German fans trying to rival English chanting

KAISERSLAUTERN:

German football fans, have been having a rollicking time and are basking in a new sense of national pride following the success of their team at the World Cup. Apart from football they have been taking on the world’s best football chanters — England supporters, and they’re getting close, at least in terms of volume. The lyrics still fall short, however.

In the match between England and Ecuador there was a large presence of German fans in Berlin and there were some impromptu chanting competitions in the stadium, which was packed with England fans.

Similar scenes were on view couple of days back in Frankfurt in the match between Argentina and Netherlands, where after listening to roaring Argentinian fans, the Germans decided to give them back in the second half of the match.

In Berlin on Sunday, to the visible surprise of England fans, the Germans held their own, although English thought that the Germans still need to work on the lyrics, the best effort being “Football’s Going Home”, a variation of the 10-year-old English classic “Football’s Coming Home”. Other less imaginative favorites are “Deutschland Deutschland” and “Finale Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh!”, “You Can Go Home”, and “We’re Heading For Berlin Without England” — the World Cup final is being played in Berlin on July 9.

It seems that German fans, exhilarated by their team’s splendid run in the tournament so far, are sick of being drowned out on their home turf by roaring Brits. The World Cup has led to a surge in German patriotism made all the more intense by having been stifled by guilt for 60 years, according to German journalists.

Germans are already rivaling England in flag-waving and face painting. But England fans still have the edge in the fine art of taunting their opponents through football chants and songs, a tradition practiced in their domestic football leagues.

One of the more amusing English version is “Five - One, Even Heskey Scored”, in reference to England’s stunning victory over Germany on September 1, 2001, in Munich, in which striker Emile Heskey, whose skills appear to be the subject of debate, scored the last goal. Not part of the current England squad, Heskey scored 5 goals in his 43 matches for England.

Another favourite is “Sing When You’re Winning, You Only Sing When You’re Winning” to the tune of “Guantanamera”. German fans are new at this game and will do better as the tournament progresses. As for the Brits, they have been roaring in Germany since the beginning of the tournament.