Martin Volkmar – Inside World Football

Martin Volkmar: Good Klopp, bad Klopp

Paul Nicholson — Thu, 15 Oct 2015 00:23:08 +0000

The slick first public appearance of Jürgen Klopp at Liverpool seems to have caught English media and football fans by surprise, and has already made him a favourite with many.

German observers were less surprised – his humorous and casual demeanour had already earned Klopp the nickname ‘Menschenfänger’ (rough translation ‘human catcher’).

On his good days, the man from Stuttgart can hold the masses in the palm of his hand. He first demonstrated this in his role as a TV pundit at the World Cup in 2006 and again in 2010,

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Martin Volkmar: Boring Bayernliga

Paul Nicholson — Thu, 08 Oct 2015 07:04:02 +0000

German media and fans are united in agreement that after just eight weekends of the Bundesliga the championship is decided. Although the club bosses won’t entertain the same opinion, the frenetic 5: 1 victory over supposed challengers Borussia Dortmund has eliminated any lingering doubts concerning the dominance of Bayern.

So the Bundesliga has a stale feeling as we go into the two-week international break that now threatens to be followed by a seven-month procession of wins for Germany’s record champion.

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Martin Volkmar: Gerhard Mayer-Vorfelder – Germany has lost one of its football elders

Paul Nicholson — Wed, 19 Aug 2015 09:00:51 +0000

Gerhard Mayer-Vorfelder, DFB president for many years and a member of the Executive Committee of FIFA and UEFA, passed away on Monday aged 82 years.

He was a controversial figure and a man who polarized opinion. Either you loved or you hated Gerhard Mayer-Vorfelder, there was little room inbetween.

With his often ruthless executives, he polarised opinion as conservative minister in his homeland Baden-Wuerttemberg and as president of Bundesliga club VfB,

Martin Volkmar: Bundesliga, backpacks and grumpy Spanish men return

Paul Nicholson — Wed, 12 Aug 2015 21:32:16 +0000

Germany’s football fans can at last breath a sigh of relief: after 82 days of rest, the Bundesliga is finally ready to start its new season.

Kicking off on Friday there is a classic between Bayern Munich and former big rivals Hamburger SV, the only club that has played in the top flight every season since the league’s inception in 1963.

But there is no talk of a surprise opening day win for the outsiders from the north – the stats from the last five games in Munich show zero points for HSV and an ugly goal difference of 3-31 (the last duel in February ended 8-0).

Martin Volkmar: Platini and the domino effect

Paul Nicholson — Fri, 31 Jul 2015 07:43:34 +0000

The candidacy of Michel Platini for FIFA president could have far-reaching consequences – especially for German football.

If the reports of support from four of the six continental federations are correct, Platini’s election as Blatter’s successor looks like a foregone conclusion.

This in turn would start a large game of musical chairs. First, a new UEFA president would have to be found. Favorite: Wolfgang Niersbach.

On the one hand he is internationally well connected through his many years of working as a journalist,

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Martin Volkmar: A man who is proving to be like good whiskey

Paul Nicholson — Wed, 15 Jul 2015 21:00:08 +0000

It has been a long journey to Old Trafford. Bastian Schweinsteiger, as an impetuous youngster, made his Bundesliga debut in late 2002 and quickly became a beacon of hope for the team – at Bayern and in the German national set-up.

Six months later, the then 18-year-old celebrated his first of eight German championships, another year and he had his first international cap. When Germany were embarrassingly knocked out in the preliminaries of the Euro 2004 tournament,

Martin Volkmar: Riding the wave of success back to Rio

Paul Nicholson — Fri, 26 Jun 2015 11:48:29 +0000

For the German Football Federation and its President Wolfgang Niersbach, it has already been a successful week, even before the major knockout matches are played in the Women’s World Cup and the U21 European Championship this weekend.

It started well with the success of the referendum in Frankfurt on Sunday. The opposition to the construction of the new DFB Academy on the grounds of the racecourse was undone by the lack of participation by those who were against the proposal –

Martin Volkmar: From hero to zero. Di Matteo departs a lifeless Schalke

Paul Nicholson — Tue, 26 May 2015 07:18:04 +0000

He came as a man of the world and left as a loser: Roberto Di Matteo was the man brought in to kick start a new era at Schalke 04, but instead, the former Chelsea coach’s time in the Bundesliga has expired after only seven months.

The decision to release Di Matteo was taken less than 24 hours after the embarrassing end of season draw in Hamburg, the consequences of the miserable second half.

Martin Volkmar: Will Bayern find sunlight after the rain?

Paul Nicholson — Wed, 20 May 2015 22:38:21 +0000

“Bayern can only win,” I wrote after the draw of the Champions League semi-finals a month ago. In retrospect, I have to admit I was wrong – at least partially.

Following the bitter defeat against Borussia Dortmund in the semi-final of the Cup and then against Barcelona in Champions League, sentiment has once again turned in Munich, a club spoiled by its own success.

The two-day championship celebration – Saturday, receiving the championship trophy after the last league match against Mainz,

Martin Volkmar: Bayern can win only

Paul Nicholson — Thu, 23 Apr 2015 10:20:28 +0000

How fast can one game change everything. Until Tuesday, FC Bayern had not shown in the second round that they really had a compelling game to win at the highest level.

There was nothing but skepticism regarding Bayern’s chances before the second leg against Porto. But Bayern broke the sceptics by filing a world-class mid-term retort to break the mood completely.

After the 6:1 extravaganza, Pep Guardiola’s team is suddenly favorite to win the Champions League title –

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