What a Bundesliga!

With only two match rounds to go, Borussia Dortmund are sure that they will have the fewest defeats of all the teams in the 2008/2009 Bundesliga, according to Infostrada.

“Die Borussen” have lost only five matches so far in the season. VfL Wolfsburg, Bayern München and VfB Stuttgart all have seven defeats.

Dortmund’s highest possible final ranking in the Bundesliga is fourth. The lowest ranking for a team to have the fewest defeats in a Bundesliga season is third.

Eighth ranked Schalke 04 are on pace to become the club with the fewest goals conceded in the 2008/2009 season.

In the 1995/1996 season only 1 FC Köln were ranked lower (12th) as the team that conceded the fewest goals that season in the Bundesliga.

Lowest ranked team with fewest defeats in a Bundesliga season

Final ranking	Club	Season	Matches lost
6*	Borussia Dortmund	2008/2009	5
3	Eintracht Braunschweig	1976/1977	6
3	1. FC Köln	1987/1988	4
3	Eintracht Frankfurt	1991/1992	6
3	Borussia Dortmund	2000/2001	8
3	Bayern München	2001/2002	6
2	Borussia Mönchengladbach	1977/1978	6
2	VfB Stuttgart	1978/1979	6
2	Hamburger SV	1979/1980	6
2	Werder Bremen	1985/1986	5
2	Borussia Dortmund	1991/1992	6
2	Bayern München	1992/1993	5
2	Bayer Leverkusen	1999/2000	3
2	FC Schalke 04	2000/2001	8

* Note: After 32 of 34 match rounds

Lowest ranked team with fewest goals conceded in a Bundesliga season

Final ranking	Club	Season	Goals conceded
12	1. FC Köln	1995/1996	35
8*	FC Schalke 04	2008/2009	32
6	1. FC Nürnberg	2006/2007	32
5	Fortuna Düsseldorf	1977/1978	36
5	FC Schalke 04	1997/1998	32
4	Hamburger SV	1974/1975	38
4	1. FC Kaiserslautern	1980/1981	37
4	Bayern München	1982/1983	33
4	VfB Stuttgart	2003/2004	24
4	Hertha BSC	2004/2005	31

* Note: After 32 of 34 match rounds

Arsenal vs Chelsea preview: the match of the week

Chelsea visit Arsenal on Sunday, having collected just one point this season from their five previous fixtures against Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United. According to Infostrada, if Chelsea fail to win, they will have recorded the lowest total in Premier League history in matches between these four clubs.

Premier League matches between Big Four – 2008/2009 season
Rank Club P W D L Pts F A

1 Liverpool 6 4 2 0 14 14 7
2 Arsenal 4 2 2 0 8 9 7
3 Manchester United 5 1 1 3 4 7 9
4 Chelsea 5 0 1 4 1 2 9

Least points in PL matches between Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United
# Club P W D L Season

1 Chelsea 5 0 1 4 2008/2009
3 Manchester United 6 1 0 5 2001/2002
3 Liverpool 6 1 0 5 2004/2005
4 Arsenal 6 1 1 4 1994/1995
4 Arsenal 6 1 1 4 1996/1997
4 Chelsea 6 1 1 4 1997/1998
4 Liverpool 6 0 4 2 1998/1999
4 Arsenal 6 1 1 4 2005/2006
4 Liverpool 6 1 1 4 2005/2006
4 Liverpool 6 0 4 2 2007/2008
4 Manchester United 5 1 1 3 2008/2009

Alex Ferguson shouted five

Manchester United beat Arsenal 3-1 to reach the 2009 Champions League final. Alex Ferguson will lead a team out for the fifth time in a European final, a feat achieved by only eight head coaches before him.

Giovanni Trapattoni is the record holder with seven European finals as head coach of Juventus, Internazionale and AC Milan.

Trapattoni is also the only head coach to win five European finals, a record which Ferguson can equal on 27 May having been on the winning side of his four previous European finals as head coach.

Most European finals as head coach
# Name Nation European finals as head coach

7 Giovanni Trapattoni ITA Champions Cup 1983, 1985; Cup Winners’ Cup 1974, 1984; UEFA Cup 1977, 1992, 1993
5 Miguel Muñoz ESP Champions Cup 1960, 1962, 1964, 1966; Cup Winners’ Cup 1971
5 Ernst Happel AUT Champions Cup 1970, 1978, 1983; UEFA Cup 1976, 1982
5 Udo Lattek GER Champions Cup 1974, 1977, 1987; Cup Winners’ Cup 1982; UEFA Cup 1979
5 Raymond Goethals BEL Champions Cup/Champions League 1991, 1993; Cup Winners’ Cup 1977, 1978, 1982
5 Johan Cruijff NED Champions Cup/Champions League 1992, 1994; Cup Winners’ Cup 1987, 1989, 1991
5 Sven-Göran Eriksson SWE Champions Cup 1990; Cup Winners’ Cup 1999; UEFA Cup 1982, 1983, 1998
5 Marcello Lippi ITA Champions League 1996, 1997, 1998, 2003; UEFA Cup 1995
5 Alex Ferguson SCO Champions League 1999, 2008, 2009; Cup Winners’ Cup 1983, 1991
4 José Villalonga ESP Champions Cup 1956, 1957; Cup Winners’ Cup 1962, 1963
4 Helenio Herrera ITA Champions Cup 1964, 1965, 1967; Fairs Cup 1960
4 Don Revie ENG Cup Winners’ Cup 1973; Fairs Cup/UEFA Cup 1967, 1968, 1971
4 Nereo Rocco ITA Champions Cup 1963, 1969; Cup Winners’ Cup 1968, 1973
4 Bob Paisley ENG Champions Cup 1977, 1978, 1981; UEFA Cup 1976
4 Vujadin Boskov YUG Champions Cup 1981, 1992; Cup Winners’ Cup 1989, 1990
4 Ottmar Hitzfeld GER Champions League 1997, 1999, 2001; UEFA Cup 1993

Real Madrid vs FC Barcelona preview: the match of the week

Today, Real Madrid host La Liga leaders FC Barcelona in Bernabéu. Of all the current players, Raúl is the most experienced with 10 goals and 26 appearances in El Clásico.

According to Infostrada The only players with more goals in El Clásico are Alfredo Di Stéfano (Real Madrid) with 14 and César Rodríguez (FC Barcelona) with 12.

Only three players have made more appearances in fixtures between Real Madrid and Barcelona, Francisco Gento (31), Manuel Sanchís (29) and Carlos Santillana (28).

The first top flight encounter between these two clubs dates back to 17 February 1929 when Real secured a 2-1 win at FC Barcelona.

In total Real have the upper hand with 68 wins compared to Barça’s 59 victories.

Most goals in ‘El Clásico’ – current players # Name Club Era
10 Raúl Real Madrid 1995-2008
4 Ruud van Nistelrooy Real Madrid 2006-2008
4 Lionel Messi FC Barcelona 2005-2008
4 Samuel Eto’o FC Barcelona 2004-2008
2 Xavi FC Barcelona 2000-2008

Most matches in ‘El Clásico’ – current players # Name Club Era
26 Raúl Real Madrid 1995-2008
18 Carles Puyol FC Barcelona 1999-2008
17 Iker Casillas Real Madrid 2000-2008
17 Xavi FC Barcelona 2000-2008
16 Guti Real Madrid 1999-2008

Real Madrid vs FC Barcelona in La Liga Real Madrid FC Barcelona
157 Matches Played 157
68 Matches won 59
30 Matches drawn 30
59 Matches lost 68
260 Goals scored 237
237 Goals conceded 260
8-2 (03 Feb 1935) Biggest win home 7-2 (24 Sep 1950)
1-5 (27 Jan 1963) Biggest win away 0-5 (17 Feb 1974)
0-5 (17 Feb 1974) Biggest defeat home 1-5 (27 Jan 1963)
7-2 (24 Sep 1950) Biggest defeat away 8-2 (03 Feb 1935)