Hegwein Family Blog

World Cup Soccer

WHAT YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT SOCCER

There are currently several countries around the world on edge due to the famous(?) forthcoming World Cup Soccer Tournament; Die Fussballweltmeisterschaft, staged in several German cities, among them Munich where the games start on June 9 and end one month later in Berlin. Since punctuality is exceedingly important to "Buergers" in the land of Sauerkraut, Knoedel and Bier, millions are already counting the days, hours and minutes to the opening of this unique event. Germany expects some 3 Mil. visitors from around the world and the organizers want to make this an unforgettable experience.

For this purpose - somewhat one-sided - they have permitted the influx of some 30,000 "Information hostesses" from Russia and other Slavic countries. These mostly attractive and bilingual young ladies will act as tour and game guides, or whatever is involved during the tournament. For a measly 20 Euros, one can get acquainted with these guides, who spend then some scarce 30 minutes with the visitor. American authorities concerned about these dangerous developments have already voiced great concern and have protested. By now, I am certain in my assumption that all of you are extremely anxious to learn more about these World Games, since the USA has qualified to play in the "Cup."

My own involvement in this somewhat rough sport were several "matches" after school in my 4th and 5th grade on the Munich Koeningsplatz where our "Leader" mesmerized the crowd with hour-long speeches of motivation. Sometimes we played a "game" with girls from the "All-Girls School" just adjacent to our boys school.

I will attempt to translate a short article from the Stern magazine (4-21-06) about some particularities of this utterly fascinating game. For soccer fans, only a few numbers are important: a match lasts for 90 minutes, each team has eleven players and there are two Halbzeiten (half times). The impressive goal is 7.32 Meters wide, 2.44 high and this is just fine, experts decided. Should the goal be larger, the goalie could not possibly reach every corner when jumping from a standing position and the result would be an avalanche of goals, say, like in a basketball game, 109 x 112 for instance. This outcome would be deadly for the game because it would eliminate totally the "luck-factor."

The goalie has of course the hardest job, hence his compensation and reputation. When a so-called "Elfmeter" (penalty Shot) happens, he has to make an attempt to stop the ball. The opposing player kicks the ball from 12 yards or 10,9728 Meter before the goal. The ball then reaches a speed of 83 Kilometers/Stunde (hr). Even if the goalie has perfect reflexes, he still needs about a quarter of a second to react to the approaching danger. If the goalie waits until the ball is hit, he would need a speed of 35 KM/St. to reach the ball from a standing position, and this is impossible. The solution: The goalie must leap ("loshechten") before the ball is kicked. This 1/4 second allows him to jump only 18 KM/St. to reach the ball. If he succeeds, he still has to stop some hard leather that has the impact of an 70 Kilo cement sack. There are many more interesting happenings in this game, like the "Drall" which occurs when the ball is hit sideways and the ball's trajectory is unpredictable for the goalie. When the ball flies at 100 KM/St. and simultaneously rotates ten times per second, the ball can easily be 10 Meters off the estimate.

The Germans spent considerable sums of Euros on new stadiums, but also updated many others. Here is a list of cities where the games are played and seating capacity, besides the moolah amount.

Muenchen New 342 Mil. 59,416

Frankfurt " 188 43,324

Gelsenkirchen " 192 43,324

Hamburg " 100 45,442

Koeln Rem 110 40,590

Dortmund " 36 60,285

Stuttgart " 53 47,757

Hannover " 63 39,297

Leipzig New 116 38,898 *

Nuernberg Rem 56 36,898

Berlin Rem 242 60,021

Kaiserslautern Rem 48 41,513

* = only city in former East Germany

Enough for today, "Schluss fuer heute!" - drop a line when you have time.

Fritz