SPORTS> Off the Pitch
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SPORTS> Off the Pitch
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Pain and pride as Germany digests end of World Cup dream
(AP)
Updated: 2006-07-06 09:42 Germany picked itself up slowly from the pain of sudden defeat to celebrate the bright side of a World Cup run that gripped the host nation. "A Shame! But you're the world champions of our hearts," the front page of Munich's TZ daily screamed Wednesday.
That summed up the country's view of a team that, just a month ago, few predicted could win the title and some thought would struggle to survive the first round. Instead, they made the final four. "You are still our heroes ... we are crying with you," the mass-circulation Bild daily said. "Too bad, boys,you fought like world champions." In an open letter to coach Juergen Klinsmann's young team, President Horst Koehler praised the players, who he said "burned for success in every one of their games." Despite the 2-0 semifinal defeat in extra time by Italy, "you still played your way into the hearts of the Germans," the president wrote. "Our country has found a new role model in its national soccer team, and you won Germany new friends abroad." Koehler said he was sure Germany will "achieve great things" at the 2008 European Championship, "and we all are already looking forward to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa." One World Cup sponsor lost little time in echoing that sentiment. Huge red Coca-Cola posters had suggested that Germany would win the World Cup "here in 2006." On Wednesday, a new billboard in Berlin's downtown Potsdamer Platz added a hopeful date to the country's three World Cup triumphs: "1954. 1974. 1990. 2010." Germany was level at 0-0 with Italy, another three-time champion, with just two minutes of extra time remaining Tuesday night. Then Italy scored twice in quick succession ,shattering German fans' hopes of lifting the trophy in Berlin this weekend just as Klinsmann's team seemed headed for a penalty shootout. Fans filed quietly away from packed public viewing areas across the country, a contrast with the singing, dancing and horn-honking that greeted Germany's five-match straight victories. While the country was subdued Wednesday, few rushed to take down the black, red and yellow German flags that have sprouted from cars, windows and balconies over recent weeks in an unprecedented outburst of national pride. It was a painful day for one fan who felt moved to rip down her flag. A 21-year-old woman lost her balance and fell as she leaned over her balcony and tried to untie the national colors in the southwestern city of Speyer, police said. Luckily, she landed on the hood of a parked car, denting the vehicle but escaping with light injuries. |
