Clint Mathis is on the front-cover of the "Hannover 96 Magazin", appearing at each game when Hannover 96 is the homeside team.

Kaiserslautern failed against Hamburg 2:3. This is a quite good situation for Hannover 96, 2 points behind Kaiserslautern. In the other sunday's game Stuttgart (3rd in the standings) drewed 4:4 against Bremen (1st in the standings). This game was sensational. Here are all the results:

Eintracht Frankfurt - 1860 München 0:3 (0:2)
Hannover 96 - Borussia Dortmund 1:1 (0:1)
VfL Bochum - FC Schalke 04 1:2 (1:0)
Bayer Leverkusen - Hertha BSC 4:1 (2:1)
SC Freiburg - 1. FC Köln 3:0 (1:0)
Hansa Rostock - VfL Wolfsburg 3:1 (3:1)
Bayern München - Bor. M'gladbach 5:2 (2:0)
Hamburger SV - 1. FC Kaiserslautern 3:2 (1:0)
VfB Stuttgart - Werder Bremen 4:4 (2:3)

Standings

01 Werder Bremen 62
02 Bayern München 53
03 VfB Stuttgart 48
04 Bayer Leverkusen 45
05 VfL Bochum 42
06 FC Schalke 04 40
07 Borussia Dortmund 39
08 Hamburger SV 36
09 Hansa Rostock 34
10 SC Freiburg 33
11 VfL Wolfsburg 31
12 1860 München 30
13 1. FC Kaiserslautern 28
14 Bor. M'gladbach 27
15 Eintracht Frankfurt 26
16 Hannover 96 26
17 Hertha BSC 24
18 1. FC Köln 17

After a weak first half, Hannover 96 gained a well deserved point by dominating the second half against Dortmund.

This was the 3rd game for Hannover's coach Ewald Lienen, who had to substitute Kleber for Idrissu, who was banned in the last game against Schalke (2:2). The red's started with only the one forward Thomas Brdaric, who scored two times against Schalke, while Dortmund played with 3 forwards (Gambino, Ewerthon, Koller).

The first chance in that game came by a header from Hannover's Kleber (10th), setted up by the US-striker Clint Mathis, who crossed the ball from the left wing outside the box to Kleber, who failed by missing the goal near the right post.

In the 13th Dortmund went ahead by a long low shot from a 25 meter distance by the international german Thorsten Frings. The ball squeezed past Hannover's defender Darius Zuraw and goalkeeper Marc Ziegler into the lower left corner.

Hannover looked vulnerable and acted nervously. A free-kick from a 35 meter distance, shot by Clint Mathis, was savely caught by goalkeeper Guillaume Warmuz. In the 35th Hannover's forward Thomas Christiansen was substituted for his teammate Kleber, in order to put more pressure against Dortmund's defense. But Dortmund had the next chances by Ewerthon and Dede.

In the second half Hannover looked more agressively, resulting in the first chance by a header from the spanish midfielder Jaime. Clint Mathis had the next good chance by shooting from a narrow angle setting up by a cross from Thomas Christiansen (right wing outside the box). Another free-kick by Mathis from a 25 meter distance caused Warmuz quite some trouble, but he saved with his second trial.

In the 83rd a short free-kick to Krupnicovic (substituted in the 71st for Lala), who sent the ball to Dabrowski on the left wing, passed directly high into the goalmouth resulted in a penalty kick. Dortmund's Madouni cleared that ball with his hand and prevented Thomas Brdaric from scoring. Hannover's striker Thomas Christiansen equalized with that penalty kick to the 1:1 draw.

Hannover 96 is still in the relegation zone (16th in the standings), but the other competetors like Frankfurt, Gladbach and Berlin each failed to earn any points. In the next match against 1860 München Hannover has to win, to climb out the relegation zone.

Clint Mathis was quite good, but not like his performances in his games before. As was Cherundolo.

Stats:

Lineups
Hannover 96: Ziegler - Cherundolo, Mertesacker, Zuraw, Schuler - Dabrowski, Lala (71. Krupnikovic), Mathis, Jaime (71. Stendel), Kleber (35. Christiansen) - Brdaric
Borussia Dortmund: Warmuz - Evanilson, Wörns, Reuter, Jensen - Frings, Kehl, Dede - Gambino (60.Madouni), Koller, Ewerthon (75. Odonkor)
Goals: 0:1 Frings (13.), 1:1 Christiansen (83. penalty kick)
Yellow cards: Christiansen / Wörns, Madouni, Koller, Frings
Referee: Wolfgang Stark (Ergolding)
Spectators: 27.504

Hannover 96 - Borussia Dortmund
(15:5 shots at the goal, 5:2 corner-kicks, 16:9 crosses, 11:21 fouls, 1:12 offsides, 51%:49% contacts with the ball, 50%:50% challenges)

[Report by BP]

HANOVER, Germany - The Mohawk is gone, but that's the least of the changes for Clint Mathis. The 27-year-old from Conyers, Ga., is living in Germany, thriving with his new team and testing himself as a soccer player like never before.

"This has been a great experience. I've done better than expected, better than anyone else expected," said Mathis, savoring a latte at a downtown cafe where his teammates hang out. "No one could have predicted I would score four goals in my first five games. I definitely needed the change and to see myself at a higher level."

Two years have passed since the World Cup, when Mathis was expected to break out as the scoring star of American soccer. Mathis, wearing his trademark Mohawk hairdo at the time, scored once at the 2002 World Cup, and U.S. coach Bruce Arena said he needed to improve his work habits and get in better shape. Mathis followed with his worst season with the MetroStars, scoring nine goals for a team that lost in the first round of the MLS playoffs.

Since joining Hannover 96 in January, things have changed. Playing behind two forwards, he has shown a gift for eye-catching goals. One came in a 2-2 tie against league power Bayer Leverkusen in which he started at midfield and dribbled through all the defenders before beating the goalkeeper.

"Not a lot of players can do that. He's very talented," Hannover 96 sports director Ricardo Moar said. "He's best in the last 30 or 40 meters of the field. That's the players you look for, the ones who are very cool there." Mathis's transition to a new culture has been eased by U.S. teammate Steve Cherundolo, a Hannover defender since 1999. Until Mathis found an apartment recently, they roomed together.

"This guy's definitely helped me a lot," Mathis said. "He knows the places to eat, the people, who to talk to." Cherundolo said: "Clint has adjusted very quickly, very quickly. All he needs is the language." Mathis has been spared the fans' wrath over the team's slide. The club dropped from eighth to 16th in the 18-team league, where the bottom three are relegated to the second division.

He's twice been selected to the Bundesliga's team of the week by Kicker magazine, the country's most widely read soccer publication. He has four goals and two assists in eight games, and has become his team's free-kick and corner-kick specialist. The blame has been placed on four other newcomers, all washouts, who were signed with Mathis.

"Mathis is very good," said Dieter-Ludwig Buckandal, a 64-year-old fan who comes to every practice. "If they were all like Mathis I'd be thinking UEFA Cup." Cherundolo, however, knows what could happen if Mathis has an eight-game scoring drought, which was how his 2003 season ended in New Jersey. German fans have been known to block the team bus until they get a promise for better play.

"They will come right up to you and criticize you," Cherundolo said. "It wears you down." At the World Cup, Mathis started once in five games. He scored in that one, a 1-1 tie against South Korea, and played as a substitute in two others. "Some people say that I didn't have a good World Cup, but I'll take a goal and an assist in three games anytime," Mathis said. "It wasn't me that decided I couldn't play those games."

Mathis manages to block the criticism, although there hasn't been much lately. "I don't worry about what everybody thinks, but I'm only human," he said. "If you hear it again and again and again, you subconsciously put pressure on yourself." Mathis arrived in Germany with huge sideburns, then a full beard. Now he is clean shaven. But he insists more essential things are in place.

"All that makes me successful - if I changed all those things, I could be worse," he said. "I care more about my friends, my family, my happiness, than soccer. Either you can deal with it or you can't." His German teammates welcome his approach.

"He's a real joker. It's really good to have him around," midfielder Christoph Dabrowski said. "He's just a very strong addition to this team."

Published at http://www.miami.com/

US coach Bruce Arena called 4 "Bundesliga" US-players in the national team on 31st March against Poland in Plock. In the team are the two 96 players Steve Cherundolo and Clint Mathis. The other two players from the second "Bundesliga" are the former 96 striker Connor Casey (Karlsruhe) and Gregg Berhalter (Cottbus).

The American is not only strong when he scores goals.

Hannover. Not everything has fallen just right for the spanish kicker Jaime, twice Jaime had the ball taken from right in front of his nose, when it was time to take a free-kick in the Schalke game (Even on Jaime had his 31st birthday).

That’s what happened on Saturday in the 2:2 tie against Schalke. Who was so brash as to take the ball away from Jaime? Clint Mathis. And that was no coincidence, and was not done with bad intent: The American, who was signed in the winter break, is taking it upon himself to be a leader up front.

Hardly a standard situation at Schalke without his cooperation, however the (this time hardly used) ability, with surprising actions dangerous scoring opportunities to create: here is someone playing who is seeking and takes responsibility. He seems to be trying to wash away the blunder in Mönchengladbach, when Mathis sent a short corner over the endline. This mistake resulted in laughs at his side, and he’d have preferred to bury it.

But this time against Schalke, he did a perfect pass, setting up the red's first goal from Thomas Brdaric, when Hannover went ahead 1:0. He did act unspectacular but in no way inconspicious. That thing, what the 27 year old stud does is purposeful. Steven Cherundolo, his teammate at 96 and the US national team, said "The team missed somebody like him" (Both are friends], and the presence of Mathis, seems to be good for Cherundolo. It's obvious, that the defensive player, now is playing better than in his first half-season, since Mathis has got the command in the midfield. "It works", said Cherundolo, and Mathis seems to be validated. "My strength are my speed, and good crosses", did Mathis say when he got signed.

After eight games, he scored four times, and had two assists, a promising interims balance. And in Hannover's situation they need to win, to avoid relegation.

It was no secret when Mathis was signed up, that he can really play soccer. But after his few weeks here, he has already become one of the teamspeakers, even though his german is still incomplete. "The team accepts him", says Asst. Manager Carsten Linke, "he praises, he critisises, and he is not moody, always approchable".

Mathis came to Hannover in January to get acquainted with the "Bundesliga". This one-sided affair is now losing out to a partnership. And this does not depent on the changing style of his: sometimes a clean shave, sometimes a beard or even sideburns from earlier days. Mathis, always good for a surprise, prefers to call attention to himself in different ways.

Although they took the lead twice during the game Hannover has to share points with Schalke 04 after a 2:2 draw.

Hannover started well organized in the defense and very diciplined according their tactics. Schalke had a hard time getting into the game, especially in the first half. They started quite nervously and Hannover took the lead in the 14th after a beautiful pass by Clint Mathis to Thomas Brdaric who sliced the ball into the lower right corner of the goal, leaving no chance for Schalke’s goalkeeper Ünlü to clear.

Hannover now waited for counter attacks and Schalke had problems to play their game. The “Reds”, as Hannover’s team is also called, were only in danger when Schalke had some standard situations and so the half-time lead by Hannover was well-deserved.

The second half began just as the first had ended. Hannover had the first good chance to score. And in the 63rd it was indeed Hannover who scored , but into the wrong net. After the “reds” had already cleared a corner kick, Schalke’s Jörg Böhme was all alone on the the left side of the field. Schalke forward Ebbe Sand missed his pass into the penalty area, but young 19 year old Per Mertesacker scored an own goal trying to clear the ball.

But Hannover came right back. Only eight minutes later, Brdaric scored again after an awsome counter attack bringing Hannover 2:1 up.

The victory was close but unfortunately Ebbe Sand drew the game in the 82nd after a rejected shot dropped right were he stood with no chance for goalkeeper Marc Ziegler.

During injury time, Hannover was unlucky that referee Fandel did not see a clear foul against forward Christiansen, which should otherwise have led to a penalty kick.

To avoid relegation, one point is definately not enough in such a game, but the attitude of the team seems to be right, so that one can be quite confident after this unlucky draw.

Lineups
Schalke 04: Ünlü - Lamotte, Kläsener, van Kerckhoven, Rodriguez (64. Seitz) - Pinto, Altintop, Vermant, Böhme (79. Hanke) - Sand, Glieder (64.Agali)
Hannover 96: Ziegler - Cherundolo, Zuraw, Mertesacker, Schuler - Lala (86. Kleber), Dabrowski, Mathis, Jaime (75. de Guzman), Idrissou - Brdaric (86. Christiansen)

Goals: 0:1 Brdaric (14.), 1:1 OG Mertesacker (63.), 1:2 Brdaric (71.), 2:2 Sand (84.)
Yellow Cards: Rodriguez, Pinto, Sand / Zuraw, Brdaric
Yellow red card: Idrissou (88.)
Referee: Herbert Fandel (Kyllburg)
Spectators: 61.266

[Report by BP]

The US striker Clint Mathis is tomorrow (wednesday, 03/17/2004) for a signing session from 17:30 till 18:00 at the Hannover 96 FanShop, Clausewitzstraße 2 in 30175 Hannover.

I´ve posted a zipped file of the Clint Mathis RealAudio Interview for download. Download here [2,8 MB].

Despite Hannover 96 dominated the whole game (29:3 shots at the goal, 12:3 corner-kicks, 36:3 crosses), Kaiserslautern got that "lucky" goal to the final result 0:1.

Hannover 96 started with their new coach Ewald Lienen on the bench. After the last match against Gladbach (0:1 loss and one point far from the relegation zone) coach Ralf Rangnick was suspended. Ewald Lienen did coach before in Gladbach, Köln and the spanish second league club CD Teneriffa. According to his tactics, Lienen said: "Defense is compared to an work of art." That's why his team is playing with three defensive midfielders now, including Altin Lala, infront of the defense row of four. Lienen's hope Altin Lala (three season games) is back in the starting-lineup since half a year after pubic-bone-injury.

Kaiserslautern started with their restored player's Riedl (back after suspension) and Tchato (knee-injury), who was substituded in the 67th.

Hannover 96 dominated the first half and came out whith the first chance in the 6th minute, when Mo' Idrissou crossed the ball from the left wing, that deflected by a Kaiserslautern's player infront of Clint Mathis (in the center, 13 meters), who shot volley. But that shot was cleared off by Kaiserslautern's goalkeeper Tim Wiese. Nearly the same situation came out 2 minutes later also by Hannover's Mo' Idrissou and Clint Mathis. In the 9th Idrissou took a shot from an acute angle on the left wing.

Kaiserslautern got the first chance in the 24th by Miroslav Klose, who came close from the right wing, but Marc Ziegler saved. Hannover 96 had several chances by Thomas Christiansen in the 30th, and Altin Lala in the34th. The most attacks came out from the left wing.

Hannover 96 started the second half in the same dominant mood which they`d shown in the first 45 minutes without any success. In the 62nd Kaiserslautern capitalized by a counterattack to go up 1:0. The goal emerged from a high long ball into the box, converted by Kaiserslautern's Marian Hristov. That was the second chance from Kaiserslautern in that whole game.

Even the ejection of Kaiserslautern's Knavs didn't bring up the luck (suspended by a red card). The homeside had a lot of chances to score, but the ball didn't want to drop into the net (several shots in the last 10 minutes, 3 balls ricocheted off the crossbar and post). Hannover's best players were Clint Mathis and Altin Lala.

Now Hannover did fall into the relegation zone with 24 points on the 16th in the standings. But the new coach Ewald Lienen is confident about avoiding relegation, because his team performed well. Especially the defense improved.

Goals: 0:1 Hristov (62.)
Lineups
Hannover 96: Ziegler - Cherundolo, Mertesacker (79th Jaime), Zuraw, Schuler - de Guzman (69th Stendel), Lala (69th Brdaric), Dabrowski, Mathis - Christiansen, Idrissou
1. FC Kaiserslautern: Wiese - Riedl, Wenzel, Knavs, Drescher (67th Tchato) - Bjelica, Malz, Lehmann, Hristov (ab 84th Altintop) - Lokvenc (75th Mettomo), Klose
Yellow cards: Dabrowski, Mathis, Jaime, Zuraw / Riedl
Red cards: Knavs (86th)
Referee: Thorsten Kinhöfer (Herne)
Spectators: 21.135