The Virtual Season, Part III: Marching Along Together

In the last edition of the Virtual Season, the 3-5-2 formation instituted by the manager worked as he hoped, as Arminia went 2-1-0 with a +7 goal differential, allowing them to shoot up the table to fifth, only 2 points behind leaders and local rivals Borussia Dortmund.  We pick the season up there.

Match #7: VfL Wolfsburg 0-3 Arminia Bielefeld

Scoring: VfL Wolfsburg: None; Arminia Bielefeld: Eigler (54'), Leonidas (68', 75 [Pen. Miss]), Kauf (76')

What happened: Despite the manager putting in a second string squad against the struggling Niedersachsen side, Arminia destroyed Wolfsburg in an affair that was surprisingly scoreless at halftime, mainly because Arminia hit the post an incredible 4 times. The second half opened with yet another post shot, but Christian Eigler finally opened up the scoring with a nice shot form 10 yards in the 54th minute. Pressure continued to mount until Leonidas Kampantais was brought down in the penalty area. Leonidas' attempt was blocked (Sound familiar?), but the rebound came to the feet of Rudiger Kauf, who once again scored from a 20+ yard volley to finish up the scoring. Best part of the match? EA actually thinking that having the Wolfsburg crowd chanting "V!-F!-B!" would be authentic.

Match #8: Arminia Bielefeld 4-0 1. FC Nürnberg

Scoring: Arminia Bielefeld: Zuma (3' [Penalty], 7'), Böhme (57'), Wichniarek (88'); 1. FC Nürnberg: None

What Happened: Another match, another thumping by Bielefeld. Sibusiso Zuma took the opening kick off down the pitch and earned a penalty, which he coolly took to give Arminia a quick 1-0 lead. He did the same thing 4 minutes later, albeit from the edge of the penalty area that time. Jörg Böhme made the lead insurmountable with a fantastic volley from outside the area early in the second half, and Artur Wichniarek finished off the scoring with a slick move to put the ball past the goalkeeper. Kicker pronounced the match as a "Goal Festival," but der Club's manager was less impressed. "Call me when they beat a club in the top half of the table," he quipped, "They will be lucky to not lose by a couple of goals when they go to Dortmund." Luckily for him, that happened to be the next match.

Match #9: Borussia Dortmund 2-3 Arminia Bielefeld

Scoring: Borussia Dortmund: Frei (25', 89'); Arminia Bielefeld: Nkosi (14'), Kamper (61') Gabriel (88')

What Happened: After Nürnberg's latest loss, a reporter asked their manager if he saw the scoreline in the Westphalian Derby (Borussia is Arminia's derby club in FIFA 08), and after answering that he had not, was shocked to see Arminia's win. He refused to believe it until he saw the highlights himself, and what he saw was a giant step toward cementing themselves as a title contender at this point of the season. Arminia opened up the scoring with an incredible diving free kick from 35 yards by Siyabonga Nkosi, which completely baffled the Dortmund goalkeeper. Alexander Frei levelled the score shortly after, and both sides settled into an exchange of chances to be stopped by the opposing defences. The score remained the same until the 61st minute when Jonas Kamper took a pass from Artur Wichniarek, charged in on goal, and let loose an unstoppable shot from 25 yards that went in the top corner of the net. Dortmund picked up the pace even more, but it was Arminia who sealed the deal with a header from a corner by defender Petr Gabriel. Frei made it interesting a minute later with a fantastic goal of his own, but Arminia iced the match to put them atop the Bundesliga, facing Werder Bremen the next week at the Alm. A win would put some cushion between them and the rest of the pack going into a DFB-Pokal weekend...

Match #10: Arminia Bielefeld 1-2 Werder Bremen

Scoring: Arminia Bielefeld: Böhme (34'); Werder Bremen: Rosenberg (28'), Hugo Almedia (76')

What Happened: If Arminia loses out on the title by 2 points or less, they will point to this match as a lost opportinuty. They outshot Werder 21-3, with an incredible 12-3 advantage in shots on goal. Both Werder goals came against the run of play, as Rosenberg converted on a defencive error, as did Hugo Almedia. Jörg Böhme scored the only goal for Arminia on a good pass from Sibusiso Zuma that put him behind the Werder defence. Supporters criticized the manager for his switch from a 3-5-2 to a Diamond 4-4-2 formation for the match in an attempt to limit the Werder attack. By the end of the match, this was tossed in favour of a 4-2-4 formation which on several occasions very nearly scored an equalizer. The next league match isn't any easier as Arminia travels to face Bayern Munich at the Allianz.  But before that was a 2nd Round match in the DFB-Pokal

DFB-Pokal 2nd Round Match: Borussia Mönchengladbach 2-4 Arminia Bielefeld

Scoring: Borussia Mönchengladbach: Neuville (16', 42'); Arminia Bielefeld: Gohouri (23' [Own Goal]), Zuma (33', 56'), Wichniarek (79')

What Happened: The opening 25 minutes of the match were dominated by ghastly errors by defenders from both sides. Borussia opened up the scoring when Oliver Neuville took a poor clearance in the penalty area to score past a shocked Rowen Fernandez to give the home side a 1-0 lead, only to watch it evaporate when one of their defenders attempted to block a Jonas Kamper shot, only to watch it deflected into the net. It was all the break Arminia needed to take control with a Sibusiso Zuma goal 8 minutes later. Neuville drew Borussia level shortly before halftime, but on the other side of the break Zuma put Arminia up for good. Artur Wichniarek iced yet another match with a fantastic run in the 79th minute.

With the win, Arminia advanced to the 3rd Round to take on 2. Bundesliga side Erzgebirge Aue, who knocked off Bayern Munich 1-0 in a memorable win in Munich.

Going into the match against Bayern, Arminia sits in second, only a point behind leaders Werder Bremen.

Bundesliga League Table, after Matchweek 10

See you later this week! If there isn't a post before Tuesday, make  sure you folks have a Merry Christmas!