New EURO Setup?

German national football team players Bastian Schweinsteiger (left) and
Phillip Lahm (right). Image obtained from Google.

UEFA EURO tournaments.  Don't know what I'm talking about?  Here's a bit of background to get you up to speed about.

Think of the UEFA EURO tournament as being just like the FIFA World Cup that's hosted every 4 years, except that participating national teams may only come from European countries.  Now I won't dwell on this issue but it's interesting to look at the countries that participate regularly and compare that with EU members.    Turkey participated in EURO 2008 but has had its EU ascension hopes waitlisted for decades.  Ponder that thought; maybe do some personal research but I'm leaving this point alone now.

Anyways, EURO.  Okay so it's reminiscent of a European-style World Cup and, personally, I think it's more interesting to watch than the World Cup because I like European football teams.

The tournament structure of EURO has always been like that of the World Cup; a host nation is chosen and all of the tournament matches are played at venues around the host country.  Well this might not be the case for EURO 2020.  I've stumbled upon article that suggests that the UEFA President Michel Platini is considering changing the layout for this particular tournament and having it be played at stadiums around the CONTINENT.  Sacrebleu!  What is this madness?!?  Below I will outline Mr. Platini's rationale and then state why I think he's a little off his rocker...

Platini states that by having 12 different countries host matches across Europe, the costs of the tournament would not be a burden on a single (or sometimes pair) host country.  Alright, I concede that this is a decent reason for suggesting this new tournament format.  Afterall, Europe has failed to recover from the economic crisis to the extent that the United States has and, looking to the future, it seems logical that hosting a tournament of this magnitude risks a host country's economic recovery.  But I'd like to make one point.  Countries vie to host a EURO tournament for the glory.  They don't do something like this because it will be fiscally profitable in the short run.  If a country can host a good tournament, then they can hope for increased tourist revenue in the years to come and the title of EURO host city long into the future.

This is almost like the head of the Olympic committee to suggest that the Olympics should be held AROUND THE WORLD, instead of in one lucky country.

Now I recognize that if EURO 2020 were to be held in this new layout as is currently being discussed, it would shine the spotlight on cities all around Europe simultaneously.  And perhaps it would reinforce the idea of a "shared European identity" that the EU is pushing so hard to create.  But this tournament is not designed to bring neighboring countries closer together.  National teams train to win, not to make friends.

As a football fan living in America, I think that this is a poor choice in the spirit of EURO competitions, even if it is a fiscally-responsible one for Europe.

Sarah

Blood is Thicker than Water

The German Men's National Football team played a friendly today against the Netherlands today.  Given the nature of this type of match (where the result doesn't impact future tournaments), the only thing on the line was pride (which is still a lot for footballers).  If you're dying to know the result, it ended 0-0.  German fans, like myself, will attribute this to the fact that Germany was fielding a team of rookies since many of their starting players were injured or sick.  Dutch fans will say this points to a new resurgence for the national team but I wouldn't necessarily bet on that one.  The Dutch squad has had it chances in recent tournaments but just can't seem to put the pieces together...sort of like the German squad (but you didn't hear that from me).

What I'd like to mention is that the headline from an article I read here declares the game between Germany and the Netherlands as "An Old Rivalry."  At this moment, my inner soccer fan was booted aside by my inner political scientist because I'd just learned about types of ethnic conflicts and my mind immediately jumped to the term Primordialism.  Now, to be clear I do not want to suggest that rivarly between German and Dutch fans mimics the conflict, for example, between Sunnis and Shias.  My mind simply started to mull over the origins of football rivalries and the ferocity with which they are often played out.

According to the article mention above, the rivalry between these two teams started when West Germany beat the Netherlands in the '74 World Cup final.  Hostilities have flared since then and no doubt resurfaced in today's friendly.

I'll go ahead and reference Franklin Foer's How Soccer Explains the World because it really is and awesome book and it really does explain a lot of things in our world.  But many of the chapters discuss passionate rivalries in particular countries around the world, some with better-explained origins than others.

The rivalry between Germany and the Netherlands is a relatively mild one (in the grand scheme of things) but it's a rivalry nonetheless; the winners will be jubilant and the losers will hang their heads and be grateful that it was just a friendly.

Rivalries big or small transform the game and it's important to give them their due attention rather than passing them off as a tool of hooligans or as something that you could never possibly understand.  We have plenty of sports rivalries here in the United States.  Think of your favorite team and the second thing that you'll think of is their #1 rival.

Mull that one over for a bit, then get back to me and let me know what you think of rivalries in football and in general.

Bis bald!

Sarah

It Takes All Kinds

Photo by Rick Bowmer, AP

The Seattle Sounders have one of the most ardent groups of supporters that I've ever experienced.  For the record, there was never a professional soccer team in my hometown of San Diego and our other sports teams are routinely below par.  Perhaps there are other MLS teams with equally enthusiastic fans but, nonetheless, I'm always impressed at the sight of a sea of blue and green on game days.
In Germany last week, a riot broke out at a DFB Cup match between Hannover 96 and Dynamo Dresden. This is the latest in a series of fan aggression in the last two decades. The following is from Deutsche Welle's report on the incident:

"Violence initially broke out before the match began when around 1,400 Dresden fans pressed against the gates at a section of the ground. Some 300 supporters then overran security officials and broke into the AWD Arena, clashing with police and delaying play for 15 minutes.

Dresden went on to lose the game 4-3 on penalties following a 1-1 draw after 120 minutes of play. After the loss, Dresden fans stormed the pitch, requiring police intervention. The violence left nine people injured and 18 fans were taken into custody."

I've done previous research on football hooliganism, such as the violence in Dresden, and I find it interesting that there are regions in Eastern Europe, South America, etc where football violence is extremely common.  But to my limited knowledge of MLS, this kind of occurrence is rare.  I asked some knowledgeable Sounders fan about fan violence before I went about drawing my own conclusions.

Point 1
There is little fan violence in the MLS as a whole.  Having spent a great deal of time in Seattle these past few years, I can vouch for the existence of fierce rivalries such as the one between the Sounders and the Portland timbers.  Rival fans will shout (often vulgar) chants at one another before, during, and after matches.  This is completely normal for the league and, some might argue, enhances the competitive environment.  But physical acts of violence don't seem to be tolerated.  In fact, my sources tell me that even the hardcore supporters' groups fpr the Sounders have a zero-tolerance policy.  This is in stark contrast to places in Eastern Europe for example where football hooligans have created a mafia-like system in places. (see Franklin Foer's How Soccer Explains the World for more on this)

Point 2
It's only fair that I make a differentiation between everyday fans of a soccer team and the die-hards (or hooligans, fanatics  whatever you would like to call them).  I love my team, FC Bayern Munich.  LOVE.  But I cannot imagine inflicting violence on another Bundesliga team or vandalizing the stadium after a particularly merciless defeat.  I'm a rational human being and this is not something I would probably ever be inclined to do.  So, please note, hooligans are a special breed.  Please don't be scared to attend your local MLS match after reading this.

Point 3
The following observation is just an observation from someone who's grown up in middle-class suburbia in Southern California.  Please don't take it as the opinion of an expert and make of it what you like.  Football is different around the world than it is here in the US.  On so many levels.  It just is.  Here it's a middle-class form of entertainment in a way.  In places in Eastern Europe, it's the working man's way of releasing whatever tensions have built up over the course of a week.  There are more academic ways of saying this but the point I'm trying to convey is that the people that follow soccer here are not necessarily the same types of people who follow Dynamo Dresden.



To conclude, soccer/football is THE beautiful game.  There will always be people who act out and threaten to ruin it for the rest of us.  And if you really want, we could have a seriously intellectual discussion on football in Europe and its numerous impacts.  I'd be down for it.  From this piece however, I hope you take away just a few things.  First of all, all sorts of people consider themselves to be fans, in  one form or another.  Hooligans are fans; they're just really extreme fans.  Second,  American soccer ≠ European football.  Third, the next time you catch a match on TV, whether it's MLS or Premier League or any other league, please watch it for more than 30 seconds.  Try and look beyond the 0-0 scoreline.  And then maybe you'll become a fan too.


My many thanks to Peter Dwersteg, Andy Fulton, and Josh Larkin for providing me with more insight into this matter than I could have ever possibly hoped for.

Bis bald!

Einwanderern in Deutschland

Cartoon drawn by Dorothy Portin

We just completed Module 2 in class, which focused on the topic of "Multicultural Germany-Migration and Transit."  Many of the readings for this module addressed the issue of immigrants within Germany, how they are viewed by "traditional" Germans, and how they themselves view the idea of being German.  I write traditional in quotes because there is this idea of blonde, blue-eyed Germans, heartily drinking beer and having last names like Schneider and Schumacher and the like.  (Personally my last name is Austrian but for the sake of argument, I suppose I fit this traditional image more or less.)

However given that I am so passionate about German football and as a result I follow it with some regularity (depending on my class schedule and how much work I have), I can say with a high degree of certainty that the German football has many other nationalities represented.

Examine the cartoon pictured above that my group created for Module 2.  On the right you clearly see two very typical-looking German men, who are somewhat confused at what they see in the window of a sports apparel store.  You see, the German National team boasts a diverse squad.  There are players from Germany (obviously) and for the last several years there have also been several Polish players.  But currently they also have players of Turkish, Tunisian, and African descent.  This is incredibly different than the great Germans teams of the past.  The sign in the window says that  (the immigrant players) are "all in" and asks the public if they are as well.  And the two German men are confused because they are accustomed to German football stars having German-sounding names and looking like well...Germans.

In short, there is a widely diverse Germany emerging (whether Germans are willing to accept this or not) and this diversity is redefining what it means to be German.

I've pondered the effects of immigrant players in the Budesliga before and I'll save you the full spiel, but I find it interesting that some of success at both the club and national level for Germany is due to the skill that these non-ethnically German players bring to the table, and yet multiculturalism in Germany is still highly contested.

Just something to think about the next time you happen across a Bundesliga game or stumble into a conversation about immigrants in Germany.

Bis bald!

Sarah