World Cup 2006 changed the perception of Germany
With the German team firing on the World Cup fever in South Africa, I had to think back of what it was like when the World Cup was held in Germany four years ago. I ended my first book with the World Cup 2006 which forever changed the perception of the way the country was seen by the outside world. Here is an extract from the last chapter of my book: "F or a month in the warm early summer of 2006, Germany was transformed into one big party venue, as the nation played host to the 2006vSoccer World Cup. Their catchy host slogan was “ Die Welt zu Gast bei Freunden —A time to make friends” was the official translation, which does not catch the spirit. “The world are our guests: at home with friends,” might have captured it better. When I first saw the slogan, which was on billboards everywhere, I thought it was quite kitsch, but as the tournament went on, it absolutely caught the spirit of the new Germany. They were the perfect hosts and showed the world an unexpected side—...