The sun is reflected in the glass dome on the roof of the Bundestag in Berlin. In the square in front, tens of thousands of people in white football shirts jump. They stare at the huge TV screens while eating half-metre-long bratwurst sausages. “Deutschland, Deutschland”, they howl tactfully. Germany has reached the quarter-finals of the football European Championship, the score is 1-1 against the favorite Spain. And there are only minutes left in the second extra period – anything is possible. UNITY: The Germans hoped that four weeks of European football will unite people behind the men’s national team. Give them reason to be proud of being able to paint black, red and gold stripes on their cheeks. Photo: Jörg CARSTENSEN / AFP For months, the Germans have been looking forward to these summer weeks. The economy is going badly, the war in Ukraine is frighteningly close and the country is being divided by a battle between the far right and climate activists. Chancellor Olaf Scholz and many of his compatriots hoped that four weeks of football festivities would unite people behind the men’s national team. Give them reason to be proud of being able to paint black, red and gold stripes on their cheeks. The dream that burst Now the Chancellor stands on the VIP stand in Stuttgart, without flag or football shirt. He is just as expectant as the millions who follow Toni Kroos and the rest of “Die Mannschaft” on the pitch. GERMANY-SPAIN: The team has reached the quarter-finals, the score is 1-1 against the favorite Spain. And there are only minutes left in the second extra period – anything is possible. Photo: Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP But neither the chancellor’s gaze nor the roars from the stands can prevent Mikel Merino from heading the ball into the German goal. The Spaniards in front of the Bundestag cheer. There is singing in the streets of Madrid and toasts in Mallorca. Spain will go on. But in the supporters’ area in Berlin it becomes strangely quiet. The sun still shines on the German flags, the pints of lager are drunk, but the sparkle in the eyes has gone out. GERMAN HOPE: Spain’s 2-1 goal experienced from the Brandenburg Gate, in the supporters’ area in Berlin it becomes strangely quiet. Photo: RALF HIRSCHBERGER / AFP The dream of being able to lift the trophy at the Olympia Stadium has been shattered. The chancellor’s hope that European Championship 2024 would go down in history as the great German summer adventure fades away. And it is not due to Neuer’s skills in goal or the passes to Gündoğan. Taken to bed by singing Scots Expectations were high that the Germans, who love football and can organize, would give the Europeans the perfect championship. But it’s not just on the pitch that things haven’t gone smoothly. SUPPORTERS: UEFA expected 2.5 million visitors during the European Championship, but the train company Deutsche Bahn did not. Photo: OZAN KOSE / AFP UEFA expected 2.5 million visitors during the European Championships, but the train company Deutsche Bahn did not. When thousands of singing Scottish fans arrived in Munich for the opening match, Deutsche Bahn was taken to bed. The trains arrived several hours late. The subways were so full that chaos ensued. What’s the point of a championship when the football-mad Dutch are stuck on the train between the stadium cities? Or when the French don’t get a place on the pitch? The tickets to the stadium are expensive, so it’s nice to have kick-off with you. The queues for the many places where you can watch football on the big screen have also often been kilometers long. The safety rules made my mind run to Frans Kafka’s The Process. After a long time in a queue, you could be redirected to another queue, which you had to be well-versed in the area to be able to find at all. RACISM: In a documentary, Bayer Leverkusen’s star player Jonathan Tah spoke about the racism he faced from the home crowd when he did poorly on the pitch. Photo: Tobias SCHWARZ / AFP A whiter national team Then there were the Germans themselves and their relationship with the German national team. Because even though hopes were high for the crew’s performance during the EC, not all Germans liked the composition of the squad that was supposed to represent the country. It hit like a bomb only a couple of weeks before the EC, that one in five of those questioned in a national survey believe that the national team should have been whiter than it was. In a documentary, Bayer Leverkusen’s star player Jonathan Tah talked about the racism he faced from the home crowd when he did poorly on the pitch. The star who became a fad In the same programme, viewers were reunited with Mesut Özil. The striker from Gelsenkirchen who went from being the big star of the German national team to being chased out of the country – after he posed with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. ERDOGAN FRIEND: Özil stood out from the crowd as he stood right behind Turkey’s strongman, Erdogan. Photo: Angelos Tzortzinis / AFP Last weekend, 10 years after he scored a goal for Germany, he stood at the Olympia Stadium in Berlin and watched Turkey lose to the Netherlands in the quarter-finals. And although the stadium and Berlin were blood red with Turkish flags as thousands of German-Turks filled the streets, pubs and hookah cafes – Özil stood out from the crowd as he stood right behind Turkey’s strongman, Erdogan. A few hours earlier, the former football star had posted a picture on X. There he supported the use of the “grey wolf” greeting. It is a hand gesture used to celebrate goals scored by Turkey, but also a sign used by Turkish nationalists. Before the Turks conceded Dutch goals at the Olympia stadium, the Turkish ambassador had to enter the carpet in Berlin. He was asked to explain the use of and support for the symbol, which is banned in several European countries, on a par with the Hitler salute. GRAY WOLF: A hand gesture used to celebrate goals scored by Turkey, but also the sign used by Turkish nationalists. Photo: Ronny HARTMANN / AFP After hundreds of supporters in Berlin raised their index and little fingers in the air during the match, it felt perfectly fine that it was the orange-clad Dutch who could celebrate their place in the semi-finals that evening. Although walking through Berlin’s Turkish districts would have been an adventure if the match had ended differently. And Germany’s largest ethnic minority had undoubtedly turned the night into a cacophony of car horns and shouts of joy, as they did after the previous victory. RUSH OF VICTORY: Germany’s largest ethnic minority, the Turks, turned Berlin on its head after the victory against Austria. Photo: RALF HIRSCHBERGER / AFP The adventure that was supposed to save Germany from the European Football Championship did not turn out to be the summer adventure of brotherhood and victories on the pitch that the Germans had hoped for. But even though the trains have been too full, and even though Norway never came close to the German pitches, and Poland – my other home country – was knocked out in the group stage, there have been many fine football moments. In a country that has been bathed in flags and football fever for the past month. BLACK, RED, GOLDEN: Germany has been bathed in flags this summer. Photo: INA FASSBENDER / AFP And on Sunday, I will stand in the far too long queue for the supporters’ area in front of the Brandenburg Gate, and hope that I get through the security area before the final between Spain and England is over. Published 14.07.2024, at 15.38
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The championship that was supposed to save Germany – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
