2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany (9 June - 9 July 2006)
Yes, it has been a week since Italy was crowned champions of the 2006 FIFA World Cup here in Deutschland, and that interestingly controversial headbutt by you-know-who.
It has been a very interesting experience here, right where all the action is. Just too bad I don't have tickets, so it was really a case of "so close yet so far"! The atmosphere here is spectacular though, especially with Deutschland going so far in the tournament. Anyway, I was a temporarily-converted Deutschland supporter in the meantime because they played well and... well... it's not very smart to be yelling another country's name in the middle of 10,000 Germans... practical reasons have to play their part too, yah?
So let's see, where did I watch the Deutschland matches?
1. Deutschland vs Costa Rica (Opening Match, 9 June) - 4:2
Tried to get into the Fan Fest area at the Olympiapark, but it was flooded! 35,000 people inside and the police decided to close off the area. What to do? Moved on to the Allianz Arena, but a radius of 200m was cordoned off by officials, so it wasn't even close! Could hear the immense cheering from inside though... very loud indeed! In the end, managed to find a big-screen TV at the Marienplatz S-Bahn station, which was also packed with German and Costa Rican supporters. Not very safe that I found myself right in the middle of the two groups... Luckily nothing happened, though it got a little rowdy with all the drunk supporters.
The Arena on the opening match
Yes, the match was going on inside
The Marienplatz train station where I eventually ended up watching the match
2. Deutschland vs Poland (First Round, 14 June) - 1:0
Watched this one at home, it was too late (kick-off at 2100) and had to work the next day, so we stayed at home to watch. Was a good thing too as the goal only came at the very last minute.
3. Ecuador vs Deutschland (First Round, 20 June) - 0:3
Totally missed this game! I thought I could make it downtown in time, but by the time I reached there, the match was over. Caught the scores from the LCD panels at the S-Bahn stations.
4. Deutschland vs Sweden (Round of 16, 24 June) - 2:0
Watched this one in Stuttgart when I went to visit Chun Wei. The Fan Fest area was packed and the outside was surrounded by both German and English fans (who kept insulting the Germans for no rhyme or reason). The area was too crowded till we couldn't see the screen properly, so we relocated to a nearby biergarten where the reception wasn't very good, but managed to see the highlights clearly. Splendid 2 goals by Podolski. When the match ended, we quickly escaped to avoid the (human) traffic jam, so we were clear when the police started arresting those 117 English hooligans who started a fight. Had my fun when I indirectly insulted them the next day (read my Suttgart post).
5. Deutschland vs Argentina (Quarter-Finals, 30 June) - 1:1 (4:2 PSO)
This one was at the airport. There's a huge screen there too, and it wasn't the first time we watched there, except this time it was overcrowded! Easily 2000 people there! I thought this was probably the best match of the game because it was so tense, especially in the penalty shootout. When Klose scored the equaliser, the whole area cheered! During the extremely exciting penalty shootout, every goal that Germany scored was met with immense cheers, and even more so when Lehmann saved an Argentinian goal. More so was the last one that sent the Argentinians home for the next 4 years.
The airport's well-decorated
People are also well-prepared
Just imagine the crowd
6. Deutschland vs Italy (Semi-Finals, 4 July) - 0:2
It was too late for a Tuesday night, had to work the next day so I watched this at home instead. Was a good thing also, because of the tragic loss. What a waste, going out at the last minutes... Geez...
7. Deutschland vs Portugal (3rd Placing, 8 July) - 3:1
This one was at the Fan Fest area in the Olympiapark. Many thanks to Petit who scored an own-goal, thus pushing the score up to 2:0, before Schweinsteiger's 2nd actual goal that brought it up to 3:0. Figo's entry marked another opportunity at the goal, which was a wondoerful swan song for him. The Fan Fest area was fantastic, with many people cheering, even had MCs and radio DJs keeping the crowd entertained and leading the masses in cheers and songs. Simply fantastic! There was even a 5-min fireworks display after the victory and when the blasts settled, the German national anthem played, which was a magnificent show of national pride as everyone joined in singing. Even a non-German like myself felt proud to be a German for the moment. I tell you, this is tonnes better than our NDP atmosphere. Germany's dream of holding the trophy may have ended with Italy, but the Germans were proud of their team, proud of their hosting and proud of their country.
The Fan Fest area
Packed!!!
If you squint a little, you can see the German flags all around
Other memorable matches:
8. Italy vs France (FINALS, 9 July) - 1:1 (5:3 PSO)
The match remembered for a headbutt more than the match itself... Tells you alot eh? Investigations still going on.
9. Argentina vs Mexico (Round of 16, 24 June) - 2:1
Mexico defended hard against the mighty Argentina, very hard indeed. Fighting all the way till extra time.
10. Portugal vs Netherlands (Round of 16, 25 June) - 1:0
A record of 4 red cards and 16 yellow cards... Gee...
11. Brazil vs France (Quarter-Finals, 1 July) - 0:1
The supposed-invincibles were probably too fat to win this... especially with the French team now on a roll. Thierry's beautiful goal sealed their fate and sent them packing.
12. England vs Portugal (Quarter-Finals, 1 July) - 0:0 (1:3 PSO)
Of course the best for the last! This is the next most memorable match after Germany-Argentina where I experienced the sinful jubilation of being able to indulge in my hidden desires! Wayne "Looney's" red card was already a hit. Add to that the crushing defeat at the penalty shootouts, really made my day! "ENGLAND GO HOME! ENGLAND GO HOME!"
My most favourite photo of the tournament... EVER!
So that's it for the World Cup. Been an entertaining 4 weeks here, so much so that even this not-usually-a-soccer fan also got partially-converted. Not to mention I'm in the host country.
Photobucket: 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany
It has been a very interesting experience here, right where all the action is. Just too bad I don't have tickets, so it was really a case of "so close yet so far"! The atmosphere here is spectacular though, especially with Deutschland going so far in the tournament. Anyway, I was a temporarily-converted Deutschland supporter in the meantime because they played well and... well... it's not very smart to be yelling another country's name in the middle of 10,000 Germans... practical reasons have to play their part too, yah?
So let's see, where did I watch the Deutschland matches?
1. Deutschland vs Costa Rica (Opening Match, 9 June) - 4:2
Tried to get into the Fan Fest area at the Olympiapark, but it was flooded! 35,000 people inside and the police decided to close off the area. What to do? Moved on to the Allianz Arena, but a radius of 200m was cordoned off by officials, so it wasn't even close! Could hear the immense cheering from inside though... very loud indeed! In the end, managed to find a big-screen TV at the Marienplatz S-Bahn station, which was also packed with German and Costa Rican supporters. Not very safe that I found myself right in the middle of the two groups... Luckily nothing happened, though it got a little rowdy with all the drunk supporters.
The Arena on the opening match
Yes, the match was going on inside
The Marienplatz train station where I eventually ended up watching the match
2. Deutschland vs Poland (First Round, 14 June) - 1:0
Watched this one at home, it was too late (kick-off at 2100) and had to work the next day, so we stayed at home to watch. Was a good thing too as the goal only came at the very last minute.
3. Ecuador vs Deutschland (First Round, 20 June) - 0:3
Totally missed this game! I thought I could make it downtown in time, but by the time I reached there, the match was over. Caught the scores from the LCD panels at the S-Bahn stations.
4. Deutschland vs Sweden (Round of 16, 24 June) - 2:0
Watched this one in Stuttgart when I went to visit Chun Wei. The Fan Fest area was packed and the outside was surrounded by both German and English fans (who kept insulting the Germans for no rhyme or reason). The area was too crowded till we couldn't see the screen properly, so we relocated to a nearby biergarten where the reception wasn't very good, but managed to see the highlights clearly. Splendid 2 goals by Podolski. When the match ended, we quickly escaped to avoid the (human) traffic jam, so we were clear when the police started arresting those 117 English hooligans who started a fight. Had my fun when I indirectly insulted them the next day (read my Suttgart post).
5. Deutschland vs Argentina (Quarter-Finals, 30 June) - 1:1 (4:2 PSO)
This one was at the airport. There's a huge screen there too, and it wasn't the first time we watched there, except this time it was overcrowded! Easily 2000 people there! I thought this was probably the best match of the game because it was so tense, especially in the penalty shootout. When Klose scored the equaliser, the whole area cheered! During the extremely exciting penalty shootout, every goal that Germany scored was met with immense cheers, and even more so when Lehmann saved an Argentinian goal. More so was the last one that sent the Argentinians home for the next 4 years.
The airport's well-decorated
People are also well-prepared
Just imagine the crowd
6. Deutschland vs Italy (Semi-Finals, 4 July) - 0:2
It was too late for a Tuesday night, had to work the next day so I watched this at home instead. Was a good thing also, because of the tragic loss. What a waste, going out at the last minutes... Geez...
7. Deutschland vs Portugal (3rd Placing, 8 July) - 3:1
This one was at the Fan Fest area in the Olympiapark. Many thanks to Petit who scored an own-goal, thus pushing the score up to 2:0, before Schweinsteiger's 2nd actual goal that brought it up to 3:0. Figo's entry marked another opportunity at the goal, which was a wondoerful swan song for him. The Fan Fest area was fantastic, with many people cheering, even had MCs and radio DJs keeping the crowd entertained and leading the masses in cheers and songs. Simply fantastic! There was even a 5-min fireworks display after the victory and when the blasts settled, the German national anthem played, which was a magnificent show of national pride as everyone joined in singing. Even a non-German like myself felt proud to be a German for the moment. I tell you, this is tonnes better than our NDP atmosphere. Germany's dream of holding the trophy may have ended with Italy, but the Germans were proud of their team, proud of their hosting and proud of their country.
The Fan Fest area
Packed!!!
If you squint a little, you can see the German flags all around
Other memorable matches:
8. Italy vs France (FINALS, 9 July) - 1:1 (5:3 PSO)
The match remembered for a headbutt more than the match itself... Tells you alot eh? Investigations still going on.
9. Argentina vs Mexico (Round of 16, 24 June) - 2:1
Mexico defended hard against the mighty Argentina, very hard indeed. Fighting all the way till extra time.
10. Portugal vs Netherlands (Round of 16, 25 June) - 1:0
A record of 4 red cards and 16 yellow cards... Gee...
11. Brazil vs France (Quarter-Finals, 1 July) - 0:1
The supposed-invincibles were probably too fat to win this... especially with the French team now on a roll. Thierry's beautiful goal sealed their fate and sent them packing.
12. England vs Portugal (Quarter-Finals, 1 July) - 0:0 (1:3 PSO)
Of course the best for the last! This is the next most memorable match after Germany-Argentina where I experienced the sinful jubilation of being able to indulge in my hidden desires! Wayne "Looney's" red card was already a hit. Add to that the crushing defeat at the penalty shootouts, really made my day! "ENGLAND GO HOME! ENGLAND GO HOME!"
My most favourite photo of the tournament... EVER!
So that's it for the World Cup. Been an entertaining 4 weeks here, so much so that even this not-usually-a-soccer fan also got partially-converted. Not to mention I'm in the host country.
Photobucket: 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany
posted by Chiu Weng | 9:52 PM
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