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

Here's a round-up of the news across Europe from Monday, 14 August.

Yep, not just a flesh wound.

(1) Rooney out 2 Months with Fractured Left Foot

Sir Alex Ferguson confirmed in a press conference that star forward Wayne Rooney suffered a hairline fracture in his left foot in the first half of the defending Premier League Champions' 0-0 draw with Reading on Sunday. The initial prognosis is that the injury is similar to the one suffered by Rooney in 2004 and 2006, which led some pundits to wonder if there's something to his boots, which are supplied by Nike as a part of his rather lucrative deal with the athletic apparel giant.

In a move that took the weight of the world off of our shoulders, Nike immediately laid to rest that thought on the UK's Channel 4 today. Nike UK Head of Corporate Communications Charlie Brooks said "He [Rooney] himself is personally absolutely confident, as we are, that the boot had nothing to do with his injury. [In fact,] Nearly 20% of the professional players in the Barclays Premier league this weekend were wearing this boot."

Whomever's fault it was is not the concern of England Manager Steve McLaren, who now must come to grips with the fact that he must go outside the box to get him a serviceable striker to go with his favourite Michael Owen in their upcoming crucial Euro 2008 qualifiers against Israel and Croatia. 6 points from those matches are a must if the Three Lions hope to qualify for Euro 2008. Yeah right.

(2) Royson Drenthe and Wesley Sneijder introduced at Real Madrid

We're rather stoked, honest!

In front of a crowd of around 5,000, Real Madrid introduced their new Dutch duo of defender Royston Drenthe and midfielder Wesley Sneijder. Of course, both bubbles of enthusiasm are just part of Real's €90 million spending spree this summer. Both are expected to play in Real's Spanish Super Cup return leg against FC Sevilla this Sunday. Sevilla leads 1-0 on aggregate.

(3) Freddy Adu added to Benfica UEFA Champions League Roster

American wunderkind Freddy Adu was named to Portuguese giant Benfica's UEFA Champions League roster for their third round matchup with Danish side FC København. And in the 37th minute of Benfica's 2--1 win in the first leg, Adu came on as a substitute, replacing injured defender Anderson Luisao. No word yet on his performance, but regardless, I'm rather stoked at Adu's appearance, but not quite as stoked as Drenthe and Sneijder seem to be.

(4) Rafael van der Vaart's potential move to Valencia is a "Dream."

Yo no amo Hamburg!

Hamburger SV captain and Dutch International Rafael van der Vaart is quoted in a special report in today's Hamburger Abendblatt that "I absolutely want to leave [Hamburg], Valencia is my dream... If I had to stay in Hamburg it would be painful." Van der Vaart has been extensively linked with the Spanish side recently, though Hamburger SV have yet to receive an official transfer offer.

Of course, van der Vaart claimed in an interview earlier this year that "Real [Madrid] is my life’s dream. That is where I really want to play.” Perhaps van der Vaart failed Spanish Geography class in school?