EURO BITES: Bundesliga - Paris victims to be remembered, Thiago injury blow for Bayern, and Schubert lands Mönchengladbach job permanently

Chris Leischwitz rounds up the latest news from the Bundesliga including a blow for Bayern Munich and planned tributes to victims of the Paris attacks.

THIAGO’S KNEE ISSUES CAUSE BAYERN PROBLEMS

Due to injuries in international games, Bayern Munich might have to improvise for the Bundesliga match against Schalke on Saturday night. Thiago will miss “several weeks”, he stated himself, due to a ligament issue in his knee, after leaving the game against England in the 27th minute. The Spanish player, one of manager Pep Guardiola´s favourites, had been out for several months before because of knee issues. Jérôme Boateng, meanwhile, will miss the national team friendly against the Netherlands on Tuesday because of knee problems. It is unclear if the defender will also miss Bayern’s clash with fifth-ranked Schalke. In more positive news, Franck Ribéry is likely to make his comeback before the winter break after being injured since last March.

BUNDESLIGA’S SOLIDARITY WITH PARIS VICTIMS

All Bundesliga teams will hold a minute of silence before the games this upcoming weekend, showing their solidarity for the victims of the November 13 attacks in Paris. Initially, several national team players reportedly asked for the cancellation of the friendly match against the Netherlands on Tuesday night in Hannover, and also the weekend’s Bundesliga match schedule was at stake for a while. However, the German Football Association (DFB) decided on Sunday that the game will take place, as well as all Bundesliga games, indicating that there will be more commemoration actions. There has been no word so far if Bundesliga games will take place under heightened security or not. During the attacks on Friday, the “Mannschaft” had to stay at the Stade de France overnight after the friendly against France. Before the game, the team had to leave their hotel due to an anonymous bomb threat. Until Monday morning, no player had given any interviews on the incidents.

SCHUBERT NAMED PERMANENT MANAGER OF MÖNCHENGLADBACH

André Schubert is now officially the permanent manager of Borussia Mönchengladbach. The 44-year-old, responsible for Gladbach’s U23 squad, had taken over as interim manager after Lucien Favre surprisingly resigned in September after a Bundesliga start with six losses in a row. Schubert immediately turned the team around and celebrated seven wins in a row. Other than the 2-1 home loss against Manchester City in a Champions League match, Mönchengladbach remains unbeaten under Schubert, who stated last week that it is his long term goal is to lead the team into the Europa League next season.

UNCLEAR SCHEDULE IN GERMAN SPORTS POLITICS

The terrorist attacks in Paris put the planned restructuring of the German Football Association (DFB) on temporary hold. After the resignation of its president Wolfgang Niersbach, the vice president’s Rainer Koch and Reinhard Rauball took over, immediately stating that they are not planning on running for the presidency. Rauball also serves as chairman of DFL, the organisation in charge for the Bundesliga. Niersbach resigned after he could not answer contradictions concerning the awarding of the 2006 FIFA World Cup to Germany.

IN DEBT WERDER BREMEN HOPING FOR BETTER DAYS

Although Werder Bremen sold its best players last summer, the club is about to present yet another business year with a financial loss. Süddeutsche Zeitung reports that Werder will publish its €5.9 million loss at the general assembly meeting on Monday night. It would be the fourth year in a row that the northern German team is presenting numbers in the red. The report also states that Werder chairman Klaus Filbry is confident that the current year will see a turnaround, due to lower expenses in several business areas. On the other hand, Bremen is said to have only €2 million left in capital resources, making it cautious concerning new investments and signing of players.

BUNDESLIGA PLAYERS MIGHT FACE DOPING BANS

In a report published by the Bavarian broadcasting station on Sunday night, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) indicated that several Bundesliga players could not be tested when planned during the last couple of months - because they simply did not show up at their respective training grounds. One player is said to have missed the test twice already and would face a ban if he misses it for a third time. WADA just recently extended its anti-doping efforts in football, testing players more frequently and, according to the report, more effectively than before.