Henning Wehn: Germany breathes again - the Cloggies are out
Who Said The Germans Weren't Funny?
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.What a great few days for the Fatherland and, in particular, for Franz Beckenbauer. The Kaiser incredibly found time between attending nearly every game of the World Cup so far to get married again last Friday.
Getting married, like watching lots of football, gets easier the more you do it and, though he spent a whole day neglecting his World Cup duties, our "Emperor" still received thousands of cards wishing him well. Graham Poll alone sent three.
Last weekend's party got into full swing when Nationalmannschaft showed the hapless Swedes that they should stick to making furniture. My favourite scene was Henrik Larsson's David Beckham-style penalty over the crossbar. It's good to see everybody getting the jitters again when they face Jens Lehmann from the spot.
But let's not get carried away; so far Germany have achieved nothing more than England and six other nations and failure is still an option (although for Germany, obviously, failure isn't an option).
Back in Baden-Baden, what comes as a genuine surprise to many locals is the lack of social class of the England squad and in their entourage. Germans still had the idea of British people having a stiff upper lip, wearing bowler hats and having some manners. I'm therefore happy for all you English that your football team and their "WAGs" gave a more accurate description of life in Modern Britain: scantily clad yobettes falling about in the streets, spending the GDP of any given African country on booze and designer clothes .
England might not be our favourite guests, but thank God we can rule out one disaster of historic dimensions: the Netherlands winning the World Cup. "Without Holland we're going to Berlin," as millions of relieved Germans sang after the Cloggies' defeat to Portugal. Police already report that traffic on the autobahns is running a lot smoother now that all the caravans are back in the Netherlands.
The Kaiser will no doubt be delighted about that when he's in his helicopter on the way to his next game - or wedding.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments