Germany’s Miroslav Klose celebrates his goal in the national team’s match against England in the second round of the 2010 World Cup. Germany went onto win 4:1. Photo: picture-alliance / M.i.S.-Sportpressefoto

Now that the French are out of the way with the unexpected bonus of more Schadenfreude than we could possibly have asked for, Irish World Cup ambitions revert to seeing the English knocked out as soon as possible. For me personally, this takes on added significance as the task falls to Germany, the country I now call home.

As an immigrant in this oft-misunderstood land, I must admit the idea of German patriotism is one which sits somewhat uncomfortably with me. As an Irishman, my country of origin will always remain in my heart – as I’m sure
it is for any immigrant in any land – but Germany is probably where the process of integration and taking pride in the country is harder than most.

Recent history plays a huge part in this of course, casting its shadow still, while for me the niggly obsession with rules – waiting at red lights when no cars are coming and so on – also prohibits me from fully committing
to the cause. While I now consider myself a Berliner, I’m very much an *Irish* Berliner.

Watching Germany take on Portugal during Euro 2008 with teammates from my *Fußballmannschaft*. I fully expected them all to be behind their team. A few of them however, were not. One of them, René, actually hoped Portugal would win. “I don’t think Germany is ready to be patriotic,” he told me, fearful of the right wing consequences of unabashed patriotism.

Not all Germans feel this way of course.

My girlfriend explained the situation changed during the World Cup of 2006, hosted of course in Germany. Suddenly it was acceptable to take pride in the country. Flags adorned
balconies and cars, fans wore Deutschland jerseys, and wherever you went, people got behind the team as its *Sommermärchen* (summer fairy tale) brought everyone on board.

Even now however, I notice Germans are reserved when it comes to supporting their country. Sure, there are flags on balconies and flying from cars, but they aren’t hanging from *every* balcony, flying from *every* car. Not
everyone is painted in black, red and yellow.

I compare it to the feeling in Ireland during Italia 1990.

The ‘Boys in Green’ had qualified for a World Cup for the very first time and the country went ballistic. Absolutely crazy. Flags everywhere, Ireland jerseys everywhere, walls and windows painted green, the team’s World Cup song top of the charts for weeks on end, shops closed, kids dreaming, women dancing, grown men crying; even the dogs on the street barking for Ireland! It was incredible.

Since those heady days when dreams could come true, the Irish have had to take pleasure in seeing England trip up. A long history of animosity between the two nations means it has become a favourite pastime for us to take
pleasure from our neighbours’ misfortune.

Perhaps the best way to illustrate this is to highlight how points of view can differ in the two. While the BBC was celebrating England’s 1-0 over Slovenia on Wednesday, the pundits on Irish broadcaster RTÉ saw things
differently:

Alan Hansen (BBC): “Once England got the goal the confidence levels surged, they were excellent.”
Eamon Dunphy (RTÉ): “They just didn’t grow in confidence at all after the goal.”

Gary Lineker (BBC): “The goal really settled them, didn’t it? They pushed on from there.”
Ronnie Whelan (RTÉ): “You’d think they’d have kicked on from when they scored, but they actually got worse.”

Roy Hodgson (BBC): “England’s crossing has been absolutely outstanding.”
John Giles (RTÉ): “Some of the crossing was just awful.”

Alan Shearer (BBC): “Rooney looks more confident, he’s getting around the pitch a lot better.”
Eamon Dunphy: “It’s shocking to see Rooney so subdued, he’s been reduced to a shivering wreck.”

Lee Dixon (BBC): “A great performance.”
Eamon Dunphy: “Shocking … absolutely incredibly bad … pretty awful stuff.”

And so on.

It’s hard to believe both sets of pundits were looking at the same game. Germany have never needed any extra motivation to beat England, but they’ll have the support of the Irish in any case. For me, *der Klassiker* can only help my integration. Certainly, this Irish Berliner will have no problems shouting for Germany tomorrow!