| Andrew's Stagiere Blog - Sept 2 |
| Wednesday, 05 September 2007 | |
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As I lay down Monday night, the long summer and travel hit me, buteven then I could not get to sleep. Finally at 1:00am, I drifted off,thinking about the days to come. For those of you who have traveled in Europe, most breakfasts aresimilar (bread, cheese, meat, cereal, juice, fruit and a bit of warm food).The highlight for me was the fresh brown bread that our Aunt Vickie used toserve daily while we stayed for 2 months with her in Bad Godesburg (nearBonn) in 1982.  Herbert Ziemer, our father was born in Germany and moved away before World War II. In 1982, we all had the opportunity to meet his father and stay with relatives near Bonn and Koln. This was during the 1982 World Cup in Spain. Benjamin (age 11) and I (age 12) stayed with our Aunt Vickie and Uncle Frank in Bad Godesburg near Bonn. Christopher (age 8) and his friend Jason stayed with Uncle Herbert and Aunt Marliss in Troisdorf near to Koln. Marcus (age 17) and his friend Chad traveled for 1 month and stayed one month with Herbert and Marliss. The funny thing was that we were already very into Fussball (Soccer) and our relatives were not. By the end of our stay , we had hooked our German relatives on the game and for the “Ziemer Brothers” the seed was further planted. From now on, our standard was Europe, the highest level in the World. After breakfast, I decided to start my fitness kick. I started walking with no plan , but to find out where I was. I walked past the field where the Polish team trains and into the forrest. The smell brought back many memories of playing in Germany for FC Recklinhausen at team in the Verbandsliga or Germany 4th division. On game days, we would come early to the club and have tea and cake. We then would take a short walk in the forrest (bald). In 1987, Chris (age 16) decided to go to Germany to live and play soccer. He joined several Americans including our good friend Shawn Blakeman. He called Benjamin and I after a few months and said , “you must get over here” there are so many clubs. Benjamin and I were playing Division 1 soccer at Fresno State and borrowed money from our sister to move to Germany. This started a 8 year period in which one or all 3 of us were living in Germany. Many other friends (Dave Kaufman, Dave Schaffer, Josh Kalkstein, Kely Jacobsen, Shawn Percel, Zac Ibsen to name a few) came over to live and play as well. Back to 2007, I found myself in the middle of the forrest at a sign that said Offenbach 6.8 kilometers by bike and decided to turn back. When I arrived back at the club TSV Landerspiel, I took another bike trail towards Mullheim. This trail curved along a small creek with grass fields on both sides. As I walked the few kilometers into Mullheim, I could not help but notice several small soccer fields with goals. After arriving in Mullheim, I noticed it was time to get back for training. I want to the Haubahnhauf and found the bus back to Landerspiel. This was all useful information since I planned to take the same route to Frankfurt later in the evening. I joined the team in the hotel lobby and we walked the short distance to the field. In the morning session, a few players were out doing individual running programs or with the doctor. The focus was on passing and keeping the ball. Leo Beenhakker is a true coaching legend. It is incredible to see him work with the team and how he creates the environment. He is very passionate and breathes confidence into the team. Together with Frans Hoek , he brings a lot of experience at all levels which gives confidence to the boys and the rest of the staff. Coach Leo and his staff feel that they can play with anyone and they are bringing this across to the team. After the first training session , the lack of sleep caught up with me and I took a nap. Luckily, Frans called to wake me up and I made it to the lobby in time for everyone to make fun of me (since I was still half asleep and had huge bags under my eyes). Having worked with the Dutch for 13 years and in Soccer for longer I took it as a good sign that they liked me enough to hassle me. The second training session was very intense. The focus again was on possession and then they had a 3 team competition in two different forms. 8V8 with katzers (wall players) and then 8V8 on a ½ field. They were really going at it and the environment was incredible. I decided to head into Frankfurt and have dinner and see what the city had to offer. After taking a taxi to the train station, I caught the S-Bahn to Frankfurt and 10 stops later stepped out into Frankfurt, one of the biggest financial cities in the world. Next blog will include information on Frankfurt and on what I know about some of the players of the Polish team. Training Session # 2 – 10:00am , Tuesday Warm-up with Rondo. Goalkeepers go separate with Frans Hoek for 45 minutes. Focus on the passback and shot stopping and crosses from many distances and angles. Possession 5V5 plus 3 for each team. 9 V 9 with goals on the 18 yard lines and leaving the left side of the field coned off (since they only have 9 on 9, they work from attacking from the right and defending from the left and then switch sides and attack from the left and defend from the right). This was the first time I had seen this and it worked quite well. Training session # 3 – Tuesday, 17:00pm – all players (24 ) except for Warm-up with Rondo Goalkeepers with Frans Hoek Players have a 15 minute speed and coordination session with sprints at the end Possession – 7 V 7 plus 7, team who loses the ball plays defense. Coach Leo used 3 different size pitches (20 by 35, 35 by 35 and 50by 35) he changed it 6 times and also changed the rules by the size of the pitch. 8V8 with 8 on the walls 8V8 on ½ field EURO fixtures reach final stretch Tuesday 4 September 2007 by Paul Safferfrom London All seven UEFA EURO 2008™ qualifying groups remain tight with six rounds of matches to play before the end of November, starting on Saturday. Two teams from each group will join hosts Austria and Switzerland in the finals and uefa.com updates the state of play. Group A Poland sat out the August programme but had enough of a cushion to remain top, with Finland two points behind in second after defeating Kazakhstan. Portugal, held in Armenia, are two points further adrift with a game in hand and their draw took them above Serbia, who like the Portuguese have six matches left. This week could prove pivotal. On Saturday, Portugal welcome Poland and Serbia play Finland; on Wednesday, Portugal meet Serbia while Finland take on Poland. Belgium will try to revive their slim hopes away to Kazakhstan. Group B Saturday's FIFA World Cup final rematch between Italy and France in Milan brings the top two together, with Les Bleus – who won the home fixture a year ago - two points ahead. The only team to take points off France, Scotland, are one behind Italy and host Lithuania; Ukraine, three adrift of the Scots but with a game in hand, visit Georgia. Wednesday is an equally important day: Ukraine play Italy and France face Scotland. Group C Holders Greece have a five-point lead over Bosnia-Herzegovina, Turkey and Norway – and travel to Oslo on Wednesday before tackling the other two contenders in October. Turkey, with a match in hand, go to Malta on Saturday then welcome Hungary, who play Bosnia-Herzegovina – second on head-to-head record – at the weekend. Norway's Saturday assignment is at rock-bottom Moldova. Group D Germany, boasting 19 points from seven games, have the best record in the competition and lead the Czech Republic by five points with the Republic of Ireland a further point adrift and Slovakia four behind them. Wales have a mathematical chance but play Germany on Saturday, the leaders' only September qualifier. The Czech Republic and Ireland visit San Marino and Slovakia respectively before a Wednesday showdown in Prague, when Slovakia take on Wales. Group E Three points separate first from fourth, with unbeaten Croatia level at the top with Israel, who have played a game more than the other challengers. Russia – also yet to lose – are two adrift and England one behind them. While Croatia receive Estonia before a trip to point-less Andorra next week, the focus will be on Wembley where Israel then Russia visit England for their first qualifiers at the rebuilt stadium. Before their London test, Russia play F.Y.R. Macedonia on Saturday. Group F Yet another tight section with Sweden, Northern Ireland and Spain on 18, 16 and 15 points respectively. Denmark are five points off third place but have a match in hand – they travel to Sweden on Saturday before welcoming Liechtenstein. Surprise package Northern Ireland, whose new manager Nigel Worthington led them to victory over Liechtenstein last month, are in Latvia and Iceland. Spain go to Iceland on Saturday before hosting Latvia. Group G The top three remain undefeated. Romania lead Bulgaria by two points, with the Netherlands one further back but with six games to play instead of five. The Netherlands face Bulgaria on Saturday when Romania journey to Belarus; four days later Bulgaria welcome Luxembourg and the Netherlands visit fourth-placed Albania, with Romania not in action. ©uefa.com 1998-2007. All rights reserved. |
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| Last Updated ( Thursday, 06 September 2007 ) |
