Munich gears up for the opening match
- 8 Jun 06, 06:58 PM
MUNICH. Grown German men in my hotel are on the verge of tears with the news that Michael Ballack . I spotted two men hugging and consoling each other over the biggest glass of beer I have ever seen in my life. If you think Rooney has fans in Britain hanging by his metatarsal tissue, Ballack's calf strain is the talk of Munich and Germany as a whole.
I was helping myself to a hearty German breakfast in our hotel...you know the usual - vast swathes of ham, cheese and sausage meat, and there toying over the croissants were a merry band of Costa Rican fans.
They've brought the sunshine with them cos temperatures are rising here in Munich. Leaving brekkie, I bumped into the 大象传媒 commentator Jonathan Pearce who will preside over the opening game for 大象传媒 One.
The Ticos arrived in Munich on Wednesday evening. They were at training first thing the next morning so JP dashed off to see them in action and no doubt fine tune his notes.
For my crew and I, it was off to the Olympic stadium on the other side of Munich to film some links for our highlights show. The stadium hosted the 1972 Olympics, its like a vast tented village. On a clear day you can see the Alps, not today though.
The surrounding area has been transformed into a huge fan park for the duration of the tournament. All the games are shown live on this massive screen and they're expecting tens of thousands of people to watch the opening match and party afterwards, they hope.
I guess you could argue this is the biggest football party in World Cup history. It's certainly the first time there is an official fan park, or fan fest as the Germans are calling them, in every host city. So even if you haven't got a ticket, you can get into these huge fan parks for free, watch the game, listen to some soft rock act and feel very much part of the action.
So while I was there, we filmed a quick link about Franz Beckenbauer, who lifted the World Cup here in 1974, for Friday night's show.
Now I'm off to the Allianz Stadium for the opening match - can't wait. I've seen the 'rubber dinghy' from the motorway - all those cushion panels, apparently they're self cleaning. Will Costa Rico spring some surprises like they did Italia 90? Who knows? Tschuss.
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I am also ready for the Opening World Cup Game. I thought Germany would have a victory [even though I support Costa Rica]. But I think Costa Rica may give Germany a Hard`Time.
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Guys I CAN'T wait for the game!! I think Costa Rica may just nick this one via a breakaway goal...what do you guys think? Have a vote:
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I went to the Cologne fan park or fan fest last night. It was fantastic! Everybody from the UK and the rest of the world should come to Germany and party with us! After all, it's THE time to make friends!
And by the way I'm in for a narrow win for the Germans tonite!
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hey Germany will win the world cup.
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The german Mannschaft will win the world cup. not a bunch of monkeys like e.....d
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That old English (British?) favourite of supporting the underdog is brewing. That's right it's Costa Rica today but i'm getting ready for the Togo party.
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Please can someone tell me why in this tournament are they breaking with tradition, and allowing the hosts rather than the past champions to appear in the opening match???
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Please can someone tell me why in this tournament are they breaking with tradition, and allowing the hosts rather than the past champions to appear in the opening match???
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Possibly because this time around, the champions were required to qualify, and by that time, Germany had already been allocated to group A?
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Just to say as organiser of our office mega " Footy and Sweep " I have been attemting to send fraternal greetings to all the teams via their respective FAs and websites, urging all the teams to garner points for people who have parted with a fiver. So far only the German FA have responded - with a big " thanks a lot " and more to the point responded within 7 minutes. Pass this on to your German hosts when you get the chance, and say thanks back !
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Just to say as organiser of our office mega " Footy and Sweep " I have been attemting to send fraternal greetings to all the teams via their respective FAs and websites, urging all the teams to garner points for people who have parted with a fiver. So far only the German FA have responded - with a big " thanks a lot " and more to the point responded within 7 minutes. Pass this on to your German hosts when you get the chance, and say thanks back !
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i am just want to watch the match where i can do that from??????????????????
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i am just want to watch the match where i can do that from??????????????????
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I have watched all of the games so far and I have to say, isn't it about time the 大象传媒 got rid of John Motson and replaced him with a decent commentator? 'Motty' has had a good run, but his endless statistics and trivial remarks really ruin watching the game for me and I know I am not alone. Relegate John Motson to the subs bench and promote Celina Hinchcliffe to the starting line-up please.
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The Hoff lives! Thank you Celina for making sure that David Hasslehoff has his rightful place in German reunification. Your 大象传媒 show is great and we always look forward to it.
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You must be joking she is useless!!!!
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