There are just a few weeks to go in this Bundesliga season and the fixture list has some crackers in store. First up is one of the biggest clashes in German football: Schalke vs. Dortmund. Traditionally Germany’s biggest derby, it pits two of the country’s regular Champions League contenders against each other. And beyond local bragging rights, the Bundesliga stakes are high for both sides.
Not many players turn out for both of these fierce rivals in their career. One who did just that is Ingo Anderbrügge. The former midfielder is also a native of the Ruhr Valley region that both clubs call home. Anderbrügge knows better than anyone what this game means to the area.
Marcel Schmelzer has been at Dortmund for over a decade, and since coming through the club’s youth ranks, he has featured in 15 derby games against Schalke. The left back’s experience will be vital in a match that always has a little extra spice.
Schalke’s Max Meyer is only 20 years old, but he has already played in 89 Bundesliga games. He will have to draw on everything he has learned in those matches to give his team the edge on Sunday. Meyer’s team mate Franco di Santo, on the other hand, will be playing in his first derby in Gelsenkirchen.
Our resident World Cup winner Thomas Berthold looks ahead to the weekend action. He has the big game between Schalke and Dortmund in his sights of course, but also the curious case of Mario Götze.
Matchday 29
Berlin – Hanover
Hamburg – Darmstadt
Stuttgart – FC Bayern
Bremen – Augsburg
Frankfurt – Hoffenheim
Ingolstadt – Mönchengladbach
Wolfsburg – Mainz
Schalke – Dortmund
Cologne – Leverkusen