I blame you.

Hapless_Hans wrote:

Anyway I don't even expect so much from Benatia, all he needs to be is a good backup - obviously I don't think he can better Boateng and Badstuber, that would be too much to ask.

Let me introduce to you: The GL jinx.©

Damn.

I really need to keep my mouth shut.

I'm really saddened as I always like(d) watching Holger Badstuber play. I hope he'll come back soon and then stays healthy, at best for the rest of a hopefully long career.

'good' thing it's a muscle injury completely unrelated to his knee.

I'm honestly starting to believe that Badstuber is some sort of sacrificial lamb used to keep Robben going.

Robben getting faster with age + Robben started passing at Bayern + HE IS OVER 30. DO YOU REALIZE ROBBEN IS OVER THIRTY + Badstuber never playing + Müller-Wohlfahrt = I don't want to know.

back in training

I hope he'll stay healthy from now on. Poor boy had enough injuries for a lifetime!

Pep loves him

Well Holger Badstuber's passing was always from beyond this world, so it is no surprise that Pep would find him very useful.

I do hope he gets back to his best, he was such a great player.

I'm really happy that Holger Badstuber is finally back! The poor boy has suffered for much too long!

Hans what is your opinion on Holger Badstuber? I reckon he could be Germanys best cb. The guy doesn't do anything spectacular but he is so secure and I feel that is important for a cb.

@Jibers

You might want to read through this thread for some info. Of course he was injured for a very long time, but it appears as if he is on a very good path back.

rwo power wrote:@Jibers

You might want to read through this thread for some info. Of course he was injured for a very long time, but it appears as if he is on a very good path back.

Ai will do. It's what I thought about him anyways before he got injured.

jibers wrote:Hans what is your opinion on Holger Badstuber? I reckon he could be Germanys best cb. The guy doesn't do anything spectacular but he is so secure and I feel that is important for a cb.

I really don't know, we'll have to wait and see.

I obviously like him a lot, and he is indeed secure, composed, reliable and very good at passing too.
So I agree with you there.

All coaches rate him, van Gaal obviously hand plucked him from youth (god knows where he would've ended up if not for van Gaal, probably at Wacker Burghausen together with Müller), Jupp started him regularly, Löw started him fwiw, and Pep is already starting him.
Pep was also overheard absolutely raving about him in training to Hermann Gerland when he returned from his cruciate injuy last fall.

But, he's been out for over one and a half years, two cruciate tears in a row and then right upon return a serious muscle tear.

So we'll have to see, it's been a long time.

He was performing solidly before, though I think back then the hype was a little getting ahead of him.
Because back then our team was still so inconsistent, van Gaal in 2009/10 played him as left back a lot where I do not think he's that fantastic, 10/11 he played left CB regularly and fairly solidly, but it still was a VERY frustrating season defensively, which was not Badstuber's fault but van Gaal's, still it's hard for me to say just how great he was then.

Our defense let us down so many times that season, due to van Gaal's imbalanced way of playing, and Badstuber's counterparts, Breno and van Buyten, were shaky too.

The problem is that he got injured right at the start of 12/13, when we had finally stocked up our squad to a consistent top level, with Dante, Javi and Mandzukic coming in.

In this time Boateng has improved massively (he was still much more inconsistent in his first season 11/12 and van Buyten played a good number of games), and his partnership with Dante was our best defensive season ever, treble and such.

So to be Germany's best CB, Badstuber now in fact has a lot catching up to do.

For that he has to stay injury free now, above all.
So that's basically all I'm hoping for now.

If he stays fit, he will play and start (Dante has been much worse in the last year and the 7:1 Brazil spanking hasn't helped to improve his form), he's been looking great so far (for my taste even better than before his injury, though it's far too early to tell).
And I think he will complement Boateng nicely.

There's still Benatia, of course, Martinez will come back who Pep will likely want to employ in a backline as well, so let's say with Boateng, Badstuber, Benatia, Dante and Martinez we're pretty well staffed.

Haven't seen him play in years lol, nice to hear he's finally recovering back

Wednesday's game against Donezk was Badstuber's first start in the Allianz Arena since 2012.

Crowned with a goal

http://gfycat.com/ImpressiveLegitimateAsiaticwildass

I was really glad to see that he is getting back to his proper performances. I really hope that from now on he will not get injured again - he was definitely out long enough!

That poor boy! I wonder if he will manage to come back from that after all the injuries he already suffered.

Wtf every freaking season Bayern throw away important matches due to injuries. Medical team needs to answer one or two questions imo

From what I just heard at Sky, this ankle fracture just happened without any interference from any other player during training. I really hope he will manage to come back from that.

Who does that leave in defence for Bayern?