They Say There Are No Real Names In Berlin
By: Abby | November 18th, 2008But, there are going to be tomorrow. There are internationals tomorrow for some reason, and the most glamor-y of the glamor friendlies will be at our very own Olympiastadion. England v. Germany, a bitter rivalry, some of the biggest names in world football…well, the ones that aren’t injured (or “injured”), anyway. Which seems to be none of them, on both sides.
Oh well. It should still be fun, right? And we’ve got representation of our own, with Kapitän Arne Friedrich called up to the German side for the game. He even got to do a press conference! And also, perhaps more importantly, play some ping-pong. His Ping-Pong companion from the Euros, Philipp Lahm, is among the injured list, however.
Arne isn’t the only Herthaner off with their national teams. Goalkeeper Jaroslav Drobný, who’s been in quite excellent form for us, was recalled to the Czech team after the injury to Petr Cech, although he’s unlikely to start for some reason. They have an actual Euro qualifier, rather than a friendly, but it’s against San Marino. Gojko Kacar is with the Serbian team for their friendly against Bulgaria. Veteran Pál Dárdai- celebrating his 107th Hertha win, a new club record- is with the Hungarian squad versus Northern Ireland. And, er, that’s it.
But that means the rest of the squad is hopefully safe from injury, and can train together, and we can continue to produce the results that are stymieing the critics.
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Friedrich got to compete against Timo Boll, Germany’s best ping pong player who was also voted the most attractive sportsman of the world in China. Wikipedia: “By a choice in China to the most attractive sportsman of the world he landed on the first place, still before David Beckham.”.
So, that sounds like a good replacement for Lahm.
Posted from
Germany
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That’s incredible. On just about every level.
Posted from
United States -
Ah. Table-tennis. That is actually being called at my part of the world, Jan.
The interest for that has kind of rekindled here in my country when our women table-tennis team won the silver medal in August during the Olympics, ending a 44-year Olympic medal drought in the process. I know Germany was the runner-up in the men’s team.
The Chinese, they are always very strong in table-tennis… Jan, one thing you and me have in common: both your country’s men team and my country’s female team lost to China at the Olympics! 
Anyhow, I did heard that Timo Boll is popular in China, right? Off-topic, I know. Considering you know table-tennis (or ping pong, if you insist) is seen like the national sport in China also in view of the amount of success they have at the international levels.
Posted from
Singapore -
I got the timing wrong. Ending a 48-year wait for an Olympic medal in the process. But Jan, you know the day after the news came in from China that we are entering the women’s team final, it was headline news here. It’s like National Day (the day when we celebrate our independence) all over again, six days after the actual National Day itself.
To make it connect with football, on the same day when Singapore broke a 44-year Olympic medal drought, it was also the beginning of a new Bundesliga season.
And it was my birthday at that time too…Posted from
Singapore -
I would usually say table tennis as well, but I picked ping pong player for alliterations’ sake. I think a lot of countries have in common, that they lost to China in table tennis.
Posted from
Germany -
Misery loves company, as they say.
Posted from
Singapore
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