« Army 2.0 | Main | Smaller media - same egos »
July 05, 2006
Germany loses - and Germany wins
Germany's role in the World Cup came to abrupt end last night with the team losing 2:0 to Italy. Italy deserved to win, playing stronger in overtime and with more drive towards scoring the decisive goal. I was surrounded by some very sad friends and family last night - but today the sorrow has been replaced by the positive attitude that has covered Germany since the tournament started.
Already the German media is full of praise for Jürgen Klinsmann, the German trainer coach and hopes are high that he will stay on for a longer term (he should). I am with many of todays articles that state how he and the German team have done more in 4 weeks for Germany than many German politicians have managed to achieve in years.
As Spiegel online writes in an article today - roughly translated:
[The World Cup] was a festival of youth, without a leaden ideological foundation. Germany welcomed the world as friends and the Germans discovered, that they are far more multi-cultural and international than they or others thought. That is why it was easy to raise the German flag on balconies [or cars]. For the first time in Germany's post-war history, Black-Red-Gold didn't represent a political ambition - such as in 1989 - but was the national "color-symbol" for the positive, up-beat mood or atmosphere. If patriotism - then this kind.
One of the great things that has happened to me over the past years in working in and around Open Source is the fact that I now have friends in many different countries - for example in Italy - Congratulations guys! Check out Ugo's pictures of the Italian celebrations.
Updated: Jürgen Klinsmann is of course the German team coach and Oliver Bierhoff is the German team manager. Trainer is the German word for coach and that in itself shows my sometimes split personality when it comes to nationality. Thanks Armin.
Posted by Matthew at July 5, 2006 08:46 PM