Wed, September 5th – 13:45 German time

As I stepped out of the S Bahn and into the Franfurt am Main. It was Tuesday night and I was dying for a Bratwurst with Brotchen and Senf.  When were living in Germany in the late 80’s and early 90’s, we were pretty broke and at that time we could get a good one for 1 deutsche mark (about 50 cents). Now because of inflation and the value of the US dollar it was 6 Euro with pommes (French fries) and a drink.

There was not much going on so I wandered around looking for some sort of action.   Someone had told me about a Jazz club in the Innenstadt that was world famous.  I could not locate it, but did find a street with a wine tasting festival. There were about 30 outside bars and food vendors.  As much as I wanted to eat a schnitzel or rundfleisch sandwich, I stayed disciplined (for once) and bought some almonds and headed back to the train station.

I arrived 20 minutes early and bought the Sport Bild Champions League addition.  This way I was able to study the Champions League teams, their budget, the players, and much more information about all the teams.

As I boarded the S-Bahn , I realized that I had forgotten to buy a return ticket from Frankfurt to Mullheim.  I saw some German S-Bahn Security guys and asked them if I could buy a ticket on board.  They told me I had to get off and buy one and then wait for 30 more minutes.  In the end I played dumb (like the days we used to get into every Bundesliga match for a jugend price (youth price) and speak English when they asked us our age) and he told me not to worry about it.

It is amazing that when I get back to Germany , I can read and understand most German again, even though I rarely use it. I am also able to speak fine, except with my new friends on the train.

Below I hope you will enjoy some information about Frankfurt and it’s main Men’s and Women’s team.
Until next time,
Andrew

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SZETELA SIGNS WITH LA LIGA’S RACING SANTANDER: U.S. Under-20 Men’s National
Team midfielder Danny Szetela has signed with La Liga’s Racing Santander,
and is currently going through physicals before joining the team. The
20-year-old former member of the Columbus Crew was one of the stars of the
recent FIFA Under-20 World Cup in Canada, scoring three goals in the team’s
run to the quarterfinals, including the USA’s lone goal in a 1-1 tie with
South Korea and two against Poland in a 6-1 victory. Szetela, who holds a
Polish passport through his parents, becomes the third member of the
Under-20 squad to sign an overseas contract, joining teammates Freddy Adu
(Benfica) and Sal Zizzo (Hannover 96) in Europe.



Update :  Change in the program.

Due to a very hard Training , Wed , Sept. 5th at 9:30am,
Trainer Leo had given the team the PM session off.

The players will be free from 16:00pm - 23:00pm to go into Frankfurt or do
whatever they want.

The Technical staff and myself will go to dinner together.

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Pepe peps up Portugal squad

Thursday 30 August 2007
by Pedro Gonçalves
from Lisbon


Real Madrid CF defender Pepe has been named in Luiz Felipe Scolari's squad
for the games against Poland and Serbia yet an injury collected during
training looks like depriving him of a chance to make his debut.

'We must not lose'
The Brazilian-born player will be out for a fortnight
after tearing his thigh though he will still link up with the squad for the
two vital Group A home qualifiers, for which SL Benfica's Petit, Manchester
United FC's Nani, Club Atlético de Madrid's Maniche and Werder Bremen's Hugo
Almeida all return. "We must not lose either match," said Scolari. "We have
already dropped two or three very important points that could have given us
more comfort.

The match against Poland is crucial. If we win we will be closer to them and
to the finals." Portugal play Poland at the Estádio da Luz on 8 September
and Serbia at the Estádio José Alvalade four days later. They are currently
third in Group A, two points behind Finland and two more adrift of Poland,
but with a game in hand on both.

Portugal squad

Goalkeepers: Quim (SL Benfica), Ricardo (Real Betis Balompié).

Defenders: Bruno Alves (FC Porto), Fernando Meira (VfB Stuttgart), Jorge
Andrade (Juventus), Bosingwa (FC Porto), Pepe (Real Madrid CF), Miguel
(Valencia CF), Caneira (Valencia CF), Paulo Ferreira (Chelsea FC).

Midfielders: Deco (FC Barcelona), Petit (Benfica), João Moutinho (Sporting
Clube de Portugal), Maniche (Club Atlético de Madrid), Raúl Meireles (FC
Porto), Tiago (Juventus), Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United FC).

Forwards: Hélder Postiga (FC Porto), Hugo Almeida (Werder Bremen), Nani
(Manchester United FC), Nuno Gomes (SL Benfica), Ricardo Quaresma (FC
Porto), Simão (Club Atlético de Madrid).