It's Guten Morgen and G'Day Mate in Oehringen these days.
The town of 23,000, about an hour north of Stuttgart, is Australia's training base for the World Cup and the locals are pulling for the men from Down Under to go all the way.
Well, almost.
PHOTO: AFP
"We hope that they go to the semi-finals," Lord Mayor Jochen Kubler said during the Socceroos first training session.
That's because the townspeople are hoping the Germans go one better.
So what would happen if the two teams met?
"Oh, that will be a little problem," the mayor said.
Still, the people of Oehringen are showing their support by flying the Australian flag along with the German. There may even be more Australian flags in town, according to Kubler.
"Were happy we have a nice team here," the mayor said. "The Australians are a nice team, not a problem team. No skinheads, only very nice people."
The Socceroos are staying in Friedrichsruhe, about 5km away.
The head of the Australian delegation is delighted by the accommodations and training facilities.
"Everything's fantastic," Phil Wolanski said. "The hotel accommodations are great. The sports field is magnificent. A new pitch. Can't ask for much more really can you?"
The team's welcome in Friedrichsruhe was also warm, he added.
"People lining the streets. Local people. A lot of Aussie flags. Good to see. A mix of German flags and Australian flags. They really came out and supported the team wonderfully," he said.
Wolanski said the feeling of being at the World Cup is just sinking in.
But he said the players were not thinking about being only the second Australian side to reach the World Cup. The first team to do it, in 1974, left West Germany after the first round with two losses and a draw, and no goals scored.
"I think they're too young," Wolanski said. "They've read about it, but again the monkey's off the back and they're well aware that they're the ones who have broken that."
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was