Football fans really do hate Germans
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Your support makes all the difference.THE STEREOTYPE of the "patriotic" English football fan with utter contempt for the Germans has been reinforced by a study of social attitudes during the World Cup.
A survey of more than 2,000 people by the Sir Norman Chester Centre for Football Research at Leicester University - which advises the Government- appointed Football Task Force - found that 67 per cent of England fans "disliked" the German team.
"The survey shows the stereotype is still very much there. It has a lot to do with historical reasons and battles both on and off the field," said Sean Perkins, a research associate at the centre.
He added: "People remember Italia '90 and Euro '96, when we were knocked out on penalty shoot-outs. I think the fact that Germany played very disappointing football and seemed to progress without playing well has also added to their unpopularity." The study also found that violent scenes involving English hooligans while in France and the team's failure to reach the quarter-finals had done very little to diminish national pride. According to the results of the survey - which will be published this week - only 6 per cent of people felt ashamed to be English as a consequence of the tournament.
A quarter of respondents said they were stronger supporters of England than before the World Cup - perhaps on account of England's brave performance against Argentina in the second round. Mr Perkins said: "The survey reflects the nationalistic nature of fans of Premier League and nationwide football clubs."
Hostility among fans towards Argentina was also underlined by the survey results. Six out of 10 respondents said that the Argentinians were the "cheats" of the World Cup, and 45 per cent of fans thought they were "dirty". Holland was the most popular team in England among the quarter-finalists, with more than 60 per cent of fans holding a "soft spot" for them. The researchers attributed this to Dutch players playing in the Premier League.
Fans were divided over whether David Beckham had been unfairly treated by the media, the researchers discovered. Tabloid readers, particularly older fans, were more likely to think that the Manchester United footballer deserved the criticism he received after being sent off against Argentina.
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