In This Issue:
2006 FIFA World Cup Overview
The Essential History of Soccer
Healthy Tips - Simple Tips to Avoid the Struggle of a Diet
World-Class Athlete: Do You Have What It Takes?
Germany Travel Tips
Savor Your Achievement, Then Move Ahead
Play Soccer with Pelé
Featured Chef - Thomas Neeser of the "Lorenz Adlon"
 

FIFA World Cup 2006 Overview  top

World soccer's supreme title - The FIFA WORLD CUP is disputed between nations every four years. Germany was chosen to host the event in 2006. South Africa will be host to the 2010 World Cup.

• Current cup holders Brazil will defend their title in 2006.
• Twelve cities - Berlin, Dortmund, Frankfurt/Main, Gelsenkirchen, Hamburg, Hannover, Kaiserslautern, Cologne, Leipzig, Munich, Nuremberg and Stuttgart - have been named to host the Finals.
• The opening match of World Cup 2006 will take place on 9th June in Munich - with the final taking place one month later in Berlin. See complete match schedule in the column on the left.
• Since the announcement of the 2006 award was made, FIFA, has made public its intention to rotate the hosting of the event between its constituent confederations.
• The 2006 Championships in Germany will be the 20th time the Football world cup has been held, The first championships being held in Uraguay in 1930, since then the World cup is held every 4 years.
• Host nations have included, Switzerland, England, Germany, Spain, Italy,Brazil, Mexico, Chile Argentina and France to name a few. There has only ever been 7 nations who have won the championship - can Germany 2006 provide an eighth?
• Soccer is played on every continent and the soccer World Cup is the most viewed event in the world
• In 2002 (staged in Korea/Japan) a cumulative in-home audience of 28.8 billion viewers watched the tournament.
• In spite of non-prime time viewing hours in Europe, North and South America, many national audience records were broken - with an average world-wide figure of 314.1 million viewers recorded per match.

The Essential History of Soccer  top

The World Game

Many different cultures have played a sport similar to the modern game of soccer but no one can really say with any certainty when or where soccer began but it is known that the earlier variations of what later became soccer were played almost 3000 years ago.

One of the earliest forms of soccer in which players kicked a ball around on a small field has been traced as far back to 1004 B.C. in Japan. The Munich Ethnological Museum in Germany has a Chinese text from approximately 50 B.C. that mentions games very similar to soccer that were played between teams from Japan and China. The Chinese kicked a leather ball ( hair-filled ) and it is known with certainty that a soccer game was played in 611 A.D. in the then Japanese capital, Kyoto.

The Romans played a game that somewhat resembled modern soccer. The early Olympic games in Rome featured twenty-seven men on a side who completed so vigorously that two-thirds of them had to be hospitalized after a fifty-minute game.

While historians kept records of events such as wars and religious movements they had very little interest in preserving the various origins of soccer or many other sports, so no one can say how soccer seems to have spread from Asia to Europe.

Britain is the undisputed birthplace of modern soccer/association football. Scotland and England being co-founders of the organized game. Football - as soccer is called in Britain - was a popular sport of the masses from the 8th century onwards. But the game at that time was a war game!

There is a story which places the first football game in the east of England - where the locals played 'football' with the severed head of a Danish Prince they had defeated in battle!

In medieval times, towns and villages played against rival towns and villages - and kicking, punching, biting and gouging were allowed. The object of the game was to move the ball to an agreed spot which had been marked out before play commenced. Hundreds of people took part and games could last all day. So violent did these matches become that many attempts were made by the authorities to ban soccer.

In England, King Edward III passed laws in 1331 to try and suppress football. In Scotland, King James 1, in 1424, proclaimed in Parliament, "That na man play at the Fute-ball" (No man shall play football/soccer). Good Queen Bess, Queen Elizabeth 1 of England, had a law passed which provided for soccer players to be "jailed for a week, and obliged to do penance in church." But no law could stop the game in Britain. It was too popular.

In 1815, the famous English School, Eton College, established a set of rules which other schools, colleges and Universities began to use. Later, these were standardized and a version, known as the Cambridge Rules, was adopted by most of England's Universities and Colleges in 1848.

But now, football was divided into two separate camps. Some colleges and schools preferred to follow rules drawn up by Rugby School - rules which permitted tripping, shin-kicking and carrying the ball - all forbidden by the Cambridge rules. On 26 October 1863, eleven London clubs and schools sent their representatives to a meeting in the Freemason's Tavern to establish a single set of fundamental rules to govern the matches played amongst them. This meeting created The Football Association. The supporters of the Rugby School rules walked out - and On 8 December 1863, Association Football and Rugby Football finally split. In 1869 The Football Association included in their rules a provision which forbade any handling of the ball - so establishing the foundation on which the modern game stands.

Today, undisputedly soccer is the most watched and played sport in the world enjoyed by 8 billion people. This past World cup, that took place in the united States was watched by an estimated 33 billion people around the world for almost 27 days. This makes soccer, the most watched single sports event in the world not surpassed even by the Olympics. This sport is bigger than baseball, football and basketball combined.

Simple Tips to Avoid the Struggle of a Diet  top

• Intend to make breads, cereals, legumes and grains the foundation of your diet. Give yourself 6 to 11 servings per day. Always select at least half of your grains and starches from whole-grain sources.
• Figure on having only a few fruits a day. Even though they are a great source of fiber, vitamins and phytochemicals, they are high in natural sugar and should be eaten in moderation. Give yourself two to four servings per day.
• Plan to get in plenty of veggies. The darker or more colorful a vegetable is, the more nutritious it is for you. Whether you eat them raw or cooked, give yourself four to six servings per day.
• Don’t forget the dairy group. Dairy products are rich in protein and calcium but can also be high in fat, so stick to the nonfat choices. If you’re allergic to milk or dairy foods, soy-based products are a good substitute. Give yourself two servings per day.
• Use meats, eggs, cheeses and nuts in moderation. Start thinking of meat and other high fat protein foods as condiments rather than the main attraction of your meals. Give yourself two servings (4 to 6 ounces) per day.
• Don’t estimate on the extras. You need to limit the amount of fat and sugar you add to your food because they have lots of calories and little else. Give yourself two to three servings of fat and no more than 8 to 15 servings of added sugar per day.
• Aim to avoid alcohol. Alcoholic drinks (1 ounce hard liquor, 4 ounces wine, 12 ounces beer) are highly caloric and these calories offer no nutrients. Even though alcohol doesn’t contain fat, it does interfere with your body’s ability to burn fat. So try to limit yourself to no more than four drinks a week.
• Work on getting in lots of water. This wonder tonic is 100% natural and totally calorie free. Stock your fridge, car and workout bag with water bottles (filled, of course) and make it a habit to carry a water bottle around with you. Give yourself at least eight servings per day and more if you’re in the heat

Annette Cain – Health Catalyst Annette Cain is a graduate of the University of California at Davis, with a Baccalaureate of Science in Nutrition Science. She received her Masters Degree in Health Services-Wellness Promotion from the California College of Health Sciences. Annette has also completed her certification program for the Treatment of Eating Disorders at John F. Kennedy University. The Aerobics and Fitness Association of America (AFAA) has certified her as a personal trainer, and she has fourteen years of experience in weight management and exercise programming. Annette has dedicated her career to promoting wellness and preventing disease through exercise and healthy habits.

World-Class Athlete: Do You Have What It Takes?  top

Leah Lauber

The following excerpt comes from the book, Soccer Dreams, (a top-seller in sports journalism at Amazon) which describes Leah Lauber's true adventure following the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team, as a fan and 12-year old Junior Reporter during the history-making 1999 Women's World Cup. While the article is now dated and was written primarily for children, the lesson itself is timeless in describing what it takes to be a world-class athlete.

Do you have what it takes to be a world-class athlete? Do you know what it takes? Well, if you don't know, keep reading!

I attended the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team training session at the Seminole Sports Training Center near Orlando, Florida recently while the team was preparing for the Women's World Cup, which began Saturday and runs through July 10.

The United States Women's National Team is a great team. In 1998, their record was 22-1-2, losing only to Norway. The U.S. team won the Women's World Cup in '91, came in third in '95, and won the '96 gold medal in the first-ever Olympic soccer competition for women.

When we arrived at the field, the team was already warming up and stretching. They were working on individual skills like juggling, volleys, and heading. Then they played small-sided games like 4 vs. 2, playing to maintain possession of the ball. The purpose was to transition to defense as fast as possible once a player lost the ball.

Next, they worked on the fine art of "finishing," or scoring goals. They worked on several ways to attack the goal from different angles. What impressed me most was that the best women's team in the world was practicing so hard! After practice I spoke to a few of the players.

"We know every other team is playing their best when they face us, so we have to be as good as we can be," said defender Brandi Chastain. Goalie Briana Scurry added, "You have to work hard to stay the best." "In order to achieve your goals and get where you want to be, you have to continue to practice," said forward Danielle Fotopoulos. "I always practice year-round with a club team or doing whatever I can to improve myself."

When the players were younger, they sometimes had to miss parties, dances, and sleepovers, just so they could play soccer. Most of us would consider those sacrifices, but they don't, they chose to play for their love of the game. The rewards are great for these world-class athletes: traveling around the world as a team, getting paid to play and competing in the Olympics.

"That was a dream come true for me," Scurry said about winning the gold medal in the 1996 Olympics. "I had been dreaming about being in the Olympics since I was really young, so it was an incredible feeling for me. My family was there, my friends were there, we won it at home (in Atlanta), so it was just the most unbelievable experience."

What's the best thing about being on the National Team? "I get to play the sport that I love everyday with my best friends," Chastain said. "The relationships and friendships, we're just a big family here," said Scurry, "I can count on the team for anything."

Though they do take their sport seriously, it's not just work, work, work all the time for this team. During a water break, team members were laughing, joking and throwing water on each other. When the coaches called them to resume, it was instantly back to work. When practice finished, the players still had to attend a team meeting and work out with weights.

"We try to work hard some days and other days it's easy. It's not hard work every single day. It's a high level of concentration every day, but not physically hard, because we'd just wear the team out," Coach Tony DiCicco said later. "It wouldn't be fun to play and it's gotta be fun to play." Of course, the fun part of soccer is playing the game, executing what you've practiced and defeating your opponents.

The next day the team took on Brazil in an exhibition game..

I had passes that allowed me to be on the field during the game to shoot photos and to interview the players after the game (The other photographers there looked at me as if I was just tagging along with my dad, but really, my dad was tagging along with me!)

At that time, Mia Hamm had already tied the record for most international career goals at 107. The players, the media, and more than 10,000 fans, were expecting her to break the record that night. She had an opportunity to do so early in the game, but the goalie saved it. Right at the end of the first half, Mia shot and scored the record-breaking goal. I was standing 15 feet away from her! AWESOME!!! After the referee blew the whistle for halftime, Mia was interviewed by ESPN. As she was going into the locker room, I stuck my hand out and she slapped me a high-five!

During the second half, the U.S. scored two more goals. The last goal was a set play exactly the way they practiced the day before: one player crossed it from the left side over the goalie to another teammate who headed it back to the middle, where Tiffeny Milbrett converted the easy shot from five yards out. That's what practicing is all about!

After the 3-0 win over Brazil, I was with a pack of reporters and used my tape recorder to capture Mia Hamm's comments about her record-setting 108th goal.

"It was a great ball coming from Cindy Parlow's one- touch pass. She touched it outside because I was running forward. I didn't touch it very well, and I thought I was leaning back, but I guess I hit it right through her legs, so I was lucky this one got through," she said.

"It means a lot to me right now, but it will probably mean even more once I stop playing and look back on my career. I just love the fact that I could be here and share it with my teammates - they're a big part of all these goals," Hamm said. "The fact that they all ran out on the field was awesome. They were telling me how proud they were of me."

She signed my Mia Hamm jersey, as well as my copy of her book, Go for the Goal. I also had a binder signed by most of the other players.

Coach Tony DiCicco was sitting on the stairs eating pizza so, between slices, I asked him to sign the binder too. I laughed when his assistant said, "Here's the head coach of the best women's team in the world, eating pizza on some stairs."

After he finished his late dinner, the coach talked about what makes a national team. "I look for players with character, players that I can trust when we're not together as a team, they're going to work hard even by themselves," he said. "I also look for players that have a special quality. Maybe they're fast, maybe they're leaders, maybe great headers on the ball, but they have to have a special quality. When you get all those qualities together, you can kind of piece the puzzle together."

So now you know what it takes to be a world-class athlete. If you want to become one, get to work!

Germany Travel Tips  top

Joshua Spaulding | April 11, 2006

Planning a trip is a hassle right? Planning one outside your home country can be much more of a hassle if you do not plan ahead. If you are going to Germany in the future here are some useful travel tips that should help you on your way.

Restaurants and Bars - You do not get water for free, you have to pay for it. If you order water you will get carbonated water. In most restaurants you can request tap water and they may or may not charge you but it is most likely straight from the sink. In some American fast food restaurants, (i.e. McDonalds) you must pay for ketchup as well. Be aware that the menus at most fast food restaurants in Germany are not exactly the same. You may also notice that a sandwich that you recognize from back home may taste a little different or it could be smaller. When you enter a restaurant you will not be seated, just walk right in and pick the table of your choice!- the tip should be much smaller than you would give in the States (this is because the waiters/waitresses get paid more than in the states) A tip of two or three EUR would be considered a good tip for very good service.

Supermarkets - If you shop for groceries in Germany you will notice the supermarkets have all of their large rolling carts outside in a designated area and they are locked to one another. In order to utilize a cart you must place one EUR in the cart itself, you will see the slot on the handle. Upon leaving the supermarket you latch the cart back to the other carts and pull the device out where you placed the coin, now you can retrieve your coin. When you have all of the groceries you want, proceed to the check-out counter. You will have to purchase plastic bags to put the groceries in or you can take one in yourself. If you decide to purchase one they are usually visible at the counter and normally only cost a few cents. If there is a long line do not put all of your groceries in the bag, put them back into the cart and bag them away from the line.

Closing hours - On Sunday everything is closed except for some restaurants, bars, gas stations and shops at the main train station and bigger airports. Some bigger stores are realizing that they can make much more money if they open on Sunday so they are doing just that, but I would not rely on it. During the week shops in bigger cities close at 8 PM at the latest. You may see shops in smaller cities closing even earlier.

Public Phones - Public phones are very rare in Germany. If you find one you will notice that they only take telephone cards. You can buy a telephone card in different shops like "T-Punkt", "Telekom", "Post", and "Vodafone" or you can go to an Internet cafe.

Miscellaneous - "Bad" in front of a towns name does not mean that the people or the city is bad for example Psychology Articles, "Bad Homburg". Bad in front of a towns name normally means that the town is designated as a healthy location normally with very clean air and water.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
For more Information on Germany or to Plan a trip to Germany please visit us at http://www.thegermantruth.com

Savor Your Achievement, Then Move Ahead  top

Setting realistic goals properly aligned with the business plans of your company and its clients is important in any business. Having the support of senior management in assembling the needed resources is key to achieving those goals. And sending the message across your corporate culture that "we will savor our achievements, large and small, and then move ahead and build on our success" is the formula we have chosen to differentiate ourselves in this very competitive and demanding marketplace.

It has been just about a year since OneLink Corporation acquired Reservation Center, Inc. This is an update of what has been achieved with our 24/7 call center services during these past very busy and productive eleven months.

Plain and simple, our goal has been to make our after-hours service the best in the business.

From the start, taking the actions needed to achieve that goal-investing in technology, staffing and training-has had the full support of the OneLink board and its senior management team. Our Operations and Technology Departments quickly identified the gaps in current service offerings, developed plans to remedy equipment and staffing shortfalls, and set about taking the actions necessary to re-invigorate the service we initiated and have been providing for over thirty years.

We have made major investments in our technology and telephony, upgrading the service features of our existing phone switch to a state-of-the-art Aspect Communications Uniphi Connect ACD system. In addition, the installation of two new Citrix Metaframe servers created a powerful virtual computer environment for our Work at Home Agents. On the near horizon, our plans include installation of a digital voice recording system that will allow us to record 100% of agents’ phone conversations as well as an Automated Agent Solution to handle calls not requiring live agent intervention.

We have just completed our fourth training class for new Reservation Agents since the OneLink acquisition last May. Additional trainees have been recruited and pre-tested and scheduling of their training classes is now under way. Their addition to our current agent pool will allow us to implement approved requisitions for additional Team Leaders, Trainers and Ticketing Agents. These positions have been made necessary by the incremental business recently brought on by our re-energized, industry-savvy, six-member Sales Team.

Stabilizing our technology/telephony infrastructure and making giant strides towards our goal of having the right agents and the right number of agents has had tangible and positive results during the past few months. Abandon rates are down, agent error is down and, we are very pleased to report, our average hold times are down considerably. In the most recent four-week period ending April 22nd, hold times were 15% under those for post-acquisition 2005. We firmly believe that additional staffing and continued enhancement of agent training will result in further improvement in our caller response times.

And based on the investment we have made and the continued improvement we expect, we are happy to announce that we will soon be partnering with our clients to develop and implement service level agreements. These agreements will tie our compensation in to meeting and exceeding agreed upon key performance indicators, such as abandon rates, agent error rates and average hold times. It’s all about providing the services that our clients want and need in an increasingly competitive marketplace.

We’re proud of what we’ve achieved during the past year. Many of you have acknowledged that you’ve started to sense an improvement in our service and we greatly appreciate our clients’ willingness to share both constructive criticism and compliments for a job well done. Now it’s time for us to move ahead and build on that success.

Play Soccer with Pelé  top

What I am today is a result of all the advice I have received right from the beginning, before I had even played in a proper game. I have been helped by my trainers, the older players and my parents. Listen to the advice of your elders; they are always more experienced than we are. Also listen to any tips from your friends. I'd like to tell you something which I have learned from people: you don't learn faults by looking or listening, they come from you, yourself.

If you become great, do your best to show why you are considered to be so good; if you only reach the level of a reserve player, then show that you are the best in that category.

Be a man, in failure and success. Only this way can you achieve personal dignity and earn the respect of your fellow men.

Never think that you know everything. There is always more to learn and every day we get to know something new.

Before becoming a soccer player, you should be an athlete; and before becoming an athlete, you should be a man.

Always be yourself! Don't try to imitate anyone or to be like someone. Create your own individual style. Don't try and make yourself a 'Pelé'. It is much more important to be yourself than Pelé.

Never neglect your studies because of soccer or any other sport. You should organize your life so that you can satisfactorily spend enough time on both activities, or more.

If you find that you cannot become a reasonably good soccer player, don't be discouraged. Face life optimistically, because even if soccer has lost a good player, society might have gained a great man who can help his country in other ways if he is disciplined, confident and works hard.

No matter where he is, in the country or in the city, a man who really cares about the future of humanity and believes in Sport, Communication and Love must help to unite everyone in the world!

Dear friends, I hope that the advice I have given you will be as useful to you, in soccer and in life, as it has been to me.

May God be with you!

From your friend,

Thomas Neeser is Chef de Cuisine at the "Lorenz Adlon"  top

Thomas Neeser, who already ranked among the top-class staff at the "Lorenz Adlon" for the past few years under former culinary director and head of catering Karlheinz Hauser, has been appointed in 2002 head chef of the gourmet restaurant. Before joining the Adlon in 2000, Neeser worked at three-star restaurant "Auberge de l´Ill", owned by the Haeberlin family in Alsace.

After he had served an apprenticeship as chef at Hotel Maritim in Würzburg, the first rung on his career ladder was "Die Ente vom Lehel", the restaurant at Hotel Nassauer Hof in Wiesbaden. He then proceeded to "Pfeffer und Salz" restaurant in Viernheim, followed by two-star restaurant "Michel Chabran" in Pont de l´Isère and "Palme d´Or" in Cannes, another two-star restaurant, serving as demi-chef at each of them. From 1997 to 2000, Neeser honed his skills in the Haeberlins’ culinary temple in Alsace before moving to Berlin where he helped to set up the gourmet restaurant "Lorenz Adlon", which won its first Michelin star in 2002.

One year later, the restructuring of the culinary department proved to be successful. The new Lorenz Adlon team together with chef Thomas Neeser won the coveted Michelin Star back in November 2003, honoring the unparalleled service of the gourmet restaurant and the excellent quality of its delicious cuisine.

Caneton à la presse serves 2 1.6 kg young duck (6-8 weeks), slaughtered in a traditional manner 1 small glass of cognac 1 glass of double duck bouillon 1 glass of old Madeira 2 tbsp strained pâté de foie gras parfait truffle jus, lemon juice, salt, pepper from the mill   Preheat oven to 240 °C. Salt and pepper the duck, which has been prepared for roasting, inside and out. Roast for approximately 20 minutes. Then allow to rest for about 10 minutes, reserving the cooking juices. In the meantime, finely purée the duck liver and work both this and the strained foie gras parfait into a uniform mixture. Add cognac, Madeira, and a splash of lemon juice. Mix well and season to taste. Remove the legs from the duck and grill in the oven until done for the second course. Remove the skin from the remaining duck, cut away the breast in diagonal slices, and lay on a silver platter spread with salt and pepper. Salt and pepper the breast once more. Pass the carcasses and bouillon once or twice through a duck press. Stir the juice from the pressing with the liver mixture and the roasting juices of the duck until smooth, and coat the breast with it. Then heat while stirring constantly and pouring over the meat. The sauce should have the color and consistency of chocolate. Season to taste with salt, pepper, lemon juice, and truffle jus. For the second course I recommend grilling the legs until crispy and serving with a winter salad, fresh black truffle, and grapes. In addition you can serve pommes souflés.