Abstract
This article interprets German national identity discourses through the lens of soccer. Germany’s four World Cup championships came in a roughly 20-year rhythm and happened at critical moments and turning points in its post-World War II history. Looking at the four World Cup wins in 1954, 1974, 1990, and 2014 allows one to trace changes in German national identity that were reflected in the winning teams themselves as well as in the relationship of the celebrating public to the team and the country. International soccer events offer an opportunity to discern continuities and discontinuities in German national identity discourses. This article contributes to the literature by providing a comparative interpretation across six decades of soccer/national identity discourses. In such a comparative perspective, it becomes easier to see the changes and continuities that have characterized these discourses.
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Notes
Club sports and collective identity constructions historically often follow certain regional, ethnic, social, or religious divisions within society. However, with the increase in media coverage and with globalization, the significance of preexisting social structures has declined.
The reach across the social divisions is particularly important for a highly fragmented society such as Germany’s. See Scheuble and Wehner (2006).
Exceptions are the playing of the national anthem before season opening games and before the annual Cup final.
In addition, European-level club soccer features a significant regional competition element.
For a broader conceptual treatment of the issues at stake, see, for example, Inglehart (1997).
For the following, see Heinrich (2003).
For the following, see Kasza (2004).
On the enthusiasm of East Germans for West German soccer throughout the Cold War, see Braun and Wiese (2005).
Between 1968 and 1980, the International Olympic Committee used the code GER to refer to West Germany. During the 1980s until the end of the Cold War, the Olympic code for West Germany switched to FRG until German reunification brought back the code GER for the German Olympic team. Between 1968—the first time two separate German teams competed at the Olympics—and 1989, the Olympic code for East Germany remained GDR.
For the following description, see Heinrich (2003).
Netzer actually did not see much playing time during the 1974 World Cup due to conflicts with national team coach Helmut Schön. Nevertheless, together with Beckenbauer, Netzer was the dominant player personality in Germany during the early 1970s as a result of his play during the 1972 European Championship and the role he had played for his club team Borussia Mönchengladbach. His move to Real Madrid in 1973 added to Netzer’s public prestige but also contributed to conflicts with coach Schön on the national team.
The literary scholar Karl-Heinz Bohrer is probably the most visible representative of Netzer’s appeal to intellectuals. Writing about soccer in the culture pages of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (unheard of as a suitable subject for the culture pages of this elite newspaper), Bohrer famously created the catchphrase of Netzer coming “from the depth of space” (Netzer kam aus der Tiefe des Raumes).
Germany was a latecomer in this respect as well. Pelé and George Best, for example, had achieved global cult status during the 1960s.
The terror attack against Israeli athletes during the Munich Olympics 2 years earlier also provided an environment in which overt German sporting patriotism appeared inappropriate.
East and West Germany were drawn into the same group of the qualifying rounds for the 1992 UEFA European Championship. They would have played each other if unification had not created a single entity out of the two Germanys before the start of qualifying play.
The most important exceptions to this are ice hockey in Canada, cricket in parts of South Asia as well as rugby in a few parts of the world. The USA with its inner-directed sports scene serves as a major exception to the general attachment of national identity with team sports (see Markovits and Rensmann 2010). The “Miracle on Ice” during the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid and the celebrations over the Women’s World Cup victories in 1999 and 2015 come closest to the expressions of nationalism in conjunction with the success of a national team. However, none of these let to lasting national narratives about the US men’s ice hockey team or the US women’s soccer team.
On the relationship of these debates over German history to the 2006 World Cup, see Laetsch (2008).
For a more critical assessment of the new soccer patriotism, see Schediwy (2012).
See Meyer and Leinwather (2013, p. 1204).
Not coincidentally, the move toward giving the German team a more multicultural identity was initiated by the new head coach Jürgen Klinsmann, who had played during his professional career in Italy, France and England, who currently resides in the USA and who is fluent in four languages—German, English, French, and Italian.
See Sark (2012, p. 257).
For an examination of the French multicultural team, see Dubois (2010).
See Merkel (2014).
One example is the public remark of the Vice Chair of the populist right-wing Alternative for Germany Party, Alexander Gauland, that people are fond of the (Afro-German) Jerome Boateng as a soccer player but would not enjoy having him as a neighbor. The comment produced outrage and wide condemnation across the political spectrum, including criticism within his own party.
Fans of European club soccer have equally accepted the heavily internationalized background of their local clubs.
I am referring here specifically to the patriotism associated with international soccer tournaments. Obviously, the recent outburst of nationalist sentiments and violence against foreigners triggered by the Syrian (and others) refugee crisis are anything but innocent. It is, however, too early to present a conclusive assessment of these recent developments and their potential long-term impact on the expression of German nationalism.
Identification with the national team correlates only with age. It is strongest among young people under 18 years old and declines with age—reaching its lowest levels among people over 50 years old. Other demographic attributes, such as gender, income, marital status, or region, have no influence on the level of identification with the national team. Interestingly, the intensity of a person’s identification with a club team varies with income and is highest among the lowest income groups (Schmidt and Bergmann 2013).
For the following, see Stehle and Weber (2013).
For the following, see Stehle and Weber (2013).
Famously, German Team Manager Oliver Bierhoff reacted angrily and personally offended when the German TV crime series Tatort featured a fictitious gay player on the national team in its 2011 episode Mord in der ersten Liga.
See Degele (2013).
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The author is grateful to Michelle Mattson, Sharon Stanley and Frank Stengel for comments on earlier drafts of this paper.
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Kaelberer, M. From Bern to Rio: Soccer and National Identity Discourses in Germany. Int J Polit Cult Soc 30, 275–294 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10767-016-9234-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10767-016-9234-6