Why it is hard being a Germany fan these days

It’s World Cup season, and amid the countless Brazil and Argentina fans, there are a number of people who support other teams like France, Spain, and Germany. But perhaps none of them are having a time as difficult as a Germany fan. And it has been going on for a while.

It’s been a decade

To be honest, it has been more than a decade. The last good memory the Germany fans have comes from the much-cherished World Cup of 2014. After that spectacular win in the finals, Germany fans were content for a while. But it did not last long. There were some signs that the team was losing its balance, but none of them seemed like a major issue. Not until it came to the next World Cup in 2018.

In Russia, the once dominating team of Germany succumbed to the ‘champions curse,’ and bade an early farewell to the tournament. And it has not got any better since then. The World Cup in 2022 was yet another humiliation, and it exposed the lack of attitude and balance in the squad.

Caught red-handed

The last major tournament win for Germany was in 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup, which is not considered a major milestone amongst football fans. It was immediately followed by the elimination of the 2018 World Cup, and the hardship continues.

The last remarkable memory is the 2014 World Cup and the major 7-1 win over Brazil in that tournament. But that too, has become more of a weapon of argument than anything else. And it’s irksome that Argentina fans use this match to poke fun of Brazil supporters, while Germany fans stand by like an innocent bystander.

It did not help that the German coach Joachim Löw was caught scratching and sniffing himself multiple times on camera, drawing mockery from other team supporters. To make things worse, the Germany team took a photo covering their mouth in the 2022 World Cup followed by a loss to Japan, which sparked another wave of memes teasing them with captions like: “Germany fans right now,” and hurtful as that is, it hit home.

Dare we hope?

While there has been a change in management, and some youngsters are showing promise, it feels scary to hope that Germany can do better in this World Cup. But then again, one can hope. Coach Julian Nagelsmann has a good history, and the announced squad looks like a team that need a little more firepower, but it’s a decent team that could go a long way with the right attitude.

That being said, Germany has performed terribly over the past few years every time they faced a strong team such as France or Portugal. 

Their World Cup group; Group E looks easy on paper and theoretically, it should be a walk in the park. But this is the World Cup, and anything can happen. Will we see the powerful football that fans love to see from Germany, or will it be yet another upset?