The Truth about Team Germany (r)

Trying to be stoic? Or not wanting to let Hamburg know that Duisburg barely have a player standing?

 

And who is going to replace Prinz as captain? Last time it was Hingst, but she is out as well. Stegemann, ditto. Garefrekes (who has the highest number of matches)? Surely not Bresonik (even supposing she can indeed play)?

I think I will have no choice but to put my money on Angerer.

Woohoo! Does anyone know whether Rottenberg ever made captain on the national team?

 

In time for the EURO season, DFB has hired a psychologist for the national team. I guess this is to pre-empt any traumas from losing?

So far, no secrets have been revealed as to who will be starting against China tomorrow. (Hang on, tomorrow?! How did that happen so soon...?) We know, however, that there will be a brandnew defence, since most of the usual suspects (Hingst, Stegemann, Krahn) are out. Neid has hinted that Peter, Bartusiak, Schmidt and Omilade might be playing. Let's hope that Bartusiak does a better job in defence than as a (non-)creative midfielder last time.

Grings is being marketed as the big star of the upcoming matches, so I expect she'll be starting - or will she be the joker who has to save it all in the last half hour?

The Chinese arrived in Bielefeld yesterday, and apparently they've also got a young team this year. Interesting: Their star forward Han Duan wasn't allowed to come since the coach resented her signing with LA Sol. She is welcome to come back when she has finished playing with them.

 

Q&A with Silke Rottenberg - frankly, rather boring. Except perhaps for the fact that in the years b.A. (before Annike), Rottenberg used to share a room with Steffi Jones. I didn't know that.

Rottenberg writing autographs in Jena last weekend:



And her account of the match.

 

These ambassador types really get around, don't they? Steffi Jones is approaching saturation level already and there's a couple of YEARS to go .

And for heaven's sake, Rottenberg's answers were near "beauty contestant" level. Mindnumbing.

 

That's an interesting way of putting it.
And indeed, she was fielded today as well: Why Bielefeld is so wonderful (recall that tomorrow's match is in Bielefeld because it was not picked as a 2011 venue).

 

Inky Grinch is starting! She had such a suppressed smirk on her face during the national anthem.

********ing hell, she has a less suppressed grin on now: her first goal after about 1 minute and 20 seconds!

... The Chinese equaliser after about 20 minutes will make a few people laugh when they see the highlights.

... Half-time and still 1-1. Mittag has been gas-mask-bad today. Grings is determined to impress by running at everything and winning "impossible" balls. Sadly, Mittag has generally been looking in the other direction when Grings has tried to pass them on. Bachor isn't holding her own (or anyone's, really) at right back, Bartusiak is no Hingst (passing accuracy???), but Omilade is doing a good job. Angerer has been foaming at the mouth, Neid is in spanking mode and Behringer looks like she wants to hit someone. Kulig is expected on in the 2nd half. And guess who's doing a half-time interview? Yep, it's Saturation Steffi!

...Substitutions at half-time: Müller on for Mittag, Schmidt for Bachor, Kulig for Goeßling. [I know nobody cares about this , but I find it almost therapeutic.]

... Bajramaj on for Grings. She's mostly bouncing her hair around and running into people so far.

... 17326-ish in the stadium today.

... Let's see about the updates. Because there really is nothing happening right now to update.

... Did I really say nothing was happening? For the last 10 minutes or so just about every player on the German team was standing around the pnealty area taking shots at goal. Oh, and Banecki (N.) came on somewhere. But it still ended up 1-1.

 

Torn muscle fiber in the back/hollow of the knee.

I CANNOT WAIT to see the Chinese goal -- sounds like Nadine f*d up BIG TIME. Lol.

 

Redcard, pull up a chair because I'm just about to stun you. My favourites from yesterday's match: Behringer, who was wasted feeding Mittag for half the match; Müller, who did a great job and had several near misses, e.g. hitting the post twice... and Bresonik, who ran herself ragged and played a very aggressive game, particularly after Grings had gone off.

Underwhelming were Bachor, Bajramaj, Bartusiak. In fact, if it weren't for Behringer and Bresonik, you could generalise and say "all players with names starting with a B". But now you'd have to be more precise and specify "all players with names starting with Ba". Too bad Baunach didn't come on so I could test that theory further.

 

I second that, much as I resent it.

When I left, there was one lone player left standing in the stadium, signing autographs at the far end of the field, with numerous teenies at my end still screaming "Angerer! Angerer! Angerer!"

I left them to it and decided to do some field research instead and sample the sausages. And what can I say - they were excellent, just like German Rostbratwürste need to be - juicy and soft inside, brown (not black!) and crisp outside.

And no need to fear for German football youth, judged by the share of kindergarten kids in the stands...

 

And the seating? Local talent? Mind you, it's not going to be a WC venue and I can't imagine ever stumbling accidentally to a match in Bielefeld... so I suppose it's not of great importance.

 

The seating was dr...aughty.

If you have cradle-snatching tendencies I'm sure you might have found some.. in the one half of the audience that wasn't old men who had nothing better to do that go to whatever match was on in the stadium. Or the beer-drinking youngsters (male) who kept making fun of what was happening on the field and, thankfully, disappeared at half time.

 

But... but... where were the lesbians?

And don't dare say "on the field".

 

I was asking myself the same question, especially considering your recent assurance that if the TV audience was mostly male it was because the lesbians were in the stadium.
Well, there was at least one in the stands, and I saw one couple holding hands wandering past the sausage grill. Other than that? Who knows. Maybe there are non in Eastern Westfalia?

Hm, there may have been one or two as well...

 

Yes, we know you were there, dear. I meant ones other than you .

 

I'm sure I have no idea what you are talking about.

 

Laudehr and Krahn were seen in the stadium as well, does that help?

 

Has this been posted yet?

http://tv.dfb.de/index.php?view=975

Natze? NATZE??!!! Hahahahahaha! Wakey wakey!! WTF?

 

Oh, I don't have any evidence to the contrary.

 

So Garefrekes got to be captain, which was OK since she has played the highest number of matches. But why did she give the arm band to Bajramaj, of all people, when she went off ? Just because she happened to be standing closest? That reminded me of the North Koreans at the U20 WWC - individuals didn't count, it was all a matter of the team, so whenever the "captain" went off, she used to hand over the arm band to the sub just coming in. I really was hoping for it to go to Angerer - who certainly did her share of shouting and pointing during the match (with "Isa! Isa!! Isa!!!" at an apparently deaf Bachor a particular favourite).

Remains to be seen whether they sneak Prinz back into the team, now that she played for Frankfurt today. I must admit I'd prefer to see some more of Grings, Müller and the youngsters next week. I was hoping to be an eye witness at little Katharina (the Great) Baunach playing her first match for the A team on Wednesday but it wasn't to be. She had to earn her keep traipsing up and down the side line for the entire second half, together with Fuss. The only one who got released from galley duty was Banecki. I liked what I saw of Kulig; Schmidt I found only half convincing - the half that she played at the back.

And Omilade got praised for her "extraordinary positioning" in the local press.

 

Steffi Jones on SWR 3 TV tonight at 23.30, later also available as podcast. Her career as a footballer, how life has treated (and mistreated) her in general, and her role as Ms WWC 2011. (Did anyone notice that she had changed her hairstyle in Bielefeld last week?)

 

Sadly, yes .