World Cup: Germany Face England And Her Media War Machine – News Round-Up

WORLD Cup round-up: England have beaten the mighty Slovenia and in so doing set up a showdown with Germany. The media starts to remember the war:

Will the narrative get as bellicose as it did during the coverage of the Euro96 semi-final between England and Germany at Wembley? The Mirror led with a picture of England’s Paul Gascoigne and Stuart Pearce in Second World War soldier’s helmets.

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Inside, we read:

“There is a strange smell in Berlin and it’s not just their funny sausages, it’s the smell of fear.”

The leader told us:

“I am writing to you from the Editor’s office at Canary Wharf, London. Last night the Daily Mirror’s ambassador in Berlin handed the German government a final note stating that, unless we heard from them by 11 o’clock, a state of soccer war would exist between us”.

How times have changed:

Daily Star (front page): “JOB DONE – NOW FOR THE HUN”

Sun (front page): “HERR WE GO AGAIN”

It will bring back glorious – and agonising – memories of previous battles.

From Wapping to The Vancouver Sun, the jingoism is catching:

Haul out that Fawlty Towers DVD boxed set. They’re already referring to it as Germ warfare from Piccadilly Square to the Strand, from Kensington Gardens to the Marble Arch. Set the traps. It’s England-Germany.

The Mail hears a “war of words”. But do you. This from Joachim Low, the German coach:

‘I watched England’s matches. In the first two they were struggling but that’s quite normal, teams only pick up speed as they go through the tournament.

Still. Here’s Marina Hyde to sneer at the jingoistic writers by resorting to a spot of, er, jingoism:

Those grasping for the obligatory second world war metaphor will hope that the victory will be a turning point akin to El Alamein. “Before El Alamein we never had a victory – after El Alamein we never had a loss,” or so Churchill liked to claim with hindsight after the war. There will certainly be plenty of opportunity to refine the references when England meet Germany in the next round.

It’s a fight with breaks for ball kicking:

And by this standard, many see soccer as the most troglodytic sport of all. That’s pretty much the conclusion drawn by Ilya Somin, an American law professor who argued recently that, unlike American professional sports, international soccer “often promotes nationalist and ethnic violence and provides propaganda fodder for repressive or corrupt governments.” He observes that pro sports in the U.S. don’t seem to engage the passions of their fans the way soccer does in other countries, and he concludes that, “on balance, it is a good thing that it doesn’t.”

Had England won 2-0, they’d be playing Ghana in the last 16. Always look on the bright side, though:

Frank Lampard said: “I couldn’t care less that we’ve finished second. It’s hard to pick and choose your games in the future rounds and maybe it’s a bonus to have an extra day’s rest.

The Germans get an extra day by winning their group. Germany midfielder Mesut Ozi says:

“But we are extremely strong and if we can play with our strongest team then I’m sure that we will win this match.”

Time for some Dutch courage for England:

Capello believes the qualities which saw his side ease through qualifying have been restored, though. “I changed something; used my imagination. It was free – South African beer,” he said of his softening on the no- alcohol policy which is standard at club sides on the eve of a game. “I’m sure that we’ll play with more confidence because we refound the spirit…”

Frank Lampard said none of the players had taken up the offer of a drink

Fans might do otherwise…

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