SVEN-NO-PHOBIA
by GILES ELLIOTT, FOXSports.com
I don't mean in sporting terms - the two nations have been very much on a par for the last two major tournaments, with both under-achieving at France '98 and Euro 2000. Forget the history of England losing on penalties, or whether the ball crossed the line in 1966. Either side could win, a draw is even more likely, but Saturday's encounter at the Olympic Stadium will in all probability not affect the outcome of either side's Asian vacation aspirations. Germany will win the group, England will hope to avoid Holland and Romania in the playoffs, and both teams will try to work out how to catch up with France.
The problem is the way the mention of Germany makes normally mild-mannered English humans turn into a tribal mass chanting: "Two World Wars and One World Cup, doo-dah, doo-dah"...
I can't see too many descendants of Boadicea in Sven Goran Eriksson's favored eleven. David Seaman? Clearly of multinational origin, not to mention the ponytail. The Nevilles, Beckham and Scholes - these boys prefer a quiet night in with a cup of tea to a rumble on the streets with flick-knives on the wheels of their BMX bikes. Don't be fooled by the Spice Boy's summer mohawk . Steve McManaman and Michael Owen? Sound a bit Celtic to me. Owen Hargeaves? As Canadian as Greg Rusedski. And speaks fluent German, of course. Let's face it, your average Englishman contains a genetic mishmash (the Germans use the same word, Das Mischmasch, incidentally) - Saxons, Vikings, and the rest. Personally speaking, my English blood is sprinkled with a dash of just about every European variant north of Paris.
When Eriksson was appointed, xenophobic tabloid editors in London and beyond questioned the Swede's integrity and underlying affiliations. "What happens if England plays Sweden?" "Will he sing the national anthem?" Take a look at the England team when they line up for pregame festivities, Sven Goran won't be the only one lost in quiet contemplation. For the modern professional, it's no longer about "three lions on the chest" and sending Queen Elizabeth off "happy and victorious". Playing for England is about taking their game to a higher level, furthering careers and fulfilling childhood dreams of competing in a World Cup.
The Germans, of course, have no football song that lists military successes or their record of never failing to reach the World Cup Finals, let alone a solitary home defeat in qualifying, against Portugal in 1985. No European nation has as rigorous a policy against triumphant nationalism and right-wing extremism. Only France has been as instrumental in the founding of a modern continent, free of travel and work restrictions. Any one of Rudi Voller's team could conduct a post-match interview in English. What riles the England fans is the Germans' winning mentality, a mindset more American than European. Think Schwarzenegger.
As travel writer Pico Iyer explores in his highly recommended "The Global Soul", 21st century man is evolving into a creature far from home. That is certainly the case in the EPL, or the Bundesliga. This weekend, Liverpool fans can cheer on Steven Gerrard and Dietmar Hamann as they crunch into each other in midfield; nearby, Manchester United fans can hope for goals from Roy Keane and Ruud van Nistelrooy. Elsewhere in Lancashire, Blackburn fans will have an eye on how Brad Friedel gets on in Washington, while all of Bolton hopes Ricardo Gardner can inspire Jamaica against Mexico.
It's a global soccer world, so let's get the 32 teams, whoever they may be, to Seoul and Yokohama, get the players back to their clubs and let the battle for league supremacy resume. As for this weekend's 90 minutes of jingoism in Bavaria? I'll be by the beach, rooting for Sven Goran, having a Hefeweizen.
Share your thoughts, if not a draught, with Giles at gelliott@foxsportsworld.com.
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