A Tale Of Two Capital Cities Concluded

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Well, tradional Bundesliga powerhouse BAYERN MUNICH came good with a thorough 6-0 hammering of relegation-threatened SC HERTHA BERLIN on Saturday night under the bright lights of the OLYMPIASTADION in the capital city of Germany. But, PHILADELPHIA UNION flopped underneath the brilliant sunshine cascading upon scenic PPL PARK on the banks of the Delaware River, just outside the inaugural capital city of the United States of America. A proverbial split then from this most unique doubleheader here at the old blog!

Personally, I was amazed at how entertained I was with the Philadelphia Union vs Colorado Rapids affair. Perhaps it because was the technical and tactical level of football was well-known in advance and so energies could be focused squarely on rooting for a result. And so not even another monster MacMathematical Error would be allowed to spoil my Major League Soccer afternoon.

Philadelphia Union were a bit unlucky and thoroughly punished for a pair of unforced defensive mistakes, but that would be another story.

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I’m not quite so sure my old blog buddy DAN KEHL enjoyed his experience watching the Philadelphia Union at sold-out PPL Park quite as much as I did, though. And I feel a little bad about that because Dan Kehl, who served his country a good 10-12 years in the United States Marines and rose to the rank of sergeant, is a good man. He always wants his heart in the right place and his intentions are always of the utmost good, there is never any question of that.

Perhaps the atmosphere at the preeminent AAA minor league baseball park in all of America is just a wee bit different than that already well-known to prevail at PPL Park …

http://noisenation.com —— “A NEW SOCCER FAN? PHILLY UNION HOME OPENER”

All I can tell my old blog buddy is that, in the world of professional football, the results do matter very, very much. For a variety of different reasons, really. Just ask SC Hertha Berlin, last season’s 2.Bundesliga champions who are in real danger of dropping straight back into the German second division at the end of this 2011/12 campaign!

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SC Hertha Berlin 0 – Bayern Munich 6

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SC Hertha Berlin midfielder CHRISTIAN LELL (left),the 27-year-old former Bayern Munich youth team product who transferred to Die Alte Dame in the summer of 2010, clears the ball away from Bayern Munich’s in-form France World Cup winger FRANCK RIBERY during the one-sided Bundesliga clash at the sold-out Olympiastadion in the captial city of Germany.
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3/17/12
Bundesliga
Spieltag # 26

0 – SC HERTHA BERLIN
6 – BAYERN MUNICH ————— Robben 12′, pen 19′, pen 67′, Mueller 9′, Gomez pen 50′, Kroos 51′

Another assault of Blitztore allowed the record German champions to race to an early three-goal advantage and another flurry just after the re-start transformed the rest of the match into a mere formality as visiting BAYERN MUNICH blasted struggling SC HERTHA BERLIN 6-0 in a Bundesliga contest played under the bright lights of the Olympic stadium in the proud nation’s capital.

France World Cup winger FRANCK RIBERY made yet another incendiary run into the box and pulled the ball back for Germany World Cup winger THOMAS MUELLER, deployed by trainer JUPP HEYNCKES in the role of central attacking midfielder as of late, to bank in off the far post with a partially-flubbed volley from about eight yards out in only the ninth minute. Shortly thereafter, Mueller released Holland World Cup winger ARJEN ROBBEN clear in midfield on the right with a precision pass for the Dangerous Dutchman to fully exploit. Shifting into another gear, Robben pulled away from his defender before drilling an absolute rocket that former Bayern Munich goalkeeper THOMAS KRAFT could only wave at while standing in between the sticks for SC Hertha Berlin.

The heavily-involved Mueller was also soon hacked down in the penalty area by one-time Bayern Munich defender CHRISTIAN LELL and Robben raised the scoreline to 3-0 in favor of the Bavarians from the spot with less than twenty minutes expired; there would be no way back for SC Hertha Berlin trainer OTTO REHHAGEL’s relegation-threatened side.

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Germany World Cup winger THOMAS MUELLER of Bayern Munich, who netted in midweek against Swiss side FC Basel during the club record-setting UEFA Champions League rout, looks to squeeze between the SC Hertha Berlin defensive pair of CHRISTOPH JANKER (6) and CHRISTIAN LELL in the box and will draw a penalty kick — one of three awarded on the evening by match referee Tobias Welz of Wiesbaden — for his efforts early into the sold-out Bundesliga contest in front of 74,244 Zuschauer at the Olympiastadion.
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Kraft went to the changing room limping and so Rehhagel sent on 22-year-old SASCHA BURCHERT, making just his second Bundesliga appearance of the season (both as a substitute) and only the fifth of his career, to start the second half. The unfortunate Burchert had a penalty kick to contend with almost immediately after SC Hertha Berlin substitute defender ALREDO MORALES felled Ribery in the area. Germany international striker MARIO GOMEZ, however, had no trouble from the spot to welcome the new netminder and lift his total for the Bavarians to 22 goals in the Bundesliga this term.

Less than a minute later, the unlucky Burchert produced an admirable save to temporarily deny Robben his hat trick after a terrible error by SC Hertha Berlin defender CHRISTOPH JANKER but the rebound fell straight to Germany international midfielder TONI KROOS lurking at the penalty spot; an efficient side-volley found the back of an empty net and gave Kroos his second strike in as many Bundesliga matches while stretching the Bayern Munich’s margin to five in the 51st minute.

In the end, though, the Dangerous Dutchman would have a third goal after Morales, once again, dropped the unmanageable Ribery inside the penalty area. Robben gave the beleaguered Burchert absolutely no chance whatsoever with a powerful and precise laser to the upper left hand corner that no world-class goalkeeper could have halted. In the meantime, Bayern Munich had completed yet another Torschuetzenfest having scored 20 times in its last three matches.

Robben, in particlar, has been in blistering form since scoring two magnificent goals for Holland in the friendly with England at the famed Wembley Stadium in London. The final strike against SC Hertha Berlin at the Olympiastadion marked a 50th career goal for the Dangerous Dutchman in all competitions for Bayern Munich since arriving from Spanish giant Real Madrid in exchange for a transfer fee of 25.0 million Euros in the summer of 2009. A remarkable string of seven goals in Bayern Munich’s last four matches would certainly seem to indicate that the oft-injured winger is returning to peak form at just the right time of year for the proud Bavarian club …

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Czech Republic international defender ROMAN HUBNIK (4), who scored the only goal of the 2012 UEFA European Championships – Group I qualification match with Scotland last October, watches as SC Hertha Berlin defender ALFREDO MORALES brings down Bayern Munich’s in-form France World Cup winger FRANCK RIBERY inside the penalty area duirng the lopsided Bundesliga contest at the sold-out Olympiastadion in the capital city of Deutschland.
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SC HERTHA BERLIN : Kraft (Burchert 46′) – Perdedaj (Morales 46′), Hubnik, Bastians, Janker – Niemeyer – Rukavytsya, Lell, Ottl, Ramos (Lasogga 72′) – Raffael

BAYERN MUNICH : Neuer – Lahm, Boateng, Badstuber, Alaba – Kroos, Luiz Gustavo – Robben (Pranjic 70′), Mueller (Tymoshchuk 61′), Ribery (Rafinha 73′) – Gomez

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A Tale Of Two Capital Cities

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BRANDENBURG GATE, BERLIN
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A very special occasion here on this particular weekend, then. As the regulars are already well aware, the traditional pilgrimage across The Pond to see beloved Bavarian giant BAYERN MUNICH compete in both the Bundesliga and European competition is par for the course. On the other hand, it is not every week that the premier minor league baseball blogger in the world announces he is leading a contingent to see a soccer match in the birthplace of a nation.

But that is exactly what is going down these days with ole’ buddy DAN KEHL, the author of THE HORN AND BELL (http://noisenation.wordpress.com) and so, in order to help celebrate this most noteworthy broadening of the horizons, an action-packed, busy schedule awaits …

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OLYMPIASTADION, BERLIN
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First up, from the cultural homeland, is a Bundesliga contest from die Hauptstadt von Deutschland. Visiting historical powerhouse BAYERN MUNICH, the record German champion currently standing second in the top flight, roll into the German capital city fresh from a resounding 7-0 victory over Swiss side FC Basel in the prestigous UEFA Champions League tournament. Host SC HERTHA BERLIN, last season’s 2.Bundesliga titlist, are second from bottom in the table and staring straight at a rapid return to the second division.

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INDEPENDENCE HALL, PHILADELPHIA
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And then tomorrow, after the trip back across the Atlantic Ocean, it is only a hop, skip and a jump down the Pennsylvania Turnpike to the city the originally served as the capital of the United States. Roughly thirteen miles to the south is the suburban city of Chester and there on the banks of the Delaware River is PPL PARK, a soccer-specific stadium that first opened in June of 2010. On Sunday afternoon in a match that will be broadcast to a national televison audience by NBC Sports, the PHILADELPHIA UNION will kick-off their third season of Major League Soccer at home against the visiting COLORADO RAPIDS.

Bayern Munich 4 – SC Hertha Berlin 0

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Croatia international attacker IVICA OLIC of Bayern Munich, finally fit again and making his first appearance in any competition since late August, splits the SC Hertha Berlin pair of former Germany U-21 international midfielder PETER NIEMEYER (18) and Czech Republic international defender ROMAN HUBNIK (4) during the Bundesliga match at the Allianz Arena in Bavaria.
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10/15/2011
Bundesliga
Spieltag # 9

4 – BAYERN MUNICH ——— Gomez 5′, 69′ pen, Ribery 7′, Schweinsteiger 13′
0 – SC HERTHA BERLIN

Three lightning-fast strikes barely a baker’s dozen minutes into the match enabled record German champion BAYERN MUNICH to simply coast to an eighth consecutive clean sheet domestically with the 4-0 victory over visiting SC HERTHA BERLIN as the streaking Bavarian giant stretched its lead at the top of the Bundesliga table.

After failing to score in its last Bundesliga match, Bayern Munich laid siege to Hertha Berlin’s goal immediately. The Blau-Weissen were, indeed, fortunate to have Czech Republic international defender ROMAN HUBNIK block a shot after the Bavarians’ France World Cup winger FRANCK RIBERY had rounded visiting goalkeeper THOMAS KRAFT, one of three former Bayern Munich youth product now performing in the Startelf for the Blue-Whites and making a return to the Allianz Arena. But Ribery, who was directly involved in all four of goals recorded in the match, soon made yet another run through midfield on the left and found in-form Germany international striker MARIO GOMEZ in the center.

The reigning Bundesliga Torjaegermeister, who netted for Germany in the last two Euro ’12 qualifiers against Turkey and Belgium, turned neatly and beat Hertha Berlin’s Croatian captain ANDRE MIJATOVIC before rolling a ball from beyond the penalty arc past the diving Kraft. Truth be told, the shot from Gomez was far from irresistable and, perhaps, caught the young shot-stopper leaning a bit the wrong way, so to speak. Thus began the Bayern blitz.

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France World Cup winger FRANCK RIBERY, who has scored four goals and added seven assists for Bayern Munich through the first nine games in the German top flight this season, dribbles around SC Herth Berlin goalkeeper THOMAS KRAFT (35) during the Bundesliga contest at the Allianz Arena in Bavaria.
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Just two minutes later, Bayern Munich’s summer signing from English Premier League club Manchester City, Germany World Cup defender JEROME BOATENG, beat Hertha Berlin’s highly-experienced Georiga international left back LEVAN KOBIASHVILI badly on the right and pulled the ball back for the lurking Ribery. The little Frenchman easily finished from seven yards out to score his fourth Bundesliga goal of the season.

The rampaging Ribery was not finished, however, much to the dismay of Hertha Berlin. A delightful ball into space allowed on-rushing World Cup midfielder BASTIAN SCHWEINSTEIGER, who scored his 23rd career international goal for Germany in the recent Euro ’12 qualifier against Turkey, to stroke past Kraft in the thirteen minute of the match. A first Bundesliga goal of the season for Schweinsteiger, then, who has also netted for Bayern Munich in the D.F.B. Pokal and UEFA Champions League competitions this term, as well.

Bayern Munich might have inflicted even further damage in the first half but let Hertha Berlin off the hook with wayward shooting. The side of trainer JUPP HEYNCKES were obvioulsy content to hold possesion in the second half ahead of the approaching European tie with Italian Serie A side SSC Napoli this week. Gomez did add a second goal, his Bundesliga-leading 10th this term, from the penalty spot in the 69th minute after Ribery had been taken down in the box.

Germany World Cup goalkeeper MANUEL NEUER of Bayern Munich was not forced by Hertha Berlin to make a single save and stretched his shutout streak in the Bundesliga to 748 minutes in the process …

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World Cup winger THOMAS MUELLER of Bayern Munich, who scored his eighth career goal for Germany in the Euro ’12 qualifier against Turkey recently, hops into the air as Hertha Berlin’s Croatian captain ANDRE MIJATOVIC slide tackles the ball away while midfielder ANIS BEN HATIRA (17), who was bought by die Blau-Weissen from SV Hamburg in exchange for 600,000 Euros this past summer, watches during the Bundesliga match at the Allianz Arena in Bavaria.
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BAYERN MUNICH : Neuer – Boateng, van Buyten, Badstuber, Lahm (Contento 78′) – Tymoshchuk, Schweinsteiger – Mueller (Alaba 73′), Kroos, Ribery – Gomez (Olic 75′)

SC HERTHA BERLIN : Kraft – Lell, Hubnik, Mijatovic, Kobiashvili – Niemeyer, Ottl – Ebert (Lustenberger 46′), Raffael, Ben Hatira (Morales 61′) – Lasogga (Ramos 70′)

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Das Letzte Mal Mit Hertha Berlin

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KARL-HEINZ GRANITZA von Hertha Berlin war einer der besten Torjaeger mit 17 Treffer waehrend des 1977/78 Bundesligasaison. Einschliesslich der grosse Gerd Mueller von Bayern Muenchen, hat nur sechs Spieler dieses Jahr mehr geschossen. Hertha Berlin war dritte in der Bundesliga und hat einen Platz in Europa auch dieses Saison verdient.
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29.Oktober.1978
Olympiastadion in Muenchen
19.000 Zuschauer

0 – Bayern Muenchen
2 – SC Hertha Berlin ————— Grau 29′, Gersdorff 89′

BAYERN MUENCHEN : Maier – Niedermayer, Rausch, Schwarzenbeck, Gruber – Duernberger, Augenthaler, Oblak (Roth 75′) – Hoeness (Kuenkel 75′), Mueller, Rummenigge

SC HERTHA BERLIN : Nigbur – Sziedat, Kliemann, Brueck, Wiener – Nuessing, Sidka, Beer, Kristiansen – Granitza, Grau (Gersdorff 69′)

Einmal deutschen Landspieler BERND GERSDORFF, der die zweite Tor fuer Hertha Berlin geschossen hat, war ein ehemalige Bayern Muenchen Spieler und ist spaeter nach Nordamerika gegangen. Vielen Spieler von diesem Spiel hat, wie der Kaiser Franz Beckenbauer mit der New York Cosmos, auch dann in der alte Nordamerkanische Fussballliga gespielt. Alle zusammen es gab sieben Spieler hier, die mit NASL Mannschaften spaeter unterschrieben.

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Nach der 77/78 Bundesligasaison ist die beiden Spieler von Hertha Berlin in Deutschland KARL-HEINZ GRANITZA (12) und der daenische Landspieler JORGEN KRISTIANSEN (10) zu Chicago Sting der NASL gegangen. Waehrend des Sommers 1978, Granitza hat 19 Tore in 22 Spielen gemacht und Kristiansen hatte Vorarbeiten 15 mal. Dann ging Granitza zurueck nach Berlin, um mehr in der Bundesliga mit Hertha zu spielen … aber Kristiansen in Amerika geblieben ist.
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Dass ist KARL-HEINZ GRANITZ diesen Tagen … WELT.DE ONLINE hat gesagt, dass der Angreifer von Luenen “ist Herthas effektivstes Torjaeger aller Zeiten – 34 Treffer in 73 Spielen” … Granitza hat auch 128 Tore fuer Chicago Sting von 1978 bis 1984 in der alte Nordamerikanische Fussballliga geschossen, dass ist das Drittel am meisten in der Geschichte des NASL.

SC Hertha Berlin : Spieler Bericht 2011/12

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Youthful goalkeeper THOMAS KRAFT, who made his Bundesliga debut by starting a dozen games for Bayern Munich in the second half of last season prior to joining the German capital city club on a free transfer this summer, has been steady between the sticks this season for newly-promoted SC Hertha Berlin.
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Deserved champions of the 2.Bundesliga last season, SC HERTHA BERLIN have done well for themselves thus far upon promotion to the German top flight. Die Blau-Weissen have lost just twice in their first eight matches and stand a respectable tenth in the Bundesliga at present. The journey to Bavaria presents a stiff challenge, however, as Hertha Berlin have not won in Munich since late October of 1977 — a span of almost exactly 34 years to the day.

But trainer MARKUS BABBEL did spend six seasons on defense with Bayern Munich before crossing the English Channel to sign with FC Liverpool once upon a time and also fields three former Bayern Munich players in his Startelf these days …

19-year-old striker PIERRE-MICHEL LASSOGA finished second on the club with 13 goals in the second division last term and, thanks to a brace in the last match against 1.FC Koeln, is joint top scorer for Hertha Berlin with three goals in Bundesliga this season. 25-year-old Colombia international striker ADRIAN RAMOS, who signed from America de Cali for a little over one million Euros in the summer of 2009 and scored 10 goals for Hertha Berlin his first campaign in the Bundesliga, headed die Blau Weissen with 15 goals in the 2.Bundesliga last season but has struck only once after six appearances back in the top flight so far. Both strikers have started four times as the central striker in Babbel’s formation this term.

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Brazilian midfielder RAFFAEL (10) of Hertha Berlin, who has scored 20 goals in 87 Bundesliga matches for die Blau-Weissen since transferring from Swiss side FC Zurich in January of 2008, hops over the would-be tackle of Borussia Dortmund’s Germany international defender MATS HUMMELS during the Bundesliga match at Signal Iduna Park this past September in which the newly-promoted Blue-Whites managed to upend the defending German champions in their very own stadium.
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The skillful 26-year-old Brazilian RAFFAEL also has scored three Bundesliga goals for Babbel’s club this season and is a key man in the central attacking midfield role. 21-year-old Turkey international TUNAY TORUN, who arrived via SV Hamburg on a free transfer this summer, has appeared six times with the Startelf for Hertha Berlin at left wing and scored two goals. 24-year-old PATRICK EBERT has been ever-present for the Blue-Whites on the right side in midfield this term.

27-year-old PETER NIEMEYER, who was purchased for 700,000 Euros from Werder Bremen this summer, and 26-year-old ANDREAS OTTL, who signed on a free transfer from Bayern Munich in the off-season, have started every game in defensive midfield for Hertha Berlin; Ottl scored on his debut for die Blau-Weissen in the 4-0 D.F.B. Pokal win over ZFC Meuselwitz earlier this summer.

23-year-old ANIS BEN HATIRA, who was signed from SV Hamburg on the very last day of August in exchange for 600,000 Euros, has found it extremely hard to find a place in midfield and has gotten just three games. All five appearances by Australia international NIKITA RUKAVYTSYA, the 24-year-old midfielder previously with Belgian club KSV Roeselare, have been as a substitute. 23-year-old FABIAN LUSTENBERGER, the former Switzerland U-21 international midfielder who has been with the German capital city club since 2007, has come off the bench four times for Hertha Berlin, as well.

Germany U-21 international FANOL PERDEDAJ, who made 16 appearances for die Blau-Weissen in the 2.Bundesliga last season, is also available for action.

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Hertha Berlin midfielder ANDREAS OTTL, who made 92 apperances and scored five goals in the German top flight for Bayern Munich in five and a half seasons with the Bavarian club, attempts to avoid the challenge of Hannover 96′s Norway international striker MOHAMMED ABDELLAOUI during the Bundesliga match this past August at the AWD Arena in Lower Saxony.
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23-year-old THOMAS KRAFT arrived on a free transfer from Bayern Munich this summer and has immediately displaced 35-year-old Dutch veteran MAIKEL AERTS, who was signed from Eredivisie side Willem II Tilburg to start last season, as first choice for Hertha Berlin; without question, Kraft will be looking to have a good showing for the visiting team at the Allianz Arena on Saturday.

31-year-old Croatian club captain and center back ANDRE MIJATOVIC in addition to highly-experienced 34-year-old international left back LEVAN KOBIASHVILI, who has earned 100 caps and scored 12 goals for Georgia, anchor the defense and have started every game in all competitions for die Blau-Weissen. The regular right back is 27-year-old CHRISTIAN LELL, who made 65 appearances in the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich before transferring to Hertha Berlin in June of 2010.

27-year-old Czech Republic international ROMAN HUBNIK reclaimed his position in the center of defense after the third match of this Bundesliga season from new arrival MAIK FRANZ, the 30-year-old veteran of 185 Bundesliga games for Vfl Wolfsburg, SC Karlsruhe and, most recently, Eintracht Frankfurt.

25-year-old former Brazil U-20 international RONNY, 26-year-old CHRISTOPH JANKER, who began his professional career with TSV 1860 Munich, and 21-year-old ALFREDO MORALES have all had little opportunity at the back with Hertha Berlin thus far.

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Right back CHRISTIAN LELL (2), the youth product of Bayern Munich who led Hertha Berlin players with 33 starts in the 2.Bundesliga last term, races for the ball with Germany international winger KEVIN GROSSKREUTZ of defending champion Borussia Dortmund during the Bundesliga match this past September at Signal Iduna Park in North Rhine-Westphalia.
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HERTHA BERLIN
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Arriving
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gk – Thomas KRAFT ————————————- fr Bayern Munich
df – Maik FRANZ —————————————— fr Eintracht Frankfurt
df – KAKA – Brazil —————————————- fr Sporting Braga (Port)
mf – Andreas OTTL ————————————— fr Bayern Munich
mf – Peter NIEMEYER ———————————- fr Werder Bremen
mf – Anis BEN HATIRA ——————————– fr SV Hamburg
mf – Tunay TORUN – Turkey int’l —————- fr SV Hamburg
mf – Daniel BEICHLER – Austria int’l ———— fr FC St. Gallen (Switz)

Beichler and Kaka had both been out on loan since last January

Departing
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df – KAKA – Brazil ——————————————- to APOEL Nicosia (Cyp)
mf – Daniel BEICHLER – Austria int’l ————– to SV Ried (Aut)
mf – Marvin KNOLL —————————————– to Dynamo Dresden
mf – Sascha BIGALKE ————————————– to SpVgg Unterhaching
mf – Lennart HARTMANN ——————————- to Alemannia Aachen
fw – Valery DOMOVCHIYSKI – Bulgaria int’l — to MSV Duisburg
fw – Rob FRIEND – Canada int’l ———————— to Eintracht Frankfurt

Beichler, Kaka and Knoll are all out on loan for the 2011-12 season

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