Also, thoughts on John Herdman resigning, the MLS Playoffs format, Serie A, and more.

Okay my German friends, it’s the one of the few times a year that the Bundesliga takes top billing in this space.

And it’s a great way to be back after taking a couple of weeks off from writing the column to focus on other responsibilities.

Der Klassiker is on tap this Saturday, Nov. 30 at 12:30 p.m. and it should be a great one. Fifth-place Borussia Dortmund is hosting top of the table Bayern Munich, but the standings go out the window when these two historic rivals meet.

In a pre-match presser, German and Bayern legend Thomas Müller said,”I don’t think it’s necessarily because of the game itself, but also because the two sets of fans are especially passionate. The rivalry has a long history, with both teams always competing for titles. For that reason, Dortmund have always been my biggest German rival.”

The Dortmund yellow and black voices will certainly be in full effect for the match, as usual, while travelling fans from Munich will surely also be amped up for this huge rivalry.

Bayern are coming in white hot with seven straight wins in all competitions since an October 23 defeat at Barcelona. Dortmund have won two in a row, including an emphatic 3-0 win away to Zagreb in the Champions League.

Despite an up and down season so far, Dortmund have been flawless at Signal Iduna Park with eight straight home wins in all competitions.

Another one on Saturday could set them up nicely for a good little run to end the calendar year. It’s shaping up to another fantastic Der Klassiker and those interested can catch it on DAZN Canada (subscription required).

John Herdman resigns from TFC

I must admit that I had pre-planned this week’s column and most of it was completed before I heard the news about John Herdman.

Hence, it’s in second place rather than first. Also, it just happened and I need a bit of time to think about what I think about the situation.

Immediately, I’m torn between a bit of sadness as he did bring a fire and passion back to the Reds this year that was sorely missing for a few seasons.

But, on the flip side, the off-field issues regarding the drone scandal with Team Canada is something that would never go away as long as he remains in the game. Especially on Canadian soil.

The former is likely why the decision to resign took so long. The front office wasn’t about to show him the door after only the first year in a multi-year project and one where the team exceeded pre-season expectations for wins and points.

However, the cynic in me feels like Herdman fell on his sword rather than face the wrath of the upcoming inquiries regarding his leading role in the drone scandal that rocked Canadian Soccer.

Because if he’s not coaching a team in Canada, then there is no need for the inquiry to continue – and he no longer falls under the scope of Canadian Soccer. I’m sure I’ll have more ideas later, but for now, I’ll leave it with a Thank You John Herdman for all your efforts and doing whatever it took to make Canadian Soccer respectable and start the process to bring TFC back to where it belongs.

MLS Playoffs

It’s been a couple of weeks and another round done since Inter Miami’s legends were eliminated by ninth-seeded Atlanta United. I was a little disappointed about the way it played out for a couple of reasons.

Firstly, Atlanta should never have been in the playoffs, it should have started with the eight seed Montreal Impact travelling to Miami.

Atlanta was the only team that matched up perfectly against Miami and even then, it went to three games. The fact is that after Miami won game one, they would have approached game two differently – as in defending the lead from the first leg and counterattacking rather than allowing Atlanta to play that way.

This is why the best of three is nonsense and even teams that advance aren’t all for it.

Secondly, the playoffs in soccer should never, ever, ever be any more than a two-legged aggregate event. The best-of-three situation needs to be thrown out the window immediately as does the wild card match (unless two teams are tied, in which case let them play for it).

Have a two-legged first round and then single game eliminations the rest of the way. Also, start the playoffs at an appropriate time to avoid a triple dose of international breaks disrupting the flow at the end of the season and into the postseason. MLS has shown a willingness to adapt and adjust course when necessary. It’s become necessary again.

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Serie A

The dogfight at the top of the table in Italia is amazing. The top six teams are separated by just four points. And perennial top of the table clubs AC Milan (7^th) and AS Roma (13^th) are not part of the mix.

Napoli leads with 29 points. They’re followed by Atalanta, Inter Milan, Fiorentina, and Lazio (all on 28 points), then Juventus in sixth with 25 points.

I have been preaching this for the past few years now, Serie A is the best league in the world right now in terms of competition, quality amongst a larger number of clubs top to bottom, and the ability for different challengers to break into the top of the table year over year.

As well, four of the five Italian teams in the Champions League are in prime position to advance to the knockout stages – Inter, Atalanta, AC Milan, and Juventus. Only Bologna is set to miss out. However, it’s understandable considering the team lost manager Thiago Motta (now at Juve), big time scorer Zirkzee (now at Man United), and other major contributors to last season’s qualifying campaign.

In the Europa League, Lazio tops the table, while Roma is also in a knockout round position despite their turbulent year so far which has them on their third manager this season (the legendary Roman Claudio Ranieri).

In the Conference League, Fiorentina is in sixth, but only three points away from first.

So, even the 7^th and 13^th place sides of Serie A are set to advance in Europe come the new year. That’s not something other leagues can say.

Muskoka United FC

The Muskoka United FC U17 Boys Team are in PISL six vs. six action again this Saturday at the Woodbridge Dome. They’ll take on Caledon.

The U17 Boys have three wins and no losses to start the indoor season with Dante Occhiuzzi scoring in all three games so far.

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