The wall from Finland

What is happening with the world? What is going wrong in Bayer? Pep Guardiola must have pissed his pants or something. Four games in two weeks and only two victories? WHAT IS GOING ON?

I'll tell you what's going on. First it was Wenger and the Gunners who made Bayern look like a bunch of orienteers who couldn't find their way to the goal. Then again this Friday the men from München stomped on a wall from Finland. Named Lukas Hradecky.

Before the game on Friday the Finnish press wrote that Hradecky has a chance to really show his talent and make an impression to the German football community if he plays well against the Bavarians. I could've bet my life savings against Frankfurt. Not because of Hradecky but because of the fact that the wieners (Frankfurters) had conceded 17 goals in the last 10 matches whereas Bayern had scored 33 times in the same amount. And if someone doesn't know Bayern had won all of their games so far in the Bundesliga. But no, not this time. The Eintracht fans witnessed something extraordinary - bavarians who couldn't score. And even if Hradecky wasn't the man of the match he made a few pretty important saves and was able to fill the shoes of Kevin Trapp who I myself regard as the second best keeper in Germany.

As "Luke" is the only Finnish player playing in the Bundesliga this year it's about time to write about him.

Hradecky never played for the Finnish Veikkausliiga (the top level of Finnish football) before he transferred to Denmark, to Esbjerg fB. He didn't seem that promising in his youth years even though he played for the Finnish youth national team. Even in the Finnish national team he has secured his place as the number one keeper only in the last qualifications. He has sometimes seemed as a keeper who has a hard time estimating the ball in crosses and because of that getting in trouble. But he is still fairly young, 25 years old, so he has still time to develop to his peak. And if even if he is not the best in crosses he has lightning-speed reflexes, as you could've witnessed this season. 

On top of this all he is very down to earth and for a guy coming from Turku he has a great sense of humor. I think that even if the Finnish press might be praising a little too much at the moment everyone who watches football can be very proud of him at the moment. And about time we got a decent player in the Bundesliga again, and looks like he is not going to give up his place easily in the future.

No need for the Coface boys

It's time to start blogging about the Bundesliga and possibly about other football related issues after a while.

So, let's talk about Mainz 05. The sympathetic little club from Rheinland-Pfalz. It's the 7th consecutive season Mainz is playing in the top league and for the first time after the astonishing 2010-11 season the game is actually looking solid.

The Bruchweg boys

And why are they going strong?

First of all, they have good balance and right players for each position. Loris Karius and Julian Baumgartlinger are in key role when it comes to defending the own goal. But the real threat to other teams is the attacking squadron. Christian Clemens, Pablo De Blasis, Yoshinori Muto and Yunus Mallı are all quick and skilled players. This quartet reminds me of Mainz "golden days". Remember Lewis Holtby, Adam Szalai and André Schürrle? I haven't seen such a performance (as we can see in the right) after a goal this year but as long as the quartet make something happen on the field there is no need for the Coface boys.

Especially Muto and Mallı have been on a roll. Mallı scored a hat trick yesterday against Hoffenheim and is now in the second place on the scoring chart. He was great even last season, but now he has really stepped up and might lead the team far. Yoshinori Muto was a complete stranger for the larger audience before the start of the season. Replacement for the other Japanese striker Shinji Okazaki has proven to be a big help for the 05ers. The two goals he has scored won't surely be the last ones for him.

So who knows where this team will be in May. If the quartet stays together we might see Mainz in the Europa League next year.