. . . . . . The Daily Soccer . . . . . .

Yesterday George and I were forced by the Germans to drink their beer and paint our faces while on the train to the Germany – Poland match. While we didn’t have tickets for the game and we didn’t stand a chance to score any at the last minute, we went to Dortmund to soak in all that surrounds the match. We saw a very frustrated German crowd that absolutely exploded as their last minute goal all but sent them to the second round. I just felt bad for the riot police (who really didn’t have much to do) who looked to be wearing three bulletproof vests under heavy coats on a very hot and humid night. (Bostrom)

It was amazing to see the mass of Polish and German fans all around Dortmund. Even though there was some minor scuffles, we saw both sets of fans respect each other while still showing a lot of spirit.

You would not believe the amount of celebrating that the German fans did last night. When we got back to Cologne, it was around 1 AM and there were still people out drinking and whooping it up. What made it even more impressive was that there was a huge downpour outside and fans were still standing & drinking at the outdoor Kolsch stand which just happens to be below our window at the hotel.

A couple of interesting encounters happened yesterday. First, when we went down to breakfast, we noticed that Boose was getting dirty looks from a couple of English fans. It didn’t occur to us until later is that they were reacting to him wearing his ’94 Sweden kit (spend some cash on a new jersey!). Since England is playing them later in the first round and, for some unexplained reason, cannot beat them ever, they’re not real big Swedish fans. When we passed them later in the lobby, I referred to Boose as “Sven” just to see if I could wind them up a bit, but no dice.

Second, we were walking near the train station in Cologne yesterday and we got stopped by some Asian fans who asked us for some pictures. No, not for us to take their pictures, they wanted us to stand in pictures with us. The only thing that we could think of is that we both were wearing soccer jerseys and they wanted to have a photo with some real soccer fans. We must have looked like giant American bookends with these tiny people standing between us.

Lastly, I got to meet Nick Webster from FSC. He is staying in Cologne and I bumped into him at the train station as he was on his way to Dortmund to see last night’s match. Nice guy…he was wearing an AC Milan jersey which made me like him even more. Not that I like Milan (I’m actually more of an Inter fan), I just like seeing someone who loves football enough to wear a jersey even though most people would expect someone in his position to not be a fan of a particular team.

We’re getting geared up for today’s matches, which include T & T vs. England. The question is, will Rooney play? We know he won’t start, but perhaps he will come on as a late sub just to get him game action. They need to get him on the field soon if he’s going to be any help to them in the later rounds. There is speculation in the English papers that ManU has threatened legal action if Sven plays Rooney too soon. If I’m Sven, I’m bringing him on in the 65 minute for either Owen (if they’re ahead) or for a defensive player (if they’re behind).

Sweden is really under the gun today as they need three points versus Paraguay. If they don’t get max points, they will be behind the 8-ball as Paraguay or T & T could steal that last spot. (George)