We're sure you've heard the terrible news by now: Robert Enke, the German National Team goalkeeper and Hannover captain has committed suicide and died.

His wife Teresa spoke at a press conference today, saying that Robert had been suffering from depression for some time and hid it from the public for fear of how it would affect his family and career.

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We're sure you've heard the terrible news by now: Robert Enke, the German National Team goalkeeper and Hannover captain has committed suicide and died.

His wife Teresa spoke at a press conference today, saying that Robert had been suffering from depression for some time and hid it from the public for fear of how it would affect his family and career.

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Every German football-fan mourn national team keeper Robert Enke, who committed suicide yesterday evening on a railroad near Hannover.

Hours after his suicide, fans put candles and team-scarfs as a sign of mourning at the place where Enke spend his last minutes of his life.

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I realize that the last official football match to take place at Giants Stadium was almost two weeks ago between the Red Bulls and Toronto FC, but I still figured I'd throw my two cents in on what was once a football mecca in this country. The first thing that comes to mind when thinking about the Meadowlands is very mixed feelings.

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No es nada nuevo para nosotros escuchar que perdimos en tanda de penales. Tampoco es relevante que en las competiciones más importantes se haya perdido bajo esa instancia.

La incapacidad mental de los jugadores mexicanos para guardar la calma en un momento tan crucial nos ha costado mucho.

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Earlier in the week we mentioned Johan Cruijff's return to the sidelines for the Catalonia national team. In the process, a certain sentence spilled across the page which could possibly ignite a spirited debate. And by spirited debate I mean chairs flying, emergency contacts being contacted and babies inadvertently being made. Click to continue reading...

• Clean it like the Kaiser. (The Local)
• Bayer may be only second in the Bundesliga but are top of the York Monday Six-a-side Football Leisure League. (The Press)
• Horst Hrubesch's crossbar challenge pwns Ronaldinho's crossbar challenge. (FANartisch)
• We've got our first title candidate (or second if you consider Bayern automatic seeds).

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The 2009/10 Champions League group stage begins today, and I for one am less-than-slightly excited...
LINK LINK
The Chaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaampionzzzzzzzzzzzz
If you get the football competitions you deserve, then the Champions League is very much a tournament for these cynical, logoed times: its pompous theme tune (an adaptation of Handel's overblown 'Zadok the Priest', fact fans) and brazen corporateness (the logos of the many official sponsors are inescapable) leave a sour taste in the mouth. Click to continue reading...

From Vieri to Beckham here is a Transfer Wrap Up
Vieri is retiring,
Beckham can return to Milan,
Juventus want Rossi,
Kaka comments on Milan,
Bayern regret selling Lucio,
Roma looking at Van Nilsterooy,
To read more click on read more at the bottom.
Vieri retires to play poker
Former italian striker Christian Vieri has retired from football, to become a Professional World Series poker player. Click to continue reading...

Este próximo 28 de agosto durante el encuentro entre el Barcelona y el Shakhtar, Messi estrenará nuevos tachones en honor a Argentina.

El diseño mantendrá las mismas características tecnológicas con un nuevo diseño creado en conjunto con el futbolista y la marca de las tres franjas.

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I would have thought that Franck Ribery and Franz Beckenbauer now finally agree on something. The French sensation should have been sold. Der Kaiser has watched new manager Louis van Gaal take a measly 2 points from his first 3 matches, and, following this weekend, the kings of German football are sat in a rather peasant-like 14th in the Bundesliga.

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Kein Sieg aus den ersten drei Bundesligaspielen, dazu die demütigende Niederlage gegen den Karnevalsverein Mainz 05. Der FC Bayern steckt schon kurz nach dem Start in einer schweren Krise. Es handelt sich jedoch keineswegs nur um eine Ergebniskrise. Viel schockierender ist, was Trainer Louis van Gaal derzeit auf den Rasen schickt.

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Alex Yannis was the New York Cosmos beat writer for the New York Times during a great time in American soccer, chronicling the exploits of Pele, Franz Beckenbauer and Giorgio Chinaglia in the 1970's.
Despite being a child of the 70's and growing up a devout Cosmos fan, I was also a neighbor of Yannis. Click to continue reading...

One of the lessons learned in this "Summer of Soccer" is that there is a sizable group of Americans who enjoy high level soccer and are willing to pay top dollar for the opportunity to see clubs like Real Madrid, Chelsea, Inter Milan, and Barcelona play live, even if the matches are only friendlies or exhibitions.

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It's time to preview the eight most important teams of the upcoming Bundesliga season.

Bayern
Pre-Season: Bayern's pre-season started like all pre-seasons during odd numbered years by putting between 50 to 100 million Euros into circulation, to make up for not signing anyone during the even numbered years.

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It will be hard for the Bundesliga to live up to expectations following last season's dramatic, and truly eventful, feast. But already the biggest sides in Germany are preparing to go at it again. Here, we take a look at ten of the best new imports set to light up Deutschland this season:

1.

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The Daily Mail reports that Roman Abramovich has tired of ceding the title of most hated owner (customary reference to Mike Ashley inserted here) to Florentino Perez and is willing to splash more than £100m on getting Andrea Pirlo, Franck Ribery, and Sergio Aguero to Stamford Bridge.

I think Pirlo could be induced to make the move to Stamford Bridge with a decent enough transfer fee of about £15-20m and Atletico could be tempted by a £45m offer for Sergio Aguero.

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Yahoo sports is reporting that three weeks ago that Real Madrid made a formal bid of €80m for Bayern Munich's want-away star Franck Ribery.

Madrid President Florentino Perez has made no secret of his desire to add Ribery to his stable of stars and I expect Madrid to come back with a higher bid.

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The transfer saga involving Franck Ribery looks set to continue. Even though the Frenchman is currently injured, speculations regarding his future are mounting. After ‘careful consideration', Bayern Munich president Franz Beckenbauer has reached a conclusion that Ribery was worth €94 million and he will be allowed to leave if any club match this offer.

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The once untransferable Franck Ribery is now for sale. It is just going to cost two arms and two legs to get him.

Bayern Munich President Franz Beckenbauer has touched on the Ribery transfer topic quite a bit this summer, and his latest statement claims that Ribery is available to any club willing to spend €94 million ($133.

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Hoy, en una nueva entrega de la historia de los banquillos nos vamos a encargar de poner en conocimiento y en la mayoría de los casos de refrescar en la memoria de nuestros expertos seguidores del blog a uno de los mejores entrenadores del fútbol alemán: Udo Lattek.
Este entrenador tuvo como primera experiencia un gran reto, cogió las riendas del Bayern de Munich en 1970 previa recomendación de la estrella del equipo, Franz Beckenbauer, a su presidente. Click to continue reading...

Notícia no Mais Futebol
Beckenbauer critica Real: «Há sempre um louco a esbanjar»Presidente do Bayern Munique apela ao respeito pelos tempos difíceis
O presidente do Bayern Munique, Franz Beckenbauer, criticou o comportamento do homólogo do Real Madrid, Florentino Perez, no que respeita às contratações da pré-temporada e que ficaria com «um peso na consciência» se vendesse Ribéry por 80 milhões de euros. Click to continue reading...

Franz Beckenbauer patiently waits for Sepp Blatter to finish ... which should've been three hours ago / Via gettyimages

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When Franz Beckenbauer announced following the World Cup victory in 1990 that a united Germany would be unstoppable for years to come, he was as mistaken as Pele in his prediction. Aside from brief moments of hope in Euro '92 and Euro '96 the expected push coming from the integration Click to continue reading...

The latest rumour and gossip from the FA Premier League - Ribery not for sale, Robben not interested in Spurs move. Click to continue reading...

Golden Teamgeist at Berlin
Originally uploaded by CLF Estamos a poco mas de 364 días del Mundial Sudáfrica 2010, por eso me parece bien recordar al mundial pasado Alemania 2006, en esta foto se encuentra el monumento La Puerta de Brandenburgo en Berlin, con el Kaiser Franz Beckenbauer revelando el balón dorado de la final. Click to continue reading...

How important is the 2010 World Cup in South Africa not only for the host nation but for the entire continent of Africa?
In a word: Important.
While much of the importance is derived from financial concerns, there's also the question of image.
Many international observers have a skewed view of Africa that comes from the news media and reports of war and famine. Click to continue reading...

The transfer saga involving Franck Ribery is starting to resemble the one when Arsenal were trying to buy Andrei Arshavin. The Frenchman looks to be keen on leaving the club but Bayern wouldn't like to see him leave. That is no big surprise since Bayern are nothing more than an average team without Ribery.

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Following Chelsea's FA Cup win over Everton, the New York Times asked if outgoing Chelsea boss Guus Hiddink is the best manager in the world. While his name, along with those of Jose Mourinho, Alex Fegruson and Carlo Ancelotti often dominate the headlines, Europe's most underrated manager plies his trade in Germany. Click to continue reading...

Claude Makelele's grit in Chelsea's midfield and ability to play a quick pass made him the fitting example of the 'Claude Makelele' role, whatever that means. It's even been said that he's managed to define the holding midfield position as much as Franz Beckenbauer the sweeper role. And he's now cashing in on the footballer bio.

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386 days until the start of the 2010 World Cup ...
More importantly, 25 days until South Africa's dry run - the 2009 Confederations Cup.
So how important is the Confederations Cup?
Is it just a dry run for the host country?
Or is it a prestigious football championship, to be fought over like a continental title? Click to continue reading...

Jurgen Klinsmann - a Bayern Munich legend as a player...but not so much as a manager it would seem.

Klinsmann has been sacked as Bayern Coach after only eight months in charge. He leaves them sitting third in the league, and in their words, "in danger of missing out on a Champions League qualifying place.

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As we approach the climax to the season with sides across Europe beginning to ruffle know where they are going to end up it always comes as a shock to see a manager depart with such little time remaining. Especially when that manager is former Germany international Jurgen Klinsmann and his tenure at his current club has only been eight months.

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As we approach the climax to the season with sides across Europe beginning to know where they are going to end up it always comes as a shock to see a manager depart with such little time remaining. Especially when that manager is former German international Jurgen Klinsmann and his tenure at his current club has only been eight months. Click to continue reading...

In 2004 Pele named the FIFA 125 greatest living footballers as part of the celebration of FIFA's 100th Anniversary. If you were to believe everything you read in the European press about football in this corner of the globe you'd believe we'd never seen good football or world class footballers before David Beckham touched down in Carson.

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