|
The importance of being Jürgen
June 30th, 2006
I'm enjoying the Amsterdam experience and I also enjoyed watching Germany
v Argentina in a sports bar here.
But the atmosphere in Germany would have been extraordinary during and
after the penalty shootout against Argentina - and I could have stayed in
the host nation. At least the Germans' success means that I can return in
time for their semi-final.
I will remember the 2006 quarter-finals with some frustration. If things
had worked out differently, I might have attended two of them. Instead,
I'm just another tourist in Europe.
I would have had a ticket for the game in Hamburg if Australia had won its
round of 16 match. I would have also had a ticket for tomorrow's game
between Portugal and England if it hadn't been lost in the mail. Finally,
I can tell you that story.
There is a particular group of guys I know from Adelaide that had been in
Germany. These chaps (who were all born in England) attended matches
featuring Australia or England and two of them scored tickets for Portugal
v England.
However every member of this group - except one - needed to return to
Australia before the match so I was able to buy the spare ticket at face
value.
The two chaps that held the tickets have been in England, where they would
have family, since the end of the group phase. One of them (let's call him
A) has just returned to Australia. He was the one that was going to sell
me the ticket. The other guy (call him B) is the one going to the game.
The plan was that A would send B the ticket (they were in different parts
of England) and I would meet B in Gelsenkirchen today. I would pay A for
the ticket after returning home.
Unfortunately A made the mistake of using regular mail to send the ticket
and B, who returned to Germany late today, never received it. (Had I known
that this was the intended method of delivery, I would have told A to use
a courier and to send me the bill.) As today was Friday, it was the last
chance for the ticket to turn up in B's mail. It didn't and that means: A
won't get reimbursed for it; the seat at Gelsenkirchen's stadium will be
empty; and, worst of all, I won't be there.
I know that I've been quite lucky to have tickets for nine matches at
these World Cup finals - the demand for tickets far exceeds the supply.
But you can imagine my disappointment.
Anyway, there's no point crying over it. I'm having a nice time in
Amsterdam and it's been a memorable few weeks. I'm grateful that I've had
these opportunities.
I've spent enough time in Germany recently to imagine what this evening
would have been like there. I can assure you that people will be chanting
Jürgen Klinsmann's name.
I first noticed this after Germany's win over Ecuador but it then began to
happen quite regularly. You can hear his name chanted in bars and on
trains.
And it's not happening just because the team has been winning. Don't
underestimate the importance of being Jürgen.
Klinsmann isn't just coaching the national team, he is the personification
- perhaps the cause - of the elation and the optimism that is gripping
Germany at the moment.
I can't get enough of his reactions when his team scores. His effort after
Miroslav Klose's equaliser today was the best yet.
You might think that he's a bit over the top. I'd disagree. Right now,
Jürgen Klinsmann is good for football.
As Amsterdam is a tourist magnet, the crowded sports bar I watched the
game in was full of people from different countries, including Germany and
Argentina. The neutrals there all picked a team as well (you can imagine
what the noise was like during the shootout).
A lot of those neutrals were English and, although most of them admitted
that they wouldn't want Klinsmann's team to win the World Cup, they
conceded that it was good to see this German team playing with good
attacking intentions.
The sports bar is in a popular square called Leidseplein and there are
also nice restaurants in the area. Although it was a lot of fun, I decided
to watch Italy v Ukraine elsewhere. The bar charged a minimum of ?4.60 for
all drinks - even if you just wanted water. By the time Italy v Ukraine
kicked off, I had walked to a café by a canal where a pancake cost less.
I wasn't expecting a particularly entertaining game and decided that if it
got too boring I would just try to spot my father in the crowd. He also
has a ticket for the Germany v Italy semi-final and the World Cup Final.
But it was a good match, mainly because the Italians - no longer facing a
dangerous and awe-inspiring opponent as they did when they played
Australia - were able to attack with far more conviction.
I didn't walk around Amsterdam after dark last night but I did after the
Italy-Ukraine match ended tonight. What an amazing experience - people
taking in the sights, eating and drinking by the water, or relaxing on
boats. The buildings and canals are even more beautiful against the light
of the street lamps.
While nothing beats having match tickets, there are surely few better ways
of enjoying the World Cup.
|
[HOME]
BACKGROUND
Info on how
the World Cup was founded and about the trophy as well. |
THE
WORLD CUPS
Detailed info
on every match in every tournament. |
COLUMNISTS
Interesting columns about the past, present and future of the World Cup. |
THE
NATIONS
Every nation
with appearances in the World Cup. Detailed info on every country. |
LEGENDS
Player profiles
of many of the most influential players in history. |
A-Z STORIES
An A-Z collection
of strange and different stories in World Cup history. |
STATISTICS
A big collection
of various statistics and records. |
MASCOTS
Every mascot
since it was introduced in 1966. |
QUIZ
Test your
knowledge about the WC. Three different levels. No prizes, just for fun. |
TOP
10 RANKINGS
Rankings of
lots of stuff. For instance Best Goals, Best Players and Best Matches. |
LINKS
Our collection
of links to other soccer sites with World Cup connection. |
LINK
TO
Some banners
and buttons for you to link to us if you want. |
ABOUT
US
A little information
on who keeps this site available. |
|
