Joachim Löw: "You only experience something like this once. With this result, in this country, against this opponent, in this manner. The semifinals of major tournaments are usually hard-fought and exciting right to the end."
Löw: "This semifinal was also dramatic, but in a completely different way."
Löw: "The focus of my players was more than impressive, they didn't let anything disturb them. Not during the game and not even by the events leading up to it."
Being injury-prone: What does it mean, and what can you do about it?
A thread 🧵
⏩ You've probably wondered, what is it about injury- prone people that make their tendons and ligaments so much more likely to tear or strain? Is it just bad luck? Is it poor mechanics of movement and insufficient rest? Or does it all come down to genetics?
➡️ Let's explore what various studies have shown and see what you can do to reduce the risk of sports injuries and ease injury concerns. The first thing to do?
He was eligible to represent three countries, but chose to play for Spain. He was forged in Barcelona's academy, but chose to make a name for himself with Bayern Munich. Thiago #Alcantara is a man of big decisions.
A thread 🧵
Thiago might as well have been born with a ball under his arm. His father lomar do Nascimento, better known as Mazinho was a member of the Brazil squad that won the 1994 World Cup in the USA. 👇
Although he played in every game of that tournament, he would be remembered more for something other than his exploits on the field. In the quarter-final match against the Netherlands, legendary striker Bebeto scored Brazil's second goal in a 3-2 victory. 👇
Born in Metten, Bavaria. As is seemingly the story for many goalkeepers, Josef Dieter Maier - known simply as 'Sepp' - started out as a striker at youth level when playing for TSV Haar, to the east of Munich. 👇
He used to play in goal on occasion "as a joke", but injury to the team's usual goalkeeper saw him take up the position full time and eventually catch the eye of Bayern, whom he joined at the age of 15 in 1959.
Ottmar #Hitzfeld won it all with Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund at the height of a venerable coaching career in the Bundesliga.
Who is Ottmar Hitzfeld? 🤔
A thread 🧵
Born in Lörrach, Hitzfeld started playing football in the late 1960s with TuS Stetten and FV Lörrach in the lower German leagues before he captured the attention of Swiss first division team FC Basel. He joined the club, located on the other bank of the Rhine, in 1971.
With this club the forward won the Swiss championship in 1972 and 1973, in the latter season even contributing as the top striker in Switzerland. In 1975, he also won the cup with Basel.
As his name might suggest, Salihamidzic was born (January 1st 1977) in the former Yugoslavian town of Jablanica, now a bustling tourist destination in modern-day Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Balkan politics were considerably more volatile when a teenage Salihamidzic was trying to forge a career in football, though, and when Bosnian- Serb troops laid siege to Sarajevo days after Salihamidzic had made his debut for Yugoslavia's U16s in 1992 👇