German Football news - Page 15 - TalkSoccer

**Trim** · 06-10-2007, 08:12 PM

Yes, indeed.

Only the teams competing in UEFA Cup are representing Germany properly.

**Vargas_4** · 06-10-2007, 08:43 PM

3 out of 18 possible points have been obtain by the German teams in the Champions League.

Only Schalke got a win in the last matchday while Bremen & Stuttgart haven't gotten crap.

Then they wonder why only Bayern is recognized in the Champions League...

**Trim** · 08-10-2007, 07:51 PM

Jens Nowotny has bid farewell to the world of football with a gala testimonial featuring some of the stars of the Bundesliga.

The former Bayer Leverkusen defender capped 48 times by Germany played out a highly entertaining 8-6 game in front of 20,000 fans at Karlsruhe’s Wildparkstadion.

Playing against his home town club, Nowotny was joined by stars such as Kevin Kuranyi, Oliver Neuville, Thomas Häßler, Jens Lehmann, Per Mertesacker and Gerald Asamoah as his ended his active playing career.

The majority of the proceeds from the game will be donated to a German children’s hospice.

Nowotny started his career with KSC as a 14 year old, and was forced to retire in January through injury. The veteran suffered a total of four knee ligament damage injuries during his career with Bayer Leverkusen.

Due to another knee injury the players cancelled his contract with Dinamo Zagreb which ran to 2009.

Besides his 48 international caps, Nowotny made 334 Bundesliga appearances scoring 11 goals.

The high point of his career was representing his country at the World Cup on home soil when he played in the 3rd/4th place play off against Portugal.

Goal.com - Germany - Farewell To Jens Nowotny

**Trim** · 16-10-2007, 09:32 PM

League President Dr. Reinhard Rauball demands more equal opportunities in professional football.

The League Association and the DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga GmbH intensify their political activities on European level: Dr. Reinhard Rauball, President of the League Association, and Christian Seifert, Chief Executive Officer of the DFL, have explained and discussed the league's position with a group of German Members of the European Parliament as well as representatives of the Federal Government, the Federal States, the European Commission and sponsors when they shared lunch in Brussels today. Before that a bilateral conversation with Manolis Mavrommatis, the European Parliament's correspondent for the "white book sports", took place additionally.

"The league especially puts itself out for a legal framework that brings equal opportunities in Europe forward. In the sense of sport we need framework conditions that guarantee a fair and exciting competition. Therefore a further harmonisation of the framework conditions on a European level is needed", Dr. Reinhard Rauball says. "It is vital that we represent the position of League Association and DFL even more on a European level." Rauball had already announced to place special emphasis here when he was voted League President.

"We held very constructive talks with the Members of the European Parliament. Stable framework conditions, certainty of the law and therewith a higher degree of predictability are important conditions for the successful further development of professional football in Germany and Europe. The professional football is an economic factor of great importance, as employer and tax payer, and additionally holds an important social funktion", Christian Seifert outlines.

The European law for concerns of sport had been characterised by the practise of individual case rulings. This is coupled with considerable legal uncertainties for athletic unions, league organisations and clubs. As important landmark in the process of an intended standardisation the European Commission presented the "white book sports" in July 2007, and further decisions and a so called follow-up process are to follow.

For the league the regular contact with European politics increasingly gains in importance. On basis of the legally guaranteed autonomy of unions the sport has always laid down its own rules, both in view of the competitions and of economic procedures. But the past has showed that the statutes of unions and leagues can increasingly come into conflict with European law. Keywords are the Bosman ruling, the marketing of media rights and the transfer regulations.

**Trim** · 18-10-2007, 05:19 PM

German professional football will once more take a stance against xenophobia on the next two weekends.

All spectators of matches on matchdays ten and eleven in the Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga will receive red cards with the slogan "Show racism the red card� printed on them and are asked to hold them up before kick-off in support of the campaign. Players, coaches and referees will also join in.

36 clubs take part

By this all 36 clubs represented by the DFL support the international action week of the Football Against Racism in Europe (FARE) network who run this campaign together with UEFA.

"Millions of Bundesliga-fans in our country cheer on the stars of their clubs every week � irrespective of their origin or colour of skin. This feeling of togetherness is, to a big degree, based on tolerance and respect�, declared League President Dr. Reinhard Rauball.

72 countries

"The Bundesliga will continue to actively stand up against racism and discrimination�, said Rauball. Currently players from 72 countries are playing in the two German top divisions.

**Trim** · 19-10-2007, 06:20 PM

bundesliga.de spoke with living legend Uwe Seeler about HSV, Rafael van der Vaart and Bayern München.

"It's definitely not set in stone that Bayern will win the championship", says Seeler in an interview and reveals who can still be dangerous for Bayern.

bundesliga.de: Mr. Seeler, did you congratulate Rafael van der Vaart on his matching your legendary record of seven goals in seven matches?

Uwe Seeler: No, not yet in person. I haven't had the time. I congratulated him through the press, but I have to say I first learned about my own record from the press. I never counted stuff like that myself. The only thing that mattered to me was what place HSV was in at the end of the season. But of course I'm very happy for Rafael, because every goal he makes for HSV is important.

bundesliga.de: How do you assess the HSV's current season and what do you think can happen in the matches coming up?

Seeler: HSV have played very well thus far this season. It's really a lot of fun to watch this squad. I think if they stay consistent, HSV can really make a run this season.

bundesliga.de: Bayern have dominated thus far. Is the championship already a done deal?

Seeler: It's definitely not set in stone that Bayern will win the championship. But of course they are the favourites. I see Werder Bremen as a contender, as well as HSV of course. But Schalke and Leverkusen could also prove difficult for Bayern.

bundesliga.de: If this the best Bayern squad of all time?

Seeler: I wouldn't claim that. I'm very careful about making comparisons. But they're definitely playing excellent football.

bundesliga.de: What do you think of the surprising second-place Karlsruhe SC?

Seeler: It's exactly those kinds of surprises that make the Bundesliga so interesting. Karlsruhe are playing good football. They're willing to run and they play well together as a unit. That's exactly what you need to reach the top. But being a promotion club Karlsruhe will have difficulty staying where they are.

bundesliga.de: Which HSV player has what it takes to become a legend like yourself?

Seeler: That's hard to say right now. Also, players don't stay long enough with any one club. To say something now about van der Vaart wouldn't be smart, because you don't know if he'll play for HSV next season. It's not jsut something to do with van der Vaart. You can't compare football today with how it was when I played. I played with HSV from my adolescence till the end of my career. I think two criteria must be fulfilled for some one to become a legend: loyalty to the club and class. Nowadays, both are very seldom found together.

**Trim** · 21-10-2007, 05:43 PM

Ex-Schalke player Yves Eigenrauch is dedicated to fighting discrimination and racism. He tells bundesliga.de why he decided to take a stand.

As a player, Yves Eigenrauch was committed to football 100 percent. Now retired, Eigenrauch devotes his dedication and love of the game as the vice chairman of "It's all the same to the ball who kicks it!", an education project focused mainly on fighting discrimination and racism in football stadiums.

In an interview with bundesliga.de the ex-Schalke player describes how he got involved in educating people about racism.

bundesliga.de: You're the vice chairman of "It's all the same to the ball who kicks it!" What led to the founding of the project?

Yves Eigenrauch: It arose out of the Schalke fan initiative, which initiatially sponsored it. We realized then that it was really important to work preventively to deal with discriminatory tendencies. That works best in working with kids and youths. The original idea was to break out of the typical mold of fan work and to do things in other areas, especially where clubs could work together.

bundesliga.de: How did you come to work with the German Football League?

Eigenrauch: We have been a core member of FARE (Football Against Racism in Europe, Anm. d. Red.), for two years now, a network that organizations all over Europe belong to. We believe the main purpose is to motivate people to become a part of this. And then we just got in contact with the German Football League.

bundesliga.de: What do you think of the initiative "Show racism the red card"?

Eigenrauch: We think there are two ways you have to do this. First, to have a really effective media presence to make people aware of the problems. An effective campaign has been made against racism, but there are other forms of discrimination. We really believe that the main issue is discrimination, whether it's against homosexuals or whether it's sexism in the context of football.
On the other hand, it's really important to be in direct contact with people. That's why we also do events in amateur clubs and in schools to use football as a way to teach about racism and discrimination.

bundesliga.de: What kind of effect do you think the project will have?

Eigenrauch: I hope that it won't just be symbolic. We want to get people to think and reflect. For instance, sometimes racist songs are sung in trams. These "fan songs" have no place in football. I'd like to see people become more sensitive and aware of these kind of things

**Trim** · 27-10-2007, 09:56 AM

German professional football again actively joins the fight against racism and discrimination. In the context of the 8th international action week of the network Football Against Racism in Europe (FARE) in cooperation with the European football union (UEFA) the League Association have started an extensive activity in yet another season.

"Millions of Bundesliga fans throughout the country support the stars of their club week after week - regardless of origin or colour of the skin. This cooperation is very much characterized by tolerance and respect", League President Dr. Reinhard Rauball declares. "The Bundesliga will continue to support the fight against racism and discrimination in the future."

Positive sign

The campaign, organised together with non-profit partner "dem Ball is' egal, wer ihn tritt" ("the ball doesn't care who kicks it") had started on matchday 10.

All fans in the stadiums were given red cards labelled "Zeig' Rassismus die Rote Karte" ("Show racism the red card") and asked to hold them up together with the teams and the match officials.

Both politics and society deemed the campaign as an important sign of the League Association, and it was accompanied by very positive public response.

"It goes without saying"

The campaign will now be continued on matchday 11. And the representatives of the 18 professional clubs playing at home this weekend join in with full commitment.

"It goes without saying that we support this campaign. We will continue to actively support the fight against racism and discrimination", Arminia Bielefeld's President Hans-Hermann Schwick underlines.

**Trim** · 27-10-2007, 10:00 AM

The League Association is now represented in the steering committee of the Deutscher Fußball-Bund (DFB) with four instead of three members.

League President Dr. Reinhard Rauball, Peter Peters (1. Vice President of the League Association), Harald Strutz (2. Vice President of the League Association) and Christian Seifert (DFL Chief Ececutive Officer) were confirmed in the DFB steering committee at the DFB Congress in Mainz. They will represent the League Association's interests in the steering committee for the next three years.

16 representatives on the Managing Board

Dr. Rauball occupies the post of 1. Vice President on the 18-man board. Peters, Strutz and Seifert sit in the DFB steering committee as additional Vice Presidents.

Simultaneously the League's leading quartet is represented on the Managing Board of the DFB, too. The same goes for the other members of the Managing Board and the Supervisory Board of the League Association.

Altogether the League has 16 representatives in this body: Dr. Reinhard Rauball, Peter Peters, Harald Strutz, Heribert Bruchhagen, Michael Meier, Andreas Rettig, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Christian Seifert, Holger Hieronymus, Tom Bender, Christian Müller, Heinrich Breit, Kurt Gaugler, Ronald Kentsch, Manfred Müller and Ulrich Ruf.

Zwanziger re-elected

Theo Zwanziger has been confirmed as DFB President for three more years until 2010. All 252 delegates voted in favour of the 62-year-old.

Horst R. Schmidt, long-standing secretary general of the DFB, has been voted new treasurer. The 65-year-old succeeds retiring Heinrich Schmidhuber.

Wolfgang Niersbach will take over from Schmidt as secretary general.

Contract extensions

The DFB also extended the contracts of both national team coaches.

Joachim Löw, in charge of the national team since the World Cup 2006, put pen to paper on a new contract until 2010.

Silvia Neid, who recently steered the women's team to a second straight World Cup trophy, extended her contract until 2013.

**Trim** · 01-11-2007, 09:00 PM

The German Football Association have reacted angrily to claims by the police that they are not doing enough to stop violence and hooliganism in the game.

An amateur fixture between Dynamo Dresden's reserves and local rivals Lokomotiv Leipzig was overshadowed by violent clashes around the stadium and at Dresden's railway station on Sunday.

Violence flared for the first time since the German state of Saxony postponed a whole weekend of football fixtures in February.

Back then, the DFB showed huge support to the local police force by cancelling all fixtures out of protest against hooliganism and to protect the officers who, for several weeks, had been caught in the crossfire among warring fans each weekend.

The situation appeared to have settled until Sunday's clashes, in which 229 arrests were made and 1,200 police officers were called into action.

The police unions complained that not enough has been done to erase the threat of hooliganism and blamed the DFB for not allowing local authorities any powers over the scheduling of games.

On Tuesday the DFB reacted when Helmut Spahn, their security officer, said in a press release: "It is completely misplaced and negligent to try and give the impression that the fault for violent scenes lies with the clubs.

"The DFB has repeatedly maintained that, with such a sensitive subject, no direct blame is helpful and we should instead all try to fight this negative phenomenon.

"Therefore, it makes no sense to demand that local authorities be given the right to forbid football games and to claim that the DFB does not have the situation under control."

Violence has rarely been a problem in the German game with followers of Bundesliga and second division clubs rarely making headlines for the wrong reasons.

In fact during the World Cup last year the fans and general public were praised for their warm welcome to visitors.

However, in the former East Germany states, small factions continue to use football games as a means to organise clashes and the DFB are keen to stamp it out.

"The latest events have shown that the battle against violent anarchists can only continue together," added Spahn.

"Therefore, it is a shame that the police unions, in trying to protect their members, make the totally explicit claim that the efforts of the DFB have completely failed.

"Despite such destructive tones, we are still prepared for factual and constructive discussion to fight the violent phenomenon at football games.

"Furthermore, postponing games does not solve the problem - it simply delays it while at the same time, calling off games would be giving in to the aggressors and would punish the majority of peaceful and positive fans."

SportingLife

**Trim** · 01-11-2007, 09:00 PM

Stefan Hans has been promoted to become deputy general secretary of the German Football Association (DFB).

He will aid newly-appointed general secretary Wolfgang Niersbach, who took over his new position following the DFB's annual general meeting recently.

Hans is no stranger to the DFB and has been in charge of the divisions of law, sporting jurisdiction, finance, personnel, refereeing and administration since January 1 this year.

He is also a familiar deputy to Niersbach with both working alongside each other on the organisational committee for the 2006 World Cup.

From November 2004, Hans took over the responsibility for the logistics of the World Cup and has proved his capabilities to earn even more responsibility in the DFB on Wednesday.

SportingLife

**Trim** · 06-11-2007, 08:37 PM

bundesliga.de met up with national team manager Oliver Bierhoff to talk about the Bundesliga and the DFB team.

Oliver Bierhoff once scored the first golden goal in the history of major tournaments, handing Germany the Euro 96 trophy against the Czechs.

Nowadays he's team manager of the German national team and head coach Joachim Löw's right hand.

bundesliga.de: Oliver Bierhoff, which positives aspects are there in German football, one year after the World Cup?

Oliver Bierhoff: There are some, and you don't only see it in youth football, where more and more kids, both boys and girls, are joining clubs. We have also registered it at the highest level, in the Bundesliga. The attendance figures are extremely positive, and there's a great atmosphere in the stadiums. You can't help but notice that Germans simply love to celebrate football.

bundesliga.de: Stars such as Luca Toni and Franck Ribery are now demonstrating their class in the Bundesliga. How good is that for the league?

Bierhoff: It's very good, because they are the kind of players that people want to go and watch in the stadiums. They also inspire the clubs to increase their own international standing. So, you could say that bringing top foreign players to the Bundesliga can only be seen as an advantage to the entire league.

bundesliga.de: How do you rate FC Bayern this season? Is it really Bayern's best-ever squad?

Bierhoff: I wouldn't say that it's their best all-time squad just yet. They still have to earn that tag, especially through international success. Currently, the team is playing very well and above all attractively in the Bundesliga. Of course Bayern have a special standing, and not just because they have the best squad. They have top foreign stars and some of Germany's best players, such as Phillip Lahm, Miroslav Klose and Bastian Schweinsteiger. The squad harmonizes well, and you can tell that they fit as a team. However, their biggest test won't come this season in the UEFA Cup, it'll be in next year's Champions League.

bundesliga.de: In your opinion, which teams could possibly give Bayern a run for their money in this year's championship?

Bierhoff: I believe that especially Bremen and Schalke do have the potential to annoy Bayern this season, but these teams are experiencing problems with their respective consistency. It's clear that that they do not have enough depth in their squads, which means that they can't compensate up for injuries and the added stress of international games in the Champions League. I believe that this will be a clear winning season for FC Bayern.

bundesliga.de: Why are champions Stuttgart and cup winners Nürnberg experiencing such massive problems?

Bierhoff: The fact is that both teams played to their limits last season. Stuttgart, a team with a lot of young players, went above and beyond and simply had a terrific season. The second season is always a bit tougher and expectations are higher. So are the demands of international football, and that applies to both Nürnberg and Stuttgart. You can sense that they have become a little insecure. Having said that, I think that both teams will get back on track and end up in the areas of the standings to which they belong.

bundesliga.de: How will the Bundesliga clubs fare this season in international competition?

Bierhoff: Well, I think it will be tough for them in the Champions League, and we've seen that already in the group phase matches. The German teams will find it hard to get past the top European clubs. I believe German teams will have the biggest chances in the UEFA Cup. We're not financially disadvantaged in respect to the other clubs. If anything we have the edge there, and we should do very well.

bundesliga.de: How important is a strong Bundesliga for the German national team?

Bierhoff: It's extremely important. Both the national team and the Bundesliga should be successful, as they both improve the reputation of German football abroad. The better the Bundesliga becomes, the higher the league's standard is, and naturally German players profit from that, because most of them are playing here in Germany.

**Trim** · 09-11-2007, 07:10 PM

Holger Hieronymus, the DFL's CEO for Competition debates technical aides in controversial game situations and the topic "goal cameras".

The discussions are getting ever-more heated, and the decisions are getting more controversial. Was the ball behind the line? Was it in the goal or not?

Avoid mistakes

Something's wrong in football when goals that were regularly scored are disallowed. We need fast and reliable support for the referee and his assistants in their job and to help them avoid subjective mistakes.

Earlier this year, the DFL's TV production company SPORTCAST tested new cameras and technical developments at an innovation convention in Düsseldorf. One of the techniques tested was a camera system for the goal itself. The increase in controversial goal decisions has therefore not struck an unprepared league. We have already started tests.

Various angles

To clear up a well-spread misunderstanding: when we talk about "goal cameras", a single camera cannot assist us a great deal. We need various angles in order to make a precise decision. If a defender is blocking one perspective, we can call up another. In Düsseldorf, the league tested a system which was able to deliver six different pictures.

Two cameras were installed in each goal post, and a further two were positioned in the crossbar. The results were impressive. We were able to ascertain if a ball had completely crossed the goalline. Within a few seconds, the pictures enabled a signal to be made to help the referee make his decision. But what could happen in those few seconds before he has been signalled?

Speed is a factor

If the ball remains in play and isn't ruled out of play, various things could happen. A foul, a handball that results in a penalty or a counter-attack that leads to a goal are just some possible scenarios.

We must concentrate on the big question: how fast is the system behind the system? A chip placed inside the ball can send a signal when the ball has completely crossed the line and thereby give the referee vital information. In my opinion, this system has the advantage of speed. Currently we are pilot-testing the "Chip Ball" system to determine if it can work efficiently in a Bundesliga stadium, the most of which are filled with state-of-the-art technology which could possibly interfere with the system's performance.

Open for ideas

The system will be tested and checked in Bundesliga stadiums on a regular match day. I would like to point out the tests will not influence any decisions made in the games. The results will then be handed over to the International Football Association Board (IFAB) of football's ruling world body, FIFA. Only the board can decide if technical support systems are allowed to be used on match days. The DFL is prepared to promote all German innovations abroad.

I am convinced that a precisely functioning system will soon be available.