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Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Europe's longest-serving club coach survives in the Bundesliga again in his 709th game
Heidenheim coach Frank Schmidt, left, hugs Heidenheim's Mathias Honsak in a soccer match against Elversberg in the Bundesliga promotion-relegation playoff in Spiesen-Elversberg, Germany, Monday, May 26, 2025. (Uwe Anspach/dpa via AP) Heidenheim's goalscorer Mathias Honsak, below, celebrates with his teammates after scoring a goal in a soccer match against Elversberg in the Bundesliga promotion-relegation playoff in Spiesen-Elversberg, Germany, Monday, May 26, 2025. (Uwe Anspach/dpa via AP) Heidenheim's goalscorer Leo Scienza, left, celebrates with his teammates after scoring a goal in a soccer match against Elversberg in the Bundesliga promotion-relegation playoff in Spiesen-Elversberg, Germany, Monday, May 26, 2025. (Uwe Anspach/dpa via AP) Heidenheim coach Frank Schmidt watches the game during the German Bundesliga soccer match between 1. FC Heidenheim and Werder Bremen at Voith-Arena in Heidenheim, Germany, Saturday May 17, 2025. (Harry Langer/dpa via AP) Heidenheim coach Frank Schmidt watches the game during the German Bundesliga soccer match between 1. FC Heidenheim and Werder Bremen at Voith-Arena in Heidenheim, Germany, Saturday May 17, 2025. (Harry Langer/dpa via AP) Heidenheim coach Frank Schmidt, left, hugs Heidenheim's Mathias Honsak in a soccer match against Elversberg in the Bundesliga promotion-relegation playoff in Spiesen-Elversberg, Germany, Monday, May 26, 2025. (Uwe Anspach/dpa via AP) Heidenheim's goalscorer Mathias Honsak, below, celebrates with his teammates after scoring a goal in a soccer match against Elversberg in the Bundesliga promotion-relegation playoff in Spiesen-Elversberg, Germany, Monday, May 26, 2025. (Uwe Anspach/dpa via AP) Heidenheim's goalscorer Leo Scienza, left, celebrates with his teammates after scoring a goal in a soccer match against Elversberg in the Bundesliga promotion-relegation playoff in Spiesen-Elversberg, Germany, Monday, May 26, 2025. (Uwe Anspach/dpa via AP) Heidenheim coach Frank Schmidt watches the game during the German Bundesliga soccer match between 1. FC Heidenheim and Werder Bremen at Voith-Arena in Heidenheim, Germany, Saturday May 17, 2025. (Harry Langer/dpa via AP) DUESSELDORF, Germany (AP) — The longest-serving coach in any major men's European soccer league has written another chapter in a remarkable career. Now he just wants a rest. A last-minute goal on Monday gave Heidenheim and its coach Frank Schmidt, who's nearing 18 years in charge, a win which guaranteed survival in the Bundesliga for another season. Advertisement It was Schmidt's 709th game with a club he's taken from a regional league in southwestern Germany to the top division, beating Bayern Munich and facing the likes of Chelsea in the Europa Conference League. 'I've given all my energy to the team and it was very important, but now I'm empty,' Schmidt told broadcaster Sky after Leo Scienza's added-time goal sealed a 4-3 aggregate win over Elversberg in the promotion-relegation playoff. 'No one needs to call me tomorrow, I won't be contactable, because I'm going away. I need the energy to prepare for the new season.' Winning 'El Dorfico' Advertisement The town of Heidenheim is home to 50,000 people and Schmidt's team is usually the underdog against clubs with more history, trophies and fans. It was the other way round on Monday. Heidenheim's opponent was Elversberg, another team which has risen from regional leagues to the national stage in recent years. It comes from a town of just 13,000 people. German fans dubbed the game 'El Dorfico,' a play on Barcelona and Real Madrid's El Clasico rivalry and the German word 'Dorf,' or village. Heidenheim seemed to be tiring as the game entered stoppage time but Brazilian winger Scienza burst down the left flank to score the winner to start Heidenheim's celebrations. Advertisement It was a narrow escape for Heidenheim, which finished an impressive eighth in the Bundesliga last season to qualify for the Europa Conference League but struggled to cope with the extra games this year. A place in history The soccer world looked very different in September 2007 when Schmidt first coached Heidenheim in a regional cup game against Olympia Laupheim reserves. David Beckham had just made his debut for the Los Angeles Galaxy after a shock move from Madrid, while Alex Ferguson's Manchester United was the team to beat in England. Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi were successful young players at United and Barcelona, respectively, but neither had yet won the Ballon d'Or prize for best player in the world. They now have 13 Ballon d'Or awards between them. Advertisement Schmidt's tenure with Heidenheim makes Pep Guardiola's nine years at Manchester City or Diego Simeone's 13-year stint at Atletico Madrid look short by comparison. He's still some way short of historical greats like Ferguson (26 years at United) or Arsene Wenger (22 years at Arsenal). ___ AP soccer:
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Harry Kane finishes Bundesliga as the top-scorer again
Bayern's Thomas Mueller, right, high fives teammate Harry Kane during his substitution in the German Bundesliga soccer match between TSG 1899 Hoffenheim and Bayern Munich at the PreZero Arena in Sinsheim, Germany, Saturday, May 17, 2025. (Uwe Anspach/dpa via AP) Bayern's Harry Kane stands on the pitch after the game with the top scorer of the 2024/2025 season award, after the German Bundesliga soccer match between TSG 1899 Hoffenheim and Bayern Munich at the PreZero Arena in Sinsheim, Germany, Saturday, May 17, 2025. (Uwe Anspach/dpa via AP) Bayern's Harry Kane stands on the pitch after the game with the top scorer of the 2024/2025 season award, after the German Bundesliga soccer match between TSG 1899 Hoffenheim and Bayern Munich at the PreZero Arena in Sinsheim, Germany, Saturday, May 17, 2025. (Uwe Anspach/dpa via AP) Bayern's Harry Kane stands on the pitch after the game with the top scorer of the 2024/2025 season award, after the German Bundesliga soccer match between TSG 1899 Hoffenheim and Bayern Munich at the PreZero Arena in Sinsheim, Germany, Saturday, May 17, 2025. (Uwe Anspach/dpa via AP) Bayern's Thomas Mueller, right, high fives teammate Harry Kane during his substitution in the German Bundesliga soccer match between TSG 1899 Hoffenheim and Bayern Munich at the PreZero Arena in Sinsheim, Germany, Saturday, May 17, 2025. (Uwe Anspach/dpa via AP) Bayern's Harry Kane stands on the pitch after the game with the top scorer of the 2024/2025 season award, after the German Bundesliga soccer match between TSG 1899 Hoffenheim and Bayern Munich at the PreZero Arena in Sinsheim, Germany, Saturday, May 17, 2025. (Uwe Anspach/dpa via AP) Bayern's Harry Kane stands on the pitch after the game with the top scorer of the 2024/2025 season award, after the German Bundesliga soccer match between TSG 1899 Hoffenheim and Bayern Munich at the PreZero Arena in Sinsheim, Germany, Saturday, May 17, 2025. (Uwe Anspach/dpa via AP) SINSHEIM, Germany (AP) — Harry Kane didn't need to start Bayern Munich's last game of the Bundesliga to finish as the league's top-scorer again. Bayern coach Vincent Kompany suggested before the game that the team's title-winning celebrations had taken their toll when he opted to start Kane among the substitutes for Saturday's match at Hoffenheim. Advertisement The team was presented with the trophy after its win over Borussia Mönchengladbach the previous weekend and 14 of the players, including Kane, continued the party with a quick trip to Ibiza before returning to Munich. 'It's his first title,' Kompany said of Kane. 'Perhaps the week wasn't as optimal for him as I would have hoped, but it's normal.' Bayern went on to finish the season with a 4-0 win. Thomas Müller started in his last Bundesliga appearance for the club and made way for Kane for the last half hour. Kane set up Serge Gnabry for Bayern's third goal and completed the scoring with his league-leading 26th. Advertisement 'It was nice to finish with another goal,' Kane said. It's the second consecutive year the 31-year-old Kane has finished as the Bundesliga top-scorer, making him the first player to win the cannon trophy in his first two seasons in the German league. Kane scored 36 times last season. Nine of his 26 goals were penalties this season. Both Bayer Leverkusen's Patrik Schick and Borussia Dortmund's Serhou Guirassy finished with 21 goals, with Schick needing less time than any other Bundesliga player between goals. ___ AP soccer:
The Star
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Star
Aha! Oho! A new 'Gruffalo' book is coming out in 2026, after more than 20 years
It's been more than a quarter of a century since the first Gruffalo book came out. Now a third book is set to be published next year. — Photo: Uwe Anspach/dpa The first new Gruffalo picture book in more than two decades will be released next year. Children's book duo author Julia Donaldson and illustrator Axel Scheffler will work on the as-yet untitled Gruffalo story to be published in September 2026. The pair previously teamed up on The Gruffalo in 1999 and the 2004 follow-up The Gruffalo's Child . More than 18.2 million copies were sold, according to Macmillan Children's Books. The original picture book sees a mouse takes a stroll through the woods and encounter various predators who wish to eat him. To escape his fate, he invents a fearsome creature called "The Gruffalo", only to later encounter a real Gruffalo, leading to an unexpected turn of events that showcases the mouse's wit and bravery. Donaldson said that she had the idea for a third Gruffalo story for a while and had been encouraged to complete it by the UK charity National Literacy Trust (NLT). "It was only when the NLT, whose work I'm very impressed by, used the first two books as part of their Early Words Matter programme that I was spurred on to get my idea out of the cupboard and see once and for all if I could turn it into a really satisfying story," she said. "To my surprise, I managed to do just that! I was, of course, delighted when Axel came on board, and am even more so now that I've seen the brilliant sketches he's already done for the new book. I really hope that children - and adults too - will enjoy the new story, as I know what a wonderful experience shared reading can be." Scheffler said: "Never say never - a lesson learnt for me who, whenever asked, denied the possibility of another visit to the deep dark wood. Till one day out of the blue there came a wonderfully clever and inspired new text by Julia. "How does she do this? Could I decline? Of course not! As I have had to draw the odd Gruffalo and his daughter over the last 20 years, I'm not completely out of practice." Alison Ruane, managing director of Macmillan Children's Books said the book will be a "true landmark publishing event". – dpa
Local Germany
07-04-2025
- Politics
- Local Germany
Germany probing possible foreign influence in spate of attacks
The spate of attacks blamed on asylum seekers over the past 12 months, including stabbings and car-rammings, led to a bitter debate on migration ahead of EU elections last year and in the run-up to Germany's general election in February. In one case, an Afghan man is on trial over a stabbing spree at an anti-Islam rally in the city of Mannheim last May that killed a police officer and wounded several other people. Public broadcaster ZDF on Sunday reported that Russian online accounts had carried out searches about the Mannheim attack before it actually happened. An interior ministry spokesman on Monday did not want to comment on the ZDF report but said the government was investigating "possible indications of targeted influence from abroad" in relation to the attacks and that the matter was "being taken seriously". READ ALSO: What we know so far about the fatal car-ramming incident in Mannheim German security authorities are carrying out "ongoing checks", he said, although there were "no clear indications" of foreign influence so far. According to the ZDF report, Russian accounts carried out searches for "terrorist attack in Mannheim" four days before the stabbing. A memorial for victims of the car-ramming attack in Mannheim. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Uwe Anspach Other search queries from Russia ahead of the incident reportedly included "attack in Germany" and "Michael Stürzenberger" -- the name of a prominent Islam critic who was wounded in Mannheim. The report also said suspicious online activity had been identified in the run-up to a fire caused by an exploding DHL parcel at Leipzig airport in July. Anonymous security sources told the Funke media group on Monday that "due to the algorithms, no reliable statements can be made about when exactly the search queries about the attack in Mannheim were made". Advertisement However, Greens MP and security expert Konstantin von Notz told ZDF that "it's quite obvious that... the evaluation and analysis of this digital evidence can be an important building block in getting closer to the truth". Dirk Wiese, a politician with Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democrats (SPD), said the spate of similar attacks in the run-up to the February election was "very conspicuous". "Russia's involvement is anything but ruled out here," he said.
