Hoffmann to Philadelphia

What type player is she?

Is she a winger??

Or play centrally??

Defensive oriented or play maker??

Thanks for the news. Time to surf the web some more.

I notice she is listed as a FORMER German national player.

The yahoo story had her playing for Germany in Sydney.

http://www.kle.nw.schule.de/wbrsx/schueler/melanie/melanie.htm

 

With this news, time to revise the starting line-up, and how the Charge play.

A box midfield now, with FAir and Tullock the defensive half of the box, and Hoffmann and Smith the upper half.

So this means width is derived from the outside backs pushing forward.


Bensos for sure, and Mitts, but if Kraus is the right back, I heven't seen enough of Kraus to evaluate her ability to get forward.

The square does cover a bit more in central defense, but puts more pressure on the outside backs.

Makes me think Mitts is NOT moving inside OR we're gonna see 3-5-2!!

Benson and Tietjen and Kraus in the back, and Mitts as a wingback in midfield!!

 

Thanks, Woody; welcome to the forum.

5'2", 43 caps, left the German national team for private reasons, per the altavista translation. In light of the Euro 2005 (why they're having qualifiers two years before the fact is a bit much...) takeaways our bench is going to be put to the test often.

A side note; I'll call the Charge tomorrow to ask if there are going to be any exhibition games at 'Nova next month. I donut know how they're even going to GET to training camp this weekend with a weather apocalypse bearing down on us (3-6 inches from the first storm alone and Lord knows how much from the second one...)

BigSoccer scoops the Charge website again!

Paul

P.S. Maybe Doris steered Coach K her way, or perhaps Markovski?

 

A good player who has the experience that is always good. However, why do we need another midfielder? I am in the camp that having too many midfielders is not good. Well, a good choice that went under the radar once again. I was however hoping for either Diacre or a younger player like Viguier but Hoffmann is a good pick.

 

The other aspect of getting a 28 year old with national experience is the maturity level and exposure to elite level competition.

Also, in surfing, I thought I ran into the comment, Hoffmann was a one year player to replace Zhao.

There are a lot of midfielders on the Charge roster, perhaps a 3-5-2 is in the works?

Hoffmann has possession plus play making skill, which makes her a Liu style player.

If you go with 4 mids, is it Fair-Tullock-Smith-Hoffmann in a box in midfield, or would Monroe start with Hoffmann being a sub for her, a role I have envisioned Misaki performing.

The best defense is a good offense, and being able to possess the ball significantly more than your foe is another form of defending.

While there might be 8 new players on the roster, most of the 8 will be on the bench, basically replacing an already strong bench with new people.

Actually, the 1st posting of the Hoffmann story was on the Charge wusa boards, as nadja is woody-99.

 

http://www.rp-online.de/news/fussball/news/2003-0213/hoffmann.html

This is the article where Hoffmann says she has a one year deal.

Of note, she isn't coming until March 23 .

43 appeareances for germany.

 

also on the WUSA boards someone said she played D for the DFB? can someone confirm this?

my take that its a mid unless she plays D is that someone the charge picked up isnt what they are cracked up to be

OR

Monroe or kelly isnt going to be ready for a while.

OR

3-5-2

OR he doesnt like anyone not named fair on the wing...

the choice is yours.

me i hope the rumors are true and she is a defender.

 

The report on wusa boards was in error.

Kelly Smith is fully healthy and all reports from England's training camp in Spain have her doing well.

Smith will be playing against Italy in a couple weeks.


The whole matter is skill, skill, skill, get as much skill out there as possible.

Hoffmann could be the Liu option, which I was giving to Misaki.

Hoffmann and Arrington could be offense off the bench.

Hoffmann is a play maker, check the Duisberg's statistics and she gets a lot of assists.

The Olympic report had her playing as a winger, but I'm more thinking she plays deeper than Smith and assists in the transition from defense to offense, so Tullock doesn't need to do the job.

3-5-2 is an option.

benson-tietjen-Kraus
Tullock as d-mid
Fair and Mitts as wingbacks
Smith and Hoffmann as attacking players, with Hoffmann deeper and Smith in a more advanced role.

Scasna and Pichon at forward...

Hoffmann plays 60 minutes, and can bring on Monroe as a defensive presence for Hoffmann.

Arrington also for offense if needed, same with Misaki, as a possession style mid, even throw Makinen in the middle where Hoffmann plays..

Those are explorable options to me.

 

A reason for yet another middie..

You're warm. Since Monroe is probably still rehabbing from the second ankle reconstruction surgery and that may have been the reason why Hoffman was picked.

I'm a bit leery of a 3-5-2 on a regular basis. It worked spectacularly that one time against Carolina, but surely you'd be able to plan against it if you saw it enough times.

Paul

 

Ohhhh . . . . .

I thought all this talk was about Jay Hoffman. LOL.

 

On March 23rd, FCR Duisberg will be playing in the semifinals of the German Cup against FFC Brauweiler Pulheim 2000. The other semifinal will be an all-Frankfurt tie between FSV Frankfurt and European champions. Duisberg is currently in third place in the Bundesliga while Pulheim is in 6th, FSV Frankfurt is in 7th and of course, FFC Frankfurt is in first. But only 2 points ahead of Turbine Potsdam who they will play at Postbdam on the last day of the season on June 15th. It's been FFC Frankfurt first, Potsdam second and and Duisberg third the last three seasons. Four seasons ago Duisberg won the championship. How they might want Birgit and Steffi then! Probably not. They still have a great team without Jones and Prinz. Melanie is tied with Birgit for 8th place in Die Bundesliga with seven goals on the season. Last season she was second in the league behind Conny with 19 goals, five more than Scasna as well.

 

For the first time in 55 matches, FFC Frankfurt have lost a match. After winning, 33 domestic league matches, 8 domestic cup matches and 13 UEFA Women's Cup matches, the European champs lost to Turbine Potsdam on Sunday by the score of 3-2. Potsdam took a 2-0 lead in the first half but Frankfurt then scored 2 second half goals before the winner in the 88th minute by Petra Wimbersky. Potsdam is now just two points away from the leaders. The streak goes back to the last match of the 2000-2001 season when FFC Frankfurt lost 5-2 to FFC Brauweiler Pulheim.

 

Isn't Turbine Pottsdam the team Connie Pohlers plays for?

 

Yes. But she didn't score in the game. In fact, from what I've read I think she has already left them.

 

Pohlers is probably in Atlanta now.

The interview you had posted on Pavlina Scasna said she's stopped playing with Bayern already.

I assume Pavlina is also in Philadelphia??

I recall the mentioning of Pavlina needing a work visa, but those should be like getting a passport, 2 or 3 weeks.

 

http://www.philadelphiacharge.com/342429.html

It's official although there is the statement contingent upon the acquisition of a work visa.

So maybe BIG BROTHER wants to annoy the Germans a bit, because of their questioning of the clothesless wanna be.

 

narducci on hoffmann...

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/sports/5227779.htm