And this is how it´s done!

The lion has been defeated! It´s over. Germany has beaten England 4-1 in a thrilling match. And it was 1966 again! Ball hit the bar, ball fell to the ground - only this time clearly behind that line and not on or in front back then. So technically the final score should be 4-2. It was a beautiful match, England´s performance was poor, its defence non-existent, Germans player did very well, but at the end there can only be one winner.


After the match I walked to the seafront, naturally wearing my Deutschland T-Shirt. A man with a very strong Australian accent approached me:

"How did it go for Germany?" he asked.

"Pretty well." I replied. "We won 4-1. Well, it should have really been 4-2 but anyway, Germany won."

"Should you rather not be wearing this T-Shirt then? Are you not afraid?" he asked.

"I am not afraid." I replied. "And to be honest, being a woman helps as well."

We said our goodbyes, I, sat down on the beach with my friend (England supporter) and we had a few beers. When I walked back home a mischievous looking man raised his voice, pretending to talk to someone: "We´ve lost against the fucking Germans AGAIN." He said. His son (who must have been not older than 5) echoed: "Yeah but we won the fucking World War!" For a split second I thought of asking the small boy when World War II actually occured. But I left it. I did not want to spoil my good mood.



Take a look at this video I found on YouTube: Merkel and Cameron sitting together watching the match. And because YouTube has always comments that make one´s day, here are my top 5:


5. england is not an island you stoopid git! (by Strathpipe)

4. @WorldsFinest20 lol "You won this match, but remember, we beat you in the war!" This sounds like a broken record, and it's getting old. Take a look at your calendar and realize, we're in the year 2010 now. I know it's hard to understand for guys like you, but the enemy doesn't exist anymore. Just take that broom out of your ass and get real. :) (by Lintflas)

3. ze english played bezzer zen we expected (by Klausdiehart)

2. yeah Angela Merkel you can smile & laugh you bitch, i hope argentina beat you next round, then who will be laughing. that lampard goal was way over the line, you cheating scum, always have, always will be, oh yeah 5-1 back in 2002 wasn't it, didn't beat the record. oh yeah Angela you are forgetting one important thing that happened in the past, we actually beat the crap out of your country in the second world war, put that on your pipe & smoke it. (By Worldsfinest20)

1. I would like to say on behalf of all reasonable English people: Sorry for all the ignorant comments left for this video. Germany is a great nation and have a wonderful footballing history which we English would love to have. Many ignorant English people like to bring up the war in order to score points over Germans. This is pathetic, stupid and displays a lack of understanding of the circumstances of that most terrible period in history. (by Jonboy20)

Should I stay or should I go?

To the pub that is. This Sunday. THE Sunday of all Sundays. It´s World Cup 2010, it´s England vs Germany. The tension is rising, the pressure is on - the English are prepared ("Bring on the Germa(i)ns") - who in return train eagerly for THE match of all matches.
The story with England vs Germany is the following: it doesn´t matter if England wins the World Cup. It doesn´t even matter if Germany wins the World Cup. Even if England doesn´t win the World Cup it´s okay - as long as they beat ze Germans.


Why? Coz it´s them Germans, innit! It´s 1966 again, it´s World War II, Blitzkrieg, Dunkirk, Heil the Führer, bring it on! Let us have a look at some of the tabloids, purely for entertainment purpose:

The Sun: "Bring On The Germains"
The Sun also asks its readers: "Can England beat Germany?" - Surprisingly 72% (!) don´t think so, 16% do indeed, 6% say it depends if they practice penalties (good point actually!) and merely 4% simply don´t know. Or don´t care. If you ask me, yes, I think England can indeed beat Germany. The German team is unbeatable when it comes to penalties (that´s a fact - let´s face it!) but they are not in good shape and the absence of Ballack does show.

The Daily Telegraph: "England burnt out and stupid to be facing Germany now, says Franz Beckenbauer"

Beckenbauer claims that a game like this should be a semi-final and not a last 16. Well Mr. Beckenbauer, with all do respect, it doesn´t work that way I´m afraid. What should be and/or should not be is not up to the people who run football but to the lottery. Who´s the stupid here? You are. Please leave the maths to mathematicians, football to footballers and the World will be a much safer place.


The Guardian: "England buzzing ahead of Germany match"

"The lads are buzzing – it was a great performance, not just winning the game but a great performance from front to back," Defoe said. "The spirit's great and we're looking forward to it.
A great performance? When? Where? In this Universe? Or in a parallel Universe? The match I watched against Slovenia was anything but a good performance. Rooney wasn´t great, the first half had a hint of excitement but the second half was so boring that people paid so little attention and didn´t even know why the second goal was not a goal (it was offside, fyi). Seriously, take a look at Argentina, THAT is how football shold be played. I wish Slovenia had scored, that would have brought some more tension. Playing safe is boring!

I don´t know why England thinks they cannot beat Germany. Of the 27 games played against Germany, England have won 12 (7 of them up to 1966), while Germany have won 10, and also won both penalty shootouts that followed two of the five draws. That should not give Team England a reason to worry or to be afraid.

Anyway, let´s see how it goes on Sunday. I will probably be watching it in my house, maybe with my flatmate, maybe on my own, waving my small German flag (my landlord suggested I´d rather not hang the oversized one outside). I hope my team will win, but I hope the fight will be a good one. A fair one. With lots of beer, lots of popcorn, lots of free kicks, lots of corners, lots of excitement, lots of tension and lots of goals. Because it is, after all, a football game. And sometimes it´s more about watching a really good match than winning itself.

May the best team win.