FC Bayern, Lewandowski: Robert Lewandowski can hope for a successful title defense in the FIFA election for world footballer. As expected, the Bayern Munich superstar is one of the three finalists for the award ceremony on January 17th in Zurich. That was announced by Fifa. Lewandowski competes again with Lionel Messi (Paris St. Germain) and this time with the Egyptian Mo Salah from Liverpool FC for the title “The Best”. Last year, the 33-year-old Pole prevailed ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi. As in the past, the choice is made by an international jury. The coaches of all national teams, their captains, a journalist from each country and the fans are entitled to vote. Before Lewandowski, the prize went to Messi (2019), Ronaldo (2016 and 2017) and Luka Modric (2018).
Regionalliga, Mölders: Former Bundesliga soccer player Sascha Mölders is playing assistant coach in the regional league. The SG Sonnenhof Großaspach announced the commitment of the 36-year-old on Friday. Hans-Jürgen Boysen is the new head coach at the Swabians. The duo received contracts until the end of the season, should lead their first training next Monday and keep the club in the league. Mölders last played for third division club TSV 1860 Munich. Shortly before Christmas, the Lions and the cult striker agreed on an immediate cancellation of the contract that originally ran until the end of the season. The former captain of the Munich team had previously been released from training. Coach Michael Köllner justified this with no longer satisfactory performances of the ex-Augsburgers.
Großaspach’s sports director Michael Ferber called Mölders “an absolute mentality and difference player who will help us as a type and player immediately and who can further develop his coaching career as an assistant coach at SG”. The SG is fighting as the bottom of the table against relegation to the league. “I’m still very motivated as a player and of course I would like to help the SG directly on the pitch. At the same time, I want to continue to grow off the pitch in a responsible role as a coach and can learn from Hans-Jürgen here – so I’m happy also huge on the task here at the village club, “said Mölders, who already knows Boysen from times together at the former second division club FSV Frankfurt. “It is well known that I am not a man of big words, I prefer to take action.”
Biathlon, Oberhof: Biathlete Johannes Kühn again showed a convincing performance in the first home World Cup of the new year and just narrowly missed his next podium as fourth in the Oberhof sprint. The 30-year-old missed twice in difficult conditions with wind, snowfall and fog, but achieved his next top result thanks to the fourth-best mileage. The Hochfilzen sprint winner was only 3.5 seconds short of the podium. In the stadium, which was empty due to the corona, from a German point of view, Roman Rees (1 error / + 20.2 seconds) also convinced as a strong fifth. The victory on Friday was secured by Russian Alexander Loginow, who after a mistake relegated the French overall World Cup leader Emilien Jacquelin (2 mistakes) to second place by 6.5 seconds. Third was the Norwegian Sturla Holm Laegreid (1 error / + 15.1 seconds). Kühn was 18.6 seconds behind the winner.
The German biathletes did not have a chance on the podium in the sprint. Four weeks before the first Olympic race, Vanessa Voigt was the best German in twelfth place on Friday. The 24-year-old made no mistakes and after 7.5 kilometers was 44.8 seconds behind the victorious Marte Olsbu Röiseland.
DFB, Presidium: DFL boss Donata Hopfen and the new DFL supervisory board chairman Hans-Joachim Watzke will in future also be members of the Presidium of the German Football Association. Hopfen was unanimously confirmed as the new Vice President at the presidium meeting on Friday, as announced by the DFB. Club boss Hans-Joachim Watzke from Borussia Dortmund succeeds Peter Peters as the first vice-president. Watzke will succeed him as head of the German Football League’s supervisory board on February 11th, and from then on he will be a member of the DFB Presidium.
Peters is running for election on March 11th as DFB President and will therefore be giving up his position at the DFL and his post on the DFB Board on February 11th. Hopfen took up the post of managing director of the German Football League on New Year’s Day. The 45-year-old followed Christian Seifert.
Bundesliga, SC Freiburg: Bundesliga club SC Freiburg has three corona cases in the team before the game against Arminia Bielefeld on Saturday (3:30 p.m. / Sky). The Breisgauer announced this on Friday, but without naming names. The players concerned are doing “fine”, as coach Christian Streich said. “You just accept that that’s the way it is,” continued the 56-year-old: “If there were seven or eight players, it would look different. But you have to accept three.” As a result of the positive tests, the sports club tightened safety and hygiene measures. In view of the accumulation of cases in the Bundesliga, Streich said: “It is true that those who get through the best and have the fewest cases will be most successful in terms of points and games in the near future.” But you have to “try to keep the game going because so much depends on it”.
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