Germany–Netherlands

by Chris Bertram on June 15, 2004

bq. Serious sport has nothing to do with fair play. It is bound up with hatred, jealousy, boastfulness, disregard of all rules and sadistic pleasure in witnessing violence: in other words it is war minus the shooting.

That’s always been pretty much my least favourite Orwell quote, but I couldn’t help thinking about it when contemplating “tonight’s Netherlands-Germany match”:http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/euro_2004/3787535.stm at Euro 2004. The Scotsman has “a useful guide to the history of footballing enmity”:http://sport.scotsman.com/football.cfm?id=670242004 between the two countries and one of the protagonists of the “last really nasty episode”:http://observer.guardian.co.uk/osm/story/0,6903,1009645,00.html (scroll down to #6) — Rudi Voeller — is now the German coach. The football should be pretty good too … at least from the Dutch.

{ 8 comments }

1

des von bladet 06.15.04 at 12:15 pm

The Scotsman, he say:

The hatred within the stands and on the pitch from the Dutch had its roots firmly in Germany’s five-year occupation of the Low Country during the Second World War. Strange, then, that the same theme was not a major part of proceedings in July 1974.

Brilliant Orange: The Neurotic Genius of Dutch Footbal is a must-read for anyone wanting to understand Dutch society through the prism of foopball (starting with the allegedly legendary 70’s teams) — even those (like me) who have little time for the tawdry game.

The relevant point is that the demonisation of the Germans really got started with the first generation to have grown up _after_ the war, precisely because they were uncontaminated with any memories of the complexities of the occupation, which there certainly were.

2

Sander 06.15.04 at 12:15 pm

and thanks to the internet all kinds of new and improved ways to support your team in a sportive manner now exist:

Mep de mof (whack the kraut) and caravan shooting on the Ihr seid nicht lange dabei site.

3

dave heasman 06.15.04 at 2:20 pm

Cruyff didn’t go to the 1978 World Cup.
Rumour has it that the German Paper “Bild” spread a rumour (in its inimitable 48-point full-colour fashion) that the entire Dutch team had been free with their affections towards the local females in 1974. The notoriously fierce Mrs Cruyff forbade Johann from further opportunities..

4

Matt Weiner 06.15.04 at 5:53 pm

Well, if there’s one thing I’d like to remove from war it’s the shooting….

5

sidereal 06.15.04 at 7:09 pm

It’s rather circular to define the sport most conducive to hatred and violence as the ‘serious’ one, and then conclude that serious sport is therefore hateful and violent.

Many people find football fandom absurdly unserious, if vehement.

6

jdw 06.15.04 at 7:13 pm

That’s Orwell? I would’ve guessed Karl Malone.

7

Dave F 06.17.04 at 12:56 pm

Rugby was fashioned as the sport to mould the warmaking classes. Football is the game of the rank and file. Indeed, a famous match was played between English and German soldiers one Christmas Day in the battlefields of World War 1. I can’t actually remember who won (probably the Germans, eh). But there is a lot of shooting in football, nicht wahr?

8

Mike Shoemark 06.17.04 at 1:45 pm

“A gentleman’s game played by ruffians.”

I can think of no other sport in which the rules are so consistently ignored at such a ‘high’ level. Do they teach classes in ‘advanced shirt tugging’ at (soccer)football academies? It seems that if you want to win you need to cheat.. a bit like war, really.

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