fck news recap - 1. FC Kaiserslautern

73
In Teufels Namen
fck news recap
Dear fans and friends
of 1. FC Kaiserslautern:
I am pleased to welcome you all to
the Red Devils’ final home game before Christmas. In particular, I would
like to extend a warm welcome to our
guests from Hanover as well as to the
match officials.
Last Sunday’s draw with reigning champions Dortmund lifted us out of the relegation zone and up to 15th place with
15 points from 16 matches. If the season
ended now, we would be happy as we
would have secured another season of
top-flight soccer at the Betzenberg.
we want to give our fans an early Christmas present and pick up three points
against Hannover 96. A crowd of around
40,000 is expected at the Fritz Walter
Stadium for the Red Devils’ clash with
Europa League participants Hannover
96. I would like to take this opportunity
to thank our fans for their great support
and loyalty throughout the entire year.
On behalf of FCK’s executive team,
I wish a very Merry Christmas and a
Happy New Year 2012 to all fans and
friends of 1. FC Kaiserslautern.
However, we still have two big challenges ahead of us before Christmas. Today,
Red Devils Wish a Merry Christmas
and a Happy New Year
1. FC Kaiserslautern wishes all its fans, members, partners, and sponsors a Merry and Peaceful Christmas and a Happy
and Prosperous New Year 2012.
As in the previous year, we have decided to spread joy by making charitable donations instead of giving
Christmas gifts to our members, partners and sponsors.
We encourage you to join us in helping people in need and make donations to the following organizations:
"Alt-Arm-Allein", "Mama ⁄ Papa hat Krebs", "Nothilfefond für Familien" of the city of Kaiserslautern,
"SOS-Kinderdorf Pfalz", "Westpfalz-Werkstätten" and "Lebenshilfe Bad Dürkheim e.V".
Please visit our website www.fck.de for further information.
masthead
Publisher:
1. FC Kaiserslautern e.V.
Fritz-Walter-Straße 1
67663 Kaiserslautern
Phone: +49(0)1805 - 3188 00
Fax: +49(0)631 - 3188 290,
E-Mail: [email protected], www.fck.de
Editorial staff:
Christian Gruber (person in charge of content),
Stefan Roßkopf, Trans-Language
Photos & images:
FCK, photo agency (Fotoagentur) KUNZ, Getty
Concept & design:
Timo Elflein, Nadine Grosch, Patrick Flörchinger
Marketing:
SPORTFIVE GmbH & Co. KG c/o 1. FC Kaiserslautern
Fritz-Walter-Straße 1, 67663 Kaiserslautern
Phone: +49(0)631 - 3188 5106
Fax: +49(0)631 - 3188 144
E-Mail: [email protected]
betze news
WEEKLY TRAINING ROUNDUP
In Teufels Namen
74
‘Believe in our own strength’
The draw against Hertha BSC felt more
like a defeat than a draw. Given their
dominance, the Red Devils didn't see
it as one point gained but very much
two points lost. However, Kurz’s men
put in a dogged performance in their
away match against reigning champions Dortmund and earned themselves
a well deserved point last Sunday.
4,500 FCK fans traveled to Dortmund
to support the Red Devils away from
home. FCK head coach Kurz made one
change to the side that drew with Hertha BSC last time out, rewarding Rodnei for his hard work on the training
ground. The Red Devils kept things
tight and pushed forward right from
the opening whistle in Dortmund. Despite falling behind to an early goal
from Shinji Kagawa, FCK did not shy
away from the task at all. Their passion and commitment finally paid off
when Olcay Sahan fired a sensational
shot past Weidenfeller to earn the Red
Devils a well deserved point.
”We’ve put in a gritty and aggressive
performance. It was a well deserved
point which will boost our confidence
ahead of this year’s last league match,”
Kevin Trapp said after the game in
Dortmund. Kurz and his men recharged
their batteries at the beginning of the
week before they turned their focus to
the encounter with Hannover 96.
The Red Devils are eager to make up
for last season’s two losses against the
Reds and make sure they do not spend
the winter break in a relegation spot.
“We proved that we can compete. We
are on the right track and we want to
continue our run of good form on Sunday,” Mathias Abel stated ahead of the
clash with Hannover 96.
1. FC Kaiserslautern SQUAD
Goal
1
Tobias Sippel
27
Marco Knaller
29
Kevin Trapp
Defense
2
Jan Simunek
3
Leon Jessen
5
Martin Amedick
6
Mathias Abel
17
Alexander Bugera
20
Rodnei
23
Florian Dick
24
Lucas
33
Dominique Heintz
34
Willi Orban
‘Fight for every inch!’
Midfield
7
Oliver Kirch
INTERVIEW WITH
MARCO KURZ
8
Christian Tiffert
10
Olcay Sahan
How would you rate your team’s performance against Hertha BSC?
13
Thanos Petsos
14
Gil Vermouth
We were on the front foot for the majority of the match and we continued
to push forward despite falling behind.
Nevertheless, we allowed Berlin to
score and, once again, we were unable
to translate our dominance into goals.
15
Clemens Walch
19
Jiri Bilek
21
Pierre De Wit
28
Konstantinos Fortounis
Your players delivered a strong performance in Dortmund. Do you think
so too?
We put in an excellent performance,
especially in the first half and we
should have made more of the chances
we had. At the end we had a bit of luck,
but we deserved to draw.
How will the Red Devils approach the
game against Hannover 96?
We certainly want to win the game, the
more so as it is the last home match
before Christmas. We know it won’t be
easy. We need to put in a committed
and passionate performance to win. We
want to build on our strong performances against Berlin and Dortmund. We
will only be successful if we are willing
to fight for every inch.
Is there anything you would like to say
to the fans before the winter break?
Our fans support us all the way. They
are simply great, and we always want
to reward our fans for the support they
give us. I hope our fans will have a
Merry Christmas with their families and
recharge their batteries during the holidays so we can go in search of additional points together in 2012 to secure
our Bundesliga status for another year!
Attack
9
Itay Shechter
11
Ilian Micanski
16
Richard Sukuta-Pasu
26
Steven Zellner
30
Dorge Kouemaha
32
Adam Nemec
35
Julian Derstroff
Head Coach
Marco Kurz
betze news
‘A tight game which we
want to win’
Goal
1
Ron-Rober Zieler
14
Markus Miller
21
Samuel Radlinger
Defense
3
Karim Haggui
4
Emanuel Pogatetz
5
Mario Eggimann
6
Steven Cherundolo
19
Christian Schulz
23
Sophian Chahed
24
Christian Pander
27
Erdal Akdari
35
Christopher Avevor
Midfield
2
Leon Andreasen
7
Sergio Pinto
8
Altin Lala
15
Hennig Hauger
16
Daniel Royer
20
Calitos
26
Deniz Aycicek
28
Lars Stindel
31
Jannis Pläschke
33
Manuel Schmiedebach
34
Konstantin Rausch
Attack
9
Artur Sobiech
11
Didier Ya Konan
13
Jan Schlaudraff
17
Moritz Stoppelkamp
25
Mohammed Abdellaoue
Head Coach
Mirko Slomka
Ron-Robert Zieler
In Teufels Namen
Hertha BSC SQUAD
75
Interview with
Ron-Robert Zieler, Hannover 96 finished in an impressive 4th place last
season. What are your ambitions for
the current season?
We want to stabilize our performance and
finish in the top ten this season. Moreover, we wanted to progress to the knockout phase of this season’s Europa League.
We have already qualified as group runners-up and we are now looking forward
to more European soccer in the New Year.
You joined Manchester United at the
age of 16. How did this come about?
A conversation with Sir Alex Ferguson
tipped the scales in the end. It was a
very valuable experience. Actually, it
didn’t take me long to accept the offer.
Despite interest from bigger European
clubs, you have just signed a contract ex-
tension with Hannover until 2015. What
were the reasons for your decision?
I want to play regularly and develop
further. I feel very comfortable at Hannover and I have the opportunity to
play in the Europa League with the Reds
which is simply fantastic.
What are you expecting from today’s
game at the Betzenberg?
A tight game which we want to win. It
is an important game for both sides,
but we are eager to pick up all three
points against FCK.
High-Speed CounterAttacking Strategy
Last season turned out to be Hannover 96’s best-ever campaign in the top
flight, with Slomka’s men claiming
an impressive fourth-place finish just
one season after they had only saved
themselves from relegation on the final
matchday. The coach’s high-speed counter-attacking strategy helped earn Hannover a place in the Europa League. The
Reds made a good start to their EL campaign and had already qualified for the
knockout stages ahead of last Thursday’s
game against Vorskla Poltava.
The Reds have bolstered their ranks with
the signing of Christian Pander and Poland U-21 international Artur Sobiech in
which Slomka sees “a young striker with
great potential”. In addition to them,
midfielder Henning Hauger has been added to the squad this summer.
The Reds got off to a flying start to the
season and managed to stay unbeaten in
their opening seven matches. Slomka’s
men defeated Dortmund, FC Bayern and
Werder Bremen. While the Reds are still
unbeaten in front of their home crowd,
they have been far from impressive away
from home, collecting just five points
from a possible 21.
Having won 11, drawn three and lost
only five of their home games against
the 96ers, the Red Devils will be looking
to extend their positive home record.
betze news
In Teufels Namen
76
Red Devils Share the Spoils with
Hertha BSC
The Red Devils drew 1-1 with Hertha
BSC at the Betzenberg on matchday 15.
An own goal from Berlin’s Hubnik put
Kurz’s men in front on five minutes,
but the visitors managed to equalize
barely ten minutes later. The Red Devils
were left to rue their missed chances
as they dictated possession for the majority of the match but were unable to
translate their dominance into goals.
The Red Devils got off to the better start
and took the lead in the fifth minute as
Tiffert swung a pin-point cross into the
box, where Hubnik executed a perfect diving header to fire the ball past his own
goalkeeper. Kurz’s men gained the upper hand and sought the second goal to
double their lead early, but Hertha soon
found a response. Raffael played a fine
The Red Devils held reigning champions Dortmund to a 1-1 draw in front of
a sell-out 80,720 crowd at the Signal
Iduna Park. Kagawa put the hosts in
the lead after 27 minutes, but Kurz’s
men delivered a dogged performance
and Sahan scored the equalizer with
60 minutes on the clock to earn his
side a well deserved point.
The Red Devils kept things tight in the
opening exchanges and pushed forward
right from the start. De Wit dragged a
long-range effort over the bar before
a cannoning free-kick from Dick forced
Weidenfeller into a smart reaction.
Both teams pushed to break the deadlock, with neither side giving an inch to
their opponents. The hosts opened the
scoring just before the half-hour mark
when Großkreutz flicked the ball past
give-and-go with Lell before racing clear
and firing a 12-yard drive into the bottom corner (14’).
Babbel’s men regained their nerve and
created two openings, but Niemeyer
dragged his shot wide and Ramos was denied by Trapp. The Red Devils embarked
on their best spell after the half-hour
mark and really should have restored
their lead, but Dick couldn’t convert
Tiffert’s delivery on the stretch before
the FCK captain flashed a header of his
own past the post. Kouemaha saw his effort denied by Kraft and Kirch fired his
shot narrowly wide of the post as the
sides went in level at half-time.
FCK continued to hold the upper hand
and Kouemaha almost put his team in
the lead, but his header only hit the
woodwork ten minutes into the second
half. Kurz’s men pinned their opponents
back into their own half and carved out
further opportunities, but Bugera, Fortounis, Sahan and Amedick all missed
the target. The Red Devils continued to
fight until the final whistle but were left
to rue their missed chances as they had
to settle for a point.
Rodnei allowing Kagawa to thunder the
ball into the left corner of the goal.
However, the Red Devils did not shy
away from the task at hand. A well
worked move saw Tiffert and Sahan
combine to set up Kouemaha, but the
Cameroonian was denied. The hosts
came close to doubling their lead, but
Sahan was on hand to clear a Hummels
header off the line as the sides went in
level at the break.
Dortmund forced some smart reactions
from Trapp after the restart, but the
Red Devils upped the heat and relentlessly pushed for the equalizer. Kurz’s
men were finally rewarded for their efforts when Sahan volleyed a sensational shot into the far corner of the goal
to pull FCK level on 60 minutes.
TICKET GUIDE & SCHEDULE
FCK came within inches of taking the
lead when a clipped Fortounis ball found
Shechter in the box, but Weidenfeller
performed heroics to stop the Israeli’s
header on the line. With time winding
down, the home side threw everything
forward, but the Red Devils stood firm
and held the reigning champions to a
well deserved draw.
Your guide to buying tickets for the Red Devils’ forthcoming home games at the Betze
Matchday 18 (Saturday, January 21, 2012): 1. FC Kaiserslautern – SV Werder Bremen Tickets go on sale to FCK members and season ticket holders on
Monday, November 28, 2011. Tickets go on sale to the general public on Monday, November 05, 2011.
Matchday 20 (Saturday, February 5, 2012): 1. FC Kaiserslautern – 1. FC Köln Tickets go on sale to FCK members and season ticket holders on
Monday, December 12, 2011. Tickets go on sale to the general public on Monday, December 19, 2011.
more information: www.fck-ticketshop.de