Arranged in a 4-4-2 formation, this is our pick for the team of the week for the last week of November.
Goalkeeper – Jaroslav Drobny (Hamburg)
The Czech international goalkeeper had a wonderful outing against Hannover and if he keeps up his form at the level it is now, Hamburg will surely win the battle against relegation. We saw some wonderful saves from Drobny from Mohammed Abdellaoue and Jan Schlaudraff.
Right Back – Clemens Fritz (Werder Bremen)
Fritz has been one of the longest serving defenders in the Bundes Liga and the 30-year old came up with a vintage performance on the weekend. Played an active role in Bremen’s 2-0 win over Stuttgart as he provided the assist for the opening goal of the game.
Center Back – Mats Hummels (Borussia Dortmund)
Hummels has matured into one of the best central defenders in world football at the moment and will be a huge asset to Germany in next year’s Euro. He showed an outstanding performance against Schalke as he kept Klaas Jan Huntelaar quite for the entire match.
Center Back – Felipe Santana (Borussia Dortmund)
While Neven Subotic remains sidelined with injury, Santana is coming up with one big performance after the other. His performance against Bayern was vintage and the one against Schalke was no less. Astute defending throughout the course of the match along with a goal to his name makes him our man of the week in the Bundes Liga.
Left Back – Levan Kobianshvili (Hertha Berlin)
The veteran defender missed a penalty kick in the game in the first half but he put the disappointment behind him as he bombed through the left flank to assist in a number of attacks for his team. The Georgian provided a vital cross from the left that was converted by Lasogga to earn a point for Hertha.
Right Midfield – Gokhan Tore (Hamburg)
Chelsea will feel cheated by their former employee Frank Arnesen who brought the youngster to Hamburg from his previous employers. A brilliant afternoon for the lad who was a livewire on the right side of midfield. Cut in menacingly from the right wing on a number of times and whipped in a couple of decent free-kicks – one of which was converted by Jeffrey Bruma.
Central Midfield – Andreas Ivanschitz (Mainz)
Ivanschitz was Bayern Munich’s tormentor in chief in the afternoon as the Bavarian giants dropped to third place in the standings after sacrificing their 5 point lead to Dortmund in a couple of matches. An accomplished display from the Austrian who could be proud of his achievement in the middle of the park as he also scored the opener for Mainz to give them the lead in the afternoon.
Central Midfield – Michael Ballack (Bayer Leverkusen)
The former German captain was a constant threat from the center of the park as he sprayed the ball around the park with ease. Seemed very comfortable in position and chipped in with a superb performance. Reminded me of the Ballack of old.
Left Midfield – Mario Goetze (Borussia Dortmund)
This kid is already a star in Dortmund and the crowd at the Westfalenstadion chant his name on numerous occasions. Although he had a quite day by his high standards, his performance against Schalke despite being heavily marked was worthy of selection to this lineup.
Striker – Eren Derdiyok (Bayer Leverkusen)
The Swiss striker scored the only hattrick of the weekend in Germany and salvaged a point for Leverkusen quite single handedly. Leverkusen coach Robin Dutt will be immensely pleased with his striker’s performance on the afternoon against Hertha Berlin.
Striker – Robert Lewandowski (Borussia Dortmund)
He was more or less a squad player at best for Dortmund, who play Lucas Barrios up front. However, an injury to Barrios paved a path for the Polish hitman to show the world what he can do. And boy he has performed. I am pretty sure that if Jurgen Klopp is asked to name his first choice striker now with everyone fit, Lewandowski will get the nod ahead of Barrios.