Pool

Pool's famous Kop

"The Reds" beeing the club's well know nickname does not prevent a lot of... ehm, let's call them "internet Premier League fans" in Germany using the term "Pool" when referring to Liverpool FC. Not "The Pool" as one of the city of Liverpool's bynames, but simply "Pool".

Pool. Never heard it England, so why is it so popular amongst English football enthusiasts over here? If I only knew. I've propably read the term for the first time on a football message board more than ten years ago. So maybe someone used it on another board, and another one... and so it may have grown in popularity that way over the years. But all in all, it remains a case for Mulder and Scully.

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Hansa Rostock–FC St. Pauli rivalry

Following the xenophobic Lichtenhagen riots in 1992, both sets of fans clashed for the first time during a 2. Bundesliga match one year later. St. Pauli's left-wing attitude and nationalistic tendencies amongst parts of the Hansa fan scene seemed to "connect" immediately.

These incidents were inspiration for the 1993 drama movie Schicksalsspiel (English title: Soccer love).  In a Romeo and Juliet kind of story, a St. Pauli supporter falls in love with a local waitress before an away game in Rostock. Back in Hamburg, the trouble starts.

As of today, there have been 16 competitive matches between the teams. Hansa won 10 and St. Pauli 6 with no draw, yet. Their last meeting on November 19 in Rostock saw a new quality of violence. In the course of a 1-3 defeat, Hansa fans started shooting firework missiles into the away end. A level of behaviour even worsened by an applauding and cheering mob of morons. Dumbstruck.

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The green Reds

Have you ever wondered why Hannover 96 are nicknamed "The Reds" despite their green and white club colours? (a question obviously presupposing that you already know of the existence of a green-white colored club called Hannover 96 playing in a not-so flashy city called Hannover, which, in fact, even a lot of German football fans are not aware of)

Well, no need to worry, even the club were not able to close this knowledge gap, yet (in german).

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Aktion Libero: German Sports Bloggers against Homophobia in Football

schwul, rund, grün - gay, round, green

Aktion Libero is an action alliance of German sports bloggers against homophobia. Supportetd by Dr. Theo Zwanziger (president of the German FA) Aktion Libero launched their website today. Additionally, more than 80 participating blogs released the campaign motive on their websites. Some authors have even published complementary thoughts, interviews and podcasts on the topic.

Their credo:

Wir schreiben in unseren Blogs über Sport, und unsere Haltung ist eindeutig: 

Wir sind gegen Homophobie. Auch im Fußball.

Our blogs are all about sports and our position is clear:
We are against homophobia. Also in football.


Visit Aktion Libero website (in German) for further information.

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The cat is in the sack

Grazie, Trap!

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Michael Schanze und die Fußball-Nationalmannschaft - Ole Espana

You were listening to New Order, German fans like my father had to put up with the dream of every mother-in-law: Michael Schanze. The official 7″ for WC 82 bears the original name "Olé España".

Curls, curls, curls

The backside provides quite a sawy feature, especially for the younger ones amongst us: numbered players silhouettes with an illustration legend. Ever heard of Ronald Borchers?

You won't get this with mp3s

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Wolfram Wuttke

Mustache (serving suggestion)

Honour to whom honour is due: We unanimously elected Wolfram Wuttke (yeah, even ze Germans zink this name's funny) for being the subject of the first blogpost. Allthough now known as the guy who could have easily earned 50 caps or more, Wuttke was a footballing force of nature in his prime. On and off the pitch.

With dribbling skills matched only by his facial hair, Wuttke was one of Bundesliga's leading attacking midfielders during the 80s. But we all know that there's no "mustache" in team and so his ego and a constant lack of diplomatic abilities inhibited a much greater career. Whilst playing for Borussia Mönchengladbach, his teammates promised and finally bought him a (fake) Rolex just for leaving the club.

Hmm... maybe someone should tell Carlos Tevez?

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A video showing him scoring a penalty at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul:



Senior career stats:
1979–1981 Schalke 04 32 (3)
1981–1983 Borussia Mönchengladbach 58 (9)
1983 Schalke 04 16 (7)
1983–1985 Hamburger SV 58 (15)
1985–1990 1. FC Kaiserslautern 112 (23)
1990–1992 RCD Espanyol 37 (12)
1992–1993 1. FC Saarbrücken 23 (0)

Honours:
UEFA Under-21 Championship: 1982
DFB-Pokal: 1990
Olympics: Bronze Medal 1988

4 full international caps for West Germany

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