Timo Gebhardt signs!
By: 21 | December 30th, 2008VfB announced today that Timo Gebhart has joined club from TSV München 1860. The nineteen year-old midfield talent was instrumental in the German U19 side’s recent performance and ready for the challenge of the top-flight of the Bundesliga.
VfB sport director Horst Heldt said of the new signing:
“Timo passed the obligatory medical tests, which opened the way for the signing of the necessary paperwork. He had a number of interesting offers from other Bundesliga clubs but we are delighted that Timo opted for VfB.”
In speaking of his new club the new man said:
“VfB is a super club with great tradition. In recent years, many young players have made their breakthrough here and, for that reason, I was determined to go to VfB.”
Known for his versatility, he was asked of what his preferred position is:
“I’m a young player and I’m new to the club so I don’t want to begin making demands. I’ll play wherever the trainer puts me. I most enjoy playing in central midfield though.”
He won’t be a complete stranger to VfB clubhouse, adding:
“I’ve played together with Manuel Fisher in a number of international youth team selections and I know Christian Träsch from 1860 Munich.”
Finally after referring to the example of Roberto Hilbert and Martin Lanig who came up through Bundesliga 2, he was asked of accepting a similar challenge to move up to VfB:
“Yes! Both players managed the leap from the second division to the Bundesliga with VfB. I will do my all and work hard every day in training to try and achieve the same feat.”
“It has always been my goal to play in the Bundesliga. I made the decision to move to VfB because they have put so much fate in young players. I wish to develop my strengths here in Stuttgart and, step-by-step, make my way into the first team.”
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Kris; I’m not sure it has anything to do with the injury but they just jumped at the chance.
Diana; nice to hear from you again : ) Pavel Pardo is set to go, I am just waiting on the concrete release from the club as with the coaching.
So nice to have something to post about – jajaja
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Excellent signing by Stuttgart. I rate Timo Gebhardt to be in the same talent class as the likes of Marin, Özil and Kroos. Great to see him in the Bundesliga. With players like Khedira and Gebhardt Stuttgart have a very very promising midfield.
It will be interesting to see how Stuttgart come out of the winter break and whether Babbel can inject some proper organisation into the team. The talent and, since Veh left, the motivation to be successful is there.
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I have always been around here.
Never travelled anywhere out of the country during the Christmas week actually. 
Around the Christmas week last year, I was actually in China with my family. I have relatives who live there (actually my grandparents came from there) and it was actually the first time my family and I met them.Anyhow, at least now of late, there has been news regarding the VfB and I am glad that it will help me to manage to tide it over the winter break.
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Diana; oh you were in China? That must have been nice, I missed not getting to the Olympics (visible complaint to my boss – jajaja). I still need to work a lot more on my Mandarin but its coming along.
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China is definitely nice, 21. My relatives live in southern China actually (considering you know Beijing is actually located in the north of the country). But then already when I was there last year, I can really feel the Olympics fever had already been built up. Just about each night on China’s state television, they have features on the country’s past Olympians. I just watched that in the hotel room each night when my family is in China, even if I may not know most of their past Olympians.
Anyhow, I knew the Olympics fever had swept through the country when back then getting souvenirs for two of my friends, I came across sets of keychains with the Olympic mascots on them at a souvenir shop when I was out with my family just doing some sight-seeing. I decided to get those given I thought it was cute and considering the country is going to host the Olympics.
I know lots has been said about the Olympics opening ceremony. But, it is a rare chance for China to showcase herself to the rest of the world. For someone like me who traces her ancestry back to the country, I just felt a sense of pride just watching the opening ceremony on TV. It just blew me away at once.
You are working on your Mandarin, 21? It is actually my second language after English.
Anyone who had been through the education system here will know that you have to know two languages. The first language is English and the second one has to be the language of where your ancestors came from. And since my grandparents came from China, I had to learn Mandarin in school and it is among the examinable subjects. Mandarin apart from English, is also one of Singapore’s four official languages (thought I mention that, considering you will be coming here in a few months’ time). But I think ever since a few years ago after secondary school, my Mandarin is getting rusty. Now it is down to the very basics for me! Like speaking it in daily life.Sigh. Considering back in school, I had always been proud of the fact that most of the time I always did well in Mandarin. My friends at that time even asked me how I did it!
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Any ideas on where he’ll play? AM? CM? Is he our LM of the future?
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Welcome, haha, another Timo
BTW, I’m from China. And I just finished my school in US, so probably I would be back soon. Maybe next time you see me, I will post from China.Posted from
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Parker, you are actually from China? Wow. The world is definitely getting smaller. So actually, one VfB fan from Singapore (me), one from China (you) and 21, who is in charge of the VfB Offside.
And whoever else may be reading this as well.
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Diana; I am glad you said that about China because I do not think that English media focus enough on the beauty and arts within China. Regarding Mandarin, I have been studying it for a few years now and also enjoy working on new languages. I grew up in and work in a multilingual environment so it is an absolute must. My biggest problem right now is not picking up accents or habits from other languages and carrying into another.
Kris; I think we’re all waiting to hear of that decision. I see a central role but that remains to be seen.
Parker; thank you for sharing that with me. You must be looking forward to getting home? Funny how I will be posting from there (hopefully) soon as well : )
Very small world isn’t it?
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Happy New Year in advance, 21.
Less than two hours it will be 2009 at where I am.‘I am glad you said that about China because I do not think that English media focus enough on the beauty and arts within China.’
That is what I realised as well, 21. I do not study politics, so I do not want to go too much into there. Maybe because I live at this side of the world, the news bulletins here do report about news beyond the political landscape in China. Arts and culture and the lives of the ordinary Chinese. And how Singaporeans are doing there. If you know your Mandarin well and the interesting aspects of the Chinese society, you can survive there. People do appreciate you knowing their language, even if learning English is a big deal these days.I was actually once part of my former school’s Chinese orchestra, and so I just felt that sense of pride watching the Olympics opening ceremony. The music that was played in the opening ceremony alone…it really brought me back to my former school days. The Chinese are actually also great inventors (that is if you leave out gunpowder)…it is just that how the world sees China these days when it comes to products that come from there and being exported to the rest of the world, I don’t know. Oh well.
‘My biggest problem right now is not picking up accents or habits from other languages and carrying into another.’
Don’t worry. When I was in China meeting my relatives there for the first time last year, I just pretend to understand what they are saying most of the time. They do speak Mandarin as well, but the accent is definitely there. I just nod my head when they are talking to me! I should be lucky, given I had been speaking Mandarin since I was four (my mother said that I only start to speak Mandarin apart from English when I attended nursery school and you are four in the education system here when you are in nursery). My Chinese cousins do study English, but it is at a much later timing (my father was asking one of his relatives about how the education system is like when we were in China).Posted from
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I was going to add “21″ that your English is actually very good now : )
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新年快乐
These are Chinese words for ‘Happy new year’Posted from
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Diana, considering you said your relatives are in southern China, so I assume they live in Guangdong or Fujian Province. I don’t think there is just the problem of accent. Sometimes they speak a different language from mandarin, even if I can’t understand. But most Chinese people know to speak mandarin.
If you want to learn Chinese and still you are a German football fan, I recommend you this website:http://www.gerfans.cn/bbs/index.asp
It’s a Chinese forum of German football. Hope you like it.
http://www.dfo.cn/dfo/ From this site you can get some latest German football news. Also it is Chinese. Hope they are useful for you if you want to learn ChinesePosted from
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First post in 2009!
‘Diana, considering you said your relatives are in southern China, so I assume they live in Guangdong or Fujian Province.’
My relatives came from the former, Parker. We still do have relatives who live there. Some are in Singapore (like my parents and me later on). We also have relatives living in Malaysia. I actually spent my Christmas last year in the Guangdong Province. Far from the commercial aspects of Christmas for once. By visiting the vegetable farms my relatives owned together with their neighbours’. When I was walking through the vegetable farms, I suddenly looked up to the clear blue sky and thinking – ‘This is how I spend my Christmas’. Being a city-dweller like myself, this was something very different. Anyhow, my relatives led quite a good life. Enough to get them by. The first time being in China for me, a very good Christmas present (me being there during the Christmas week) already. I had always wanted to go there, ever since I learned as a very young girl that my grandparents came from China.I actually went to Fujian Province as well last year when I was in China.
Or to be precise, Xiamen. The first place I actually went to in China is there. Me having nothing but good impressions of the place. My family and relatives from Singapore actually went there first for sight-seeing before meeting our relatives. I still remembered what my mother remarked about Xiamen – It is like home. Apart from the old city in Xiamen which is like a reminder of Singapore a few decades ago, just about everything in Xiamen reminds her of home. Things running in an orderly manner.‘新年快乐’
Parker, same to you. I still remembered my Chinese. But just don’t ask me how to pronounce Jogi’s surname in Chinese! I just can’t do it ever since he became the coach of the German national team…argh! 
I tried to do so during Euro 2008 when reading the newspaper my mother always read (given the newspaper she read only post his surname) in its sports section but I always get tongue-tied for some strange reason, even with the help of a dictionary. And actually, I had came across the second link you posted Parker. If I am not wrong, back then I read that the German national team will be in China during the summer for a friendly match against the Chinese national team. They will be in Shanghai, I read. Sigh, Shanghai is actually where one of my former Chinese teachers from my school days came from. I will always miss her accent. Ironically enough, most of us in the class used to never really like her initially because of that.
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Parker / Diana; thank you much for your help. I hope my use of term was not inappropriate because I meant it more from being able to switch between a variety of languages, without carrying forward linguistic habits. My mentor works between over ten languages with ease and it is a marvel to listen to him switch between languages in a meeting.
Parker; I am also working on putting together a sports blog that will focus a great deal the CSL but will likely start it in Mandarin. It is a big project but something I am excited about. Do either of you keep up on the CSL? I am also looking to build up my http://j-league.theoffside.com/ blog which at this stage I think only my family reads – jajaja.
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To be honest 21 in regards to your question…I don’t. But I know the J-League is on here and I occasionally your J-League Offside. Though the pay-TV here gets a match for each matchday in J-League, plus its weekly highlights programme.
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21,I don’t know you are even interested in Chinese league. To be honest, I personally do not like Chinese football. It’s not even a standard league, too much black-hole in it. It has a lot to improve. But the basic problems are in the football system and it would need a long time to make it right. BTW, you need ten language to work, that’s amazing!
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diana, glad that you had a wonderful Christmas in China. You know actually Christmas is not a traditional holiday in China. But nowadays more and more people are accepting the western culture. It’s a good thing from my prespective. Xiamen is a beautiful city. Although I’ve never been there, I heard it a lot. Well, I’ve spent my 4-year collage in Shanghai so I recommend you visit there if you have time. It’s more like a modern city.
Considering the football match between China and Germay, it is schedule on May 29th, 2009, in Shanghai. But all of these news come from Chinese media. My friends in Germany said nothing had appeared on DFB website. So we will see.
Löw in Chinese is 勒夫， or should be read as ‘le fu’, I guess.
I have a classmate in US who is from Singapore. She can speak very Chinese so we do not need to communicate in English. So I think you would be fine in Chinese. Posted from
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“Löw in Chinese is 勒夫， or should be read as ‘le fu’, I guess.”
Le fu is almost French for maniac/madman/crackpot.
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Jan, thank you for spoiling my New Year.
I know how it is being written in Chinese, but to pronounce it…I give up.Posted from
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Diana: I apologize but I am not sure how you express the proper way to pronounce it correctly. I don’t think it is very easy to describe but maybe something we can work on. Hmmm – podcasts anyone? jajaja
Parker; I am very interested in the CSL and catch a few matches a week. While I know it has areas to improve, it thus has a great opportunity to grow : )
Maybe I can convince you to watch a match at some time.Posted from
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21, it goes back to this – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanyu_Pinyin#Tones and this – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_Mandarin#Tones Both are about the same stuff actually.
In the first two years of my primary school education, I have to learn the phonetic aspects of it. Or we call it Hanyu Pinyin – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanyu_Pinyin Looking back, it might be funny on how we tried to pronounce the characters we were being taught by our teacher, but it became the foundations of how I learned the language (it is actually very different from my parents’ time). That was how I learned Chinese back in school. Building on the foundations first…it is like, before you know how to run, you have to know how to crawl first. Anyways, it is also a good way for anyone just starting the language. The phonetic aspects of it.
*in a teacher mode* Jan, there is actually nothing sinister about Jogi’s surname in Chinese.
It is actually bearing in mind how his surname is pronounced in German and in the English-speaking world and how it is being translated into Chinese. Which is why I said that I know how it is being written in Chinese but me giving it up when it comes to try to pronounce it. But your suggestions have left me laughing. One of those foreign languages I had always wanted to learn when I was still in primary school was actually – French. *pretend to sigh* Just when I thought my interest in French grew after my parents were in Paris last year for almost a week. My father was there for work and my mother simply tagged him along. *now in a joking manner* Jan, you had just ‘murdered’ my interest in the language.
‘Considering the football match between China and Germay, it is schedule on May 29th, 2009, in Shanghai. But all of these news come from Chinese media. My friends in Germany said nothing had appeared on DFB website. So we will see.’
That is strange, Parker. I remembered once reading it on the AFP news service. It surfaced early last month. I had even kept the piece of news as well. Here (I got it from our local MSN service) – http://sport.sg.msn.com/football/bundesliga/article.aspx?cp-documentid=1820102Shanghai…my goodness, I have always wanted to go there! Until I personally know of someone who is from there (my former Chinese teacher), whatever I know is that it is cosmopolitan. And modern, like you said Parker.
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Thanks for your interest in Chinese football. The most funny news recently is that the boss of Shanghai Shenhua football club put a player into the transfer market because they both fell in love with the same girl. LOL. However, I’d love to watch a game. But the ture thing is even the Chinese state television(CCTV) has lost the faith of CLS so that they decided not to broadcast any news of CLS, even the fixture and results. It’s bad. Well, I hope that would change in the new year.
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Parker; It is my pleasure but I won’t give up trying but I also meant a match in person this year too. While it is not a surprise, I especially like the style of play of Shandong Luneng and surprised that Lü Zheng has not been offered a contract outside of the CSL.
Diana; you really need to work with my group. You would find your language skills pick up very quickly. It makes it a lot more fun when you are with a group of people immersing yourself in a new language. Were you in Paris or just your family? I am there very regularly and tend to give a lot of friends tours of the area.
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21, it was only my parents in Paris at that time. My mother only tagged along because she said that it has been ages since she was there. They even spent a few days sight-seeing there as well (that is after my father had done with his work there).
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