By Rich M.

Marco Richter is a 26-year-old forward for 1. FSV Mainz 05. Richter was born on November 24, 1997 in Friedberg, Germany, and spent his youth career playing for SV Ried 1951 until 2004, FC Bayern München from 2004 to 2012, and FC Augsburg from 2012 to 2016. His senior career continued at Augsburg, where he made 158 appearances and scored 54 goals between 2015 and 2021. He then spent 2 seasons with Hertha Berlin, where he scored 11 goals in 62 appearances. On August 22, 2023, he transferred to his current club following Hertha’s relegation. Richter has also made 12 appearances for Germany’s U20, U21, and Olympic squads since 2017, scoring 3 goals in 12 appearances.

By Rich M.

​​A late goal from VfL Bochum’s Goncalo Paciencia was not enough to avoid a loss to hosts TSG 1899 Hoffenheim on Friday. Hoffenheim’s 3 goals came from an own goal by Bochum’s Erhan Masovic in the 32nd minute, Andrej Kramaric in the 43rd minute, and Ihlas Bebou in the 76th minute. The victory ends Hoffenheim’s 4-match winless streak and consolidates 6th place in the table for the club, while Bochum remain just 4 points above the relegation zone. Bayern will continue their pursuit of the top position in the table when they travel to Frankfurt on Saturday. The club’s Harry Kane established a new record on Matchday 12: with 18 league goals, he is now the most prolific English goalscorer in league history. The previous meeting between the two clubs, however ended in a 1:1 draw, with goals from Randal Kolo Muani and Leroy Sané. Frankfurt have a strong home record against Bayern: they have won 20 and lost 16 of their top-flight meetings, with a further 16 draws. Frankfurt’s Egyptian international forward, Omar Marmoush, is in solid form with 6 league goals. The big match on Saturday is the late match between hosts Borussia Dortmund and visitors RB Leipzig. Just 1 point separates the two clubs near the top of the table, with Leipzig in 4th place and Dortmund in 5th. Not a single one of the pair’s 16 competitive meetings has ended without a goal. Leipzig’s Loïs Openda arrived at the club over the summer, and has found the net 10 times in his opening 13 league appearances. He is supported by the league’s top goal-maker, Xavi Simons, who in his maiden Bundesliga campaign has already teed up 7 goals for his side. Dortmund have lost 4 of their last 5 contests with Leipzig, including last season’s DFB Pokal quarterfinal. Dortmund also lost last season’s fixture in Leipzig, but did find some revenge with a 2:1 win in the same season’s reverse fixture. First place at the top of the table won’t be settled until Sunday, however, when Leverkusen travel south to take on VfB Stuttgart. Leverkusen are currently benefiting from the delayed Bayern match from last weekend, as Bayern currently have a superior goal differential, were the two clubs tied on points. Fortunately for Leverkusen, their goal talent is widely distributed: Victor Boniface has 8 goals this campaign, Alejandro Grimaldo has 7, and Jonas Hofmann, Jeremie Frimpong, Florian Wirtz, and Victor Boniface each have 5 assists. Stuttgart, however, will not be an easy opponent: they occupy 3rd place in the table with 10 wins, and those 10 wins equal the club record set back in 2003/04 under Felix Magath.

By Rich M.

Max Finkgräfe is a 19-year-old left-back for 1. FC Köln. Finkgräfe was born on March 27, 2004 in Mönchengladbach, Germany, and spent his youth career playing for Fortuna Düsseldorf from 2015 to 2016, Borussia Dortmund from 2016 to 2018, Borussia Mönchengladbach from 2018 to 2020, SG Unterrath from 2020 to 2021, and 1. FC Köln from 2021 to 2023. He signed his professional contract with Köln on April 23, 2023, and went on to help Köln’s U19s win the DFB-Pokal Junioren for the 2022-23 season. He made his senior debut for the club on August 19, 2023, coming on as a substitute in a 1:0 loss to Borussia Dortmund.