theodore Gebre-Selassie did rather well to get action going on their respective flanks. This might have yielded a great deal more in terms of offensive prowess were Sargent and Rashica spaced so insanely far apart.
Pushed way too far out wide, Sargent could barely begin to shield the ball on the rare occasions in which he got serviced. At times it looked like Rashica was supposed to position himself a full axis behind the American. No real chances developed from this as, despite the positional shifts, neither one of the strikers appeared to even be making eye contact with one another.
Apart from as little creative spark in the 41st, we saw virtually nothing from the Missouri marvel. Five grotesquely sloppy passes found their way into my notebook. I recorded some 30 total touches, all of one of which could be described as deft. When Davie Selke came on the 58th, Kohfeldt called Sargent over to the touchline to, presumably, explain a reformed offensive strategy. I saw absolutely nothing resembling a strategy in the 12 minutes this American remained on the pitch.
Sargent and Rashica entered the midweek fixture on a double substitution in the 61st. One witnessed a slightly altered version of the diamond shown above. This time, trailing 0-1, Kohfeldt sent Friedl and Gebre-Selassie forward as wing-backs and pulled Sargent inward to pair with Osako behind Rashica.
I actually think the American’s effort in the second match was very praiseworthy. As the rest of his team began to dip, Sargent did all he possibly could to make something happen from his 10-spot. His sheer desperation was perhaps exemplified that by a string of rearward tackles back to sixes Maximillian Eggestein and Davy Klaassen. It truly was a shame the midfielders couldn’t supply any return services.
At the very least, one did divine some legitimate fire from this American in the second match. The spritely tackles were obviously headed in the opposite direction one wishes to see a center forward operate. Still, one should laud him for being fierce enough to insert himself into the play. We haven’t seen that in a little while. Kohfeldt could potentially use him as a 10. That’s about the only thing he hasn’t tried this season.
Alfredo Morales- Fortuna Düsseldorf
Minutes Played = 57, Positions Played = CM, AM, RDM
Grade = C-
Following a wholly foreseeable defeat to Bayern over the weekend, the Flingeraner find themselves the sole occupiers of the relegation playoff spot. Survival shall not come easily for one of Germany’s beloved punk rock clubs. Fixtures against Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig lie ahead. While I maintain my assertion that FSV Mainz 05 and 1. FC Union Berlin exhibit more troubling recent form, Uwe Rösler needs to build a tactical construct capable of earning maximum points from three of the next five matches in order to see this through safely.
F95 supporters strap in for a turbulent ride. A campaign that began with so much promise ran into some choppy air. When legendary German manager Friedhelm Funkel began showing signs of losing his grip, Düsseldorf sporting director Lutz Pfannenstiel brought in a trainer with zero experience managing a Bundesliga side. Despite being of German heritage, Rösler remains a manager wedded to English tactics. It’s proven immensely fascinating to watch him apply his foreign penchants in our domestic league.
At the center of it all, we have US international Alfredo Morales. The 30-year-old Berliner understandably doesn’t get as much attention as the up-and-coming players with exciting careers ahead of them. I’ve personally considered it a privilege to observe him occupy so many different positions this season. Commentators never miss an opportunity to laud Weston McKennie’s versatility. It’s actually been Morales who has received a more diverse set of assignments this year. He’s answered the calls of two very different managers.
With that in mind, we’ll take a closer look at Rösler’s tactics against presumptive champions Bayern this past weekend. There wasn’t much the squad could hope to accomplish against their top-caliber opponents. Rösler nevertheless came up with something interesting and innovative.
Lineup—Fortuna Düsseldorf—11th minute (4-1-3-2)
Either it took 10 minutes to crystallize or that’s how long it took me to figure it out. In any event, Kenan Karaman was definitely slanted wide right for counter-service with Kevin Stöger operating as an archetypal short-striker. Erik Thommy sat about as far back as I’ve seen him all season. The task of shutting down the seemingly invincible Alphonso Davies fell to Adam Bodzek, the two center-backs, AND Morales.
In my estimation, it took the German giants roughly a half-hour to pull this apart. Zanka’s unfortunate own-goal notwithstanding and Benjamin Pavard’s set-piece header may have put the outcome beyond much doubt, but an effective cycle-shift between Bodzek and Morales effectively neutralized the staggered Bayern midfield of Joshua Kimmich and Benjamin Pavard. Morales would push forward right on most of the rushes with Bodzek tucking in underneath.
This idea couldn’t thwart the superior side forever, but it was a rather inventive solution worthy of a shot. On the topic of shots, the American even managed to get a couple in on sleek counters during the first half. I would have liked to see him take Stöger’s place in the second half. He demonstrated a keen eye for goal on this particular day. Perhaps we’ll see Rösler give that a try this weekend.
Morales, having put in some truly gutsy work all across the midfield this season, certainly deserves a chance to net his second goal. Hoffenheim manager Alfred Schreuder tends to deploy overly compartmentalized back-sixes. Rösler will likely move Morales and several others up an axis for one of his highly aggressive EFL-Championship style pushes.
Timothy Chandler- Eintracht Frankfurt
Minutes Played = 1/2, Matches Started = 1/2 Minutes Played =90/180
Positions Played = RM
Cumulative Grade = D
This performance came as a great disappointment to Germans. There’s not much opportunity to sugar-coat it either. From the onset, Timmy looked out of sync against Wolfsburg. An odd 3-4-3 with Mijat Gacinovic and André Silva as double set strikers left him buried alongside either Dominik Kohr or Sebastien Rode on the fourth axis. He barely made it past the halfway line during the opening 45.
As strange as Adi Hütter’s tactics were in the weekend fixture, one has to fault Chandler for not stepping up receive switches in a few prominent cases. He seemed to have trouble reacting to some intended for him in the 22nd and 24th. A horribly heavy touch in the 37th illustrated just how unfocused he was. Play did improve slightly in the second half, but a vicious clip on Jerome Roussillon in the 50th was uncharacteristically dirty.
This American took a few nasty knocks himself in the latter stages of the game. He was taken to ground on some rough challenges in the 76th and 80th. It’s possible that concern over a minor injury kept him out of the lineup in the midweek makeup. Hütter may also be carefully rotating his squad ahead of the DFB-Pokal semifinal clash against Bayern next week.
Weston McKennie- FC Schalke 04
Minutes Played = 55, Positions Played = LM, RM
Grade = D-
No, it certainly wasn’t this American’s day. The Texan spent most of his time in a languid midfield morass. Already by the 13th, he had racked up two late challenges. He didn’t connect on a useful forward pass until the 20th or actually win a legitimate ground challenge until the 32nd. Two aims at the net were wildly off target.
Whether one wishes to make the case that his political statement had him a bit distracted or that David Wagner royally screwed the team with an insipid 3-4-2-1, the fact remains that McKennie had a torrid match; by far his worst all season. After several warnings, the referee booked him for a reckless challenge on Marco Friedl in the 44th. That should have ended his afternoon. No clue why Wagner didn’t pull him at the half.
The booking means this American will have to serve out a one-match suspension on yellow card accumulation. Schalke’s nosedive continues. The Bundesliga’s uncontested worst team of the campaign’s second half may not win one of their final five fixtures. Early predictions that they would tank were offset by what looked to be a solid January transfer class. So much for that. Both Michael Gregoritsch and Jean-Clair Todibo were total flops.
Even after McKennie returns, it seems unlikely that the Königsblauen might produce anything remotely watchable this year.