Part 1 of 32: The German Interview
There are 56 days to go for the Fifa World Cup to start. In these 56 days, I aim to interview 32 fans for the 32 participating nations to get their perspectives. Impossible? Or at least very difficult to achieve this?
Where there is a will, there is a way! I ensue, thus, on an exciting journey. I hope you can enjoy the ride with me. Presenting Part 1 of the series.
I caught up with Benjamin, popularly known as Bense to get the German view. Bense writes in the World Cup Blog for Germany. He is 24 years old and is studying Economics in the University of Dortmund. A Mannschaft fan ever since 1990, Bense is going to volunteer both for the World Cup and his city during the World Cup. I thank Bense for agreeing for this interview.
What challenges has Germany as a country faced and how has it overcome them looking back as the World Cup is nearly upon us?
They came back after the disastrous Euro in 2000, Völler formed a younger team. After Euro 2004, Klinsmann took over and did the exact same thing, but for real. He keeps the younger players in the squad that might still have 10 more brilliant years with the team. That concerned quite a lot of people, because there is a lack of efficiency and veteran players. And of course, Germany couldn’t play any “competitive” games except for Confederations Cup, because they didn’t have to qualify.
What style of football does the national team play?
I’d say more technically skilled than before. As always, physical, cautious, basing on a good collective and team spirit.
What do you think your country’s prospects are?
It’s gonna be hard in the round of the last 16, but if we manage to win against England or Sweden, we’re gonna march on.
Who will be the most important player for your country?
The most important player right now is Ballack. He ain’t a leader but with his qualities, he can decide a game on his own.
Which player in your country’s side would you most like to get rid of?
Bernd Schneider. Too slow. To few goal shots. Too few creativity.
Who are the players to watch from the other countries?
There are quite a bunch of players that should be given a look. Messi, Ronaldinho, Rooney… All teams field at least one outstanding player or a great young prospect.
What will be your excuse in the event of failure?
There will be no failure. Now how much of a surprise it to get such an answer from a German? But for real, the pressure is very high but I still hope the players rise to the occasion.
Have you got the right manager?
Hell yeah, Klinsmann is trusting the young guns, like me. I’d rather loose with players that are 23 than with the older ones that are 32. Klinsmann knows many psychological methods - and overall, the manager ain’t that important in a WC. What’s a coach suppoed to there? Only fielding the right 11, even Völler reached the final in 2002 with a team that almost had no real talents in it.
What advice would you give him?
Don’t care about what the mass media or some grumpy guys chit-chat.
Which team do you most want to beat?
England in the round of the last 16 on penalties, Netherlands in the final 1:0 on a disputed penalty.
Which opposition player will get the most stick?
If we play the Brazilians, Ronaldinho. That guy shouldn’t be allowed to move in our own half of the pitch.
Where will you watch the matches?
At the stadium, in bars, or downtown in the inner city of Dortmund.
How keenly will the World Cup be followed in your country?
Germans tend to be a little pessimistic, but the closerit gets, the more the spark of euphoria will spread. Since Germany is the host country, that’s absolutely necessary for a great athmosphere during the World Cup.
Who will be the player of the tournament?
Ha, who can tell by now? There are dozens of younger players that could have their break-thru on the international stage. As for Germany, I’m expecting Schweinsteiger and Podolski having a great World Cup. Player of the tournament could be Ballack, if he can finally rise and shine.
Who will win the Golden Boot?
Too close to call. Definitely not Ronaldo, either. So many players are in for it. My first guess is Shevchenko, as he will be playing Saudi-Arabia with his native Ukraine in the preliminary stage.
Which team will disappoint the most and why?
The Netherlands and Spain are the regular disappointers. Other teams that are overhyped way too much are Brazil and England.
Who will be the surprise team of the tournament?
Ukraine or Sweden might be a surprise team. Both play very offensively orientated footie. Switzerland and Serbia might be small surprises, too, with their good defenses.
Finally, Who will win the World Cup?
I do believe Germany will win the World Cup. They neither have the most skilled team nor the best individual players. But the home advantage is factor. At home, Germany will be a force and the team to beat to become WC Champs.
***
I hope you enjoyed part 1! Follow up questions for Bense can be emailed to me at pratyushkhaitan[@]gmail[.]com Also, feel free to contact me if you would like to be interviewed or know a friend who would like/could be interviewed. Specific questions for specific countries which might pop in your mind in due course may also be sent. Coming up soon are interviews from England and Iran.
For the rest of the interviews, check out the World Cup interview series page.
Tags: FIFA World Cup 2006, Football Interview Series, German Football.
April 14th, 2006 at 2:27 pm
Interesting to see this guy so confident of his country’s chances. Brazil, overhyped!? We will see.
Great Job, Pratyush! Really enjoyed this. It will be really nice to read all these interviews before the WC. Sort of builds up the atmosphere. Good luck with the rest of the interviews.
April 14th, 2006 at 7:17 pm
[…] Here’s one German who thinks his team will win. Wait a second, we know this guy (Sportolysis) […]
April 14th, 2006 at 8:59 pm
[…] Pratayush has an excellent series of interviews lined up ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2006. He is interviewing the…fans of each country that is playing in the tournament. He starts off by talking to Bense, a German fan who will be watching the games keenly. I bet all fans will think that their country will win the World Cup this year. […]
April 15th, 2006 at 12:45 am
I hope everybody is rooting for their countries. It wouldn’t make much sense if nobody would think their team could win it. Even Trinidad and Tobago has a change for it. Even though the odds aren’t very high.
I do believe Brazil is overhyped. I still think of France in 2002. Winning both WC and Euro, the crashed completely. A good Ronaldinho might not be enough against highly motivated opponents. Brazil will be given a much harder time than in 2002. I’m really trying to be realistic about England, too. But they were constantly underachieving even though they had and still have one of the best English teams ever. Let’s just hope England and Germany aren’t facing each other too early in the K.O. stage. Would be a darn if one of those teams would be out in the round of the last 16.
April 15th, 2006 at 11:03 am
I agree that Brazil is overhyped, but at the same time few teams have the same firepower. People talk a lot about Ronaldinho, but we have other talents on our side. Secondly, our defense is very underestimated. Good luck to you all!
April 15th, 2006 at 12:13 pm
I think that Brazils defence might be the most overestimated part.
Roque Junior plays pathetic, so does Juan. Lucio has a weak phase, Robert Carlos is getting old. Cafu is possibly as old as Matthäus is now. Dida is a decent goalie, but not better or worse than many others.
If Brazil can force their play on the opponents (and there are really only a few opponents who can prevail against this) they’re gonna stomp’em. If the game can be stopped in midfield, there are better defenses than Brazils’.
April 15th, 2006 at 4:17 pm
Krishna: Thanks!
Brazil has a superb attack. Ronaldinho is playing the best football he has every played. And as Eurur said there are other players like Kaka. But there are problems yes. Adriano isn’t exactly playing superbly right now. Regarding the defense: Since when has Brazil played with the strongest defense? They thrive in attacking setups. It is for other teams to exploit this aspect, if they can.
I believe in the hype. But that is because I am a huge Brazilian fan. :p
April 15th, 2006 at 11:04 pm
Let me know if you need any help in the netherlands for your interview :-)
April 16th, 2006 at 12:02 am
Welcome to Sportolysis, TCP. :)
I am afraid I the Dutch fan is already booked. It would be great if you could send me some interesting questions to ask Holland or any other country though.
April 17th, 2006 at 11:26 pm
[…] The World Cup is starting in less than eight weeks and Pratyush Khaitan from the sportolysis weblog wants to give his visitors information about the 32 countries that are participating through interviews. His first interview was with a German fan about the national team of Germany. You can read that interview here. His second interview was with the webmaster of IranGoals. I caught up with Farhad Andalibi for Part 2 of the series. Farhad is the webmaster of Iranian Football website IranGoals.com. Almost 18 years old, football captivated Farhad ever since he was a kid. He started following Team Melli from the Asian Cup held in 1996. A passionate Iranian fan if you ever will find one, I thank Farhad for agreeing to this interview. Tell us a bit about the Road to the World Cup ? the qualification, and the emotions the fans went through at the time. […]
April 18th, 2006 at 9:34 am
Great initiative! Will be here for the rest of the interviews too… btw, I hope there do exist football fans in countries like Togo and Cote d’Ivorie for you to complete the cycle :)
April 18th, 2006 at 10:22 pm
Thank you Nirav. It is proving difficult to find fans from Togo, Ivory Coast and the like but hopefully I will!
May 4th, 2006 at 10:38 am
Hi Pratyush,
I am wonderfully intrigued by this idea. I currently study at a B-School in Singapore where we have students from several nationalities.
I’m wondering if you’d let me take up the same idea and interview them along the same lines. I’d link to your blog and give you the credit for the idea. Let me know if you have reservations and if you do, you can be sure that I won’t go through with it.
p.s. linked here through India Uncut.
May 4th, 2006 at 2:48 pm
Hi Ajay
I have emailed you.
Cheers.
May 30th, 2006 at 1:52 pm
In my opinion England, USA and Brazil are overhyped.
Germany, Argentina and Holland are overlooked and Mexico will be the shocker of the 2006 world cup.
July 2nd, 2006 at 12:13 am
Brazil:Germany - 2:1…
[…] Brazil will defeat Germany in the finals :P I?ll go for a small 2:1 … What do you think? […]…