Changing Room Chat: German out to teach Gers a lesson

A GERMAN who is in Scotland training to be a teacher will line up against Rangers tomorrow in only his fourth SFL appearance for East Stirlingshire.

And midfielder Philipp Zufle, who works at Dollar Academy, says the pupils are now treating him as a minor celebrity.

The 23-year-old, who played for Freiburg in his homeland, said: “The children are asking me every day for tickets and some have even asked me for my autograph.”

Shire coach John Coughlin is tipping Zufle for big things when he returns to his homeland next year.

Coughlin said: “Philipp can play to a very high standard and I am looking forward to seeing what he can do against Rangers. Whilst it may sound like a stereotype he has that German trait of staying cool and nothing appears to faze him.”

Coughlin added: “Philipp was playing at two levels below the Bundesliga but he wants to be a teacher. As part of his studies he accepted a place at Dollar Academy to help improve his English and the German of the pupils but he also wanted to play football on a part-time basis. He e-mailed a lot of clubs and we were the only ones that asked him to come in for training.”