Well, things don’t always go as they should. Of course, this should be a given, for yours truly this was the case this past five days or so.

First off, the midweek post was supposed to contain a special surprise, namely the first goal scored by myself in anger in a FIFA 08 match with Arminia Bielefeld. It’s a cracker of a shot from just outside the box by Sibusiso Zuma against Arsenal (!!!), and I wanted to use it as a teaser for something I have planned over the Winter Break (It doesn’t take much thinking for you to figure out what I have planned…). However, since the highlight was too large for OleOle’s video service, I went to upload it to YouTube. Two hours later the file was uploaded… except it wasn’t. All that work for naught. *sigh*. I’ll get it up sooner or later.

Up next was the fact I had a rather important teacher’s exam to take on Saturday, so I programmed my VCR (I’m not rich enough for one of those fancy DVR thingies just yet) to record the South Africa-USA match. I left for the exam, got in the room, was given the exam, started to work on it… then realized that I had registered for the wrong exam. So, instead of showing how much useless history and geography knowledge I have crammed in my brain, I was being asked how much sociological and psychological knowledge I have crammed in my brain. Yes folks, I signed up for the Social Science exam rather than the Social Studies exam. There was only about 6 seconds of panic until I decided to give it a go anyway. Besides, the bosses would get a kick out of the whole situation. I’ll find out how I did in a month, but from how things went I did really well on it. I guess this gets me on the hook for teaching a high school psychology class next time one rolls around…

Because the exam took so long, I got home after the match was over, and I rewound the tape to watch the match… and I got two hours of infomercials. Seems someone turned on the TV and changed the channel before the match started. Ugh. I guess in the grand scheme of things I didn’t miss much, as the game ended up 1-0 for the Americans, but by all accounts Rowan Fernandez acquitted himself well, and Zuma seemed to be MIA in terms of serious chances, yet impressed duNord with his movement and locks. Siyabonga Nkosi didn’t make the 16 man roster for the match, and won’t play against Canada on Wednesday. Why you ask? Well, in action tonight in a friendly, Nkosi netted the final goal in a 6-0 thumping of Bünder SV, an amateur club from nearby Bünde who sit atop the Fußball- und Leichtathletik-Verband Westfalen. (*phew*) 700 folks braved the cold to watch the friendly, which Middendorp used to blood some of the reserves as well as some of the younger first teamers, who were up 4-0 by halftime.

In other news, Bundesliga.de is reporting on the Bundesliga’s Asian Adventure, speaking for the most part about Cottbus and Borussia Dortmund’s shenanigans, but at the end of the article, we get some info on the Arminia Bielefeld friendlies:

Arminia Bielefeld too will play in China in December on their own initiative. Arminia will take on twin city Wuhan on December 18 and Shenhua Shanghai one day later.

I’m working on getting some more information about the friendlies, and I’ll pass it along when I get said info.

One more mention of Bielefeld on the Bundesliga’s website is an interview with defender Rudiger Kauf, who scored in the win against Nurnberg. A line that jumped out was when he stated:

But you always have to be aware that we're Arminia Bielefeld, not one of the teams aiming for Europe. Our budget is one of the smallest, so you have to be aware that we always fight against relegation.

He is correct, in a way, but I hope that he has more than surviving the Bundesliga as his goal for this season. In October’s edition of FourFourTwo, sports psychologist Martin Perry (His not-too-shabby blog can be read here) notes that teams who are either promoted or perennial relegation fodder need to look beyond surviving, and focus on attainable-with-effort goals like a mid-table finish. I, of course, have wildly unrealistic expectations and think Arminia can get to Europe, but we will see.

Here in the States, Thursday marks Thanksgiving, and as a result I’ll be desperately attempting to get away from family members that I really do not like, so as a result I’ll be hiding writing up an Arminiageschichte on the trusty laptop. I would share some turkey with you folks, but it’s likely to be sawdust-dry. Catch you then!

Hmm... Perhaps I should miss watching Arminia matches more often?

Of course, from the looks of the first half, it seems Arminia did not show up either... but then again, neither did Nürnberg apart from a short stretch in the first ten minutes when der Club (*chortle*) fired off four shots, including a header by Andreas Wolf that hit the post. Nürnberg controlled possession for most of the half after that, but didn't bother taking a shot until the 43rd minute, when Wolf got Nürnberg on the board with another header from a corner.

I don't know what Middendorp told the players at halftime, but it definitely worked, as Arminia came out with a renewed purpose, and Daniel Halfar let loose a volley that went wide in the 49th minute. Arminia drew level in the 63rd minute when Rüdiger Kauf scored on a header off of a corner. Arminia was in business after that (Don't look at me! The highlights from tonight's Deutsche Welle broadcast said so!), and Artur Wichniarek grabbed the lead in the 75th minute with a nice close-ranged shot off of a cross from substitute Sibusiso Zuma. It wasn't as though der Club laid down though, as Marek Mintal twice took advantage of gaffes in the 82nd and 83rd minutes, but lacked poise as he pushed both shots wide. Zuma nearly got a goal at the start of stoppage time from a good cross from Wichniarek, but as stoppage time was running out, he got his goal with a nice shot outside the box.

Getting the three points was a massive boost to the club, of course, but I was pleased with how the club seemed to have reacted in the 2nd half after going down 0-1. In previous matches they sort of buckled under pressure, but this time they held up, and fought back bravely. How much of that was attributed to Nürnberg's poor attack can be debated (Arminia put 4 more shots on goal than der Club), but you take what's in front of you. It was also great to see Wichniarek back on track after his injuries slowed him down the past couple of weeks, so a goal and an assist for him is great.

In the grander scheme of things the win in this "six point relegation battle!" (as one e-mailer quipped to me) was great for Arminia, as a Nürnberg win would have put Arminia in the relegation zone. However, the win puts Arminia six points clear of the drop zone, and more positively 6 points from an automatic UEFA Cup spot, but only four from an Intertoto Cup spot (given the DFB-Pokal winner is in the top 5). However there's six clubs ahead of them, so it's imperative that Arminia begin to pick up points in threes, especially against the clubs that are in front of them. Exactly one year ago today Arminia sat in 8th after defeating Eintracht Frankfurt 0-3. They wouldn't win another match until March in the dramatic win against...yes... der Club.

No matches next week because of the International Break, but not everyone will be taking it easy as at least three players have gotten call ups for international duty (all from South Africa) who will face the US on Saturday and Canada on 20 November. According to the South African FA's website, goalkeeper Rowen Fernandez, midfielder Siyabonga Nkosi, and forward Sibusiso Zuma get call ups for the US match, and Fernandez is on the roster for the Canada match. Of course, the US match has to take place in the morning here in the States, which means I won't catch the entire match (Charity work, why do you frustrate me so!), but the start time (8:00AM here) should mean that I'll get most of it. I'll let you folks know how they do, since it's entirely possible that all three will start for the Bafana Bafana.

One last thing: If you haven't already, take a minute to remember those who have served, as it is Veterans Day here in the US and Rememberance Day/Armistice Day in the rest of the world. It's the least we could do.

Catch you during the week for an Arminiageschichte as well as a special surprise!

After patting myself on the back for a Blog well done, I was surfing around on the kicker.de site, and on the Arminia Bielefeld page, there is the following story (If you're a native German speaker, forgive any translation errors. My German is, well, nonexistent):

The Big World Tour

The Bundesliga has started a new offencive: During the week of Christmas more Bundesliga clubs will travel to the Far East, where there they will try to start marketing the league in Asian markets again. Currently Borussia Dortmund will travel to Indonesia, Arminia Bielefeld and Energie Cottbus to China, and a trip to Vietnam for Eintracht Frankfurt is also planned.

You can read the rest of the article here (link auf Deutsch)

The article goes from there to discuss the Bundesliga's thinking behind sending clubs to football-mad Asia during the Winter Break, as well as trips to the US to play MLS sides during the MLS offseason. Frankly, the prospect of 1 billion-plus Chinese folks becoming Arminia supporters via the charm of Ernst Middendrop and Artur Wichniarek is tempting, but I'd prefer them to come Stateside to play the Houston Dynamo. That way I could go see them and cheer them on by myself in the visitors' section. At the very least, it would be a great chance to improve Arminia's record in the US...

It was a beautiful autumn Saturday at my humble abode. I found the Bayer Leverkusen-Arminia Bielefeld match on TV, and was settling down for what I would assume to be a pretty cracking match. Both clubs were slumping in the Bundesliga, but unlike Bayer, Arminia was actually still in the DFB-Pokal... and won at TuS Koblenz. Christian Eigler, the hero, called the game a massive morale booster, so I was of the opinion that perhaps at least a point was in the cards, and if things fell favourably, perhaps three points. So, as the match was about to kick o...

*ring* *ring* *ring*

Hello?

Hi Mr. Jane! (Note: not my real name) Are you having a good morning?

Sure...

We're just calling to remind you that you've scheduled some volunteer time today.

I did? er... I did! Yeah. What time did I volunteer to be there today?

9:30AM!

*looks at clock, which says 9:03AM*

Of course! I'll be there!

Great! see you then! Bye!

*grits teeth* Bye!

So, I missed the match, though I did do my twice-monthly charity work (I volunteer at a food distribution program), but missed the match. I was so looking forward to this match and I was literally distracted the whole time. I tried to  get my laptop connected to the Internet (I record the orders), but to no avail. I was fit to be tied, and when my shift finished at noon, I sped home and fired up the computer to see the score. I got to kicker.de and saw the score... 

Bayer Leverkusen 4-0 Arminia Bielefeld

Then I went to read the story...

Bayer exposes Arminia's Weaknesses

*sigh*

I guess everything that can be said about the match has been said, especially the non-call for penalty for Zuma but I'd like to point out the debut of German U-19 International Daniel Halfar (who, according to his page on the club's site, prefers Forrest Gump to The Big Lebowski, and Jessica Biel to Paris Hilton. Good tastes indeed!), who should have a bright future with the club.

Speaking of the DFB-Pokal, the draw for the Third Round was held this week, and Arminia got a decent draw (why couldn't they get Werder Bremen II?) by picking up a matchup with struggling 2. Bundesliga side Carl Zeiss Jena on either 29-30 January (The date has not been set yet.). And yes, for the uninitiated, the club was founded by workers from the optics giant. And yes, Jena was the site of the massive defeat that doomed Prussia's fate during the War of the Fourth Coalition in 1806. If Arminia win, a quarterfinals berth would match their best-ever run in the DFB-Pokal. That would be swell.

In other Arminia News, Uli Hesse-Lichtenberger once again speaks of Arminia Bielefeld in his ESPNSoccernet column, but his mood was rather contrite, as he admitted since he showered the club and their manager with praise, they haven't won a match in the Bundesliga. He then drops in the fact that probably no Arminia supporter will have read his apology, so I fired off an e-mail that at least one Arminia supporter read the column. Now if only the Soccernet drones will pass along the message to Uli, whose day would probably be made by my comment. And before you ask me, I, of course, mentioned the blog!

So, we look forward to Sunday's match against struggling Nurnburg (who lost to Everton in the UEFA Cup 2-0 today) at the Alm in what folks are already calling a Relegation Six-pointer. I'm ever the optimist, so I refuse to admit that Arminia is only 3 points out of the drop zone, but rather look at the match as an opportunity to close the gap on the UEFA Cup spots. I'll be out of town, so watching the match isn't on the cards. of course, if it was on Saturday I wouldn't be able to watch either... I need to bring my younger brother to a dog care class where he will be making dog treats. 

Yes. Dog treats. Yum!

Yes folks, you've asked for it, and you've got it! The inaugural edition of Die Blauen Mailbag is up and running with a couple of questions from the dozens of adoring fans out there. (I kid, I kid) There were plenty more in the Inbox, but I chose these softball questions to answer, and some of the other ones will be in upcoming die Arminiageschichte articles, as well as some upcoming die Blauen Maibag articles...that is when I get the answer for them. If you've got a question about the club, the blog, or anything else, fire off an e-mail to dieblauenblog@gmail.com with "Die Blauen Mailbag" in the subject line. So away we go!

Dear Die Blauen Blog,

First off, your blog is excellent and it is great to see someone talk about football clubs around the world that most people don't read about in English, much less ask folks for questions. Anyway, here's an easy question for you to answer:

Where has Ernst Middendorp coached outside of Germany? I know he was at Kaizer Chiefs when he took the job in Bielefeld this past season, but has he been anywhere else?

Thanks for your answer and keep up the great work!

Brian (Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire)

Everyone's favourite manager has his EU passport pretty full when it comes to coaching. Apart from 3 stints with Arminia, and a variety of jobs in Germany from Eintracht Nordhorn to KFC Uerdingen 05, Middendorp has coached in Ghana, Iran, and South Africa. In Ghana, he's coached the two domestic giants Kumasi Asante Kotoko and Accra Hearts of Oak, Iranian second division side Teraktor Sazi FC, and most famously, Kaizer Chiefs in South Africa, where he won the ABSA Cup (a mini FA Cup for South Africa) as well as the Supa 8 Cup (a knock-out competition with the top 8 clubs from the previous season, an expanded Liga Pokal, if you will).

Hey Man!

I'm on OleOle and I saw your blog. I would make fun of you for you liking a team that sucks but I cheer for Spurs! (lol!) Anyway, has Arminia Bielefeld won any German League titles? Keep it up man, it's a fun read.

Jonathan (Buffalo, New York)

Well, I'll forgive you for being a Spurs supporter, but to answer your question, Arminia Bielefeld has a pretty full trophy cabinet... but nothing from the 1. Bundesliga... yet!

In the early days, Arminia won several regional titles and flirted with national success, most famously reaching the quarterfinals of the now-DFB Pokal in 1923.

1922-23 West German Regional Championships (Picture courtesy of arminia-bielefeld.de)

After this golden era was quite a long period of relative mediocrity, but since the Bundesliga was formed in 1963, Arminia Bielefeld have bounced around the lower divisions quite a bit (see next question), but won league titles in the following seasons, along with automatic promotion:

2. Bundesliga (Nationwide): 1999

2. Bundesliga (Nord): 1978, 1980

Regionalliga West: 1995

Oberliga Westfalen (Amateur): 1990

Dear Die Blauen Blog,

I must say that I am highly impressed that someone would care for my club enough to write a blog about them... in English! I was born and raised in the Bielefeld area, and spent plenty of days at the Alm supporting our club, but I have lived in the United States for the past twenty years and have only been back twice. Thankfully the Internet has been able to allow me to follow die Arminen closely again, much less let me find your blog!

Perhaps you can help me with something. With the club's 100th anniversary a few seasons back, the club released an all time starting eleven. Do you know who they are? And if you do, please let me know. Once again, thank you for your blog and Schwarz-weiss-blaue Ich liebe Gruesse!

Jan (Florida)

First off, thanks for the compliments, and to answer your question, here's the Arminia Bielefeld 100th Anniversary Starting XI (in a 3-4-3 Formation):

Goal: Uli Stein

Defence: Günther Schäfer, Dieter Schulz, Thomas Stratos

Midfield: Thomas von Heesenm, Walter Claus-Oehler, Frank Pagelsdorf, Norbert Eilenfeldt

Forward: Bernd Kirchner, Bruno Labbadia, Ewald Lienen

Manager: Ernst Middendorp

One last thing for this blog entry...

WE FINALLY FREAKING WON! WOOHOO!!!

Texas-sized Kudos to Christian Eigler for the double this evening, especially the match-winner in extra time. I didn't get back home until just after the match ended, and I don't think I could have watched it anyway considering the DFB Pokal's lack of coverage here in the States. It'll be a boost going into the match in Leverkusen on Saturday, so here's to at least a point, if not 3 then, an easy draw in the next round, as well as not being Hertha or Nürnberg, who both crashed out to lower division sides today!

I'm getting a bit tired of moral victories, to tell you the truth.

Today's 1-1 draw with bottom-feeders Energie Cottbus was a rather large moral victory, to tell you the truth. They were mere seconds from getting the three points that would put to end the panic that's swept East Westphalia this past month, but it wasn't to be. It's not as though Arminia didn't deserve the three points--they sure earned them--but a second of inattention cost them the win.

Arminia came out flying from the gate as Robert Tesche took a pass from Matthias Langkamp only two minutes in, but the shot went right in the chest of Cottbus goalkeeper Gerhard Tremmel, who replaced Tomas Piplica, who was finally yanked after a series of Paul Robinson-esque performances. Arminia continued to pile on the pressure for the remainder of the first half, but the theme was definitely one of missed chances. In the 12th minute, Artur Wichniarek rifled a shot to Tremmel's chest, and three minutes later Wichniarek again put a shot on Tremmel, who then let loose a tasty rebound at the foot of Christian Eigler. Eigler took the golden chance, but Vragel Da Silva deflected it safely away. Tesche wasted another chance in the 28th minute, and by halftime, the chances looked like this:

Image Courtesy of ESPNsoccernet Gamecast

The pitch was definitely slanted in Arminia's favour at halftime, and the second half continued that theme. Tesche missed yet another chance from Eigler, who was subsituted for Leonidas Kampantais in the 69th minute, and fresh subsitute Jonas Kamper (in for Ioannis Masmanidis in the 59th minute) sent a Wichniarek cross over the crossbar in the 63rd minute, The pitch finally leveled in the 71st minute when Stanislav Angelov let loose a shot from 30 yards. Der Spiegel's comment on the shot? "The first real scoring chance of the match. The shot did not miss by much, but it was Cottbus' signal of intent that they were going to try to make a game of it. After Dennis Sörensen's pass to Dimiatar Rangelov was deemed offsides, the ensuing free kick to Jonas Kamper proved to be a smart move, as he charged down the pitch, and let loose a shot from 25 yards that sent the Alm into a frenzy. The goal had been a long time coming, and was well-earned.

Arminia tried to keep the pressure up, but Cottbus stepped up the attack, bringing on Francis Kioyo and Efstathios Aloneftis in the final 10 minutes to get an equalizer. 3 minutes of stoppage time was given, and with less than a minute left, Ervin Skela's free kick met Sörensen's head, who guided it past Mathias Hain, and gave Cottbus their 5th point of the season.

Frankly, the points were stolen out from under the noses of Arminia. Once again Arminia controlled a match, got a lead, and lost it through an off moment. But I guess that's how football is. Middendorp was of course frustrated by the result, but rightly pointed out that this match was the best match they've played in a while, and the frustration of this match must be tossed aside immediately, as the club must travel on Halloween night to the Palatinate to take on TuS Koblenz in the 2nd round of the DFB Pokal (German FA Cup for the uninitiated). A win there would do much to lift the squad going into Saturday's match at Bayer Leverkusen. It's imperative that the club keep their game up in light of their last three run-ins with the traditional Bundesliga Big Boys. 6 points in the seven days would make me ecstatic.

One last thing for this week: Though Arminia is near and dear to my heart, on this side of the Atlantic the MLS Playoffs have begun, and yours truly's Houston Dynamo begin their MLS Cup defence this evening in Dallas against FC Dallas. A lot of the more vocal MLS pundits have DC United, New York Red Bulls, or even Chivas USA penciled in as this year's winners, but they're forgetting the fact that Houston won the title this past season and set the record this season for fewest goals allowed (23 in 30 matches). They're a well-organized side with a punch up front, and methinks the media is ignoring them at their peril. I'm wearing my Brian Ching shirt and wearing my Dynamo cap as I write this blog waiting to the match this evening. Vamos Naranja! and all that (We're a multilingual outfit 'round these parts.)

Expect the Inaugural Edition of the die Blauen Mailbag and a comment on the Pokal match in the next week. See you then.

Here at die Blauen Blog HQ, it's been madness all around for the past fortnight. Since the last blog post, it's not been all about the problems of the back line, Arminia's inability to beat a 6th Division side at home (At least Alba Berlin repeatedly "voted Team of the Year and wins Germany’s most famous athletics award" in basketball), or the fact that the club's Internet profile is ranked 10th among the 38 1. and 2. Bundesliga clubs, above clubs like Hamburg and Werder Bremen (Read the full report here auf Deutsch).

What has it been about then? School. Yes, tests, report cards, and all that fun. You see, your humble blogger is a schoolteacher by day (It isn't as though blogging pays...trust me), and the International Break fell just in time for the end of the grading period, and the lack of club football allowed me to finish up the quarter as well as put up with a day of parent-teacher conferences, where I spent most of the day twiddling my thumbs waiting for someone to talk to. Thankfully, a parent finally showed up, and after a quick discussion of their child's outstanding work, the real purpose of the meeting came out:

Parent: My child has told me you have a blog about soccer. 

Me: Why yes!

Parent: Who is this "Armenia Bilefield" team you talk about? Are they from Russia or something?

Me: Actually, they're a club in the German Bundesliga, and are from a moderately large city called Bielefeld.

Parent: Never heard of it.

Me: Well, you're not the first one.

Parent: But why do you like them, much less one that's lost, what, 4-5 in a row (My child tells me about your discussions every Monday of your team's games. I like teachers who have interesting hobbies, for the record!). I mean, wouldn't it be easier to cheer for a team that wins, much less one that speaks English?

Me: Well, you like the New Orleans Saints don't you?

Parent: Touche.  But what about the English part?

Me: They have an English page too!

Parent: Well OK, then! You've convinced me!

It's nice to know my students take interest in the club enough to not only talk about their exploits in class, but also mention it at home... even if it means they think I support a club of Armenian soccer players from a town that has a field full of bile.

But enough of that, let's talk some football.  Coming into the match against high-flying Karlsruhe SC, Bielefeld lost 1-0 to Hamburger SV via a goal by Rafael van der Vaart, a fellow whom yours truly said that if they held him in check, then Arminia should get at least a point out of it. I hate when I'm right at times like then. Karlsruhe, on the other hand, was flying high in second position (We know the feeling, no?) and looking for three points. The opening minutes proved that as KSC came out all guns a-blazing and pinned Arminia back. Hain came up huge in the 2nd minute when he stopped a shot by Tamas Hajnal, then in the 23rd minute when Mario Eggimann got a hold of a corner and Hain was forced to parry it away. Ioannis Masamandis uncorked a nice shot in the mean time from over 30 yards that was barely off target.

After this flurry, both sides dug down and, in my best Middendorp impression, became involved in a terse battle that would not look out of place in World War I. Both sides resorted to long range shooting for a good 50 minutes, including a 40+ yard shot on target my Malik Franz, before both sides had point blank chances go awry, as Robert Tesche went wide from 14 yards out in the 80th minute, and more spectacularly, Edmund Kapllani got a header on a great cross a minute later from 6 yards out, only for Hain to deny KSC the winner. Arminia got one last corner in the 86th minute, but it was for naught.

All in all it was a gutsy performance by die Blauen. Karlsruhe piled on the pressure for the first half hour, but after that neither side really threatened until the 80th minute, when both sides couldn't pull the trigger on close-in chances. A fair result, I suppose, but  all in all a decent performance for a match on the road against a high-flying team. The point puts Arminia at 11 on the season, 2 out of the drop zone, but 6 from a UEFA Cup spot, a tricky but decent spot considering the relative parity among most Bundesliga clubs. 3 point next week against Cottbus would put the club back into the thick of things.

Next week's match: Home against Energie Cottbus

Holy Moley! Hope your kids weren't watching the match today, as if they did, they would be needing some therapy after this one.

Rather than make a separate post for the Hannover 96 match, I figured I would make a post for both that match and the match on Saturday at Werder Bremen. It was rather prescient on my part because how would I know that they would turn into a horror double feature.

Game 1: Arminia Bielefeld 0-2 Hannover 96

To be fair, Bielefeld did not play bad against Hannover, and the stats showed that as both sides were virtually identical in every regard save the goals. The point of contention in the match was, of course, the handball by Wichniarek which gave the penalty to Hannover. As Ernst Middendorp states, it completely changed the course of the match, which, despite several close headers by Mathias Langkamp and Andre Mijatovic, not to mention a tricky shot by Wichniarek which hit the bar, Bielefeld couldn't equalize. A goal by Altin Lala on a nice counter attack set the score line, which did little to show how well Bielefeld played in the aftermath of the Schalke match.

So, in order to keep with the entry title, I guess this match would be considered the Attack of the Helping Hand.

Overall, I wasn't too enthusiastic about the trip to Bremen, but I was sure they would acquit themselves well... 

Game 2: Werder Bremen 8-1 Arminia Bielefeld

As the match began, I was pleasantly surprised to watch Bielefeld hang in with Werder, who seemed to have found their form coming into the match. Andre Mijatovic's header put Werder on noticve, but unfortunately nothing came out of it as minutes later Peter Niemeyer's goal caught everyone by surprise. The pitch began to tilt in Werder's direction, Mijatovic went off with an injury, and then they finally were rewarded for their efforts with a goal by Hugo Almedia, who had 2 shots stopped by Matthias Hain in the preceding minutes. I was a bit bummed by the goal but I knew they had it coming. However, the emotions changed radically when Wednesday's goat Wichniarek rifled in a shot just outside the box to cut the lead in half. In my game notes I had written...

37' Wichniarek scores! Lead's been halved... can they build on this and draw level?

Werder took a weak shot immediately after but Bielefeld began to press and Bernd Korzynietz won a free kick in the attacking half, and in the aftermath Werder promptly took the ball down the length of the pitch to make it 3-1 on a nice shot by Boubacar Sanogo, who got his double right before halftime to make the score 4-1. For me, the game was over already, but I hoped the scoreline would remain the same, if not a goal by Bielefeld to make it look respectable.

Snap. 

The second half continued right where the first left off with Werder completely in control of the match, and the Bielefeld back four were at their mercy. It's not really necessary to go into too much depth from here as the match ended up being a succession of Bremen rushes leaving Bielefeld defenders in their wake. What else can you say when you lose 8-1? Well, I guess I could give props to Diego for that free kick at the end. That was one nice shot.

With the goalfest complete, it's only right to say that this was a regular Eight Deadly Shots. I'll stop my movie title comparisons right now if you don't mind.

What I can say is that a priority going into the January transfer window is a serious bolstering of the back four. Bielefeld's problem isn't going forward, looking at the talent that's there, as well as the rumour of Iraqi International Hawar Mulla Mohammed being looked at by the club. (Link auf Deutsch) The problem remains at the back, which the retirement of Marcio Borges didn't help. Of course, in the time being, the folks back there need to step up, especially with Hamburger SV in the cards before the October international break. Though with that said, it seems that the game plan against Hamburg is to stop midfield Rafael van der Vaart if their statistics are to be believed. Let's hope so.

One last thing. YouTube has the footage of Artur Wichniarek leading the crown in the after game festivities from the Hertha Berlin match. Today wasn't too good, so let's leave the blog post on a good note. Here it is:

Next match: 6 October vs. Hamburger SV 

... at least your questions, that is.

With the Bundesliga Winter Break looming in December-January, there will be a dearth of stories to talk about, and I don't want to be stuck just making posts regaling you with tales of players who almost signed during the January transfer window. And you probably don't want to read posts like that either.

So with that said, I'm tossing out the old Mail Bag looking for your questions about die Blauen. I'm asking now at the dawn of autumn because I know I'll be getting e-mails that will require me 4 months to get the answer to, so I'm getting a jump on it now! Almost any question will be fair game, and, depending on the response, we may have an early edition of Die Blauen Mailbag or two just to try it out.

Now that you've read this and are absolutely dying to e-mail the blog wanting to know who the All-time Arminia XI is, or something of that sort, there are two ways to contact the blog:

(1) If you're a member of OleOle (if you're not, why aren't you? It's free!), you can send me a message via my profile.

(2) If you're not a member of OleOle, or don't want to message me that way, you can send an e-mail to die blauen blog at gmail dot com (Avoiding spam here).

When you contact me, put "Die Blauen Mailbag" in the topic and make sure to give me a real name/screen name and a location so I can mention it in the mailbag. 

In an earlier post, I posted a column by Uli Hesse-Lichtenberger which sang the praises of manager Ernst Middendorp on ESPN Soccernet. Well, the lovefest for the mercurial manager continues on the official Bundesliga website with not just one, but two articles of our Fearless Leader.

Article number one is an article which shows the extent of Bielefeld's turnaround. Among the stats listed (Before Saturday's match against Schalke, of course)...

• Only Bayern München have scored more goals so far this season (12) than Arminia (11, like Dortmund)
  
• Bielefeld have a dangerous duo up front in Eigler/Wichniarek, with seven goals between them. That matches the other top pairings - Bayern's Klose/Toni, Hertha's Pantelic/Okoronkwo and Dortmund's Petric/Klimowicz.
  
• Arminia have committed less fouls (81) than any other side and received the fewest yellow cards (5).
• Seven goals from substitutes. The only coach who can match that over the last 15 games is Bremen's Thomas Schaaf.

Not too shabby if you ask me.

Article number two is an interview with Middendorp where he calls the Bundesliga "a special league," gives credit where credit is due for the remarkable start by Artur Wichniarek and Christian Eigler, as well as discussing the future of the club and its European ambitions. Despite being a short, by-the-numbers interview, it's a very good read.

Now, if we can only get an English interview where he calls a reporter a dolt for asking a dumb question or referring to a match as "not unlike a bad day in a trench in Flanders in 1915." like he's done in the past. Like the recently-departed Special One, an interview with Middendorp is never a dull one.

Bundesliga.de: A Remarkable Turnaround

Bundesliga.de: "The Bundesliga is a Special League"