OM DENNE EPISODE
SSV Jeddeloh II, a fourth-tier Regionalliga club, beat 1. FC Heidenheim 5-2 in the DFB-Pokal first round — one of the great cup shocks in recent German football. Heidenheim's coach Frank Schmidt was suspended and watched from the stands as his team missed a penalty and conceded five. Elsewhere in the Pokal: Frankfurt 11-0 St. Tönis, comfortable wins for Stuttgart, Leverkusen, Hoffenheim, and Leipzig. Bayern and Dortmund don't play their first-round ties until September 1-2.
Premier League kicked off — Tottenham spent close to £300M this summer and got beaten 3-0 by Brentford on De Zerbi's opening day. Panic spending meets a brand new spine with zero time to gel.
La Liga also underway — Real Madrid and Barcelona both had delayed starts due to World Cup recovery. Mourinho's actual Real Madrid return: a grinding 2-1 win at Espanyol, substitute Carlos Espí scoring in the 90th. Flick's Barcelona debut: a statement 5-0 win over Elche, Raphinha and Fermín López both scoring twice. Two completely different coaching philosophies on display in the same weekend.
One week out from Bundesliga kickoff. Bayern vs Stuttgart at the Allianz next Friday. Full state-of-play check on the title race, the European race, and the relegation battle heading into matchday one.
