That is irresponsible of the DFL!

1. FC Köln has what Hertha BSC needs, at Eintracht Frankfurt the misery has a face. And: does something really have to happen before the association decrees a different approach to head injuries? The theses for the 3rd Bundesliga matchday.

Ortega’s commitment is irresponsible

Of course, that was only meant well when Arminia Bielefeld let the world out there know on Sunday morning: “Such good news …”, Jacob Laursen and Stefan Ortega are fine again. Both crashed violently in the home game against Eintracht Frankfurt shortly after the break.

Laursen lost half a molar and suffered whiplash, the player was taken off the court with the stretcher and immediately taken to hospital. Ortega suffered a concussion, but he was not replaced and continued to play for 42 minutes. This is – with all the love for the game and the allegedly heroic efforts of the players – irresponsible and must finally be stopped by the highest level.

Another collision, sometimes just a bump, could have fatal consequences for Ortega’s health. The DFB and DFL have every lever in their hands to immediately introduce a concussion protocol, as has been done in the NFL for years, for example. With a neutral doctor on the sidelines and thus also a neutral diagnosis.

It can hardly fail because of the money that this has not happened to this day. So what’s the problem? Every weekend, in the Bundesliga alone, there are half a dozen questionable measures after some of the most violent clashes. Probably something bad has to happen before action can finally be taken here. And then the whining is great again.

Cologne has what Hertha needs

Cologne’s start to the season has been a success, the numbers alone express that. But much more than six points after three match days in an away game in Munich should give FC fans the long overdue cultural change in their team.

After a number of flops in the occupation of the coaching post and most recently almost two years of fearful football, 1. FC Köln is quite different: With active, aggressive, courageous football. That also has enough gaps, that’s for sure. But who, thanks to Steffen Baumgart, experiences a change within a very short time that even the most daring optimists would not have expected so quickly. Cologne is fun, when was the last time you could say that about an FC team?

Which brings us to Hertha BSC very quickly. They are not fun at all, not for the fans and not for themselves. That is not only due to the coach, but also. After four competitive games with zero Bundesliga points and a tremendous victory in the cup, Pal Dardai seems to be at a loss and once again noticed that he is “only helping out” here.

Dardai is a great guy and was the right idea for last season’s rescue mission. The Hertha icon does not seem to be made for the restart and the question will be when the decision-makers will notice and react. In any case, there is currently nothing to suggest that anything fundamental has changed in Berlin. The gig in Munich was almost an outrage for 80 minutes.

Hoffenheim is a European Cup candidate

Sebastian Hoeneß had to complain about four failures at the away game in Dortmund, which from the perspective of 1899 Hoffenheim is almost a negligible number of prevented players. Last season there were game days when Hoeneß struggled to fill the squad up to the maximum permitted size, and at times the coach lacked a complete team. Various illnesses, injuries and an above-average number of corona failures torpedoed the season lastingly.

So far, Hoffenheim has come through the season really well with its few injured people and is already showing more than just the patchwork of the first Hoeneß year. The team is getting closer to each other in its processes and now knows better what to do and when, said Christoph Baumgartner after the unfortunate defeat in Dortmund.

And because that’s the way it is, because Hoffenheim has improved in all phases of the game and can also take setbacks and because the double burden of the last (Europa League) season is eliminated, the team is a clear European cup with their coach in the second season of this season -Aspirant.