That is what I like to do as well when England plays. Going to the Irish pub that is. There you meet the English here in Germany. In an Irish pub I also watched the match England-Argentina WC 1998, the game where Beckham misbehaved and the Argentinian team sent the English team home early.
It was a bitter moment for English football fans and I was there, not for "Schadenfreude" but to join the fun of "Falklands- the rematch" and I was amazed how stoically the English fans in the pub reacted given that some years ago a drunk Englishman in a barfight had thrown a bar stool after me which only missed me narrowly because I could feel a puff of air in the face when the bar stool passed by my head.
I recall a conversation between 2 Englishmen about the German goalie of that time Oliver Kahn:
"Did you know that the fans of the opposite teams in the German league always throw bananas at him?"
"Really, is it a racist thing or what?".
"Well, have you ever seen the movie "planet of the apes?".
That is what I call international understanding. Kahn indeed looks like an actor from that movie.
I have bet 5 Euro on England winning the world cup (the ecomomic bet) like I have bet 5 Euros on Germany winning the world cup (the patriotic bet). So it is either I become world champion and rich or just plain rich. That is the plan.
I really think England can make it this time. Let me put it this way: When will they ever win if not with this team? I guess the expectations are very high in England and so is the pressure on the team.
