Germans hope for return of fairytale of the World Cup of 2006. The country has changed irrevocably, but football has the power- if they win.
"Here you see a united and happy German people," UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said of the World Cup in Germany in 2006. They called it the ‘Summer Fairytale’ - not because Germany came third -a bad result for Teutons, but because the heavy burden and self flagellating war guilt lifted for the first time.
It was joyous, ecstatic. Everyone was happy, basking in a month of glorious sunshine. German flags were unfurled from balconies, painted on faces and proudly displayed in public with pride. The world saw how fun Germany was. Franz Beckenbauer, organiser of the committee and former player and manager, said: “This is how God imagines the world to be.”
No one predicted it would be like that. In the months and days leading up to the World Cup, morale was low, economic stagnation set in. It rained, the German team suffered a humiliating 4.1 defeat to Italy in the lead up and everyone feared the worst. Germany was called ‘the sick man of Europe’ with almost five million unemployed people according to figures from the Federal Labour Office. Then the sun burst out, and Philip Lahm scored the opening goal against Costa Rica in Munich and Germany erupted into a sea of black, red and gold.
With just days to go to kick off of Euro 2024, speculation around a summer fairytale 2.0 abounds. It’s raining- heavily, Philip Lahm is now the tournament director, unemployment is high- 2.8 million according to a study by the German Economic Institute (IW) and Germans don’t like their team that much. A survey in Stern Magazine found only 13% of 11,500 surveyed people think the German team is any good.
But since 2006 German national identity has diminished due to a relentlessly navel gazing 'cohesion' obsessed coalition government and its far-woke disciples renouncing all things German. 'Diversity and colour' over beer, bratwurst and German flags. Left is “Gutmensch”- good person, anyone else is far right or a Nazi.
Green politician Robert Habeck, who serves as Vice Chancellor and Federal Minister for Economic Affairs wrote in his book- Patriotism - A left plea, “I always found love for the fatherland sickening. I never knew what to do with Germany and still don't know today. Ferda Ataman, Independent Federal Commissioner for Anti-Discrimination and Head of the Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency called German people "potatoes.’
In the article “No fairy tales! Patriotism often has an ugly downside,” Thembi Wolf writes about her non-white German childhood in the 90s. “German flags mean trouble.” “Anyone who carried German patriotism with them in everyday civilian life was at least not entirely clean and, at worst, a Nazi.”
“This became difficult with the rule of thumb in 2006, when the Federal Republic turned into a black, red and gold minefield. Germany became "Schland", and even the friendly neighbours stocked up on fan items in the one-euro shop.” Germany, she hopes, will fly out of the Euros in the first round.
In line with blinded-by-woke leftist dogma, host of Political Magazine Monitor on Germany's ARD public television station, Georg Restle suggested; “Why not flood the stadiums with thousands of rainbow flags to send out a ‘signal’ against homophobia” while supporting football fans in countries where they can’t express their sexuality.”
The German team tried to go woke in Qatar, where they covered their mouths during a team photo to convey a message of support for the LGBT community to Fifa, managing to annoy not just their German fan base, but their huge Arab one too. They flew home after three games in a kitted out Lufthansa ‘Diversity’ plane - with their heads in shame.
As a result of two historic World Cup first round exits- in 2018 and 2022 and multiple low points in between, new coach Julian Nagelsmann is sticking to football-thus far.
The German fan is discerning and doesn’t like politics or corruption in football. Many Germany boycotted the World Cup in Qatar altogether, and regularly protest corruption in football.
The number of fans looking forward to the tournament has increased to 59,9%, despite the negative political climate. The Ampel Coalition government (traffic light government) traffic light government lead by Olaf Scholz, comprising the Green Party, the FDP Federal democrats and SPD's got a reckoning at the European Elections, as a sign from the public that they went too far on issues including immigration and far-woke ideological causes no one cares for, while frittering away hard earned tax payers money on stupid stuff, while and battering the German economy.
Even the boss of the German stock exchange Theodor Weimer was appalled. He told an audience at the salubrious five star Bayerisher Hoff in April this year, that “Our reputation has never been worse.” Painting a grim picture of Germany’s standing in the global economic community, he said investors ‘are bewildered’. “It is a sheer catastrophe and that Germany was en route to becoming a third world country.” He even condemned Germany’s migration policies - as fundamentally flawed, stating that it was far too generous supporting “long-term welfare recipients.”
Despite greeting migrants off trains with teddy bears and dishing out flowers flowers to migrant men in Cologne after a mass sexual assault on New Year’s Eve in 2015, Germans have been losing their patience with their government over immigration, putting a damper on public celebratory mood. Not because they don’t appreciate foreigners, who work and integrate, but because indigenous Germans have been blatantly gaslit by a government ignoring their concerns around safety, increased kife crime, gang rape and the threat of growing Islamism.
Every year more than 7,500 women in Germany are abused, coerced or raped by suspected asylum migrants. In Berlin, there’s a gang rape epidemic, with 111 gang rapes reported last year. A higher proportion of crime in Germany is perpetrated by people from migrant backgrounds is brushed under the carpet.
Men in particular are gas lit in campaigns against violence to women, often appearing white, so as not to offend migrant offenders, while otherwise being grouped with the regular ‘a man’ or a group of men, when they clearly aren't.
After the brutal murder of policeman Rouven L in Mannheim by a failed asylum seeker from Afghanistan, media put focus on the attacked far right person, rather than the Afghani man who went on the rampage with a knife, injuring six people and killing a 29 year old police officer. Standard condemnations from the political establishment came, the chancellor expressed sadness, but has done nothing to stop the flow of migrants from Afghanistan coming into the country.
When over 1100 people marched in Hamburg for a caliphate, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said they ‘could leave Germany’, even though most of them have German passports, turning down an opportunity to ban organisers ‘Muslim Interactive’ just days before the first march. A counter demonstration was organised. Sadly, for fear of being called Nazis and not really caring either way, very few Germans showed up. Members of the Kurdish ended up saving face, when around 800 thought a caliphate was worth togging out for.
Germans are unwilling or too lazy to participate in any public displays of nationalism, or indeed standing up for their rights, so they are a tough crowd to mobilise- unless they’re left. The day after the police officer died in Mannheim, far green disciples marched against the right in Mannheim. The following week tens of thousands took to the streets across Germany to march against the right.
But the great German ‘potato’ has a home European championship coming up, where supporting your country is accepted. A great atmosphere awaits- home of beer, outdoor drinking and liberal laws around drinking, they can fly the flag in peace- hopefully. Once the pendulum goes from too far left, it will eventually go too far right, which Germans don’t want either.
Football can unite in the middle. When the whistle blows in Munich on June 14th at 9pm German time against Scotland in the Allianz Arena in Munich, it really doesn’t matter who’s ‘far left’ and ‘far right.’ A historic opportunity to overcome the emotional impasse of the past years has arrived at the doorstep of a nation polarised. Football is one of the few competitions in which even defeat does not, or only very rarely, cause emotions to turn into hate. It is the ballet of the masses- so , blessed with rules the world generally accepts.
Germans say football is the ‘greatest distraction in the world.’ No group could claim football as their own - it is the ballet of the masses, No one owns it. The fairytale can be a reality, but only if the sunshine, and they win- they are still German after all.
