Christian is from Hershey, Pennsylvania. Heś a midfielder in Dortmund, as well as an active player on the US Menś National Team.
The Bundesliga Season is just getting underway, and our German Program has been selected as one school among 60 across the nation to compete in a monthly Bundesliga challenge. I expect that we will be coming to learn more about other strong players in the Bundesliga throughout the school year.
Meanwhile, let us focus on this US Soccer tweet about Pulisic and his goal Aug. 23, 2016 in a Friendly v. Croatia
Showing posts with label Fussball. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fussball. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 24, 2016
Wednesday, June 3, 2015
Sunday, April 19, 2015
Ben Bloom Sport...Blog in Dortmund oh-oh!
Some bright spark has decided to see what happens if I go to Dortmund (via Düsseldorf). I don't speak German.
Hi kids, you know when your teacher tells you to learn German. Well, do it.
"You'll Never Walk Alone" Dortmund-style
10.50
Hello everyone. Have you heard the news? Jurgen Klopp is leaving Borussia Dortmund. Reportedly.Probably.
Almost definitely.
Dortmund are due to hold a press conference at 12.30 pm to explain what the devil is going on so I'll ring you all the news from that and all the reaction. The piece below is what we know so far...
News story
Borussia Dortmund manager Jurgen Klopp has reportedly asked to leave the German club at the end of season.Klopp, 47, won the Bundesliga with Dortmund in 2010-11 and 2011-12 before guiding them to the Champions League final where they lost to Bayern Munich the following year.
However, a disastrous start to the current domestic season has left them 10th in the table with just six games to play and almost certain to miss out on European football next season.
That prospect appears to have been crucial in making up Klopp's mind and any imminent departure is likely to alert a number of English club to his availability.
Klopp has been heavily linked with Arsenal and Liverpool in the past, although it is unlikely Arsene Wenger or Brendan Rodgers are in immediate danger of being replaced.
11.00
Where is Klopp going next? Which clubs are on RED ALERT? Who will make a STUNNING bid to snap him up? When will a SHOCK move be made?We can only speculate. So let's do just that.
The people at Paddy Power have emailed me some odds on where Klopp will end up next in the hope that I will give them some free publicity. And I certainly will.
15/8 - Man City
11/2 - Real Madrid
6/1 - Arsenal
6/1 - Liverpool
7/1 - Barcelona
10/1 - Chelsea
10/1 - Bayern Munich
12/1 - Man United
17/1 - Everton
33/1 - Southampton
33/1 - Atletico Madrid
45/1 - Newcastle
45/1 - West Ham
11.08
Yes, he's won a couple of German league titles and made a Champions League final but what else does can Klopp bring to the Premier League?This... (you will watch it at least three times):
(Video of Klopp laughing and misunderstanding...what?)
11.22
Word is that Klopp's people have already had enquiries from a number of clubs about his availability. Let us do some of that speculating again.Man City - Manuel Pellegrini is likely to be sacked at the end of the season after failing to mount a successful title challenge this campaign. The powers that be want Pep Guardiola to take over when he leaves Bayern Munich though. But will they change their mind now that Klopp is available?
Real Madrid - The Spanish giants might not win La Liga and might not win the Champions League. That's usually about enough to ditch their manager. Carlo Ancelotti is the current man in charge but they have Zinedine Zidane waiting in the wings.
Arsenal - They have been keen on Klopp for some time and feelings toward Wenger fluctuate between in and out on an almost weekly basis. In the words of Generic Foreign Manager, Wenger is very much "in a good moment" right now though.
Liverpool - For Arsenal, read Liverpool.
Barcelona - For Real Madrid, read Barcelona.
Chelsea - They are about to win the Premier League and they have Jose Mourinho as their manager. It's not going to happen.
A far more likely destination is Manchester City, with manager Manuel Pellegrini's job far less secure after a poor run of form all-but ended his side's hopes of retaining their Premier League title.
11.30
<noframe>Twitter: Salim Masoud Said - Klopp not a 'hipster' manager unless he uses this opportunity to coach TP Mazembe.</noframe>11.38
Our man Jeremy Wilson has the latest from Arsenal on whether they will make a move for Jurgen Klopp. Can you guess what they said?Here is a snippet and HERE is the full piece: "Arsenal have given thought to how they would deal with the succession to Wenger..." Oooh what a tease.
11.50
We are but 40 minutes away from the Borussia Dortmund press conference. Excited? This is what Klopp does when he gets excited:12.10
We want to hear from you. Well sort of. We just want you to vote in our poll of where you think Jurgen Klopp will go next. You can cast your vote by clicking HERE.
If you do want to say anything else then you can reach me on email (ben.bloom@telegraph.co.uk) or via Twitter (@benbloomsport).
12.00
What might Klopp's departure mean for Dortmund's players and a certain Mats Hummels in particular?The centre-back has been heavily linked with a move to Manchester United this summer and you can only assume Klopp leaving will make his departure even more likely. Here is our latest story on Hummels's future:
12.25
The Dortmund press conference is imminent, but while you wait do have a look at our Premier League manager sack race gallery with odds on who will be the next man to be given the boot.
12.32
BORUSSIA DORTMUND CONFIRM JURGEN KLOPP WILL LEAVE THE CLUB ON JULY 1
12.34
Klopp has just sat down to face the media...12.37
Right we have a slight issue... they are speaking in German and my GCSE in the subject isn't much help.What I can deduce is that the bloke currently speaking (I'm assuming he's the Dortmund chief exec or something) genuinely sounds like someone has died. He's properly choked. Oh he just said "fantastisch". I'm guessing he wasn't describing Klopp's decision to leave the club.
12.39
Why can't I speak German???????12.41
I'd love to tell you what Klopp is saying. He is saying a lot. But I can understand precisely none of it. So here's a photo of him pouring some water instead:
12.44
I have a couple of translations coming through.Klopp: "I chose this time to announce it because in the last years some player decisions were made late and you couldn't react."
"It's not that I am tired, I don't have any contact with another club but I don't plan to take a year off either."
I'm afraid I cannot verify how correct those sentences is. I'm rapidly realising that I am as close to useless right now as I have ever been in my life.
12.46
I am going to email my old German teacher Dr Plow after this and apologise.<noframe>Twitter: Jobo - <a href="http://www.twitter.com/benbloomsport" target="_blank">@benbloomsport</a> Learn German! Quick!</noframe>
12.49
Klopp has finished speaking and we have just heard from a chap with a lovely slicked back hairstyle. Although most hairstyles look lovely to me.12.53
So, in lieu of someone with any semblance of knowledge of the German language, I shall now consider what we know:- Klopp has not planned a sabatical.
- Klopp is not tired.
- Klopp has not had contact with any other club.
If that's not insightful then I don't know what is.
12.55
They have just opened up questions the floor. I'm afraid the questions are just as German as the answers.Oh, we have one more translated line! ""I don't think of it as a load off my shoulders. I'm not tired, even though I look like this."
12.56
WHY DON'T WE HAVE A UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE ACROSS THE GLOBE???12.58
I am genuinely sorry about this. I realise this is highly unprofessional. Don't tell my boss I can't speak German. He thinks I'm translating this press conference word for word.13.02
The big man is still answering questions. I managed to catch the following words: "Extreme", "Sport" and "And". Make of that what you will. In my mind he's considering a new career as a skydiver.
13.03
Klopp just cracked a gag and the entire press conference audience laughed. A joker to the end. Or almost the end. Remember he's staying in the job until July 1.(Thanks to the person who tweeted me a "How to learn German in 60 seconds" video. It didn't work I'm afraid.)
13.05
It's finished! What? I didn't expect that. They said thank you, got up and left. What on Earth do I do now??? I haven't enlightened one reader and they've already left!!! Erm...13.08
Someone that speaks German has actually done some proper translating! Praise the lord. Right I'm going to pass this off as my own and hope no one notices.Klopp: "I always said in that moment where I believe I am not the perfect coach anymore for this extraordinary club, I will say so.
"I believe this is the right decision at the right time.
"I have not had any contact with any other clubs, nor have I any plans to take a sabbatical.
"I just wanted to make my decision known now so that the club can plan for the future.
"I chose this time to announce it, because in the last few years, some player decisions were made late and there was no time to react."
13.16
Oh what??Sky Sports News have just played a snippet from the press conference and they had a bloke translating Klopp's words. How did they find a German speaker and the Telegraph was lumbered with me? I fear I have damaged the reputation of this once great institution considerably.
Es tut mir leid. (Google translate tells me that is "I am sorry" in German)
13.14
So it turns out the bloke almost in tears earlier was Dortmund's sporting director Michael Zorc and these were some of the words he managed to get out before breaking down completely (N.B. He didn't actually break down)."We have written football history with you, Jurgen. You have given the club much energy and optimism."
Can you feel the love in the room?
13.26
So I think we should recap. From what I understood that press conference saw Klopp announce he is embarking on a new career in extreme sports and his boss describe his decision to leave as "fantastisch".In reality Klopp confirmed he was leaving the club and doesn't know what he is going to do next, while his boss paid tribute to him multiple times.
And that, in a nutshell, sums up just little use I have been over the past hour.
13.38
Seeing as how I have been unable to find a translated question asking "Which Premier League club are you going to join next season" I shall assume no one asked such a question. Which leaves us able to continue to speculate on what the future holds for our German friend Mr Klopp.I, for one, would put my pennies on Manchester City. Manuel Pellegrini isn't going to last the summer holidays is he? My other educated guess would be that Arsenal make a poor start to the season, Arsene Wenger is subjected to his usual #WengerOut campaign and Klopp replaces him at Christmas.
13.48
Right then, it's just about time for me wrap up. Excuse me while I breathe a sigh of relief after getting through one of the more bizarre live blogs of my career and celebrate in the manner of Jurgen Klopp.14.00
And with that I bid you farewell. Again, many apologies for a hopeless lack of German knowledge. You'd think it would have been a prerequisite to live blog a Borussia Dortmund press conference but perhaps not. Only time will tell if the person who tweeted me suggesting I am getting "sacked in the morning" is correct.I also apologise for this live blog becoming far too much about me. I can assure you it will not happen again. Let us end on what we came here for: Jurgen Klopp. It isn't often that one of the world's leading managers becomes available so expect the speculation to run, run and run some more until he gets another job. It'll be interesting.
Thanks for joining me. Cheerio.
Tuesday, January 6, 2015
WM Film? Natuerlich!
Did they make a film of the World Cup in Brazil? But of course!
Check out this trailer:
There's plenty of footage not yet seen by me . . . Was macht der Thomas Mueller in einem Dirndl???
Check out this trailer:
There's plenty of footage not yet seen by me . . . Was macht der Thomas Mueller in einem Dirndl???
Saturday, December 20, 2014
2 game split between USM U-18 Team (in Spain)
My question is where these kids are from, and whether any might be from the Revolution Academy. --rsb
HERE: FOOTAGE FROM THE GAME WE WIN 2-1 ON DEC 17 (later found the embed code:)
Just 2 days later, it was 2-0 for Germany at the half; we lose 3-2.
HERE: FOOTAGE FROM THE GAME WE WIN 2-1 ON DEC 17 (later found the embed code:)
Just 2 days later, it was 2-0 for Germany at the half; we lose 3-2.
U.S. U-18 MNT Falls to Germany 3-2 in Marbella, Spain
News
Dec 19, 2014
0
Sebastian Elney and Mauricio Pineda Each Tally Goal as USA and Germany Split Two-Game Set
MARBELLA, Spain (Dec. 19, 2014) – The U.S. Under-18 Men’s National Team
fell 3-2 to Germany’s U-18s at Marbella Stadium. The USA split its
two-game set,
having previously earned a 2-1 victory against Germany on Dec. 17.
On Friday, the USA's Sebastian Elney and Maurico Pineda each scored a goal. For Pineda, it was his second goal in back-to-back games.
Germany built a 2-0 lead heading into halftime with goals from Erik Wekesser and Tim Galleski in the 19th and 35th minutes, respectively. Elney quickly cut into that lead after the break with a 48th-minute goal.
However, Galleski recorded his second goal in the 69th minute, which proved to be the game-winner.
Pineda's 90th-minute goal tightened up the match, but Germany held for the victory.
The U-18 MNT finishes off its 2014 campaign with a 5-7-1 international record.
Match: U.S. U-18 MNT vs. Germany U-18 MNT
Date: Dec. 19, 2014
Competition: International Friendly
Venue: Marbella Stadium; Marbella, Spain
Kickoff: 2:30 p.m. (8:30 a.m. ET)
Attendance: 35 (very little interest; stadium empty!)
Weather: 65 degrees
Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
USA 0 2 2
GER 2 1 3
GER – Erik Wekesser 19th minute
GER – Tim Galleski 35
USA – Sebastian Elney 48
GER – Tim Galleski 69
USA – Mauricio Pineda 90
Lineups:
USA: 1-JT Marcinkowski; 20-Kyle Duncan, 3-Mauricio Pineda, 6-Antonee Robinson (21-Malcolm Jones, 52), 2-Pablo Pelaez; 10-Jackson Yueill (15-Amir Bashti, 88), 8-Ben Swanson (capt.), 24-Cameron Lindley (14-Collin Fernandez, 67); 23-Victor Mansaray (7-Sebastian Saucedo, 52), 9-Sebastian Elney (17-Eryk Williamson, 67), 11-Brooks Lennon
Subs not used: 12-Jonathan Klinsmann, 13-Michael Boakye, 16-James Murphy
Not Dressed: 4-Tommy Redding
Head Coach: Javier Perez
GER: 12-Florian Kastenmaier; 2-Matthias Bader, 4-David Putz, 21-Jordan Torunarigha (5-Nicolas Clasen, 17), 15-Till Schumacher; 13-Erik Wekesser (22-Nathaniel Amamoo, 86), 18-Suat Serdar (16-Johannes Buhler, 46) (6-Gino Fechner, 86), 8-Fridolin Wagner; 7-Michael Strein (17-Tim Galleski, 17), 10-Marvin Mehlem (19-Cagatay Kader, 76); 9-Osei P. Owsusu (capt.) (20-Heinz Morschel, 67)
Subs not used: 1-Dominik Reimann, 3-Maximillian Mittelstadt, 11-Enis Bytyqi, 14-Ole Pfaffigen
Head Coach: Guido Streichsbier
Stats Summary: USA / GER
Shots: 6 / 13
Shots on Goal: 2 / 7
Saves: 4 / 0
Corner Kicks: 5 / 5
Fouls: 10 / 13
Offside: 3 / 1
Misconduct Summary:
USA – Pablo Pelaez (caution) 78th minute
GER – Heinz Morschel (caution) 90+2
Officials:
Head Referee – Dominguez Cervantes
On Friday, the USA's Sebastian Elney and Maurico Pineda each scored a goal. For Pineda, it was his second goal in back-to-back games.
Germany built a 2-0 lead heading into halftime with goals from Erik Wekesser and Tim Galleski in the 19th and 35th minutes, respectively. Elney quickly cut into that lead after the break with a 48th-minute goal.
However, Galleski recorded his second goal in the 69th minute, which proved to be the game-winner.
Pineda's 90th-minute goal tightened up the match, but Germany held for the victory.
The U-18 MNT finishes off its 2014 campaign with a 5-7-1 international record.
- U.S. U-18 Men’s National Team Match Report -
Match: U.S. U-18 MNT vs. Germany U-18 MNT
Date: Dec. 19, 2014
Competition: International Friendly
Venue: Marbella Stadium; Marbella, Spain
Kickoff: 2:30 p.m. (8:30 a.m. ET)
Attendance: 35 (very little interest; stadium empty!)
Weather: 65 degrees
Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
USA 0 2 2
GER 2 1 3
GER – Erik Wekesser 19th minute
GER – Tim Galleski 35
USA – Sebastian Elney 48
GER – Tim Galleski 69
USA – Mauricio Pineda 90
Lineups:
USA: 1-JT Marcinkowski; 20-Kyle Duncan, 3-Mauricio Pineda, 6-Antonee Robinson (21-Malcolm Jones, 52), 2-Pablo Pelaez; 10-Jackson Yueill (15-Amir Bashti, 88), 8-Ben Swanson (capt.), 24-Cameron Lindley (14-Collin Fernandez, 67); 23-Victor Mansaray (7-Sebastian Saucedo, 52), 9-Sebastian Elney (17-Eryk Williamson, 67), 11-Brooks Lennon
Subs not used: 12-Jonathan Klinsmann, 13-Michael Boakye, 16-James Murphy
Not Dressed: 4-Tommy Redding
Head Coach: Javier Perez
GER: 12-Florian Kastenmaier; 2-Matthias Bader, 4-David Putz, 21-Jordan Torunarigha (5-Nicolas Clasen, 17), 15-Till Schumacher; 13-Erik Wekesser (22-Nathaniel Amamoo, 86), 18-Suat Serdar (16-Johannes Buhler, 46) (6-Gino Fechner, 86), 8-Fridolin Wagner; 7-Michael Strein (17-Tim Galleski, 17), 10-Marvin Mehlem (19-Cagatay Kader, 76); 9-Osei P. Owsusu (capt.) (20-Heinz Morschel, 67)
Subs not used: 1-Dominik Reimann, 3-Maximillian Mittelstadt, 11-Enis Bytyqi, 14-Ole Pfaffigen
Head Coach: Guido Streichsbier
Stats Summary: USA / GER
Shots: 6 / 13
Shots on Goal: 2 / 7
Saves: 4 / 0
Corner Kicks: 5 / 5
Fouls: 10 / 13
Offside: 3 / 1
Misconduct Summary:
USA – Pablo Pelaez (caution) 78th minute
GER – Heinz Morschel (caution) 90+2
Officials:
Head Referee – Dominguez Cervantes
Wednesday, December 10, 2014
Adidas Technologie
Watch the production process for 2015's official MLS match ball - the Nativo!
Fun watching Team Revolution practice here, too. Focus: Lee Nguyen!
Fun watching Team Revolution practice here, too. Focus: Lee Nguyen!
Friday, August 29, 2014
KiKa Tanzalarm Kids singen Das ist Fussball
Aus der 22. Episode (Folge)
Ihr macht das, ihr schaft das schon!
Das ist Fussball, Fussball.
So sieht richtig geile Fussballer aus.
Ihr glaubt an d
Wir wollen Tore sehen!
Ihr macht das, ihr schaft das schon!
Das ist Fussball, Fussball.
So sieht richtig geile Fussballer aus.
Ihr glaubt an d
Wir wollen Tore sehen!
Friday, May 23, 2014
U.S. 23-man roster is youthful, but inexperienced
Looking beyond the stunning news about (eliminating) Landon Donovan, the U.S.'s 23-player roster is long on youth (and German-Americans) and short on World Cup experience.
Five German-Americans earned a spot, including 18-year-old Julian Green. The son of a U.S. serviceman who was born in Florida and raised in Germany has played just one game in a U.S. jersey. John Brooks, 21, has made just three appearances with the Americans. Timmy Chandler, Jermaine Jones and Fabian Johnson were the other dual-national picks.
Five of Jurgen Klinsmann's final seven cuts were MLS players. Though there are 10 MLS players on the team, a few more were expected. Even so, compared to the 2010 roster which included just four MLS players, the number is significant.
Defender DeAndre Yedlin, 20, has played in just two national team games and earned his spot through his solid MLS play. His Seattle Sounders teammate, Brad Evans, a regular during World Cup qualifying at right back, did not.
Six players on the final roster have been on previous World Cup teams, including five with playing experience, the lowest number since 1990 when the US returned to the World Cup after a 40-year drought. Four years ago in South Africa, then coach Bob Bradley brought six Americans with World Cup playing experience.
The roster wasn't all about youth. MLS veteran Chris Wondolowski, 31, who has a knack for poaching goals, earned a spot after being repeatedly praised by Klinsmann for giving "a 1,000 percent." Midfielder Kyle Beckerman, 32, will also make his World Cup debut, earning praise when paired alongside Michael Bradley, enabling the U.S. star to push forward.
Then there's DeMarcus Beasley who will become the first American to play in four World Cups. (Claudio Reyna and Kasey Keller were each on four World Cup rosters but did not play in all four.) Beasley, who turns 32 on Saturday, is the only defender with World Cup experience but in those three tournaments, he played midfield.
Saturday, August 17, 2013
Berlin Spieler spielt jetzt für Klinsmann
Brooks: ‘It Was Not A Hard Decision To Play For The USA’
JOHNNY BROOKS (HERTHA BERLIN) SPIELT JETZT FÜR DIE USA NATIONALMANNSCHAFT
Frage: How many German footballers has new coach of the USA National Team, Jürgen Klinsmann, recruited from the Bundesliga?
JOHNNY BROOKS (HERTHA BERLIN) SPIELT JETZT FÜR DIE USA NATIONALMANNSCHAFT
Frage: How many German footballers has new coach of the USA National Team, Jürgen Klinsmann, recruited from the Bundesliga?
ussoccer.com: How is your first U.S. MNT camp going so far?
JB: “So far everything is fine. My new teammates and the staff have been very nice to me so everything is perfect.”
ussoccer.com: You played for the U-20 MNT and have also been courted by Germany. What went into your decision to play for the United States?
JB: “The U.S. really wanted me, so it was not a hard decision to play for the USA. I talked a lot to my family. My dad, who is from Chicago, my mom, my sister, my grandparents, my agent … all of them gave me advice. Since I decided to play for the U.S., they have been very happy, congratulating me and wishing good luck.”
ussoccer.com: For those U.S. Soccer fans who haven’t seen you play yet, how would you describe your game?
JB: “I think I am calm on the ball. I have good passing skills. And I am not as slow as I seem [laughs]. I don’t have that much experience yet as it’s my first year in the Bundesliga, so I have to learn a lot. I will learn when I am with the U.S. team and I will learn from Hertha and put those experiences together.”
ussoccer.com: It’s setting up to be a big week for you. You first make your Bundesliga debut and score the eventual game-winning goal, and now you may make your MNT debut. What are your feelings as you accomplish another goal in your career?
JB: “I just take it step by step. The next step is to play here against Bosnia. When I play, I want to give my best and go from there.”
ussoccer.com: : What is it like for you as a German-American to play for Jurgen Klinsmann, who accomplished so much during his career and is so respected in Germany?
JB: “It’s nice. He has lots of experience and has brought a little bit of German football over here into the team, so it’s exciting for me.”
ussoccer.com: What is it like to have the other German-Americans in the team?
JB: “It is nice having Jermaine [Jones], Fabian [Johnson] and Danny Williams so I can talk a little bit of German with them [laughs]. We can also talk about the Bundesliga, the U.S., and they can give me little clues. That’s good for me.”
- See more at: http://www.ussoccer.com/news/mens-national-team/2013/08/brooks-it-was-not-a-hard-decision-to-play-for-the-usa.aspx#sthash.3jMWyywT.dpuf
JB: “So far everything is fine. My new teammates and the staff have been very nice to me so everything is perfect.”
ussoccer.com: You played for the U-20 MNT and have also been courted by Germany. What went into your decision to play for the United States?
JB: “The U.S. really wanted me, so it was not a hard decision to play for the USA. I talked a lot to my family. My dad, who is from Chicago, my mom, my sister, my grandparents, my agent … all of them gave me advice. Since I decided to play for the U.S., they have been very happy, congratulating me and wishing good luck.”
ussoccer.com: For those U.S. Soccer fans who haven’t seen you play yet, how would you describe your game?
JB: “I think I am calm on the ball. I have good passing skills. And I am not as slow as I seem [laughs]. I don’t have that much experience yet as it’s my first year in the Bundesliga, so I have to learn a lot. I will learn when I am with the U.S. team and I will learn from Hertha and put those experiences together.”
ussoccer.com: It’s setting up to be a big week for you. You first make your Bundesliga debut and score the eventual game-winning goal, and now you may make your MNT debut. What are your feelings as you accomplish another goal in your career?
JB: “I just take it step by step. The next step is to play here against Bosnia. When I play, I want to give my best and go from there.”
ussoccer.com: : What is it like for you as a German-American to play for Jurgen Klinsmann, who accomplished so much during his career and is so respected in Germany?
JB: “It’s nice. He has lots of experience and has brought a little bit of German football over here into the team, so it’s exciting for me.”
ussoccer.com: What is it like to have the other German-Americans in the team?
JB: “It is nice having Jermaine [Jones], Fabian [Johnson] and Danny Williams so I can talk a little bit of German with them [laughs]. We can also talk about the Bundesliga, the U.S., and they can give me little clues. That’s good for me.”
- See more at: http://www.ussoccer.com/news/mens-national-team/2013/08/brooks-it-was-not-a-hard-decision-to-play-for-the-usa.aspx#sthash.3jMWyywT.dpuf
Thursday, May 9, 2013
NYTimes: Germany at the Fore
New York Times
MEMO FROM BERLIN
One More Field Where the Continent Trails Germany
Ina Fassbender/Reuters
Soccer fans in Dortmund, Germany, on Saturday. Before the final game, Germany has secured the European championship.
By NICHOLAS KULISH
Published: May 7, 2013
BERLIN — France’s finance minister, Pierre Moscovici, warned on Tuesday against caricatures and misunderstandings over Germany’s handling of the euro crisis, but quickly qualified his conciliatory statement about the European Union’s most powerful country.
“There is one subject where Germany’s image is certainly bad,” Mr. Moscovici told an auditorium full of students at the Free University in Berlin. “Germany wins too often at soccer, particularly now in the Champions League.”
Europe’s equivalent of the Super Bowl does not kick off for more than two weeks, but in a development that feels all too fitting under the current circumstances here, Germany has already won. Two German clubs, one from Dortmund in the Ruhr Valley and the other from Munich in deepest Bavaria, will face off for the European title, which means the nationality of the champion is already assured.
The local news media are calling it the “dream final.” The daily newspaper Berliner Kurier summed up the mood in Germany perfectly in a front-page headline last week that read simply, “We versus us.” “One thing is certain,” Chancellor Angela Merkel said. “Germany wins.”
Of course, a game is just a game, but when the game in question is European soccer, it tends to be viewed as a Rorschach test for the health and confidence of nations. The success on the field of German teams has helped reinforce the broader narrative of Teutonic dominance that has emerged during the long-running debt crisis.
Germany’s stock market is riding high, its unemployment rate has remained stubbornly low and the Continent’s best and brightest are moving here in droves. Attitudes toward Germany in Europe are more complicated than they would seem from the images of angry protesters waving signs with swastikas on the streets of Athens.
Germany, Europe’s largest economy, is viewed not only with resentment but with a mixture of apprehension, envy and admiration, informed by a belief that the Germans have cracked the code of how to compete in the globalized world, coupled with an uncertainty about whether their efficient, export-driven economic model can be replicated.
Much the same is true currently with soccer. After Bayern trounced Barcelona for the second time in a row last week, the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera wrote that “the lesson of order and talent goes beyond soccer.” In Britain, the cover of the New Statesman magazine this week shows photographs of Angela Merkel and the German soccer star Bastian Schweinsteiger with the question, “Why can’t we be more like Germany?”
Just this past weekend Spain’s Socialists discussed the German model for helping companies pay for idled workers to stay home without laying them off. “There is resentment at the current austerity policies attributed to Merkel,” said Jordi Vaquer i Fanés, a political scientist and director of the Open Society Initiative for Europe in Barcelona, “but Germany still comes out at the top of the most admired countries.”
Europeans are voting with their feet: Germany’s government statistics office reported Tuesday that the net gain in migration here in 2012 was the largest in 17 years. Nearly 1.1 million people moved to Germany last year, with rising numbers of job seekers arriving from crisis-stricken countries and Eastern Europe. Nationwide, unemployment is just 5.4 percent, and on Tuesday Germany’s main stock index, the benchmark DAX, hit an all-time high.
Spain is losing not just engineers and software designers to Germany, but players and coaches. Pep Guardiola, Barcelona’s former coaching genius, announced this year that he would move to Germany to coach Bayern. A decade ago the idea of a coach like Mr. Guardiola leaving Spain for Germany would have seemed absurd.
That is because not so long ago the positions were reversed. Germany was struggling to regain its footing after unification, and its soccer fortunes declined badly. The economy was stagnant and, with its rules against foreign ownership and insistence on keeping debts low, the professional soccer league Bundesliga seemed downright old-fashioned.
German teams, it was believed, would never keep up with the Russian oligarchs and Arab billionaires sinking untold millions into their investments in England’s Premier League. The Spaniards, meanwhile, were flush and booming, like much of Europe’s periphery.
Long before the financial crisis brought high-flying economies like Spain’s back to earth, Germany began plotting a comeback, economically speaking, instituting labor reforms aimed at making the economy more competitive. On the soccer side, it began building up a new youth training system.
“I don’t want to point the moralizing finger, saying, ‘We’re super; we’re saving the euro,’ ” said Martin Nolte, a professor of sports law at the German Sport University Cologne (SpoHo). “We make mistakes here in Germany, too, but the professionalism and management from the economic side leads to a solid athletic effort.”
The daily newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ), in a self-congratulatory front-page editorial last week, credited an openness to the world and a willingness to learn from others, matched with “German virtues” like fighting spirit and solidarity. “Professional soccer is also a mirror of economic possibilities,” the paper wrote. “In this manner the Bundesliga benefits from Germany’s economic strengths over Europe’s crisis countries.”
Rightly or wrongly, a sense here and abroad of German teams and businesses as farsighted and built for stability has taken root. In his State of the Union address this year, President Obama even praised Germany’s dual-education system, mixing hands-on training at businesses with course work.
But the easy comparisons between economic and soccer success can be overdone, many experts say.
“Everyone wants to hold up Germany as the perfectly run antidote to the sloppiness of the southern Europeans, and the Bundesliga is kind of treated as this analogue to the German national economy,” said Franklin Foer, editor of The New Republic and author of the book “How Soccer Explains the World.”
“There’s some truth to it, I think,” Mr. Foer said, though he cautioned that “many of the great clubs and the great national teams come from countries in which the economies are run in slipshod ways and the local systems are a mess.”
John Springford, an economist at the Center for European Reform in London, said the winner-take-all aspect of soccer could also be troublesome for Europe as it battles the debt crisis.
“The euro crisis has been dominated by that narrative of competitiveness,” Mr. Springford said. “That kind of zero-sum thinking that is analogous to the football mentality is one of the reasons why it’s been so difficult to create a lasting solution to the euro crisis.”
Germany may have won the championship before the opening whistle, but it is not clear that it will be a “dream final” for the rest of the Continent.
“Because the league is so well managed it means there’s less flashy expenditure,” Mr. Foer said. “There’s a little less internationalism there. The modesty and competence that underlie the whole thing also constrain it from being as sexy as Spain or England.”
Chris Cottrell contributed reporting from Berlin, Elisabetta Povoledo from Rome, and Raphael Minder from Madrid.
Friday, May 3, 2013
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