Daily Schmankerl: Pochettino wanted Coutinho, Werner praises Lewandowski, no UCL ban for Manchester City, Henry to Montreal

Timo Werner puts Robert Lewandowski on par with Messi and Ronaldo (Bundesliga.com)

Timo Werner may not be coming to Bayern Munich to play alongside Robert Lewandowski, but he praised the striker in the highest terms at Germany’s press conference before their Euro 2020 qualifier against Belarus. Werner, who has scored the second most goals in the Bundesliga after Lewandowski (11), said,

You can’t score every game unless your name is Robert Lewandowski. When I score two in Berlin, he scores two against Dortmund and I ask myself when he’ll stop. He’s currently in the same category as Ronaldo and Messi.

Werner, still only 23 years old, attributes his and Lewandowski’s prolific scoring to the attacking mentality of clubs in the Bundesliga:

A lot of teams want to play in a more attacking manner and would rather win 4-3 instead of 2-0. The game is getting faster and faster and we have more chances. That plays into our hands as strikers.

Pochettino “fuming” because Tottenham let Bayern Munich beat them to Coutinho (The Sun)

According to the most trusted newspaper in the UK, one of Mauricio Pochettino’s grievances with Tottenham is that they neglected to sign Phillip Coutinho on loan when Barcelona made him available. The Sun writes,

The Spurs boss had first-hand experience of Coutinho because he coached him when he was in charge of Espanyol. Poch had taken him from Inter Milan in 2012, signing   the player until the end of the season to help them avoid relegation.

And he wanted to sign him again this summer but lost out when Bayern Munich made their move.

Pochettino is apparently frustrated that he has not had the midfielders he wants to undertake a thorough rebuild. But Coutinho has hardly looked like he would have been worth the outlay, at least judging by his recent performances at Bayern.

No Champions League ban for Manchester City (The Athletic)

UEFA reminds the world that “crime pays” when you’re rich and powerful and a soccer club. Per The Athletic, “Manchester City will not be banned from European competition when the decision on the club’s highly contentious Financial Fair Play case is announced next month.”

The Athletic claims to have learned that Manchester City will merely be fined for its many and sundry offenses against Financial Fair Play. In a triumph for whataboutism, senior officials in UEFA are apparently dismayed that punishing Manchester City in earnest would lead to expensive “arguments” that would be hard to “justify” because... City is hardly the only one to flout the rules. The Athletic accordingly anticipates that the entire FFP system may collapse:

The decision by the adjudicatory chamber of UEFA’s Club Financial Control Board will almost certainly lead to calls for UEFA to admit the FFP system, which was first agreed in 2009, is finished in its current guise.

That might even be an improvement.

Thierry Henry announced as new coach for the Montreal Impact

Thierry Henry is heading back to Major League Soccer. Henry has been named as the new head coach of the Montreal Impact.

The former New York Red Bulls forward will fit right in with the Impact, as French is the official language on Montreal. It doesn’t hurt that he also already “gets” MLS and all of its oddities.

Henry will be probably counting on a year or three in Montreal before heading back to Europe for a coaching gig.

UEFA: Eintracht’s fans cannot attend their away fixture against Arsenal (Sport1)

The “best fans in the Bundesliga”™ will have to stay home when Eintracht Frankfurt travels to London for the second leg of their Europa League tie with Arsenal. UEFA has rejected the club’s appeal of their two-match penalty of playing without fans. UEFA hit Frankfurt with the ban after multiple repeat offenses. Eintracht already served the first half of the punishment at an away match against Standard Liege on November 7. The will indeed have to serve the second match fan-ban on November 28, when they play Arsenal in London.

FC Augsburg’s Michael Gregoritsch eager to flee Augsburg (Transfermarkt)

Austrian false 9 Michael Gregoritsch can’t wait to get out of Augsburg. He candidly described his situation there as “shitty.” “For me, it’s now clear that I’m out of Augsburg this winter.” After a very good 2018/19 season (6 goals, 2 assists, second only to Alfred Finnbogason), Gregoritsch has hardly played this season and is concerned about his position on the Austrian national team. Currently, Augsburg plays in a 4-4-2 without a false 9.

Uli Hoeness the player by the numbers

We are so used to Uli Hoeness the club president that it is easy to forget that he was also a World Cup winner and Bayern Munich legend even though he retired from playing at the age of 27. Bayern put together this graphic to summarize his playing achievements.