No Re-election Needed, The Mayor Turns to Coaching: Cherundolo at Hannover

http://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/news?slug=ap-cherundoloinjured&prov=ap&type=lgns

Stevie C out at for a month with a shoulder injury.

 

F******kin A.

 

Cherundolo's 96 are already 0-3 down to Werder after less than half an hour without him. Going to be their 7th defeat in a row, 11 games without a win. They are still on the relegation playoff spot, but it seems to be only a matter of time until Nuremberg and Berlin pass them.

 

If I recall correctly, they have yet to win a game since the death of Enke. That has really affected the team.

 

Correct. 1-5 in the end.

 

I was at the game. Hannover looked awful on D and their goalie just isn't very sharp. They desperately need some defense and Cherundolo could help. Hope he gets better soon. I got tickets to the game because I wanted to see Cherundolo and he was injured. Alas, sitting in -4 °C snowy weather to see this trouncing. At least Bremen provided some entertainment. I should've at least got a Cherundolo souvenir cup...

Mace

 

Cherundolo is apparently back to full fitness. Despite not being on the roster he is training with the USMNT in Amsterdam and is planning to play for Hannover this Saturday vs Freiburg.

http://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/news?slug=ap-us-cherundolo&prov=ap&type=lgns

 

that is such an important match, Hannover NEED to turn it around then. If they dont come away with three that match they are as good as relegated.

 

That's definitely positive for the team to have Cherundolo around camp. I bet it helps Simek a little bit to have Cherundolo there after Frankie hadn't been with the US for 2 years.

 

And they would have equalized an all time record with a loss; would be their 10th consecutive defeat.

 

Cherundolo subbed in for 11 minutes, defending a 2-1 lead at Freiburg.
Game over, Hannover got their first points after 9 defeats, and managed to stay out of the history books. Very important win, the bottom of the table now:
15 Hannover 96
25 -20 20
16 SC Freiburg
25 -24 20
17 1. FC Nürnberg
24 -21 18
18 Hertha BSC
25 -24 15
Looks like a three horse race for 15th (Bundesliga), 16th (relegation playoffs), 17th (relegation).

 

Nürnberg beat Leverkusen today, got out of the relegation spots, have by far the easiest schedule now, and are playing much better than the other teams.
15 1.FC Nürnberg 25 -20 21
16 Hannover 96 25 -20 20
17 SC Freiburg 25 -24 20
18 Hertha BSC 25 -24 15
Prediction: Nürnberg will leave the pack in the next few weeks, Hannover and Freiburg fight for the playoff chance.

 

Nurnburg have finally turned it on like i thought they would. They were more unlucky than anything, and have by far and away the easiest schedule of the other three of Hertha, Hannover, and Freiburg. If they can beat Leverkusen, look out. I suspect theyll begin to pull away.

I think Hannover is fighting for that relegation playoff spot, IMO.

 

Cherundolo was named Hannover's captain for the Hamburg match

 

Time to analyze Hannover's chances for staying up. They are currently 17th with 24 points from 29 games, 1 point below the playoff spot and 4 points below automatic safety. All teams have 5 games left (15 points max). The top 9 teams are 100% safe from relegation, whereas the bottom 9 can still be mathematically relegated.

Realistically, Hannover is competing with Hertha below them and Freiburg, Bochum, Nurnburg, and maybe Koeln above them. The 17th and 18th are automatically relegated, while 16th has a playoff vs the 3rd team from 2 Bundesliga, likely to be Augsburg or St Pauli. In terms of direct relegation battles, Hannover is only facing Bochum away in the last game of the season.

Hannover's schedule (it sucks): Schalke home, Munich away, Leverkusen away, Gladbach home, Bochum away. Schalke and Munich are in a dogfight for the title - they will both go all out. Leverkusen is holding on to 3rd, they will also go all out. Bochum as mentioned is in direct competition with H96. Gladbach alone doesn't really have much to play for, unless they mess up terribly and are threatened with relegation in a few weeks. The Gladbach game is the only really winnable game for Hannover, and maybe Bochum if they are very lucky.

Hertha is only 2 points behind H96 and has been playing well lately but they play Stuttgart at home, Frenkfurt away, Schalke at home, Leverkusen away, and Munich at home. Not any easier than Hannover. So they are not likely to pass them.

Freiburg is one point above H96 and play Bremen away, Nurnburg and Wolfsburg at home, Koeln away and Dortmund at home. Possibly a slightly easier schedule so it would be difficult for Hannover to catch them.

Bochum are 4 points above Hannover but play Hamburg at home, Koeln away, Stuttgart at home, Munich away, and Hannover at home. If Hannover wins that final game and the one vs Gladbach, they can pass or tie Bochum.

I think H96 has their work cut out for them but they can make it. Things will be clearer in a few weeks. Getting a point off Schalke at home is the first step.

 

Here it is. It's all come down to Hannover at Bochum. H96 got great result today, but they are not out of the woods yet.

If they win at Bochum next week, they are 100% safe.

If they draw, Nurnburg must not win vs Koeln. If Nurnburg wins, then Hannover will go to the relegation playoffs.

If they lose, then they are going into the playoff, unless Nurnburg win. They Hannover is just going down.

 

Cherundolo played 90 today as Hannover ensured top-flight status with a 3-0 win away at Bochum. The man's contract expires at the end of this season and, should he continue on at '96, the departure of Frankfurt's Oka Nikolov would make him the Bundesliga's longest-serving one-club man. I'd imagine he'd also serve as captain next season. Hannover seem to be making the moves necessary to move forward, having signed ManYoo and Germany U-19 'keeper Ron-Robert Zieler. I really hope he stays on after this season.

 

Is that a collective "whewwwwwww" I hear from Hanover?

 

Here are Steve's thoughts after the last game of the season:
http://www.hannover96.de/CDA/aktuelles/news/detailansicht.html?tx_ttnews[tt_news]=49330&cHash=e74aa7c6d1
(might have to copy and paste because of the crazy brackets)

Cherundolo: I think we showed as a team that we really are a team. Whether emotional, whether physical, especially considering the injuries and bad luck, we were able to overcome in the end all of the adverse conditions we faced. That points to the core of the team, that points to our fans and ultimately to the club Hannover 96. It was a season in which we saw everything and felt everything. For many, we had already been relegated. For us, it was a brutal season and for now I am glad it is over, but am also happy that we played so well in the end. That speaks for the team and for the fact that we believed in ourselves so much. That it is what is necessary if you don't want to be relegated. We really showed that last week against Gladbach. At halftime, when we were up 4-0, we knew 'we are going to take care of business now.'

96-Rechtsverteidiger Steven Cherundolo: "Ich glaube, dass wir als Mannschaft beweisen haben, dass wir wirklich eine Mannschaft sind. Wir haben am Ende doch alle widrigen Umstände gemeistert. Sei es emotional. Sei es physisch, insbesondere, was die Verletzungen angeht. Sei es sportlich. Auch, was das Pech angeht. Das spricht für den Kern der Mannschaft, das spricht für unsere Fans und letztendlich auch für den Verein Hannover 96. Es war eine Saison, in der man alles gesehen, in der man alles gespürt hat. Vom Kopf her waren wir für viele schon abgestiegen. Für uns war es eine brutale Saison und ich bin einfach froh, dass es jetzt erstmal vorbei ist, aber auch glücklich, dass wir es zum Schluss so überragend gespielt haben. Das spricht für die Mannschaft und es spricht dafür, dass wir so unbedingt an uns geglaubt haben. Das ist die Basis, die Voraussetzung, die man haben muss, wenn man nicht absteigen will. Das haben wir schon deutlich am vorherigen Spieltag gegen Gladbach bewiesen. Und in der Halbzeitpause mit der 4:0-Führung im Rücken wusste ich: "Jetzt packen wir es.""

 

I think if he wants to finish his carreer at MLS he should totally do that (as opposed to, say, BL2). He'll be always be loved here and I am sure he could find a position at the club afterwards, however.

 

I love one club men, so i'd like to see him stay at Hannover, but I'd expect MLS front offices are working on a contract offer.

 

http://www.hannover96.com/CDA/news/latest-info/detailansicht.html?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=49111&cHash=b41be8562c

Fans chose the Hannover's last game of the campaign to take an opportunity to honor Stevie Cherundolo with a display of choreography as he entered the stadium with the rest of the club.

 

That was our last homegame (the last game was away in Bochum) and there have been pictures of that all over bigsoccer.