African Stars In Germany
|
TSG Hoffenheim are the unlikely leaders of the Bundesliga at the midway stage of the season.
As the teams go on their winter break Hoffenheim will be truly grateful that they have two rising African Superstars in Senegalese international Demba Ba and Nigerian sensation Chinedu Obasi who heads up their three-pronged attack.
MTNfootball.com rounds up the German Bundesliga:
As the Bundesliga heads into the winter break, a six week long time out from the chilly climate of Germany, the players have the chance to spend some time with their families and perhaps go on vacation to the sunnier parts of the world.
Teams generally reconvene during the midway point of the break and hold a camp in Southern Spain or in the Middle East, a move which seems more destined to earn teams extra Euros than anything else.
It is also a time for teams to reflect on the opening half of the season and plot the way forward.
Thus far in the league the many traditional Bundesliga power houses have been rocked by the new arrival this season of TSG Hoffenheim.
The team promoted to the Bundesliga at the start of the season have not let tradition stand in their way and have fought their way to the top of the league by outscoring Bayern Munich and the rest. They have amassed an amazing 41 goals in 16 matches as the league reaches the half way point.
Just over a year ago Germany team manager Oliver Bierhoff said to MTNfootball.com that he was waiting for an African star to come to the fore in the Bundesliga, and after a number of seasons where African players were better known for misbehaving two young West Africans have seen their star rise.
While Hoffenheim have surpassed any expectations they may have had prior to the start of the season one is certain their tactics will remain the same the second half of the league kicks-off.
They have persisted with a three man attack which has startled many, and allowed Hoffenheim’s Bosnian international striker Vedad Ibisevic to take stand as the top goal scorer thus far in the Bundesliga with 18 goals.
Alongside him in this rather strange formation which seems to be working wonders for Hoffenheim is Senegalese international Demba Ba and Nigerian sensation Chinedu Obasi who together have collected 13 goals. While Ibisevic gets most of the goals the support from both Ba and Obasi has helped him hit the back of the net.
|
Obasi has a wealth of experience at the junior international level and has even reached the finals of a FIFA U-17 and U-20 World Cup with Nigeria. Additionally he has also played in the finals of the 2008 Olympic games.
The Nigerian striker joined Hoffenheim by pure coincidence from Lynn Oslo after a move to Russia fell through.
Given both Obasi’s physical prowess, his age and the abundance of talent at his disposal as well as the fact that he shares a close friendship with John Obi Mikel it is not surprising that there are rumours that Chelsea have been targeting the gifted 22 year old.
However, he is unlikely to leave Hoffenheim till the end of the season at best given that they have a major shot at the Bundesliga title.
The story of Demba Ba is slightly different to Obasi. He joined Hoffenheim at the start of the 2007-2008 season and Ba of Senegalese descent was actually born in France and played in Belgium before moving to Germany.
The Senegalese has an amazing scoring record averaging a goal every other game and has seven this season putting him in front of perennial hit men such as Bayern’s Miroslav Klose and Kevin Kuranyi.
Ba’s contributions to Hoffenheim have been timely and important given the fact that he plays both out wide and in a central role which has proved vital in creating the space and goals for Ibisevic.
The rest of the teams in the top five of the Bundesliga, African players are not a common sight as second placed Bayern Munich do not have a single African on their books, while third place Bayer Leverkusen have used their three African players Karim Haggui, Hans Sarpei and Constant Djakapa sparingly.
The story has been similar for a number of player’s especially Tunisian’s wonder kid Amine Chermiti who has made just a single appearance for Hertha Berlin.
South African international left back Bradley Carnell can consider himself a little unlucky as he was making some good head way with Karlsruher finding a regular starting place before suffering an injury in recent months.
Christopher Katongo has found the going tough with just one goal all season; the Zambian is one of three African players at struggling Arminia Bielefeld, along with goalkeeper Rowen Fernandez who has been absent for a long time through injury and Siyabonga Nkosi who has made stops and starts for Bielefeld which has seen him get back into the South African national team.
|
There has also been talk that former Bielefeld and Bafana Bafana winger Delron Buckley could be headed back to Bielefeld in the January transfer window as they look to improve on their fourteenth place standing.
Former Bundesliga Champions VFB Stuttgart have found it hard to reach the dizzying heights of two seasons ago as Arthur Boka and his team have basically lingered around mid table, far off from where they would like to be.
The team with the largest African contingent, HSV Hamburg, have a somewhat better story to tell in the post Rafael Van Der Vaart era.
The new coach Martin Jol needed some time to fill the departed Dutch man’s boots and seems to have found his man in the form of Ivory Coasts' Guy Djemel.
The Ivorian has played every game and might not be a headline grabber like Van Der Vaart but his contributions have been just as telling as Hamburg work they way up into a Champions League qualifying spot.
Cameroonian international defender Timothee Atouba has also had his fare share of playing time, although Hamburg as a whole need to improve on their defensive record.
So as the recess approaches a number of players will be looking for improved fortunes while for some and most notably Werder Bremen’s Boubacar Sanogo it could be off to some where else.
Sanogo’s season has been plagued by injury and uncertainty with his desire to leave it has left him somewhat in the wilderness since the start of the season.
Cameroon
Egypt
Ghana
Ivory Coast
Nigeria
South Africa
