Borussia Dortmund vs Schalke 04, Nov 27th

The Ruhr Derby

By Shivashankar

Well the reason why I switched on to this derby was simple. Raul Gonzalez. To see that legend in action pleases not just me, but almost the entire footballing world.

It’s always said that the team which wins the midfield battle, wins the game. How true it turned out to be at the Signal Iduna Park! Schalke have an excellent duo up front in Raul an Klass jan Huntelaar. They’ve also found an exciting replacement for Manuel Neur in Lars Unnerstall.

Instead of just describing about the match, let me just give you all a review on the hugely talents players, who took the field at the derby.

Dortmund

Matt Hummels

This guy is one of the best young defenders in Germany. Graduated from Bayern Munich’s academy, he started out for Dortmund in 2008, in a loan move which was made permanent a year later. This lad had a good game and was instrumental in killing off attacks (and completely marked Huntelaar) and made sure that Dortmund had a clean sheet.

Sebastian Kehl

Not long ago, he was criticized for getting too slow and ineffective. He has proved his critics wrong, with an admirable season so far. Inspirational captain for Dortmund, demonstrated his prowess by orchestrating the midfield play.

Mario Gotze

What more can I say about this guy?! Although he had a bad night, without him, Dortmund appeared lost. Was lively at times, but never had that instinct to get the right man at the right time.

Robert Lewandowski

The polish attacker had a field day. Man of the match performance. Scored a neat header and caused all sorts of problems to Schalke’s defense. Has scored 13 goals so far this season for Schalke, and if he goes by such levels, a big move is on the cards!

 The Yellow Wall

This is not a nick name of a player, but the way the home fans support their team! German fans are perhaps the most vociferous in Europe. And in Dortmund, it is something more special. Around 80,000 fans in the Signal Iduna park, formerly Westfalenstadeon,  get behind their team and scare out the opposition! The same was witnessed in the derby against Schalke as the fans rooted for their home team and it was as if Schalke were trapped inside a cage!

Schalke

What went wrong?

Simple, defense and midfield were rubbish.

Schalke missed Howedes for the match, and I think it made a great deal of a difference as Raul and Huntelaar were mere spectators. It was a shame to see Jermaine Jones make some dangerous tackles and still get away with a single yellow card. Lewis Holtby, is a star in the making, but had a horrible night. They could have instead started with the experienced Juardo, who would have offered stability in the midfield.

Raul

Captained his team for the night. Being a talismanic striker, one should have expected more passes and assists to him, instead he was left alone on the left flank for most of the time. I’m totally bemused by the way in which neither Raul or Huntelaar didn’t even manage a decent effort on goal. Has Raul become slow? Yes, but he is one of the greatest club strikers ever. He may not be the quickest, but he is one of the best still. Schalke clearly failed to make full use of him.

Next is what?

Schalke hav a mid week clash in the Europa League. Perhaps a golden chance to regain their touch. May be its still early days to criticize managed Huub Stevens, but if he doesn’t make changes, chances are that a poor finish in the league can’t be avoided. Amidst the disappointing loss, the biggest find of the game was Unnerstall, who is definitely a big star in the making!

It'a Raulina for me, forever!..what about you?!
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