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Tracking Down Soccer's Superstars

DW staff (sms)January 21, 2006

Germany will be flooded with soccer stars this summer, but as World Cup tickets start selling out, lurking outside the hotel could be the best way to catch the game's biggest names. DW-WORLD knows where to find them.

https://p.dw.com/p/7ovZ
Getting an autograph isn't as easy as standing in lineImage: AP

There isn't much a soccer fan can do.

Whether the superstars just won the game and are jumping on top of each other in celebratory piles or are tearfully bemoaning their tragic loss in the locker room, away from the media's cameras and questions, it's nearly impossible to get so much as the team captain's autograph after the game.

But the most dedicated, and well-to-do, fans know there is another option: a room at the team hotel.

It's only fans who are willing to shell out the extra money to stay near the team that have a chance at bumping into Michael Ballack on the way to the ice machine or sweating away with David Beckham in the sauna.

Here's where the 32 teams will be unpacking before the World Cup begins June 9 and -- with a lot of skill and a little luck -- try to get a good night's sleep before the final match on July 9.

Michael Ballack, Deutschland, WM 2006
Michael Ballack: Schlosshotel, BerlinImage: dpa

Group A

Costa Rica -- Holiday-Inn, Walldorf/Heidelberg

Ecuador -- Bristol Hotel, Bad Kissingen

Germany -- Schlosshotel, Berlin

Poland -- Sportschule Barsinghausen, Barsinghausen

Group B

England -- Schlosshotel, Bühlerhöhe/Baden-Baden

Paraguay -- Sportschule Oberhaching, Oberhaching

Sweden -- Park Hotel, Bremen

Trinidad and Tobago -- Landhaus Wachtelhof, Rotenburg/Wümme

Top-Spieler WM06 Confed-Cup Australien Mark Viduka
Mark Viduka:
Wald- und Schlosshotel, ZweiflingenImage: dpa

Group C

Argentina -- Herzogspark-Hotel, Herzogenaurach

Holland -- Parkhotel Adler, Hinterzarten

Ivory Coast -- Klostermannshof, Niederkassel

Serbia and Montenegro -- Hotel Weißenburg, Billerbeck

Group D

Angola -- Ring-Hotel Celle, Celle

Iran -- Hotel Schnetzenhausen, Friedrichshafen

Portugal -- Sporthotel Klosterpforte, Marienfeld

Mexico -- Hotel Freizeit Inn, Göttingen

Fußball USA gegen Südkorea
Eddie Pope:
Hotel Park Hyatt, HamburgImage: AP

Group E

Czech Republic -- Lindner Hotel Wiesensee, Westerburg

Ghana -- Hotel Maritim, Würzburg

Italy -- Landhaus Milser, Duisburg

USA -- Hotel Park Hyatt, Hamburg

Group F

Australia -- Wald- und Schlosshotel, Zweiflingen

Brazil -- Kempinski-Hotel, Königstein/Taunus (group stage)

Brazil -- Schlosshotel Lerbach, Bergisch Gladbach (after group stage)

Croatia -- Dorint Ressort & Spa, Bad Brückenau

Japan -- Hilton Hotel, Bonn

Spiel gegen Armut - Zidane
Zinedine Zidane: Schlosshotel Münchhausen, Aerzen/HamelnImage: dpa - Bildfunk

Group G

France -- Schlosshotel Münchhausen, Aerzen/Hameln

South Korea -- Schloss-Grandhotel, Bergisch Gladbach

Switzerland -- Kurhotel Fürstenhof, Bad Bertrich

Togo -- Hotel Waltersbühl, Wangen

Group H

Saudi Arabia -- Hotel Dolce, Bad Nauheim

Spain -- Sportschule Kaiserau, Kaiserau

Tunisia -- Mercure Hotel, Schweinfurt

Ukraine -- Seehotel am Templiner See, Potsdam