Hannover 96, for whom American Steve Cherundolo is a fixture at right back, looked in dire danger of getting relegated from the German first division after losing 7-0 to BayernMunich and 3-0 to Bayer Leverkusen. But Hannover bounced back big time with a 6-1 win over Borussia Moenchenglach, for which fellow U.S. national team player Michael Bradley played 90minutes in midfield.
In front of a home crowd of 49,000, Hannover scored four first-half goals and was up 5-0 before Gladbach, which a week earlier held league leader Bayern to 1-1 tie,found the net. The win moved Hannover into to 15th place, one spot and two points above the relegation zone with one game remaining. Hannover’s final game is at Bochum, which has two points fewer thanHannover and sits in second-to-last place. Uninspired Gladbach is a safe 10 points above the drop zone.
Southern California product Cherundolo has been with Hannover since 1999 and in the2000-01 season helped it win promotion to the first division, where it has been ever since.