PRISONERS IN THEIR FREE TIME

On a related subject, Germany Coach Berti Vogts had to chide his players for making unscheduled visits to their wives and girlfriends during the tournament.

According to Germany assistant coach Rainer Bonhof, Vogts called the team together to reiterate there is a difference between “free time”--time between training, meals and physical therapy--and “leisure time”--i.e., visits to wives and girlfriends staying in hotels several miles away from the team hotel in Nice.

“There was a misunderstanding between what was free time and what was leisure time,” Bonhof said. “Free time is for rest and recovery. We talked about it and the team accepted it.”