A thousand exuberant banners waved the same message, in different colours and handwritings; a thousand pairs of vocal cords heaved the same message, like an anthem, at the Borussia Park on Sunday, as Germany snuck past Greece.
Her mit den neuen Sommermärchen. Translated as let’s “bring on the new summer fairytale”, when Germany hosts the European Championship starting this Friday night. It’s an allusion to the summer of World Cup 2006, when it reached the semifinals playing an exciting brand of football, laid the foundation for the World Cup triumph eight years later, and broke perceptions of a fractious and hostile country. The word Sommermärchen, over the years, began to denote happier times, inhabiting a special place in the country’s collective consciousness.
It was a victory for both their football and the nation. “Germany and its people were confirmed to be relaxed, friendly and emotional. Old prejudices (stubbornness, lack of humour, xenophobia, emotional coldness) were dropped,” the German government wrote in its final report on the 2006 World Cup. Franz Beckenbauer, head of the World Cup Organising Committee and a footballing great, with moist eyes, said:. “This is how God imagines the world, even if in reality we are still 100,000 years away from it.”
Eighteen years on, Germany hopes for the same. A victory for both football and country. Their footballing travails have been confounding — there has been a steady stream of talent flowing, the Bundesliga is still a cradle of radical tactics and virtuoso coaches; yet they stumbled in the group stages of the last two global events, exited in the round of 16 in the previous continental championship; even in the invisible pageant that is the Nations League, they finished 11th, 8th and 10th in the last three editions. The image of Germany as the ultimate championship team is rapidly withering. It seems like a myth the Germans had smartly sold, like their cars and machines.
Outside the world of football, the country has endured three months of recession; strikes are frequent, including of train drivers, freight carriers and agricultural workers. Germany’s policies regarding the Ukraine War and Gaza unrest have induced suspicion and fear among its vast immigrant community.
Economic stagnation — Germany is still Europe’s largest market, though — has escalated the sense of gloom. It’s GDP shrank by .03 percent, making it the world’s weakest-performing major economy, its industry-heavy economy has struggled since Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, which pushed up energy costs. The once- efficient railways has broken down, with fans from France, Belgium and the Netherlands planning to take the roads.
Football brings hope
But football, the country would hope, leads them from darkness into light. Hope stems from the field, where Julian Nagelsmann has inspired an upturn of fortunes from the mess he had acquired from his predecessor Hansi Flick, the first-ever Germany manager to be fired. The 36-year-old’s start was erratic as he experimented with several formations and strategies including starting forward Kai Havertz at left-back, a position he termed a ‘left 10’. After much tinkering and soul-searching, he reverted to his guiding philosophy, possession-based football. He has discovered a vibrant system with a false nine (Havertz, thankfully restored), playing ahead of double No. 10s, the trickster Jamal Musiala and the dribbler Florian Wirtz. Their inexperience — both are 21— would not outweigh their explosiveness, and rest assured they would raise the heartbeats of both defenders and spectators this Euro. Youtube some of their goals and assists.
But Nagelsmann’s masterstroke was not harnessing the potential of the youngsters but cajoling back veteran Toni Kroos from retirement. As fine a pass-master as ever in the game, he is the team’s heartbeat, providing both control and creativity, a vastly under-rated midfield-conductor. Weave in Ilkay Gündoğan and Robert Andrich, and the midfield looks formidable, blessed with both defensive robustness and creative verve. A bit more raw muscle is all they don’t have.
The defence was a glaring weakness when Nagelsmann took over, especially on the flanks. But he has deployed the versatile Joshua Kimmich as right back and the exciting Maximilian Mittelstädt on the left. Both are inverted full-backs with pace to burn and a nose for goal. Antonio Rudiger and Jonathan Tah are steely at the back, even though Germany lack depth in defence. Then, there is Manuel Neuer, who at 38 is still the godfather among goalkeepers.
Breath of fresh air
Nagelsmann’s batch is not the classical German sides of the 1970s or 80s that emphasised more on stability than style, fight than flair, or gifted with the technical brilliance of the Joachim Low batch. But he has infused a sense of fun in their game, even though they remain an unpredictable and moody team. A four-match unbeaten streak, including wins over France and the Netherlands, has sparked optimism of a revival. He too is living on the second fairytale hope.
“Sommermärchen 2.0, that’s the ideal. I will do everything to ensure it happens again,” he said. “It’s only the second time Germany has hosted a European Championship. There is pressure involved, but more so joy. If we can see that joy on the pitch, we will have a great tournament,” he told UEFA.
The last time they hosted one, it concluded a week before the Berlin Wall was razed down, making this the first European Championship on unified German soil.
The tournament promises an economic upturn too. UEFA expects a revenue of about 2.5 billion euros ($2.7 billion) from broadcast and sponsor deals, sale of tickets, hospitality packages and licensing. As many as 2.6 million have applied for tickets to the final alone. While the sporting grandee wouldn’t be an instant financial firework, it could at least bolster the flailing beer industry. According to a Reuters report, beer sales took a 4.5 percent plummet last year. But during the 2006 World Cup, beer sales rose around 5 percent before and during the tournament.
So hope stems eternal that the 2024 Euro could reprise what World Cup 2006 did. A summer fairytale 2.0, both on and off the turf, and as tournament director and former captain Phillip Lahm wrote: “a turning point for Europe, for society, for all of us.”