Easter Surprise!

As many of you know I'm currently in Europe visiting my family before taking a soccer tour through Germany and Holland with the US Soccer Federation.  I was not going to begin blogging about the trip until Friday, April 29th when the actual soccer portion of the trip begins.  I would not want to bore everyone with the play by play of the time spent with my bilingual nieces.  Let's just say there is rarely a dull moment but it mostly involves riding bikes, drawing pictures, and taking trips to the park.

Anyway, we spent Saturday and Easter Sunday at my brother-in-laws parents outside of Erlangen, Germany (a K study abroad location).  On Easter Sunday the girls woke up and needed to find their Easter baskets which had been hidden by the Easter Bunny.   Thorsten, my brother-in-law, informed me that I need to look for my Easter basket as well.  Luckily Emma and Selma helped me locate my "Ostern Geschenck" (Easter Present).  The Easter Bunny had left me two tickets to see FC Nurnberg v Mainz 05.  This is a Bundesliga match between the teams 5th (Mainz) and 6th (FC Nurnberg) competing for a spot in the Europa League for next year.  The tickets were for the game that afternoon.   What a treat, my soccer portion of the trip was beginning sooner that I had expected!

Two Tickets in My Easter Basket

That afternoon we took the train into the city.  We needed to transfer at the Nurnberg main station.  This is where we encountered the mass of fans headed to the match and a sizable police presence to keep everyone in line.   We made it into the stadium just in time for the players walkout.

The Walkout: How Germans love the giant flag.

Nurnberg Supporters Demonstrate Their Devotion To The Team

I'll save everyone the always interesting match analysis and give you a quick synopsis of the match.  Mainz 05 is in 5th place and Nurnberg is in 6th.  The 5th place team at the end of the season in the Bundesliga qualifies for the Europa league which is the European league just below the Champions League.  Clubs that qualify for this division are awarded money that they can spend for next year's team.  Mainz was fine with a tie while Nurnberg needed the win.  Nurnberg hit the post on a superb free kick in the first half but Mainz had several opportunities which they should have converted in the 2nd half.  There was a bit of controversy at the end of the match as a Mainz player headed the ball back to the goalkeeper, a Nurnberg player slashed in between the defender and the goalie.  However, the goalkeeper beat the attacker to the ball.  Barely outside of the box the goalkeeper used his hand to knock the ball out of harms way.  This should have been a free kick and a possible red card to the goalkeeper but the referee claimed that he had touched the ball in the box.  Replays show that the official was wrong.  The Nurnberg fans were irate and numerous individuals showed their appreciation for the referee by saluting him with their middle finger.  The game would end 0-0 and was the only scoreless game on the weekend in the Bundesliga.  I took some ideas away from the match which I have stowed away in my coaching notebook for a later date.  Overall, it was a fantastic Easter Surprise and I am eagerly awaiting the official soccer portion of my trip which begins in a few short days!

Nurnburg sets up a free kick which would glance off the near post

#26 American: Timmy Chandler, plays right back for #1FCN

American Flag In Support of Chandler

Top 5 Moments From #1FCN v Mainz 05
1) Fans of the home team recognizing the referee for his performance after the game.  The universal single finger salute
2) Some super haircuts on the Nurnberg supporters (think Lynyrd Skynyrd concert, I was not discrete enough to get a picture).
3) The fan next to me saying "Ja Wohl, Ja Wohl, Ja Wohl", whenever FCN did anything good.
4) Fans relieving themselves along the route from the train to the stadium (no law against public urination, sometimes you just have to go). 
5) Massive Flags being waved the entire game.


Look for more posts this weekend.

GO HORNETS!!!