Daily Schmankerl: Bayern Munich scouts to take in Ajax vs. Real Madrid; James Rodriguez prefers future with Real Madrid or Juventus; and MORE!

Bayern to scout Ajax players in UCL play (Calciomercato)

Bayern Munich, Manchester United, and Arsenal are among the world powers that will have scouts present to watch Ajax against Real Madrid in the Champions League.

According to what has been learned from Calciomercato.it, among the many emissaries on the stands of the Johan Cruijff Arena there will also be those of Arsenal, Bayern Munich and Manchester United, ready to evaluate live the performances of the various players like (Kasper) Dolberg, (Matthijs) De Ligt, (Noussair) Mazraoui, (Donny) van de Beek and (Hakim) Ziyech.

Perhaps Bayern is still in on the bidding for De Ligt, which contradicts a report we saw yesterday.

James allegedly favors future with Real Madrid or Juventus (Marca)

Bayern star James Rodriguez will see his loan end in a few months, but the Colombia international seems to favor a future back at Real Madrid or with Juventus rather than with the Bavarians or Arsenal — at least according to some reports originating from Spain.

James’ future, though, remains up in the air and the Bavarians are still considering the idea of exercising the purchase option in his loan agreement with Real Madrid for 42 million euros.

The main problem at the moment is that, as revealed by Marca Claro Colombia, the player has told the club that he doesn’t want to be there and is keen to return to Real Madrid, even though his future at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu is also an uncertainty.

There are a number of possibilities opening up and one of those to emerge has been Arsenal, but he isn’t seduced by the idea of playing in the Premier League. In his head he wants to play at Real Madrid, but if that doesn’t happen he will have options and Cristiano Ronaldo has reportedly already called him to say he would be welcomed at Juventus. Therefore, everything is still on the table, but Arsenal’s hopes have taken a hit.

Kimmich’s top 5 assists (Bundesliga You Tube)

Pretty cool pic (@mterstegen1)

This pic of Germany international and FC Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen is pretty amazing.

Things got wild in Hamburg (@matt_4d)

When Dynamo Dresden visited Hamburger SV in the 2.Bundesliga it was bit crazy in the stands.

Der Dino eventually won the game 1-0 on an 84th minute goal from Lewis Holtby.

Bayern hit with €15k fine (kicker)

Speaking of spectators gone wild, Bayern’s pockets took a hit for some unruly fan behavior.

Bayern was fined 15,000 euros by the sports court. Before the start of the second half of the Bundesliga match against Der Club (FC Nürnberg) on December 8th, hundreds of rolls of paper had been thrown from the Munich block of spectators across the board.

The re-whistle was delayed by about two minutes. In the 56th and 70th minute of the game more paper rolls flew to the field. It came again to a one-minute interruption. The association has approved the verdict, the verdict is thus legally valid.

German side FC St. Pauli gains unlikely fan club in Brooklyn (New York Times)

It’s not exactly the most conventional way to build a fan base, but a group of people more interested in a team’s politics than its play on the pitch are becoming a thing in Brooklyn.

But what draws Mr. (Karl) Paranya and the rest of the supporters here is the team’s unusual politics: F.C. St. Pauli is an avowed anti-fascist soccer team based in Hamburg that plays in Germany’s second division and hasn’t won the title in more than 40 years, though it runs a kindergarten inside the stadium, which displays signs proclaiming “no person is illegal.” The club has a worldwide, international fandom that defines itself in opposition to the racism and violence that characterizes European football hooliganism.

The East River Pirates, as they’re known, are still only maybe one of 10 supporters’ groups in North America, and the only official one in the city. As such, East River Bar has become an unlikely spiritual home for German tourists, as well as a set of extremely devoted American fans who are far more interested in the team for their politics than whether or not they’re in possession of the ball at any given time.