Many well-known faces from German football now play abroad, largely unnoticed by the German media. In the sport.de limelight today: a former Eintracht Frankfurt striker as a derby hero, a former BVB professional who caused a stir with a goal and a dismissal and a transfer flop from Borussia Mönchengladbach on the way to the championship title.
In recent years, Joselu has made a name for itself as a migratory bird. The 32-year-old has laced up his football boots for ten different clubs so far.
With TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, Eintracht Frankfurt and Hannover 96, there are also three Bundesliga clubs among them. The center forward, who is strong in the air, was particularly impressive with the Adlerträger with nine goals in 24 games.
Joselu has been taking pictures for Espanyol Barcelona since the summer – and with great success. The center forward has netted eight times in 15 games. But he probably scored his most important goal for the relegation-threatened club on Saturday.
Espanyol was a guest at FC Barcelona. Barca were in the lead for a long time in a hectic game that saw twelve yellow cards and two yellow-red cards rained down. But then came Joselu’s hour.
First, the four-time international prevailed artistically against three opponents before he was brought down by a kick in the heel in the penalty area – penalty! Joselu then simply grabbed it himself and converted confidently against Marc-Andre ter Stegen to the final score of 1:1 in the middle. It should stay that way until the end of the game.
After the game, the derby hero was extremely happy. “This feeling is very good after the events of the last day. We knew that it would be difficult to take something positive with us. We fought for everyone who wasn’t allowed into the stadium with the Espanyol shirt,” he explained in a media session .
Background: Before the derby, FC Barcelona had banned the wearing of clothing in the color of the city rivals and banned spectators dressed accordingly from entering the stadium.
Former BVB star scores and flies off the pitch
Former BVB star Marc Bartra also scored a goal, but it was the only positive experience for the central defender in Trabzonspor’s 4-1 defeat of relegation candidate Karagümrük.
The Spaniard, who came from FC Barcelona’s youth, can already look back on an eventful career. Bartra celebrated five championship titles and two successes in the Champions League with the Spanish club before moving to Dortmund in 2016 as a beacon of hope. There he quickly developed into a regular player.
In the shocking attack on the BVB team bus in April 2017, Bartra suffered a serious fracture on his arm, which threw him far back and as a result he never got back to his old form in the black and yellow jersey.
In 2018 he returned to his homeland, where he played for Betis Sevilla until last summer before moving to Trabzonspor in the SüperLig.
The 31-year-old has become an indispensable part of the team at the traditional club, which is in fifth place. But in the coming games, his team will have to do without the defense chief.
Because on the last matchday, the 14-time national player saw the red card. In injury time of the first half, Bartra slipped decisively as the last man. In order to prevent a safe goal from being conceded, the former Bundesliga star didn’t know what else to do and pulled the emergency brake when the score was 1:2.
Even the goal for the interim 1-1 equalizer, which Bartra strangely scored with his chest from just a few yards out, could not make the central defender forget the pitch-black day. After the loss of the defensive stabilizer, Trabzonspor collapsed and conceded goals three and four in the second half.
His coach Abdullah Avci was also anything but satisfied after the game and criticized his veteran. for its choice of material. “You warm up before the game. When it’s slippery and you have 8 to 10 pairs available as a player, you should choose the right ones,” the coach rumbled towards Bartra.
Gladbach flop initiates turnaround
Matthew Leckie’s Sunday was much more successful. The Australian World Cup driver is well on the way to winning the second championship in the club’s history with his club Melbourne City, even though the season only started in October.
The 31-year-old has been lacing his shoes back in his home country since the summer of 2021 after moving to Germany in 2011. After failing to make a breakthrough in Gladbach, he went to Hertha BSC via stints at FSV Frankfurt and FC Ingolstadt. The agile winger can look back on a total of 230 games in the 1st and 2nd Bundesliga.
Leckie is now demonstrating his qualities in his hometown. With Melbourne City, the former Gladbacher is currently the sovereign leader. With a game fewer than their pursuers, the club from southern Australia are already four points clear.
Regular player Leckie also played a big part in this, as he turned the game around in the 3-1 win over Wellington Phoenix. The outsider took the lead in the 16th minute. The former Bundesliga star equalized just two minutes later.
After an exemplary cross from the right, the small left winger prevailed in a header duel and placed the ball in the bottom right corner.
Leckie’s equalizer was to be followed by two more goals from former Darmstadt 98 striker Jamie MacLaren.
Jannis Bartling