1. BVB MKE: The Man The Masses Have Overlooked -- A Bayern Killer

Much has been talked about Borussia Dortmund and how they will fare against a Bayern Munich team that has been described as a "steamroller" this season. All of these new experts on Bundesliga play have made some interesting remarks regarding the upcoming fixture. As most of these pundits usually focus on the Premiership and dabble in some Barca and Real, their commentary is kind of general and repeated and regurgitated by someone elsewhere.

What is interesting (but not very surprising) is that none of these new experts on the Bundesliga have mentioned a certain advantage, and a major one, that Borussia Dortmund has over Scheiss FC Bayern -- a certain warrior who battles in midfield that the world has previously written off as an also ran, good but not good enough; a certain champion that led BVB to glory in 2010-2011; a certain Schaltzentrale that controls the game with intricate passes and exceptional vision -- a Bayern Killer.

This Bayern Killer has been a nightmare for the Bavarians in the past few seasons and will likely play a role in their destruction in the Champions League Final of 2013 at Wembley. This article tells the tale of Nuri Sahin: The Bayern Killer.

Bayern Killer

After what must surely be regarded as one of the most dominant midfield performances over an entire season in the 2010-2011, Nuri Sahin was named Bundesliga Player of the Year. In 38 matches for die Schwarzgelben, Sahin amassed 8 goals and 13 assists. While not necessarily a big bodied holding midfielder, his bite in the defensive positions often lead to quick counter attacks with pinpoint passing. In a surprise move, it was a tearful goodbye to BVB, his boyhood club and off to Real Madrid, the club he dreamed of as a boy (like many others).

Things did not start smoothly as he joined his teammates well into the pre-season. This initial period was also hampered by injury. The young Turk had little influence and was usually overlooked. Without having been given much of a chance, he was soon loaned out to Liverpool. The You'll Never Walk Alone anthem was already known to him from the Sudtribune and his Dortmund days, but he never quite fit there either. Many criticized his play, despite the fact he was being played out of position. His favored position, and his most deadly, is from a deeper position in midfield. Brendan Rodgers continued to play him out of position in a more attacking role. Unfamiliar with this role, Sahin needed some time to settle in, but was heavily criticized and even labeled as a flop. Thus came the moment so many Dortmund fans had crossed their fingers and hoped for since the day he left: the prodigal son returns home...

Echte Liebe: True Love...Sahin returns...

Upon his return, it was stated by Klopp and the player that his progression back into the system would be gradual. Used sparingly, he appeared only as a substitute at first. In only his second start, he scored two goals and chalked up an assist in a 5-1 drubbing of Freiburg. Since then, his impact has been significant. Four games later and Dortmund made the short journey to Dusseldorf in a tough fixture. Fortuna needed points to try to avoid relegation and BVB was trying to cement second place. When the big occasion calls, per usual up steps Nuri Sahin: a goal and an assist in a 1:2 victory. Sahin's final contribution of the season would be an assist two matches later in the thrilling 3:3 match with Wolfsburg (you got lucky Perishit--twice).

A player who rises to the big occasion and seems to show up in important games and thrive in pressure situations, Sahin could be the player to make a difference in what surely will be a physical and hotly-contested grudge match. Willing to get stuck in and fearless, with vision and creativity that not even Shitze has quite duplicated, Sahin may be the man to step up. With a certain real or unreal injury appearing to bother a certain player that all of us despise, could Nuri Sahin be the one that sinks Bayern...again?

PROJECTED LINE-UP

GK         WEIDENFELLER
LB          SCHMELZER
CB          HUMMELS
CB          SUBOTIC
RB    PISZCZEK
CDM    BENDER (or possibly KEHL, I'll leave that to KLOPP)
CDM    SAHIN
LAM    REUS
CAM    GUNDOGAN
RAM    KUBA
ST     LEWANGOLSKI

Subs: Langerak, Kirch, Santana, Kehl (70'), Bittencourt, Grosskreutz (70'), Schieber

PREDICTION

A repeat of the Champions League final we won in Munich against Juve, 3-1 for Dortmund.

Goalscorers: Hummels, Moller, Sahin, Lewandowski. Okay, really though, I think it will be 3-1, goalscorers may be as suggested, but don't rule out Lewandowski owning Bayern for a hat-trick either...

We have been crushing Bayern recently under Klopp...the only loss was in the last 5 matches was in the DFB-Pokal, interestingly enough Sahin did not appear in that match. In matches where Sahin has appeared against Bayern, Dortmund shows an interesting tendency to score the first goal. In a game that many have predicted to be a low-scoring, scrappy battle, an early goal could be huge for Dortmund.

We all know how good you are Nuri, now it is time to show the world on the biggest stage that you don't need to be at Real to be the best in the world...

Here are some important things to consider concerning Sahin as a world class player and specifically his effectiveness against Bayern:

GEGEN BAYERN
Appearances: 10 (expect one more in the final)
Goals: 2 (expect one more in the final)
Assists: 4 (expect on more in the final)
Yellow Cards:1 (expect one more in the final...he'll make it worth it ;) please get Robben :))