BERLIN -- Defending champion Brazil's first public appearance in Germany is expected to be a popular and crowded one.

The World Cup Organizing Committee is predicting 25,000 people will jam into Offenbach's soccer stadium Thursday to watch the Brazilians train.

Admission into the stadium will be free at the home of Offenbacher Kickers, but fans will still need a ticket. Several booths will open Tuesday and possibly Wednesday at the Kickers' Bieberer Berg ticket office to give them away, FIFA said Monday.

Each person can get a maximum four tickets.

"Our approach to organizing this training session will be just the same as for a sellout Bundesliga fixture," said Helmut Sandrock, the head of the Tournament Organization department of the organizing committee.

FLYING THE FLAG: Supermodel Claudia Schiffer is asking her fellow Germans to start showing their pride in their country, and she's giving them an excuse to get started.

Schiffer unveiled a patriotic poster at the German Embassy in London that shows her wrapped naked in a German flag. Her picture appears under the words "Invest in Germany Boys."

"In England everyone waves the English flag, on T-shirts, on posters framed at home. This does not exist in Germany at all," said Schiffer, who lives in London.

"Today we are much more cosmopolitan. We have changed and grown into a positive nation with a great positive, democratic development," Schiffer added. "I hope within Germany we can make it cool that we can wear a German flag and not be embarrassed about it."

KOLLER'S CONTRACT: Czech Republic striker Jan Koller signed a two-year contract Monday with French club Monaco.

The 33-year-old passed a medical before signing the deal in Monaco, Czech national team spokesman Lukas Tucek said. Koller's next game is against the United States in the World Cup opener for both countries.

Koller, the Czech Republic's all-time leading scorer, has 42 goals for his country in 68 games. He moved to Monaco from Germany's Borussia Dortmund, where his five-year contract had expired. He scored 57 goals in the Bundesliga and 21 in the Champions League and UEFA Cup.

"I chose Monaco because I had a concrete proposal from them and also because the coach and the club's management wanted me," Koller said in a statement on the Czech soccer federation's Web site.

"The pleasant environment (in Monaco) that my family will like played a role in my decision, as well as the fact that my friend Jarda Plasil is also on the team," he said. "In sport terms, this is one of the best teams in France, and although the last season was not a great success I want to play in European cup events with this team."

Koller will rejoin the national team on Tuesday, Tucek said. The Czechs are scheduled to leave for Germany on Wednesday.

INSECURE VETERAN: Saudi goalkeeper Mohammed al-Deayea, the most capped player in the world, said Monday his position as a starter at the World Cup is not guaranteed.

"The decision on who plays rests with the coach. There is healthy competition on the field between the three keepers, but off the field, we're friends and get along well," he said at the team's hotel in Bad Nauheim.

Al-Deayea, playing in his fourth World Cup, is competing for a spot with Mabrouk Zayed, who is seven years younger.

"I was once told by a coach that even Pele was a substitute, so if Mabrouk Zayed is chosen, my duty is to help him and provide advice if needed. I think he's an excellent keeper," he said.

Al-Deayea has a slight shoulder injury and a cold that kept him away from training for more than a week, but said he has since recovered.

"My time out has not affected my performance. I'm back to training with the team," he said.

According to FIFA, the 34-year-old al-Deayea has played 181 matches for the national squad.

"We will compete, not only participate. Everyone says the setback was 2002. It was only one game, against Germany. The following games we played well. Hopefully we will perform and exceed what we did in 1994," he said, in reference to the 8-0 loss against Germany four years ago -- and the Saudis making the second round in '94.

Saudi Arabia is in Group H with Tunisia, Ukraine and Spain, and opens against Tunisia on June 14.

SHOE NEWS: Karl Heinz Lang has worked with sports shoe and apparel maker Adidas for four decades, a key member of a team that designs the company's soccer shoes. He's also the company's historian and archivist.

New shoe designs and technology undoubtedly help players, but he also made a confession the other day at the company's headquarters in Herzogenaurach in southern Germany.

"A player is a player," said the 64-year-old Lang. "The athlete has to do the job. If you have a defensive player with limited technical ability you never will have the same result as a wonderful, genius player.

"If you have a gang of different players and nobody is wearing shoes, you will still find out the best player. With shoes, it's exactly the same. The shoe is to enhance, support the player. A bad player can put on whatever he wants, he'll never be a brilliant player."

Millions of frustrated soccer players would say "Amen" to that.