In addition to all the sporting action we are organising for our players, the EFCB social events have become an important part of our club's life. The annual Summer Fest & the EFCB Xmas Party are great opportunities for all our members to meet the other parents and to see all the club players perform. The events have also become a great source for our much-needed fund-raising activities.

On the last weekend of June in 2007, our club hosted two events at the same time - the EFCB summer fest and the first Vanda Bilson Cup in memory of Chris Bilson's wife who tragically passed away a few weeks ago. Despite the mixed weather a lot of players and their families turned up and made the event one to remember. While the children were busy playing football, the parents had time to mingle and to indulge themselves with bratwurst, couscous, strawberries and fizzy drinks. All of the food and beverages were sponsored by club parents and who thought that

fundraising can be so much fun! Also on offer were books, videos and our campaign T-shirts. The proceeds of the afternoon went straight into our new donations account and we would like to thank all helpers, parents and children for their great support. We also like to thank the Quentin Blake School for their involvement. While the school teams proved to be fair competitors on the football pitch - the library, represented by Karen Buck, donated a fantastic picture book in Vanda's name to the schools growing book collection. The 2008 edition of the Vanda Bilson Cup is going to take place at Sachtlebenstrasse on July 5th, 12:00 - 16:00.

In January, 24 youngsters, coaches and parents from the Jamie Shore Youth Academy visited Berlin to take part in an international indoor tournament. The event was organised by the English Football Club Berlin (EFCB), whose motto for the tournament was 'Football for Tolerance and Friendship'. Four different clubs, all with diverse cultural backgrounds, competed against each other at the tournament. In the end, the winner's trophy, sponsored by the British Embassy, went to the Turkish side Türkiyemspor. The EFCB hosts came in second, FC International Schöneberg finished third while the Shore Academy from Bristol came in fourth. During their 3-day visit the young Academy players from England also did some sightseeing and took the opportunity to have a look at some of Berlin's famous sights such as the Brandenburg Gate and the Olympic Stadium.


The group was very impressed with the German capital, and they were full of praise for the hospitality they were shown. Plans have already been made by Jamie Shore, a former professional with Norwich City and the founder of the academy, to return to Berlin as early as March.

For a small group of U10 players, the weekend of the Berlin International Youth Cup 2006 kicked off with a reception at the British Embassy. The EFCB players met the Ambassador as well as the players of our guest team, the Corinthian Casuals, who had just flown in from London. A panel of speakers, amongst them the Ambassador, headed up a small press conference introducing the concept of the 2006 Youth Cup and the launch of the Kick & Think academy organized by the Trautmann Foundation. The highlight was certainly the presence of Manchester City goalkeeper legend Bernd Trautmann who came to Berlin especially to kick-start the Academy and to hand over the trophies at the tournament. The players also learned interesting facts about the British Embassy and got an insight into the Embassy's work. It was also the first time that our EFCB has played host to a guest team from abroad. During the three-day visit of the Corinthian Casuals, the oldest amateur club in the world, we had a chance to exchange a lot of ideas and got a taste for more. The club from Surrey has written a letter of thanks to all EFCB parents and players for their hospitality.

As well as training and tournaments, we organise visits from international players and coaches. We spent a memorable afternoon in spring with German international Fredi Bobic. Confident in English and German, the top goal scorer trained with the EFCB players and answered all questions patiently. He signed well over 100 EFCB t-shirts, and all the teams got a special photo taken with him. It was a very inspiring afternoon for everybody, and Fredi has without doubt won over a 100 new fans. Read on to find out about his beginnings.

I think that if you compare all the Leagues in Europe, the atmosphere in stadiums in England is the best. The fans are just fantastic. When I played for Bolton Wanderers, we played a crucial relegation game against Ipswich Town. I scored three goals, a hat-trick, and the fans went wild. We won 4 - 1 and my club stayed up in the Premier League. I was presented with the match ball with the signatures of all my team mates. This is tradition in England when you score a hat-trick. The ball is in a special frame now and is a nice reminder of that day.

Train a lot and have fun. Be patient when things don't work out straight away. Don't give up - even when you lose.

Find out more about Fredi Bobic at : www.fredibobic.de

In 2004 German goalkeeper legend Bernd Trautmann was invested as an honorary Officer of the British Empire (OBE) at the British Embassy in Berlin. We had the pleasure to meet up with him.

A former paratrooper who served at the Russian front, Bernd Trautmann was captured by the British army in 1945 and interned in a POW camp near Manchester. A natural athlete, Trautmann soon showed his abilities in matches between camps and started to play for St. Helens Town. In 1949 Manchester City saw his potential and signed him up. An estimated 40,000 people went on the streets to protest against the signing of a former German soldier.

The hostility amongst City fans changed as they quickly noticed that Trautmann was actually a good goalkeeper and a good guy as well. Players of that period, like Sir Stanley Matthews or Tommy Docherty, always refer to Trautmann as the best goalkeeper of the time, if not one of the best of all times. The 1956 FA Cup final was the spectacular highlight in Trautmann's career. After picking up an injury 15 minutes before the end he continued to play until the final whistle. The injury was later diagnosed as a broken bone in his neck. But Trautmann doesn't dwell on these heroics - he plays them down:

After the end of his career as a professional footballer Trautmann worked as an instructor on development projects in Burma, Ghana, Liberia and Yemen. He calls this work an important life experience. None of his footballing jobs earned him big money though:

From his home in Spain, Trautmann, aged 82, still keeps in touch with England and of course international football. He visits his three children who live in England on a regular basis. He has also just helped to launch a new project, the Trautmann Foundation. With the British ambassador, Sir Peter Torry, and the German interior minister, Otto Schily, as patrons, the foundation aims to promote youth exchange between Britain and Germany through football. I am sure our club will be able to cooperate with the foundation in the future. What advice would he give our EFCB players?

For more information on his foundation check: www.trautmann-foundation.org