World Footy News

In the fourth and final preview of teams for the 2009 EU Cup, WFN spoke to Luke McBride from Germany, Dante Zandveld from the Netherlands, Ronan Moran from the Irish Exiles and Jono Newman from the EU Crusaders.

The Germans are undefeated in international competition this year, having hosted a full-field test against Finland and a 9-a-side clash with the Czech Republic. Whilst coach McBride is an Australian, their full squad are Germans and they will be very keen to show they have what it takes to match it with the best in Europe.

The Dutch have had a year of growth, laying the foundations for a local league to commence next year. Their national side the Flying Dutchmen has played friendlies against the Paris, Rheinland and Berlin clubs during 2008, being undefeated thus far.

The Irish Exiles, a team formed mainly of Irishmen playing Aussie Rules in the UK, could be a very strong side depending who they can bring to Zagreb. Their only match to date was a clash against the 2008 EU Cup champions the England Dragonslayers in early September, where the Irish showed plenty of class in taking out victory.

Finally to the Crusaders, who perhaps fittingly in the first year the EU Cup is held outside the EU, are captained by a resident of non-EU nation Switzerland and are largely made up of citizens of non-EU nation Croatia. The Crusaders have a mix of both experienced hands and newcomers and could surprise a few sides.

With the Crusaders, the tournament will feature 15 sides, with Catalonia and Russia missing from the original 16 sides hoped for by organisers. The Catalans pulled out very recently due to financial issues, whilst the Russian squad, a project of a group of Rugby league players from Moscow, ultimately couldn't make the starting line after much initial promise.

Germany

National team coach Luke McBride tells WFN that selection for the EU Cup team began back in April with the Australian Football League Germany holding a weekend long Training Camp in Fulda, Germany. "Many of Germany's most experienced and talented players took part, along with guys who were completely new to the game. A rigorous two-day training schedule aimed at sorting the men from the boys backfired, everyone of the 32 Germans giving their all until the end. And then asking for more!"

"From a master list of 61 German players, some having played in previous years, some vying for their first game, I sent an email out to the leaders of Germany's six clubs asking for recommendations. This narrowed the list down somewhat. I then sent invitations out to gauge player availability. I was left with a list that was a little bit more manageable and then as the season progressed, injuries occurred, player availability changed until there were only some 17 guys able to make the trip to Croatia."

"We're missing some influential players such as our Captain Benno Bock, who broke his arm during the AFLG Grand Final only a few weeks ago, and Vice Captain Tim Horenburg, but overall I believe we have a pretty strong team."

"The team is made up completely of German players, a requisite instituted in 2007 and proudly upheld to this day."

"The Schmoll twins will cause a few problems I suspect (least of all for me!) and have the opposition thinking they're seeing double. Best National Player for 2009, Tom Odenthal, will be strong in defense. Vice Captain Matthias Oser, who will be replacing our Captain, the broken-armed Benno Bock, will no doubt be throwing himself around as usual. Our Ruckman Michi Schuardt, with springs in his legs, will be jumping higher than ever. And then there are the 3 M's: Michi Dietrich, Martin Neumann and Max Kolleck who would give the Energizer Bunny® a run for his money."

"Going off our previous years' performances, a top four finish should be possible. But after reading WFN's team previews so far, a top four finish is not going to come easy. If we are well prepared, fight hard and give our all on the day, I'm certain we can match the best. We'll happily accept whatever comes our way as long as we can say we gave our all."

Netherlands

Australian Football in The Netherlands has grown considerably over 2009, with the first game between two local teams and the formation of 4 local clubs - Utrecht Saints, Eindhoven Eagles, and the as yet unnamed Amsterdam and Den Haag sides, to compete in the first Dutch domestic season in 2010.

Danté Zandveld from the Dutch Australian Football Association tells WFN that "Player numbers have grown, and a lot of effort has been put into media and marketing. We now have about 40 regular players, with a core of about 20 playing 4 or more games this season. In 2009 we played 6 home and away games against 3 international teams, and performed very well in each game."

"Our national team, the "Tuckerbox" Flying Dutchmen, consist of a majority Dutch-born group, most of which have never even been to Australia. The remainder of the squad is made up from dual nationality British, an Irishman, a New Zealander and surprisingly only 2 Australians."

"For the first time we had the difficult decision of selecting a team for the EU Cup, but the team we have chosen are the best players for their commitment, field position, and of course for the Dutch team, height is also an advantage. Only one player from our first selection was unable to make the trip. The team is mostly made up from Utrecht Saints, a local team which consists almost completely of Dutch-born players."

"Players to watch include our Dutch captain Joost van der Hulst, but our Dutch first-time players should not be taken lightly, a lot of effort has gone into developing the new guys, and they shouldn’t be underestimated. Once we got the skills in place, the Dutch guys started to think like the Australian born players. After we reached that milestone, the team improved considerably because players could predict what would happen without having to tell them. The Utrecht team have trained twice, sometimes 3 times a week, and played in all games we have played this year, so they have plenty of experience and skill."

"As for finishing position, of course we would like to win! But improvement from previous years is key, so a finish in the top 8 would not only be an improvement but put us up in the mix with more experienced countries."

Irish Exiles

The Irish Exiles are a concept that kicked off this year, as a way to get Irish representation in the EU Cup, in lieu of the Irish national team who concentrate on full-field test matches.

The Australian Rules Football League of Ireland has thrown its support behind the concept, and there will be two players in the team coming from Ireland, although as the name “Irish Exiles” suggests, the majority of squad members are Irish players playing in the UK and elsewhere in Europe.

As squad manager Ronan Moran explains, “Because many of those who originally confirmed could not make it, we will also have a few EUs in our panel. There will be some lads who played in London playing but this will be a different team and I hope we do as well as the lads did in London against the Dragonslayers.”

”A few of the lads are away with the Ireland team playing in the 18-a-side and a few have other commitments. As well as that, the club scene in Gaelic football is still continuing so we had players who cannot travel due to that.”

”Thankfully, there are some great footy players competing and being the one putting the squad together I suppose it would be unfair to single any players out or put any expectation or pressure on a player before the tournament.”

” Regarding results, we're going to take one game at a time. There is no point taking about a semi final/ final before you even get out their and play a game. I suppose like any other team involved we will be hoping to win our games at the group stage and go from there.”

”You have to look at every game as they come, and if you don’t go out there with the attitude that you're going to win, well, maybe you shouldn’t be there.”

”We're going to go out there to enjoy ourselves, but at the same time I don’t think we're just going out there to make up the numbers.

”I'm really looking forward to it and best of luck to all teams involved!”

EU Crusaders

The EU Crusaders are a team put together each year for the past few EU Cups representing extra players from around Europe, as well as usually featuring a few footballers keen on starting a footy club in their place of residence who haven't yet got things off the ground.

Coordinating the Crusaders this year is Jono Newman, an Australian living in Switzerland who reportedly has a lot of football experience and can play anywhere as required. Jono is one of a number of people who have hoped to start a club in Switzerland over the years, although so far none have been successful in getting a side going. Other Aussies in the side will include Tim Abbot from the Rheinland Lions and Jason Mosel, an Australian currently residing in Monaco and creating some hope among the French footy community that he could kick off a club there. Reports are that he is a very handy player.

Also featuring in the Crusaders will be a number of Croatian players who didn't make the cut for the Knights this year, including Adam Loncar, Marko Belic, Matija Basic, Zvonimir Klenovic and Vedran Rozic.

Croatian-Australian Dean Kennedy will also be taking the pitch for the Crusaders, reports from the Knights' camp suggest he is a gun rover with plenty of experience in Australia who would have been playing for Croatia if he'd come to Zagreb earlier this year.

Also on the list to feature in the team are American Guy Arthur from the Stuttgart Kangaroos, Danish veteran Niels Schønnemann, Spaniard Jose Sanchez Exposito and Dutchman Shaun Oosterwegel.

The Crusaders are always a wildcard, given a good draw on the day they could surprise a few of their opponents.