This Wretched Football

“This is part of our tortured soul. We  yearn for success, and it just won’t come.” (Leo Windtner, president of the Austrian Football Association in an interview with the daily newspaper Der Standard on April 8, 2011.)

Do you have a favourite football team? I most definitely don’t! But sometimes you can’t help being severely affected by the repercussions of football anyway. For many people (in Germany and Austria as well as in a large number of other countries all over the world) football is a very serious affair: although, quite often, it’s only abused as a means to an end. During a visit to Edinburgh some years ago, I found a T-shirt labelled “We support Scotland and whoever plays England”. That’s exactly the Austrian spirit towards Germany – at least as far as football is concerned. Perhaps the predominant attitude would be less spiteful and more competitive if Austrian football weren’t such a completely dismal affair. But that’s how it is ­ and how it has been for quite a while. After all, the ‘Miracle of Cordoba’ (Austria’s 3-2 victory over Germany during the 1978 FIFA World Cup in Argentina) took place a lifetime ago.

Perhaps understandably, there seem to be considerable differences in the perception of many Austrians concerning football played on an international level, the Austrian national team being involved, and the one played by club teams in the various national football leagues. Many Austrian men I have talked to don’t know much about Germany – particularly the part of the country situated north of the Danube – but they know most of the major German football clubs and have at least a rough idea of their geographic location. Nearly all of the men like, or at least respect, the major club from Munich. But then again, as far as many Austrians are concerned, all Germans would be more likeable if they were Bavarians anyway. And that’s where the Austrian indulgence towards German football ends.

Living as Germans in Austria can be a bit tricky at the best of times, you have to be prepared for some recurring stereotypes and even the occasional outburst of hostility. What is more, during high profile football competitions like European or world championships you are sure to be confronted with a lot of ill will and have to steel yourself against a considerable amount of spitefulness. Since moving to Austria in 2002, my family and I have gone through two UEFA European Football Championships and two FIFA World Cups. Naturally, the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany and the 2008 European Football Championship in Austria and Switzerland were particularly unpleasant with regard to unpleasant reactions – although, on reflection, the other occasions weren’t much pleasanter.

During the 2008 UEFA event, my youngest daughter, 12 years old at that time, refused point-blank to go to school for the duration of the tournament. Whether Germany won or lost didn’t matter – the reactions of her schoolmates were unsporting and downright hurtful. Do you think that this was only down to their youthful temperament? Far from it! Even my colleagues and some of our friends were very outspoken in their attitude towards the German national team: by no means should they win the Cup. There was one significant exception though. Before the semi-final between Germany and Turkey, some colleagues proudly told me that, in this case, they wanted Germany to win, because having Turkey as Cup winner would be about as bad as it could possibly get. They really expected me to be pleased! Only I couldn’t be.

Not surprisingly, only after Germany had knocked Austria out of the competition, did the ÖWR – the Austrian control committee for advertising –- officially oppose the poster above showing a German and an Austrian fan exchanging a French kiss. Strictly for moral reasons! I quite like the picture.

Imagine a warm summer evening: the beautiful Main Square in Linz; more than 12,000 spectators eagerly awaiting a classical open-air concert; the famous Bruckner Orchestra on the stage; Dennis Russell Davies at the conductor’s stand; Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with its ‘Ode to Joy’ (the European Anthem) on the program; my family and I among the crowd. It’s June 28, 2008: the evening before the UEFA Championship final between Spain and Germany. The MC makes it quite clear that it’s all very well to have a concert like this, but there’s one really important thing: by no means is Germany to become European football champion the next day. Then he invites the crowd to show whether they agree with him or not. The approval is absolutely deafening. When the MC asks whether anyone dares to voice a different opinion, I try unsuccessfully to equal the previous crowd noise – to my children’s and my husband’s utter embarrassment.

He looks a bit uncomfortable, doesn't he?

Admittedly, my wonderful Austrian son-in-law, a devoted football fan and an even more devoted husband of a German wife, is in no enviable position either. Understandably, as long as Austria is taking part in the same competition, there’s no way he could ever cheer for the German national team. His tender conscience simply won’t allow it! Without Austria, he has persuaded himself that his marriage authorizes him to venture an occasional cheer in favour of Germany. On occasion of their wedding, I knitted a German fan scarf for him and bought my daughter a pair of Austrian football shoes. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to fathom how anyone can take a mere game so seriously.