Talking Fussball

Nik and Jasmine are back to discuss the DFB Pokal final, the relegation play offs and the insanely fast spinning coaching carousel.Nik’s Werder Bremen has sacked its coaching staff, Sandro Wagner makes a surprise return to the Bundesliga and Erik ten Haag is making some of the same mistakes he made at Manchester United according to Jasmine.

The final day of the Bundesliga season has come and gone - Dortmund and Frankfurt fans will be happy, the Freiburgers less so. There’s still a bit to look forward to, what with relegation playoffs in store to determine the makeup of the first and second division as well as the DFB Pokal final as well. Nik ropes in Eric Bruehl for a chat about all that and more.

The Bundesliga's final day looks like a potential doozy, what with five teams set to scramble for four places in Europe, a Heim vs. Heim battle to beat the drop, and a thicket of permutations in the 2. Bundesliga, where another five clubs still hold out hope of promotion. Matt, Nik and Terry talk all the possibilities over, along with what's already certain - HSV are headed back to the top flight, and things in Leverkusen will never be the same as Xabi Alonso and Florian Wirtz get set to move on.

After keeping their challengers at arm's length for weeks, FC Bayern München have done it - the Rekordmeister added another league title to their robust tally. Matt is back in the TF house and was ready for a good chat with Nik about Bayern, the logjams in the race for Europe, the fluid situation at the bottom of the table (and the top of the 2. Bundesliga), and a few oddball odds and ends from elsewhere in German football.

It's been a while. Enough time, in fact, for Nik and Terry to have criss-crossed Europe enriching their lives in all kinds of ways. But what about the Fußball, huh? It turns out that the boys' clubs - Werder Bremen and Borussia Dortmund - have been on a bit of a heater since last they podded which is always worth a chat. They also check in on the teams battling to get to 16th place and a chance at redemption.

This Bundesliga season has been a resumption of regular service - Bayern are back on top and, Leverkusen aside, the rest of the 'top teams' have struggled for consistency. That's let an unlikely challenger in FSV Mainz 05 rise all the way to THIRD. In this episode Matt (in his own funk over Hertha BSC's dismal year in the 2. Bundesliga) talks with his Mainz fan pal Tom Ziemer about what's made the vibes so good for the zero fivers in their first full year under coach Bo Henriksen.

If there's been one certainty since Rasenballsport Leipzig entered Germany's top tier, it's that the club will do everything it can to compete for a top-four place. This season, all that looks under threat. With just one win in their last six, the Red Bulls are in danger of tumbling out of the UEFA Champions League places. On this episode, Nik and Terry try and figure out how much rope coach Marco Rose has left. Also on the agenda: BVB's Jekyll and Hyde week in the Bundesliga and UCL, Hertha BSC's latest managerial change and more.

What with BVB hiring a familiar face and Werder Bremen getting the short end of the refereeing stick, Nik and Terry had plenty to talk about. Not that they leave it there, either - Bayern's coming date with Leverkusen comes under their lens, as does the recent play of Davie Selke(!)

With Terry's BVB taking on Nik's Werder Bremen this past weekend, it's fitting that those two take the reins for the week. The fellas discuss where Dortmund stand in their interim coach phase, what lessons we can draw from the latest wrangle over TV money, and how some Bundesliga refs will adjust to being mic'd up going forward. (And because Matt wasn't around to put a stop to it, a bit of snooker talk too.)

Each englische Woche, the Bundesliga's term of endearment for the 10-day run of three match days in rapid succession, we get a chance to take stock of each team's form. A few teams pass their test with flying colors and come out with new confidence; an English week without points can be enough to send another team into deep crisis. Matt and Nik zoom in on the sides for which the gauntlet was particularly telling then look ahead to Champions League action where the Swiss cheese model is nearing full maturity.