Now each club is allowed to set in as many EU-foreigners as he wants. All right, everybody can deal with it and also each one understands it. Each one who has been considered as an EU-foreigner up to now or whose mother country belonged to the European Economic Domain suddenly became an "EU-national". And this "EU-national" is allowed to transfer free of charge after his contract expires. Also here exist a few loopholes and tricks which we are tracing, and unfortunately, also regarding the therewith vinculated sleepiness of the FC St. Pauli not to run into such loopholes in the law, but to wait until these ones will be closed.

Now each player is permitted to change without any transfer sums in case of an frontier-crossing change.
With a small, but much to our regret, not realistical example we would like to make the judgement clear. Okay, saying the whole thing in a slovenly way: Dieter Schlindwein can go now without having to pay any transfer sums to the AC Milano. An absolutely acid lost, but the FC St. Pauli could profit about this, obliging a Maldini or Baggio. So far, the DFB (German Football Union) and St. Pauli are going on dozing, while others are jumping from one loophole in the law to the next. As one of the first, Martin Dahlin has grasped that he as an EU-foreigner could change in all directions free of any transfer sums.

Already formerly Bayern tried to park Thomas Helmer at Auxerre in order to engage him later. This parking with fictitious contracts will appear again, but sham contracts are difficulty to prove. Due to this fact a kicker could be parked without any problems at another club at home and abroad, and also if it would be only for a couple of weeks in order to save transfer fees. Instead of sending out the feelers to young and talented players (EU-foreigners too) the managers are annoyed about sunshine in Katar and rain in Spain. In the union smolders a dispute referring to the youth and junior set classification too, and with this judgement which will have to put especial emphases on the youth work, it could only be a negative result. Also the DFB and other functionaries who have distinguished themselves as "Fat Cats" and who suddenly have to buck up their ideas much more quickly, even in their total helplessness are not capable to express their opinions. Suddenly politics shall have an influence - the responsibility is being delegated. The sample contracts which exist since the beginning of the season have a small supplementary clause and on this, for the present, one is reposing on. The contract says: "... after concluding this contract the regulations will be alterated to the effect that the previous settlement of transfer indemnification will be cancelled partly or totally, thus the player is obliged to continue the contract under the previous conditions in case the union wishes it". Unfortunately this clause has no validity, as it is deprived of any legal basis. The tenor is: "in case the union wishes it". Once upon a time also Heiko Herrlich wished to play for the BVB (Dortmund), in spite of having a contract with Gladbach.

It is also very opaque why these sample contracts have been elaborated just at the beginning of the season. Did the DFB foresee the failure ? He knew it and in this regard the clubs too (have a look at the cronology). And the worse that St. Pauli (above all their trainer, who is responsable for the sporting and new engagement) sometimes goes forward in an unlucky and blue-eyed way. Why was the Albanian Zmijani engaged although the drift of the judgement was certain? With his salary the sponsor would have payed for an Italian or Swede too, as in reality they were looking for the support of the FC St. Pauli. Nothing personally against the kicker, who is tenderly called "Little Hat", but the crowning was the canvassing for Jonathan Akpoborie. Once more, it's a not a matter of the person, but the sport-political thinking of the club. How does player "X" take the best position in the whole structure of a team? Is it really worth while to engage a kicker for 100,000 up to 200,000 marks less who, for example, comes from Africa and occupies a foreign place for three years or is it more favourable to oblige an "EU-foreigner resp. -national"? Why, e.g., didn't one lend out Niclas Kindvall from the HSV instead of having in mind Akpoborie?

Everywhere you find a need of acting, and yet the cornerstone for a youth football boarding-school hasn't been founded resp. thought over. Up to now co-operation contracts with other clubs are far away. Referring to the release system the FC St. Pauli is stumbling slowly ahead. Quo vadis St. Pauli?

P.S.: We wage, but only in a theoretical way, that Paul Caliguri in reality is of Italian lineage and could become an Italian.
P.S.: The one who sends us the correct translation of the Latin postscript in the headline will receive our Übersteiger-calender 1996.

GAG

Chronology