12
Jun

Manuel Neuer stars in German version of “Monsters University”

What’s up with all these goalkeepers trying to break into the movie business?

Of course, we all know about Pepe Reina’s life ambitions on the side, having already starred in a popular Spanish comedy short film this season.

Now, add Bayern Munich and Germany keeper Manuel Neuer to the list of Hollywood dreamers. Neuer will play the voice of Frank McCay in the upcoming movie “Monsters University”, albeit the German version of course.

You can’t really hate on Neuer for looking for extra work. He’s barely had anything to do in the Bayern net all season.

5
Jun

Michael Ballack bids farewell in star-studded retirement match

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Michael Ballack drew 45,000 fans and some of the soccer world’s biggest stars (past and present) for his ceremonial retirement match in Leipzig on Wednesday.

Ballack, Germany’s national team captain for many years including during the 2006 World Cup, scored a hat-trick in the match, which featured high-profile coaches, former teammates and opponents.

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Team “Ballack & Friends” consisted of German stars such as Miroslav Klose, Ulf Kirsten, Philipp Lahm and even Formula 1 legend Michael Schumacher, while the “World XI” consisted of legends such as Lothar Mattheus, Pavel Nedved, and Ballack’s former Chelsea teammates Didier Drogba and Andriy Shevchenko.

The coaches? Oh, just his former bosses Jose Mourinho and Rudi Voller.

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With all those stars under one roof, it was Arsenal defender Per Mertesacker, of all people, who laid down the move of the night, dispossessing Drobga with this luscious spin move! What!?

2
Jun

Fail: Germany Keepers terrible own goal vs USA

The U.S. men’s national team better remember to send a thank you card to Germany goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen. The keeper gave the USMNT an absolute gift of an own goal with this terrible effort in the first half of their friendly match.

Facing pressure from the U.S. midfielders, Benedikt Howedes sent a back pass to ter Stegen but the young keeper misplayed the ball worse than anyone could have imagined. The ball slipped past him to give the U.S. their second goal of the half en route to a 4-3 victory over Germany.

Manuel Neuer can rest assured that no one will be taking his starting keeper spot for Germany any time soon.

2
Jun

USMNT and USWNT to wear Boston Strong patches to benefit Boston relief fund

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Image via @USSoccer

In an effort to support The Victim Relief Fund of One Fund Boston, the U.S. Men’s and Women’s National Team will be wearing a Boston Strong logo on their game jerseys and pre-game warmups for their upcoming matches.

The USMNT will take on Germany today at RFK Stadium in Washington D.C. while the USWNT will face Korea Republic on June 15th at Gilette Stadium less than an hour from downtown Boston.

From U.S. Soccer:

With the support of each of the respective Players’ Association, all of the jerseys and warm-up tops will be signed by the players of the respective U.S. teams and auctioned off on ussoccer.com to benefit The Victim Relief Fund of The One Fund Boston. All proceeds will assist the families of the victims who were killed and the victims who were most seriously affected as a result of the tragic events during the Boston Marathon on April 15, 2013 and related events on April 18 and 19.

U.S. Soccer will announce more information about the two auctions in the coming weeks.

30
May

You’ve probably heard this already, but, Germany are pretty good at soccer. Lukas Podolski made known as much, scoring just 9 seconds (NINE!) into Wednesday’s friendly match against Ecuador. Podolski, who is fighting to keep his place as a starter, broke Germany’s national team record for fastest goal scored, then added a second goal later in the match in a 4-2 win.

27
May

PUMA throws flashmob for Dortmund, team could not care less

First thing’s first: You have to give PUMA some credit for supporting their team, even when they are down. Their timing, however, could not have been worse.

Borussia Dortmund had just lost the UEFA Champions League final. It was their biggest game of the year, and probably the biggest game of many of the players’ careers. When they arrived at the check-in counter at the airport before heading home to Germany, they were greeted with a singing and dancing PUMA flashmob.

The Dortmund team and staff could not have looked less interested. After coming off one of the biggest disappointments of their career, this was surely the last thing they wanted to see.

The strangest part of all: Everything was sung in English. There was even a “we’re proud of you” sign written in English. Not only were they subjected to this dance number, but it was all performed in a foreign language. How unsettling and different to Bayern Munich welcome back home: