Timo Ochs. Mini-Kahn forgotten in Austria.

FC Red Bull Salzburg's goalkeeper Timo Ochs was once one of the biggest goalkeeping talents in Germany. Since joining Salzburg to play in the tipp3-Bundesliga powered by T-Mobil league in Austria, he has virtually disappeared. The days in which Ochs was considered a legitamite prospect for the German national team are long gone. Young German goalkeepers like Manuel Neuer, Michael Rensing, and René Adler have taken the spot light away from Timo Ochs.

Timo Ochs' career started promising, he played an outstanding season for VfL Osnabrück in 2003-04 where he managed to take over from Sven Scheuer. Timo Ochs was regarded the best goalie of the season even though Osnabrück got relegated to the Regionalliga that year. After the relegation Ochs left the club, to join TSV 1860 Munich. 1860 was very ambitious that year and planned to return to the Bundesliga. The club, however, started badly into the 2004-05 season. Then Michael Hofmann, 1860 number 1 goalie, got hurt and Ochs took over. The club made a run for promotion that season but narrowly missed the target on the last day of the season. Despite the disappointment, Ochs was named the 1860 player of the year by the 1860 fans.

What followed was another disappointing season, in which the club again failed to reach promotion to the Bundesliga. In 2006 Ochs moved on to Salzburg. Austria Salzburg where just bought by Red Bull, and the club brought in Lothar Matthäus and Giovanni Trapattoni as coaches. Red Bull spent enormous amount of money on players and infrastructure. The goal was to establish the club permanently in the Champions League. Ochs was tempted into believing that such a plan could be made succesful in the Mozart City. The club, however, has failed to reach the group stage of the Champions League. What is even worse Salzburg has not even managed to be a regular in the Uefa-Cup. The club has merely become a semi-retirement spot for overaged "stars." So Ochs has been forgotten, playing in the forgotten Austrian Bundesliga. There is hope though, the career of Ochs is similar to one of a so called Robert Enke.

Enke traveled the football globe, playing in Spain, Portugal, and Turkey before becoming a star in Hannover. Perhaps the career of Ochs will take off once again, but the player needs to leave Austria in order to do so. Perhaps a return to the Bundesliga can bring back the Mini-Kahn and restore the good name of Timo Ochs.

Andrei Voronin. Hertha's Championship maker?

Andrey Voronin is the new mister effective in the German Bundesliga. The 30 year old Ukrainian has been the symbol of Hertha's rise to the top of the Bundesliga table. This season he has scored 10 goals in 19 games, which are not spectacular numbers for a striker, but 7 of his 10 goals have come after the winter break. He scored 3 goals in his last match against Energie Cottbus, which to this point has always been the team that Hertha seemed not able to beat. His effectiveness is even more spectacular, against Cottbus he scored on every single shot. The same was true on match day 20 when his two goals were enough to defeat Bayern Munich.

Hertha is now on top of the table four points ahead of the rest of the pack, which includes Bayern, Hoffenheim, Hamburg and Wolfsburg. But unlike any of the other clubs Hertha is up there, because they play the most efficient football. Lucien Favre has been able to transform a Berlin squad that had been known for its unstable play to a team, which has been playing consistently every week. Since the winter break the team has performed wonderfully only loosing to Wolfsburg, and Voronin has been the main reason for that.

Now the question is will Hertha be able to hang on to Voronin. The player is only on loan from FC Liverpool. Voronin, however, has been quoted as saying that he would like to remain in Berlin. Berlin as well is interested in keeping the services of Voronin, but will most likely have to give up Marko Pantelic to do so. Pantelic has been the cornerstone of the Hertha defence over the last few years, but Favre has been very public about his dislike of the Serbian forward, and it seems likely that Pantelic will leave the club. Voronin, will not be a cheap acquisition and can only be sure about Voronin remaining with the club, if Hertha qualifies for the Champions League. So Hertha, and especially Voronin will be well advised to keep up the good form and win the Championship. The next three games will important and show the direction of the club, by defeating Leverkusen, Dortmund, and Stuttgart, Hertha will be a title competitor for sure.