Canucks in Germany (Nov 19 - Nov 25)

[Guest Ed]

A good chance for Hannover 96 to stay with the big guns in the Bundesliga as they travel south to take on 1.FC Nuernberg this Sunday. Expect Julian de Guzman to be in his familiar d-mid role alongside Albanian international Altin Lala. 'The Club', as Nuernberg are known, have had a mixed season sitting mid-table in 11th spot; Hannover have gone supernova with 8 wins in their last 10 games.

Paul Stalteri and Werder Bremen are looking at Saturday's away match to Arminia Bielefeld as a must win game if they are to keep pace in the hunt for the Bundesliga championship. German international sniper Klose is day-to-day with a hamstring problem after destroying Cameroon yesterday in a friendly. (Note that Germany is undefeated since the California based Klinsmann took over from Voeller).

Tam Nsaliwa and 1.FC Saarbruecken have a 6 pointer tomorrow as they host LR Ahlen in the Bundesliga 2. Saarbruecken sit in 9th place, 1 point behind 7th placed LR Ahlen.

Ryan Thomson and RW Essen host 1860 Muenchen tomorrow as well.

Nik Ledgerwood and 1860 Muenchen amateurs take on league leaders Kickers Offenbach tomorrow in the Regional League South.

[Guest Ed]

Two decent results today for Canucks in Germany.

In Saarbruecken, Tam Nsaliwa adds another impressive defensive display this season as 1.FC Saarbruecken hold LR Ahlen to a 0-0 draw in the Bundesliga 2.

In the Regional League South, the 1860 amateurs without the pros defeat league leaders Kickers Offenbach 1-0. Nik Ledgerwood plays 90 minutes in midfield and is praised at the 1860 Muenchen website for his work in setting up the winner in the 81st minute.

The RW Essen game vs 1860 Muenchen pro team in the Bundesliga 2 was postponed due to poor field conditions (heavy rain and snow).

[Guest Ed]

Tam in action today.

[jonovision]

Which one is Tam?

[redhat]

I think the one on the left is Tam.

[Canuck Oranje]

Sarbruecken colours are blue and black and it was a home game for them. So Tam would be wearing those colours.

[Guest Ed]

quote:Originally posted by Canuck Oranje

Sarbruecken colours are blue and black and it was a home game for them. So Tam would be wearing those colours.

Correct.

[jonovision]

Stalteri plays 90 minutes in a losing effort as Werder Bremen lose ground by going down to defeat 2-1 at Arminia Bielefeld.

[redhat]

my bad. Their colors are blue & black...[:I]

[Guest Ed]

1.FC Schweinfurt 05 were idle this weekend in the Oberliga Bayern but a report from last week has Waldemar Dutra (ex Calgary Storm player) moving on to Sportfreunde Siegen in the Regional League South. Congrats to Waldo on his move up a division. He did not feature with the senior team this past weekend. He won't get to face his ex-teammate Nik Ledgerwood until March.

[Guest Ed]

Good to see Maycoll Canizales finally get back in action with Hannover 96 amateurs this past weekend. He started and was subbed out after an hour as his team defeated Hamburg Victoria 1-0 in the Oberliga Niedersachsen/Bremen.

Julian de Guzman and the senior Hannover 96 side let a victory slip away as 1.FC Nuernberg came back late to earn a 1-1 draw. The point keeps Hannover 96 in a lofty 5th overall in the Bundesliga. Paul Stalteri and Werder Bremen drop to 8th in the table as they lose 2-1 to Arminia Bielefeld.

[Grizzly]

Found the following on transfermarkt.de under the title Who the **** is Waldemar Dutra?

FC 05: Die ersten Spieler verlassen den Verein

Schweinfurt (17.11.2004) - Mit dem Kanadier Waldemar Dutra und dem zuletzt suspendierten Baldo De Gregorio haben die beiden ersten Spieler des FC 05 heute bei neuen Mannschaften angeheuert. Dutra wechselt in die Regionalliga nach Siegen, De Gregoria zu Viktoria Aschaffenburg. Auch die beiden anderen kanadier im Kader des FC 05 stehen nach Informationen von SWEX.DE mit neuen Vereinen in abschlussreifen Gesprächen.

States that Dutra has transfered to Siegen and that the other two Canadians have arranged nearly completed transfers from Schweinfurt. Maybe Schweinfurt has some financial problems. One poster says that the above report is not accurate and according to local papers Dutra is only on trial with Siegen and has not yet signed. Siegen is definitely a good transfer for Dutra as they are currently in 4th place and one point out of a promotion spot to the 2nd Bundesliga.

[Grizzly]

Schweinfurt is bankrupt and most of the players and the coach are leaving or have already left. According to swex.de Dutra will is one of the players who will still play this weekend. Don't know if this means he is not transfering or he won't be able to play for Siegen until after the winter break. Marcina is not listed as playing this weekend nor is John Castrillon. I don't recall having heard about Castrillon who is a former Mustangs player being with Schweinfurt and he is not on the Canadians Abroad list.

[Guest Ed]

Not really related to current Canucks in Germany, but Eduard Geyer who has coached Energie Cottbus for what seems like forever (11 years) was sacked today. Amir Haroon is the only Canuck with the team that I am aware of (he's playing U19). Geyer coached Kevin McKenna when he made his pro debut.

[ditty]

quote:Originally posted by Ed

Not really related to current Canucks in Germany, but Eduard Geyer who has coached Energie Cottbus for what seems like forever (11 years) was sacked today. Amir Haroon is the only Canuck with the team that I am aware of (he's playing U19). Geyer coached Kevin McKenna when he made his pro debut.

I heard that Aaron Richer, formerly of the Calgary Mustangs, is heading, or has headed, to Cottbus for a trial.

Geyer was one of those classic DDR throwbacks who longed for the "bad old days." He always seemed like the most likely coach to not last a season let alone survive and succeed for 11. He achieved alot with Cottbus but they've gone from being midtable in the 1st Div to relegation position (or near) in the 2nd.

[Grizzly]

Can't say I agree with your Geyer comments, Ditty. This type of discipline-first coach is pretty common in both west and east Germany. We had our own west German version in Ossieck. Lorant (1860, Fenerbahce) is another west German coach with a similar style (and much less class) than Geyer. I would also rate Geyer as far superior to either. Geyer was associated with the DDR because of his post as national team coach (and rumours of STASI cooperation) but his style has more to do with German coaching style than DDR. I don't see how anyone could not expect him to last a season as when he has had adequate time he has been successful at every coaching post both pre and post reunification. He is very outspoken and honest which doesn't always endear him to club presidents and has led to some dismissals but rarely has poor performance caused his departure. He brought Cottbus from a second rate DDR team playing in the lower DDR leagues and subsequently lower German leagues to the 1st Bundesliga and stayed there for 3 years while bigger DDR teams are still playing in the 4th division. He did all this despite Cottbus being near the bottom of the team budgets in every league. This is a team from a small city on the border of Poland with very high unemployment, little sponsorship money and a completely inadequate stadium. After 11 years maybe his style wasn't working anymore in Cottbus. However, I think it probably has more to do with working for a team that is above its station. Cottbus is a team that probably belongs in the 3rd division with the occasional move to the 2nd. The disadvantages of working with such a team striving to play at a higher level probably just caught up with him in the end. This dismissal is highly controversial in Germany. Geyer will probably retire now as he has been thinking about retiring for several years but any other club that could sign him would be well advised to do so. What could he do with a team that was actually decently funded and where he didn't start each season at a disadvantage to his coaching colleagues? Without a doubt one of the top German coaches.

[Guest Ed]

Expect a huge jump in North American media interest in the Bundesliga as it is now confirmed that Landon Donovan will be joining Bayer Leverkusen this coming January.

Also, we should alert young Nik Ledgerwood that rumours abound about the infamous Cletus joining 1860 Muenchen during the break. Is he a role model or what??

Post of the day from bigsoccer on the Cletus transfer:

"Clint Mathis + Loewenbrau + Spaten + Hacker Pschorr + Paulaner + Hofbrauhaus + Weihenstephan + Andechs = Betty Ford."

[ditty]

quote:Originally posted by Ed

Expect a huge jump in North American media interest in the Bundesliga as it is now confirmed that Landon Donovan will be joining Bayer Leverkusen this coming January.

Also, we should alert young Nik Ledgerwood that rumours abound about the infamous Cletus joining 1860 Muenchen during the break. Is he a role model or what??

Post of the day from bigsoccer on the Cletus transfer:

"Clint Mathis + Loewenbrau + Spaten + Hacker Pschorr + Paulaner + Hofbrauhaus + Weihenstephan + Andechs = Betty Ford."

Shut up, I picked him for my Kicker Managerspiel team :0. Woe is me, woe is me, indeed. This coming on the heels of picking Mehmet "Living on the Trainers' Table" Scholl not one but two years in a row.

[ditty]

quote:Originally posted by Grizzly

Can't say I agree with your Geyer comments, Ditty. This type of discipline-first coach is pretty common in both west and east Germany. We had our own west German version in Ossieck. Lorant (1860, Fenerbahce) is another west German coach with a similar style (and much less class) than Geyer. I would also rate Geyer as far superior to either. Geyer was associated with the DDR because of his post as national team coach (and rumours of STASI cooperation) but his style has more to do with German coaching style than DDR. I don't see how anyone could not expect him to last a season as when he has had adequate time he has been successful at every coaching post both pre and post reunification. He is very outspoken and honest which doesn't always endear him to club presidents and has led to some dismissals but rarely has poor performance caused his departure. He brought Cottbus from a second rate DDR team playing in the lower DDR leagues and subsequently lower German leagues to the 1st Bundesliga and stayed there for 3 years while bigger DDR teams are still playing in the 4th division. He did all this despite Cottbus being near the bottom of the team budgets in every league. This is a team from a small city on the border of Poland with very high unemployment, little sponsorship money and a completely inadequate stadium. After 11 years maybe his style wasn't working anymore in Cottbus. However, I think it probably has more to do with working for a team that is above its station. Cottbus is a team that probably belongs in the 3rd division with the occasional move to the 2nd. The disadvantages of working with such a team striving to play at a higher level probably just caught up with him in the end. This dismissal is highly controversial in Germany. Geyer will probably retire now as he has been thinking about retiring for several years but any other club that could sign him would be well advised to do so. What could he do with a team that was actually decently funded and where he didn't start each season at a disadvantage to his coaching colleagues? Without a doubt one of the top German coaches.

I acutally don't know a whole lot about Geyer which is now quite obvious! I just heard that he preferred players from former Communist countries because he found their attitude a better fit. My comments about him lasting so long were based on what I heard about him being hated by many players. There's no denying his results, he may be the most successful coach in Germany in the last ten years with what he's accomplished at Cottbus. Based on that he could probably get jobs for the next 20 years I was just surprised that his man-management abilities allowed him to remain in the same place for 11 years. His style seemed more suited to shorter stints. But like I said, I'm going on a couple things I read years ago. Thanks for educating me!

[Guest Ed]

quote:Originally posted by ditty

Shut up, I picked him for my Kicker Managerspiel team :0. Woe is me, woe is me, indeed. This coming on the heels of picking Mehmet "Living on the Trainers' Table" Scholl not one but two years in a row.

I've got four Hannover players on my kicker team, including Cletus. But my favourite player, who happens to be with Hannover, and the Keeper Enke are keeping me up in the interactive rankings.

[Grizzly]

Geyer didn't prefer players from eastern Europe because of their attitude but because they are cheaper than German players of similar ability. Cottbus always played with a lot of foreigners (first Bundesliga team to ever field a starting 11 without a German) because that was the only way they could afford players of Bundesliga quality. This is also the reason why Cottbus gave many Canadians a chance and put a lot of effort into their youth programs. Geyer himself was probably the driving force behind this, again not because he particularly likes Canadians but because we are a source of cheap talent and he knew the budget he had to work with. Both Hirschfeld and McKenna had their start in the Cottbus system as well as several younger players. I think Hirschfeld definitely made a mistake in leaving the team. The reason he left was at the time Cottbus seemed very strong at the keeper position but within a couple of years of his departure their starter lost his form and they had many problems at keeper. McKenna may or may not have been better to stay, he fell out of favour with Geyer (impatience was one of Geyer's faults) but would have eventually been given another chance. Whether being a Bundesliga sub and 2nd Bundesliga starter/sub would be better than being a SPL starter/sub is debateable.

Geyer was a tough coach and apparently made his players stand when he was in the room. He was known for being very blunt in his assessments but was also known as honest and a straight shooter. He had no place for the politics and favouritism that occur in many clubs and many players appreciated this. A player that worked hard rarely had problems with him. They might not have loved him but they respected him. The ones that had problems were prima donnas and no one playing for Cottbus has any right to be a prima donna. There are quite a few eastern European prima donnas and a few of these players had problems with him so again their prominence on the team was financial. There are certain teams that would be very difficult for Geyer to coach, Real Madrid or Bayern for example. His discipline would either work wonders at the team or lead to catastrophe. However, given a team with the right attitude Geyer can be a fantastic coach. The big black spot with him is the rumours of him spying/reporting on his players to the STASI while DDR national team coach. These rumours have never been proven, however, and it is also questionable how much a national team coach of the DDR could avoid some contact with the STASI and other state agencies. Geyer was always one of the best interviews in the Bundesliga because he was very honest and didn't mouth the usual crap said in sports interviews.

[Guest Ed]

Paul Stalteri and Werder Bremen hope to ensure themselves a spot in the knockout round as they are home to Inter Milan tomorrow in Group G of the Champions League. Depending on how Valencia does away against Anderlecht, a draw could put Paul's team through. The Italian club won 2-0 when they hosted Werder Bremen back in September. Despite their lukewarm Bundesliga season, Werder Bremen have been very good in the Champion's league, winning 3 in a row (Valencia at home and Anderlecht home and away).

RW Essen with Ryan Thomson also play their postponed match against 1860 Muenchen tomorrow.

[Guest Ed]

Werder Bremen managed a 1-1 draw today against Inter Milan. With Valencia beating Anderlecht in Belgium, Group G goes down to the wire with the final games. Paul Stalteri and company need at least a draw in Spain to go through.

RW Essen and 1860 Muenchen drew 0-0, without an appearance by Ryan Thomson.