Bundesliga Team Of The Week: Round 4

Goalkeeper
(1) Jens Lehmann (Stuttgart)
Many people believed that Stuttgart had taken a gamble on 38 year
old Jens Lehmann in the summer after he was released by Arsenal, but
the ex-national team keeper rolled back the years on Saturday to help
secure a point against Hoffenheim. He pulled off a number of top saves
to keep Hoffenheim at bay and earn VfB a point.
Defenders
(2) Andreas Beck (Hoffenheim)
Full back Andreas Beck played a blinder against his former side as
Hoffenheim recovered well from their 5-2 loss to Bayer Leverkusen in
their last match to draw 0-0 with Stuttgart. Whereas Jens Lehmann was
decisive in keeping Hoffenheim out, right back Beck was a key part of
Hoffenheim’s clean sheet.
(3) Heiko Westermann (Schalke)
German international Heiko Westermann is really cementing himself as
one of the most consistent players in the Bundesliga after his
performance against Borussia Dortmund in the Revier-derby. The
versatile defender racked up his third goal of the season in only the
fourth game of the season.
(4) Andrea Barzagli (Wolfsburg)
Italian World Cup winner Andrea Barzagli proved his worth on
Saturday against Hertha Berlin as he kept new signing Andrei Voronin at
bay. The Ukrainian was very lively on his debut, but ex-Palermo
defender Barzagli always seemed to have the upper hand as Wolfsburg
took a point from the Olympiastadion.
(5) Timothee Atouba (Hamburg)
Hamburg defender Atouba was sound at the back and got forward
eagerly to provide plenty of crosses from the flanks. The Cameroonian
was recently linked with a move away from HSV, but he now looks set to
enjoy a new lease of life under Martin Jol, under whom he played while
at Tottenham.
Midfielders
(6) Piotr Trochowski (Hamburg)
HSV came back from two goals down at home to beat Bayer Leverkusen
3-2, and midfielder Piotr Trochowski was one of the chief instigators
behind their win. The German international was on fire in the second
half and it seemed that everything good that Hamburg did, went through
him.
(7) Zé Roberto (Bayern Munich)
The Brazilian midfielder was at his dynamic best against Energie
Cottbus with a tireless display in the Bayern engine room. He set up
the first goal for Luca Toni and proved his all-round worth with a top
display for the Bavarians.
( Diego (Werder Bremen)
Diego was one of the inspirations behind Werder’s first win of the
season and scored his second goal in his second appearance of the
season. Following his return from the Olympics the mercurial
midfielder has certainly showed signs that he is willing to make up for
lost time.
(9) Szabolcs Huszti (Hannover)
Hungarian international Szabolcs Huszti made up for a missed penalty
in the first half of his side’s clash with Borussia Mönchengladbach by
chipping in with two further goals. Hannover eventually ran out 5-1
winners at the AWD Arena and Huszti was a major contributor to that
victory.
Forwards
(10) Luca Toni (Bayern Munich)
Last season’s Bundesliga top-scorer Luca Toni got himself on the
score sheet twice against Köln and it brought back the scenes from last
season with a vengeance when he seemed to be scoring twice in every
game he played. He scored Bayern’s first two goals with his head and
his right foot before turning provider for Lukas Podolski’s late goal.

(11) Jan Schlaudraff (Hannover)
Hannover’s season exploded into action with a 5-1 home win over
Mönchengladbach and former Bayern Munich striker Jan Schlaudraff hit
the back of the net with two extremely well taken goals. Both of his
goals were sublime finishes and showed just what he is capable of and
were a reminder of why Bayern signed him from Alemannia Aachen.
Hannover could be about to gain from Bayern’s loss.

Lehmann

Beck Westermann Barzagli Atouba

Trochowski Diego Zé Roberto Huszti

Toni Schlaudraff
Honourable mentions:
As always there are a number of players, who deserve a special mention despite having not made it into the final XI.
Jaroslav Drobny was on top form for Hertha Berlin
as the capital club secured a point at home against Felix Magath’s
Wolfsburg. He pulled off a number of good saves to keep his side I the
game at the Olympiastadion. Hoffenheim midfielder Luiz Gustavo put in a good performance against Stuttgart as did attacker Demba Ba.
For Bayern Munich, Philipp Lahm, Andreas Ottl and Martin Demichelis were also noteworthy as the Bavarians sealed their second successive victory of the season. Paulo Guerrero
was a top performer for Hamburg as they came back to beat Bayer
Leverkusen at the HSH Nordbank Arena. In the same game Bayer striker Patrick Helmes continued his early season form and was unlucky not to have scored more than one.
Torsten Frings put in a top performance for Werder smashing home a great goal, while Alexander Frei
was a two-goal hero for Borussia Dortmund as they staged a remarkable
comeback from 3-0 down to take a point from Schalke in the
Revier-derby. The Swiss start came on at half time to help swing the
game back the way of the home side (even though one of his goals was
clearly offside).
Goal.com welcomes your opinion…
Mathew Burt