Bayern Munich 2 – TSG 1899 Hoffenheim 0

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France international winger FRANCK RIBERY of Bayern Munich appears to be surrounded by a trio of TSG 1899 Hoffenheim players including the familiar face of Japan Olympic midfielder TAKASHI USAMI, who spent all of last season on loan at Bayern Munich from Gamba Osaka, during the history-making Bundesliga match at the always sold-out Allianz Arena in southern Germany.
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10/06/12
Bundesliga
Spieltag # 7

2 – BAYERN MUNICH ——————— Ribery 19′, 47′
0 – TSG 1899 HOFFENHEIM

In a match that was marked by a distinct lack of bona fide goal-scoring chances for either side, really, it was, in fact, two individual pieces of brilliance from a Fabulous Frenchman only just starting to find his form this term as record German champion BAYERN MUNICH professionally dispatched visiting TSG 1899 HOFFENHEIM 2-0 and tied an all-time record in the process.

With Saturday’s triumph in front of 71,000 spectators at the Allianz Areana, trainer JUPP HEYNCKES’ side became just the second team in the entire history of the 50-year-old Bundesliga to have won seven consecutive matches at the start of a season, then.

Bayern Munich, of course, had entered the German top flight tie with TSG 1899 Hoffenheim on the heels of a disappointing defeat at the hands of upstart Belarussian outfit BATE Borisov; the frustrating setback had put an abrupt halt to the nine-game winning streak the Bavarians had assembled to kick-off this 2012/13 campaign.

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Following a rocky European outing with three goals conceded away in Belarus, Germany first choice MANUEL NEUER and the rest of the Bayern Munich backline rebounded well to post a fourth consecutive shutout in Bundesliga play; bolstered by the addition of Brazilian centerback DANTE, the summer signing costing 4.7 million Euros from Borussia Moenchengladbach who has formed an solid partnership with Germany international JEROME BOATENG (signed from English Premier League club Manchester City for a transfer fee of 13.0 million Euros two summers ago), the stingy Bavarian defense has allowed just two goals after seven matches in the German top flight this season.
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Ironically, it was the very same France international winger FRANCK RIBERY who had scored Bayern Munich’s lone goal in the mid-week loss that provided the brace for Bavarian victory at the week’s end.

Ribery received a ball from Germany international winger THOMAS MUELLER just outside the box on the left and, with signature trickery, effeciently blew right past TSG 1899 Hoffenheim fullback ANDREAS BECK, the former Vfb Stuttgart defender who has earned nine caps for Deutschland in his career. A low, left-footer right through the legs of visiting goalkeeper KOEN CASTEELS, the 20-year-old Belgian standing in for injured Germany internatonal TIM WIESE, sent the Bavarians ahead in the 19th minute. Ribery’s first goal in the Bundesliga this season relaxed the Bavarians and also seemed to visibly take the wind out of the visitors, as well.

Mueller had been injured in a aerial collision with Bayern Munich’s Croatia internatioal striker MARIO MANDZUKIC earlier and his eye would swell to the point where the 23-year-old winger would need to be replaced by Switzerland international XHERDAN SHAQIRI in the 26th minute.

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Trailed by the TSG 1899 Hoffenheim midfield pair of Brazilian ROBERTO FIRMINO and home-grown SEBASTIAN RUDY (6), in-form Germany internatonal winger THOMAS MUELLER (four goals and six assists in six top flight matches this term) hurriedly dribbles his way downfield during the Bundesliga match at the always sold-out Allianz Arena in Bavaria.
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Ribery needed less than 120 seconds after the restart to score his second goal of both this match with TSG 1899 Hoffenheim as well as this 2012/13 season. Germany international midfielder TONI KROOS tripped over a ball pulled back by Mandzukic, but quickly recovered and simply played the Fabulous Frenchman on the left. A curling shot from unstoppable Ribery, who netted a career-high 12 goals in the Bundesliga last term, left the youngster Caseels very little chance and doubled Bayern Munich’s advantage in the 47th minute.

The Bavarians went searching for a third in advance of their annual trip to Munich’s Oktoberfest but would find nothing. Still, a TSG 1899 Hoffenheim side trained by former Bayern Munich and Germany international defender MARKUS BABBEL never mounted anything resembling a meaningful rally at any rate. Perhaps the most impressive statistic, aside from the seven wins on the trot, for the record German champions at this point in the season is the sparkling +19 goal-differential.

Bayern Munich, of course, now adjourn for the ‘international break’ and will not turn out again until October 20 …

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Switzerland international XHERDAN SHAQIRI, the 20-year-old, versatile midfielder who scored 28 goals in 90 Swiss Super League games for FC Basel before being bought by Bayern Munich for a transfer fee of 9.0 million Euros this summer, has managed one goal (to go along with five assists) in all compeititons for his new club so far this season but has still not found the back of the net after seven appearances in the German Bundesliga.
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BAYERN MUNICH : Neuer – Lahm, Boateng, Dante, Badstuber – Martinez (Luiz Gustavo 86′), Schweinsteiger – Mueller (Shaqiri 26′), Kroos, Ribery (Rafinha 89′) – Mandzukic

TSG 1899 HOFFENHEIM : Casteels – Beck, Delpierre, Compper, Johnson – Williams, Rudy – Ochs (Schrock 73′), Firminio, Usami (Volland 63′) – Joselu (Derdiyok 63′)

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Bayern Munich 7 – TSG 1899 Hoffenheim 1

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France World Cup winger FRANCK RIBERY (right), who has now equalized his career best with 11 goals in the Bundesliga this term while adding a matching eleven assists in the top flight this season, as well, races by TSG 1899 Hoffenheim’s United States international defender DANIEL WILLIAMS during the lopsided Bundesliga contest at the sold-out Allianz Arena in the southern German state of Bavaria.
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3/10/12
Bundesliga
Spieltag # 25

7 – BAYERN MUNICH ——————– Gomez 5′, 35′, 48′, Robben pen 12′, 29′, Kroos 18′, Ribery 58′
1 – TSG 1899 HOFFENHEIM ———– own goal 85′

An eye-opening five goals within the first thirty-five minutes of the match enabled an obviously fired-up BAYERN MUNICH to thoroughly obliterate visiting TSG 1899 HOFFENHEIM 7-1 in the Bundesliga and move within five points of the leaders at the top of the German table as the 2011/12 campaign winds down.

It took Germany international striker MARIO GOMEZ of Bayern Munich only five minutes to end his four-game goal-scoring slump after TSG 1899 Hoffenheim goalkeeper TOM STARKE, who had shutout the explosive Bavarians earlier this past fall in Baden-Wuerttemberg, could not hold a drive cross from Germany World Cup winger THOMAS MUELLER. Once Holland World Cup winger ARJEN ROBBEN had ended his seven-match goalless streak from the penalty spot and Germany international midfielder TONI KROOS had netted his second goal of the Bundesliga season (fifth in all competitions), the rout was officially on less than twenty minutes in. Robben made it 4-0 shortly before the half hour mark after delightfully skipping around Starke and slotting the ball into an empty net for his seventh goal in the top flight this term while Gomez made it five-nil with his second strike in the 35th minute following a third consecutive helper from France World Cup winger FRANCK RIBERY.

The heretofore out-of-form Gomez claimed his hat trick with a second headed goal to leave hapless TSG Hoffenheim down half a doze just three minutes after the re-start. Super Mario, who was taken off shortly before the hour in favor of veteran Croatia international attacker IVICA OLIC, also re-established himself at the sole leader of the Bundesliga with 21 goals for Bayern Munich this season. A boost of confidence for Gomez, then, as the Bavarians prepare to host visiting Swiss side FC Basel in the return leg of the UEFA Champions League, Round of 16 tie later this week.

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Ribery stretched the scoreline to 7-0 Bayern Munich after a wonderful thru-ball from Robben before the hour. After rounding Starke and finishing well from a tight angle, the 28-year-old Frenchman equaled his career best with an eleventh goal in the German top flight this season. Ribery, following a 25.0 million Euro move from French Ligue One club Olympique Marseille, fired 11 goals in 28 matches for Bayern Munich during the 2007-008 Bundesliga campaign previously.

Germany World Cup midfielder BASTIAN SCHWEINSTEIGER, out of action since the beginning of February, was sent on by Bayern Munich trainer JUPP HEYNCKES in the second half to work on some match fitness and was greeting with a rousing reception upon substitution by the Bavarian faithful at the Allianz Arena.

TSG Hoffenheim, who did not manage a first shot in the match until already trailing by a five-goal margin, finally caught a break with but a scant five minutes to play. Bayern Munich midfielder LUIZ GUSTAVO, the Brazilian international bought by the Bavarian club from TSG Hoffenheim in exchange for a transfer fee of 15.0 million Euros in January of 2011, fell down on the ball all alone at the back and, in doing so, allowed Holland World Cup winger RYAN BABEL a breakaway from midfield. And then, in a commendable bid to redeem himself by hustling back, Luiz Gustavo actually hacked the ball away from Babel but could only manage the spoil the shutout in spectacular fashion.

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Germany World Cup midfielder BASTIAN SCHWEINSTEIGER (left) of Bayern Munich tangles with a former constituent in the clubhouse of the Bavarian record champions, Holland World Cup defender EDSON BRAAFHEID (28) of TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, during the one-sided Bundesliga match at the sold-out Allianz Arena in Sued Deutschland.
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BAYERN MUNICH : Neuer – Lahm, Boateng (Tymoshchuk 46′), Badstuber, Alaba – Luiz Gustavo, Kroos – Robben, Mueller (Schweinsteiger 62′), Ribery – Gomez (Olic 57′)

TSG 1899 HOFFENHEIM : Starke – Williams, Vestergaard, Compper, Braafheid – Vorsah – Weis (Mlapa 87′), Rudy – Vukcevic (Kaiser 87′), Firmino (Wieser 62′) – Babel

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TSG Hoffenheim 0 – Bayern Munich 0

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Nigeria World Cup winger CHINDU OBASI (20) of TSG 1899 Hoffenheim and Germany World Cup defender JEROME BOATENG, used both on the right and in the center at the back by table-topping Bayern Munich since his arrival from English Premier League club Manchester City this summer, race for the ball during the scoreless Bundesliga draw at the sold-out Rhein Neckar Arena in Baden-Wuerttemberg.
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10/1/2010
Bundesliga
Spieltag # 8

0 – TSG 1899 Hoffenheim
0 – Bayern Munich

The visiting league leaders, perhaps feeling the effects of the emotional and important victory in Europe earlier this week, clearly looked tired as high-flying BAYERN MUNICH were held to a scoreless draw by a determined TSG 1899 HOFFENHEIM side in the Bundesliga on Saturday.

Germany World Cup defender JEROME BOATENG was perhaps unlucky not to score his first-ever goal for Bayern Munich in the 17th minute. The off-season acquisition from Manchester City costing 13.5 million Euros saw his shot from the right squirt through TSG Hoffenheim goalkeeper TOM STARKE and continue towards the unguarded net. But Ghana World Cup defender ISSAC VORSAH arrived just in time to hook the ball off the line and save the Baden-Wuerttemberg club.

The hosts might have gone to the lead in the 22nd minute but Germany World Cup goalkeeper MANUEL NEUER, who stretched his shutout string for the Bavarian club to eleven consecutive matches in all competitions this season, turned a dangerous header from TSG Hoffenheim defender MARVIN COMPPER around the post with a diving save of absolute world-class quality.

TSG Hoffenheim, who outshot their guests by a wide margin over the course of the game, also had a first half penalty claim later turned down after Bayern Munich’s Belgium international defender DANIEL VAN BUYTEN tugged on the shirt of Iceland international attacker GLYLFI SIGURDSSON, the leading goal-scorer for the Baden-Wuerttemberg club last season, inside the box.

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“Deadlock of Dueling Dutchman” — A pair of Holland World Cup players from the squad that progressed all the way to the Final of the 2010 FIFA World Cup tournament in South Africa, winger ARJEN ROBBEN of Bayern Munich and defender EDSON BRAAFHEID (28) of TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, compete for the ball during the Bundesliga match before a capacity crowd at the Rhein Neckar Arena in southwestern Germany.
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Bayern Munich trainer JUPP HEYCNKES exchanged France World Cup winger FRANCK RIBERY with Holland World Cup winger ARJEN ROBBEN to start the second half, but neither of the two players whom the Bavarians had purchased for 50.0 million Euros combined were able any influence on the contest with modest TSG Hoffenheim.

Heynckes also took off last season’s Bundesliga Torjaegermeister, Germany international striker MARIO GOMEZ, in the 58th minute. Although Gomez leads Bayern Munich this season with 12 goals in all competitions including the brace against Manchester City in midweek, it must be said that the 26-year-old appeared to be a bit tired and lacking energy. Taking the place of Gomez was the 19-year-old Austria international winger DAVID ALABA, one of two former TSG Hoffenheim players sent on in the second half for Bayern Munich by Heynckes.

Germany World Cup midfielder BASTIAN SCHWEINSTEIGER appeared to have scored for Bayern Munich in the 70th minute but the goal was correctly disallowed for a clear offsides violation but after that the visitors appeared to be content with the point on the road in the Bundesliga.

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Germany World Cup goalkeeper MANUEL NEUER of Bayern Munich, the summer acquisition from Schalke 04 Gelsenkirchen who has now posted seven straight shutouts in the Bundesliga, secures a high ball under pressure from TSG 1899 Hoffenheim’s Holland World Cup striker RYAN BABEL (10) during the scoreless match at the sold-out Rhein Neckar Arena in Baden-Wuerttemberg.
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TSG HOFFENHEIM : Starke – Beck, Vorsah, Compper, Braafheid – Rudy, Williams (Kaiser 69′) – Obasi, Firmino (Musona 73′), Babel – Sigurdsson (Schipplock 85′)

BAYERN MUNICH : Neuer – Boateng, van Buyten (Luiz Gustavo 75′), Badstuber, Lahm – Tymoshchuk, Schweinsteiger – Mueller, Kroos, Ribery (Robben 46′) – Gomez (Alaba 58′)

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TSG 1899 Hoffenheim : Spieler Bericht 2011/12

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Holland World Cup winger RYAN BABEL, who scored just one goal in 15 Bundesliga games after arriving in Germany from English Premier League club FC Liverpool for a transfer fee of 9.2 million Euros last January, is off to a blazing start having shot five goals from eight matches in all competitions to open this season for TSG 1899 HOFFENHEIM.
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TSG 1899 HOFFENHEIM will look to leave last week’s result at 1.FC Koeln in the rear view mirror and recreate at least some of the magic that enabled the Baden-Wuerttemberg club to dump defending Bundesliga champion Borussia Dortmund at home earlier this term as they head into a south German derby battle with Bavarian rival Bayern Munich on Saturday at the Rhein Neckar Arena in the suburbs of Sinsheim. Overall to begin the new campaign, modest TSG Hoffenheim have won four of the first seven Bundesliga matches under new boss HOLGER STANISLAWSKI, who was in charge at relegated FC St. Pauli in Hamburg last season. This despite the absence of last season’s second leading goal-scorer, out thru injury thus far.

Holland World Cup winger RYAN BABEL, the 24-year-old who boasts 40 caps and five goals for his country, has been in fine form whether deployed as a winger or up front as the central striker and has tallied four goals in seven Bundesliga games for TSG Hoffenheim. Bosnia / Herzegovina international striker VEDAD IBISEVIC, who finished second on TSG Hoffenheim last term with eight goals in the German top flight, has yet to make an appearance this season but did return to training this week after a long injury layoff. The experience of the 27-year-old one-time college All-American at St. Louis University in the United States, who counts 44 goals from 106 career games in the Bundesliga, could come in handy on Saturday against Bayern Munich.

TSG Hoffenheim, who made 15.0 million Euros with the sale of Brazil international midfielder LUIZ GUSTAVO to Bayern Munich last winter, spent 1.5 million Euros this summer to sign 21-year-old Zimbabwe international striker KNOWLEDGE MUSONA from South African club Kaizer Chiefs. The Baden-Wuerttemberg outfit also added 22-year-old SVEN SCHIPPLOCK on a free transfer from Vfb Stuttgart. Collectively, the pair have combined to make seven substitute appearances for TSG Hoffenheim but score no goals in the Bundesliga to date.

Also available is Germany U-21 international striker PENIEL KOKOU MLAPA, who scored four goals in 30 Bundesliga games (18 starts) for TSG Hoffenheim a year ago. But the 20-year-old Togolese-born attacker has yet to find the back of the net after seven appearances (3 starts) this season. Ghana World Cup striker PRINCE TAGOE appeared twice as a substitute for Stanislawski this summer but has been sold to Turkish Super Lig side KD Bursaspor for 1.5 million Euros.

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Talented teenaged Brazilian midfielder ROBERTO FIRMINO (22), who has already scored seven times in just 17 Bundesliga games to start his career in Germany, prepares to bypass FSV 05 Mainz goalkeeper HEINZ MUELLER (33) and net the first goal of the match won 4-0 by TSG 1899 Hoffenheim at the brand new Coface Arena in Rhineland-Palatinate earlier this season.
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19-year-old Brazilian midfielder ROBERTO FIRMINO is emerging as a more than capable attacking central midfielder and is TSG Hoffenheim’s joint top scorer along with Babel having scored four goals in the Bundesliga so far this season; the Baden-Wuerttemberg team have also benefited from the return of Iceland international midfielder GYLFI SIGURDSSON, the 22-year-old who led TSG Hoffenheim with nine Bundesliga goals despite coming off the bench for 19 of his 29 appearances last term.

But, Stanislawski and the blue-shirted TSG Hoffenheim Startelf have been without Bosnia / Herzegovina international SEJAD SALIHOVIC the past three weeks. The 26-year-old defensive midfielder has not played since injuring his right knee against Belarus in a UEFA European Championships qualification match on September 7. Unfortunate considering Salihovic had scored a goal in each of TSG Hoffenheim’s first four games in all competitions, including three goals in the Bundesliga before going down.

23-year-old former Germany U-21 international SEBASTIAN RUDY has started all seven Bundesliga contests for Stanislawski this season and has been joined as of late in defensive midfield by another 23-year-old, DOMINIK KAISER. A summer acquisition costing 700,00 Euros from Vfl Wolfsburg, one-time Germany U-21 international FABIAN JOHNSON has been benched by Stanislawski after starting the first five Bundesliga games. Nigeria World Cup winger CHINEDU OBASI, the 25-year-old with 13 goals in 59 career Bundesliga games to his credit, battled fitness last season but has appeared in every contest this campaign for TSG Hoffenheim.

26-year-old TOBIAS WEIS and 21-year-old BORIS VUKCEVIC are two other TSG Hoffenheim midfielders who have only recently started training again after lengthy injury spells.

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Germany international defender ANDREAS BECK, the 26-year-old who transferred to the Baden-Wuerttemberg club from Vfb Stuttgart in the summer of 2008, has made 95 career appearances for TSG 1899 Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga but has still yet to score his first goal for trainer Holger Stanislawski’s side heading into Saturday’s match with Bayern Munich.
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All five players at the back employed by TSG Hoffenheim to start this 2011-12 campaign, including first choice TOM STARKE, have been ever-present for the in-coming trainer Stanislawski.

26-year-old club captain ANDREAS BECK, who was born in Kemerovo in the former Soviet Union and has also been selected nine times for Germany in his career, is the regular right back. The left back is Holland World Cup defender EDSON BRAAFHEID, the 28-year-old who transferred to TSG Hoffenheim for nothing from Bayern Munich late last January. Braafheid, who got just 12 Bundesliga games and had a loan spell with Scottish side Glasgow Celtic in two years’ time with the Bavarian club following a 2.0 million Euro move from Dutch Eredivise outfit FC Twente Enschede, may feel as if he has something to prove on Saturday.

23-year-old Ghana World Cup defender ISSAC VORSAH scored three goals in 30 Bundesliga games (29 starts) last term and fortifies the center for TSG Hoffenheim with 26-year-old Germany international MARVIN COMPPER.

On the outside looking in this season with the Baden-Wuerttemburg club have been 29-year-old veteran ANDREAS IBERTSBERGER, the former Red Bull Salzburg and SC Freiburg backliner who has won 14 caps (one goal) for Austria in his career, and the 23-year-old MATTHIAS JAISSLE; after arriving from SC Freiburg for 200,000 Euros, 22-year-old DANIEL WILLIAMS has made two substitute appearances for TSG Hoffenheim and Stanislawski thus far.

The Baden-Wuerttemberg club also bought KOEN CASTEELS from Racing Genk for 800,000 Euros but the 19-year-old Belgian is third on the depth chart in goal behind 28-year-old career back-up DANIEL HAAS, the former Hannover 96 shot-stopper who did make nine apperances for TSG Hoffenheim last season but has only featured 34 times his entire career in the German top flight.

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TSG 1899 Hoffenheim goalkeeper TOM STARKE, the 30-year-old veteran who made a dozen appearances as a Germany U-21 international once upon a time, has been found in Baden-Wuerttemberg standing between the sticks at the Coface Arena since signing from 2.Bundesliga side MSV Duisburg on a free transfer in the summer of 2010.
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TSG 1899 HOFFENHEIM
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Arriving
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gk – Koen CASTEELS – Belgium ——————— fr Racing Genk (Bel)
df – Jukka RAITALA – Finland int’l —————- fr SC 07 Paderborn
df – Daniel WILLIAMS ———————————– fr SC Freiburg
mf – Fabian JOHNSON ———————————– fr Vfl Wolfsburg
mf – Franco ZUCULINI – Argentina int’l ——– fr Racing Club Avellaneda (Arg)
mf – Michael GREGORITSCH – Austria ——— fr SV Kapfenberg (Aut)
fw – Knowledge MUSONA – Zimbabwe int’l —- fr Kaizer Chiefs (S.Afr)
fw – Prince TAGOE – Ghana int’l ——————– fr FK Partizan Belgrade (Srb)
fw – WELLINGTON – Brazil ————————— fr FC Figueirense (Brz)
fw – Sven SCHIPPLOCK ——————————— fr Vfb Stuttgart
fw – Kevin VOLLAND ————————————- fr TSV 1860 Munich

Raitala was out on loan almost all of last season; Wellington was out on loan all last season to both Fortuna Dusseldorf and, since last January, Brazilian club FC Figueirense; Zuculini was out on loan all last season to both Italian Serie A side CFC Genoa and, since last January, to Argentine outfit Racing Club de Avellaneda; Tagoe had been out on loan since last February

Departing
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gk – Ramazan OZCAN – Turkey ———————- to FC Ingolstadt 04
df – Josip SIMUNIC – Croatia int’l —————— to GNK Dinamo Zagreb (Cro)
df – Jukka RAITALA – Finland int’l —————- to CA Osasuna Pamplona (Spa)
mf – David ALABA – Austria int’l ——————– to Bayern Munich
mf – Franco ZUCULINI – Argentina int’l ——— to Real Zaragoza (Spa)
mf – Michael GREGORITSCH – Austria ———- to SV Kapfenberg (Aut)
fw – Prince TAGOE – Ghana int’l ——————— to KD Bursaspor (Trk)
fw – WELLINGTON – Brazil —————————- to EC Goias (Brz)
fw – Kevin VOLLAND ————————————– to TSV 1860 Munich

Alaba had been out on loan to TSG Hoffenheim since last January; Gregoritsch, Volland, Wellington and Zuculini are all out on loan for the 2011-12 season

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Bayern Munich 4 – TSG Hoffenheim 0

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Germany international striker MARIO GOMEZ of Bayern Munich, the top Torjaeger in all the Bundesliga this season, competes for the ball with TSG Hoffenheim’s Austria international DAVID ALABA (8), the 18-year-old midfielder sent out on loan by the defending champions to the Baden-Wuerttemberg club for the rest of the season, at the Allianz Arena in Bavaria. (Michaela Rehle/Reuters)
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BUNDESLIGA
Spieltag # 22
2/12/2011

4 – Bayern Munich ——————— Gomez 2′, Mueller 15′, Robben 63′, 81′
0 – TSG Hoffenheim

A lightning-quick goal in just the second minute of the match and a pair of top-class strikes on the other side of the halftime whistle highlighted defending champion BAYERN MUNICH’s 4-0 hammering of visiting TSG HOFFENHEIM in the German top flight.

Germany international striker MARIO GOMEZ, the leading Torjaeger in the Bundesliga, grabbed his 17th goal after a trio of World Cup wingers handled the approach work. France’s FRANCK RIBERY played Germany’s THOMAS MUELLER, who promptly released Holland’s ARJEN ROBBEN into the area on the right. The reigning German Footballer of the Year delivered a square ball that was deflected before being stabbed home by the ever-opportunistic Gomez, who now counts 26 goals in all competitions for Bayern Munich this term.

Mueller won the ball in the offensive third to trigger the next tally. After Ribery’s run into the area was halted, the Frenchman collected the loose ball and fed Der Neue Bomber in the box. The youthful Mueller rifled a low, right-footed shot inside the near post of TSG Hoffenheim goalkeeper TOM STARKE to score his seventh goal this Bundesliga season and 12th in all games for the Bavarians.

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Holland World Cup reserve winger RYAN BABEL (10) of TSG Hoffenheim, bought by the Sinsheim-based club from English Premier League club FC Liverpool for a transfer fee of 7.0 million Euros during the Winterpause, lands on top of Bayern Munich’s Germany World Cup midfielder BASTIAN SCHWEINSTEIGER during the one-sided Bundesliga match at the Allianz Arena. (Michaela Rehle/Reuters)
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The second half was very much the Arjen Robben Show taking center stage. On a play very reminiscent to the sequence in which Robben scored a goal for Holland against Slovakia at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, the Dutchman ran at the TSG Hoffenheim defense after taking a short pass from Germany World Cup fullback PHILIPP LAHM on the right. Cutting inside and skipping pas a host of defenders, Robben unleashed a low, left-footed drive to wrong-foot the besieged Starke.

Robben capped the affair with a goal of the highest class. The heavily-involved Ribery floated a high ball from the left over to his fellow winger lurking on the right. The former FC Chelsea and Real Madrid man casually settled the ball, then picked his spot to precision. With the deadly combination of curl and dip, the Dutchman’s ball eluded the diving Starke and tucked neatly into the far post netting.

After missing the entire first half of the campaign with a crippling hamstring injury, the recovered Robben has recorded four goals in four Bundesliga game and five in as many matches for Bayern Munich this year.

Thanks to FSV Mainz’s defeat by 1.FC Koeln and the draw of Hannover 96 with Werder Bremen on Sunday, the victory over TSG Hoffenheim left Bayern Munich alone in third place on the Bundesliga chart.

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(Sebastian Widmann/DAPD)
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BAYERN MUNICH : Kraft – Lahm, Tymoshchuyk, Badstuber, Luiz Gustavo – Schweinsteiger, Pranjic – Robben (Altintop 84′), Mueller, Ribery – Gomez

TSG HOFFENHEIM : Starke – Beck, Vorsah (Simunic 46′), Compper, Ibertsberger – Alaba – Rudy (Weis 20′), Salihovic – Vukcevic (Sigurdsson 77′), Ibisevic, Babel

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(Sebastian Widmann/DAPD)
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(Michaela Rehle/Reuters)
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(Michaela Rehle/Reuters)
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(Michaela Rehle/Reuters)
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MATCH HIGHLIGHTS

Bayern Munich Move Braafheid To TSG 1899 Hoffenheim

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Watched by teammate and Germany World Cup midfielder BASTIAN SCHWEINSTEIGER (right), Holland World Cup defender EDSON BRAAFHEID looks to break free from Borussia Dortmund midfielder SVEN BENDER during the early October Bundesliga match at Signal Iduna Park, the former Westfalenstadion, in North Rhine-Westphalia. (Wolfgang Rattay/Reuters)
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BAYERN MUNICH have sold disgruntled Dutch defender EDSON BRAAFHEID to fellow German Bundesliga side TSG 1899 Hoffenheim for an undisclosed transfer fee, most likely in the neighborhood of two million Euros.

The 27-year-old defender, primarily a left back, was used very sparingly for Bayern Munich over the first half of this 2010-11 campaign. Last term, the Holland international rearguard spent the second half of last season out on loan at Glasgow Celtic in Scotland. This year, Braafheid appeared in just three Bundesliga games (two starts) for the Bavarians and, in all competitions, played exactly five matches for Bayern Munich.

Braafheid, who was originally bought by the Bavarians from Dutch Eredivisie side FC Twente Enschede for a fee of 2.5 million Euros in July of 2009, clashed with Dutch trainer LOUIS VAN GAAL in the changing room following the mid-November 3-3 draw with Borussia Moenchengladbach; Braafheid was upset that, after getting up off the bench to warm-up, the Dutch trainer chose not to send his countryman into the contest.

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Holland World Cup defender EDSON BRAAFHEID, who has won eight caps for the Netherlands and appeared as a substitute in the 2010 FIFA World Cup Final in the losing effort opposite Spain, had made ten unimpressive appearances at the start of the year for Scottish Premier League club Glasgow Celtic while out on loan from German Bundesliga side Bayern Munich. (Russell Cheyne/Reuters)
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At TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, Braafheid will hook up again with another from the Netherlands’ 2nd place squad from South Africa; the Baden-Wuerttemberg ball club recently bought Holland World Cup winger RYAN BABEL from English Premier League club FC Liverpool.

Braafheid will also be re-united with another former Bayern Munich teammate, Austria international DAVID ALABA.

The versatile 18-year-old, who can play either in the center of the park or the left side of the pitch, was sent out on loan by the Bavarians to TSG 1899 Hoffenheim for the remainder of this season as part of the transaction that took Brazilian midfielder LUIZ GUSTAVO to the defending Bundesliga champions for the transfer fee of 15.0 million Euros.

Braafheid is the fourth player to leave Bayern Munich this winter following the departures of Argentina World Cup defender MARTIN DEMICHELIS, Holland World Cup midfielder MARK VAN BOMMEL in addition to the loan assignment of Alaba.

Liverpool Sell Babel, Absorb Loss

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Holland World Cup reserve winger RYAN BABEL signals his goal for FC Liverpool in injury time of the first half against visiting Turkish side AS Trabzonspor during the mid-August UEFA Europa League match at Anfield in England. (Phil Noble/Reuters)
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FC LIVERPOOL have unloaded little-used and underachieving Holland international winger RYAN BABEL on German Bundesliga side TSG 1899 HOFFENHEIM for a transfer fee thought to be 5.8 million English pounds.

The 24-year-old Dutchman, who has earned 40 caps and scored five goals for the Netherlands in his career, had started just one of Liverpool’s first 23 Premier League games this season and appeared just nine time in the English top flight this term.

Babel, who made Holland’s 23-man World Cup squad only to not play a single minute in South Africa this summer, was originally bought by Liverpool in the summer of 2007 from traditional Dutch powerhouse Ajax Amsterdam for a reported transfer fee of 11.5 million English pounds but never really did fulfill his enormous promise after arriving at Anfield.

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RYAN BABEL
career league record

2004-05 — 20 games – 7 goals — Ajax Amsterdam – (HOL)
2005-06 — 25 games – 2 goals — Ajax Amsterdam – (HOL)
2006-07 — 27 games – 5 goals — Ajax Amsterdam – (HOL)
2007-08 — 30 games – 4 goals — FC Liverpool – (ENG)
2008-09 — 27 games – 3 goals — FC Liverpool – (ENG)
2009-10 — 25 games – 4 goals — FC Liverpool – (ENG)
2010-11 —— 9 games – 1 goals — FC Liverpool – (ENG)

Bayern Munich Buy 15.0 Million Euro Brazilian

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France World Cup winger FRANCK RIBERTY (left) of defending Bundesliga champion Bayern Munich attempts to fend off the challenge of TSG 1899 Hoffenheim midfielder GUSTAVO during this season’s late September league match in the German top flight at the Rhein Neckar Arena in Sinsheim, Baden-Wuerttemberg. (Michael Probst/AP)
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The defending League and Cup champions in Germany, BAYERN MUNICH, have announced a major acquisition during the annual Winterpause as the versatile Brazilian LUIZ GUSTAVO DIAS has been signed from Bundesliga club TSG 1899 HOFFENHEIM in exchange for the considerable transfer fee of 15.0 million Euros.

The 23-year-old, commonly known as just Gustavo, has never been capped by Brazil at any level but has been with TSG 1899 Hoffenheim in Germany the past three and one half seasons.

Gustavo joined the southwestern Baden-Wuerttemberg side in 2007 from Brazilian outfit Sport Club Corinthians Alagoano, a modest provincal team who play in the tiny Estadio Nelson Peixoto Feijo (capacity 10,000) and should not be confused with far better-known Sport Club Corinthians Paulista based in big-city Sao Paulo, initially on loan.

After Gustavo played in 27 league matches and helped the TSG 1899 Hoffenheim team earn promotion form the 2.Bundesliga, the southwestern German club decided to excerise its option to purchase the Brazilian in the summer of 2008; since then, Gustavo has contested 72 Bundesliga games and scored two goals for the Sinsheim-based side.

Gustavo began football life as a left back but spent most of his time with TSG 1899 Hoffenheim as a defensive midfielder. On the surface, it would appear that Gustavo is a natural, younger replacement for 33-year-old Holland World Cup defensive midfielder MARK VAN BOMMEL. The veteran Dutchman, for his part, expressed pleasure that Bayern Munich management have signed as player as competent as Gustavo, who is capable of deployment in central defense, as well.

Included as part of the Gustavo transaction, TSG 1899 Hoffenheim will receive Bayern Munich’s 18-year-old talented Austria international winger DAVID ALABA on loan for the rest of the 2010-11 season.

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(Reuters/rp-online.de)