PWT-blog Goes To Germany

I recently got back from a fantastic trip to Germany to partake in two of my loves, soccer and beer.  My traveling companion John and I planned a great weekend with 3 professional matches mixed in with many visits to the local Biergartens.  Unfortunately, on our second day in country before we had a chance to see any matches, John had a medical incident that forced him into the hospital for the entire weekend.  He was good humored throughout and forced our host Jan and I to attend the matches that we had spent so long planning to see.

FC Nuernberg Stadium

The weekend started with a drive past the FC Nuernberg stadium on the way to the Bundesliga 2 match-up between Bavarian sides Greuther Furth and Ingolstadt.  The Furth stadium has old timey feel and is nestled in a quiet neighborhood.

View from the Greuther Furth Terraces

Jan and I were able to score some tickets in the Furth terraces with the fanatics where there was some impressive chanting accompanied by the best drummer this side of the Who's Keith Moon.

Beer and Brats at the Furth Stadium

Furth clears the danger

At half time, we moved into the seated section to enjoy the rest of the match from a different and more low-key perspective.  Furth would dominate the match and come away with the easy 3:0 win. 

Marcel, Jan, and I outside the Paulener Bier Garten and Alianz Arena

Our next destination saw us move from the neighborhood stadium in Furth to the corporate behemoth that is Bayern Munich's Alianz Arena for the Bayern v Hamburg match.  For the match, Jan and I were joined by German ex-pat living in Birmingham, AL, Marcel. 

View from the Alianz Arena's press area

Bayern's Beer and Pretzel

We were fortunate to get tickets through my good friend and Bayern season ticket holder, Juergen. Juergen is a former soccer journalist and current publicist for many of the Bundesliga's biggest players.  He let me use his journalist ticket to get a view from the press area which is very close to the action.  We also joined Juergen and freinds in his normal seats in the upper tier to watch the game.

I'm a happy Bayern fan after watching 5:0 win

A view of the Alianz Arena from the autobahn.  The stadium lights up Bayern Munich red after the match.

As a Bayern fan, I'm happy to report that Bayern had no troubles with Hamburg.  Marcel, who is an HSV Hamburg fan, was not so happy to see his team go down 5:0 to Bayern. 

The Old Mainz Stadium

The Mainz Boys dominate in the old stadium

The next day, Jan and I visited a smaller Bundesliga club in Mainz.  Mainz has recently built a brand new stadium, but first, Jan and I went to the old stadium to watch the U-19 Mainz 05 team play Eintract Frankfurt in a youth Bundesliga match.  Can you imagine playing a youth match in a 20,000 seat stadium?

The New Mainz Stadium

Feuerwurst (spicy sausage) and Beer in the Mainz stadium

Jan formerly coached two talented Mainz youth players in Marcel and Niko Seegert who were kind enough to provide us with tickets to the senior team's match against Shalke 04 later that day.

A Fussball Day in Mainz with the Seegerts

The Mainz v Shalke match was a great game for the neutral.  Mainz came out of the gates on fire and were up 2:0 after the first quarter hour, but missed chances would doom them.

Inside the new stadium before the game

USA international Jermaine Jones warms up for Shalke

After the half, Shalke made some changes and scored 4 unanswered to travel home with the full three points and the 4:2 win.

SV Silber Workers Schorndorf e.V.

After watching all that soccer, we had to try some of the moves out ourselves.  We picked up John from the hospital and drove down to hang out with Juergen and his buddies from the Silber Workers soccer team. 

At the Bierakademie after the match

We built up quite a thirst kicking around and had to refresh ourselves at the Beer Academy.

Stuttgart practice

After showing off our skills, we went back to learn from the professionals at the VfB Stuttgart practice.

Hoffenheim's Stadium from the Autobahn

With the trip nearly over, we zoomed past the Hoffenheim stadium on the autobahn.

Links To Check Out While At Home Sick

One of the unadvertised perks of parenthood is the passing of every germ your little one can acquire to the parents and this week my daughter passed on a nice stomach bug to me. So, in between trips to the bathroom, I was able to hit the internet for some interesting nuggets.

Soccer on the Radio

Enjoying the company of friends while listening to the game on the radio.

There was no soccer on the radio when I grew up. But I did get to listen to some fantastic sports broadcasters ply their trade over the radio waves. Listening to Jon Miller broadcast Oriole games was a joy. My family would also watch the Redskins with the TV sound muted and crank up the radio broadcast to catch the excitement of the local broadcast crew. So, I totally get it when the guys at EPLTalk advise us to listen to soccer on the radio for a change. The radio broadcast can open up the game in your imagination and bring the excitement of the stadium to you in a way TV just can't do, no matter how good the resolution. I'm gonna give it a try.

Bundesliga is Back
I was so excited to see that the best supported league in Europe was back in action this past weekend after its traditional winter break. And I was excited to read the quote machine Raphael Honigstein's latest Bundesliga wrap-up column. This week he writes about the surprising season Eintract Frankfurt is enjoying. And Raphael doesn't disappoint by dropping this gem of line:

"After 18 matches played, Frankfurt are in seventh, only one point behind Werder Bremen. The position is so incredulous, it really belongs in the Kama Sutra."

Hehehe!


Juju in African Football

Juju man blesses a ball.

Andrew Guest of the blog Pitch Invasion wrote an incredibly interesting piece on witchcraft in African soccer. He makes some great points that juju is really no different from western religious blessings, for instance, teams who pray together before a match or the players who cross themselves while entering the field. It's just that many western people are ignorant of the African culture and therefore sensationalize the actions that they don't understand.


Beer/Soccer Q and A

As you know by now, I enjoy a good brew and the beautiful game. Here's a Q and A from a like minded fellow from the soccer blog Avoiding the Drop.

More Sadness From Haiti

I picked up this from my Twitter feed. Terribly sad.

RobHarrisUK at least 30 members of #Haiti soccer federation killed in #earthquake - including players, coaches and refs @AP

Here's a link to Haiti United, where as part of the soccer community you can continue to help the country so desperately in need.

Tuesday Tweets And More

NPSL Tweets

Ryan Knapp will be live tweeting the NPSL league meetings at the National Soccer Coaches Association of America convention this week in Philadelphia. Check it out on the NPSLInsider twitter feed.


Short-Shorts, Uh-oh!

The new NASL and USL have settled their differences for the time being. Hooray! Now, Brian Wellman, the owner of the NASL club Carolina Railhawks, has this to say according to Inside Minnesota Soccer:

Brian Wellman jokingly says NASL unanimously approved shorts from 1977 NASL. Trunks can't go 1" past groin. LOL Euwwwww!

Bundesliga BreakfastCan't go a half hour without sporting your team's colors or badge? Have I got the thing for you. A Budesliga Bread Toaster. The toaster brands your favorite Bundesliga team's logo on your toast. These are some of the silliest bits of team merchandise that I've ever seen.

Things for Thursday

Picking the Right Coach

With RCU's recent coaching change, this article from former Chicago Fire General Manager Peter Wilt for Pitch Invasion was a timely read. It's a very interesting look into the types of things organizations consider when sorting through candidates to run their team.

Oh no Jens...

Insert adult diaper joke here!

First, he pees on the field, during a game. Now, he stomps on an opposing player, costing his team precious points in the Bundesliga. What is going on with VfB Stuttgart's enigmatic goalkeeper Jens Lehmann? My favorite soccer writer, Raphael Honigstein, breaks it down and drops another great quote on us.

The Stuttgart keeper had already endured a busy week that included public criticism of the board – and peeing on an advertising board in the Champions League win over Unirea. "He handled it quite expertly," was the sporting director Horst Heldt's verdict. Bild, however, wondered why the referee hadn't shown the keeper a yellow card. (No pun intended, we presume).

Here's hoping the former Arsenal netminder can keep his head together for a few more weeks. He is just too entertaining a figure for him to retire now.

More On Diving

Here's another quality article from the Guardian. This one is on the hypocrisy of the English player who claims to abhor flopping, only to look like they are on iceskates once they enter the penalty area. BTW, the same can be said about American players. I've heard that players from the US are too "honest" to dive, but those people have never watched Chris Rolfe or Taylor Twellman hit the deck. It happens in MLS, too.

Funny Diving Video

Two for Tuesday

USL Sold, Owners Upset, Team Coming to Birmingham?

NuRock Soccer Holdings, owners of the PDL's FC Atlanta Blackhawks, has purchased the United Soccer Leagues from Nike beating out bids from MLS and other interested parties including a group of USL team owners. Now, it appears a group of those owners known as the Team Owners Association (TOA) are upset with the sale to NuRock and "has accelerated its pursuit of all league options for the 2010 season and beyond." What does that mean? Could there be yet another breakaway league in American soccer's future? I'll keep an eye out, but it's a pretty confusing situation, right now.
One interesting detail released during the announcement of the sale: NuRock also owns the rights to open a USL-1 franchise in Birmingham, AL.


Another Great Quote

Raphael Honigstein of the Guardian has quickly become my favorite read of the week with quotes like this about Bayern Munich who has added several big-time attacking signings while ignoring their defensive deficiencies.

"Bayern's top-heaviness is fast approaching Marge Simpson proportions."

TV Tidbits

ESPN To Air EPL, Bundesliga Matches

ESPN is certainly looking to make up for losing the UEFA Champion's League broadcast rights.


ESPN is set to announce that they will broadcast selected English Premier League matches in the USA. Starting with next Saturday's match-up between Chelsea and Jozy Altidore's new team, Hull City. ESPN acquired the rights from the troubled Setanta network and will show the Saturday 8:45AM and the Monday 2PM matches on ESPN2.


Also, the New York Times is reporting that ESPN has reached a deal with GolTV to broadcast the German Bundesliga. GolTV currently owns the USA broadcast rights, but is set to announce a deal in which ESPN would broadcast selected matches similar to the one they recently reached regarding Spain's La Liga.


ESPN To Air USA v Mexico WCQ Special


Although, they are not showing the match, ESPN is planning on providing extensive coverage of the USA v Mexico World Cup Qualifier on Wednesday. Bob Ley and Alexi Lalas will host a live pregame show from the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City on Wednesday at 2:30PM on ESPN.

DirecTV Moves Mun2 In Preparation For USA v Mexico WCQ



In more WCQ TV news, satellite TV service provider, DirecTV has moved Mun2 from channel 410 to channel 203 to help it's customers find the English language broadcast of the much anticpated USA v Mexico World Cup Qualifier. Phil Shoen and Marcello Balboa are set to broadcast the match in English which will be shown on the little known, normally Spanish language network. The network will be made available for free to all satellite and cable TV providers for the day of the match.