Germany's biggest rivalry?

[arthur d]

And watch some repeats of Harry Enfield and Chums on UKGold.:)

That was quite a funny episode actually. :D

[The Old Lady Hertha]

Hmmmm....looks like I should take kung-fu lessons :)

[arthur d]

Hmmmm....looks like I should take kung-fu lessons :)

you mean you haven't already done that? :eek:

[The Old Lady Hertha]

you mean you haven't already done that? :eek:

Only when I was 6.

Should have replaced "Kung-fu" with "Breakdancing." Would be much cooler. Kinda makes me ashamed, half my friends can do it, but I have no clue. :o

Excuse me, I need to pray to the family spirits.

[Psychosis hsv]

How about the old rivalry with Poland or the soon to come with Costa Rica

[bltleo]

How about the old rivalry with Poland or the soon to come with Costa Rica

I would not call them "rivarly", more our opponenents..we can not call rivarly every country we play against ......

I think our biggest rival is really only Holland....second place England..

many of my friends say France

[Three Rivers]

I hate Torsten Frings!

[bltleo]

I hate Torsten Frings!

I know...because of world cup 2002...handball:)

it was good for USA that Frings did not play in friendly game in Dortmund..

maybe we will meet in semi-finale in the world cup 2006....

with Frings again?:)

just joking

[Three Rivers]

Hey BLTLEO, They showed that play again during the US V. Ger. friendly in Dortmund. It looked worse than ever. He was actually looking at the ball while it bounced off his arm!!! I nearly got sick all over again.

[Jaison]

Hey BLTLEO, They showed that play again during the US V. Ger. friendly in Dortmund. It looked worse than ever. He was actually looking at the ball while it bounced off his arm!!! I nearly got sick all over again.

Meh... O'Brien got away with a handball against Mexico as well. It happens..

[Dead Fingers]

I wouldn't blame Frings one bit. Blame Hugh Dallas. Frings did what any smart player would have done when they are guarding the back line....he had his arms out.

[scorpio81]

I wouldn't blame Frings one bit. Blame Hugh Dallas. Frings did what any smart player would have done when they are guarding the back line....he had his arms out.


that makes it sound like frings cheated... which i dont think was the case at all... frings had his arms out, sure - but that was for the purpose of balance, only...
the ball happened to hit his arm and he was watching the ball, which may make it look like it was deliberate or intentional/sneaky...
but his arm did not move from its original position, ie, where it was before the ball made its way over to him...

[Dead Fingers]

that makes it sound like frings cheated... which i dont think was the case at all... frings had his arms out, sure - but that was for the purpose of balance, only...
the ball happened to hit his arm and he was watching the ball, which may make it look like it was deliberate or intentional/sneaky...

but i dont believe that was the case at all...

No it doesn't...he kept his arms wide, which is normal. What's he supposed to do? keep his arms tight to his body? :p And you are right, the ball hit his arm...not the other way around.

I think we are agreeing on this...that is wasn't Frings fault

[scorpio81]

I think we are agreeing on this...that is wasn't Frings fault

yup, i guess we are! ;)

[Dead Fingers]

yup, i guess we are! ;)

don't you hate it when that happens?
:D

[Zwanzigoetzel]

Holland, Holland, followed by Holland.

I don't think the Germans really care one way or another about England. As ohk says, most Germans like, or at least respect, English soccer, and I actually think most Germans have a lot of respect for England in general. That rivalry is mostly one way. You'll see Germans wearing England shirts, and half of Germany will wear Brazil (as Fräulein96 says) and Italy shirts. You will never see an Englishman wear a Germany shirt.

As for Argentina, England has a much larger rivalry with them than Germany does.

Unless it has changed dramatically since I moved to the US 8 years ago I don't remember too many Germans wearing English soccer shirts.....Unless they were out looking for a good bar fight....that's a different story though ;)

[AGF Aarhus]

Unless it has changed dramatically since I moved to the US 8 years ago I don't remember too many Germans wearing English soccer shirts.....Unless they were out looking for a good bar fight....that's a different story though ;)
I didn't mean to imply that there are hordes of Germans walking around in England shirts. That is clearly not the case. But there are more than I would ahve expected. I'll admit that this could largely be due to be spending too much time in Irish pubs watching English football, and so the Germans who also engage in this activity might be predisposed to love of English football. I still don't think you would ever see an Englishman in a Germany shirt, though. Not even any of the Englishmen I know in Germany would consider doing it.

What is odd is the bizzare love for Brazil. I was standing at the bus stop this morning, and there is a Plus (discount supermarket) next to the stop. I was looking at the adverts in the window, and they had a buch of really tacky WC merch. The beach towels were fine, the bed clothes a little weird, and the children's underpants downright disturbing. The odd thins is that everything was available for Germany and Brazil. No other countries. Time to see if the girlfriend can squeeze in to some boys Brazilian soccer underpants (I can't go to jail for writing that, can I?).

Last WC half of Germany seemed to fall in love with Sengal, too. You couldn't walk 10 meters in Berlin without running into a Fadiga shirt.

As for rivals. A true rival is a team you want to see lose everytime they set foot on the field. I want Mexico to lose. Always. Canada? Who cares. Germans took great pleasure in seeing the Netherlands fail to make it the last WC. That is the sign of a rivalry. I think in most cases Germans would actually support England so long as it doesn't affect Germany's chances. That's not a rivalry.

[Psychosis hsv]

I know...because of world cup 2002...handball:)

it was good for USA that Frings did not play in friendly game in Dortmund..

maybe we will meet in semi-finale in the world cup 2006....

with Frings again?:)

just joking
let us make him germany's number 2 goalkeeper

[AGF Aarhus]

let us make him germany's number 2 goalkeeper
Na, Robert Huth gets that job. Remember the NI friendly?

[F96]

Unless it has changed dramatically since I moved to the US 8 years ago I don't remember too many Germans wearing English soccer shirts.....Unless they were out looking for a good bar fight....that's a different story though ;)

Owen and Beckham shirts sell really well in Germany. You see them quite often actually.

I don't want Holland and England to win but if they played each other I'd certainly side for England.

Of course that that doesn't mean I hate the Netherlands, how could anybody hate that beautiful little country and it's people ;) but with football it's just different.