By Rich M

Paul Wanner is a 17-year-old midfielder for FC Bayern München. Wanner was born on December 23, 2005 in Dornbirn, Austria, and his German father Klaus who was also a midfielder in football. Wanner spent his youth career playing for FV Ravensburg until 2018, when he joined Bayern’s youth team. He was called up to the first team by Julian Nagelsmann in January 2022, when he made his professional debut against Borussia Mönchengladbach, becoming the youngest player in the club’s history at the age of 16 years and 15 days. Wanner has since made 11 appearances for Bayern München I and II, and has also played for Germany’s U17 squad.

By Rich M

Borussia Dortmund missed an opportunity to move 4 points clear of Bayern on Friday after a 1:1 draw at Bochum. Bochum stunned Dortmund with a goal just 5 minutes into the match, when Anthony Losilla struck into the top corner from the edge of the goal area. Dortmund’s equalizer, however, came just 2 minutes later, when Karim Adeyemi tapped in a flick from Sebastien Haller. Dortmund remains, though, at the top of the table in the face of an important statistic: only once in the last 20 seasons has the club at the top of the table going into Matchday 30 not won the title. The only exception was VfB Stuttgart, who went on to overtake Schalke in the 2006/07 season. Competition at the other end of the table remains fierce late in this season, as Hertha Berlin, Schalke, Stuttgart, Bochum, Hoffenheim, and Augsburg remain in relegation danger. Schalke will host Bremen in Saturday’s late match, in what is a re-match of the two clubs who led the 2021-22 2. Bundesliga. Schalke are just 1 point outside the relegation play-off spot, and 3 points adrift of outright safety. The club has struggled with injuries and suspensions in recent weeks, and are coming off a dreadful 4:0 loss at Freiburg last weekend. Bremen can secure their spot in the top flight next season if they collect all 3 points at Schalke, but they will have to do it without Niclas Füllkrug, who is afflicted with a calf problem. The club is coming off a 4:2 win at Hertha, thanks to a hat-trick from Marvin Ducksch. Bremen have won more games against Schalke than they have against any other Bundesliga team, including each of their last 6 competitive games away at Schalke. Stuttgart are in a more favorable position, despite sitting in the relegation play-off spot, as their last 6 matches of the season include 3 matches against clubs that are also in trouble. Stuttgart’s opponent this weekend is Gladbach, who have at times excelled against the league’s top squads, such as Bayern, but have failed to collect many points against others. Hertha, in last place, have the misfortune of traveling to Bayern on Sunday, and both clubs have something to play for. A Bayern win would put them ahead of Dortmund in the table, while Hertha is fighting for its top flight survival. The visitors are currently on a 7-match winless run, including a loss last weekend at home to Bremen, and that was under new coach Pal Dardai. The former Hertha midfielder is now on his third stint as coach for the club. One other piece of news from German football comes from Fortuna Düsseldorf, who have announced plans to offer free tickets at all of their future home games.

By Rich M

Tony Jantschke is a 33-year-old defender for Borussia Mönchengladbach. Jantschke was born on April 7, 1990 in Hoyerswerda, East Germany and spent his youth career playing for Hoyerswerdaer SV Einheit from 1996 to 2001, FV Dresden-Nord from 2001 to 2006, and Borussia Mönchengladbach from 2006 to 2008. On November 29, 2008 he made his Bundesliga debut in a 3:1 home loss to Energie Cottbus. His first Bundesliga goal came on December 6, 2008 against Bayer 04 Leverkusen. He has since made 263 appearances for Borussia Mönchengladbach I and II, scoring 7 goals. Jantschke also made 49 appearances for Germany’s U17, U18, U19, U20, and U21 squads between 2007 and 2013.