Matchday In Cologne

First stop on the agenda for Saturday was a stop at 1. FC Köln to meet with their youth director Klaus Pabst.  Klaus oversees the youth programs at 1. FC Köln and also has his own soccer training company based in the city as well.  He also one of the editors for Success in Soccer, a popular coaching magazine found throughout the US.  We meet with Klaus for about 30 minutes at which time he presented some of his club’s philosophies on youth development. 

A couple take home lessons from the presentation included
-1. FC Köln is the 4th largest club in Germany in terms of supporters
-They have teams ranging from U8-U23 (reserve team) in the academy
-U16 is when the players sign their first contracts
-Youth U15 and under pay 43 Euros to train at the club
-The club has extensive season long and weekly plans for each team

Q & A with 1. FC Köln  youth director Klaus Pabst

After the presentation and a little Q & A the group had the opportunity to walk around the training grounds.  While walking around the director of marketing for the club, Joachim Lange introduced himself.  During our conversation he inquired about where I lived in the US.  After letting him know that I was from Michigan he informed me that he had previously worked at Ford Motor Company and served as their director of sports marketing.  While working in Dearborn at the company headquarters he lived in Ann Arbor.  He was been employed at 1. FC Köln for 2 months.  We discussed briefly the big match between 1. FC Köln and Leverkusen for that afternoon and he cited how important a win for his employer would be.  He said that Leverkusen had beat 1. FC Köln earlier in the season 3-2 and that Cologne had not beaten Leverkusen in the last 16 meetings.  However, he said that those statistics would mean very little when the whistle blew to signal the beginning of the match.

1. FC Köln Youth Team training on one of the 4 fields at their training complex

We headed off to lunch in downtown and had a traditional German meal.  There was a ton of excellent food and my favorite part was probably the dessert.  It consisted of a warm slice of apple strudel along with two scoops of vanilla ice cream and several spoonfuls of whipped cream.  Yes, there was also some tasty German beer to accompany the feast.  After the meal the group boarded the bus and headed off to the stadium.  As Mr. Lange had suggested earlier in the day the match was quite meaningful and while on the surface it was rivalry match between 2 teams located less than 10 miles apart there was much more to the match up.  Leverkusen currently 2nd in the Bundesliga could secure a position in the Champion's League for next season which is worth several millions of dollars to the club.  More importantly, 1. FC Köln which is was in 15th place (18 teams play in the top German division) need every point out of their last 3 matches to avoid being relegated to the 2nd division.  For 1. FC Köln there is also millions of dollars at stake but in their case they are more concerned about the money or revenue they will lose playing in a lower division. 

RheinEnergieStadion-Home of FC Cologne

Support for the club could be seen throughout the city center.  Everywhere people were wearing jerseys, scarves, and their team’s colors. We made our way to the stadium and settled into our seats a couple minutes before the players walked out to the field.  Fans for Leverkusen that had made the short trip to Cologne were located in their own heavily secured area in the corner of the Stadium. 

Leverkusen Fans Getting Fired Up

The game kicked off with neither team really looking to attack.  Both teams played with a bit of reserve not wanting to make a mistake that would put them behind early on.  Defensive organization for both teams was strong.  Clearly the best chance for either team took place in the 24th minute, when Leverkusen midfielder, Michael Ballack played a brilliant ball over the top to his teammate Gonazlo Castro.  All alone 30 yards from goal he received a ball over the top that he brought down with his chest onto his right foot hit the ball on the volley and would miss wide from just inside the box.  Although the cheering and intensity of the fans for both teams was sky high the teams were not able to match their spirit with so much on the line.  The game entered halftime 0-0. 

Halftime of my 2nd match of the trip and still waiting to see my first goal

#13 Michael Ballack, former captain of the German National Team patrols the midfield for Leverkusen

Immediately at the start of the second half the pace of the game picked up.  Leverkusen went on the attack pressing for an early goal.  Leverkusen forward Stephan Heissling nailed a shot off the crossbar int he 51st minute and 1. FC Köln was living dangerously.  Leverkusen then again broke down the 1. FC Köln defense but the team's keeper Michael Rensing made an outstanding save with Ballack just missing an opportunity less than 3 yards from the goal in the 63rd minute.  It just seemd to be a matter of time until Leverkusen would net the games first goal.  However, 1. FC Kölnwould strike first.  In the 67th minutes After a nice combination between a 1. FC Köln winger and midfielder, the Slovenian forward Milivoje Novakovic ran onto a through ball, clear of the Leverkusen backline and played the ball one touch into the far side of the net.  1-0, advantage 1. FC Köln.  With the goal, momentum really began to swing the way of the home team.  For the next 10 minutes Leverkusen would be the team struggling to get the ball out of their end.  The game would slowly even out once again and with  let Leverkusen just missed tying the game in the 76th minutes with a ball that had the 1. FC Köln keeper beat.  However, the ball drilled the post and then the rebound would find its way out of bounds.  Shortly there after 1. FC Köln scored a second goal.  After a Leverkusen foul, a ball was shot on goal from the left wing.  1. FC Köln was able to control the rebound and Novakovic recorded his second goal of the game.  Leverkusen would threaten once more but Rensing was equal to the challenge and preserved a 2-0 win for the home team.  With other results posted on the day and two matches remaining 1. FC Köln is not out of danger yet but sitting much better than they were before the match.  Even though Leverkusen did not get a point they also benefited from other results in their favor and look very good to qualify for the Champion’s League, needing only 1 point from their last 2 matches. 

1. FC Köln celebrates their second goal of the match

1. FC Köln acknowledge their supporters after the win

After the game we filtered through the happy 1. FC Köln supporters and made it back to the bus for the short return trip to our hotel in Leverkusen.  There was certainly plenty to take away from the visit to the training center and critical match. 

Tomorrow we will be traveling to Holland to see Eindhoven (3rd in the Dutch League)face off against Vitesse (16th out of 18), who is also facing a relegation battle similar to 1. FC Köln.

Arrival In Leverkusen

Welcome to Leverkusen, home of Bayern Leverkusen

On Friday, I arrived in Leverkusen via train around 1pm and made the short walk from the train station to check-in at the hotel for the U.S. Soccer International Coaching Workshop of Germany and the Netherlands.  Participants slowly began trickling in to the hotel as their flights arrived in Germany.  At 3pm we had the first meeting of the event.  The instructors and program director led a short lecture that included an overview of the program.  As well as meals and travel arrangements over the course of the next week.  Their are 24 participants in the workshop with varying soccer experience, ranging from the past president of the US Soccer Federation (Dr. Bob Contiguglia, 1998-2006) to high school and youth coaches.  Although the workshop primarily consists of Americans several other countries/federations are represented, these include Ireland, Venezuela, and Ghana.

After a the intro meeting most of the coaches grabbed their boots and we headed off to the Bayer Leverkusen youth training grounds.  A couple lightning flashes and a quick cloudburst merely served as a delay to the proceedings.  Once the storms passed and quick warm-up, a nice kick around began on the turf training pitch at the beautiful Leverkusen facility as the sun peeked out for the later afternoon match.  It was very cool to be playing a pick up game at one of the training facilities of the top teams in Germany.  One of many unique experiences that I'm sure will be part of the week.  Fitness was a bit of an issue as the game began to slow down after the first half hour and jet lag slowly exacted its revenge on some of the players.

Leverkusen Youth Training Facility, Facing South

Coaches Gear Up for the Kick Around

Post Pick-Up Game Debriefing

Post match the group headed back to the hotel to grab showers and dinner before trying to wage another battle against jet lag by turning in early.  On Saturday we are headed to Koln to see a Bundesliga match between Leverkusen and FC Koln.  There are only about 12 kilometers (7 miles) that separate the townss so it is a pretty big rivalry match.  With a win Leverkusen can secure a spot in the next year's Champion's League.  FC Cologne currently sits 15th out of 18 teams and is in desperate need of a win to stay in the German top division next year.  There is plenty of stake for both teams.  I will be sure to add a match recap tomorrow.

Here's a quick overview of the schedule for the next week

Fri, April 29th: Check-In, Workshop Intro

Sat, April 30th: Presentation at FC Cologne, FC Cologne v Bayer 04 Leverkusen

Sun, May 1st: Dutch First Division Match; PSV Eindhoven v Vitesse

Mon, May 2nd: Presentation by the German Federation at Hennef

Tues, May 3rd: Observe Leverkusen 1st team training and Youth Presentations

Wed, May 4th: Visit to the Dutch Federation in Zeist and Evening in Amsterdam

Thu, May 5th: Training Observation at Ajax and tour of Amsterdam

Fri, May 6th: Depart Amsterdam

That is all for today.

GO HORNETS!!!

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!!!