Fifa World Cup
Fifa world cup 2006 in Germany
Four weeks in a hot summer - in 2006, from June 9 to July 9 there are going to be 64 matches to find out the best national football team of the world.
These games will take place in the stadiums of Berlin, Dortmund, Frankfurt, Gelsenkirchen, Hamburg, Hannover, Kaiserslautern, Köln, Leipzig, Nürnberg, Stuttgart. Each of these German cities will host four games. In Berlin, Dortmund, Munich/München and Stuttgart will be a fifth game.
The final game will be held on July 9 in Berlin, the new German
capital. Berlin has extensively renovated the historical Olympic
stadion built in the 1930s. "Third best" will be Stuttgart's
job. The city in romantic southern part of Germany is known as
home town of Daimler/Mercedes. Munich - that has set up a whole
new stadion to show the world - not only is host to the opening
game but also supports one of the two games of the half finals.
That is: chances are 1 to 2 to watch the future world champion
playing the ball in Munich. Berlin will be the location of the
final, on July 9, 2006. Four days earlier, the city of Dortmund
will have set the scene for the second half final.
So there are four cities where the four best teams meet - Munich,
Dortmund, Berlin and Stuttgart.
The
official homepage of the city of Munich has an easily navigable
time table of all matches, ready for download. It´s availabele in German and
English as well(in Adobe Postscript file-format).
The special pages on Munich's offical homepage have infos and links about the qualification rounds. You need to know: each continent of the world has a fixed number of teams allowed to participate. The total number of teams is 32. Germany is host of he game and thus automatically qualifies. Europe has 12 starting positions, South America - another example - has 4 and a half.
If you are into history of football the Munich half final is a must: last time the world championship was held in Germany was in 1974. Then, Franz Beckenbauer - who today is head of organization - and his team won the finals against Holland. That final game of the championship was held 32 years before the final in Berlin in 2006: on July 9th, 1974. Other famous team members will surely be among the spectators of the half final in Munich on July 5th, 2006. Very renowned: Sepp Maier, goal keeper, and Gerd Müller ("the bomber"). Among the members of the winning German team there are three other members of the Munich local football team Bayern-München that had the new Munich stadion "Allianz-Arena" built from the scratch: Paul Breitner, Georg Schwarzenbeck and Uli Hoeneß. Bayern-Munich - one of the leading football teams of the world - had sent 6 members of the national team in 1974. The finals - that took place in the Munich spectacular tentlike stadion built for the Olympic games - is known as one of the most emotional ones in football history. Only in the second minute the Netherlands scored a penalty, and the German team managed a 1:1 by penalty, too. Just 2 minutes before the break German "bomber" Gerd Müller hit the net for a 2:1. And this lead was safeguarded throughout the second half of the game, by German goal keeper Sepp Maier. Read more about this match on the homapage of the city of Munich.
The last FIFA World Cup took place in South Corea and Japan, in 2002. The matches were broadcasted in 213 countries throughout the world. Billions of viewers!
This year, tv viewers will be served from International Media Center (IMC) on the grounds of the New Munich Trade Fair Centre.
On occassion of the championship, coins will be on sale, featured on Munich's homepage. Prices range from 15 Euro for copper/nickel, 49 Euro for silver and 180 Euro for gold coins. To order by phone dial (0180) 5 31 10 10 (12 Cent/Minute). These coins are not an official means of payment. Profit will go to charity.
For visitors, the city of Munich has guided tours to football life. You may not only choose among different routes and places but set up a tour of your own. A very special possiblity especially for groups travelling to Munich. The sensational new stadion "Allianzarena" was designed by world famous architects Herzog & de Meuron. It´s the new home of Bayern Munich football team - one of the world's most succesful teams and local rival of 1860 München ("die Löwen"/the Lions). Two hours of guided tour will cost about 95 Euro.
Matches and Dates
All 32 teams are splitted in 8 groups to 4 members in the preliminaries. Only the two best in each group will forthcome to the round before the quarterfinal. Where and when Germany is going to play in the preliminaries is also definitly clear.
Dates:
Freitag, 9. June 2006 in Munich Allianzarena:
Germany as the host of the FIFA world cup 2006 vs. the team 2 in the group A
Friday, 9. June 2006 in Gelsenkirchen A3 - A4
Saturday, 10. June 2006 in Dortmund B3 B4
Saturday, 10. June 2006 in Frankfurt B1 - B2
Saturday, 10. June 2006 in Hamburg C1 C2
Sunday, 11. June 2006 in Köln D3 D4
Sunday, 11. June 2006 in Leipzig C3 C4
Sunday, 11. June 2006 in Nürnberg D1 D2
Montag, 12. June 2006 in Berlin F1 F2
Montag, 12. June 2006 in Gelsenkirchen E3 E4
Montag, 12. June 2006 in Hannover E1 E2
Tuesday, 13. June 2006 in Frankfurt G3 G4
Tuesday, 13. June 2006 in Kaiserslautern F3 F4
Tuesday, 13. June 2006 in Stuttgart G1 G2
Wednesday, 14. June 2006 in Dortmund Deutschland A3
Wednesday, 14. June 2006 in Leipzig H1 in H2
Wednesday, 14. June 2006 in Munich H3 H4
Thursday, 15. June 2006 in Berlin B4 B2
Thursday, 15. June 2006 in Hamburg A4 A2
Thursday, 15. June 2006 in Nürnberg B1 B3
Friday, 16. June 2006 in Gelsenkirchen C1 C3
Friday, 16. June 2006 in Hannover D1 D3
Friday, 16. June 2006 in Stuttgart C4 C2
Saturday, 17. June 2006 in Frankfurt D4 D2
Saturday, 17. June 2006 in Kaiserslautern E1 E3
Saturday, 17. June 2006 in Köln E4 E2
Sunday, 18. June 2006 in Leipzig G1 G3
Sunday, 18. June 2006 in Munich F1 F3
Sunday, 18. June 2006 in Nürnberg F4 F2
Montag, 19. June 2006 in Dortmund G4 G2
Montag, 19. June 2006 in Hamburg H4 H2
Montag, 19. June 2006 in Stuttgart H1 H3
Tuesday, 20. June 2006 in Berlin A4 Deutschland
Tuesday, 20. June 2006 in Hannover A2 A3
Tuesday, 20. June 2006 in Kaiserslautern B2 B3
Tuesday, 20. June 2006 in Köln B4 B1
Wednesday, 21. June 2006 in Frankfurt C4 C1
Wednesday, 21. June 2006 in Gelsenkirchen D4 D1
Wednesday, 21. June 2006 in Leipzig D2 D3
Wednesday, 21. June 2006 in Munich C2 C3
Thursday, 22. June 2006 in Dortmund F4 F1
Thursday, 22. June 2006 in Hamburg E4 E1
Thursday, 22. June 2006 in Nürnberg E2 E3
Thursday, 22. June 2006 in Stuttgart F2 F3
Friday, 23. June 2006 in Berlin H2 H3
Friday, 23. June 2006 in Hannover G2 G3
Friday, 23. June 2006 in Kaiserslautern H4 H1
Friday, 23. June 2006 in Köln G4 G1
Round before quarterfinal - eight matches altogether
Saturday, 24. June 2006 in Leipzig - Match I - Winner C Second
D
Saturday, 24. June 2006 in Munich Match II Winner A
Second B
Sunday 25. June 2006 Nürnberg in Match III Winner D
Second C
Sunday 25. June 2006 Stuttgart in Match IV Winner B Second
A
Montag, 26. June 2006 in Kaiserslautern Match V Winner E
Second F
Montag, 26. June 2006 in Köln Match VI Winner G Second
H
Tuesday, 27. June 2006 in Dortmund Match VII Winner F Second
E
Tuesday, 27. June 2006 in Hannover Match VIII Winner H
Second G
Quarterfinal - four matches altogether
Friday, 30. June 2006 in Berlin Match 1: Winner Match I
Winner Match II
Friday, 30. June 2006 in Hamburg Match 2: Winner Match V
Winner Match VI
Saturday, 1. July 2006 in Frankfurt Match 3: Winner Match VII
- Winner Match VIII
Saturday, 1. July 2006 in Gelsenkirchen Match 4: Winner Match III
- Winner Match IV
Semifinal - two matches altogether
Tuesday, 4. July 2006 in Dortmund Match A: Winner Match 1
Winner Match 2
Wednesday, 5. July 2006 in Munich Match B: Winner
Match 3 Winner Match 4
Match for the 3rd place
Saturday, 8. July 2006 in Stuttgart Loser Match A - Loser
Match B
Final
Sunday, 9. July 2006 in Berlin Winner Match A - Winner Match B
FIFA World Cup 2006 you can find a collection of links with further Informations about the FIFA world cup 2006 in Germany.
Official program of the City of Munich -
Large Screen Projection at Olympiapark
The city of Munich has set up an extensive program for football fans who do not have a ticket for the "Allianzarena".
A large open air tv screen will be set up in the Munich Olympiapark, right beside the stadium that since his auguration for the Olympics of 1972 was home to the local teams Bayern München and "Lions of 1860".
If the Allianzarena - also named "witches' cauldron" because of its incredibly steep terraces - hadn´t been already built in only a few months the "old" stadium in Olympiagelände would have been the host of the worldcup 2006 opening game. It was here, that almost exactly 32 years before next year's opening game the German national team won the football championship of 1974.
Thus, joining the crowd at Olympiagelände - several thousand of football fans are expected - not only pushes you closer to the action by means of video beams and tv cameras - much closer than any real life gets even in such a stadium as the new Allianzarena - but also allows you to take a breath of football history while you watch the opening game. Franz Beckenbauer will surely be among the spectators in brand new "Caesar's Palace" but it was at Olympiagelände where he became world champion as the leader of a German national team that was predominantly a Munich team: the local football team Bayern Munich had sent 6 players to the German national team that won the world championship in 1974. Miraculously, this situation has not changed at all, in spite of more than 30 years having passed: Bayern Munich still dominates football in Germany and still is one of the most successful and prestigious football teams of the world.
About 20 000 spectators are said to attend the large screen broadcast, and, of course, any of the games will be projected, not only the opening game, the games of the first round and the half final that Munich will play host to.
This broadcasting will take place at Olympiapark's "Seebühne"which is an amphitheatre whose stage is in the middle of a large pond. In the background a "Schuttberg" will make the scene, rising south of the Olympic Stadion, a historical landmark as well: these hills were made of the debris of thousands of buildings and houses that crumbled and burnt during the bomb attacks of the Second World War.
Visiting Olympiapark - of course, attendance is free of charge - take a chance to admire the old stadium's architectural twistes: its roof is made of transparent acrylic tiles, it is a tent like structure that rapidly became famous and a symbol of the Olympic Games in 1972.
You might also take a lift to the top of the tv tower next to the stadium - one of the highest buildings in Germany. When the weather is fine - and the so called "Föhn" wind blows, coming from the warm italian southern side of the alps - you might see the white mountain tops at the horizon.
And, across the Autobahn that passes Olympiagelände, you will find the BMW Museum, a New York Guggenheim like structure where the visitors' alley screws itself up to the sky in a cylinderlike highrise. There, the German "Wirtschaftswunder", the so called economic mircle, is illustrated by real life objects, i.e. automobiles.
All in all, Olympiagelände and BMW Museum are one of the focus points of German post war history. Nowhere else in Germany, you might say, will you find such kind of theme park that is able to illuminate German - and Western European - society after the Second World War better than this: football and cars. These two topics are combined with architectural sights that were unique at their time of construction and still are.
A subway ride from Marienplatz, center of Munich, to Olympiagelände takes about 10 minutes, and 15 minutes elapse if you board the subway at the main train station just west of the city center.
There are plans for an extensive program of events, all around the "Seebühne" with the big screen. Even classical ones: all three Munich symphony orchestras will "play Olympiagelände" - something considered scandolous and still object of discussion. The names of the conductors are Christian Thielemann, Mariss Jansons und Zubin Mehta. 40 000 listeners are expected to attend at Olympiahalle on June 6, 2006 (say 6 6 06 to your diary).
30 days of concerts in pop, rock and jazz that follow are enough reason to make Munich a travel destination for the summer of 2006. Even if you are not into sports at all. Of couse, you are welcome to really use the Olympiapark, for instance take a swim in the pool where Mark Spitz won almost all of the medals there were in in the pools in 1972.
Anyway, even if you are just into football - the big screen is way enough attraction to equalize the costs of reaching Munich by train, flight or car. There are thousands of parking lots right next to the highways surrounding Olympiagelände. And, of course, gallons of Bavarian beer will be offered, not to mention the Munich "Weisswurst" which anybody should have tasted at least once in a life time.
FIFA WORLD CUP: GROUPS - LIST OF FIFA GROUPS IN GERMANY
WORLD CUP: CITIES IN GERMANY - SOCCER WORLD CUP 2006
FIFA WORLD CUP 2006 by GAMES - LIST OF COUNTRIES
More information on Homepage
of the city of Munich that has an English version.
English
German