NationStates Jolt Archive

So Germany is hosting the World Soccer Championship next year and german fans are already practicing how to welcome the guests they are expecting from all over the globe.
http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3596/1214/400/17298_detail.jpg
[link (http://spiritofentebbe.blogspot.com/2005/12/anti-jewish-hatred-in-german-soccer.html)]

My husband is taking a month off so he can follow the World Cup. Friggin nutter. I mean on tv...he's not flying anywhere...not if he wants a family to come back to.

They've somehow seeded us (England) 2nd! In theory it should be us v Brazil in the final... :rolleyes:

This'd be a good time for Americans to get into football. Their team's actually top notch at the moment! Won't happen though.

So Germany is hosting the World Soccer Championship next year and german fans are already practicing how to welcome the guests they are expecting from all over the globe.
Israel didn't make it into the World Cup, so I really don't know what you're on about. :p

The laws against Anti-Semitism in Germany are very strict indeed (much stricter than in the US), and the number of anti-semites in Germany is likely much lower than it is in neighbouring countries, and lower percentage-wise than in the US.

Cottbus has a bad reputation (http://www.spiegel.de/sport/fussball/0,1518,388727,00.html) (it is a poor city in the East, and the fans there have used every opportunity to underline the differences between East and West), but the club has worked hard on that. Fans with GDR-Symbols were not allowed in, Anti-Semitic stuff is cracked down on by the police, and the club itself has started numerous fan projects, such as this one (http://www.fanprojekt-cottbus.de/) (in German I'm afraid).

I presume you just didn't know more about the subject, rather than that you were simply looking for yet another opportunity to bag on the country. I'd be more worried about some of the Italian fans...Inter had to play without spectators for a number of matches, and just a week ago a Black player had to be convinced to come back and play after thousands were yelling racist shit at him.

Um... I don't understand how a banner that says 'Jews' is anti-semitic... uh... someone care to explain to me why it might be.

Um... I don't understand how a banner that says 'Jews' is anti-semitic... uh... someone care to explain to me why it might be.no it isnt, it is just a nice gesure, it means they have reserved those front seats for visitors from israel.

They've somehow seeded us (England) 2nd! In theory it should be us v Brazil in the final... :rolleyes:

This'd be a good time for Americans to get into football. Their team's actually top notch at the moment! Won't happen though.

word

I just want the US to get out of the group stage... I know they're not really a top-10 team (the FIFA rankings are a joke... no way Mexico is better than England, Italy, Sweden, Portugal, etc.), but they're at least decent. I think Europe would begin to really respect the US if we could make it to the final 16, sort of confirming that reaching the quarterfinals in 2002 wasn't a fluke.

the team nobody is really talking about that i think has a decent shot of winning it all is Italy.

they have excellent depth at striker (Gilardino, Toni, Iaquinta, Cassano, Inzaghi, etc.)... Totti and rising star Andrea Pirlo to run the offense from the central midfielder spots (Lippi should make Totti the attacking midfielder, imo)... capable Camoranesi and (pain-in-the-ass) Gattuso on the wings... Nesta and Cannavaro in the middle of the defense.

Italy can play defense -- that's their reputation -- but now they can attack. The Azzurri should be tough to beat in Germany.

group of death prediction:

Argentina
United States
Portugal
Ukraine

...a group where every team can beat every other team in the group... that's the group of death.

Or:

Argentina
Holland
Portugal
Ghana (Essien's team)