ALL FOR A GOOD CAUSE

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Munich - Franz Beckenbauer, Lothar Matthäus and Giovane Elber: three names synonymous with the beautiful game, three men who've done it all in Germany and three footballing greats set to grace the hallowed turf once again on Sunday afternoon.

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In fact, over 70 Bundesliga heroes of years gone by are set to come together at St Pauli's Millerntor Stadium in Hamburg, with 20,500 spectators also taking part in the eighth instalment of the annual 'Day of Legends.' It's all for a good cause, too, as bundesliga.com finds out...

The brainchild of TV-Moderator Reinhold Beckmann and former St Pauli vice-president Christian Hinzpeter, the Nest Werk foundation works tooth and nail to provide free spaces for Hamburg's socially-disadvantaged children and youths to access sport and other recreational activities.

Since its founding 13 years ago, the non-profit organisation has raised a staggering 1.2 million Euros, 200,000 of which came from ticket sales alone following last year's charity match and, of course, this year will be no different. Though the Millerntor is currently undergoing somewhat of a facelift, all seats have already sold out ahead of the big kick-off (15:15 CET), with all proceeds going to the foundation.

'Superheroes of world football'


At the invitation of Beckmann, the likes of Jens Lehmann, Fredi Bobic, Krassimir Balakow, Thorsten Fink, Holger Stanislawski, Horst Hrubesch, Sergej Barbarez, Ulf Kirsten, Bernd Schneider, Olaf Thon and Anthony Yeboah will all assemble under the motto 'superheroes of world football' as, true to tradition, a Hamburg XI take on Germany and the rest of the world in the Nest Werk foundation's showcase event.

Hamburg have won five and lost two of the seven encounters to date, and while 'the Day of Legends' is about so much more than a game of football, there are sure to be fireworks as past members of an all-star Bundesliga cast prepare to tread the boards for an undeniably good cause.

Christopher Mayer-Lodge