DERBY TIME

the match

Dortmund's way of playing did not only impress Joachim Low. Many, many 100%-chances went unused to beat Schalke. Latter's goal-keeper - Manuel Neuer, to my mind the best keeper of the world, did a world-class show and saved his team the point many times. So at the end there is a good 0-0, for Dortmund it is too little of a result, for Schalke it is very flattering.

The referee

Although this match is frequently officiated by German Elite referees like Stark or Grafe, DFB appointed FIFA-referee Michael Weiner to referee the (probably) most important match in each season in Germany. It has been his first big derby. At his sides there were Norbert Grudzinski and Glindemann (a former FIFA assistant referee). The fourth official was Markus Wingenbach, a great hope for the future not only due to the fact that he belongs to the same football club as the DFB president and FIFA EC member Zwanziger...
Taking everything into consideration, Weiner did quite well. The match was fully under control, however, he often tends to punish players for trivial things like complaining about the ref's decisions (Huntelaar) or not stopping playing although the referee already blew the whistle. Nevertheless, there were some greater mistakes than those minor ones.

mistakes

Dortmund's midfield player Kevin Grosskreutz has pushed his elbow in Uchida's throat after the ball was already away. Weiner saw it and gave a free kick and...only a yellow card. At the beginning of every season, there is a discussion about the elbows in duels. Normally, it is requested that obvious tackles and conducts by using the elbow HAVE TO BE a sending off. Unfortunately, the referees do not really care about this rule in Germany.. And there was another one: when Raul (Schalke) appeared in front of the goal, Mr. Glindemann flacked offside - that was a big mistake.