If you ask a European soccer fan in this country to name the only club to play in the Bundesliga First Division every season since its founding in 1963, most would answer Bayern München. Most would be wrong.
It's Hamburger Sport Verein (HSV), from the northern city-state of Hamburg. They've been in the First Division 54 years, 260 days according to their website, which tracks it to the second. But that may come to an end this Saturday. It's not over but things sure aren't looking good.
I follow HSV because our dear friends Georg, Gabi and Daniel Jarzembowski have lived in Hamburg since the Bundesliga was a baby. That and it's a very cool city - similar to Philadelphia in size and with a huge port. And I know they have struggled the last three seasons to avoid relegation.
In two of the last four years their fate was decided in a two game play-off after 34-match season. In 2014 they stayed alive by a one-goal differential. In 2015 they were 12 minutes from relegation when it tied the game, went ahead in overtime and saw their keeper stop of penalty in stoppage time.
After that history, this weekend should be a breeze. We got 'em where we want 'em, right? The bottom two teams of the 18-team league are automatically kicked down to the Second Division while the 16th place team gets to play a home-and-away total goal series with the third place team in the Second Division. HSV is in 17th place, two points behind Wolfsburg.
If Wolfsburg wins at home over last place FC Köln (Cologne), it's over for HSV, so they will be cheering mightily for Köln, keeping an eye on the scoreboard. If Hamburg loses at home to 9th place Borussia Mönchengladbach, it's just as over. If Hamburg wins and Wolfsburg loses, Hamburg is in the play-off against Holstein Kiel, another northern city. If Wolfsburg ties, then HSV will need to win by 10 goals, which is not going to happen.
Prediction: Hamburg's luck has run out and they and FC Köln will be relegated while Wolfsburg and Kiel will play off. Fortuna Düsseldforf and FC Nurnberg will be promoted to the First Division for 2018-2019.
I hope I'm wrong.
Thursday, May 10, 2018
Monday, April 23, 2018
The Boston Derby - in Europe
As most fans know, Liverpool FC plays AS Roma tomorrow in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-finals at Anfield Stadium in Liverpool. What many may not realize is that both teams are owned by Boston businessmen, Liverpool by John Henry and a group of business executives and Roma by James Pallotta and a different team of executives. Pallotta is a part owner of the Celtics and Henry the principal owner of the Red Sox.
The pre-game story is in today's Boston Globe.
“This is a great story line — the two Boston ownerships facing each other,” the Globe quotes Rich D’Amore, a local owner of AS Roma, as saying. “I’ll take this.”
The pre-game story is in today's Boston Globe.
“This is a great story line — the two Boston ownerships facing each other,” the Globe quotes Rich D’Amore, a local owner of AS Roma, as saying. “I’ll take this.”
Sunday, April 8, 2018
Lloyd's 100th Goal
All he wanted was for his daughter to get one cap, one chance with the full national team, Carli Lloyd's father told me one night at the Medford Strikers soccer fields while his son was practicing. She was a star at Rutgers and had played for the U20 and U23 national teams but had yet to crack the full national team.
We all know how that turned out as Lloyd long ago notched her 200th cap. Today, before 15,349 fans in Houston she became the sixth woman to score 100 goals for the United States when her header put the U.S. up, 3-2 against Mexico enroute to a 6-2 victory.
Ahead of Lloyd on the scoring list are Abby Wambach (184), Mia Hamm (158), Kristine Lilly (130), Michelle Akers (107) and Tiffany Milbrett (100).
The U.S. Soccer story on the game, which includes video of all the goals, is here.
We all know how that turned out as Lloyd long ago notched her 200th cap. Today, before 15,349 fans in Houston she became the sixth woman to score 100 goals for the United States when her header put the U.S. up, 3-2 against Mexico enroute to a 6-2 victory.
Ahead of Lloyd on the scoring list are Abby Wambach (184), Mia Hamm (158), Kristine Lilly (130), Michelle Akers (107) and Tiffany Milbrett (100).
The U.S. Soccer story on the game, which includes video of all the goals, is here.
Sunday, March 18, 2018
Road trips
Granddaughter Allison and her U12 team from Pennsylvania were down in Richmond this weekend for the Jefferson Cup. They did well: 1-1-1, dropping the first game 4-3 after being down 4-1, winning the second, 4-1, and drawing the final match, 2-2.
Following the results on the tournament website brought back a lot of memories for me as a coach and parent of the road trips to the Jefferson Cup, to the Columbia (Maryland) showcase, to Middletown, NY, to the Potomac Cup, to WAGS and to others.
Memories of arriving at the hotel sometimes late on a Friday after a long drive, of having to get up at an awful hour some mornings for an 8 a.m. game when the grass was wet with dew. Of killing time between games when it was too far to drive back to the hotel. Of hanging out with the parents at dinner and after at the hotel. Of the kids seeming to have a good time whether in the hotel pool, going to a mall or hanging out in the rooms.
Whenever we went out for dinner we would have separate tables or groups of tables for players and parents. Often the hotels would let us use one of their meeting rooms as a team hospitality suite where parents could drink another cup of coffee before leaving for the fields or recap the day's games over some adult beverages at night.
There was always soccer talk. What did we know about the team we played tomorrow? Was anyone on our team injured? What did we need to do - and other teams to do - for us to advance? If we advance who might we play? Are any teams from our league at the tournament and how are they doing?
There are times I miss those days.
Following the results on the tournament website brought back a lot of memories for me as a coach and parent of the road trips to the Jefferson Cup, to the Columbia (Maryland) showcase, to Middletown, NY, to the Potomac Cup, to WAGS and to others.
Memories of arriving at the hotel sometimes late on a Friday after a long drive, of having to get up at an awful hour some mornings for an 8 a.m. game when the grass was wet with dew. Of killing time between games when it was too far to drive back to the hotel. Of hanging out with the parents at dinner and after at the hotel. Of the kids seeming to have a good time whether in the hotel pool, going to a mall or hanging out in the rooms.
Whenever we went out for dinner we would have separate tables or groups of tables for players and parents. Often the hotels would let us use one of their meeting rooms as a team hospitality suite where parents could drink another cup of coffee before leaving for the fields or recap the day's games over some adult beverages at night.
There was always soccer talk. What did we know about the team we played tomorrow? Was anyone on our team injured? What did we need to do - and other teams to do - for us to advance? If we advance who might we play? Are any teams from our league at the tournament and how are they doing?
There are times I miss those days.
Monday, March 5, 2018
MLS Preview - From MLS
Should've run this last week, but better late than never. This is the preview of the 2018 MLS Season as found on the MLS website. New Media editor Ben Baer picks the Union to finish 11th in the East with New York City FC winning the East and Real Salt Lake taking the West.
Sunday, March 4, 2018
MLS vs. the Fans
As the Major League Soccer opens its 23rd campaign, there is a battle brewing in many cities between the teams and their fans, as reported in today's New York Times. Meanwhile, the Union opened the season with a 2-0 win at home over the New England Revolution.
Sunday, January 21, 2018
Carli Lloyd Comes Back to NJ
Carli Lloyd will play her league games this summer in the Rutgers University stadium she called home for her college career.
As reported in the Inquirer, her NWSL team of the past three years, the Houston Dash, traded Lloyd to New Jersey's Sky Blue. She requested the trade to be able to live with her husband, Brian Hollins, who is a local golf pro, year round.
Dash manager Vera Pauw showed class in granting Lloyd's wish even though the team was not required to. “She is a player you don’t want to trade…," Pauw is quoted as telling the Houston Chronicle, "but I know what it is like to live away from the one you love. We could stop her from going to New Jersey because we had her rights, but in the end, there is more in life than soccer.” The Chronicle ran a story on the trade. Lloyd expressed her gratitude to Pauw and the Houston fans on Twitter.
As reported in the Inquirer, her NWSL team of the past three years, the Houston Dash, traded Lloyd to New Jersey's Sky Blue. She requested the trade to be able to live with her husband, Brian Hollins, who is a local golf pro, year round.
Dash manager Vera Pauw showed class in granting Lloyd's wish even though the team was not required to. “She is a player you don’t want to trade…," Pauw is quoted as telling the Houston Chronicle, "but I know what it is like to live away from the one you love. We could stop her from going to New Jersey because we had her rights, but in the end, there is more in life than soccer.” The Chronicle ran a story on the trade. Lloyd expressed her gratitude to Pauw and the Houston fans on Twitter.
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