TSG 1899 Hoffenheim were a sensation when they came up to the Bundesliga under Ralf Rangnick a decade and a half ago, and gained renewed relevance under Julian Nagelsmann's reign a few years later. In more recent years, the club's trajectory has one toward irrelevance. Pellegrino Matarazzo saved them from relegation and then led them to Euurope last season - now he's out. Matt, Nik and Terry work out whether his sacking will make a difference and look at St. Pauli's innovative co-op stadium...

It didn't happen overnight, but Dino Toppmöller has Eintracht Frankfurt in blistering form. After they tore VfL Bochum apart 7-2 on Match Day 9, the Bundesliga's bottom side hit the panic button: they hired Dieter Hecking to coach the team. Matt, Nik, and Terry talk about how the vastly experienced (but perhaps a little rusty) trainer might fare, how a ticket price row has roiled FC Bayern München fans, and more. --- Support this podcast:...

Do you need Artificial Intelligence to tell you FC Bayern München are favorites to win the Meisterschale this season? You do not, but Opta's lil' smartbot can't keep its mouth shut, Matt, Nik and Terry were game to talk about it, and one thing led to another... Anyway, the gang also take on VfL Bochum's woe and their quest to end it by firing their coach and sporting director, FC St. Pauli supporters ire at their club's mode of transport down to Dortmund, and more. --- Support this...

First it was Jürgen Klopp taking over as Global Head of Soccer at Red Bull, then Thomas Tuchel saying yes to an offer to coach England. It could hardly have been a more exciting week on Europe's coaching carousel for German football. Matt, Nik and Terry try to figure out whether Tuchel and England are really a match made in heaven, whether their disappointment in Klopp meant they'd gotten a bit too parasocial with a football coach, and whether all the coaches getting out of day-to-day club...

Bayer's visit to Bayern wasn't a goal fest, or even a very open game thanks to Leverkusen's defensive focus, but it was engrossing stuff. Best of all, it keeps things close at the top of the Bundesliga table. Matt and Terry welcome roving reporter Marie Schulte-Bockum back to the pod to talk about the Toppspiel, the ongoing issues in Hoffenheim and, of course, her beloved FC Schalke 04. Side note: Apologies for the sound quality on Matt's track - his 'clean' track got lost and didn't get the...

SC Freiburg and 1. FC Union Berlin are on the upper rungs of the Bundesliga table after four rounds, both guided there by new coaches. As Matt, Nik and Terry discuss, however, that's about all their circumstances have in common. Borussia Dortmund, meanwhile, suffered the first big setback of the Nuri Sahin era, though 'big' doesn't really capture the scale of their 5-1 loss in Stuttgart. As it happens, they're not alone among Ruhrpott clubs to hit the skids this past weekend... ---...

We do try to avoid jumping to conclusions, but sometimes a blowout result forces the issue. FC Bayern München's 6-1 shellacking of Holstein Kiel has Matt, Nik and Terry on the former's 'Bayern are back' hype train, and left them just as convinced that Kiel have no real shot at staying in the 1. Bundesliga. The gang also address Dortmund's umpteenth search for a stable defense, the good doctor of German refereeing, and an 80th birthday for an all-time great. --- Support this podcast:...

The football media went gaga for the Germany attacking duo they dubbed 'Wusiala' after a big win over Hungary this international break. Naturally that means speculation over whether FC Bayern München can afford the W(irtz) to go along with the (M)usiala, so Matt, Nik and Terry threw their hats into that ring too. The gang also turned their attention to the latest crop of German coaching exports in England, where Fabian Hürzeler is leading the way... --- Support this podcast:...

After going 462 days without, reigning champs Bayer 04 Leverkusen tasted defeat on Saturday - surrendering a 2-0 lead while doing so. Matt, Nik, and Terry try to work out what it means going forward, as well as if it's a sign that Nik's title prediction has some serious legs. The gang discuss the new UEFA Champions League format (and the best away trips) now that the draw is done, and have some quality Old Man Time talking about the inimitable Thomas Müller, Rekordspieler of FC Bayern...

Matt, Nik and Terry are back and ready to Talk the Fussball for a 13th season! Episodes will be hitting you at midweek this year and the pod will be widening its focus past the borders of the 1. Bundesliga from time to time. This week it's all about setting the table after the opening games of the new campaign with a special focus on the title race to come. Defending champs Bayer 04 Leverkusen and perennial contenders FC Bayern München are in the mix for sure, but how seriously should we...

After a rollicking 2. Bundesliga season, there was lots of heartbreak for Germany's second tier sides in the relegation/promotion playoffs. Fortuna Düsseldorf blew a big lead to fail to go up to the top flight and at the other end Wehen Wiesbaden couldn't hold off Jahn Regensburg, who'll take their place in the league next year. Listen in as Nik, Maik and Jasmine wrap up all the stories from the second tier and below! --- Support this podcast:...

With just one more match day to go, a lot has become clear in the various races for promotion and relegation in Germany's lower leagues - but not everything. Nik, Jasmine and Maik take you through all the celebrations, permutations and more as the 2. Bundesliga, 3. Liga and more head into the final stanza. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/talking-fussball/support

A new Bundesliga champion? Check. A German side in the UEFA Champions League final? Check. It's been a magical season for fans of German football...as long as you're not a fan of FC Bayern München. Matt, Nik and Terry recorded too early to chronicle the Rekordmeister's frustrating exit from the UCL, but did chat about their difficulties finding a new coach. They won't be the only club on that market this summer, though Union Berlin are likely to be shopping in a different part of the trainer...

Just three games left in the 2. Bundesliga season and precisely nothing has been decided thus far. FC St. Pauli have the inside track on promotion, but would be glad to seal their not-yet-assured promotion with a win away to their old rivals HSV. Nik and the gang (both Jasmine and Maik this time) weigh up the promotion race, watch the coaching carousel go by, and remark on the return of Max Kruse to the football pitch at the amateur level in Berlin. --- Support this podcast:...

It is just us or can you feel a fresh wind blowing through the Bundesliga? Leverkusen's title win last week was restorative on the home front; this week FC Bayern München and Borussia Dortmund helped the league show out across Europe. Matt and Nik revel in the good vibes, as well as check in on the teams battling to beat the drop...and the one that isn't battling much at all! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/talking-fussball/support

Unlike the top flight, where Bayer 04 Leverkusen ran away with the title (congrats, Werkself fans!), the race at the top of the 2. Bundesliga has taken a turn for the thrilling in recent weeks. Serial league leaders FC St. Pauli have had a wobble, and Holstein Kiel (and increasingly Fortuna Düsseldorf) have been ready to take advantage. Nik and Jasmine talk through the permutations involved in the last five match days, check in on the races at the bottom of the division and the top of the 3....

We were trying to play it cool for a while, but that no longer seems necessary. Bayer 04 Leverkusen are going to win the league, and after FC Bayern München lost in Heidenheim(!), they might well do it next week. Matt and Nik let that reality sink in over the course of the podcast, discussing how Bayer's season stacks up in history, where Bayern goes from here, and what way the three-team relegation death match at the bottom of the table is likely to go. --- Support this podcast:...

The world of football, like other walks of life, harbors its share of idiots - our latest episode puts the spotlight on a few. Nik and Maik turn their attention to some childish behavior surrounding a banner, some regrettable chants in Austria that's had consequences for the players who shouted them, and how a few particularly egregious fans' behavior called off a whole weekend of football. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/talking-fussball/support

Foals fans at the Borussia-Park may have feasted on a see-saw six-goal thriller, but their team's return - just one point -had to sting. Their opponents 1. FC Köln will have cherished an away draw in the Rheinderby, but time is running short on the billygoats' bid to stay out of relegation trouble. Matt and Nik put the spotlight on the two western giants on a weekend where Bayern hit Mainz with an eight ball, Leverkusen compounded Wolfsburg's misery and much more. --- Support this...

There's never a dull moment in Germany's second tier. Just when you think you've sussed out who's good and who's not so good, you get a week like round 24 - one in which every team in the top eight failed to record a win. The full Aufstieg gang of Nik, Jasmine and Maik get together to try and work out what that means, how a miscreant in Rostock made it on to the pitch, and more. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/talking-fussball/support

After a weekend in which FC Bayern München made up no ground in the title race, they still managed to test Bayer 04 Leverkusen's balance. Thomas Tuchel will vacate his job on Säbener Straße at the end of the season, and Xabi Alonso is the hot favorite to take over. Matt and Terry talk through how much that storyline matters with Leverkusen in a commanding position. Dortmund's weak week also comes up, along with some thoughts on the wider fan frustration with modern football (modern...

If you thought there was an end in sight to Germany's fan protests, think again - they're just getting started. Nik, Maik and the returning Jasmine weigh in on the wave of game-stopping events that swept across the 2. Bundesliga, Steffen Baumgart's arrival at HSV, the latest indignity perpetrated at 1. FC Kaiserslautern, and an attendance milestone that proves the Zweite Liga is Germany's #1 football league. --- Support this podcast:...

We can say it matter-of-factly now: Bayer 04 Leverkusen are on an inside track to win the league. Their 3-0 win against FC Bayern München opened up a five point gap at the top - and since this year's Leverkusen side aren't in the business of losing games, ever, that cushion may well be enough to earn them the club's first Bundesliga title. Matt and Terry talk over the pharmaceuticals' big win as well as address the wave of protests that Germany's organized fan scene hope will bring about a...

A wave of protests over outside investors lashed the shores of Germany's second division this past week. If you know the Aufstieg pod's Nik and Maik, you'll not be surprised to hear it captured their attention. The duo talk over FC Schalke 04's struggles, some slight turbulence for FC St. Pauli, and a wild story from SV Lohberg in deepest Bavaria... --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/talking-fussball/support