Features news coverage of Germany and its players, including match reports and general football news.
There could be tough times ahead for Luca Toni. The Bayern Munich striker, just recently crowned Bundesliga champion and currently leading the scoring charts with 21 goals, may soon be confronted with an unsurpassable obstacle… of the robotic kind. Its name is Goalias (or GoalIAS if you prefer), and it’s the first robot-goalkepeer capable of defending a regular-sized football goal.
Written by Marco Pantanella. 8 comments
In recent seasons, we have witnessed (and continue to witness), slowly but surely, the elegant destruction of what we know as the ‘big’ teams. Spain, Italy, France, England, Scotland, Germany, Holland, Russia, Greece, and Turkey have all fallen to the inevitable rise of the ‘middle’ teams. Let’s review the movers and shakers:
Written by GT. 5 comments
Stuttgart have slapped a 50m euros price tag on Mario Gomez, in a manner reminiscent of Lyon’s incessant posturing that comes every year before they sell their star player in the summer (usually to Madrid or Chelsea, or Barcelona have been the beneficiaries as well).
Mario Gomez is in demand right now and if he goes with (and stars for) Germany in Euro 2008, his value will go even higher. Once Gomez decides to leave for greener pastures, it’s going to be very difficult for Suttgart to keep him from going to Spain (Madrid, Barcelona) or England (Manchester United and Chelsea).
Written by Ahmed Bilal. 4 comments
Euro 2008 kicks off on Saturday 7 June 2008 and Soccerlens will be covering it every step of the way, from the on-pitch action to team news to the wonderful fans that will be traveling to Austria / Switzerland.
Here’s the full list of Euro 2008 fixtures, bookmark and share away. Once the tournament starts, we’ll use this page to list results as well.
Written by Marco Pantanella. 4 comments
Euro 2008 promises to be massive - with or without England. Along with team beer and several exciting stars expected to leave a mark on the event, there’s also the small matter of football fans (if anyone forgets, this is what we had in Germany 2006).
I know a lot of bloggers will be covering Euro 2008, so this post is for them - while preparing Soccerlens for Euro 2008 coverage, I realised that there was no one place to get all the team flags (we already have the Euro 2008 kits, if anyone’s interested). Don’t know about you guys but I like to have images on my posts and flags / team crests are quite useful to have when you’re covering an event, even if some of them look the same (damned Europeans).
Alright then, here we go:
Written by Ahmed Bilal. 2 comments
In June, 16 of Europe’s best national sides will descend upon Austria and Switzerland for the 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, or as most people call it, Euro 2008. While many of the continent’s top teams will be on display, some of Europe’s - and the world’s - best will be as well, so even if your team isn’t in it, you still have plenty reason to watch.
With that in mind and before the tournament begins, we (as in I) have conjured up the juggernaut of juggernauts, an All-Star Euro 2008 Starting XI.
There are several players you won’t see on this list, like Francesco Totti, Fernando Torres, and others, but I compiled this list with one major rule - no more than two players from one country, for the sake of diversity. Keeping that rule in mind, I did try to include the best players, both promising youngsters and experienced stalwarts alike. So, while all of the names below are recognizable, you may not agree with all of the selections. Then again, you’re not supposed to.
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Written by Eddie Griffin. 18 comments
In today’s video roundup we look at yesterday’s friendlies.
Written by ifutbal. One comment
Whilst the whole world and his mother are hypothesizing about Don Fabio and his crew, I thought it might be a good idea to look at some of the other fixtures in what looks like a (dare I say it) appetising week of international friendly football, with fifteen of the sixteen Euro 2008 qualifiers in action, including six ties between the Euro 2008 competitors.
Here’s hoping that there are no injuries to top players, and no compensation paid out – although these days, so tight is the dialogue between club and national managers (a perquisite not available in days gone by) that players may be rested or asked by royal decree to play just half a match. That said, as a Spurs fan, I wouldn’t be too miffed if some divine force threw a lightning bolt or two at Cesc.
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Written by Hugo Steckelmacher. 5 comments
As a sportsman he has already written a chapter for himself in German footballing history, and is widely acknowledged to be one of the finest strikers to have graced European football in the 1990s.
As a businessman he’s less known (neither Wikipedia nor the countless news stories covering his reign as Germany manager or the speculation on his management future after that include the name of his company) but equally effective; Klinsmann is vice president and partner in SoccerSolutions, a US-based sports marketing and business development firm, and has been nicknamed the ‘Rainmaker’ for his positive contributions to the company.
As a manager he has a limited CV (a role in the LA Galaxy management and 2 years at the head of the Germany national team) but like his career (football and commercial), he has tasted success wherever he has went. A strong showing in the 2006 World Cup cemented his place as a progressive and capable manager, and his next appointment - a 2 year contract (2008-2010) as Bayern Munich manager - is the perfect stage for Klinsmann to prove that he is as capable of delivering results with a football club as he was on the pitch, as a consultant and as a national team manager.
How then, do you describe Klinsmann?
Written by Ahmed Bilal. 3 comments
For many teams across Europe, the second biggest tournament to qualify and win would be the Euro. Behind the World Cup, of course. So it is a big time for all teams across the continent to unveil kits that will be worn for this event only, or for a couple years following. Though some of the kits have not changed since the 2006 World Cup, there are some that have, so I have created a collection of the kits here.
However if you want a brief synopsis of the teams kits, here you go:
Written by Brad Barnett. 3 comments
Update: The ‘Frings punch’ clip has been added - please see the link at the end of this article.
By now everyone has probably either seen or heard or read about the confrontation after the Argentina-Germany World Cup quarter-final between the two sets of players. After watching the video (link at the end) and read reports on the matter, here are some details on what actually happened.
Written by Ahmed Bilal. 9 comments
The hosts vs the most ‘complete’ team in the tournament. At this stage it’s hard to chose between sides, but a lot of the hype surrounding both teams is just that - hype.
Written by Ahmed Bilal. Leave a response
The first round of matches at Germany 2006 concluded tonight with the final second round berths being decided in the favour of France and Switzerland. Let’s look at some of the interesting stats from the action so far.
Written by Rocky Dixon. Leave a response
