At first sight, Sherlock Holmes and Sir Alex Ferguson may not have a lot in common (even if both are famous for solving riddles – the former in crime, the latter on the pitch), but from today, they're rightfully going to be mentioned in the same breath. And why? Easy. The clue lies in the German national team's choice of transportation.
Over the years, Joachim Löw's players have experienced many a way to get from A to B. By bus and car, on horseback, by train, and of course flying by aircraft or even helicopter. But below the ground? Never! Until today.
To get to Wembley Stadium for their official training session ahead of the England vs Germany friendly match on Tuesday night (kick-off at 8p.m. local time), the team followed the example set by some 315,000 Londoners who use the Underground every hour of the day. Arguably the world's most famous form of local transport, the Tube was opened to the public in 1863 and has since carried hundreds of millions of passengers from all walks of life to their destinations.
Traffic jams? No, thank you!
The Germans' decision to use it was no PR stunt, nor had it been conceived as a contribution to the 150 years' jubilee celebrations staged throughout this year by both The FA and the Underground. The point was to leave the British capital's notorious traffic jams behind, beginning the journey by walking just a few steps from the team hotel to the "Des Walker" station (who won 59-caps for England between 1988 and 1993). Actually, the station is called "Embankment" and will revert to that name again, it's just that this year, all London Underground stations bear the names of famous footballers including – this a charming gesture – the likes of Franz Beckenbauer, Didi Hamann, and Jürgen Klinsmann.
Five stations later on the Bakerloo Line, the players had to change lines at the legendary "Baker Street", known to have been Sherlock Holmes's abode and currently called the "Sir Alex Ferguson" station. With praiseworthy efficiency, a Metropolitan Line train arrived only minutes later, carrying the German players right up to "Wembley Park" (or should we rather say "Alf Ramsey"?).
Let's do this again!
Total driving time 34 minutes, plus a 10 minute walk from station to Wembley Stadium dressing room – perfect! And even after Löw had put his players through their paces on the carpet-like Wembley turf, half the team were only too glad to do it again on the trip home, preferring the Tube to the bus journey above ground.
[bild1]
At first sight, Sherlock Holmes and Sir Alex Ferguson may not have a lot in common (even if both are famous for solving riddles – the former in crime, the latter on the pitch), but from today, they're rightfully going to be mentioned in the same breath. And why? Easy. The clue lies in the German national team's choice of transportation.
Over the years, Joachim Löw's players have experienced many a way to get from A to B. By bus and car, on horseback, by train, and of course flying by aircraft or even helicopter. But below the ground? Never! Until today.
To get to Wembley Stadium for their official training session ahead of the England vs Germany friendly match on Tuesday night (kick-off at 8p.m. local time), the team followed the example set by some 315,000 Londoners who use the Underground every hour of the day. Arguably the world's most famous form of local transport, the Tube was opened to the public in 1863 and has since carried hundreds of millions of passengers from all walks of life to their destinations.
Traffic jams? No, thank you!
The Germans' decision to use it was no PR stunt, nor had it been conceived as a contribution to the 150 years' jubilee celebrations staged throughout this year by both The FA and the Underground. The point was to leave the British capital's notorious traffic jams behind, beginning the journey by walking just a few steps from the team hotel to the "Des Walker" station (who won 59-caps for England between 1988 and 1993). Actually, the station is called "Embankment" and will revert to that name again, it's just that this year, all London Underground stations bear the names of famous footballers including – this a charming gesture – the likes of Franz Beckenbauer, Didi Hamann, and Jürgen Klinsmann.
Five stations later on the Bakerloo Line, the players had to change lines at the legendary "Baker Street", known to have been Sherlock Holmes's abode and currently called the "Sir Alex Ferguson" station. With praiseworthy efficiency, a Metropolitan Line train arrived only minutes later, carrying the German players right up to "Wembley Park" (or should we rather say "Alf Ramsey"?).
[bild2]
Let's do this again!
Total driving time 34 minutes, plus a 10 minute walk from station to Wembley Stadium dressing room – perfect! And even after Löw had put his players through their paces on the carpet-like Wembley turf, half the team were only too glad to do it again on the trip home, preferring the Tube to the bus journey above ground.
A return ticket to Wembley Park – a first in German national team history, and a pretty special chapter at that.
