Anthar Yahia scored the solitary goal against Egypt in the 40th minute. You’ve got a say, a central defender doesn’t get to score such a cracking goal all too often. The fact that it sent Algeria to South Africa was just the cherry on top.

Zlatko Dedic’s goal came in the 44th minute and helped Slovenia to equalize on aggregate (2-2) and get in front on away goals. Russia did too little in the first half, and when they were ready to up the pressure they lost Kerzhakov to a stupid red card. Another red for Zhirkov in the 90th minute capped off a miserable night for Russia and Guus Hiddink. Hats off to Slovenia though.

I was fully engaged in my typical football fan mindset.

Three days later my mind was someplace else – or the same place turned numb and sad. Teresa Enke had given a remarkable press conference. Under tears, she openly talked about her husband’s struggle with depression for the past six years, his anxieties and self-perceived failure. In another press conference Oliver Bierhoff announced that the friendly between Germany and Chile had been cancelled. I always thought of Bierhoff as that squeaky clean superficial marketing guy, who had turned Germany’s Euro campaign into a mountain tour and is sure to turn South Africa into a safari, trying to manufacture emotions around a common theme for sponsors to exploit. When he broke out in tears it was real.

I kept thinking about a former classmate of mine. Philipp moved to our high school for the last three years leading up to graduation. He had been at our school once before in fifth and sixth grade. He hung around with a group of friends then, who all eventually moved schools, cities or countries. When he came back he became a loner. We all had settled down in our cliques – not actively seeking new members. He was a nice and friendly guy – calm and quiet. When he talked, you sometimes had to fear he might stumble over his own words. He was an average student, neither excelling or failing in a particular subject. He did a lot of endurance sports. When we organized the renovation of the recreation room for the pupils, he was one of only two who volunteered to help out. He would pop up at parties here and then. We moved along with him in the background. He wasn’t bullied or made fun of. We greeted him with a friendly smile in the morning or said goodbye by noon, asked him for a pen or about homework and we ignored him. It wasn’t until our prom, that we learned what a great piano player he was. He received standing ovations and then we said goodbye and went our separate ways. Our high school organizes annual reunions around Christmas with the usual suspects showing up each year. Philipp only stopped by once. He sat a bit outside of the pile. I spotted him talking to another classmate of mine and walked over to him. The first thing I noticed was the pack of cigarettes in his shirt pocket and was surprised that he had started smoking. He talked about his social anxiety and the therapy he just completed. His openness and honesty with which he talked about his “flaws” and “weaknesses” was striking. It contrasted heavily with the setting. With people presenting a selective image of themselves – one which is about achievements and plans to achieve something and not about failure. I wondered whether I should ask him, if he’d like to hang out for a drink or go to the cinema sometime. I thought it might be tacky or apologetic. I thought he might not be interested anyway. I feared awkwardness. I wondered what my friends might think. I wasn’t really keen on the extra effort. I kept my thoughts and invitation to myself. Six months later I received message that Philipp had committed suicide. I was shocked and devastated. I kept going over the last time I met him again and again. I talked a lot with my friends from school, with each of us trying to contribute little bits of information. His mother and sister both had cancer, but they were recovering. I learned about depression as an illness and not something used to describe the eccentricities of a rock or movie star. We couldn’t come up with any answers, and the picture was only marginally clearer. All the talking helped a lot though.

I aimlessly surfed around the net. Articles kept repackaging and publishing the same few pieces of a very incomplete puzzle over and over again. I read about the death of Robert Enke’s two year old daughter Lara, his adopted daughter Leila, his time at Benfica, his struggles at Barcelona, his return to form at Hannover, his sanctuary for dogs and his friendly and humble character. Only a few stood out. I knew most of these things already. The best parts were usually written in the comment sections under the actual articles with people coming together to express heartfelt condolences, talk about their own struggles with depression or how they lost a friend or loved one under similarly tragic circumstances. The odd sick tasteless remark and joke made sure, I wouldn’t forget I was still on the Internet.

Yesterday, one week after leading his team mates onto the pitch as a captain in front of a boisterous sell out crowd, Robert Enke returned to Hannover’s stadium one last time. The place was packed again as people gathered to mourn and say their goodbyes. Robert Enke was later buried in a private ceremony next to his daughter Lara. His burial was a final farewell and a signal that slowly but surely life will go on. The match between Germany and Ivory Coast will take place on Wednesday. Hannover travel to Schalke on Saturday. There is the distinct wish and need though, that life won’t just return to its’ former rules and rituals. A lot has been written to raise awareness of depression, to remove its’ stigma and to pledge for a better way of treating each other. Theo Zwanziger, the chief of Germany’s FA, announced that they want to get involved to help the cause. A lot less if anything will be written, said and done about it in two weeks time. After Philipp had died, we also eventually returned to our lifes. We had a new experience burned into our minds. But, nothing had changed except for those closest to him. The big question, with a potentially sad or encouraging answer, is, whether one year from now it will be any different for Robert Enke?
 

“German international goalkeeper Robert Enke has been killed after being hit by a train at a level crossing, police said on Tuesday. Police said that the death could be a suicide.” – AFP

Words fail me.

3 wins, 2 draws and 1 defeat for Bundesliga clubs in Europe this week. The good news is that five out of six have it all in their own hands to progress to the next round. The odd club out is of course Hertha B… no wait.

Bayern Munich 0-2 Bordeaux. Bayern wanted a football teacher and got a textbook case of how little possession stats tell you about the outcome of a football match. The handball by Bordeaux’s Ciani was a textbook case of how you don’t get the right calls, when you are in a crisis either. Bayern now need Bordeaux, who are already qualified, to take some points from Juventus and then still need to beat the Italians in Turin to progress. I think a healthy dose of Bayern Dusel will be necessary to save this season’s Champions League campaign.

Hamburg 0-0 Celtic. It didn’t take a lot for Celtic to completely open up the Hamburg defense and take a shot at a one on one with Frank Rost. To be a bit more precise: one cross or one pass was enough. That should be worrying, because in combination with the Gladbach game, coaches should now have a nice set of tactical tools at their disposal to beat Hamburg. That being said, Hamburg otherwise were in control of the match and the draw keeps them in a good position to get to the next round – or even top the group.

Besiktas 0-3 Wolfsburg. Wolfsburg pulled off the overall most assured performance, even though it took 80 minutes to really make sure of the victory. A draw against Moscow will send them through, a defeat could set them up for quite a finale against Manchester United though.

Bremen 2-0 Austria Vienna. The Austrian Bundesliga had been the better Bundesliga this season – both head-to-head against German Bundesliga teams and in Europe overall coefficient wise. And in all fairness to the southern neighbors they should still be the better Bundesliga this season. Bremen played awful but got all the right calls in their favor to restore German Bundesliga bragging rights – although with the kind help of a Swedish referee. Bremen booked their ticket to the next round and can now afford to play even worse in their last two games.

Seville 1-1 Stuttgart. It was a game of two halves in Seville. One made of fear, the other made of courage. Stuttgart were lucky to escape the first 45 minutes only being one goal down. Stuttgart were unlucky not to take all three points in the second 45 minutes. The draw leaves Stuttgart in third place but with every chance to take second place and progress to the second round.

Heerenveen 2-3 Berlin. Three minutes into the match Hertha were one goal down. A familiar story with an unfamiliar twist and an unlikely hero this time around. Hertha equalized ending a goal drought lasting 461 minutes. They fell behind again. They equalized again. They snatched a winner in overtime. The player who set up the first two goals and scored the winner goes by the name Artur Wichniarek. Hertha are now second in their group, giving them a decent chance to combine their relegation battle with a few more fun trips around Europe.

2 Own Goals. When Bordeaux’s Ciani picked up where Freiburg’s Cha Du-Ri left off during the weekend, I had the feeling, that Bayern might have finally shrugged off all the bad karma, that had plagued them during the Klinsmann season and replaced it with an updated version of Bayern Dusel, in which Bayern don’t even need to score the goals themselves anymore. I was quite wrong with that assumption. Hamit Altintop returned the favor with another own goal, which by that time already put Bordeaux in the lead.*

2 Red Cards. Before Bordeaux took the lead, but after the French champions had equalized, Thomas Müller picked up his second yellow for a late tackle. With Bayern reduced to ten men, there was a small chance for an excuse for some of their poor play in that game, but unfortunately they had already played just as bad with 11 man, so Müller’s red wasn’t just unnecessary, it couldn’t even serve as a scapegoat. Daniel van Buyten eventually capped off a miserable night for Bayern, when he picked up a straight red for a last ditch tackle, which also resulted in Bordeaux’s second penalty.

2 Penalties. The first one was awarded following a foul by Butt, who made up for his mistake with a good save. He then channeled his inner Tim Wiese and saved the second penalty as well. Bayern eventually lost 2-1, still leaving them with a chance to win the head-to-head against Bordeaux when the teams meet next in the Allianz Arena.

2 Draws. Wolfsburg started off well at home against Besiktas, created a few good chances and then slowly lost their grip on the game in the second half. All the more so after their out of form striker Grafite picked up a straight red card twenty minutes from time. A 0-0 draw keeps Wolfsburg in second place, but they face tricky trips to Istanbul and Moscow next. Things looked much better for Werder Bremen, who took a two goal lead in Vienna and appeared on their way to a third straight victory, until the old Werder defense made a surprise cameo appearance and allowed Austria Vienna to draw level and keep the German-Austrian bragging rights firmly south of the border.

2 Bad. Hertha didn’t play all that bad by their current standards, but at the moment even the third worst team in the Dutch Eredivisie finds a way to score a goal against and eventually beat Hertha. And when you are down don’t expect the referee to hand you a lifeline by awarding the penalty, that should have been given following a handball in the box by a Heerenveen player.

2 Injuries. Romeo Castelen and Jerome Boateng were this week’s prominent additions to Hamburg’s impressive sickbay.

1 Winner. That didn’t stop Hamburg grinding out a 1-0 victory at Celtic Park.

2 Late. Hamburg’s win couldn’t save what was ultimately a very below par European week though.

* While looking up the match stats I found out that the goal was eventually awarded to Bordeaux’s Marc Planus.

Wolfsburg. You are never too old for an impressive Champions League debut. Grafite (30) scored a hat-trick and became only (or already?) the sixth player to do so on his debut. Each of his goals really showed off his versatility as well. Cool finishing from a counter attack for the first goal. Winning a joke penalty and calmly converting it for the second. Killing the game with a great strike under pressure in the box for the third. The match itself was a bit underwhelming though. Moscow deserve a mention for playing the overall more polished football. Wolfsburg deserve credit for having simply more overall quality to win the game nonetheless. I still have the feeling that Armin Veh is step by step deconstructing Felix Magath’s title winning team. First he had this idea of a slick passing game, which so far resulted in games, in which the other teams pass the ball better and more often but no longer have to fear Wolfsburg’s counter attacks. Now he switched from a 4-4-2 to a 4-3-3, making Edin Dzeko look uncomfortable on the wings and Misimovic less of a brilliant playmaker on his new position in midfield.

Bayern. You are never too young for an impressive Champions League debut either. Though, in case of Thomas Müller this debut took place last season already against Sporting Lisbon, where he put the finishing touches on a 7-1 demolition. This season he put the finishing touches on a 3-0 victory over Haifa, where Bayern needed too much patience and too much Butt in goal for my taste. Head over to the Bayern Offside for match highlights.

Stuttgart. 60% possession, 11:2 shots on goal and a 1-0 half time lead against Glasgow Rangers were enough to make Stuttgart incredibly nervous, passive and overall rubbish in the second half. The resulting 1-1 draw ended up being rather fortunate for the Swabians. Badmouthing Thomas Hitzelsperger is one of my favorite past times over at the Germany Worldcupblog so this is getting old a bit but: as long as Hleb has the excuse, that his buttock pain keeps him from being fully fit, Hitzelsperger is one of the players who really should run the Stuttgart midfield. And by running I mean forward not backwards. He’s supposedly the captain of the team. A screaming Jens Lehmann who steals the opposition player’s shoes and headbands only gets you so far. For the full story of those two halves head over to the Stuttgart Offside.

Hamburg. When Hamburg are good, they are very very good. When Hamburg are bad, they are very very bad. In their match against Rapid Vienna they were very very bad and deservedly lost 3-0 in front of 50000 fans in Vienna’s Ernst Happel Stadion. At least it was against another Bundesliga side – from an admittedly cute and tiny Bundesliga. I wonder how often these mood swings will pop up at inopportune moments, to make sure Hamburg remain without a title once again? Offload all your fury, disappointment or schadenfreude over at the Hamburg Offside’s rant box.

Berlin. 13.454 fans and a 1-1 draw against the Latvian champions. This should bring fuzzy warm feelings to panicking and demoralized Hertha fans. Lousy European nights are one of the few things that Hertha could preserve this season. What Hertha definitely couldn’t preserve was their defensive stability, or their ability to compensate injuries or an offense which was just about good enough to get the result from a late counter attack. Hertha lost Jaroslav Drobny in this match, so their magic defensive triangle is now down to the not so magical Arne Friedrich. This weekend’s game against Freiburg almost feels like a relegation play-off match now.

Bremen. More possession, more chances, more goals. After 55 minutes battered Bundesliga fans were seemingly looking at a top to bottom professional job by Bremen. Until Nacional Funchal equalized inside 10 minutes. Claudio Pizzaro eventually made sure Bremen got all three points. And let’s be honest: a Werder defense that doesn’t concede a goal or two is not really a Werder defense. Head over to the Werder Offside for a proper match report.

For more Europa League head over to our, uh, UEFA Cup Offside.
For more Champions League coverage head over to our Champions League Offside.

Bonuses Champions League 2008/2009 – 2009/2010
Group Stage (fixed): €5.4m – €7.1m
Group Stage Victory: €600k – €800k
Group Stage Draw: €300k – €400k
Round of 16: €2.2m – €3m
Quarterfinal: €2.5m – €3.3m
Semifinal: €3m – €4m
Losing Finalist: €4m – €5.2m
Winner: €7m – €9m
Theoretical Maximum: €23.7m – €31.2m

Bonuses UEFA Cup/Europa League 2008/2009 – 2009/2010
Group Stage (fixed): €115k – €900k
Group Stage Victory: €40k – €120k
Group Stage Draw: €20k – €60k
Round of 32: €70k – €180k
Round of 16: €70k – €270k
Quarterfinal: €300k – €360k
Semifinal: €600k – €630k
Losing Finalist: €1.5m – €2m
Winner: €2.5m – €3m
Theoretical Maximum: €3.815m (CL 6.2x more) – €6.06m (CL 5.1x more)

Now, I was probably a bit harsh on the Europa League. The early stages of the competition have been boosted quite a bit, while the quarter- and semifinal bonuses remained virtually untouched. The new group stage also means three guaranteed home games compared to two in the old UEFA Cup. The gap between the two European competitions remains immense though and is further widened with the help of the somewhat complicated market pool.

The Market Pool
Apart from bonus payments, clubs also receive money from the market pool, which makes up 40% of the money UEFA allocated for the Champions League or Europa League respectively. The money from this pool is paid out to the clubs in relation to factors like the amount the club’s home market contributed to the market pool, how far the club advanced in the competition in relation to other clubs from the same league and so on and so on. In case of the old UEFA Cup it’s also worth pointing out that UEFA’s central marketing didn’t kick in until the quarterfinal stage, so only clubs that participated from this stage onwards were paid out. On the other hand, clubs were free to market themselves in the early stages and ideally earn good money from TV rights (large fanbase, attractive draw permitting). The new Europa League is marketed centrally from the group stage onwards.

To give you a better feel, here are some real life examples of money Bundesliga clubs earned last season (combined bonuses and market pool):

Bayern Munich €34.566m (CL)
Group Stage Fixed: €5.4m, Group Stage Performance: €3m, Round of 16: €2.2m, Quarterfinals: €2.5m, Market Pool: €21.466m

Werder Bremen €22.272m (CL)
Group Stage Fixed: €5.4m, Group Stage Performance: €1.8m, Market Pool: €15.072m, Total: €22.272m

Hertha Berlin €275k (UC)
Group Stage Fixed: €215k, Group Stage Performance: €60k

Hamburger SV €3.7m (UC)
Fixed: €215k, Performance: €120k, Round of 32: €70k, Round of 16: €70k, Quarterfinal: €300k, Semifinal: €600k, Market Pool: €2.339.850

Werder Bremen €7m (UC)
Quarter Final: €300k, Semifinal: €600k, Losing Finalist: €1.5m, Market Pool: €4.654.850

Both Bayern and Bremen benefitted from Schalke’s Champions League qualification failure and thus only had to share the market pool between themselves. Bayern additionally benefitted from Bremen failing to survive the easiest of groups. Bremen’s UEFA Cup final appearance meant they earned almost twice as much in the UEFA Cup alone than their northern rivals Hamburg. The €22m they got from the Champions League just adds further insult to injury. In case of the puny numbers by Hertha and Hamburg it’s worth mentioning that both were able to sell some TV rights for their home matches, which don’t show up here. In case of Hertha there were the games against Benfica and Galatasaray and in case of Hamburg there were games against Ajax, Aston Villa, Nijmegen and Galatasaray. Both clubs probably got between €500k to a maximum of €1m for each game.

Sources: 1 – 2

This post sets out to tell its’ story.

Season 1965/1966 to 1966/1967

Here’s the template from which to start. Notice the single curl over his right eye. Great things will eventually grow from it.

For the time being though, Netzer focused on perfecting his football skills. His Borussia Mönchengladbach side had just won promotion to the Bundesliga and would soon be synonymous with great attacking football. The team finished its’ first two Bundesliga seasons 13th and 8th respectively. Netzer also made his first steps in the German national team debuting in October 1965 in a friendly against Austria.

Season 1967/1968 to 1968/1969

Netzer started to add some depth and integrate the single rebelish curl into the system. At this point he can pass as the perfect son-in-law.

Netzer was in the process of testing the potential for commercial exploitation of his profession. Back in 1965 he had already started the publication of a stadium newspaper called “Fohlenecho” (still published today). His conservative hair style clearly indicates that he was overall still tapping in the dark though. His rise to prominence and the performances of his team would soon make him see the light. After finishing 3rd in 1968 and 1969, Borussia Mönchengladbach were ready to shape the Seventies and Netzer was ready for stardom.

Season 1969/1970 to 1970/1971

His trademark special side parting is starting to shine through, as does his marketing prowess. By 1970/1971 it’s becoming clear that he has intentions to go for length.

On the pitch things couldn’t go much better. Mönchengladbach won back to back Bundesliga titles – a first in the young league’s history and Netzer was starting to get more game time in the national team. A business plan also started to come together, which included complementing his work-in-progress hair with a ready-to-go Porsche and a night club called “Lovers Lane”. The Porsche ended up being an invaluable indicator for groupies hoping to catch a glimpse of Netzer at his night club.

Season 1971/1972 to 1972/1973

By 1971 every single hair had fallen into place, so all that was left to do was adding just that little bit of extra length to perfect his signature look. A task completed in time for the 1972/1973 season.

Netzer eventually connected all the remaining dots. Off the pitch he was dating a supermodel/abstract artist and did just about little enough to deny rumors of an affair with an actress to stay relevant in the boulevard. On the pitch his Borussia Mönchengladbach side had to temporarily make way for a certain Bayern Munich. But the two teams combined would end up strolling to Germany’s first European Championship title in 1972 – and beating England for the first time at Wembley along the way. Netzer would finish third in that year’s Ballon D’Or awards – behind Gerd Müller and Franz Beckenbauer. By the end of the 1972/1973 season, Netzer felt he had done and seen it all in Germany and decided to move on to Real Madrid. Borussia Mönchengladbach had reached the DFB-Pokal final against Cologne, which ought to be Netzer’s last game for his club. Just that the team’s coach Hennes Weisweiler wasn’t too enthused about his player’s latest career decision and benched him. The final turned out to be end-to-end stuff and one of the best in the competitions history, yet neither side could score the winner. The game, tied at 1-1, went into extra time. Then Netzer decided he had enough of it, substituted himself and scored the winning goal three minutes later. His legend was complete.

It doesn’t have to be white. Just make sure it fits the color-scheme of your football club of choice.

2. Use the paper to take part in a pre-match fan choreograpgy.
 

 
3. Wad the paper into a paper ball and throw it onto the pitch.

4. Let the football gods work their magic.
 

 
5. Retrieve the paper ball and put it on eBay.
Rebranding it as “Paper Ball of God” is optional.

6. Earn 4510 Euros.