Talking Fussball Podcast

The Bundesliga rang in the new year with rollicking Rückrunde action on Match Day 18. Listen in as Matt Hermann speaks to Jasmine Baba about: How Bayern's Covid-struck skeleton crew proved they're just as good as the club's first choicers by dropping points to Gladbach, How Dortmund managed to prevail in another wild west shootout against Eintracht, and whether the jury on who's actually a European-quality side is very much still out for half the league. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome back! Have a nice couple of weeks? A happy new year? We hope you enjoyed your break, because the Official Fantasy Bundesliga is getting back to work. The big issue at the moment for fantasy managers? Making sure you make the most of the last unlimited transfer period until March. With perhaps the biggest match of the weekend up in the air due to a Covid outbreak, JT and Flo are taking a wait-and-see approach to a few decisions. Still, they've got loads of advice as well as answers to a string of your questions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ever wonder what's cooking over on our Patreon page? Well at the moment we've got a series that we're excited to share - one we hope will shed light on some sordid chapters in German football history. We call it SKANDAL! and we're sharing the first episode here on the man feed. This edition is about one of the biggest scandals of all - one that's had repercussions as recently as Der Klassiker in this year's Hinrunde. Remember what Jude Bellingham said about referee Felix Zwayer having fixed a match? This episode will explain how Mr. Z got mixed up in all that, as well as go deep on the referee who stood at the center of the story - Robert Hoyzer. Episode 2, about the bombshell memoir that cost a Germany international his DFB career, is already available on Patreon, Episode 3 goes up this week and the series is set to continue for the next couple of months. Subscribe now! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As we move into the winter break, it's time to take stock of a very tight race for promotion in the 2. Bundesliga. FC St. Pauli and SV Darmstadt are riding high, but after that no fewer than SEVEN sides are within three points of the playoff spot. Nik, Maik and Jasmine step in to break it all down, as well as to discuss a game in the 3. Liga that was abandoned after racist chanting. So much going on in the lower leagues, so little time... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After a few flirtations with the idea of a title race earlier this season, the Bundesliga has decided to settle down with its long-term partner - FC Bayern München domination. The Rekordmeister are back to putting the hurt on opponents (VfB Stuttgart and VfL Wolfsburg most recently), and that's not something Borussia Dortmund - or anybody else for that matter - can really keep up with. Matt sits down with Marie Schulte-Bockum for a chat about Bayern's current brilliance, Dortmund's woes in Berlin, the streaking Eintracht Frankfurt and why their win against Mainz should not be underestimated, and where the league seems to be at right now heading into the Winterpause. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If you take a look at the Bundesliga table, it's hard not to come to the conclusion that the most disappointing team of the season is Gladbach. The foals have been European challengers for much of the last decade, but this year under new coach Adi Hütter that reputation is very much under threat. Gladbach sit way down in 13th after 15 games, and a poor English week to end the first half of the season could see them fall even further. Nik rings up Vollraute Abroad podcaster Manuel Breuer to find out what's gone wrong and how to stop the bleeding. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lots going on this time of year, eh? You might be busy with holiday parties, extra shifts, or final exams, but the Bundesliga is cramming in the matches...and this week's guest has been taking in as many as he can. Matthew Marshall is back on the pod, and he sits down with Matt to give his impressions of Frankfurt's blazing comeback, Hoffenheim's smash-and-grab in Freiburg, Cologne's surprising slip-up against Augsburg and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bundesliga sides are about to sprint toward the Hinrunde finish, playing three games in the space of just over a week in an englische Woche. Lots of permutations to consider when there's three times the fixtures to contend with, but JT and Flo are here to help you sort out where the smart money is. As the Winterpause starts on 20 December, this will be the final TF Fantasy preview of 2021 - but look out for a Twitter spaces chat with the boys on Monday 13 December. Best of luck! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ah, the ups and downs of the 2. Bundesliga. Our own Nik Wildhagen's Werder Bremen side were on the ups under new coach Ole (or should we say Olé?) Werner, while Jasmine Baba's SV Darmstadt were definitely down this past weekend. As for Maik Krükemeier's beloved St. Pauli, they won - but then again, they do that just about all the time these days! Tune in for a full run-down of the main storylines from recent weeks down in the 2.BL, a look at how lower league sides are dealing with another Covid lockdown, and much more... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Well that was a more than half decent Klassiker, wasn't it? Five goals, end-to-end action, goals from the star strikers...and a whole heal of controversy and acrimony. Matt sits down with Terry Duffelen - whose new BVB history book is out now - to talk about his team's defensive dunder-headed-ness, Bayern's penchant for a ruthless goal, and young Jude Bellingham's willingness to dredge up a refereeing scandal that the DFB thought it had buried. They also explore the issues surrounding Jesse Marsch's exit from RB Leipzig, a couple of six-goal wins and more... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Bundesliga promotional machine has been in overdrive this week, pumping up fans around the world about Der Klassiker. With such a close race at the top at the moment, that's only natural - but there's a lot more afoot in the league, especially for Fantasy managers. Listen in as JT and Flo let you know which players to consider in each match, with a little extra on the big Dortmund-Bayern clash. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Yes it's called Der Klassiker, but will Saturday's game truly be a classic? Do FC Bayern München's recent less-than-imperious results mean there's a decent chance Borussia Dortmund can win and take over top spot? And how many (if any) fans will be in the Westfalenstadion this weekend to witness it? Nik Wildhagen and Jasmine Baba take a break from musing on the 2. Liga to stare deeply into the irresistible eyes of Der Klassiker... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dortmund shook off their Champions League flame-out with a big win in Wolfsburg; Bayern limped to a narrow home win over Bielefeld. The gap between the two sides is still just a point, and with a Erling Haaland back in action and scoring goals, something other than a Bayern runaway seems possible ahead of Der Klassiker. Matt gets hyped up with Adam Khan (breaking the lines, German Football Newsletter) about the big one next week, about the future of Jesse Marsch, Ralf Rangnick's big English adventure, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If you've read anything about Germany this week, you'll know that Covid cases are skyrocketing. It stands to reason that the Bundesliga will have its share of cases, and indeed the likes of Joshua Kimmich, Thorgan Hazard and others will be sitting out Match Day 13. Listen in as JT and Flo walk you through how to replace some of those players, and tackle many, many other issues as well! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We keep thinking we can get out of talking about Covid and get back into talking about football...but Markus Anfang keeps pulling us back in. The Bremen coach's apparent vax card flim-flam is the story that's swallowing German football at the moment, and as it's taking place in the corridors of a 2. Bundesliga side, it's right on the Aufstieg edition's turf. Listen in as Nik, Jasmin and Maik talk the bizarre affair over, as well as discuss a number of other stories from the lower leagues. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's not every week Bundesliga fans witness Bayern slip up and lose to a side in the relegation zone - and see the Rekordmeister's main challenger win to keep the pressure up. But dang if Augsburg and Dortmund each played their parts and pulled it off. Thanks to that - and perhaps a self-inflicted case of COVID knuckle-headery on Säbener Strasse, a fresh wind of competition now blows through the Bundesliga. Matt invites AFP's Kit Holden on the pod to talk that over, along with a certain fixture that wasn't very competitive - the Berlin derby, at which Kit's 1. FC Union Berlin basically mopped the floor with Matt's Hertha BSC. Listen in as a new Stadtmeister is crowned! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome back! Just in time to get you ready for the Bundesliga re-start after the international break (and to recount the boys' Karneval get-ups), TF Fantasy is here with a new episode! Listen in as JT and Flo give you all the tips you need to rebuild your team while transfers are still unlimited, as well as what line-ups are likely to give you the best chance for the most points on a potentially high-scoring match day. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hard to ask for much more from a match day than what we got from round 11. A couple of heavyweight clashes - Bayern-Freiburg and Leipzig-Dortmund - that stayed close on the scoreboard even if not in the balance of play, and a string of games with major plot twists in the final few minutes of action. Matt sits down with Matthew Marshall, who's been all over the country this week reporting for Get German Football News, to figure out what to make of it. Can SC Freiburg challenge for Champions League football next season? Are RB Leipzig more or less certain to get back there? And why can't the DFL just let Cologne play with miniature bow ties attached to their collars? All this and more... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lots of intriguing match-ups on tap on Match Day 11 - and lots of opportunities to take a flutter on some long shots ahead of another unlimited transfer window (when you can clean up whatever mess you might make). Listen in as JT and Flo guide you through all the best picks for the weekend... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Are you ready to Aufsteigen? We hope so, because Nik, Maik and Jasmine are ready with an update on the 2. Bundesliga and lower leagues. Among the topics: St. Pauli are still riding high, but didn't quite get the late win in Bremen they thought they did for a moment; HSV shake up the spelling on their shirts for a positive reason; Hannover 96 fans aren't too keen on their club's Covid-19 ticketing system; much more... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices