Marco Reus #11 of Borussia Dortmund celebrates with teammates (Photo by Denis Doyle/Getty Images)
Astronomical transfer fees have been a mainstay in today's footballing climate. The likes of Chelsea and Manchester City have paved the way for clubs to expend over the odds for immediate success.
Michael Ballack of Bayer Leverkusen (Photo by Paul Gilham/Getty Images)
German international legend and former Bayern Munich and Chelsea star, Michael Ballack has announced this week that his retirement from the game is no permanent and that he will be hanging up his boots indefinitely.
Ballack announced the ending of his career in a press conference on October 2, 2012 with Goal.
The last thing you'd want to do after getting unexpectedly booted out of Euro 2012 is to stay
within the confines of your hotel room or see the city. So naturally, the
German national team scheduled the earliest flight out of Poland yesterday morning
their wives and girlfriends in tow and arrived at the Frankfurt airport to be greeted by rain and
smiling men carrying umbrellas.
It is now sixteen years since Germany last won a major international tournament. This (perhaps
surprisingly long) period of time hasn't been without its fair share of pain, but to suggest that
this is some sort of drought when when they've reached the World Cup final, the World Cup
semi-final and the European Championship final in those intervening years would be something of a
push.
A German internet site devoted to finding partners for infidelity worth noting when considering
the voting pool took a poll of 1300 female members to find the most desirable man of the German
national team. In an completely shocking turn, Mario Gomez led the vote, which means there's a joke
to go here about his ability to score on the pitch mirroring his ability to score off it as
well.
How many ladies out there would like to examine the ears of the German National Team? Don't
think you'll get away with only examining the Podolskis, Lahms or Gomezes in the
squad we'll throw in Oliver Kahn's ears into the mix as well! (Gotcha!)Â
Anyway, Christian Träsch who is really getting his ear examined by the German
NT's medical staff up there has opened up to Lothar Matthäus' favourite newspaper in the whole
wide world Bild about "terrible fans" appearing at his doorstep after
Wolfsburg's defeat to Hoffenheim last month.
The Chicago Fire have taken what appears to be a major step in improving their back line.
According to reports out of Germany, the Fire have agreed to a one-year deal with Arne
Friedrich, a German national team centerback. Friedrich confirmed the signing on his own
website.
Mesut Ozil of Real Madrid (Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)
In the interest of attempting to continue the improvements to their central midfield, Manchester United has been linked with another major name that could do just that for them. According to TalkSport on October 9, 2012, Real Madrid playmaker Mesut Ozil was tipped as a possible January transfer target for the Red Devils.
Chelsea are keen on landing former Barcelona and Ajax coach Louis Van Gaal as a replacement for
Andre Villas-Boas this is according to reports emerging from London.
The 60 year old Van Gaal has been out of contract since last April when he was sacked by Bayern
Munich after a spell of unimpressive results.
The German national team spent Tuesday afternoon watching 'The Amazing
Spiderman' in 3D at a special screening in the team hotel in Gdansk. Tim Wiese,
Sami Khedira, Mesut Ozil, Andre Schuerrle, Marco Reus, Ilkay Guendogan
and team manager Oliver Bierhoff were the only enthusiastic ones in the room with
their geeky 3-D glasses on and sadly, the Bayern Munich gang of
Schweinsteiger, Lahm and Gomez were nowhere to be seen at the event.
Watching Euro 2012 on a dodgy foreign satellite feed? We've got you covered. Tom Guest has taken
it upon himself to make sure that if you're watching the big semi-final between die Mannschaft and
Italy on German television, you too will be able to enjoy the wonders of football commentary.
Cycling has grown into an inevitable daily routine for Germany's Benedikt Hoewedes, Mats Hummels
and Lars Bender (as well as Lukas Podolski and the German National Team officials!) Why take a bus
to the training ground when you can cycle and enjoy the lovely sights and sounds of Gdansk? Plus,
they've only got a week left to really enjoy the city, regardless of the semi-final outcome!
Germany cruised to a comfortable 4-1 win over Greece to book their sport in the Euro 2012
semifinals. The result was not a surprise as Germany were heavy favorites and very few gave Greece
a realistic chance to advance.
It was a decent start both sides as Germany dominated possession and chances while Greece were
able to keep it scoreless.
UEFA Euro 2012 favorites Germany begin the knockout stage with a quarterfinal match against
Group A runner-up Greece. The match will take place at the Arena Gdansk in Gdansk, Poland with
kickoff scheduled for 20:45 local time.
Germany manager Joachim Low
"Playing Greece will be akin to colliding with a rock.
It rained at the PDE arena in Gdansk yesterday, which made it rather tricky for both the
Germans and the Greeks to conduct their obligatory open training
sessions. Luckily, for Thomas Mueller, the weather didn't get in the way of his
special risotto-making session with German national team chef, Holger
Stromberg.
Cristiano Ronaldo had endured a rough European Championship tournament heading into Sunday's
final group match against the Netherlands, but he picked the perfect time to wake up and start
finding the net.
Ronaldo notched a pair of goals during a masterful performance to help lead Portugal to a 2-1
victory against the Netherlands that secured Portugal's place in the Euro quarterfinals.
Germany Euro 2012 Shirts - originally posted on Soccerlens.com
Germany qualified from Group B in relatively comfortable fashion, only hitting the higher gear
when needed to progress in Euro 2012. They're now in the quarter finals where they will face Greece
(second place in Group A). So far, Germany have been joined in the quarterfinals by Portugal, who
will face the Czech Republic on 21st June.
Germany remained perfect in Euro 2012 with 2-1 victory over Denmark. The win makes Germany group
B winners while Denmark finish in third place.
Germany took a 1-0 lead on a 19th minute Lukas Podolski goal but Denmark quickly replied with a
24th minute Michael Krohn-Dehli goal. Podolski was a great finish from close range while
Krohn-Dehli's was a header following a corner kick.
Germany remained on top of Group A with a strong victory over rivals the Netherlands. It was a
disappointing loss for the Netherlands but they could still advance to the quarterfinals.
Both sides had a good start with chances early but the match eventually turned in the German's
favor.
The toughest group in the European Championships just got even more interesting after the team
considered the weakest in Group B pulled off a stunning upset that has shaken up the
tournament.
Denmark shocked the Netherlands on Sunday, playing excellent defense and benefiting from sloppy
attacking play from the Dutch to post a 1-0 victory.
The Euro 2012 favorites, Germany, opened the group stage with a 1-0 victory over Portugal. It
was a close match with Germany have the better chances early but Portugal making a late surge.
After about 70 minutes of scoreless action, many thought striker Mario Gomez would be subbed up
for Miroslav Klose but that didn't happen.
UEFA Euro 2012 favorites Germany begin the tournament with a group stage match against Portugal.
The match will take place at the Areana Lviv in Lviv, Ukraine with kickoff scheduled for 20:45
local time.
Germany manager Joachim Low
"It's time to start."
"We're really looking forward to it all kicking off.
The German national team cycled to their Euro 2012 training ground of Gdansk,
Poland for the very first time yesterday to familiarise themselves with the area spanning
their hotel and Die Mannschaft's headquarters. Among the squad's
resident "Lance Armstrongs" were Mats Hummels, Lukas Podolski, Mario
Goetze, Marco Reus and even team manager Oliver
Bierhoff!
At 1.35pm on Monday the German national team flew from Frankfurt to Gdansk  to settle into
their accommodation for Euro 2012. While other players may have prepared for the journey and
subsequent tournament with some rest, Jerome Boateng took a different approach.
At 3am on Monday morning, the Bayern Munich star was spotted 340 miles away from Frankfurt in a
€79-a-night Berlin airport hotel, leaving a room with Playboy cover model Gina-Lisa Lohfink.
One of the best parts of coming together and bonding at an international competition is the
memories to take with you forever. And the best way to leave a legacy? By taking a team portrait,
of course! You can bet that Thomas Mueller wants to dust off the framed photo from
2012 on his mantelpiece in the year 2050 and mutter: "Das beste Team aller Zeiten" ("The
Best Team Of All Time) to his eleven grandchildren.
Presently, you could argue that the German National Team has the most
overworked players (apart from the Dutch, Spanish and England) at the
Euro 2012 tournament. The likes of Thomas Mueller, Bastian Schweinsteiger and
MarioGomez were barely given a week to recover themselves before
turning up at their training camp in Tourrettes, France, while Arjen Robben played
a friendly for The Netherlands a mere three days after Bayern's Champions League final
loss!
Eren Derdiyok scored a hat trick to lead Switzerland to an impressive 5-3 win over Germany in a
friendly on Saturday, May 26, 2012.
Germany were the favorites heading into the match but are really focused on the upcoming Euro
2012. Switzerland failed to qualify for the tournament and instead preparing for 2014 World Cup
Qualifying which starts in the fall.
Germany starts their last preparations for the Euro 2012 tournament with a friendly against
Switzerland. The match will take place at the St Jakob-Park in Basel, Switzerland with kickoff is
scheduled for 17:00 BST time.
If you support Portugal, Denmark or Netherlands, be very afraid of Germany — especially after
watching the above video. The Mercedes TV commercial featuring the German national team for Euro
2012 is intense, incredible and — dare I say it — ...
With just about two weeks to go until our next MLS regular season game, we're getting a little
light on stuff to write about here on Stumptown Footy. I mean, practices are interesting and all,
but without some sort of action, game, transfer etc. to back it up with they can get a little dull.
As such, we'll be incorporating a bit more off topics discussions and in depth analysis over the
next couple weeks starting today!
Earlier this week, the German Football Association held a farewell match and party for
Birgit Prinz, one of the country's finest female players (and for those
unfamiliar, a Mia Hamm of her generation). Of course, Birgit's accolades in the
game are simply outstanding she has won the FIFA World Player of the Year thrice,
German Player of the Year eight times, the FIFA World Cup twice
and the Euro Championships five times.
After months of speculation concerning the future of their biggest player, German club FC
Cologne, has finally revealed that their 26 year old striker Lukas Podolski will be leaving the
club at the summer.
Podolski who has been linked with a move to the Emirates all season long, will join Arsenal in
the summer for an undisclosed fee.
Hi everyone. Regular readers of the blog should remember 'Bobby' and the marvellous piece he
wrote about the North London Derby a few weeks back. Well, Bobby gets to go to a fair amount of
Bundesliga matches, and he recently attended the Koln vs. Hoffenheim match in which Lukas Podolski
took part.
From the Chicago Fire press release announcing the signing of Arne Friedrich:
The Chicago Fire Soccer Club announced today the team has signed German defender Arne Friedrich.
The 32-year-old will be added to the Fire roster upon the receipt of his P1 Visa and International
Transfer Certificate (ITC).
Breaking News: Chicago Fire sign German defender Arne Friedrich
Confirmed by Arne's own official site, the Fire have signed the German defender to a 1 year
deal. There is a bit of risk as Arne has battled some injuries in the past year. I am sure Frank
and co. have done their homework on Arne and that he is ready to go though.
Episode 9 of the du Nord Futbol Show podcast has been set free into the wild from its rusty
cage!
dN
In this episode we cover the USA players in Europe, all the top MLS news including the return of
Rock n Roller Juan Toja, the fantasy of the German national team players being born in America,
CONCACAF World Cup qualifying, and tons upon tons of viewer mail.
When your stream is lagging behind your commentary, Arabic commentators are an immeasurable
help. In normal circumstances, voice modulation and discernible enthusiasm can ruin an impending
goal for you; but these brethren from the Middle East keep up such an impossibly high and jovial
tempo throughout the game that it basically gives off the image of Arsenal punting it into the net
every second.
Holy Fuck! - was probably what El Pipita was saying to himself when Cristiano's shot was saved.
Pepe's shock and the pain in Xabi Alonso's grimace is there for all to see. . There are a few
lessons in life that I as a father will have the pleasure of teaching my son. There will be the
basics: "Be honest, Be humble, etc.
Frank Klopas stated recently that the Fire were looking at Friedrich as a late preseason
addition to the roster. I talked about this on Twitter yesterday, and tried to do a little digging
for a scouting report on Friedrich as well. Despite reaching out to a Hertha BSC supporters group,
all I really was able to find out is that he is a center back but can also play right back, which
would give us some much needed depth at RB.
