06/30/2002
BERLIN – Despite losing the World Cup championship to Brazil, German fans
still seemed proud of a team that many predicted wouldn't survive the
tournament's first round.
"It was a super game, it's the best match we could play," said Benny
Wagner, 24, watching the 2-0 loss at Berlin's Potsdamer Platz on a large
screen.
Wagner was among 3,000 Germans and a scattering of Brazilians watching
in a scene repeated across the nation.
A huge groan erupted from 35,000 spectators at Stuttgart's Schlossplatz
as Ronaldo scored the go-ahead goal in the 67th minute.
At Frankfurt, 12,000 formed a sea of the national colors of red, yellow
and black in everything from flags to face paint in the city's center
square. Crowds filled side streets in bright sunshine.
At the capital's Potsdamer Platz, nonstop chants of "Deutschland,
Deutschland," erupted. Again and again cheers of "Ollie! Ollie!" went up
as Germany's standout goalie, Oliver Kahn, thwarted Brazilian scoring
chances, although his mistake led to Brazil's first goal.
The largely teenage crowd was also filled with spectators waving the
green-and-yellow Brazilian flags, while groups of women from the South
American country danced as pictures of the players flickered across the
large screen.
A race in the German touring cars series in the southern German city of
Nuremberg was delayed until after the match, but 80,000 crowded into the
Norisring track beforehand to watch the battle of soccer superpowers on
a large screen.
The streets of Erfurt were nearly empty, police reported, in one of the
few cities that didn't have a large screen set up downtown and nearly
everyone stayed home to cheer on their team.
In Bremen, 15,000 gathered at the cathedral, but many soon left because
the screen wasn't big enough for people in the rear to get a view of the
action. In Leipzig's downtown, several people were treated for
heatstroke among the crowd of 2,000.
Rain and drizzle hit the port city of Hamburg, but 10,000 spectators
gathered both at the harbor and on the Reeperbahn.
Germany won the Cup in 1954, 1974 and 1990. As its young team
surprisingly won one match after another, hopes rose the country could
finally regain the trophy.
"It's so tantalizing near - grab that trophy!" was the first-page plea
of the Leipzinger Volkszeitung, a German daily.
Soccer, and especially the national team, has grown into a huge
institution in the country, a result of the 1954 World Cup title, which
restored pride in the Germans devastated by World War II.
On Monday, the official homecoming reception for the German national
team will take place in Frankfurt.