127 POLAND - National Stadium, Warsaw

The National Stadium is a retractable roof football stadium located in Warsaw, Poland. It is used mostly for football matches and it is the home stadium of Poland national football team. The stadium has a seating capacity of 58,145 which makes it the largest association football arena in Poland. Its construction started in 2008 and finished in November 2011. It is located on the site of the former 10th-Anniversary Stadium, on Aleja Zieleniecka in Praga Południe district, near the city center. The stadium has a retractable PVC roof which unfolds from a nest on a spire suspended above the centre of the pitch. The retractable roof is inspired by the cable-supported unfolding system of Commerzbank-Arena in Frankfurt, Germany, and is also similar to the newly renovated roof of BC Place in Vancouver, Canada. The National Stadium hosted the opening match (a group match), the 2 group matches, a quarterfinal, and the semifinal of the UEFA Euro 2012, co-hosted by Poland and Ukraine. The stadium is equipped with a heated pitch, training pitch, façade lighting, and underground parking. It is a multipurpose venue able to host sporting events, concerts, cultural events, and conferences. The official stadium opening took place on 19 January 2012, and the first football match was played on 29 February 2012. The match between thePolish national football team and the Portuguese team ended with a 0-0 draw. The stadium will host the 2014–15 UEFA Europa League final.

The general contractor of the National Stadium was a German-Austrian-Polish consortium led by Alpine Bau and comprising Alpine Bau Deutschland, Alpine Construction Poland, PBG SA and Hydrobudowa Poland SA. The completion date was set for 24 months from the signing of the contract and the construction process involved approximately 1,200 employees. The stadium has a capacity of 58,145 seats for spectators during football matches and up to 72,900 during concerts and other events (including 106 sites for disabled people). The total volume of the stadium (without the roof) is more than 1,000,000 m² and the total area is 204,000 m². The retractable roof structure is 240 × 270 m and the central spire stands at a height of 124 metres above the River Vistula and 100 m above the pitch. The total length of the lower promenade is 924 meters. The stadium has the largest conference center in Warsaw with a capacity of 1600 people including 25,000 m² of commercial office space. Underground parking for 1765 cars is located beneath the pitch. The stadium contains restaurants, a fitness club, a pub, and 69 luxury skyboxes. The National Stadium is a multi-sports facility that allows for the organization of sporting events, concerts and cultural events. In addition, it will also serve as an office, market place, hotel, gastronomic point and have other uses. As a result, it is expected that about 2000 to 3000 people will visit the stadium every single day.

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Anna Szczepaniec (direct swap) sent from Kraków (Poland) on 04.01.2014

118 GERMANY - Marco Reus, German National Player

Marco Reus; born 31 May 1989, is a German professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or winger for the German Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund and the Germany national football team. Reus is known for his versatility, speed and technique. Reus spent his youth career at Borussia Dortmund, prior to leaving for Rot Weiss Ahlen. He has played for three clubs in his senior career, most notably, and with most influence, in Borussia Mönchengladbach of the German Bundesliga. Reus plays primarily as a left attacker for BVB; however, he is capable of playing on the right also and through the middle, due to his ability to control the ball with both feet and brilliant close control. 2012 was his most successful season when, scoring 18 and assisting 8, he helped Borussia Mönchengladbach secure a place in the following season's UEFA Champions League. Reus agreed a move to his home club Borussia Dortmund at the end of that season. Reus wears number 11 for Dortmund. Franz Beckenbauer spoke about Reus, along with Mario Götze, saying, "...as a classic duo there is nobody better than the prolific Reus and Götze." In 2013, Reus was ranked as the fourth best footballer in Europe by Bloomberg.

On 25 May 2009, he signed a four-year contract with Bundesliga club Borussia Mönchengladbach. On 28 August 2009, Reus scored his first Bundesliga goal in a game against Mainz 05 after a 50 metre solo run, and since then became a prolific goalscorer for his club under Lucien Favre. At the start of the 2011–12 season, Reus began the season in fine form, scoring seven goals in twelve matches. Reus' contract with Gladbach was set to expire in 2015 and reportedly had a buy-out clause of €18 million, and he mentioned that his role model was Arsenal and Czech national team midfielder Tomáš Rosický, who himself played for Borussia Dortmund for six years before moving to the English Premier League club in 2006. On 11 August 2009, Reus made his under-21 team debut in a friendly match against Turkey. On 6 May 2010, he earned his first call-up to the senior team for a friendly match against Malta on 14 May 2010. On 11 May 2010, he withdrew from the squad due to a leg injury picked up in the last game of the season against Bayer Leverkusen. On 7 October 2011, he made his debut against Turkey. He scored his first goal for the team on 26 May 2012 in a 5–3 defeat to Switzerland. On 22 June, he scored in the UEFA Euro 2012 quarter-final against Greece, his first start for Germany in the tournament.Reus has established himself as a regular member of Joachim Löw's side in the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign.

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Isabel Rink (direct swap) sent from Hannover (Germany) on 10.07.2013

090 HONG KONG - Important Personalities from the Premier League

Top left: Sir Alex Ferguson
Top middle: Roman Abramowitsch
Top right: Arsène Wenger
Bottom left and middle: unknown
Bottom right: André Villas-Boas

Sir Alexander Chapman "Alex" Ferguson (born 31 December 1941) is a former Scottish football manager and player who managed Manchester United from 1986 to 2013. His time at the club has led to Ferguson being regarded as one of the most admired and respected managers in the history of the game. Ferguson managed East Stirlingshire and St. Mirren before a highly successful period as manager of Aberdeen. After briefly managing Scotland following the death of Jock Stein, he was appointed manager of Manchester United in November 1986. Ferguson is the longest serving manager of Manchester United, overtaking Sir Matt Busby's record on 19 December 2010, eventually completing more than 26-and-a-half years as the club's manager. He has won many awards and holds many records including winning Manager of the Year most times in British football history. In 2008, he became the third British manager to win the European Cup on more than one occasion. He was knighted in 1999 for his services to the game and also holds the Freedom of the City of Aberdeen. On 8 May 2013, Ferguson announced his retirement as manager of Manchester United. During his 26 years at the club, he won 38 trophies, including 13 Premier League and two UEFA Champions League titles.

Arsène Wenger, born 22 October 1949 is a French football manager who is in charge of English Premier League side Arsenal. He is the club's longest-serving manager and most successful in terms of major titles won, having led Arsenal to 11 trophies since 1996. Football pundits give Wenger credit for his contribution to the revolutionising of football in England in the late 1990s through the introduction of changes in the training and diet of players. Wenger was born in Strasbourg and raised in Duttlenheim. He was introduced to football by his father, the manager of the local village team. After a modest playing career, in which he made appearances for several amateur clubs, Wenger obtained a manager's diploma in 1981. Following an unsuccessful period at Nancy which culminated in his dismissal in 1987, Wenger joined AS Monaco; the club won the league championship in 1988. In 1991, Wenger guided Monaco to victory in the Coupe de France, but their failure to regain the league title in later seasons led to his departure from the club by mutual consent in 1994. He briefly coached Japanese J. League side Nagoya Grampus Eight, which won the Emperor's Cup and Japanese Super Cup during his stint.

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poorfat (postcrossing) sent from Hong Kong on 26.06.2013

084 GERMANY - My favourite football player, Sami Khedira

Sami Khedira is a German footballer currently playing for Real Madrid and the German national team. Khedira moved to Real Madrid from VfB Stuttgart in 2010. He is considered a dynamic midfielder with "flawless aerial ability" who can cover a lot of ground, recover the ball and quickly join in the team attack with his powerful mid-range shooting.
Before joining the youth team of VfB Stuttgart in 1995, he played at TV Oeffingen. In the first months of the 2006–07 season, he was called up into VfB's Bundesliga squad by manager Armin Veh. His debut followed on 1 October 2006 against Hertha BSC. He scored his first two goals on 29 October in a game against Schalke 04. On 29 January 2007 he signed his first professional contract at VfB, valid until June 2009. On 9 July 2008 he extended his contract until the summer of 2011.

On 30 July 2010 Khedira moved to Real Madrid for an undisclosed fee, signing a contract until 2015. Khedira was assigned the number 24 shirt, since 2011–2012 La Liga season he changed to the number 6 shirt. Khedira made his debut for Real Madrid on 13 August 2010 in a friendly match against FC Bayern Munich, which Real Madrid won 4–2 on penalties. This resulted in Real Madrid winning the Franz-Beckenbauer-Cup. His league debut came on 29 August, in a 0–0 draw against Mallorca. On 20 April 2011, he won his first title with Real Madrid: Spanish Copa del Rey, against FC Barcelona. On 3 August 2011, he scored his first goal for Real Madrid during a pre-season match against Guangzhou Evergrande. He scored his first competitive goal for Real Madrid in the Champions League, on 18 October 2011 against Olympique Lyonnais. He also scored his first Copa del Rey goal against Málaga CF in a 3–2 home win when Real Madrid were trailing behind 0–2. Khedira also scored his first official league goal against RCD Espanyol in a thrashing 5–0 home win for the whites. On 21 April 2012, Khedira scored his second league goal, in the El Clásico against arch rivals FC Barcelona. The goal was Real Madrid's 108th league of the season, breaking the previous La Liga record of 107, also set by Real Madrid in the 1989–90 season.

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Isabel Rink Postcrossing (direct swap) sent from Hannover (Germany) on 10.07.2013