Crinkly Ears

Post dedicated to ellapropella, who like me, probably feels orphaned today...

Remembering the year Mesut made three finals and won two of them...

A Trip Down Memory Lane!

Let's start with that time Mesut dumped beer all over his coach after scoring the winning goal for the Bundesliga Pokal...he was interviewed too and when he's told he's "Man des Abends" in this video his self-deprecating shrug and smile (he actually looks surprised!) is TOO CHARMING.

"Thomas Schaaf isn't fast enough for his boys!"

Why are we having this nostaglic post? Because Thomas Schaaf was sacked today by Werder Bremen after 14 years in charge. Bremen have survived the relegation fight for another year, but they are seeking to do better. And Because when Mesut played France in Bremen last year we had some very nice posts about his time at Werder Bremen under Klaus Allofs (deserted the club earlier this year for Wolfsburg) and Schaaf...and I have a few pics of Thorsten Frings...

Frankly, I think they've made a mistake. And not having the sour, dour old man on the sidelines is an awful prospect - Werder Bremen won't seem like Werder Bremen anymore... I have had a small taste today of how awful it will be when Wenger leaves Arsenal.

From Mesut's perspective (the point of this post): they are the two men who brought him to Werder Bremen as a record-signing for a teenager when Schalke 04 ditched him after unsuccessful contract negotiations. It was a very "last-minute" signing.

They were very nice to him. It was good for his career. They let him come to Madrid. Schaaf may be a sour bugger, but he was precisely what a shy lad like Mesut needed for his career.

Links For Fun Reading (When Mesut Was Just A Baby):

Mesut's press conference in March of 2012, fully translated.

A DFB Feature piece on Mesut's time at Bremen, fully translated.

From the always wonderful Bundesliga Fanatic "The Last Time Werder Bremen Won In Bayern" (Mesut's coming out party - he's had several in his career depending on who you ask! And he always plays well against Bayern.)

Link to ladya_sama's bromantic review of the Marksut Phenomenon (Mesut + Marko Marin)

From 11Freunde a typically funny piece in the Series "My Favourite Transfer" entitled "Vokuhila und Bierdusche" - which was written this year, actually, and remembers some fine football and some bad hair-days. German speakers are encouraged to head over. I even forgive 11Freunde for today's headline: "Werder schaafts nichts mehr" (OMFG how could they?)

English speakers can revel in my favourite part which I have translated for them and which pokes fun at Borussia Dortmund fans!