Daily Schmankerl: The aftermath of Bayern-Hertha Berlin; Sebastian Rudy could have gone to AC Milan; and MORE!

Sebastian Rudy was close to joining AC Milan...think he is second guessing himself? (Calciomercato)

Schalke has a chance to begin fixing it’s 0-5 start today, but Sebastian Rudy might have had an opportunity to avoid the dumpster fire he’s been a part of in Gelsenkirchen.

Calciomercato exclusively understand former Bayern Munich midfielder Sebastian Rudy was close to joining AC Milan three times over the past few years. Rudy did join Bayern Munich from Hoffenheim on a free transfer in the summer of 2017 and appeared in 25 games in all competitions for the Bavarians. He recently left the club to join Schalke for a fee of about 16 million euros.

We exclusively understand that Rudy was offered to Milan before he joined Schalke this past summer and the Rossoneri were studying his purchase and considering buying him to use him alongside Lucas Biglia in midfield.

That was before Schalke had made an offer. But it isn’t just last summer that Rudy was close, but Milan had contacted Rudy’s entourage to sign him back in 2017 on a free transfer. Rudy was also offered to Milan in 2012 by Hoffenheim, but the Rossoneri had rejected the chance to sign the German as Adriano Galliani had turned down the opportunity.

In fairness, AC Milan is 13th in the Seria A table entering today with one win, three draws, and one loss; but it’s still better than 0-5.

Die Folgen: Bayern vs. Hertha Berlin (Bavarian Football Works)

Bayern turned in an unmotivated and lackluster effort in its loss to Hertha Berlin. Here are some quick hitters on the match:

• So yeah, Die Alte Dame is for real.
• So is Ondrej Duda.
• Bayern was apathetic for large parts of that game. Niko Kovač needs to figure out how to regroup before his squads faces Ajax.
• Kovač also may need to take a page out of New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick’s book on this one:

• Renato Sanches might be best in small doses for now.
• The lack of finishing on offense is starting to become alarming, but the offense looked out-of-sync for most of the game again.
• It was not a banner effort for Jerome Boateng. Bad games happen. Boateng has a track record of success, so hopefully he can sweep this one under the rug and move on.

• This is Kovač’s first test as Bayern manager. How he can get the team to respond will be key.
• Robert Lewandowski was a non-factor for his second straight game. He’s beginning to press a bit. I attribute Lewy’s disappearance to the aforementioned lack of cohesion on offense.
• Well, at least Joshua Kimmich did this. By far the highlight of the game:

• Can’t wait to erase that one from the DVR!

If you missed our Match Awards or Observations, give them a look.

Bayern players take “Crazy Glasses Challenge” (@FOXDeportes)

No, Bayern did not play against Hertha Berlin with the glasses on:

Let’s move on from Hertha and wish Leoni Maier a happy birthday! (@FCBfrauen)

A call for fan groups (BavarianFootballWorks.com)

We are trying something here at the Daily Schmankerl and need YOUR help. If you read my man Tommy Adams’ piece about his experience with the FCBNYC Fan Club (if you haven’t, SHAME ON YOU!), you could see how great the event was. So we want to highlight some of these wonderful groups that are out there globally and this is what we need from you:

• Name of the group
• Location
• Year founded
• Leadership (if you have people are kind of running the show)
• Meeting place
• Social media handles
• Pictures

We have 7 clubs on board so far. I’d LOVE to be able to feature a different fan group every week this season. Maybe we can do it, maybe not...but only YOU can help decide the fate of this idea. Send your info to: barrelsportsblog@gmail.com.