Today, for the first time since December, FC Magdeburg’s first team was involved in a competitive match. Since that 1-2 defeat in Cottbus, a number of things have changed in the club.
First of all, a new manager was put in charge, Paul Linz of Trier fame. Three new players were brought in, two forwards and one very experienced allrounder who can play almost everything - Christian Reimann, Najeh Braham (2004 African Cup of Nations winner) and Steffen Baumgart, respectively.
Then, Paul Linz changed the system - instead of Dirk Heyne’s favored 3-5-2, Magdeburg now play 4-4-2. Despite the problems that such a change usually brings, Magdeburg conceded only twice in their preparation matches, one goal each against Sachsen Leipzig and Schalke 04. Also, Magdeburg started to score themselves, losing but one of the preparation matches.

Thus, there was an overall optimism that the team would perform sufficiently well to beat tier IV side Halberstadt in the FSA-Cup today. In addition to that optimism came the knowledge that in the past years, Halberstadt had never ever scored against Magdeburg in a competitive match.
Until today: After a terrible start to the game, Magdeburg’s goalie Unger was stumped in the 12th minute, when Halberstadt’s Gottwaldt put the ball away after a corner kick. However, Magdeburg quickly retaliated and it was new forward Najeh Braham who headed in a Gerster freekick ten minutes later. Magdeburg were still unable to control the game, and especially the right side of the back four were a constant source of trouble, with right defender Friebertshäuser being constantly outpaced by his opponents and…then there was Kallnik. Kallnik is playing the same way he has played since his 30th birthday - slow, no vision, no positioning. When Friebertshäuser had to resort to yet another foul near the box, there was a general feeling of danger in the air, and justifiedly so. Again Gottwald scored and Magdeburg went into the halftime one goal down.

Shortly after the break - and after another Kallnik-caused breakaway when Magdeburg’s Unger had barely won the 1-on-1 - Linz finally saw fit to replace him. He subbed in Zander and Florian Müller for Kallnik and a not very efficient Baumgart, respectively. With this substitution, there were a number of position changes. Left defender Wejsfelt moved to the center, left midfielder Neumann took over as left defender. Lindemann, whose turn as a classic 10 turned out to be an utter disaster, moved to the left, allowing Zander to take over as playmaker. This served to calm the game, as Zander at least tried to pass the ball quickly, Magdeburg were slowly gaining a foothold over Germania Halberstadt. The hosts had resorted to defending their lead, and this they didn’t do too badly. When the equaliser still wouldn’t come, Linz changed formation - he substituted Agyemang for Friebertshäuser (who had gotten better after Kallnik was gone…) and switched to a 3-4-3. That eventually tipped the scales in Magdeburg’s favor, and it was once more Braham who equalised once more with just 7 minutes to go. Agyemang missed the chance to decide the game in regular time, and so extra time was required, much to the chagrin of Magdeburg’s chairman who had to cut short his afternoon plans. In extra time, Halberstadt started to push a little more again, realizing they probably wouldn’t survive thirty minutes without conceding. But it did them little good, as it was Braham’s day today: Just one minute into the second half of extra time, Braham headed home once more, deciding the game in Magdeburg’s favor.

What can be learned? First of all, we have forwards. We do indeed, and they (well, one of ‘em) score, too. Second, if you have to play Prest as a central defender because he’s the tallest, you should put a quick central defender next to him, not an aging 32year-old whose only merit right now is the captaincy. Kallnik has no place in the back four, he’s too slow, he doesn’t position well and he lacks vision. Third, Paul Linz makes changes when he sees something wrong. That’s good. The best part of it being that his changes actually work.

In other news, our U23 won a postponed match yesterday, beating Hallescher FC U23 4-3 eventually. They had led by a 3-0 margin at half-time but through individual errors allowed Halle to equalise, despite their being a man down shortly after the break. Unfortunately, some individuals in the guest area thought the 3-3 equaliser was the signal to toss rockets and smoke-bombs onto the pitch. The police removed Halle’s supporters and afterwards Deumelandt scored the winner.

Our U19, struggling as the team is in the U19-Bundesliga, managed to grab a point at Hertha BSC U19, finishing the game 2-2 despite being 0-2 down at half-time. Here’s hoping that will not be the last points for them.

Well, two weeks have passed by since the semi-triumphant 1-all draw against Schalke 04. In the meantime, two other players have left Magdeburg. Dennis “I want my mama” Tornieporth went back where he came from, to Kickers Emden. His stay at Magdeburg was overshadowed by complaints, he just didn’t fit in with the rest of the team, culminating in his calling the move to Magdeburg a mistake in a radio interview. Eventually, Magdeburg dissolved the contract and the player was let go.
Just hours before the transfer window closed, midfielder Andy Müller left the club for VfB Oldenburg. They currently play in Oberliga Nord and have hopes of qualifying for the new tier IV league that starts in the next season. Müller’s move was necessary as Magdeburg had picked up an additional midfielder, ex-Bundesliga pro Steffen Baumgart, and needed to cut down on playing squad costs.

In other news, Magdeburg won two more test matches, against Hertha BSC’s reserves (leader in NOFV-Oberliga Nord) and Czech Gambrinus Liga outfit Siad Most (well, they’re 16th. In a league of 16).
Magdeburg won both matches, but it’s hard to draw any conclusions from that, as Paul Linz made liberal use of the available substitutes. Next Sunday, the squad will face their first competitive match since December, when they meet NOFV Oberliga Süd team Germania Halberstadt in the cup quarterfinal. However, Linz seems to be quite fond of 20-year-old Tobias Friebertshäuser. Against Most he got a start as right defender, and in the Hertha match he was subbed in for the same position. Afterwards, Linz was full of praise, which, according to a newspaper interview, came as a bit of a shock for Friebertshäuser.
I’m curious who’ll start against Halberstadt.

Well, last Saturday I finally was able to catch some live outdoor football. In the first game since that disappointing outing versus Werder Bremen’s reserves in December, Magdeburg only managed a draw. But in contrast to the abysmal 1-all draw against Bremen, this one saw a new and improved FC Magdeburg team. Not only did Magdeburg field two new players, Christian Reimann (formerly at Sachsen Leipzig) and Najeh Braham (formerly at Siegen), but the new manager Paul Linz seems to also have instilled some desire to play attacking football in a formerly timid squad.

The other reason why this match was somewhat superior to the Werder slump was the atmosphere the 20,000 spectators created - and maybe the opponent being Bundesliga outfit Schalke 04 helped a bit too. In all, Magdeburg’s 1-all draw was a deserved one, even though the Magdeburg goal was an own goal by a Schalke defender who put a Neumann cross behind his goalie.

This winter break has been a big joke. No snow, hardly any frost. This season, matches could have continued all winter. But I’m sure, come the end of the break in mid-February (at least for tier III and IV leagues), we will have wonderful frosty and snow-rich days…

On an unrelated note, Magdeburg have signed former Bundesliga pro Steffen Baumgart on a free transfer yesterday. Baumgart has played more than 300 matches in Bundesliga 1 and 2. He had been out of contract since January 3, when his contract at Cottbus was dissolved. Baumgart is a leader the team has been lacking, at least according to Linz. We’ll see…Saturday, the team will play Hertha BSC’s reserves in another test match.

Yesterday, FC Magdeburg resumed training for the remaining 16 matches of the Regionalliga Nord season. While a dozen or so players had been training since January 3 on a voluntary basis, the main contingent of the squad started yesterday.
Danny Kukulies was gone, of course, having joined TeBe in the break. In his stead, Magdeburg has signed Christian Reimann from tier IV side FC Sachsen Leipzig. Reimann had terminated his contract with his old club, after having sent them three reminders, urging them to pay his wages. Sachsen Leipzig have been in financial crisis over the past few months, and were unable to comply with his demands. After three reminders, any employee is allowed to terminate his contract under German law. Hence, no transfer fee was paid.
Also present on the first day of training was Najeh Braham who dissolved his contract at Sportfreunde Siegen, after he was sent to the reserves and did not at all see a chance to get out of there again. He will train with Magdeburg on a trial basis for two more weeks, after which a decision regarding a contract will be made. Braham already knows Magdeburg manager Paul Linz from Eintracht Trier

Last Saturday, the NOFV held its annual Indoor Championship at Riesa in Saxony. This is indoor footy, not futsal, of course. All Regionalliga teams from the NOFV territory were “invited” to participate (there’s not really a way not to take part…) and so six teams competed in two groups of three: Cottbus II, Rot-Weiß-Erfurt and 1. FC Magdeburg in one, SV Babelsberg 03, Union Berlin and Dynamo Dresden in the other group. To add some spice to it, Magdeburg had lost to both Erfurt and Cottbus only recently.
In the first match, Magdeburg struggled, but was able to come away 4-3 winners over Cottbus’ reserves. Yet a 0-2 loss to Erfurt meant that all hinged on the Cottbus-Erfurt match, and Magdeburg fans were treated to quite some drama, as Cottbus took a quick 2-0 lead. Erfurt, however, managed to equalize and eventually even win the game 4-2. This meant Magdeburg would face Union Berlin in the semi-final, while Erfurt met Dynamo Dresden.
The semifinal was a close call that had to be decided by spot kicks from 9 meters. Here Magdeburg’s goalkeeper saved some spot kicks and Magdeburg were through to the final where they once more met Erfurt. This time, Magdeburg didn’t go down easily and the match went to spot kicks as well. Again Marian Unger came to the rescue and for the first time Magdeburg were crowned NOFV Indoor Champions. Of course, indoor football is not a very good indicator for the quality of any team, as evidenced by the fact that Magdeburg’s Danny Kukulies became best goalscorer of the tournament, a player who couldn’t do anything in the open air season.
Impressions from training show that since the arrival of Paul Linz the team has trained with more concentration and also with increased intensity. Understandable, as with a new manager nobody can rely on previous merits so everyone has to prove his worth. Beginning in January, Magdeburg will play several friendlies, the highlight being the match against Bundesliga outfit Schalke 04 (January 19). Other opponents include Sachsen Leipzig (January 13) , Hessen Kassel (January 16) and Czech first flight team FK SIAD Most (not fixed yet, probably February 2).As training restarts on January 7, there are only a small number of days of training before the first match, but with the intensity of training shown so far, they should suffice.
In terms of transfer news it looks like Danny Kukulies will leave for tier IV side Tennis Borussia Berlin, and Tornieporth looks to be out of the door as well, despite hopes of getting a fresh start after Heyne had taken him out of the team for disciplinary reasons. No news regarding incoming players as of yet, only a plain denial of interest in Erfurt’s Kumbela who has been suspended by his club for disciplinary reasons (hitting his pregnant girlfriend in a nightclub, apparently).

Moved my blog to Wordpress, hope there aren’t any issues or anything wrong.

Blogging shall resume shortly.

Within 48 hours of Dirk Heyne’s dismissal, FC Magdeburg have presented his successor as manager: Paul Linz.
Linz is a former forward and has played 33 Bundesliga matches and 233 matches in Bundesliga 2. Among others, he played for Werder Bremen and Waldhof Mannheim, scoring 115 career goals. After his playing days were over, he managed several clubs, most successfully Eintracht Trier which he guided back to Bundesliga 2 after a 21-year-absence.
At today’s press conference, Linz stated that while he’d have to see the team before deciding exactly what he’ll do, he wanted to put Magdeburg a lil more into the direction of attacking football. No surprise there, this coming from a former forward who, as he said, “always gets nervous when pushed back”. Linz added that there certainly was something to be done about the dismal performance of the attackers, in terms of winter transfers, he didn’t think the players were quite as bad as their statistics indicate. He indicated that he was not rushing the transfer issue, as he would want to sign quality players.
His contract runs till the end of the season, and if Magdeburg do qualify for the new tier III league, it will be automatically renewed for two more seasons. Thus, FC Magdeburg have solved one out of the three interesting issues in the winterbreak, the remaining two being the new players that have been promised.

Thursday sees a supporters meeting to discuss the new away kit. After the disastrous affair with this season’s orange away kit, the board had announced they’d listen to the fans’ suggestions and wishes. Ought to be interesting.