A good day if you love Yugoslavian football

Huh... well, at least I got half the score right.

2-2.  It could have been worse.  It certainly looked like it at half time.  Then again, it should have been way better.  The US got it handed to them for the first 45 minutes, then stormed back in the second half to score three two goals and win tie the game.  It looked as if they had the go-ahead goal in the closing minutes of the game, but the referee called it back.  As of yet, I still haven't found a written explanation for disallowing the third goal. Unless of course he meant all the holding the US was doing involved in.

I don't know why this team can't come out and play a full game like they did in the second half.  They always seem to play better once they get punched in the face.  At least this time they got it together before it was too late.  Landon Donovan stepped it up big time and Michael Bradley seemed to put the exclamation point on the evening's affair.  It is just a shame that last one did not count.  See for yourself.



I still don't find myself an expert by any measure, but I took some satisfaction in that much of what I feared came true.  Slovenia came out guns blazing and scored a relatively quick goal.  Their second came off a quick counter-attack.  As usual, the US stumbled for a long stretch following the previous big game.  Sloppy passes and poor discipline had me groaning in agony for a good 50 minutes.  And yes, I'll admit it, I thought all was lost by halftime.  You have to admire the resilience of a team like that. 

The other two games yesterday were just as shocking, if not more so.  Germany lost 1-0 to Serbia while England played Algeria to a scoreless draw.  Playing one man down, Germany kept pressure on Serbia, but just couldn't find an equalizer.  One of the heroes of the last game (and FC Köln's own) Lucas Podolski failed to find the back of the net on a penalty kick, essentially curbing the enthusiasm of an entire nation for at least a few days.  Here's a rather fair and balanced assessment of that game.

And to cap off a day of surprises, England, mighty England, looked no different against Algeria than they did against the US.  At this point I don't know if that makes both the US and Algeria look that much better as teams, or if England is truly much worse than everyone expected.  Either way, the two draws by England and the US leave both teams with a pair of points and trailing group leader Slovenia.  But as tough as Algeria played yesterday, I am much happier the US is facing them and not Slovenia again.  The US is not out of it yet.  As they say at the end of all those cliff hangers, stay tuned...

Do you know your enemy?

Slovenia vs USA

First thing's first.  Who IS Slovenia?

According to one writer, it looks like the US is facing their doppelganger. 

One of their more dangerous players, striker Milevoje Novakovic, plays for FC Köln.  He was the captain of the team until he had some sort of spat with the new trainer last season.
 
According to the experts, Slovenia is a more defensive-oriented team, preferring to sit back and wait for a chance to counter attack.  However, after their 1-0 victory in the opening game against Algeria, I wouldn't be surprised to see them push harder offensively for another three points, essentially guaranteeing a spot in the next round.  I don't think they'll have much of a chance for success next week against England.  Keep in mind that Slovenia hasn't lost a game since November 2009.

This game could make or break the World Cup for both sides.  On paper, this seems like something the US should be able to handle.  But the US seems to have a bad track record when they come off big games like last Saturday's draw.  Hopefully they can shake that off tomorrow. 

A bit of history here.  Eight years ago, the US shocked everyone by beating Portugal 3-2.  They followed that up with a 1-1 draw versus South Korea.  South Korea, by the way, ended up finishing fourth in the group.  Flash forward four years later.  The US ties eventual World Cup champions Italy 1-1.  The only team to not lose to Italy in the entire tournament.  That was followed up by a 2-1 loss to Ghana. 

For those of you really into the technical aspects, here's one last one to check out.

Prediction time: Slovenia's winning streak comes to an end, overwhelmed by the speed of the US attack down the sides.  If Tim Howard really is ok, he'll make the crucial stops and the US comes away with a not-so-easy 2-0 victory.

Post game report

We had a great time at the game.  We sat up in the corner but still had a great view of the action.  The game ended in a 2-2 draw.  FC struck in the first ten minutes and for a little while it seemed like the rout might be on.  But it soon became apparent that FC was comfortable in their position.  They took their foot off the gas which allowed Freiburg to score once before the half and a second one shortly after the break.  There was quite a bit of whistling (that's booing here in Europe) from the crowd during the second half until FC knotted it up near the end of the game.  Both teams came away with one point.  FC was already safe from relagation, but the point really gave Freiburg something to celebrate.  They will be sticking around in the top league for at least another season.  The team applauded their fans who made the long trip to the game for at least 30 minutes or more.  I made some audio recordings which, time permitting, I may post up here in the next day or two.

Here's the "official" recap, and the better one.  

By the way, if you're looking for really good information and history on German soccer, I discovered this site Sunday morning.  Not only does he have an unbelievable amount of background information, there's also quite a healthy dose of sarcasm.  Don't be fooled by the basic layout, it really is a well written site.  Here's the page on FC.

And here's a few photos.

Das RheinEnergieStadion

Just before the start of the game everyone is up on their feet singing the team's hymn or fight song and waving their red scarves 

FCKölnHymn.m4a

Action at the far end

 This one might make for a good caption contest

crowd noise.m4a

Action on our end

Off to the game

Finally heading to my first FC Köln match this afternoon.  I'm pretty excited.  Not entirely sure what to expect.  The season is nearly over.  FC is safe from relagation, but today's opponents need to win in order to stay safe as well.  Hopefully FC doesn't roll over on this one.  But if the home team loses, well, I'm pretty used to that.  Here's today's matchup (scroll to the bottom) from the official league site.  And here's a better one - from an American site.  Oh the irony.  Hopefully I'll get a decent photo or two to post later.  Time to go paint my face.  (Just kidding.)

Fun with long camera exposures

Umm, about what I was saying regarding the lack of snowfall yesterday... nevermind.

Sure, it is not quite like what's going on in NYC today, but this was a hell of a lot more than I expected! Here's a shot just taken out of our bedroom window.

Looks like Herr Doktor Braun just hit 141.62227 kph

Went to see "Avatar" this evening at the Metropolis Theater.  I was pretty skeptical going in.  But despite some pretty terrible dialogue, I was amazed.  No 3D at this old school theater but that might have been a good thing.  As much as I would have liked to have seen it in 3D, I found myself getting a little motion sick somewhere in the middle of the film.  And at nearly three hours long, I don't know if I could stand to sit through it again, no matter how good it was.  An action film is an action film, and I don't find much suspense in seeing them multiple times.  Still, I am sure this thing will clean up when it comes to all the technical awards. It deserves it.

Possibly more impressive was that there were no major technical difficulties at the theater this time.  When the curtain opened before the film started, I knew we might be seeing something special.  Yes, they've had a few curtain issues in the past. 

And for the impressive trifecta, check this out.  Ok, a 3-0 win vs a team near the bottom of the table shouldn't be much to brag about.  But when FC Köln has only scored 10 times in 17 games, well, I guess it is worth mentioning.  Let's hope for a more entertaining second half of the season after the winter break.

Is it too late to seek asylum here?

I probably had a shot at securing that during the previous administration.  After seeing this video via a friend's Facebook post, I just wanted to crawl under a big blanket of embarrassment. I applaud political activism when there's actual thought behind it. But c'mon people, a little research goes a long way.



Why do I always feel the need to apologize for such ignorance on behalf of my fellow countrymen? CNN International is pretty bad, but I'm glad there's no Fox News available on our system here. 

From the politically challenged we now turn to the politically unenthusiastic. Here's what's going on in advance of Germany's national election. (I want to be tired of all the "Yes We Can" parodies but the one mentioned in that article was pretty good.) We tried watching the debate a bit but my German comprehension is no where near good enough to follow a political discussion. From the looks of it, I didn't miss any fireworks. In the interest of equal time, here's what the other parties had to say. What a mess. You know what? Scratch that thought about seeking asylum.

Everyone I talk to here seems pretty disenchanted with the current government.  That said, they all seem resigned to another four years of the same situation.  The more I think about it, the more this all reminds me of 2004.  It is probably too late but you can change things, people.  Get out there and get organized.  More importantly, get out and vote.  And make sure your friends and family do as well.

On a lighter note, I now make my last mention of FC Köln's season unless there's actually something positive to mention.  They are 0-1-4.  5 games and not a single win.  If I read correctly, one of the local papers are already calling for the firing of the head coach.  I suppose it is only a matter of time.  I'd say "Go Bears" but that's not really working for me either right now.  I hate to repeat myself, but again, what a mess.

a few other points

Woke up way too early today and couldn't get back to sleep, as evidenced by today's second post in as many hours. Anyway, I came across this thanks to the fine people at English Speaking Cologne. Not sure how many other Expats in the Cologne area might be reading this site, but I thought I'd pass along the info.

Also, another random observation. FC Köln lost again, 3-1. That puts their record at 0-1-3 (zero wins, one draw and 3 losses). Seriously, I really wanted to get into football this season. You're making it awfully difficult. Fortunately, I was glad to read football news like this today. I really hope I'll be able to see some of these games on TV somewhere this year. Anyone with info, feel free to let me know.

Das Erste Tor

Back in Chicago the Cubs are fighting for first place. When I need a jolt of optimism I'll check out this blog. For the reality check I'll make sure to read the Tribune's Ask Paul. But it is getting harder and harder to follow their efforts from here. And being deprived of the distraction of sports has probably been a good thing.

Nevertheless, this weekend marks the opening of the 2009 Bundesliga Football season. I've been looking forward to this one. When I arrived I quickly found out there is really just two sports seasons here: Football, and not-football. Sure, Formula One races get mentioned in the news and shown on television. But the majority of the sports reports always seemed to be about the off-season developments of the football teams.

And Cologne seems to have plenty of reason to be excited about this season. For at least the last ten seasons or more, FC Köln has bounced back and forth between the first and second divisions. This offseason they re-aquired Lukas Podolski. Podolski began his professional career with FC Köln. He was brought up to the main squad at the age of 18 and scored more goals than any other 18 year old in the history of the league. Eventually he was moved to Bayern Munich, the New York Yankees of the Bundesliga. After three middling seasons, he returned to FC Köln this offseason. And the fans of FC Köln have big expectations for a return to form by Podolski. Although it seems like he's played for a long time, he is just 24. Here is probably more than you need to know about him.

Armed with this little bit of background knowledge, I was excited to head out into the city yesterday in search of a good pub to watch the game. With so much hype about Podolski's return I thought the city would be frothing at the mouth for the first game. As my train got closer to the city, more and more people got on wearing red shirts and jerseys. We grabbed a quick lunch and started to make the rounds in the Altstadt. There are plenty of bars around here and they seem to be the rowdiest on Saturday nights. Instead, aside from the tour groups everywhere, the pubs were deserted. Where was everyone?

We never really found out. Instead, 15 minutes into the game, we settled into a quiet bar in Heumarkt. They had the game on and about 5 people were there to watch it. Nowhere did it feel anything like opening day in Chicago to me. And all those people wearing red earlier? I have no idea where they went. If any local reading this has any idea where to go to catch the game please let me know. Let us all know with a comment below. Next weekend is the home opener. Maybe that'll bring out the crowds a bit more. I don't intend to go out every week to watch the game but surely there must be some places with a bit more atmosphere and excitement.

So, how did the game itself go? For reasons I have yet to find out, Podolski didn't play. But FC Köln did manage to score a goal. Unfortunately into the wrong net. Yes, das erste Tor (the first goal) of the season for FC Köln was an own goal. Ouch. Let's just hope that this first game isn't an indication of how the rest of the season will go. But even if it is, as a Cubs fan I know that these sort of things seem to come with high expectations and goat-related scenarios. Final score: Borussia Dortmund 1-0 FC Köln.




Technically, the team's name is "1. FC Köln." In English that's "the 1st Football Club Köln." The team's nickname is appropriately enough "die Geißböcke." In English: the Billy Goats. Yeah, go figure.