Do we HAVE to overanalyze this? I'm sure Berhalter had many options open to him, and I'm sure he had his reasons for choosing to remain in the 2nd Bundesliga. I can think of a few: - stay in Germany, go to a great city (Munich) - good salary for a 2nd Bundesliga team - wanted to play for one of the best teams in the league rather than go to a 1.BL bottom feeder and face a season long relegation battle - thought leading a team to promotion was fun and wants to do it again He certainly would've played in the 1.BL if he wanted to, all he had to do was stay with Cottbus. So stating "He's not BL1 tallent" [sic] is ludicrous.
I don't see this as such a bad move. Cottbus will likely struggle in B1 and be relegated next year. 1860 will at least be in the middle of the B2 table and with a little luck and a few good signings maybe even make it back up to B1. Not to mention that Munich is a kick ass city, especially compared to Cottbus, and he will play in a fantastic new stadium. 1860 also has a fairly big fan base considering it has to share the city with Bayern. Any word on how much thier paying him?
Totally. At his age, why does he have to try to prove anything? Take a good paycheck, play on a decent team, and live in one of the top cities of the world with less day to day stress than he would have in Cottbus. A great deal by any measure.
Not if one/he believes the team is going to go through another demotion and or no other 1. team wanted him.
How much do you see him playing in this Cup? Beyond that, as far as German clubs go, watching him week in, week out for years probably means a lot more than a nice summer tourney. Even if he played a lot and looked great, I'm guessing clubs that know him well would be thinking, "wow, he's playing well today," more than, "gotta get me some of that."
I would like to think at his age, he would like to experience the German top flight before he retires. 1860 Munich migh not even get promoted anytime soon. They were one point away from relegation(from the article). I don't see them getting promoted. IMO, he had problems at Cottbus and left only to find that no one was interested in die Bundesliga. Therefore, he had to settle with the best he can get, 1860. I don't see why a person want to achieve the ultimate goal to get promoted then not wanting the challege of the next level, unless you're Donovan.
Yes, he was in the Bundesliga his first year with Cottbus. And a note on promotion: 1860 were one point above relegation this year, whicle Cottbus missed relegation the year before by one goal.
in your guy's opinions, does 1860 Munich have a bigger shot at being promoted than energie cottbus???
Well....... depends on how technical you want to be answering that question. Energie Cottbus got promoted this season (by finishing 3rd in the 2.Bundesliga with Berhalter) so they'll be in the top German Division (1.Bundesliga) next season. So.... technically there isn't anyway for them to be promoted unless they are first relegated. 1860 Munich on the other hand finished 13th in the 2.Bundesliga last year so they could be promoted next season.
Didn't 1860 also narrowly avoid insolvency or somesuch? Seem to remember Bayern Muenchen having to offer to bail them out because of the stadium-sharing agreement they have at the flourescent doughnut in Munich.
$$$. It is the old East Germany vs. West Germany problem. Cottbus is in a very poor part of Germany (former East Germany). Munich is a different story. He probably will (I am guessing) make another million dollars playing for 1860.
Plus, and I'm just guessing here, there's a pretty good chance Munich is a slight upgrade in terms of a city you might want to live in.