Hannover 96 Preview

By: Abby | November 9th, 2007

Hannover 96 are, for whatever reason (snazzy red uniforms?) in 5th place. Hertha BSC Berlin, on the other hand, are in 10th. There are 5 points separating them. That’s not insurmountable at this point in time, particularly in the Bundesliga. Admittedly, I don’t know huge amounts about Hanover so I don’t have much to say about them. I do know that they have an excellent goalkeeper in Robert Enke- he’s currently Germany’s third choice and at Hannover after time at Benfica and FC Barcelona, and he’s been voted best in the Bundesliga for two seasons. They also have Mike Hanke, who is adorable and very blond, and Steve Cherundolo, who is one of my favorite Americans and not just because Cherundolo is fun to say.

Sportinglife is predicting, based on last season where Hertha won 4-0 at the Olympiastadion only to lose 5-0 in Hannover, lots of goals. They also have a telling quote from our Kapitän where he criticizes his teammates for lack of discipline, which I have to admit is probably warranted. Hertha has been losing by a lot of late goals lately. I’m hoping, again, for more focus in the last ten minutes this time around.

In other news, there are rumors that Addidas may take over as Hertha’s kit sponsor in the future. An Addidas spokesperson says that Nike made a good move in signing up to sponsor the capital-city club, and it’s something that they would love that gig. I actually really like the Nike kits myself, but it would be nice to have something worth buying in the Addidas store downtown.

Gilberto’s contract saga goes on (it expires in June). His agent will be in Berlin in two or three weeks, apparently. In the meantime, he’s cooking and remarrying his ex-wife. Apparently they were too young the first time.

In good news, other than Lucio who’s out with a long-term injury (get well soon!), Lulu has a full-strength squad to choose from.

I won’t be able to watch this week, so here’s hoping for a win when I wake up!